Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1856-12-22

yet, neither Of the ladies in question had tn
remotest suspicion Of the whirldwind Of eccen
trio passion which was tearing away the YER,
foundations of Mr.. Rollins's moral being f9l
If at any time he happened TO make some ex
| traordinary demonstration, il was credited {,
the account of a sudden and unexpectec
twinge Of rheumatism with which he yfs oc
casOnallY afflicted.
| One evening In the month Of November
! while Rollins was sitting in his lonely room
meditating On the past, and wondering whittier
| the tempest within would eventually lead
him, he suddenly bounded from his chair
! snapped his fingers, looked out of the window
| put more coal On the FIRE, pumped himself
! again In his chair, and then soliloquized
"Its Of no uss," said he, to endure this
confounded perpleXity any longer One thing
is certain; love. them all; and why should
1 not at once declare myself? Suppose they
| do laugh at my Qusdrupled affection, what
| then! l an sure they must see my sincerity,
| and conclude that am a man of an immense
ly large heart, thus to be able TO love oil four
of them with this inextinguishable ardor
Yet as / can marry but one, the selection
must be made by their casting lots for me,
| and passing strange il is too, that this happy
| thought should never have occurred TO me
nnti the present hour. And then, in this de-
licious lottery, shall be sure on my part 70
draw prize, for the very good reason that
| there are no blanks. But will the ladies enter
into this arrangement By my soul they
must: Ny proposed plan will at least show
that am not partial, and there will be 10
occasion among them for Jealousy"
1t was to Miss Harriet Anodyne that Mr.
Rollins first intimstsd the tender sentiments
she had inspired, and On the first mention of
ii the young lady blushed overpOweringIy
But as Mr.. Rollins further declared that the
strength Of his affections was equally great
for their three mutual friends, Ter counte-
lance underwent an expression Of the most
comical curiosity and as at last the pro
posed scheme was divulged whereby a seIec-
tion was to be made, Miss Harriet laughed
until she well nigh choked.
"Ah, Miss Harriet you may laugh, but
devise better plan for me, if you car You
know very well that if | were to select apy
one Of the other three and loave yol, YOU
would consider yourself slighted and neglect.
ed. You see, then, that it is quite necessary
for the happiness Of all concerned that should
carry ny point, and as 1 profess to be above
board in all ny transactions, 1 shall fully state
the case to your father, and ask him to su-
perintsnd the drawing "
"Of course, Mr.. Rollins" replied Mis-.
Harriet, "you can ask pas cooperation in
anything you chOose 10, but the whole proce-
dure would be 20 strange and unusual, that
so far az 1 am CONCERNED, must beg"
"Now, Miss Harriet! if you please, beg
nothing" interrupted Rollins, "for rely upon
it shall excuse neither of you, and when
you have seriously considered the subject, YOU
will not wish to be excused yourself What
sense would there be, l ask you, in my going
out Of our precious little circle, for wife 4"
On the day Of this interview, Mr. Rollins
made known his delicate intentions to the
other three ladies, and at first they were dis.
posed to regard the matter in joculsr Ggnt,
but On being assured by Mr. Rollins that he
loved them all with ths poetic srdor Of a
Dever-dyinI aaectiOn, il is difficult To sev
Waether amaTement or mirth was the nredom.
iaant emotion Of their breasts. When Miss
Harriet ADodyne related to her father the sin
gular communication which had been made to
her, the Doctor was thfoWn into suoh convul-
sions OF !aagAsvr, that he protests to this day
he gained seven pounds of flesh on the
strength OF it.
In the evening the four loved ones got 10
gether and compared notes, and what glow
ana hutter OF chatting excitement they were
all in to be sure
Miss Atterbury, Miss Anodyne and Miss
Rachel Pettlgrew made feint of treating the
whole subject with derision but Amelia Pet.
tlgrew very candidly confessed that she was
attracted by the novelty Of the thing, and if
the rest Of the girls would agree she would
cheerfully fall in with Mr. Rollins's numor.
=" And girls why should we not ?" she in
quired, zone Of rs will be sure to get good
husband, sni We may be equally sure that
unless We consent TO be wooed in this quar-
terly manner, some other than one of our own
dear selves will be the winner "a says that
any person acquainted with Rollins might
have known thar il ne ever got married at all,
il woIid 30 done up in the true Rollins style,
and for his part, he can't see any particular
improperly in our owning the soft impesch-
ment, and making ourselves q grand Hyme-
neal lottery a; Mr.. k1llins's earliest convent
enCs Besides, girls it is rather a pleasant
reflection that Mr. Rollins Sights none of us.
and after the lucky one is married and set.
tied, the three remaining In single hl-sSed-
ness will have that bleSsedness augmented in
this late trophy TO our wapiAg charms
The ladies went OF In fresh cachunations
at Miss E-aslias playful grafton; but it was
plain 10 see that they were beginning 70 wa
yer; to think more seriously Of lhe matter,
and before they parted, il was" Well after
all, no one is to know anything about it but
ourselves-spd il pa consents-and if ma con-
sents-Grd. III short, such is the tendency
among the fair sex for lotteries and matrimony,
that Mr.. Rollins carried his point
1t was cold but pleasant evening in the
beginning Of December, that our four hercines
and their lover were assembled in the COSY
back parlor g: Dr, Anodyne's. The ladies
locked somewhat excited, put the worthy
Rollins was as comfortable and self possessed
as duck in mill pond; he seemed to regard
the approaching transaction as in no degree
Oatre but az regular and business like, and as
just ;as oAiy method left, whereby a gentle
man with capaciOus heart could be extTica
ted from dilemma. BE satisfied, ladies'"
he encouragingly said, "the result will be
right! l love you all but my supreme affsc.
tion will be centered on the prize L draw, for
she will Of course soon become my lawful and
welded spouse! And l would ow say, for
myself and in the name of Iny dear wife, who
ever she may be, that our friendship must be
permanent and unbroken. At this, the ladies
in a futter of amisble confusion simpered a
little; but just then the heavy tread of Doctor |
Anodyne was heard, aud their hearts went
pit a-pat little. The doctor entered into the |
spirit of the occasion, and with the most ludi-
crous but becoming gravity put twenty tickets |
in q box Each lady had her name on five Of |
these, and the doctor said that he should take |
eleven out singly, shaking the box after each |
time ticket was drawn, and the lady having |
the largest number Of the residue must, sc- |
cording to the stipulation, step up to the Bish-
on q office with Mr. Rollins and settle