American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-05-30
Popping the Question.


tenderness than one of his own Yahoos,
indited the most brutal proposal we know
Of Tired of his shilly-shallying, Miss
Varying seems to have insisted upon his
speaking out, and Swift spoke out with a
vengeance. After protesting he is too
just to stand in the way of her accepting
a more advantageous offer, he says he
must ask her few neutrality-suspicious.
he had long since resolved to ask of the
woman with whom he meant TO spend his
life: Are you in a condition to manage
domestic affairs with an income of less
than $500 a year? Have you such an in
clination to my person and honor as to
comply with my desires and way of living,
and endeavor to make US both as happy
as you can. Will you be ready to engage
in those methods l shall direct for the i'm
provement of your mind, so as to make
us entertaining company for each other,
without being miserable, when We are
neither visiting nor visited? Can you
bend your love, esteem and Indifference
to others the same way as l do mines
Have you so much good nature as to en-
deavor by soft words to smooth any rugged
humor occasioned by the cross incidents
of life? Shall the place wherein your
husband is thrown be more welcome than
courts and cities without him." Surely
never was a lady SO catechised by a sutton
for her hand. When Jane Varying felt able
TO answer every question in the affirma-
tive, then, and not till then, her lover saws:
shall be blessed to have YOU in nv arms.
without regarding whether your person
be beautiful or your fortune large. Clean
illness in the first and competency in the
second is all l look forr' This unique
epistle ends: Il single you out at first
from the rest of women, and expect not
to be used like common lover" Swift
was evidently enough very uncommon
one.
There is world of difference between
the love making of morbid, self-loving
Swift and that of CHEEKY hearted Richard
Steele; the ravens croak and the lark's
song are not more unlike. The Christian
hero made love like lover and a gentle
man. He never dreamed of plying his
mistress with doubling question upon
question. Believing his Prue to be as
beautiful, witty, prudent and good
humOred as woman could be, Steele was
contcnted to know she loved him and
took the rest upon trust. "Instead of
saying l shall die for you, 1 profess
should be glad to lead my life with you!"
That is the way he pops the question.
A Frenchman smitten with the charms
of fair Lydia SterDe, instead of trying to
secure her goodwill, wrote to her father
desiring to be informed what he was pre-
pared to give her upon marriage, and
how much he intended to bequeath her
He thought he would be able to say to
Miss Lydia as Petruchio said to Kate the
curst:
That yo1 shall be my wife: your dowry greed on,
And will you, nil, you. will marry you.
But Sterne was not so eager to get rid of
his girl as was Signor Baptisa, and re-
piled: Sir, 1 shall give my daughter ten
thousand pounds the day of marriage
cal of 10 f1lI
18, you are 62-there goes Ga, 600.
Then, sir, you, at least, think her
not ugly; she has many accomplishments,
speaks Italian and French, plays upon the
guitar; and as fear you play on NO in
srument whatever, I think you will be
happy to take her on any terms, for here
finishes the account of the 10000"
Whitehead asked the hand of young
American lady Of her parents, without
troubling 10 ascertain her inclinations,
and was good enough to let them know
they need not be afraid of offending him
BY declining the honor, since he blessed
God he was free from the passion called
love.
Miss Kenrick, the beautiful heiress eel
ebrated in the ballad of "The Berkshire
Lady's Garland" adopted singular
method OF winning the handsome young
attorney, BENJAMIN Child, with whom she
had fallen in love at sight. She sent him
an anonymous letter, demanding satisfac-
ton for injuries received. Alter vainly
puzzlfng himself to guess whom his
challenger might be, and how he had
offended, Child betOOk himself, duly pro-
vided with a second, to the place of meet
ing, near a pleasant crystal fountain
There he saw no fierce gallant, only
masked lady, who asked him his business
there: He told it; whereupon his fair
questioner, flashing rapier she carried
for her security, said:
1t is that did invite Won:
You shall wed me, or I'll hght you,
Underneath those spreading treee;
therefore choose from which you pleased
Rather taken aback by such a summons
to surrender, Benjamin asked to see his
challenger's face ere he decided. This
was denied; she would not unmask until
the knot was tied, but generously accord
ed him an hours grace to turn the matter
In his mind. His friend advised him, as
he could lose nothing, to take the lady;
and the three went off in her gilded coach
TO church, were the lady CAV and her at
torney were made one without delay
Though sweet, pretty Cupids hover'd
Round her eyes, her face was cover'd
With mask-he took her thus,
just for better or for worse.
He did not repent the leap in the dark
when he found his summer mornings ad-
venture had brought "beauty, honor,
riches, store;" but, taking his place among
the gentry OF the country, lived happy
ever afterward. The hero of this ro-
nance was, in 1714, High Sheriff of Berk-
shire.
Not in such warlike fashion did Mar
garet Charlton attack Richard Baxter
She sought to attain the end by negotia-
tlOn; and never was bachelor of forty
nve more astOnished than that worthy
minister when Margaret's ambassadress
opened her mind to him. He was des-
tined to an additional shock While he
was vehemently declaring the idea pre-
posterous, Margaret was listening at the
study door, and, losing all selfcontrol,
burst into the room, threw herself at her
ldoIs feet, crying, "Dear Mr. Bax-
ter, protest with a sincere heart that
L do not make tender of myself to you
upon any worldly or carnal account; but
10 have more perfect converse with so
holy and prudent yokefellow to assist
me on my way TO heaven, and to keep me
steadfast in my perseverance which de-
sign to Gods glory and my SOULS gOodr'
Margaret Charlton was very pretty Bax-
ter was mortal and succumbed.
1t were hardly fair to reckon pretty
EiiZabeth Simpson among proposing
ladies, although answering MIR. Inch
bald's suggestion that he would marry
with Who would marry me :" was tanta-
mount to seeking the reply, az will, if
you will have me-" The actor was not
so unready as Dean Ramsay's Scotch
beadle, who could hit upon no better
way OF popping the question than by tax
ing the object of his affections to the
churchyard gate and saying: Mary, my