Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1860-06-23

A LEAP-YEAR wOOING,
BY MELVILLE BELL.
I=TOM PIDGER AVN


/ loved him like brother My heart became
so full Of love for Tom that il could not contain
II all, so / disposed Of the surplus by falling
violently in love with his sister-a very fine
nice young lady, about head and shoulders
taller than myself / recollect Of sending her
valentine, in which a military looking man
was depicted kneeiing in green lawn, before
a lady TO whom he was making a passionate e
declaration Of love in fat balloon which is
sued from his mOuth-in which balloon took
the precautiOn to insert my initials, to prevent
the possibility of mistake as to the identity of
the party. In return Miss Pidger presented
me with large pink heart make of sugar,
(Which Tom and 1 ate that same afternoonl but
her own heart she reserved for one Rsines q
banker, to whom she was married long before
left school,
hen Tom and L grew up we removed to
Edinburg-he to college and I to a bank-and
We took rooms together in Queen street Tom
had always been rather a slOvenly fellow, but
now he became intOlerably so. His hat gradu-
ally became limp and napless, and though I
threw out very broad hints, and at length
openly demonstrated with him, the same hat
remained in constant use. L tried to shame
him out of it by assuring him that he would be
taken for an Irishman; and once L bribed the
milkboy with penny to cry after him Who's
your halter" but all in vain. His old coat, too,
he wore till it became quite white along the
significant fact, that though passed the college
with him times without number, the seedy old
gentleman who used to step out from the cor
ner Of South College street, and say in a mys-
terious undertOne, "Any ole cloes, sir9o in
variably addressed himself to me- And really
1t would have been very gratuitous assump-
ton to hal esupposed that Tom had an " clothes
older than those he wore
As for his linen, / doubt if he would ever
have changed it had not Mrs. Pritchard made
point Of taking clean shirt into his bed room
every Sunday morning before Tom was up,
and carrying the dirty one of.
Tom S hair, from sheer neglect, became long
and frouIy. One day, remember, when be
sat down to breakfast, il seemed so dry and
matted that could not forbear demonstrating.
:" Positively, Tom" said, "you must pay
some attention to your personal appearance.
Why, your head is like a mop"
Is it ?" said Tom. o Let it be So It saves
time and trouble
would have urged that the ladies would
never look at him if he went so shabbily. but
as knew Tom TO be a woman hater-or rather
woman scorner, for he did not think them
worth hating-I waived that point So things
went on as before.
was not woman hster, for had become
enamored OF Fanny Lowndes-such a dear
little thing had wOOed her, and, last De-
cember, had proposed and was accepted.
having our usual pipe by the freside before
going to bed, Tom, you know Fanny
LOwndes ~
1--WE heard enough about her, replied
Tom.
well, she and are to be married next
month"
Tom gave a short laugh as if he considered
it good joke.
On my honor, Tom, we are" -.
Toms face became grave in an instant, and
after looking steadily at me for few moments,
10 assure himself that / was serious he slowly
took his pipe from his mouth and laid il on the
mantepiece. Well, Dick did not expect
this Of you" He looked mournfully into the
FIRE few moments and thet resumed /" Have
you thought on this subject? Don't you know
as we'll As do that once married you are done
for; there is no backing out again? At your
time OF life, too, with all the world before you
why, it's suicide; moral and intellectual SUI
icide Oh. it cannot be you are joking"
:. L assure you, my dear fellow, am quite
seTiOus.'
" Then you are demented, ," said Tom, hitch
ing himself back in his chair. "You think it
IS all poetry. / suppose. Wait till the curtain
lectures commence; YOU Won't find mncb no
etry in them. Children, too; why, nv dear
fellow, you II have your house swarming with
them before you know what you are about
The rate at which children multiply is pro-
dlgious. dave you read Mr.. Malthus' book
his Essay on Population Read that book"
81 have read it"
"head II again, and apply it to your own
case. Poetry. you'll find precious little poetry
about children. It's bad enough to have these
young PrltchardS caterwauling night and dav
IN the nursery there; but wait till Won are in
the midst Of the Babel and can't escape. Wait
till you have to wipe the children's noses, like
that poor wretched Pritchard, and be badgered
NIN kaAw -
You'll know what the poetry Of lovers is then,
my Trojan"
Tom concluded with a prophetic Jerk of his
head, and proceeded to relight his pipe.
Il have always feared it might come to
this, continued he, "since that time YOU fell
in love with my sister Msggy Her marrying
Baines was clearly Providence in your he
half: ii was another Providence that we came
here and saw the life that Door wretch leads
between his wife and children For NV sske
Tom, think again before you take this insane
step '-'
Tom smoked quietly for a minute or tuo
then proceeded to illustrate the miser;es Of
welded life by passages from the life of Milton
and Shelley, coleridge and Byron, and know
not now many more He then began a brief
extract OF Mr.. Malthus book, in the middle of
which l fell asleep and nearly fell forward into
the hre. 30 got up and told him that il v as
no use Of talking, as the thing was all settled.
Tom bade me good night with an air of pro-
found compassion, and evidently gave me up
for lost sheep.
IA PROBLEM WHICH Is SAfIsFAcroRILY
SOLVED.
IL might be about fortnight after that Tom
had occasion to be in Glasgow for a day or two
On the evening Of his return I noticed that he
looked very abstracted / did not pay much
attention TO the circumstances, but it struck me
that ne was He smoked by the FIRE side for an
hour, am sure, before retiring; vet all NV
efforts to get him to talk were fr9itIsss When
/ turned, after saying something and aid
"Don.t you think so'" or "Strange tbat wssn,f
IL! Tom would start, and ejacuiste ssFbI'; ss
II be had not the remotest idea of what bsd
been saying, as 1 really believe he had NOT
When Tom came home to dinner nert d.u
was amazed to see that he had got his hs;; j,
cut would hardly have known him in ths
street - VIC
"Halloo, Tom Got your hair eut?"
Yes, replied Tom, with something of irri
tation in his tone, thought
Did you never see fellow with his hair
cut, before"
havn't seen you very often, Tom"
lie made no reply, and as it seemed to an
noy him said nothing more about il. But
really IL did astonish me; and my astonish-
ment was by no means din;n;.hsd -, 7