The Portsmouth inquirer. [volume] (Portsmouth, O. [Ohio]) 1849-1855, 1851-05-26

dove and then wishing himself an owl, is not
altogether so poetical as it might be. Ten
nyson or Tom Moore would probably have
expressed themselves differently. g
/ During the month Of February following,
finding, that his dearest, Eliza still continued
her habit Of "stopping up late Of nights"
Mr. Thomas administered another gentle re-
proof, mingled with an allusion to the diff
culties he had with his father;
February Is, lS43.-I hardly know what
to make of father. he has never asked me
what my future views are, or what / intend
doing. Yet, he seems to be tolerably friend
ly. 1t strikes me that there is something or
other brewing. There is one thing, my love,
lwant to ask you as a favor, and that is this
mot to sit up so late at night. This will
oblige me, whose heart and soul is bound up
with the desire of making you his while life
shall last, and afterwards. Ever your faith
full and affectionate, J. THOMAS. I
Miss Z. BoDILLY. a
In the August following, amusing hinas
self meanwhile by keeping up a constant fire
of poetry and prose, Mr.. Thomas heard that
Eliza had had an attack of English cholera,
and it almost drove him raving distracted.-
1t did drive him up into an upper loft, as
will be seen by the following extract:
August 90, 1843.-"My Dear Elim-I du-
y received yours of the 2lst, and felt very
much concerned at the news that it brought.
When had read to that part which says that
you had been i'll Of the English cholera,
such sudden fear came over me that could
| a,,I 60.
obliged to close the letter. At length, resu-
ming courage,I went into the upper part of
our warehouse, and with trembling hands
opened i. again, dreading to finish reading it;
but to my great JOY, my love, it informed me
that you were nearly well. Yours,
THOMAS.
The suit of Mr.. Thomas seemed to pros
per, and the pair to love one another, through
l844-45., Here is specimen of what Mr..
7. wrote in the latter year, and to his credit
we must say that we have read worse;
May 80, 1S45.-My own dear girl:
"Thy mottois constancy, how dearunto me
Comes the remembrance, my lov'd one, sugges-
ted by thee;
l think of VOWS plighted, of sweet pleasures
| we've seen,
When together we sported Ger life's sunny
green.
Those pleasures are past, yes, for while they
are gone,
But day will arrive with far brighter morn
The fair shadows of joy and of sunshine will
come
To illumine our path and gladden. our home.
Then dream ofme dearest be constant forever,
| ne'er will forget thee-forsake thee--no, nev-
en-,
But still hope for the day when thou shalt by
my side
Wander forth along with me, my own bonnie
bride;'
My companion in Joy and the star of my life,
My angle on earth, and my own pretty wife.
81 should like to be near you, my love
while you are reading the above lines, as
fancy that should have one of your loyin
slaps on the head. Affectionately your owl
dear THOMAS"
In answering This, Miss Eliza seems tt
have thrown out some intimation that tn
above lines were not original--were borrow
ed-which nettled Mr.. Thomas SO sorely tina
| he comes down upon her in the wise follow
ing:
June 5, l845.-"My Dear Miss Lizy-
What very pretty opinion you must hav
of my poetic powers to ask me where me
!. with those lines sent you in my last. Is
possible that you should have known me fc
so long time and never yet discovered tina
had the bump of poetry very largely devel
oped? Next time, Miss, / favor you wit
my poetic effusions, beg you will not loo
upon them as secondhand. However, m
: dear girl, l am glad you liked them, and hop
a that soon
ga day will arise with far brighter morn
s To illumine our path and gladden. our home
! "Always your dear THOMAS"
u This is the last of the published CORES
! pondence, for shortly after Mr.. Thomas ma
ried Miss Gill. During the trial, sister
Miss Bodily testified that when she receive
the news that her lover had discarded he
Ie she had fits. The particular description
10 fits is not mentioned.
IS Mr.. Thomas, in his defence, said that Il
reason why the action was brought was
: "show him up" The love letters were pl
G, in to raise laugh in court at his expense
'r But the jury, after retiring for a short tim
sr entailed upon him another expense, for thu
n mulcted him to the tune of fl30 damage
IL And thus ended this breach Of promise case