Year: 1868

To speak Of Tovey Brothers is, in fact,
to be guilty of a very unjuslitiable misrepre'
sentstion-as AS if the brothers were on an equal
footing. Whereas The title of 'Tovey and
Brother explains itself, and enobles any re-
Asctng person to understand at once that
Tovey is Tovey pure and simple the
bead of the firm. Brother though
Tovey too, is only Tovey With limitation.


When you enter their place of business,
you might wonder what it is they deal in.
A few scores Of little bottles ranged on
shelves. and filled with various colored liquids
and powders; a few scores of little polished
mahogany cases. each with its printed Latin
label-that is all.


remember that office as a model Of staid
decorum and gravity. Everything went on
as if by machinery. There was time for
every hing, and every thing done n its time.
l could have found it easy to believe the
very height Of each clerks collar was regular
ted by office bylaw. No starch has ever yet
been made, however, SO stiff that he cannot
laugh 10 it, and good deal Of quiet fun
went on amidst the monotony of business
Many joke was passed round from stool to
stool, and think | never called there once
without hearing some new wilicsm or some
latest joke of Mr.. Raspers, whose humor, |
suppose, must have depended much on mann
ner, tone aud the little accide.ts of place
which could not be rendered on paper.


Mr.. Rasper's work, and bis way OF doing it,
we're like bis conversation light aud sprigbt
ly. He moved about with an elastic quick
step as if he bad difficulty in refralning
from dancing. He adorned bis writing With
hourishes TIL it was hardly legibIe. And
when Mr.. Splutter tried to make him discon-
tiuue those embellishments be gave such
whimsical reasons for their continuance that
he always laughed the manager out of bis at.
tempt to find fault.


Mr.. Bog WAS heavy and solid. His hand
writing was as regular as engraving. His
ledger had not a blot in it from beginning TO
end. Aud when any figure in it had to be
altered it was done So neatly AS to be almost
an improvement. He was ploddiDg, thor
ougbly reliable man, and be bad never been
known ty any one in the office to make
joke and had not often, they said, teen made
10 comprehend one. Mr. Rasper never made
anything else, and saw them where Others
intended no such thing. Mr.. Bog made up,
however, for his dullness by the frankness
with which he admitted it, and by his invari
able good temper. II was quite impossible
to put him out, and when the suspicio" came
across nm As II did now and then, that Ras
per had been hammering at him for an nour
or more, be bore no malice.


There Was, however, one matter in which
all in The office concurred that they bad a
right TO tind fault with Bog. He was unmar
rid, and all the rest were married men. And
on this shorlcoming one and all were deter
mined that he should have no peace. Not
day passed but some new hypothesis was
started as to the reason Of his continuing
bachelor; not day without some new name
being suggested 10 bm as that Of lady
with whom be yet might have chance. TO
all Of which suggestions Mr.. Bog persistent
Iy and good naluredly turned a deaf ear. A
respite came to him twice a year from all
this worrying


Twice year Mr.. Bog went on bis travels,
for about month at Il timo. For it was The
custom Of the house to let their travelling be
done by their clerks, instead of keeping trav'
elers TO do nothing else. In this way one or
two OF them were always out, and all OF them
in turn had pleasant relief from the mono
tony of office life.


Now Bog Mr.. Rasper would say, you
must try and manage it this journey. Rep.
resent your cause once more to that Leicester
girl, and perhaps she'll change her mind
1t was one of Mr.. Rsaper's friendly assumpt'
ions that MIR. Bog bad been rejected in every
town he went to, and Leicester being in his
round, it was usually the Leicester girl who
was recommended for second trial.


And thus the joke was repeated year after
year, till at last Mr.. Bog's case came to be
considered by all so thoroughly hopeless that
if be had come down some morning in
pink vest and lemon coored tights no one
would have thought it half so surprising as
that be should really take Mr.. Rasper's advice.


Let the reader Judge therefore, for himself
with what effect this bomb-shel fell in the
office four days after Mr.. Bog was supposed
to have started on one Of bis journeys. The
missile came by post, in the shape Of news
paper addressed to Mr.. Rasper. 1t was
provincial paper, not from Leicester, but from
city in quite another quarter.


Mr.. Rasper had unfolded it and looked it
carelessIy OVERHEAD read several items of lo'
cal news, town council squabbles, work house
board meetings, and other matters in which
he took not the slightest interest, and was
about to toss it into the waste basket, when
bis eyec aught sight of couple of crosses
evidently made for the purpose Of attracting
attention.


But even then be did not at once bit the
right column. "Huntiug fixtures for next
week what 90 earth do care about them !
hops two pounds cwt. higbsr;' we'll, if
they don't raise beer it doesn't matter to me.
What does the old goose mean by marking
these9'


At last, however, be did find it, and was
struck for moment speecbess.


We'll, by Jove,' be said at last. this is
something. But don't believe it. Here's
Bog gone and put a notice in the paper to
make US believe be hasgot married. Listen,