Mexico weekly ledger., 1877-03-01
THE MAN FROM sOLANO.

He came toward me out of an opera
lobby, between fhe acts-a figure as re-
markable as any thing in the perform
ance. His clothes, no two articles of
which were of the same color, had the
appearance of having been purchased
and put on only an hour or two before
a fact more directly established by the
clothes-dealer's ticket, which still adj
hered to his coat collar, giving the
number, size and general dimensions of
that garment somewhat obtrusively to
an uninterested public. His trousers
had a straight line down each leg, as if
he had been born flat, but had since de-
veloped, and there was another crease
down his back like those figures chill
dren Gu out of folded paper. l may
9Add that there was no consciousness of
this in his face, which was good ma
tured, and, but for a certain squareness
in the angle of his lower jaw, utterly
uninteresting and commonplace.
"YOu disremember me-" he said,
briefly, as he extended his hand, "but
I'm from Solano, in Californy. l met
you there in the spring of 81. I was
tendin' sheep, and you was burnin'
charcoal"
There was not the slightest trace of
any Intentional rudeness in the remind
er. 1t was simply a statement of fact,
and as such to be accepted.
what [ hailed We for was only this"
he said, after l had shaken hands with
him, 81 saw you a minnit ago standin'
over in yon box-chirpin with a lady
a young lady, peart and pretty. Might
unyI ha toI1fnrr N q par narnnO d:
gave him the name of a certain
noted belle of a neighboring city, who
had lately stirred the hearts of the
metropolis, and who was especially ad-
mired by the brilliant and fascinating
young Dashboard who stood beside me.
The Man from Solano unused for a
moment and then said, "Thet's so!
thet's the name! It's the same gall"
You have met her, then?" l asked,
in surprise.
"Ye-es," he responded, slowly; Ell
met her about tower months ago.
She'd bin maxim a tour of Californy
with some friends, and l first saw her
aboard the cars this side of Reno. She
lost her baggage checks, and l found
them on the floor, gave 'em back to
her, and she thanked me. | reckon
now it would be about the square thing
to 60 in I've thar and sorter recog-
nize her." He stopped a moment and
looked at US inquiringly.
"My dear SIR" struck in the brilliant
and fascinating Dashboard, "if your
hesitation proceeds from any doubt of
the prOpriety of your attire, | beg you
TO dismiss it from your mind at once
The tyranny of custom, it is true, com
pels your friend and myself to dress
peculiarly, but l assure you nothing
could be finer than the way that the
olive green'of your o melts in the
delicate yellow of your cravat, or the
pearl gray of your trousers blends with
the bright blue of your waistcoat, and
lends additional brIlliancy to that mas
sive oroide watch chain which you
year,
To my surprise, the Man from Soda
no did not strike him. He looked at
the ironical Dashboard with grave earn
e~stness, and then said quietly:
"Then | reckon you wouldn't mind
shown me in thar?"
Dashboard was, I admit, a little stag
gered at this. But he recovered him
SELF, and, bowling ironically, led the
way to the box. [ followed him and
the Man from Solano.
Now, the belle in question happened
to be q OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
from gentiewomen-aEd after Dash
boards ironical introduction, in which
the Man from Solano was not spared,
she comprehended the situation instant
ly. To D~ashboard's surprise she drew
a ahai-+ C hn,. cTln Hnn1n tho Man from
Solano sit down, quietly turned her
back or Dashboard, and in full view of
the brilliant audience and the focus of
a hundred lorgnettes, entered into on
v%ersation with him.
Here, for the sake of Romance, l
should like to say he became animated,
and exhibited some trait of excellence
some rare wit or solid sense. But the
fact is, he was dull and stupid to the
last degree. He insisted upon keeping
the conversation upon the subject of the
lost baggage checks, and every bright
attempt OF the lady to divert him failed
signally. At last, to every body's re-
lief, he rose, and, leaning over her
chair, said:
~ calklate to stop over here some
| blLIlCs MISS LIN JOo viz hN JUL SohSCA
strangers here, maybe when there's
any show like this goin' on you'll let
me-"
Miss X. said somewhat hastily that
the multiplicity of her engagements and
the brief limit of her stay in New York
she feared would, ETC., etc. The two
other ladies had their handkerchiefs
over their mouths, and were staring
~intently on the stage, when the Mar
from Solano continued:
"Then, maybe, Miss, whenever
there is a show goin' on that you'll at
tend, you'll just drop me word to
Earle's Hotel to this yer address," and
he pulled from his pocket dozen well
worn letters, and taking the buff en-
velope from one, handed it to her with
something like a bow.
Certainly" broke in the Faction:
Dashboard, "Miss X. goes to the Char
ity Ball tomorrow night. The tickets