Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1865-07-14
QlDgilo @ Stta'ttess;rIllr,a''::rr. i & 81 /, a: m.
A DAY IN PETrICtoATs.
BY A MODEST MAN.
.ouldn,t think of such a thing, {,

"But you must. My happiness uepenus
on it. Here, put on the thiDgumbobs anc
the whats-his-name.D.y yuy .tgsid. i.at.
| And my friend Bob Styles held up before
my hesitant gaze a suit of female apparel
His idea was that | should personate his
lady-lOve for one day, to prevent anybody
| from ,suspecting the truth-namely, that
| she had Joined him in runaway marriage
party-until 1t should be too late for inter-
| ference that is, until the minister should
! have tied knot between them that moth
ing but special grant of the Legislature
could unite. .riC .. nsrrlI- lI-aar none. ~
This scheme was not actually so absurd
as it appeared at first. Maggie Lee was Q
tall, atleenly woman, with an almost mascu-
line air. and at that time had a very
slight flfm-almost effeminate, so that in
tact there was really butllttle difference in
that point. Then L had light hair, toler-
ably long, and fresh complexion. Part
my hair in the middle, put a bonnet on my
head, and few persons would have suspect
ed bat what Iwas one of the softer sex.
These accessories also gave me quite de-
cided Resemblance to Maggie Lee, especial
ly when, as In this case, the disguise was
her own p.a,.'. af GruI f,.. tIianrrD
Then the day chosen for the runaway
match was an auspcious one. Maggies
father was to drive her to. D., q small
village near where she lived, and then she
was to join sailing party down D. riv-
er, to the grove three miles below, from
which the party was to return in the even
ing in carriages. ug. -... .. a..I',.--. ..p
Our plan was that should be in waiting
in the village, and should 60 on the boat
with the sailing party, while Maggie, after
leaving her father, should slip off with Bob
across the country. H. -sai. ....' 9,t ,,ie -
At last / got dressed, and presented my
self before Maggie Lee blushing a great
deal, l believe, feeling very much plnched
about the waist, and with an uncomfort-
able consciousness that my shirt, sleeves
were too short, or wanting altogether.
Everything finished in the way of toilet,
Bob Styles took me into his light waeDn,
drove me over to D., by secluded route,
and left me at the hotel where the sailing
party was to assemble. Several Of the pic
nicers were already there, and they greet
ed my cavalier cordially Everybody knew
Bob Styles, asking him if he was going
with them, etc. He told them he was not.
pressing business engagements, you
know, and all that sort of thing. Deuced
sorry can't 60, though. had just time to
bring Miss Lee over, and now I'm Off. Mr..
Bimby, this is Miss Lee; Miss Withergall,
Miss Lee" and he ratified off string of
brief introductions, which convinced me
that few of the company were acquainted
with the young lady whom | was personat-
ing--a very fortunate thing for the pre-
servation of my disguise. . ~.
Mr.. Bimby, a tall, legal looking man,
with hook nose, and eye glass, and fimy
hair, seemed to be prepOssessed with my
persOnelle, and heard him whisper to Bob
Styles, as he went out
sINina lnolyinn ri thof Misc -
"Yes," answered Bob, with a mischievous
glance at me, "she is nice girl, though a
little go ahead sometimes. Keep a little
look out on her, will you ?"-then lowering
his voice, Not bad match for you, old fel-
low; she is rich"
rs she?' said Mr.. Bimby, his interest
deepening. | ..
"On my honor" replied Bob. "Forty
thousand dollars in her own right. Good
day !" and he was gone. |i.E
Maggie Lee, artful creature that she was,
had told her father that the sailing party
was to assemble at another hotel, and
thither he had taken her. Having business
in D., he left her there. merely saying
that he would send the carriage for her at
eleven o'clock. She, like dutiful daughter,
kissed him good by, and before he had
gone hundred rods, took a seat in Bob
Styles light wagon, which had driven up
to the back door as old Lees carriage drove
away from the front, and the old story of
headstrong love and prejudicVl old age was
acted over again. ....... ~
AS for us, Of the picnic excursion, wehad
a delightful sail down to the Grove, but
somehow Icould not enjoy it as much as
ought to have done. When | walked on
board the boat felt awkward, as if every
body was looking at me. / found Mr.. Bim-
by, as had suspected, young and rising
lawyer, mighty in Blackstone and in his
own opinion. He insisted on paying for
my ticket (the boat was a regular eXcurs-
ion packet) and purchasing enough oranges,
pears and candies, to set up street stand.
Four or five times was on the point of
swearing at his impudent officiousness, but
bit my tongue just in time to prevent the
exposure. But itwas not with him that
found my role the hardest to play. -
No; the young ladies were the difficult
ones to deceive. For instance, there was
one among them, beautiful girl of seven
teen, just returned from boarding school,
who had not seen Maggie Lee for three
years. OF course she was delighted to see
me when she found out that was Maggie,
which, by the way. did not occur until after
we had started. She threw herself into my
oItucs puiiCu any NCi dSluC, ahu hioSCu u0
half dozen times in manner that made
my fingers tingle for an hour 1t was all
very nice, but if had been in proprid per-
soma, would have liked it better. AS it
was / felt as If were obtaining goods un-
der false pretenses, and that lawyer Bimby
might issue warrant for my arrest on
that ground, at any moment. '.yrrf
A whole knot ofcrinoline then surrounds
ed me on the upper deck of the boat, to the
utter exclusion and consequent disgust of
MIR. Bimby and the other gentlemen. !
kept very qniet, only speaking monosyla-
bles in a falsetto voice; but the others
Lord bless you! how they gabbled! Under
a strict promise OF secrecy, the little board
ing school maiden, who had kissed me SO
affectionately, revealed all her love affairs,
and also became unpleasantly confidential
about other inatters-innocent enough in
themselves, but not customarily talked of
between ladies and gentlemen. 81 H.,
I was terribly embarrassed, but it would
not do to give up then. AS soon as nv
trick should become known, Bob Styles'
trick would also come out /; and as news of
that kind travels fast in the country, he and
his lady-love' would be telegraphed and
before they could reach Philadel-
phias where the knot was to be tied.
The river breeze was very fresh where
we sat, and I noticed that several of the
ladies were glancing uneasily at me. 1
divine the reason, until Jennie,
my little friend from boarding school, laid
her face dangerously close to mine, and
n FfJTqgMh THW Il
"My dear Maggie, your dress is blowing
dreadfully high-your ankles will be town
talk with the gentlemen" "i-f'y'Hj
Now was conscious of having very
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