370 SKETCHES IN PKOSE. 



My first thought was of them ; but a search for thera told me 

 they were gone. On looking at the hat-rack in the hail, a 

 new silk hat and an overcoat, with some business papers in it, 

 were also found missing. Calling up my startled family and 

 telling them the news, we were soon busily engaged, with rue- 

 ful aspects, albeit, in ascertaining the damage done by our 

 tramp, which were annoying if not serious. The pair of boots 

 the Signor Vermi Celli had worn, which had made night 

 hideous with their Stygian aroma, and which still lent a 

 gamey flavor to the tobacco-scented room, were found inserted 

 in the legs of the dummy, and in their stead he had taken a 

 pair of my French calf-skins. Our three children each had 

 one of those respectable begging machines called " money- 

 banks " sitting on the mantel, all of which had been well tilled 

 by considerate friends, but they were now found empty. On 

 learning this our offspring howled like Rome. A sponge cake 

 which had been expressly made for some company we were 

 expecting next day had been taken, and the stand drawers 

 rummaged. Wishing to know no more at present I rushed 

 away from the harrowing scene to see if I could learn any- 

 thing of the whereabouts of the Signor. An hour's search 

 around the village amounted to nothing ; my inquiries being 

 generally met with such unsympathizing remarks as " You 

 might have known better," or, " It served you right." I, how- 

 ever, learned that a through freight train that passed by our 

 village at an early hour in the morning had stopped to drop 

 a car, and this I felt sure had been the means of my tramp's 

 escape. On arriving home I found a far more cheerful feeling 

 prevailing there than I could have expected. The donation of 

 the coveted silk dress, if she would only stay, had exorcised the 

 " laving" demon from Bridget's soul, and she was now merrily 

 rotating the handle of the coffee-mill. My wife, with an I- 

 told-you-so air, was getting breakfast with a cheerfulness of 

 manner which could only be accounted for by the fact that 



