Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1895-10-20
BOWL DER'S BURGLAR.

Washington Post.
Bowlder's wife was away at the time,
and the time was night last month.
Mrs. B. was in the country, and Bowl
der, left lonely and forlorn. to look after
the house and earn money, was having
a. sad, bad time indeed.
Not that Bowlder really lacked any,
Thing. but he missed his wife. Where
before the merry prattle of his offspring
made the racket of a boiler shop, all was
solemn peace and hush. The Bowlder
mansion was like a graveyard.
Naturally Bowlder felt lonesome; and
to avoid as much as might be having
his loneliness thrust upon him by the
empty desolation Of the house, he made
it a rule during his wifes vacation not
to go home until o'clock a. m.
He was dead on his legs by that time,
as he expressed it, and went at once to
sleep, before the absence OF Mrs. b.
began to prey upon him.
ON the night, or more properly morn
ing, in question Bowlder wended home
ward at sharp 3. He had been missing
Mrs b. painfully all of the evening, ana
divers drinks These last Bowlder put
safely away within his belt. and they
cherished him and taught him resigna-
ton, and he didn'r miss his wife as much
asrhe had.
The hoary truth is that as Bowlder
drew near his home on M street he had
SO far conquered his sense of abandon
ment that he wasn't even thinking of
his wife, He was plodding along in the
middle of the street for fear OF footpads,
whom he fancied might be saunterlhg
in the shadows of the naples or curb
on either side, and was really In quite
happy, fortunate frame of mind.
As powder turned In toward his gate
he was softly repeating the lines
IT'S sweet to hear the watchdog's honest
Bay deep-mouthed welcome as we draw
near home, ,,,
IT'S sweet to know theTe Is an eye VIII
Our Coming and grow brighter when we
come.
Not that Bowlder had watchdog. hon.
est or otherwise. to bay him deep
mouthed welcome. And inasmuch as
they had discharged the exile from Erin.
who aforetime did service as the Bowlder
maid of all work when Mrs. b. took flight
for the summer. there was but slight
hope of an eye on the premises to grow
brighter when he came.
No: il was not that Bowlder was really
looking for deep-mouthed bays or bright
ening eyes; he was naturally musical and
poetical and the drinks he had corralled
had merely unlocked his nature in that
behalf Bowlder was reciting the lines
their beauty; not from the prophecy they
put forth of any meeting to which he
looked forward.
A remark which escaped Bowlder as he
climbed his steps and dexterously fitted
his night key to the day keyhole showed
this.
II ought to have stayed at hotel"
said Bowlder There's nobody here to
rake me over the Goals for it, and I'm
going to have great head on me when
wake up"
Bowlder at last by mistake got his
latch key into the keyhole to which it APP
pertaned and the door swung inward.
This was a distinct success. and Bowlder
heayed a sigh of relief This door, which
has grown singularly obdurate since Mrs.
BIS departure, had been known to hold
Bowlder at bay for twenty minutes.
Bowlder had just cast his hat on the
hall foor-he intended to hang 1t up in
the morning when he would have more
time-and had got as far on a journey I'd
the second story as one STEP when
noise In the basement dining room enlist
ed Bowider's attention.
His curiosity rather than his fears was