The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1853-09-14
THE CRISIS OF MY EXISTENCE.
BY AN OLD BACHELOR.


TN not sentimental man now.
have passed that state of existence long
since, as man whose whiskers have got
bushy while the hair on his crown has got
thin, and whose eyes are surrounded by
little nascent crows feet, decidedly ought
to have done. confess that prefer a
good dinner to the most enchanting of
balls, claret to polkas, and a jolly bacha-
nalian ditty to the pretty small talk of the
most dainty damsel that ever foated thro'
a quadrile in ringlets and clear muslin.
sHorrid wretchp 1 hear some young la
dy reader exclaim, as she peruses this
confession, and prepares to throw down
the book in disgust. Stay, one moment,
fair lady, beseech you, and you shall
have a little genuine sentimental reminis-
cence of my days of auld lang syne'-
and then-then you may throw down the
book, if you please, and call me a 'horrid
wretch If you can. sr.
What a pretty, little, gauzy, fairy-like
creature was Angelica Staggers when first
met her! The very recollection of her
at this moment makes faint vibration of
my heartperceptible to me, while then the
sound of her name would startle me like
postman's rap at the street door. Bill
Staggers it isn't a pretty name, Staggers
but then, Angelica!) was a school-fel-
low of mine. Schoolboys don't talk much
about their sisters, because they get
laughed at if they do; so that knew lit
tie more than the bare fact that Staggers
had sister. In after years, when we
left school, and Staggers went into his
fathers counting house in the city, and I
into my fathers Office in Gray's Inn, the
matter was different. 5a h-. leJ
Staggers introduced me to his family.
This consisted of his papa, a pompous old
fellow who always wore a dress-coat in
the street as well as at home, and whose
pendant watch-seals certainly would have
drawn him under water, if he had ever
had the misfortune to tumble overheard
from Margate steamer; of mamma, who
was a lady of vast dimensions, with the
usual superfuity of color in her cheeks
and cap ribbons on her head; of sister
of Mr.. Staggers, senior, who might have
been agreeable if she had not given you
the idea of being pinched everywhere
pinched in her waist, pinched in her nose,
pinched in her mouth and pinched in her
views of things in ganeral; and lastly, of
the daughter of the house-the divine
Angelica herself. 4Hs sa.tt4
How shall l describe Angelica as I first
saw her, one fine summers day, about g
O'Clock in the afternoon, dressed in the
most charming of muslin negligee dresses.
reclining in a large easy chair, and en-
broidering on frame pair. of worsted
slippers for her papa? How shall I ever
give an accurate picture of her beautiful,
light golden hair, that literally glittered
in the rays of the sunshine that made
their way through the half-drawn green
venetian blinds Of the window by which
she sat, in the drawing-room of that de-
lightful villa at Peckham that looked out
on to the smoothly shaven lawn with the
large washing basin of fish pond in it,
containing ever SO many shillings' worth
of gold and silver fish? I can't do it. I
have let all my poetry run to seed, and ]
feel myself as incompetent to do justice tc
the charms of Angelica, as sign painter
would be to copy the Madona of Raphae
or street ballad-screamer to sing the
'Stabat Mater of Rossini. I must give
up the attempt: but cannot the reader
help me out of the difficulty by imagining
something very fair, pink and white, very
slight, very animated. and very ethere
al-look altogether? OF course he can
then there is Angelica Staggers before hil
eyes directly. oJ baa Il.
From the moment saw her felt tha
my doom was fixed, and my heart trans
fixed. / admired, loved, l adored her
and the very atmosphere that surrounded
her (I don't mean the smell of roast due
that was steaming up from the kitchen
.Ha
seemed to breathe of paradise.
Accordingly, as very natural conse
quence of this feeling of mine, I behaved
very sheepishly-blushed and stammeret
and tore off the buttons of my gloves
stuck my legs into absurd positions from
not knowing what the deuce to do will