yielded her a good income. Her two[Pg 51] thousand dollars had become ten, and her future was secure. [Pg 51] Mrs. Gray did not class herself among boarding-house keepers. Her boarders she regarded as her family, and she felt a personal interest in each and all. When they became too deeply in arrears, they received a quiet hint, and dropped out of the pleasant home circle. But this did not happen very often. From time to time when she had anything which she thought would interest her "family," she made what might be called a "speech from the throne." Usually we could tell when this was going to take place. She moved about a little restlessly, and pushed back her chair slightly from the table. Then all became silent and expectant. This morning Mrs. Wyman augured rightly. Mrs. Gray was about to make an announcement. She cleared her throat, and said: "My friends, I have a gratifying [Pg 52]announcement to make. We are about to have an accession to our pleasant circle." [Pg 52] "Who is it?" asked the widow, eagerly. Mrs. Gray turned upon her a look of silent reproof. "It is a gentleman of high family. Count Antonio Penelli, of Italy." There was a buzz of excitement. We had never before had a titled fellow boarder, and democratic as we were we were pleased to learn that we should sit at the same board with a nobleman. Probably no one was more pleasantly excited than Mrs. Wyman. Every male boarder she looked upon as her constituent, if I may use this word, and she always directed her earliest efforts to captivate any new masculine arrival. "What does he look like, Mrs. Gray?" she asked, breathless. "He looks like an Italian," answered the landlady, in a practical tone. "He has dark hair and a dark complexion.[Pg 53] He has also a black moustache, but no side whiskers." [Pg 53] "Is he good looking?" "You will have to decide for yourselves when you see him."
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