Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 12, No. 31, October, 1873Various
History
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 12, No. 31, October, 1873
Various
Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Science -- Periodicals
Now, there _are_ men who ought to start off at once and move into that
town. A wide-awake, bustling fellow, who craves excitement, who is
never happy unless whirling around like a bobbin with a ten-per-cent.
semi-annual dividend to earn, who is on hand at all the dog-fights,
Irish funerals, runaway teams, tenement fires, razor-strop matinées,
and public convulsions generally,--such a man, if he went well
recommended, would be likely to find, I imagine, constant employment
in the town of Danbury. He might make arrangements to take his meals
on the jump, and would sleep of course with his hat and boots on.
Browne is mercurial. Browne would be happy in Danbury. Till he died.
For a fortnight, say--one brief, glowing, ecstatic fortnight. Fourteen
giddy days would surely finish him. Imagine Browne (him of the eagle
eye) up in the morning, his face washed, hair combed, breakfast taken
aboard, and everything trim and tight for sailing out into the surging
whirlpool of Danbury locals. We see him fold the substantial Mrs. B.
to his manly bosom and discharge a parent's duty toward the little
Brownes. We see him tear himself from the bosom of his family. It is
affecting, as those things usually are.
Browne gains the street, backing out of his gate as he blows a
superfluous kiss to Miss Tilly Browne, his youngest. He lurches,
just as you may expect, into a stout market-woman laden with eggs and
garden vegetables. She careens wildly, and plunges into a baby-cart
that is pushing by. The darling occupant of fourteen months is
smothered in a raw omelet and frescoed over the eye by bunches
of asparagus. The cries of the sweet little cherub would melt the
stoutest heart. The market-lady caracoles around, and leads Browne
to infer that his conduct is not approved, from her festooning that
gentleman's eyes with heavy lines of crape. Mrs. Browne arrives on the
scene. The baby goes into fits. The fast-assembling crowd cry "Shame!"
and Browne, after trying in vain to apologize, seeks the shelter of a
hack and makes good his escape.
He descends at Main street, just in time to observe the man with the
ladder and paint-pot working his way up along. That genius is smashing
in store fronts and dropping paint liberally on the population.
However, as he does this twice a day regularly through the week, it
does not appear to attract much attention, except from strangers.
The fat gentleman who is in training to remove pieces of orange-peel
from the sidewalk has already begun his labor of love for the day.
He is just getting up and dusting himself as Browne goes by. There is
nothing fresh in this either, so Browne does not stop. He merely nods
and hurries on.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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