Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1881-08-10

deepest tone (aunt has rather bas:
voice. to "leave the roOm-instantly ,
But in a short time, during which
things had been getting worse and worse
and we had been reduced to rice pud.
dings for dessert on weekdays and ap.
pie tarts on Sundays, [ was allowed tc
prepare an advertisement for the morn.
ings paper, in which was offered to "an
elderly gentleman, who must have ex-
ceIlent references, fine room in the
house of family OF refinement, who
had never before taken ledger, for the
privilege of occupying which he would
be expected to pay liberal equivalent. -
I disapproved highly of the wording
of this call for help, but my aunt and
cousins insisted upon it's being couched
in these very terms, and 80 I was com
PEELED to yield, inwardly convinced that
it would bring no reply.
But it did. The very afternoon of the
morning it appeared, carriage with q
trunk strapped on behind drove up to
our door. An old gentleman got out,
hobbled up our steps, and rang our
door-bell.
"You must see him Dorothea," said
my aunt, leaving the parlor, followed by
a train of her children. eft is your
affair altogether. I will have nothing to
do with it."
eve none of us will have anything
to do with it," chimed in my cousins
"We were not born with the souls of
lodging house-l,eepers;" and away they
sailed as I opened the door to the second
"a little louder than the first-ring of
the caller.
He was a short, slightly formed old
gentleman, with big bright black eyes,
bushy white eyebrows, and long white
mustache and bearl.
You have a room to let?" he asked.
/ have" I answered, ushering him
into the parlor, where he glanced keen
ly around, and then as keenly into my
face, while he announced in q decisive
tone:
81 have come to take it. My luggage
is at the door. Be so kind as to tell me
where to direct the man to carry it."
"But u began, in a hesitating way,
utterly confused by the strangers
brusque, not to say high-handed man.
ner.
"'But me no buts," quoted the old
gentleman. 8" I am Amos Griffin, lately
from England, where [ have been living
for the last twenty years. Since 1 land
ed In New York, month ago to-day,
have been boarding at the st. Nicholas.
But where's your mother ?"
[ fastened to assure him that was
empowered to negotiate with him.
"Ah, indeed Well, then, I'll go on,
though it strikes me that you are rather
young for the business. You 'have
never taken a ledger before I am glad
of it, for reasons which it is not neces-
sary to explain. You want liberal
equivalent for your fine room; I am
prepared to give it. That leaves only
one thing to be arranged should like
my breakfast at 8 precisely every morn
ing"
But we do not propose to give break
fast"
o" [ know you didn't; but I'll give you
another liberal equivalent for it. You
can't be very well off, or you wouldn't
take ledger; and the more liberal
equivalents you can get from him, the
better. Will you be kind enough to
show me to my room ?"
eyes, sir [ replied, meekly COM
pletely succumbing to the big black
eyes and strong will-power of the frail-
looking old man, and totally forgetting
to ask for the references" insisted up
on In the advertisement. Whereupon
he stepped to the front door, and beckon-
ed to the man outside, who, taking the
trunk upon his back, followed him, as he
followed me, to the second-story front
room.
"Ah," said our lodger, as he entered
the room, "this is not bad-not at all
bad"
And it wasn't. As I have said before,
it was the pleasantestr room in the house,
and [ had arranged it as prettily as [
could with the means at my command.
Fortunately, these included number of
nice engravings and vases, and a capa-
cious bamboo chair with crimson cush-
ion, and footstool of like color. And the
fragrance of the honeysuckles that stole
in at the window from the balcony, and
the two or three sunbeams that found
their way through the half-closed blinds,
and danced in triumph on the walls, and
the half-dozen gayly- bound books (mine)
on the mantle, and the ivy growing from
a red pot on the bracket in one corner,
all combined to bake the room pleas
ant place; indeed.
Mr.. Griffin had been our lodger ex-
actly two years, during which I had pre-
pared and superintendent the serving of
his breakfasts, and taken entire charge
of his room, ''as well as though [ had
been brought up to that sort of thing, p"
as my cousin Cleanthe remarked, and
the rest of the family with the exception
OF uncle, who became quite friendly with
him, had only met him some dozen
times-at which time they assumed their
most dignifed dignity-when he was
taken sick.
cts an old complaint, which will
carry me off some time," said he to me;
" but [ hope not this time. Anyhow,
little Honesty" Ga name he had given
me from the irst-I hope I deserved)
live OF die, [ intend to remain here.
Nowhere else could I be as comfortable.
You must engage an extra servant, and
you and she together must nurse me. l