Year: 1878

shabby genteel parsonage, drawing me
aside by the coat button. 81 am an at
| torney and counsellor at law; but bust
! ness is poor here. By the way, l ought
to mention that | have always worked
hard for the party, and never dreamed oi
asking anything. Anybody will tell you
so. But what | was going to ask you
was, whether, if l come down your way,
there would be any chance of my getting
an Office? | wouldn't think Of such a
thing if it wasn't for my straitened cir
cumstances. There really don't seem to
be nothing for me to do up here"


Ali thought I, he is thinking of going
to New York to practice, and wants to
know about renting an office there. So |
told him: Certainly, he would have no
difficulty in getting one, though it was
rather late in the season.


Eyes, | know that" said he; Il ought
| to have been on hand on the 4th of
March. But you really think l could do
something in that way? And about how
much do you think it would be worth?"
told him there was great difference
in the rents, that they ranged from fifty
dollars up to five hundred, and even eight
hundred, or nine hundred dollars


Eyes, so l supposed, by what seen
about 'em in the blue book One of
them eight hundred dollar ones would be
just the thing for me-.


could not help thinking it would be a
long time before he would do business
enough to warrant him in renting an
eight hundred dollar Office. But before
the colloquy proceeded further, it was
broken off by the landlord s bringing the
information that it only wanted fifteen
minutes of the time for the down train,
and that ''they were waiting to escort me
to the cars. -


Having by this time come to the con-
clusion that Smithburgh was one vast
asylum and all its population lunatics, I
submitted resignedly to the programme
that appeared to be marked out for me-
| walked out, the crowd within respect
fully following, and the crowd without
cheering voclferously as l made my ap-
pearance.


Captain O'Flynn's Smithburgh Guards
were drawn up in line before the door,
in their gorgeous uniform of yellow
coats with green facings, and blue panta-
looms with red stripe down the side, and
were standing in obedience to the order,
present arms!" They wheeled into
marching order; the drum and fife struck
up ''Hail Columbia;" General Smith took
me by the arm; the other two committee
men divided between them the honor of
carrying my carpet bag; the citizens
paired off by twos behind us, and away
we marched to the railroad station, a
crowd lining the sidewalks, ''the ladies"
thronging the windows and waving white
handkerchiefs; the crowd cheering; the
dogs barking; the little boys with sticks
and paper caps marching alongside, and
General Smith. all the way, pouring into
my ears the deep gratitude of the town
for the visit, the equally deep regret that
they had not had time to get up more
beftting celebration" and urgent en-
treaties that l would repeat the visit
"when Congress adjourned.


Arrived at the cars just in season,
parted from my hospitable friends on the
platform, with more hand shakings, and
a whispered entreaty Of Don't forget
the Office from my shabby genteel
friend; and as the train moved off, nine
stentorian cheers from the assembled
gathering actually drowned the locomo-
tive's whistle.


had become so used to adulation and
admiration by my mornings experience,
that l half-expected to be greeted with
similar demonstrations aboard the train;
and half wondered whether the city bells
would strike up peal of welcome in
honor of my return, and whether |
should find the Common Council and
General Sandford with the First Brigade
of N. Y. S. NJ, waiting at the depot to
escort me to the City Hall.


Nothing of the sort transpired, how
ever. Nobody took any particular notice
off of it. | had quite sunk into my origi
nal insignifcance.


walked home to my lodgings without
exciting any attention in the streets
Reaching there, 1 pulled off my new
boots, which had proved rather tight, and
sat down in easy slippers to rest and cogi-
tate upon my singular adventures.


Some writing on the inside of the
lining of one of the boots attracted my
notice. took it up and read, in large
round hand, 'FrGnk5in Pierce


The mystery was explained! In hastily
purchasing ready-made boots, l had
bought pair made for the President.
When l set them out over night to be
BACKED at the 'tSmithburgh Hotel" the
waiter had read the name, and communi
Gated the important secret to the land
lord, from whom it had spread like wild
fire through the town. had been pass
ing with the Smithburghers for President
Pierce


have not ventured to show myself in
Smithburgh since. have never heard of
General Pierce's going there either, so l
suppose they are not undeceived to this
day.