EXPERIENCES OF MR. STALE. 
^roductiye of unpleasant results. What if ho should feel 
deeply offended and aggrieved, and give fifteen days’ 
notice to leave, should declare that it was far beneath 
his dignity to remain with a master who prepared 
his own coffee ? But Mr. Stale speedily dismissed th if 
unpleasant prospective feature of the case from his 
mind, with the mental remark that no great or im- 
portant object in life could ever be attained, or ob- 
tained, if we were to be always held in restraint by 
some counteracting disadvantages, which might after 
all never happen, and even if they did, very likely 
W'ould not be so bad in their results as the antici- 
pations would have one believe. Wbat if the boy did 
go away? Why there were plenty more, and even 
suppose he was left without any servant at all for a 
time, he would not starve, for a man who could, make 
his own coffee would be quite fit and able to boil his 
own rice too if it came to a pinch ! Yes ; his mind 
was made up *; he would have a fire place and ehim- 
ney, and he would make it cheaply too, for a whole 
lot of sticks had. been thrown out into the back ravine, 
behind the house, surplus of what had been used in 
its erection, and which otherwise would just go to 
rot, or be cut up for firewood. This idea took such a 
strong hold on Mr. Stale’s mind, that after he “ turned 
in” he could not sleep; there he lay, in a placid 
and pleased frame of mind, concocting plans for build- 
ing the chimney, until at last, notwithstanding the 
bright moonlight shining through the thatch, the 
whistling of the wind through the shrunken mud 
walls, and the sqeaking of the rats as they rattled 
about the rafters off which they rattled clown larg« 
pieces of dry back, which in their turn rattled on 
the top of the bed, without curtains, he fell asleep. He 
did not go to the expense and luxury of bed curtains 
in these times, but always, if possible, bad a good 
strong top covering over the bed.; it kept off dirty 
thatch or dry mud, which was detached by the 
rats, also dust and dirt which the creaking and 
shaking of the rafters dislodged. This used to take 
place to such an extent that he used periodically 
to clear up the top cover, off which was removed 
whole basketfuls of rotten thatch, dried mud, pieces 
oi coir yarn, &c. ; but the best feature in the 
bed-top without curtains was that, with any ordinary 
precautions, however mueh the house leaked, if it 
leaked all over, you could always be dry in bed 1 
and this was a comfort, for, however much you may 
task and tear at either human or animal flesh, they 
will stand many a good tug and rug, if they have 
warm, snug, and dry sleeping accommodation ; and the 
way in which he kept dry in bed was this. Oa 
