Eben Holden: A Tale of the North CountryBacheller, Irving
General
Eben Holden: A Tale of the North Country
Bacheller, Irving
Farm life -- Fiction; Historical fiction; New York (State) -- Fiction
I read the advertisements of board and lodging--a perplexing task for
one so ignorant of the town. After many calls I found a place to my
liking on Monkey Hill, near Printing House Square. Monkey Hill was the
east end of William Street, and not in the least fashionable. There were
some neat and cleanly looking houses on it of wood, and brick, and brown
stone inhabited by small tradesmen; a few shops, a big stable and the
chalet sitting on a broad, flat roof that covered a portion of the
stableyard. The yard itself was the summit of Monkey Hill. It lay
between two brick buildings and up the hill, from the walk, one looked
into the gloomy cavern of the stable and under the low roof, on one side
there were dump carts and old coaches in varying stages of infirmity.
There was an old iron shop, that stood flush with the sidewalk, flanking
the stableyard. A lantern and a mammoth key were suspended above the
door and hanging upon the side of the shop was a wooden stair ascending
to the chalet The latter had a sheathing of weather-worn clapboards.
It stood on the rear end of the brick building, communicating with the
front rooms above the shop. A little stair of five steps ascended from
the landing to its red door that overlooked an ample yard of roofing,
adorned with potted plants. The main room of the chalet where we ate our
meals and sat and talked, of an evening, had the look of a ship's
cabin. There were stationary seats along the wall covered with leathern
cushions. There were port and starboard lanterns and a big one of
polished brass that overhung the table. A ship's clock that had a noisy
and cheerful tick, was set in the wall. A narrow passage led to the
room in front and the latter had slanting sides. A big window of little
panes, in its further end, let in the light of William Street. Here I
found a home for myself, humble but quaint and cleanly. A thrifty German
who, having long followed the sea, had married and thrown out his
anchor for good and all, now dwelt in the chalet with his wife and two
boarders--both newspaper men. The old shopkeeper in front, once a sailor
himself, had put the place in shipshape and leased it to them.
Mine host bore the name of Opper and was widely known as 'All Right'
Opper, from his habit of cheery approval. Everything and everybody were
'all right' to him so far as I could observe. If he were blessed or
damned he said 'all right. To be sure he took exceptions, on occasions,
but even then the affair ended with his inevitable verdict of 'all
right'. Every suggestion I made as to terms of payment and arrangement
of furniture was promptly stamped with this seal of approval.
I was comfortably settled and hard at work on my article by noon. At
four I went to meet Uncle Eb. Hope was still sick in bed and we came
away in a frame of mind that could hardly have been more miserable. I
tried to induce him to stay a night with me in my new quarters.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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