any of the long line of pensioners who used
to come on certain feast-days to levy tribute
of eggs at the old house. (The postman
was among these, on Christmas and New
Year's, and as he received eggs at every
house, it was a problem with us, unsolved to
this hour, how he carried them all, and what
he did with them.) Not the least among
the Paron's causes for self-gratulation was
the non-appearance at his new abode of two
local newspapers, for which in an evil hour
he subscribed, which were delivered with
unsparing regularity, and which, being never
read, formed the keenest reproach of his
imprudent outlay and his idle neglect of
their contents.

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