Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1865-03-03
OLD swEETHEARTs.

1t is pleasant to meet old friends, but ex
eeedingly trying to meet an old sweetheart
Lavender is not more "trying" to the complex
| ion of brunett. 'Twas-in ife's early fore
noon that you knew her, when existence wore
nice new clothes, dyed iD the establishment Q
The rainbow. You quoted poetry to her b.
the hour, took moonlight strolls and drives, anC
quoted various little things, addressed t.
nights luminary by the poet. which you found
in the Dictionary Of Poetical Quotations. anC
committed to memory after hours of painfu
study. She was in Eaptures, and said you
had such a memcry, you remembered every.
thing you read. You wore ByrODic collars il
those days, cultivated a raven moustache, fol
which you was indebted to the hair dyer; spent
a good deal of time on your hair, which was
inclined to curl, and was mildly given to gin
and water
Sweethearts used to chide you for the latter
habit, but it was evident to you that you
couldn't be half the romantic hero that you
was, without little dissipation, so you never
got model. You wrote unutterable poetry
in her album, and gave her your miniature in
crimson velvet case. You dreamed away hours
in building atmospheric country seats, in
which your sweetheart and you were the only
residents, with nothing to do but wander amid
Aowery paths and quote from those impracti-
cal writers styled poets. .-.
years have outstretched their shadowy
wings between. You didn't marry sweet
heart some hew, and life with its stern reali-
ties drove all thoughts of her from your mind.
You are brought together again unexpectedly,
and memOry, expert telegraph operator that
she il, puts you 10 instant communication with
olden times.
Sweetheart has faded of course, and so
have you. As you dof your hat in salutation,
you read surprise in her look, and you re-
member that your hair don't curl any more !;
the cares of life have plOughed furrows in your
'Greciau forehead as she delighted once to
call it, and Time with his scythe has moved
away quite clearing on the top of your head
You haven't an empty hair-dye bottle, even TO
remind her of the raven mustache of the 9th
er days, and your sandy beard needs trim
ming sadly Sweetheart laughs at some
poorly executed joke (ghost Of that once cap
tivating witt and you never noticed before
that she had such homely profile. You are
suddenly and forcibly reminded that time is
'on the wing and you are growing old.
Sweetheart introduces her husband to you,
and tells bim with litter, (which is pain
ful caricature of her girlish laugh, once so mu-
scal and facinating you compared it to dip
ping of plant willows in the waterfall, don't
you remember p that you are IAN old beau
Then turning to you, she inquiries, DO you
love poetry as much as you ever didT Poet
~ ! stuff! You put your hand on the Trib-
une almanac and affirm that you had not read
a line Of poetry for years. During the day
you go about your business in a wandering
manner. The old days came back again. and
you live in the past. You go home, and the
presence of your family, not at all visionary
OF unreal, dispels the unsubstantiAl visions
cOnjured up by Unexpectedly meeting 'an old
IWeetheart'