The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1852-07-05
POPPING THE QUESTION,

The following is the ssconfessionn ofan o,a
old bachelor. who describes himself ns he;n.
now so dried up, that he is little better than
mummy mummy, ana expects some of these DAYS TO be
blown away into dust He advises ali young
men TO get married, and tells them how 10
manage the "conrting." The old fellow
speaks like one who knows, though he hns a
touch of the crab-apple in him; perhaps he
got Jilted when young, notwithstanding he
pretended to have been so au fat
Nov, gentlemen, this going a courting ia
nothing 10 be afraid OF, il, like me, one upder.
stands how TO do it. | don't mean to boasf.
but-lhe fact was-in my young days l was
up to thing or two. In the first place give
out you are marrying man. 1t will smooth
difficulties wonderfully. Brothers will invite
you TO dinner-mammas ask their daughters to
sing your favoriie songs1your opinion will be
asked on all points, and if the tamily have a
country seat, you can go there every Saturday
night and stay till Monday, the summer
through, without spending a sumerchee.A-
You've no idea, sir, what an easy thing love-
making becomes under such circumstances
A walk by moonlight; chance meeting, at
early morning, in the garden; or a summer
afternoon together in the alcove, does the bust.
ness. To tell the truth, never came so near
going on voyage as when | spenta week in
the country with bridesmaid | had waited
on there was n perfect paradise. There we
used to sit and one day, ifit hadn't been that
the old gentleman woke from the nap and threw
up the parlor window just as got his daugh
ter's hand in mine, the question would have
popped ITSELF
"fou stare, but | repeat il would have
popped ITSELF The fact is-between ourselves
these things become astonishingly naiural
after all, quite as if one was brought up t.
them from a child. Don't troable yourself
about how you look, or what you shall say,
the best thing you can do is not to think of The
matter al all, but make plunge at once, and
then the business is soon over. There are a
thousand ways to pop the question. Some do
it with easy impudence; some choke for words
look for clean spot on the carpet to SO down
on their knees and some glide into il gradu
ally like hawk narrowing his gyr1tions be-
fore he stoops, the poor g irl sitting beside him
all the time, her heart futtering in her bodice
like frightened bird. I've heard of one or tw O
poor sinners who popped the question in the
street. There's only one way more certain TO
insure refusal, and that is to propose by let
ter. A woman-let her love you as she will
is always frightened when she comes seriously
TO think of leaving her parents 10 trust her all
to an entire stranger, and if you give her time
to think of these matters cColly, ten to one
she'll give you denial. Pm nn old man and
have seen the world, and let me tell you, the
girl who would yield in tears, on moonlight
evening, would write a civil refusal or equvo-
cal answer the next morning after breakfast
And then what a fool lover makes of himself
on paper. / read some letters the other day :
the Gods forgive me for writing such.i
"It's mistake, sir, in these matters 10 lend
helping hand all they ask is to be let alone;
and il there are any Smeddling youngsters
about, have them put to bed, or drowned, it
don't matter which so they are cut the way.
Only give to lovers far play, kick your match
making aunts to the deuce and-my life on it
the most demure will find way of being un-
ders,ood, even il, like old Sir Isaac Newton.
they have to make love with their feet. 1t
may come rather odd at first, but they will sit
looking into each others eyes until by and by.
their hands will some how steal into each
other, and so getting cozer and cozier, the
question, when they least expect it, Will pop
out like cork from champagne bottle. 1t
will pop ITSELF