THE AGED TRAMP.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 867, 10 January 1878, Page 2

THE AGED TRAMP.

The lady of a Co'tage Hill house, the nurse gii-J, and cook, held a brief consultation, and concluded that an old man whose toes «.tuck out of his boots, and the crown of whose summer hat was held by a hinije of straw, and fla -pod up and . down in the wind, disclosing the fact that tin aged weirer wearer was yeiy, qry bald must be really worthy, aq4 thej invjted &ja> to a

fas was being preptirto* "-^he frA* jrance of the frying paii revived the> drooping spirits, of .the agedlranofy anl aiilock&l his streams of convert sntiou which the cold charities of the world hud froe-n up. Tilting' his chair back upon the wall, he said :— * Tlie, j &sfya^--&jft ,,P^ Regions appear' tt) get arong^righfc eiliok. Everywhere I haVe been things look comfortable and homelike, aod biiainesi se^nw'r to be orowding rigttt ahead.' With thin as a starter, the old man carried the conversation through State and national politics, religion, literature, &c. * I like my meattwfell done/ he suggested to the cook, who, he observed was preparing to lift his steak from itbe stove }' and that reminds me,' he w"ent brt, / that the' Russians are pursuing, an under 7 done, wishy-washy course on the ; banks of the Danube.' He tightened the cord tfcat^held his coat together in lieu of buttons, flapped an ear to unseat a troublesome fly,: and continued : — * Dog my cats if it doesn't make me i»bout half mad at the Czar. If I Had command of that arinyy do yojtt know, what. l witftto 4^ and he shut <bne eye and jflAfei^^lje ja^, J^^|piiß ; e.M inquiringly as a catechism. ' No one seemed .to'Unbw, % •!' would push' right • across,' . exclaimed . the old man, striking the sinjk with his fist, 'and it I wouldn't make them greasy Turks hunt . their' boles, there's no h« reafter. All it requires is a pontoon bridge and- a; Uttle. git up imd so 'long Mary Jane His breakfast was ready, and thrusting his legs under the table, frith the air of a man who had jus^t Bought the house and lot and paid tile mone) down, he harpooned a rpajit potato and continued :— 1 OIA itdp&Udgbi fetchit, who. has command of the Russian Zouaves, is in the best position in the world to skip figtit along. into Constantinople and t^ke possession of the court Honfle. I wonld do. it— l «wear to gracious I would do it,' and he reached out ami captared a hard boiljpd eg^ /l would do it bo quick ii would make^ their everlasting heads swim, llien I would take a run across the Mediterannean, flop down «n the Snez canal boats, tear up the toW-/ path, and take possession of thd mules. Then across the 'cpuntr/ to the Gulf of fijexico, I would Hy a? the bniricane, leaving .death and desolation in my-— pee here Susany' he said, breaking off short ajadfaddrt*st<ing 'he nurse girl, l vo tftt love ol heaven, dojs Bold the .baby with his heafife down !' Tbe old srent continued » draw in the v ctua^s like man wno hadn't tasted a bite for six months, and talking in a way to turn a book agent green with ; envy. He told the women what Congress ought to do when it meets, and, finally, shoved away from the table, wiped his lips ou the cioth, and aßked if they bad an old pair of pants tha< . wasn't bagger* at ihe knees; The pants wore bunted up and handed to him by the lady of the house, who, in tnru, asked him if he would go out into the garden patch, and kill a lew potato bugs for her. "Potato bug*," he said, "as hf gathered up hi hat and passMjto the door — " potato bugs ars fiolnething with which I have had no experifuoe. I don't know one from a jay-bird. /But a friend M mine will be along here about noon who can kill more potato bugs in a minute than you can shake a stick at. I'll leave a chalk mark on the gate-powt, and ho will call. .Ta-ta," and tne aged tramp tippec) his hail gaily and was off, his stomach sticks hy out in front of him like a bay window.—' oil Derrick.' .' . . ,