Year: 1869

The St Louis Press publishes the following:


Our merchant friend does business on the
Main but resides on Oliver street, somewhere
between Tenth and Twentieth That is about
as explicit as we care to be regarding locality.
He dweIls in one of two houses constituting
block so precisely similar in architecture and
build that one can be detected from the other
only by the numbers above the doors. 1t seems
that Saturday evening, after par.aking of tea,
our social merchant lett home to meet party
OF country friends at the Southern Hotel and
pass pleasant evening Workmen had been
engaged that day in repairing the water pipes
at his house, and, when he last noticed the
hose plug at the edge of the sidewalk was OPEN
During his absence however, the workmrn had
completed the job at his house, and moved
next door. When they Knocked off for the
night they left the hose plug open before the
other door, just as our merchant had noticed
the one in front of his residence


| AT the Southern, the hours sped on rosy
wings After spending an hour at De Bars
! the party visited several fashionable saloons
and then returned to the hotel, where wine was
lmblbed, jokes cracked, and songs sung until


the wee sma' hours ayant the twal' At


length, when the small hours were pealing from


the tall belfries, our friend started for his


home. ObfuScated he certainly was or he


would not have located his house by the hose
plug, Instead OF the number. His latch key
lifted the lock, the stairway was alright, even


the bedroom was in the proper location. His


wife was snOarlng, oblivious of the ills of life or


the absent husband. Noiselessly he disrobed,


quietly he slipped into bed At length, the


morning light was breaking and the lady was
the first TO awaken. Her aStouished eyes


opened on the we'll known face Of her-neigh-


bor. Being sensible woman. she did not


scream and rave, and rouse the neighborhood
and thus furnish choice morSel Of food for
: scandal. Oh, mo- she caught him by the
shoulders, and shaking him until he was fully


aroused, quietly observed:


! Mr., isn't there some mistake? Hav-
en't you got into the wrong bed p


Poor -s eyes almost popped from his
head, so greatly was he astonshed.


He commenced stammerng an apology, an
! excuse something or other, he had no idea
. what he was saying-and backed ous of the
bed.


The lady turned her face to the wall, and allow


ed him an opportunity to dress and take his de-
, parture.


She explained to him, while he was resum.


ing his clothes, that her husband was absent in
, the western part OF the State-a fact of which
he was already awars-but was TO have come
in on the morning train Of the Pacific road.
She had sat up waiting for him until long after
train time. and on his not arriving had retired
and slept unusually sound in consequence OF
her unwonted vigil After many apologies and


many expressions of his humiliation and shame
. our friend backed out of the room and house
> and entered his own domicile How he BAN
boozled his wife with story of being on the
committee for the visitation of the sick of his


lodge, and being compelled to pass night BY


the bedside of sick brother, he can tell much
better over glass of sparkling Mo>elle than We
!, can possibly write. The story is literally true
= and will be readily rect gnized by the parties tC
J it, and the small coterie of spirits who are cog
! infant OF it, and from whose jovial bantering Q
" the unlucky we gathered it from.