Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1873-02-15

A Warming for the Weak.
BY MAX ADELEE

Jim DuNy loved. he was nos singular
! this-other Duffys had done the same thing;
/ but 1t was Jim Duhy's peculiar fortune that
| while he loved bat one woman, two women
loved him Miss Smith was the beautiful blue
! eyed being to whom he had given his heart and
| TO whom he would have cheerfully given hix
liver or his ribs or any other portion of his
| framework if the custom of society had made
| such an anatomical surrender proper. Miss
Clamm was the faded flower who had fixed her
| battered and venerable affections upon Mr..
| Duffy without any provocation having been
| Off red by him. and Mr.. Duffy hated Clamm
| with quite as much intensity as he loved Smith,
| because Clamm would always fasten 10 him AZ
| the church-meetings and the evening-com
panies. and gush over to him in the presence OF
| people, and insist upon his company home at
the very moment when he had determined to
escort Miss Smith.
And so, when st. Valentines day came round,
| Duffy thought it would be clever idea to senl
| proposal of marriage to Miss Smith, and az
| the same time to cool the enthusiasm OF CIamm
| with an outrageous comic valentine of some
| and then wrote to his only Smith a note be gin
| ming with dearest and ending with yours
| till death" Unhappily, IL came to pass that
Mr.. Duffy placed each OF these papers in the
| wrong envelope; and while the comic affair
went away to Smith, direct proposal pro-
| ceeded to Clamm. Nothing could have been
| more unfortunate, for no sooner did the afore-
| said Clamm receive Dutfy's note than she sud-
denly did up her back hair, put on her bonnet
| started by the shortest known route to James
| Duffy's residence.
When the front door was opened, she dashed
| past the hired girl and into the sitting-room
| where, finding Jim reading a Newspaper she
| flung her arms about his neck, dropped her
! head upon his shoulders and her umbrella upon
| his corn, and exclaimed:
| Take me, take me, james! Take me, dear
! est! i am yours-yOurs forever.''
AS soon as Mr. Duffy regained his presence OF
| mind, Ire struggled to disengage himself; while
he attempted to explain to her that he should
| not take her; that he did not want her; that She
was not his forever. or for five minutes; AMI
hot fllra ~ NOT
vest, and her umbrella from the vicinity of his
toe. he should he compelled TO call the DoIicr
But Miss Clamm would hear no explanation.
She NJ stled closer and closer to his waistcOat
and cried into his watch-pocket, and plunginy
her umbrella about with such cratic vigor thai
Mr.. Duty's left foot continually executed half
! OF the waltz movements IN an effort to save its
| most sensitive exerescence from torture. But
! at last, when Clamm murmured something
about fixing the wediing-day and making il
| soon, Jim Duffy tore himself away and feel ~
| the garnet. where he locked the door and tied
the trap down with rope, lest the invincibl.
| Clamm should burst in upon him from that di-
| recti0n.
| Meantime, Miss Smith received the comic
| valentine, and recognizing Dutfy's Handwriting
! upon the envelope, she was deeply panied, anil
she thought she might indirectly obtain comfort
and an explanation OF the matter by calling
| upon her bosom friend, the sister OF Mr. Dutfy
So she sailed out and reached the house. II
happened by very strange coincidence that
her bonnet and cloak bore kind of general re-
semblance to those worn by Clamm; and Duffy
| when he heard the dOOr-bell ring, looked out
| from the garret-window, and felt perfectly GER
| tain that the remOrseless Miss CIamm had re-
turned tor the purpose of impressing more
! firmly upon his mind that she was his forever
scandalOus and ungentlemanly thing. He en-
| tied a bucket of water out of the window upon
the figure below.
| Miss Smith went home damp and indignant
A little while after her return, Clamm, being i'm
| pursuit Of her Duffy, called upon Miss Smith
hoping to lind him there. She waited in the
| VIZ iSaG INIT rbo L..
| and meanwhile IL really occurred to Mr. DUFFY
I to 60 to Smiths and ask an answer to his pro
posal. 1t was a sunny day, and snow was npon
the ground The parlor and entry were gloomy
and when Duffy went in, he could hardly see
hand-breadth before him. But the eve of Miss
Clamm was upon him. As he came into the
| parlor she flew toward him. He perceived the
| indistinct outline of a wOmans figure. He was
| OF course sure that it was Miss Smith, AMI he
| felt certain that she was about to express her
I feellngs by actions rather than in language
SO Duffy folded her in his arms and kissed her
forehead, and asked her if she really lowell
him. She whispered yes; and as she stool
there, while his heart Overhowed with ioy, and
he wondered why Miss Smith should sit i'm
her own parlOr with her umbrella in her hand
the wind blew one OF the shutters open sud
denly, and at the same moment in walked Miss
| Smith.
| 1t was--but no. / shall not attempt to
describe that situation. It is impossible
Everybody was agitated but Clamm. James
Duffy was dumbfOunded and hOrrOr-strcken-
Miss Smith was amazed and furious: but
Clamm was collected, she was cool-she ap-
peared to enjoy everything; and she would
| probably have fallen upon Jim Duffy's shoulder
again and cOOed, merely to let Miss Smith see
how nice it was, had not Duffy lodged he
saw her coming, and permitted her to smash her
bonnet against the sOfa-cushiOn.
Then Mr.. Duffy undertook to tell Miss Smith
how it was, but naturally, after all that had
happened she was too much enraged to lIearken
| to him, and she ordered both visitors from the
| house. They departed, Clamm with the hook
Of her nmbrella,handle firmly fixed in the
| pocket of James Duf'y's overcoat.
But when they reached the street, Duffy in
his agony and anger, expressed his feelings
| upon the subject OF Clamm in such violent
and unmistakable manner that even she was
| convinced. And when she asked him if he in
| tended to marry her and he said no, she left him
and proceeded at once TO lawyer, who began
suit tor breach OF promise against Duffy, and
took it into court the next week. Duffy's letter
| to Smith was read in evidence, and Clamm
made Smith testify as to the proceedings in her
parlor, which cut up the defendant horribly.
Clamm herself sat there all the time weepine
| for the purpose of narrowing up the feelings OF
the jury men; who gave verdict of sc 900 dam
ages 10 the pia,ntif, whereupOn the said plain
tim instantly began to organize war upon a
Jim Duffy is still single. / know him well.
He seems to hate women; and whenever he has
to write note to one he always takes it ont of
the envelope fourteen or fifteen times to assure
himself that he has the right document, and
that q chemical analysis could not detect an
offer OF marriage in it.-PhiJadeiphia To-Day.
7 The BAIL MONEY IN THE DANA LIBEL
SUIT.-On Saturday, Mr.. Charles NJ. Neal,
auditor, filed in court his report in the matter of
the forfeited recOgnizance in the Dana libel
case. IN this case, Charles A. Dana, proprietor
OF the New York San, was arrested and held to
answer the charge of libel preferred by William
III. kemble. Bail in $4,000 was entered but
Mr. Dana failing to appear, the recognizance
was forfeited and sued out. There being claims
against the fund thus realized, (s5OOO,) the
matter was referred to Mr.. Neal. as auditor.
Before him, District Attorney Mann made
claim Of ten per cent. for collecting, or S5aa
and Thos X. Ashton, the former clerk of the
court OF quarter sessions, claimed SIG 60 rs COM
missions. The auditor refused to allow either
claim, and reported a decree ordering the fnnl
to be paid into the city treasury, less S,4 the
cost OF the audit.-Fhiiadeiphia ledger, FEB. TO-
new SrPPLy OF LUMBER.-The Richmond