Page:The Ladies' Cabinet of Fashion, Music & Romance 1832.pdf/38

Rh "Days, weeks, and months, and generations (in the chronology of curiosity) passed ;" but the postmaster was unable to fulfil his promise. Nothing came to his department directed to our Mr. Tompkins ; nor did that gentleman ever inquire for any letters. During this period, which was about half a year, the daily occupations of Mr. T. were almost uniformly the same with those mentioned in the diary I have given. So punctual was he, that a sick lady, having marked the precise minute at which he passed before her house, on his return to dinner, set her watch regularly thereafter by his appearance, and was persuaded that it kept better time than those of her neighbours. One would have thought that she ought to have felt grateful to the isolated stranger who thus saved her the trouble of a solar observation ; but whether it arose from the influence of the genius of the place, the irritability of sickness, or her association of Mr. Tompkins with ipecacuanha, certain it is, that her guesses about his identity, and his motives for coming to that town, were of all others the most unamiable. I must mention, however, some of the other habits of Mr. Tompkins, and some of the peculiarities of his character. For, though the former were systematic, and the latter monotonous, he was yet not a mere animated automaton ; and was distinguished from other male bipeds by certain traits, which his acutely observant neighbours of course did not fail to note. Neither he nor his wife ever bought anything for which they did not pay cash. Their purchases were few in number, and small in amount ; and they generally seemed to have exactly the requisite sum about them, rarely requiring change, and never exhibiting any large surplus of the circulating medium. On Sunday, unless the weather was very bad, they attended at the chapel regularly, sitting in Mrs. Wilkins's pew ; and regularly did Mr. Tompkins deposite a sixpennypiece in the plate which was handed round. They did not, however, partake of the communion in that church ; why, I know not. It was in vain that Mrs. Tompkins was urged by the ladies with whom she became acquainted, to attend religious meetings of different kinds, held in the evening. It was also in vain that either her husband or she was solicited to subscribe to any charity of whatever description. They severally answered, " I cannot afford it," so naturally, that the ladies and gentlemen on the several committees appointed by the several charitable meetings, gave them up in despair. They rarely accepted invitations to tea-drinkings ; and yet there was nothing unsocial in their manner or conversation. They could converse very agreeably, according to the opinions of many