Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1864-01-30


"Imay not be clever" said Dick; but |
do think | am sagacious. 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, and it
utterly refused to Open
"Then it was you, Dick, was it," Interrupt
ted /, Indignantly, "who kept US awake Tor
hours serabbling at the keyhole?"
"Yes, it was me-" replied Dick, cooliy;
" and must say, cousin, that If you heafu
NV frantic efforts to obtain admittance, you
might have sent Mivins down to let fellow
in"
"But we thought it 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 it once
got hold ia mans leg, would never let 60"
That is very true" replied Dick, proudly.
4" A hot poker put close to his nose would be
the sole method of persuading him to part
company, and suppose such an 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 waistcoat 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 little
later than l2:l5-"
at was halfpast two, Dick" remarked l.,
parenthetically.
"Was it, really cousin? How wonderfully
quick the time does pass in London Well,
at all events, there was nobody to be seen or
heard. Vandeleur Terrace was as silent as
our farm-yard in the country before cock
crow, and could hear myself apostrophizing
that latch-key as plainly as though i was in
our wall-garden with the echo. | whistled
down the barrel of it; bnt might Just as well
have whistled for a wind. / knelt down and
knocked il against the door-sten: hut J. ,miGbt
jumping on the mouth of its burrow. If I'd
only had a scarfpin, | could have picked the
thing clean in half a minute but then my
scarf pin had been stolen about two hours be-
fore by very gentlemanly person who had
asked me the way to st. Paurs Churchyard.
Then all of sudden remembered that, three
streets off or so, had seen solitary police
man amusing himself with a-nO, not with a
tOOthpick; but with pin instead of a tooth
pick"
"Dick," said |, " don't be vulgar"
Certainly not, cousin" said he.-"I had
reflected upon passing him that it was an un-
genteel occupation; but had fOrebOrne TO
make any remonstrance, on account of his
having nothing else to do. Now / blessed my
stars that had not made him my enemy by
any such rebuke. Threading my way care
fully back, | found him at the exact spot
where had left him, and engaged in the
same occupation.
Policeman, said /, my latch-key is stuff
ed up-have you got such thing as pin 2
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 dozen >
and he exhibited a seam of his coat quite
studded with those articles. Without enter
ing into the very interesting question of why
he carried so many pins, l selected one of
them, and, having removed the obstacle that
prevented me from enjoying your hospitality,
| 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
fault"
Dick never occupied our Spare Room again /;
we had had enough of his habit ofobservation
and independence of character, as well as of
Aunt Bertha's spiritual despotism. We did
not indeed sell off the furniture of that unfor-
tunate apartment which was always leading
us into so much trouble and expense but
we did holder thing still-we invited Uncle
Trotter to come and live with us.
Uncle Trotter was perhaps one of the most
disagreeable persons alive, and was very sin
cerely abhOrred by every member of his fam
lily, as well as by his relations by marriage,
including Mivins himself; but at the same
time-he was greatly respected and caressed.
His wealth was said to be untold, and his con-
stitutiOn was thought to be not worth years
purchase. This latter notion was altogether
delusive, for various members of the family
had already welcomed him to their hearths
and homes, and he had lived with them gratis
for considerable periods, only to leave them,
not in hearse, but in huff, for some other
rival relative, whose speculation was doomed
i'll its turn to turn out quite as unfortunately
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
expectations from him. See how those
crafty Mivinses have got hold of dear Uncle
Trotter," was the general remark in the fami-
ly, | know, directly he came to Vandeleur
Terrace; and this feeling was especially 70
mented by 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
of servility and inconvenient hypocrisy. He
came to US, however, Immediately upon our
invitation, without repaying them shilling
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-
er. Costly gifts from the old Graspalls,
which il must heve made their hearts ache to
purchase a walking-stick with gold handle
from the elder son; snuff-box from the
younger; Wordsworth elegantly bound Ia
pig would have been better pleased with
PEARL from one of the young ladies; and
even box of pills, with pious hope that
they would do dearest uncle good" from the
very smallest Graspall
What dsliked most ia the old gentleman
was his chuckling over these presents, and
turning into ridicule their unfortunate donors:
but besides his behavior in this respect, Uncle
Trotter was quite unbearable. In the first
place, his habits were so unpleasant that,
rather than have him live with us, | would
have preferred that Consin Dicks terrier
should have occupied our Spare Room for a
permanency, and even brought up there that
family of puppies for whose arrival | was in
agonised expectation throughout her stay
Then the trouble he gave US was something
incredible the Spare Room bell was always
ringing, and meals being eaten there at all
hours except those at which the rest of the
household were accustomed to take them He
smoked increasingly, too, and upon one occa-
sion threatened to light his pine with the fy-