The Wyandot pioneer. (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1853-1868, 1853-09-14


my leave, and to save my own fall, caught
at china cardtray and smashed it-ef-
fecting my retreat at length in state Of
tremor. sufficient to have brought on a
nervous fever.
My friend Staggers quizzed me:
why, Jones, never saw you so quiet.
always thought you such devil of a
fellow among the ladies. You've lost
your tongue to-day-what is it,?
what is it? Asi if were going to tell
him what it was. Supposing l had told
him that his sister was an angel, the fell
lew would have looked at me and grinned
and thought was mad. Men never do
believe in the divinity of their sisters
they are almost as incredulous as hus-
bands touching their wives. The last man
in the world l would select as the conf
dant Of my love affairs would be the broth
er of my adored one. I should know
that he would annoy me by the most an
Iti-romantic anecdotes of his sisters child
hood, and tease her to death by frightful
stories of myself. And so Invented ex-
cuses about being 'out of sorts, and that
sort of thing, to account for my unwonted
taciturnity and embarrassment as this my
first interview with Angelica Staggers.
l was soon very frequent visitor at
the Peckham Villa, and [ had reason to
suppose that was welcome one. The
old gentleman was very civil; mamma was
pressing in her invitations; the maiden
aunt affable in the extreme; and Angel
lea always received me with a smile that
I valued at a higher price than California
and Australia together could pay, r.4,
The Staggers family led a quiet life,
with the exception of Bill, who haunted
the theatres and cider-cellars, and harmo-
mic meetings, and passed as disreputable
an existence as city clerk we'll could. I
seldom met any one at the Peckham Villa
but the family, and occasionally signor
Fidilini,-Angelica's singing and mu-
sic master, and was sometimes invited to
tea in the evening, that he might delight
Papa Staggers by playing and singing
duets with Angelica. I can't say liked
his doing SO myself, and I always consid
cred his double-bass growl spoiled the sill
very notes of his pupils voice; and then
I had great objection to seeing his jew
elled fingers hopping about and jumping
over Angelica's on the piano, in some of
those MUSCLE frework pieces they played
together. But he was very quiet, gen.
tlemanly fellow, and remarkably respectf
full in his manner to Angelica, so that there
could be no real cause for jealousy-but!
the word seemed quite absurd to use in
such a case. -s +
My father pronounced me the idlest
clerk he ever had. I am sure that he was
quite wrong, but he little suspected the
cause. While I ought to have been draw
ing abstracts of title, Twas drawing fancy
portraits of Angelica; while I should
have been engrossing brief-sheets, Angel
ica's form was engrossing my thoughts;
instead of studying declarations at law,
[ was cogitating declaration of my at
tachment. To plead well my own cause
with herself and her father was the only
sort of pleading cared for; while the
answer might get to my suit was Of ten
thousand times more consequence in my
eyes than all the answers in all the old
Chancery suits in all the lawyers offices
in the world. AS for reading, Moore and
Byron supplied food to the mind that
ought to have been intent on Coke and
Blackstone. Apollo! god of poetry, and
Venus, deifcation of love, answer truly!
is therere more wretched being, more
completely fsh-out- -ofwater individual
than lawyers clerk in love? 81
After long and painful watching, I be-
came convinced, in spite of lovers fears
that Angelica was not insensi ible to my
attachment. The little bouquets bought
for her at Covent Garden Market were re-
ceived with a look that thrilled through
my very soul. (I hope that is a proper
expression; but my poetry having grown
rusty, as before mentioned, I am in some
doubt about the matter.) There was, or
Idreamt it, gentle pressure of the hand
as we met, and we parted, that could not
be accidental, and could not be that of
mere friendship. There was half tim
idity in the tone of her voice as she ad-
dressed me, different from the self posses
sion she displayed in conversation with
others. In short, there were thousand
of those little signs, visible though inde
cribable, that Angelica Staggers knew
that loved her, and was gratifed by the
fact.
Now most men would have thrown
themselves at her feet and made their
VOWS, IN such case; but was doubtful
whether that was the most safe course to
take in order to secure the prize. Itstruck
me that her father was just one of those
crusty old gentlemen that look on young
fellow as little better than pickpocket,