482 THE BOARDING-HOUSE. 



select private family, residing within ten minutes' walk of every- 

 where." Answers out of number were received, with all sorts of 

 initials; all the letters of the alphabet seemed to be seized with a 

 sudden wish to go out boarding and lodging ; voluminous was the 

 correspondence between Mrs. Tibbs and the applicants, and most 

 profound was the secresy which was to be observed. " E." did'nt 

 like this, and "I." couldn't think of putting up with that; "I. O. U." 

 didn't think the terms would suit him ; and " G. R." had never slept 

 in a French bed. The result, however, was, that three gentlemen 

 became inmates of Mrs. Tibbs' house, on terms which were ' ' agree- 

 able to all parties." In went the advertisement again, and a lady 

 with her two daughters proposed to increase not their families, but 

 Mrs. Tibbs'. 



' ' Charming woman, that Mrs. Maplesone !" said Mrs. Tibbs, as 

 she and her spouse were sitting by the fire after breakfast ; the gen- 

 tlemen having gone out on their several avocations. " Charming 

 woman, indeed !" repeated little Mrs. Tibbs, more by way of soliloquy 

 than any thing else, for she never thought of consulting her husband. 

 " And the two daughters are delightful. We must have some fish 

 te-day ; they'll join us at dinnar for the first time/' 



Mr. Tibbs placed the poker at right angles with the fire-shovel, 

 and essayed to speak, but recollected he had nothing to say. 



" The young ladies," continued Mrs. T., " have kindly volunteered 

 to bring their own piano." 



Tibbs thought of the volunteer story, but did not venture it. A 

 bright thought struck him " It's very likely," said he. 



" Pray don't lean your head against the paper," interrupted Mrs. 

 Tibbs et and don't put your feet on the steel fender ; that's worse/' 



Tibbs took his head from the paper, and his feet from the fender ; 

 and proceeded. " It's very likely one of the young ladies may set her 

 cap at young Mr. Simpson, and you know a marriage" 



" A what !" shrieked Mrs. Tibbs. Tibbs modestly repeated his 

 former suggestion. 



" I beg you won't mention such a thing," said Mrs. T. " A mar- 

 riage, indeed ! to rob me of my boarders no, not for the world/' 



Tibbs thought in his own mind that the event was by no means 

 unlikely, but as he never argued with his wife, he put a stop to the 

 dialogue, by observing it was "time to go to business." He always 

 went out at ten o'clock in the morning, and returned at five in the 

 afternoon, with an exceedingly dirty face, and smelling very mouldy. 

 Nobody knew what he was, or where he went to ; but Mrs. Tibbs used 

 to say with an air of great importance, that he was engaged in the 

 City. 



The Miss Maplesones and their accomplished parent arrived in the 

 course of the afternoon in a hackney-coach, and accompanied by a 

 most astonishing number of packages. Trunks, bonnet-boxes, muff- 

 boxes, parasols, guitar-cases ; and parcels of all imaginable shapes, 

 done up in brown paper, and fastened with pins, filled the passage. 

 Then there was such running up and down with the luggage, such 

 scampering for warm water for the ladies to wash in, and such a bustle, 

 and confusion, and heating of servants and curling-irons, as had never 



