The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1875-06-16
MIR. rOLY'S LOVE AFFAIR.

/ April evening with OaSheI on MS III III
/ To be sure. he admitted himself with {
latch-kev, after the manner of the gen
tlcman of Mrs. Skipwelfs establishment
/ but before diuner-time the rumor haC
circled swiftly from floor to tlooor Of No
l9- Place that Mr.. Toly had beer
seen carrying basket as If it contained
eggs. o,
dered Hiss Walker, the dre.s-maker, Il
she consulted the cracked mirror of he
tiny room above stairs in nutter of ex
pectation.
No. l9- Place was large, old
fashioned house, located in the unpopu'
lar quarter long known as "down town.
In its faded splendor the mansion seemed
to scorn its small brick neighbors, rs 4
| il were a sort of reduced gentlewoman
| of a house, and would not associate, even
in poverty, with trades-people.
Mr.. Toiy, with manner evincing SUR
messed excitement, went to his room, his
stems precise and giugerlv, deposited its
contents on the table, rubbed his hands,
and looked about hun. He occupied one
! of the parlors, which had n ceiling ella
torateiy gilded, the walls paneled in sea-
Green, and the chimney piece so eXquis-
/ Itcly wrought that the marble seemed
deep unfolding flowers of snow. The
/ effect of this elegance was somewhat
marred by the prominence OF Il battered
wash.Stand and rusty pair of tongs;
but Mr.. Toly, whose temperament was
poetical. strove desperately to keep up
appearances by imprsoning his bed in Il
"Plimpton" case and banishing his boots
To a cavernous and mouldy wardrobe.
Often did he sit in reverie before the
fire, with his pipe, wondering II the
people who once thronged these rooms in
aayctv and life had passed away, and if
the mouse were not still eloquent with
some faint pulsation Of their presence.
Spch old homes, deserted and forgotten
! by the children, are like the graves OF
the parent builders. Mr.. Toly htted
from the basket rosebush in full bloom
and placed it on the stand with other
. plants in the window. Having per
formed this feat, he stepped back, folded
| his arms, put his head on one side, and
! calculated, Perfect
This stand of flowers in Mr.. Toly
dominlons had deep significance. a
pair of bright eyes had lured him from
The purchase Of one tuchsia to three pots
OF hclotrope, and thence into reckless
indulgence in japonicas and cam
elias, until the apex of ms
folly was reached in tins final tea
rose. According to the scale Of Mrs
Skipwclrs household, Mr.. Toly was well
To do: he was an agent for steel pens;
but to his own conscience and the florist
alone wa, known the chasm in his tnan'
ces made by the flower stand. The
Horist-miscrcant that he was!-laughed
in his sleeve, and wovc Il trap of maiden
hair for Mr.. Toly's feet on his next
visit.
Satisfied ut last with his exertions, Mr.
Toly surveyed himself in the chcval
g.ass. A small, thin form, sallow com
plexion, hair and mustache Of that
raven's-wing black suggestive Of Mrs
Aliens Restorer, and primly neat COS
tune. This was the Mr.. Toly who an
swcred the summons of the bell and en-
tered the dning-room.
Here were gathered fellow bOarders,
portion Of that great army that yearly
changes its camping grounds, marching
through miles of brick and mortar il
vain search of domestic comfort, to,
often with muskets reversed over dead
hopes OF discoverirc households
which do not diss, w. on the
lst of May. On each T; ee was legibly
imprinted the canker blight, al board.
At the head Of the table sat Mrs
Skipwell, somewhat trayed and hy-away
rs to dress, with distracted gaze, and Il
high forehead. She was supposed to
possess the clairvoyant power which she
had not leisure to cultivate as a branch
of education; but if household emer-
gency required Mrs. Skipwell might be
found in dark little room, with II pack
of cards spread out on the table, and a
spectral torehngcr tracing the ten of
I clubs, which meant unexpected
wealth, The ten Of clubs might
shoot like comet OF hope
across Mrs. Skipwc.ls fortune, but the
money never came. y successful land
| lady2 Hardly that; for what with the
/ business failures of Mr.. Skipwell, the
non-payment of trusted boarders, and
the necessities of large family, Mr..
Skipwell had been "forecloScd aud sold
out so many times that she bore these
dlSagrecable processes with cummendable
equanimitv. There was remote country
town from whence sWarmed nephews
and nieceS lnnumerable, and she receiv-
I'd them a! with uuyarying hospitality.
Indeed 1t seemed AS If the Skipwell race
issued forth, like the Goths Of old. to
found new colonies.
For the rest the landladv WAS more
popular with her boarders than with her
butcher and baker. One can not hone
to please every one. She went through
some murmured formula of wishing peo.
pIeto feel Eat home, 'althoughno one ever
did
Mr.. Toys seat was at the other end
of the long table, with Miss Walker
alert and good looking Oh his right
agd Il tail PrusSianon the left
There was q politician, to whom dinner
was matter OF Indifference, either be,
cause he had taken many "modcs;
tGUcnchcrs' on his way up town, or be-
NlN'N' it ltNtl l' Ni>CAH> hliRtNN tH'NA''Ai'
OF national greatness in u clear, metulli,
voice.
There was a General Gallinippcr
from the South, gentleman of attrac
tive qualities and an exaggerated defer
ence toward the fair sex. Mrs. Cali.
nipper and several Juvenile Gallinipper>
were waited on by sullen mulattc
girl.
There were also any number of young
clerks of buoyant disposition, who lived
up under the roof like swallows. The
dinner was dubious IN flavor, the roast
beef having first impaired its juices to
the soup, and the turkey proving a sorry
veteran. With what superiority did Mr.
Toly survey his benighted fellow,ere
atures from his own height of wisdom
He was rooted on the Graham system,
and seemed to subsist chiefly on bran