The Bloomfield times. [volume] (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1867-187?, 1874-10-13
PROPOSING IN THE DARK.

A hAMlNIA JOuN0OAv "iO"O"'
IN. ton, was q lovely creature. She is
lust twenty, of the middle height, and
blonde she has profusfon of fair hair
worn in coils, and thrown back to show to
its fullest extent her broad, high forehead {;
her nose is aquiline; rich natural color
elows upon her cheek, and her blue eyes
seem to possess tho peculiar faculty Of
being able to penetrate into ones inner
most thoughts. At least such was the
opinion formed of Araminta when she
came with her mamma for the first time to
the fashionable church of St. Magnesium
Little Benjamin, and the pew-opener ush-
cred them to the pew Immediately in front
of that in which / sat-
They we're newcomers to the neighbor-
hood, and being unprovided with the proper
hymn books, it was my supreme felicity to
hand them those possessed. Never shall
l forget the glance with which my divinity
favored me when, the service being over
she returned me the books. fell desper-
ately in love with the fair creature, and
mentally vowed that the remainder of my
life should be dedicated to her.
AS fortune would have it, Araminta and
her mamma decided upon occupying the
pew into which they had at first been
shown, and Sunday after Sunday my eyes
drank of my beloved's beauty whilst my
ears we're strained to catch the sound of
that sweet voice, which Joined in all the
responses and with religious fervor carolled
forth its songs of praise.
Araminta and her mamma being upper
most in my thought, felt compelled to
speak of them ere introducing myself. AS
the readers intelligence will have noted,
the writer of this narrative is at heart and
by nature poet--a lover of the beautiful
and true but relentless fate has made
him clerk to a stockbroker, and, as though
that were not sufficient to drown the min
strel's song, he has been dubbed by his god
fathers and godmothers Urian..
Yes, Urian Quick-such is the name l
bear among my fellows; but neither they
nor the world in general estimate the poetic
ardor and lofty aspiration which lift me,
eagle-like, above the common herd. Morn
ing and midday am a grub delving among
Conscls, New Threes, Turks, Reduced,
Italians, Peruvians, and other sordid sub
stantialites but, with the closing of
the Office door behind me, and the echo of
my footsteps upon the pavement outside, l
divest myself of worldly associations, and
extending my broad pinions, take my
flight. Higher and higher scars my soul,
as though 'twould reach the other pole ;
then, with sigh that shows my dearth, it
sinks again to vulgar earth. For time l
am lost to all that is passing around me,
and not until / enter my humble lodging do
l become aware that a scanty and hurried
dinner necessitates my lingering over the
fragrant Bohea.
Proud am to say that the heavenly mu-
sic which has swept my Tyre has not been
withheld from the breathing, struggling
mass around me. To my credit be it said,
nifty of listening to the sweetest harmonies
mind ever conceived. Yes, / have been in
print. My work had for its title "Mute
Heart-burnings, which was at once catch
ing and appropriate to the matter Of the
poems. With respect to the sale | was
somewhat disappointed. Though more
than two years have elapsed since the pub
lie outpouring of my music, not more than
twenty copies have been sold
But enough has been said upon this sub
.ject. am neither vain or egotistic, and /
shrink from the task of further personal
description of myself and my attributes. To
posterity leave legacy that.some day or
other will be considered priceless and to
that pleasant happy time, when my soul
But to resume,
Having fallen madly in love with Ara
minta, it was not long before found an
opportunity of being introduced to her and
her mamma. found that Mrs. johnson
was a widow who had moved in far supe-
rior circle to that she now occupied, and
that Araminta, her only child was, through
the eccentricity of deceased uncle, the
happy possessor of $500 per annum, which
dowry was to be taken from her and Civ
en- half to her mother and half to an asylum
for disabled and homeless cats, should she
wed without Mrs J.'s consent. Oh, how
loved the fair heiress How / sympathized
with her under the trying circumstances in
which she was placed Naturally Mrs
johnson would look with distaste upor
every suitor. To inherit a fortune and
then to lose it by the caprice of a mother