The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1875-11-18


hemp-seed-ha, ha, hai-and her sweet
heart will come around the corner and
hang it! what viii the fellow do?
Let's see, remember the rhyme:
'Hempen seed sow,
Ilempen seed SOW,
lie who is my love TO be,
Come after me and mOw.'
"Hal hal" He put his hand in his
pocket. 1.-The little witch,n he said
"She gave me this, and bade me try my
fate tonight.
"What was ! to do? Put a table in
the middle of the room, and walk three
times around it, and sing those verses :;
and the third time my future sweet
heart would appear TO me. Only Twas
to say, she who is my love to be- in
stead of he. My fate-I wonder now !
never have tried it. | wonder l have
never thought of getting married. All
these young folks seem to think of moth
ing else. But well, when | was
young | was too busy, and too poor,
and afterwards it didn't occur to me.
And now that | am ffty-fve, how alb
surd it would be of me to-no,n said
Mr.. Guilfoil, correcting himself; emo
not absurd, but other people might
think it SO. I'm a healthy man, with
plenty of money, and not so Unlocking.
However, these things are guided by
fate. | believe, ridiculous as it might
seem if known, that | will do as Nelly
suggested, and SOW hemp seed as the
clock strikes II tonight. Hal ha! hal
how shall laugh at myself, to be sure"
And then Mr.. Guilfoil turned the
corner of the street, which brought him
in sight of the dwelling in which his
bachelor apartments were situated, and
got out his latch-key.
The moon, bright and round, was
high in the sky as he entered the parlor
Her light whitened the wall opposite
the windows, and showed him the face
of the clock, as plainly as though it had
been day. The hands indicated half
past eleven.
Mr.. Guilfoil did not light the gas.
lis sat down beside the window and
struck a match, with which he ignited
a cigar, a fragrant Havana of the best
quality.
"What a very bright moon," he said.
"A romantic moon. If there were
waist one had a right to put an arm
about, this wOuld be the sort of night
TO do it. Ah-well, well. There's
Jenkins, he married and is divorced.
There's Bowman, widower. AT least
I've had no great sorrow.
"And is that any reason | should
never have any great happiness?" he
asked, after pause, once more arguing
with himself. "No, no. | may be in
love yet. | may be married. think |
should like a dark girl with red cheeks,
and" added he, glancing at the clock,
eff fate has hand in it, | may see
what she is like in ten minutes, for it
wants just that of midnight
And Mr.. Guilfoil drew small mar
ble-topped table into the middle of the
room, took the screw of tissue paper in
which Nelly had wrapped the hemp
seed in his hand, and with an eye on the
clock, waited as jockey waits for the
signal that sends his steed flying along
the racecOurSe.
Tic-tac went the clock: tic-tac, tic
tac. The moon looked in at the win
dow. A dog bayed in the distance. A
little chill ran up Mr.. Guilfoil'S back,
and reminded him of the nights of his
childhood when he lay staring at some
thing white in the corner, or listened to
an awfuily mysterious creaking on the
stairs.
Tic-tac, tic-tac, and now there is a
whir. The clock is ready to strike.
This is the proper moment. As one
stroke drops into the air, Mr.. GuilfOil
takes one step. He walks slOwly-the
table is but small. As he walks he
chants and casts hempseed:
'Hempseed / sow,
Hempseed SOW,
She who is my love TO be,
Come after me and mow."
He has passed around the table once,
and four strokes have sounded from the
clock. Nothing has as yet appeared.
Again he begins:
"'Hempseed 1 sow,
Hempseed I sow,
She who is my love TO be,
Come after me and mOw.'
A little track of hempseed lies under
his feet, and he crunches it into the car
pet as he walks.
Five, six, seven, eight, counts the
voice of the clock. Still never a wrath
appears.
foil
'Hempseed / SOW
"What's thatP-something blew?
'IIempseed ] sow,
She who is my love TO be,
Come after me and
What's-that?'
The clock having struck its nine, ten,
eleven, ends with twelve, and before
Mr.. Guilfoil, bright against the clear
moonlight on the wall, stands figure,