24 PASSAGE IN THE LIFE OF MR. WATKIXS TOTTLE. 



chimney, the bottom of which was nailed up, and the top of which 

 had been formerly raised some fifteen feet, to prevent the smoke from 

 annoying the neighbours. And there/' added Mr. Gabriel Parsons, 

 as he passed the bottle " there I remained till half-past seven o'clock 

 next morning, when the housemaid's sweetheart, who was a carpenter, 

 unshelled me. The old dog had nailed me up so securely, that, to 

 this very hour, I firmly believe no one but a carpenter could ever have 

 got me out." 



" And what did Mrs. Parsons's father say, when he found you were 

 married ?" enquired Watkins Tottle, who, although he never saw a 

 joke, was not satisfied unless he heard a story to the very end. 



" Why, the affair of the chimney so tickled his fancy that he par- 

 doned us off-hand, and allowed us something to live upon, till he went 

 the way of all flesh. I spent the next night in his second-floor front 

 much more comfortably than I did the preceding one ; for, as you 



will probably guess " 



" Please Sir, missis has made tea," said a middle-aged female ser- 

 vant, bobbing into the room. 



ff That's the very housemaid that figures in my story," said Mr. 

 Gabriel Parsons. <{ She went into Fanny's service when we were first 

 married, and has been with us ever since ; but I don't think she has 

 felt one atom of respect for me since the morning she saw me re- 

 leased, when she went into violent laughing hysterics, to which she 

 has been subject ever since. Now, shall we join the ladies ?" 

 " If you please," said Mr. Watkins Tottle. 



" By all means," added the obsequious Mr. Timson ; and the trio 

 made for the drawing-room accordingly. 



Tea being concluded, and the toast and cups having been duly 

 handed, and occasionally upset, by Mr. Watkins Tottle, a rubber was 

 proposed' They cut for partners Mr. and Mrs. Parsons ; and Mr. 

 Watkins Tottle and Miss Lillerton. Mr. Timson being a clergyman, 

 and having conscientious scruples on the subject of card-playing, 

 drank brandy-and-water, and kept up a running spar with Mr. 

 Watkins Tottle. The evening went off well ; Mr. Watkins Tottle 

 was in high spirits, having some reason to be gratified with his recep- 

 tion by Miss Lillerton ; and before he left, a small party was made 

 up to visit the Beulah Spa on the following Saturday. 



" It's all right I think," said Mr. Gabriel Parsons to Mr. Watkins 

 Tottle, as he opened the garden-gate for him. 



" I hope so," he replied, squeezing his friend's hand. 

 " You'll be down by the first coach on Saturday," said Mr. Gabriel 

 Parsons. 



Certainly," replied Mr. Watkins Tottle. " Undoubtedly." 

 But fortune had decreed that Mr. Watkins Tottle should not be 

 down by the first coach on Saturday. His adventares on that day, 

 however, and the success of his wooing, are subjects which must be 

 reserved for another chapter. BOZ. 



