Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1871-01-07
The Novel Of the Ages.
AZ OLD TAiE EvEn ToLo.

Thackeray ence said there was nothing new
under and including the sun. King Solomon
made similar remark. A novel lately pub
lished illustrates the saying, whoever origlnat-
edit. 1t is called by a variety of names, and
is familiar to every novel reader
The principal characters are our time-hon.
ored young friends Charles and Angelina,
formerly Lubin and Chloe. once Corydon and
Philis. alias Romeo and Juliet, aud 90 on to
the remotest antiquity.
Their principal speeches are as follows;
Hs-"Adorable creature will you be mine
l offer you my hand and heart, together with
superior inducements for accepting the same,
consisting ofa brown stone front, an unincum.
bered real estate and 6rst-class securities"
She-"object Of my affections Your terms
are entirely satisfactory TO me, and no doubt
| will be equally 50 to my papa, to whom beg
leave to refer you."- -tFta!ing into his ayms)
These are plagiarisins mole or less direct
frsm the same old story. published at any
time during the worlds history between this
and the invention of letters, which is not due
to Professor Cadmus, by-the.by, but 10 Aam.
Ah Kim -Bo, twenty thousand years before his
| time. He published the first edition Of the
story in China, even then venerable tradition.
Ia the edition OF 1900 it appears as follows:
| Hs-"Sweet lady prthee reward me with
thy love thy lover true, who pledges thee his
hand aud heart Ccrtes l offer thee no une.
quail dover These goodly towers and these
broad domains shall call the mistress, and
gold shall fill thy Golfers"
Ske-"My bosoms lord, thy nobleuess is
we'll deserving my poor love, and well trow
will win my sire's consent. Good faith, in
heavens name seek him. ."-(Lets dun her back
hair and sitoons)
! Similarly in A. D. 1000 they courted thus:
Hee-"Fayre Ladye bend thyme eyne on thy
! true knight and reward his devoir with thy
love. BY'r Ladye he layes at thy feete guer-
don meete Tor prize so high. Ny castles
strength shall bid defiance to ye caytiffe toe,
and gallant knights on yonder broade des-
| mense laye lance in reste to WHINE thy smyles,
while churlish Doors and mysbelieving Jewes
shall furnish they're broad pieces for thy lar
gesse."
Shee-"Alack Sir Knight, yielde NEE true
captive to thy words, suCeour or noe succour.
My ransome is thy dowrie richie HE thee
from my bouerre to ye knight, my sire, and
bid him greete the Sonne."-(S!e soOHns in the
knight hys armes)
And ia like manner through the early Sax
on and British dialect-which would be more
unintelligble than lovers speeches generally
are-the Latin and Greek, up to the original
Chinese as aforesaid
The Irish version Is:
"Musha darlint, it's dyin' am for ye this
blessid mint. glory be to God! The shebang
is lonely widout you, Judy; come acushla,
there's an illigant patch of two dirty acres or
so, with praties and pigs galore, and maybe a
pound or two in his riverance's hand, waiting
to call you misthress."
"Bc aisy, Pat, ye.re the divil's own boy for
blarney, God knows; sure the old mans be.
yant, aud when yere dacent and sober you
might Ak him"
The Scotch version reads thus:
"Eh lassie will you tax me for your ain
Joe? There nae luck about the house till We
bide int; and the bonnie farm and the wee
bit sller is nae sic bad investment"
"Hoot ava, man! dinna fash me wi your
speerin. doot ye mean weeI, sac bide ava
mon, bide ava; the old mans by, and ye may
cen settle the case wi him."
The display of emotion is omitted by the
last two ladies, but their sentiments are the
same as the Others, and the fortunes of the
gentlemen not different; Charles goes to Par
lament, and Pat to the Common Council Sir
Reginald is elected to the Round Table, and
Romeo to the Council of Tenor would have
'bcen if he hadn't poisoned himself-while
Donald sits with the elders in the kirk and is
as fat, respectable, and uninteresting as any o!
| them.
The chapters from which the foregoing
specimens are taken wind up with these
words ITO be continued''-whch is true in
every sense of the word. The rising genera
lion will Dlease take notice