Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1864-01-27

do think | am spacious. You would not
have imagined now, Mivins, how the simple
habit Of observation alone preserved me from
passing last night in the street. | arrived at
your hospitable door at about 1915, ard it
utterly refused to open"
9 Then it was you, Dick, was it." Interrupt
ted |, Indignantly, who kept US awake for
hours scrabbling at the keyhole ?"
Y e, it was me" replied Dick, coolly;
' and | must say, cousin, that If you heard
my frantic efforts to obtain admittance, YOU
might have sent Mivins down to let fellow
in"
But we thought ii was thieves" expostu-
lated my husband and besides, there was
that horrid dog of yours in the Spare Room,
which YOU told me yourself, when il once
got hold ia mans leg would never let CO."
That Is very true, replied Dick, proudly.
- 4 hot poker put close to his nose would be
| the sole method of persuading him to part
company, and / suppose such instrument
| could not have been procured at that late
| hour. However, it was | at the door; and
| the latch key which ! had carried so carefully
| in my waisteoat pocket had got itself stuffed
| up with fuzzy substance, and the harder
| poked it into the keyhole the harder that OBJ
| struction became. Perhaps it was a little
later than BIB"
1T was halfpast two, Dick remarked l.,
! parenthetically
! Was ii, really cousin? How wonderfully
| quick the time does pass in LONDON! Well,
at all events, there was nobody 10 be seen or
| heard. Eandeeur Terrace was silent as
| our iarm-yard in the country before cock
/ crow, and / could hear myself apostrophiZing
| that latch-key as plainly as though | was III
| our wall garden with the echo. | whistled
| down the barrel of it; but l might just as well
| have whistled for a wind | knelt down and
! knocked ii AGAINST tho hnf I
| as well have tried to make rabbit bolt by
| jumping on the mouth of its burrow. Ii I'd
| only had a scarf-pin, could have picked the
/ thing clean in half minute Jut then my
/ scarf pin had been stolen about two hours be
| fore BY very gentlemanly person who had
! asked me the way to st. PauI's Churchyard.
| Then all of Il sudden remembered that three
streets Oft or So, | had seen a solitary police
| man amusing himself with a-no, not with a
| toothpick; but with pin instead OF d tooth.
| pick"
! Dick, said l, " don't be vulgar"
| +" Certainly not, cousin said he-"I had
reflected upon passing him that it was an un-
| gcnteel occupation but had foreborne to
| make any remonstrance, on account of hi.
| having nothing else to do. Now blessed my
stars that | had not made him my enemy by
any auen rebuke. Threading my way care
| fully back, | found him at the exact spot
where l had left him, and engaged in thl
| same occupation.
Policeman said l, my latch-key is stuff
| ed up-have you got such thing as a pin:
| for | thought that any more direct reference
/ to the instrument so obviously in his posses
! sion might be considered offensive to his dig
nifty.
: Sir said he, [ have got half a dozen :;
and he exhibited seam Of his coat quite
studded with those articles. Without enter
| ing into the very interesting question of why
/ lac carried so many pins, | selected one OF
| them, and, having removed the obstacle that
| prevented me from enjoying your hospitality
! l thanked him, and returned it to him in com
! pany with shilling. But for my habit OF
/ observation, you see, | might have remained
/ out doors all night; for nothing would have
/ induced me to have called you up-my char
racter being, as you know, Independent to a
4 fault"
/ Dick never occupied our Spare Room again
/ we had had enough of his habit ofobservatiOn
and independence of character, as wen as OF
Aunt Bertha's spiritual despotism. We did
not indeed sell off the furniture of that unfor-
/ tunatc apartment which was always leading
Us into so much trouble and expense; but
we did a holder thing still-we invited Uncle
/ Trotter TO come and live with US.
/ Uncle Trotter was perhaps one of the most
/ diSagUecable persons alive, and was very sin
| cerely abhorred by every member Of his fam
/ lily, as well rs by his relations by marriage,
! including Miyins himself; but at the same
I time he was greatly respected and caressed.
/ His wealth was said to be untold, and his CON
! stitution was thought to be not worth wears
! purchase. This latter notion was altogether
/ delusiyc, for various members Of the family
/ had already welcomed him to,thcir hearths
4 and homes, and he had lived with them gratis
! for considerable periods, only to leave them,
not in hearsc, but in a huff, for some other
/ rival relative, whose speculation was doomed
/ IN its turn To turn out quite rs unfortunately.
I Besides his own intrinsic dement's, there was
/ this additional disadvantage in entertaining
+ the old gentleman, that it placed YOU at dag
/ gers drawn with everybody else who had any
I expectations from him. " See how those
i crafty MivnseS have got hold of dear Uncle
/ TrOtter,' was the general remark in the fami-
/ ly. | know, directly IL came to Vandeleur
Terrace; and this feeling was especially 70
mentcd 10y Cousin Graspall, from whom we
! bore him away almost at his last gasp as they
+ affirmed, and Just when they were about to
! reap. in his will, the harvest of many months
4 Of servility and announcement hypocrisy. He
I came to Us, however, Immediately upon our
/ Invitation, without repaying them a shilling
I for all the expense that he had been to them
/ and with number OF handsome presents that
| these miserable people had bestowed upon
! him at different times unknown TO one anOth-
/ cr. Costly gifts from the old GraspaIls,
/ which 1t must hcyc made their hearts ache TO
! purchase; a walking-stick with gold handle
from the elder SON, a suufl-box from the
/ younger; Wordsworth elegantly bound "a
/ pig would have been better pleased with a
! pcarl) from one Of the Young ladies: and
/ even ii box of pills, with a pious hope that
/ they would DO dearest uncle good, from the
; very smallest GraspalI.
/ What | di,liked most in the old gentleman
+ was his chucklJug over these presents. and
/ turning into ridicule their unfortunate donors:
/ but besides his behavior in this respect, Uncle
! Trotter quite unbcarable. In the first
/ place, his habits were 50 unpleasant that
rather than have him live with Us, | would
/ have preferred that Cousin Dicks terrier
! should nave occ'tsfied our Spare Room for q
I peuuaue-cy, and even brought up there that
family ut puppies Tor whose arrival | was il
+ agouI7cd expectation throughout her stay
+ Tfcu tac trouble hc gave US was something
/ Incredible, the Spare Room bell was always
+ ringing, aud meals being eaten there at all
4 hours except those At which the rest of the
i household were accustomed TO take them. He
! smoked increasingly, too, and upon one occa
+ sion threatened TO light his pipe with the Hy-
. catcher, because lUcIieTs were brought to him