The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1872-06-20
Il Leap Year Plot.

It was leap year, the-day OfJune,
1868, and Tom Rathburn sat in his
Office deep in the complexities of a diff.
ficult case, for Tom was q thriving
young lawyer, who held a monopoly
of nearly all the important law busi-
ness in the town of W.
A handsome fellow was Tom, and
a clever one, too, and enough of a
catch to keep in a continual palpita-
tion the hearts of some twenty or
thirty susceptible young ladies, and
the heads of their manBuvring NAM
mas, to say nothing of brothers, who
liked influence, and male parents
with an eye to the main chance; and
Tom bore his honors meekly, did his
duty by all, and would have acted
LOthario to perfection were it not that
however he attempted to conceal it,
every one was pretty sure that his
heart had been given away some two
or three years previous, and one
knew it, and that was lovely Mary
Field, who held the gift fee,
All, but poor Mary! it was doubt
full if after all, the gift was worth the
having, for it was of that troublesome
nature that from the moment it came
into her possession her peace of mind
went away, and at the time of which
we speak her patience was nearly
gone too.
A long engagement is a weary
thing, particularly a long engage
ment kept secret, and more particu-
larly still when no earthly reason
exists why that engagement should
not find a speedy end in matrimOny.
But Tom "hadn't quite settled yet, :"
and he "wanted to be better able to
keep Mary like lovely lady, as she
was" and so forth and so on, dd in
tfRitltm. In fact, though Tom was
awfully in love, he liked dallying and
had an instructive horror of house
keeping and babies. And so matters
went on, and poor Mary was talked
about and wondered at and speculated
upon, and kept denying soft impeach-
ments, until the accumulated Pelion
of fibs she had piled upon the Ossa of
her conscience lid fair to'o'ertOp the,
stylish head of blue Olympus" and
that before very long, too.
So affairs stood on the day of which
we write when Tom sat in his office,
studying out his difficult case and
Mary sat at home, perhaps-who
knows ?-trying to study out Tom.
But other business, equally urgent,
war being carried on, if we might
Judge from the excited and deter
mined countenances of a certain
triumVirate in the little back parlor of
Miss Minerva Williams, dear good
though somewhat vehement soul of
forty summers. Miss Betsy Parkins,
her coyemporary in years, held the
chair; and Mrs. Mercy MlulsOn-
Widow Moulson, as she was called
completed the distinguished trio.
The proceedings were carried on
with much mystery and considerable
emphatic talking, and after some two
hours debate, terminated by sundry
tea-cups full of warm consolation, the
meeting adjourned, and the parties
separated, mischief sparkling in the
brilliant eyes of the fair widow, tram
quill cpmplacency holding her throne
in Miss Betsy's face, and high and
stern resolve distinguishing the un-
compromising features of the warlike
Minerva.
Not a very long time had passed
when there came a knock at Toms
door, and the prompt answer was
"Come in ~
In walked Mrs. Mercy Moulson.
Our hero's pOliteness was excessive,
and amid much bowling, speechifying
and so forth, the fair visitant was COM
fortably installed in a chair, and Tom
waited, all attention, for the disclosure
of her business.
"You are perhaps, surprised at
seeing me, Mr.. Rathburn ?"
"Oh, dear no." replied the gallant
Tom. Lawyers are never surprised
only happy" etc, etc.
"Hem," said the widow, I really
"Reassure yourself, my dear mad
anne take time" said Tom, eonsid-
erately, perfectly sure that the lady
had called to intrust him with law
business of a delicate and lucrative
nature. "IfyOu say so will continue
for a while"
"0h no it is best to have it over. A
-a-excuse me; but. This is
very embarrassing
"Oh, no." said Tom, soothingly,
''not at all. I am the recipient of SO
many condolences you need not mind
it at all. Is there anything I can dc
for yOu?"
ayes. rhave come-Or, rather, nc
and yet. Oh, how dreadful it is
to be lonely unprotected woman"
"Ah, it is, indeed. "A cOndolatOry
sigh from TOm.)
"For one who has been-been other.
wise" (" and the widow buried her face
in a cambria handkerchief "the-thC
daily sadness of a life of-Of-I may
say retrospect-musing in tears anC
solicitude over-Over-Mr. Rath.
burn, never having been a widow
yourself, you don't know what dole,
full creature a widow is"
"Ah,I know said Tom, quite pre-.
pared in the exuberance of his sympa
thy to declare himself a widow, ol
anything else that might be satisfac
l tory. "If can serve you, u,"-here hC
pressed her hand-"cOmmand-me.'