Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1868-07-03
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my FIRST FILTRATION.

Il FrELH "A saf
MY FIRST FLIRTATION. 1'.a y
The morning sun shone brightly one
July day, 1861, as / turned into shady
street, dressed in summery garb, and
smoking a cigarette through my nose
The heat that morning was tropical
The crossing-sweeper abandoned his post
and betook himself to aishady doorway
'fhe lcabmen on the curb read penny pa
persa inside their Respective vehicles,
whilst the sun blistered the roofs above
them. The enjoyment Of the bibulous
beggars at the pump. who took it in
turns to be pumped for, smote one with
envy on that thirsty morning. Vague
yearnings after an iced Soda and b. a
pipe of mild tobacco, or other light dis
sipation suited to the state of the ther-
rnometer and the lassitude of my sys-
TEN, caused me to- stop ;languidly. at a
set of chambers for gentlemen, - -. =
The first floor was occupied, by man
named Osborne, with whom L was then
very intimate. I found my friend and
another man at breakfast, and. after re-
freshing myself with-some strawberries
and a cool draught of seltzer and bran
dysI threw myself into a comfortable
chair by the open window, and began
studying with sapient air what
would have given worlds at the time to
have understood, 'lthe Sportsman's
Own" e1a-lL eifr {
l was, at the time / am speaking of, a
shy, awkward, home-bred youngster OF
nineteen, with round, youthful face,
whiskerless cheeks, and nervous temper
ament.i Osborne was. a cool, polished
man of the world, eight years my Sc
nior, pale, with regular features, thin,
sarcastic lips, cold grey eyes, and fair,
colorless hair. How envied him his
taste in dress, his composed, quiet man
ner, his skill at billiards, and his sue
cess with women! But with all my ad-
miratIon and intimacy, rather disliked
the man than otherwise. I felt dim,
disagreeahle consciousness thatI served
principally as a butt and sport to my dear
friend, and knew that he considered and
generally spoke of me as mannerless
young cub, who wanted deuced deal of
licking into shape"
The man who was breakfasting with
him was also my senior. He had a
plain, meaningless face, long red whis-
kers. a falsettolaugh, and possessed the
rare faculty of being "a good listener.
His name was Anderson, and he played
the concertina. never knew what he
was, or where he lived, but remember
the first time we met, his requesting of
me, witha pleasant laugh, the temporary
loan of small sum. My future expe-
rience of the gentleman proved him to
be capable of repeating the request any
number of times without being struck
with the monotony of a proceeding he
never attempted to vary by any allu-
sion to repayment. He was devoted to
his rich friend Osborne, who found in
him a willing and useful toady.I edi
!" Like smoke, Master Charlie, said
Osborne, offering me alarge, highly-fa,
vored cigar from his case. I received
and smelt the priceless weed with the
rapturous air of connoisseur. fLord
how faint and sick these strong cigars
used to make me!) Having lighted it,
] began the perusal of q Mill in the
F" Sportsman Own" and soon was as in
tensely miserable as my worst enemy
could have desired. Mill and smoke be-
coming at last too strong for me, 1 closed
my eyes and listened vacantly to my
friends conversation. 10 -a13s $50
"But we had better settle now,"' Os-
borne was saying, "what time we are
to go to that place tonight
Here there was pause, during which
they each beat a tattoo on the carpet and
stared at each other.:stO Osborne at length
rose, and bending over his friend. whis-
pered some suggestions which appeared
to be fraughtl with much interest. What
ever they were, they were cordially
agreed to, and carried amid much laugh
ter from Anderson, who put on the fall
setto stop, and beat Osborne, hollow on
the high notes. Their enjoyment of the
subject before them made them talk loud
er and with more animation, and thus,
without wishing to divine the subject of
their mirth, the following broken sem
fences fell upon my ear as l half-dozed
In my chair: as ~ .-=r =-7s, sraa --ss .s
"But will she appear on the scene at
all ?" said Anderson. .sss ges.r .,,s
."Goodi heavens, man!'' replied Os-
borne, mo chance of it. But don't men
tion her, for l. can't stand. it. | only
promised to go there once year, and
choose this affair for my annual visit, be-
cause I haveza towards shrinking in
speaking to or even seeing"
Here his voice trembled and dropped,
to a whisper too low for me to hear. -
"All right, my boy" said Anderson,
1--WE can then have our little joke with
out'fear of any mischance; it'll be capital
an awful foo, >, and in spite of
his young airs, is frightened at his own
!" '''75a A.s . ''-'ess.s a'''>F ss -'ar
"Deuced funny" thought I to myself,
particularly if Pm their awful fool,
which I rather think I am p and then 1
fell to wondering, gloomily, if fAmandine
paste and constant care would ever make
my hands as white and shapely as were
those of my dear, appreciative friend and
model. Breakfast. pipes, drinks, and
pleasant condolences being all ended, wer
rose. stretched and yawned.. Then
to my relief, Osborn told me he
had an engagement which would occupy
him all the afternoon, but hoped 1 would
dino with him at his club the same even
ing, and afterwards go on with him to
a very charming dance a little way out
Of town, where, to use his own words,
Il should meet lot of deuced pretty
girls, and perhaps pick up an heiress, old
Feller." Having received my assent to
what appeared to me very agreeable
the two burst into fit of
merriment at the cut of
my trousers and the youthful bloom of
my complexion; then, after poking