Curing insomnia 91

"Holding his plate up to the light" 97

"'I believe you'd blow out the gas in your bed-room'" 101

"'His fairy stories were told him in words of ten syllables'" 105

"'I thought my father a mean-spirited assassin'" 109

"'Mrs. S. brought him to the point of proposing'" 115

"'Hoorah!' cried the Idiot, grasping Mr. Pedagog by the hand" 119





[Illustration: Coffee and Repartee]




I


The guests at Mrs. Smithers's high-class boarding-house for gentlemen
had assembled as usual for breakfast, and in a few moments Mary, the
dainty waitress, entered with the steaming coffee, the mush, and the
rolls.