THE MAN OF MANY MOVES.

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 975, 10 August 1877, Page 3

THE MAN OF MANY MOVES.

A Tale ou Washington, by d. Yf, ClWIh, If, as (franklin in his ""Poor B*' c h ar d» says, " Three removea are ws h-'" ' ftre » my friend'Lige James h » ' fc out man m tnva tfity-

M e « WftS. \ v 'nen I fi ra t ma de his acquaint|We>, * dapper little gent, much given to *loy neckties and the latest style of shirt collar. He possessed a wife and three juvenile bonds of affection, said bonds being the perfect images of their parents, according to the undisputed testimony of different nurses who had officiated on several important occasions. This happy couple had resided up to this time with 'Lige's mother ; but in time (although that worthy lady possessed not a spark of the typical mother-in-law in her disposition) the young folks longed for a nest of their own, and the subject being duly discussed for one week, Mrs James, jun., supplying herself with numerous slips cut from the daily papers, sallied forth in search of a habitation. She visited on this occasion twenty dwellings and interviewed sixteen agents. None, h >wever, were what her fancy or the ink of the printer had painted them : spare bedrooms being mere closets; the "line yard" a receptacle for rubbish; dining-rooms proved to be kitchens, while Bidily's territory resembled the caboose of a canal boat. Some of the houses being occupied, their fair occupants evinced anything but a lively interest in. Mrs James' visits. She returned h>melate in the evening with a nervous headache, the sole result of her lirst day's experience in that exciting sport known as house-hurt ng. The following day 'Lige accompanied his spo'ise. Eschewing advertisements, they trusted to "small bills," and at length succeeded in securing a neat white frame house with the greenest of blinds and the reddist of chimneys ever seen outside of a toy village. With grandma's lndp a liheral supp y of household articles, from a dredging box to a set of parlor furniture, was provided, all in such a decided state of newIness as would have delighted the heart of an old housekeeper. * * * * Now there is an inherent prejudice existin 6 in all communities against cold water, notwithstanding its usefulness to navigators and temperance lecturers. When wc are young wo ticli stoutly agaiaat tbe daily

martyrdom of scrubbed faces, and in later years arm ourselves ■with umbrellas and overshoes to keep out the foe Thus it was that Mrs James being rudely aw kened a few mornings after moving to the new home, by a stream of water falling on her upturned face —it not only greatly exaspe rated, but caused her to give her sleeping partner a nudge, that he, too, might awake aud share her indignation. ‘ I will speak to the landlord about the leak,’ he remarked, as he kissed her on leaving for his office. ‘.Hut, dear,’ she replied, ‘the landlord assured us that the house was in perfect order, and that he should make no repairs for a year. ’ ‘Well, then! as you like the house, I suppose I must get a carpenter myself. I will attend to it to-day.’ ‘ I do not like the house well enough to be imposed on in that way, and besides that leak, there is a dreadful draught in the back mom, and so few closets that I have to keep that sweet tea set that rna’ gave me, in a box under the bed. So despite the advice of grandma, the family tents were struck the following week. ’Lige forfeiting nearly a month’s rent in order to secure a first-class residence in a very genteel neighborhood on EL. street. The morning arter their installation Ebjah was aroused by a loud ringing at the street door, and a summons from Bridget, the cook, that a buy desired to speak to him, of whom my half-awakened friend inquired his errand. ‘Oh,’replied the youngster, ‘ yer needn’t play that game on me. I am not as soft as the'last chap the boss sent fur his little bill. I thought I'd ketch you this arly, and by cum, if you don’t fork over them stamps boss will A sudden elevation of ’Lige’s foot being regarded as a hostile movement by the speaker, the sentence remained unfinished, and after several collisions with stray articles of chinaware left on the stairway during the process cf unpacking, be returned to his . room duly impressed with the financial status of his predecessor. While at breakfast the family were twice disturbed by messages relating to the former occupants of the house Biddy, visiting the corner grocery in search for eggs, returned in a rage, at an attempt made by the proprietor to ratlin the change due to her on account of some bill owing him by ‘her folks.’- Her master telling his wife to explain matters as calmly as possible, betook himself down town and was up to his eyes in business. On his return he found his wife in tears, and Biddy, in a pasdon, ready to ‘give warning.’ 4 He was informed that soon after his departure, a woman had called and demanded to see the ‘lady of the house,’ which, being granted, she had immediately proceeded to business by exclaiming, with- t out stops, 4 1 called to see you, madam, to say if you don’t keep your boy, Tom, out of our front yard I will know the reason why. He has stoned my pet cat to death, and dug up my rose bush to get the thorns to stick info Mrs Jones’s poodle’s tail, and we kev both decided to stand sich goins-on no longer.’ ‘ I told her,’ sobbed Mrs Jones, ‘that we moved here yesterday, and the baby was the only boy in the house, she looked incredulous at first, but af last apologised and left. We have had seven collectors besides other callers Inquiring for a Captain Fitz Perkins, but Biddy got rid of them some way 1 Here the boll sounded a merry peal. ‘There's another,’ groaned Mrs James. ‘ls it not dreadful ? ’ ‘Never mind,’ exclaimed her husband, 4 1 will attend to this one.’ On opening the door he encountered a strapping matron of the Celtic race, with a pair of milk cans over ho? shoulders. ‘What is your wish? 5 blandly asked my friend, who pi’ides himself on his politeness to the, weaker sex. L. (To he continued.) H