Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1884-12-24

"You SEQ, have q good-heartcd old
uncle who has taken 1t into his head TO
send me parlor set" etc, etc. Thus
L ran on in my folly.
We were up for an early breakfast,
after which flew in fast haste TO the
Office. l laid hold of Sam, who does
the draying for our house, thrust S4.85
into his hand to pay the charges, and
directed him TO proceed ut once to the
freight department OF the G. d nj. IL
was very busy morning with me;
there were thousand and one things
pressing for immediate attention; IL
was out of the question to think of GO
ing home before dinner. But what can
a man do with an inheritance of six
hundred pounds resting on his mind!
/ added a column of figures and, being
conscious of slight wandering OF
thought. went down the column for
test AS the result was different, /
climbed the ladder again, only to light
upon third value; and then down
down again, only to find a fourth. Oh,
shocking! resorted to the backing
brush and applied it to my boots vigor-
ously for ten minutes. 1t is u capital
remedy for nervousness when one
hasn't the time for ride or walk.
But the mental disturbance of this
morning was out of the reach of boot
backing. So l took my hat and
pressed holly for home. wished TO
reach home before the goods arrived.
In this | was successful. / found my
wife posted at front window, and
there l also took my stand. We waited
for half-hour, very cheerful, very hap
py, and as serene as eager expectancy
would permit.
At length--at length-there was the
rumbling and heavy grating of slow
wheels on the stone pavement. We
crooked our heads out OF the window
and caught the first possible glimpse of
the horses noses and then their full
lengths as they turned the corner. And
there was Sam, Enthusiastically Sam.
"Oh, well, wife," L said, ''let us not be
childish" So we took in our heads,
but stood watching just within. | say
we stood watching, for we could not
for some moments do otherwise than
stand and watch. We could not look
ut each other, but stood mute and mo-
tionless, our eyes fixed intently on that
vehicle and its contents. My throat
began to swell. Then came hot surge
rising at my cheeks and temples and
creeping through the roots of my hair,
down the back of my neck, down,
down, to my heels-to my toes; and
then another hot surge, and then an
other, while the perspiration flowed
freely. Oh, it was painful! And that
Il hot 1.ar 7 m
thrown down his lines, sat on the end
of the high seat with his feet hanging
over the wheel, while with his whip he
cut off the leaves of weed that grew
by the curbing; at the same time his
face beamed with malicious mirth.
Now and then he stole a furtivo glance
at the wares behind him and then went
on cutting the weed, his face wearing
alternately smile and squint OF in-
terrogation. OF course, bolted out
upon the porch. AS shut the door l
heard one of the upstairs shutters on
Clara's side close gently.
"Well," said Sam, with a painful
effort to compose his features, al guess
there must be something wrong about
this"
Take the stuff around by the back
alley" shouted, hoarsely. l slipped
through the house, and noticed on my
way that my wife, who had recovered
from her modification and disappoint-
ment, had dropped down in corner
and was laughing Historically. / was
provoked enough, but my chagrin gave
way to smile rs l met Sam at the back
gate. A smile was all that was needed
to touch him off. He fairly roarcd.
And, as abominable luck would have it,
that alley was full of people my neigh
bors-going and coming have never
seen sucn concourse of people in that
alley, before or since. Boys climbed
over fences and ranged themselves
about, girls peered through chinks and
whispered TO one another, and toddling
infants cried to be lifted to some place
of vantage.
Yes, there was something wrong"
Contrary to my wife's expectations
there was kitchen-stove. And the
kitchen-stove had been used; in evil
dence of which, there were elaborate
frescoes of grease ranging in more or
less detached flakes around the oven
doors and on the edges of the hearth
tuu ulOnS buc oNcildppiuS hhalS ih vi
the top. There was bundle contain
ing two or three joints of pipe whose
ends were raveled by rust and wear.
And there were chairs, several OF them;
none of your elicminatc rockers, but
serviceable concerns, built to stand firm
ly on four legs; not plush, no; not cane.
seat; not walnut; but sound, straight
grained, poplar, splint- In
the obscure hooks of each chair there
were the tell-tale "reminiscences OF the
pride of other days-paint bat for the
most part the surface was classically
nude. Bedroom furniturep Yes, in
deed ut least bedstead. The artist
had designed this latter article as II
companion piece for the chairs; and as
far rs harmony of style went his design
was n success. We can lump off the
rest of the six hundred pounds in this
way: sewing-machine without cover
and broken treadle, kitchen-table
with game leg and warped top, an
open crate of pans, and pots, and
kettles, suggesting alike to optic and to
olfactory nerves the frizzling of
sausage and salt pork and whatsoever
is greasy and maketh lasting stencil.
Yes, there was some mistake-same
name. looked at the postal again
and noted for the Est time that there
was no number given in the address.
AT this juncture the real owner of the
o.ondo droxa In tho olloy apd cla in, cd