Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1871-08-17

Ell sEoEGE L cATLN.


; ner day, not mary years sgo, me dAlll
aail coach came down the shE3eo stree
Of the ouie. village Of W, on it, We.
TO the old fashioned hosiery Standing 3
The cross roads IN the centre Of the town
where sign, swinging 10 the wind sn
aoupcsd entertainment for nan aud beast
snd WHERE. In fact, for al travellers IL tina
r1asil coach the days journey ended Tb,
day had been q ulegclisss v warm one n.
asss, IN great clouds, rolled up from ths
wheels, the driver sal begrined and coat
less on his box, and the lsdsc animals
barely kept up 81 gait faster than q
yak by the consciousness of their near
approach 20 the nights resting place. Not
unpleasant, either, IVES the contrast which
he dasty vehicle with It's occupants pre-.
nted 70 the cool quiet Of the sidewalks
and veranGas which il passed on tie lazy
journey down the shaded thoroug bizarre.
Bareheaded urchins ST uron the grassy
1 banks, or tossed their hats aloit in vel
come. Bevies Of laughing, fair haired
I children fitted By, while within the white
/ palings which lined the street could be
seen, seated here and there in the shadows,
( happy family groups, delightfully."- sug-
gestiye Of refreshing GOODNESS and COM
1 tort
SO, al any rate, thought the solitary
/ passenger whom on that particular even
I Ing the mail coach brought 10 W. He
! had been riding ell day, had travelled for
! several days previous, be said, and gas
/ not bit sOrry ~ near the end Of his Journey.
! A rsther singular looking old gentleman
! be was, too, at first sight, not at all such
one as you would single out in crowd 10
ask for either sympathy or assistance. His
! face had worn and forbidding look ~
| the casual observer, bis dress vas pl1ln,
rather inclined to see5iness even, and,
| when he spoke, his voice was quick and
| testy, like that OF man who had battled all
| his life with care and anxiety, add had
| learned " ask no odds but those which his
| own energies and exertions gave him
| Good natured Boggs, the driver, who in
| bis decade Of stage-coach e1ister &C had
made study Of human nature in all its
| phases, had male up his mind pretty
early in the day that his solitary passenger
WAS not man to be easily cultivated. All
efforts 10 draw him into conversation had
proved futile. And yet, thought Boggs,
there's something kind and good behind
that grabbed face and short answers, I'll
be bound"
He made final and partially successful
eff 1rts, however, as they Leared the vii
age.
ever in W before, sir ?" he asked
Yes--yes-but q long time ago. Has
the place changed much 2"
Precious little, to my knowledge, for
twenty years back" answered Boggs
Twenty It's twice that since was
here" said the stranger
Mere boy, then, s'pose," continued
Boggs.
"Yes, quite youngster when left the
place" was the reply; and then the two
mad relapsed into silence
And now as they passed on through the
twilight shadows toward the village center,
the old gentleman pecred eagerly out, now
on this side, now on that, now gazing
closely at some one or another OF the gaunt
old dwellings EMPOWERED in flowers by the
roadside, now leaning forward as some
brook, or tree, or other familiar landmark
came back TO his memory. And so, as he
looked and pondered, the vehicle came TO
a halt before the tavern door, and the jour
ncy was over.
The old man-for he did seem old, as
with his short, bent figure, and limping
gait, he shuffled up the hotel steps, and
across the sanded foor-gave some direc-
ions about his baggage-which consisted
of small superannuated trunk, and car
pet.bag which had seen Its best days long
ago-inquired In sharp, ftful way where
the proprietor was, and upon that in
diyidual making his appearance, in the
form, not Of the conventional rubicund
visaged Boniface, but Of demure, sober.
faced man, whose lethargic movements
aud resigned expression IF countenance
vad xHtn utt mi Ia
scended to make his earthly home and to
keep hotel in W because he couldn't
do any better, propounded in rapid mono
sylablcs the inquiry whether he had any
comfortable rooms vacant.
"Doyou simply want lodging over night,
sir" meekly inquired the host.
"No, SIR was the reply; "a week, two
weeks, a month, or two perhaps"
A momentary CLEAN Of the sordid seem
ed TO overcome the submjs sive in the inn
keepers countenance, bat IL quickly faded
away again, as its owner said, Il trust we
shall be able to accommodate you, sir.
Please register you name
The stranger glanced over the pages Of
the book before him. Not an arrival that
day none the day before--in fact, only
two for week back. To this beggarly
record Of guests, he added his signature,
scrawlng in little, driedup characters,
which looked for all the world like him
self, the inexpensive name, John Fhomp'
son, New Orleans"
The old gentleman was fatigued, and
after little repast, all to himself, in the
DINING room, was shown up to his apart.
ment, corner bed chamber, gorgeou ly
stiff and cool with its white curtains
snowy bod.spread, and straight backed
chairs. The window fastening were, rs is
usual IN rural taverns, all out of order,
aud the simple country maid Of all work,
who innocently held her ear to the key
hole, after bidding the guest good
night heard Mr. Thompson Tuning and
freting AZ he wrestled with the refractory
catches, until finally the sashes went up,
the blinds were flung open, and the opera
ton eliminated in an emphatic grunt
about equally made up of disgust and sat
isiaction Meanwhile the loungers down
stairs were airing all sorts of random
speculations as to the character and de-
signs Of the new comer-speculations
which necessarily were Of a most unsatis-
factory nature, in view of the limited in
formation TO be extracted from the taeiturn
Boggs and the almost illegible scrawl on
the register.
JS,,t co,,id tbeyy n va know N tina thou phta