The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1888-08-03
Van Deckerlnanns Bargain.
By M. THEED.

II was through the children first became
acquainted with Mr.. Van Deckermann. They
were pretty little tots then, the two Of them,
and had such friendly ways with them that
il would not have surprised any one,
imagine, chat they should attract where their
elders seemed rather to repel; but my wife
and were nevertheless conscious of GER
tain feeling of triumph when we first saw
them in animated conversation with the
funny old gentleman, about whom people
knew so little and specialized SO much.
We were living at that time in q small
house in one of those old fashioned suburbs,
whence the city is easiest of access, even the
omnibus fare to and fro being matter Of
consideration to us, and we knew as little Of
our neighbors as most people even in London
We were very happy, all the same,
being fully occupied-I on the city tread
mill which am working still, with this diff
ference, that l am better paid for it-Mary
looking after the house and children, and
keeping both after such fashion that in our
poorest days it was a pride and pleasure to
come home to them.
"You are the luckiest man I know" Mr..
Van Deckermann said to me once--"or have
known" he said, correcting himself. ITO
which, indeed, judging from our observa-
ton, was true enough.
Nobody seemed to know him to speak to,
but everybody in the neighborhood must
have known him by sight, for he was to be
seen daily, summer and winter, taking the
same monotonous walk, and dressed in the
same odd fashion, in brown coat cut in the
style of at least fifty years before, with brass
I,,ttopc ond a vida hri N, mod hot bapaotb
which he wore the most transparent impost-
ure, in the shape of wig with which have
ever come in contact. 1t was in great measure
the contrast between this, which was of a
somewhat lively brown, and the iron gray of
his bushy eyebrows which conduced to the
oddly of his appearance. His eyes were the
only striking feature in his face, being dark,
prominent and piercing, and the skin was
network of wrinkles on parchment, but no
one who had seen his countenance light up as
saw it that Sunday evening, at the innocent
prattle of the children, would have received
other than pleasant impression of the little
old man.
We had come upon the trio rather sud-
denly, Mary and l, and had the reluctance
to speak upon either side been ever so strong,
it must in common courtesy have been over
COlle. we eACudHScu SiectiiiSsdCeoluluS
and from that day forth the acquaint-
ance thus inaugurated ripened steadily
into an intimacy, in the course
of which l arrived at these primary facts
concerning Mr. Van Deckermann He was,
as his name indicated, of Dutch extraction,
he had no occupation, and he lived, and had
lived for years, in house which would have
contained three of mine, in the most expen-
sive situation thereabouts. What he wanted,
or ever had wanted, being bachelor, with
a residence of such dimensions it would not
have been easy to determine-the less SO that
he saw no company, and that the establish
ment was restricted to two old servants
like himself English by birth and breeding,
but of foreign origin-with sort of ''slavey,"
upon whom doubtless devolved the giants
share of such work as there was to do, under
them.