I'm a nat'ral-born fool, I do
believe," she exclaimed, "letting a perfect stranger have that room; but
there, it will be sort of nice having him round. I s'pose he will want to
stick a lot of things into that room." And didn't he stick up "things" and
make changes? Down came the two yellow crockery crow-biddies that had
roosted on the mantelpiece the last twenty years, never having paid for
the privilege with a single crow. Down came two vases of dried grasses.
Down came a flaming red, yellow, orange, and green print of an American
farm-yard. Up went various things. Over the mantel-piece was suspended a
picture of Abraham Lincoln, garnished with American flags, and along the
mantel-piece was ranged a row of photographs, principally of young ladies,
several fans coming at intervals, while about the room, on various
brackets, stood more photographs, mostly feminine, and more flags, all
American. It ought to be said in fairness that, while several of the young
ladies did not have at all a family look, others did, and were introduced
to Aunt Stanshy as Will's sisters. He had a flag over his mother's
picture. Then there was a red-hot chromo of a fire-engine, and a cool one
of two white bears on a cake of ice.

"O dear, what a boarder!" said Aunt Stanshy, going into the room
twenty-four hours after it had been very orderly arranged by her. "Things
are stirred up now. It looks like a tornader."

That was the way it generally appeared, and yet Will Somers, impulsive,
careless, thoughtless, but frank, enthusiastic, generous, dashing, and
honorable always, was very popular with Aunt Stanshy and Charlie. In
Charlie's eyes he was a marvelous being. Such wonderful fires in the city
as he told Charlie about! And then, what did Aunt Stanshy's boarder do but
join the "Cataract" engine company in Seamont! He made a stir generally in
the old place, starting a gymnasium and organizing a "reading circle," and
putting things generally in a whirl. He had a "voice," and he had a
guitar, so that his "serenades" were famous; and he set Aunt Stanshy's
heart all in a flutter one night when, awaking about twelve, she heard his
well-known voice leading off in a serenade, while he twanged his guitar to
the tune, "O dearest love, do you remember?" Will Somers was popular in a
very short time with every body. In the club-circle he was the object of
an open, undisguised admiration. They quickly made him an honorary member,
and he quickly set them up a