social point of view the entertainment could not be described as
a very brilliant success. Our friend was tired and hungry. Mr. Harum was
unusually taciturn, and Mrs. Bixbee, being under her brother's interdict
as regarded the subject which, had it been allowed discussion, might
have opened the way, was at a loss for generalities. But John afterward
got upon terms of the friendliest nature with that kindly soul.

CHAPTER XVI.

Some weeks after John's assumption of his duties in the office of David
Harum, Banker, that gentleman sat reading his New York paper in the
"wing settin'-room," after tea, and Aunt Polly was occupied with the
hemming of a towel. The able editorial which David was perusing was
strengthening his conviction that all the intelligence and virtue of the
country were monopolized by the Republican party, when his meditations
were broken in upon by Mrs. Bixbee, who knew nothing and cared less
about the Force Bill or the doctrine of protection to American
industries.

"You hain't said nothin' fer quite a while about the bank," she
remarked. "Is Mr. Lenox gittin' along all right?"

"Guess he's gittin' into condition as fast as c'd be expected," said
David, between two lines of his editorial.

"It must be awful lonesome fer him," she observed, to which there was no
reply.

"Ain't it?" she asked, after an interval.

"Ain't what?" said David, looking up at her.

"Awful lonesome," she reiterated.

"Guess nobody ain't ever very lonesome when you're 'round an' got your
breath," was the reply. "What you talkin' about?"

"I ain't talkin' about you, 't any rate," said Mrs. Bixbee. "I was
sayin' it must be awful lonesome fer Mr. Lenox up here where he don't
know a soul hardly, an' livin' at that hole of a tavern."

"I don't see 't you've any cause to complain long's he don't," said
David, hoping that it would not come to his sister's ears that he had,
for reasons of his own, discouraged any attempt on John's part to better
his quarters, "an' he hain't ben very lonesome daytimes, I guess, so
fur, 'thout he's ben makin' work fer himself to kill time."

"What do you mean?"

"Wa'al," said David, "we found that Chet hadn't done more 'n to give
matters a lick an' a promise in most a year. He done just enough to keep
up the day's work an' no more an' the upshot on't is that John's had to
put in consid'able time to git things straightened out."

"What a shame!" exclaimed Aunt Polly.

"Keeps him f'm