Theyspokewithfarmoreinterestandunctionoftheirmorning’sbreakfast，oryesterday’s，to—day’s，orto—morrow’sdinner，thanoftheshipwreckoffortyorfiftyyearsago，andalltheworld’swonderswhichtheyhadwitnessedwiththeiryouthfuleyes。
ThefatheroftheCustom—House—thepatriarch，notonlyofthislittlesquadofofficials，but，Iamboldtosay，oftherespectablebodyoftide—waitersallovertheUnitedStates—wasacertainpermanentInspector。Hemighttrulybetermedalegitimatesonoftherevenuesystem，dyedinthewool，or，rather，borninthepurple；sincehissire，aRevolutionarycolonel，andformerlycollectoroftheport，hadcreatedanofficeforhim，andappointedhimtofillit，ataperiodoftheearlyageswhichfewlivingmencannowremember。ThisInspector，whenIfirstknewhim，wasamanoffourscoreyears，orthereabouts，andcertainlyoneofthemostwonderfulspecimensofwinter—greenthatyouwouldbelikelytodiscoverinalifetime’ssearch。Withhisfloridcheek，hiscompactfigure，smartlyarrayedinabright—buttonedbluecoat，hisbriskandvigorousstep，andhishaleandheartyaspect，altogetherheseemed—notyoung，indeed—butakindofnewcontrivanceofMotherNatureintheshapeofman，whomageandinfirmityhadnobusinesstotouch。Hisvoiceandlaugh，whichperpetuallyreechoedthroughtheCustom—House，hadnothingofthetremulousquaverandcackleofanoldman’sutterance；theycamestruttingoutofhislungs，likethecrowofacock，oftheblastofaclarion。Lookingathimmerelyasananimal—andtherewasverylittleelsetolookat—hewasamostsatisfactoryobject，fromthethoroughhealthfulnessandwholesomenessofhissystem，andhiscapacity，atthatextremeage，toenjoyall，ornearlyall，thedelightswhichhehadeveraimedat，orconceivedof。ThecarelesssecurityofhislifeintheCustom—House，onaregularincome，andwithbutslightandinfrequentapprehensionsofremoval，hadnodoubtcontributedtomaketimepasslightlyoverhim。Theoriginalandmorepotentcauses，however，layintherareperfectionofhisanimalnature，themoderateproportionofintellect，andtheverytriflingadmixtureofmoralandspiritualingredients；
theselatterqualities，indeed，beinginbarelyenoughmeasuretokeeptheoldgentlemanfromwalkingonall—fours。Hepossessednopowerofthought，nodepthoffeeling，notroublesomesensibilities；
nothing，inshort，butafewcommonplaceinstincts，which，aidedbythecheerfultemperthatgrewinevitablyoutofhisphysicalwell—being，diddutyveryrespectably，andtogeneralacceptance，inlieuofaheart。Hehadbeenthehusbandofthreewives，alllongsincedead；thefatheroftwentychildren，mostofwhom，ateveryageofchildhoodormaturity，hadlikewisereturnedtodust。Here，onewouldsuppose，mighthavebeensorrowenoughtoimbuethesunniestdisposition，throughandthrough，withasabletinge。NotsowithouroldInspector！Onebriefsighsufficedtocarryofftheentireburdenofthesedismalreminiscences。Thenextmoment，hewasasreadyforsportasanyunbreechedinfant；farreadierthantheCollector’sjuniorclerk，who，atnineteenyears，wasmuchtheelderandgravermanofthetwo。
Iusedtowatchandstudythispatriarchalpersonagewith，I