Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-04-07
BUDELL'S PROPOSAL.

This time two years ago our Square Club
was hourishing now l am sole member.
Budell, Marby, Smithers and myself had
formed ourselves into private bachelors
club for the purposes of whist and other
intellectual occupations, and very good
time we contrived to have together. We
hadn't many rules and bylaws in our club
We were sworn bachelors, and each of us
had to allege a reason why he did not in
tend to wed /; but we had go far recognized
the possibility of a change in our sentl-
ments as TO solemnly bind ourselves to in
form the club at once if we should ever
mediate halving our pleasures and
doubling our expenses" Smithers said he
hadn't time to marry +; | was too poor and
MarbY, who was regarded as our romantic
member, gave us indefinitely to understand
that " blighted affections" stood between
him and the hymeneal altar. Budell at first
laughed at the idea of assigning a reason !;
and he wished to allege as his that he
hadn't met Mrs. Budell yet. That was
unanimously rejected by the rest of the
club +; whereupOn he insisted upon our ac-
cepting as an alternative that he was afraid
of ladies. We were willing to stretch
point in favor of Budell, who was one of
the jolliest possible fellows at bachelor
supper and so we received this second
reason. For the rest we nobly resolved
not to fly, but to Withstand temptation
our maxim was that every lady is charm
ing 80 long as one is not married to her
and we were all ready to 90 into society,
and even sustain the reputation of being
dancing men," We used to relate to
each other over our ceilbate pipes wonderful
stories of narrow escapes from guileful
women every season but if these were all
as dependent upon the narrator's fancy for
their important details as my contributions
to the conversation, the escapes were some
what more than hairs. breadth. Budell
was especially favorite in society he YVES
one of those rare phenomena, young bar
risters with some practice, and he
bad besides very comfortable
allowance from his father. Like
the rest of the club, had at first taken as
a joke his assertion that he was afraid of
ladies f.; but / gradually came to see that
there was some truth in it, So long as
Budell was in a large company-in ball
room or any place like that-he was quite
at his ease and as bold as a lion but if by
any chance he happened to fall tempo.
rary captive to a solitary damsel's bow or
spear, he was almost overwhelmed with
nervousness, and his usual powers of con-
versation completely deserted him. l once
met him at the Royal Academy, escorting
8 very pretty young lady, and looking as
uneasy as if he had a worse conscience than
King Herod and l have seen him tremble
at a mere passing mention of the conserva.
tory by his partner at dance. However,
In the Square Club he was our most enthu.
sisstic member and horror and indigna.
ton filed our souls when we realized the
direful fact that Budell was in love, and
doing his best to be married.
Had we been women we might probably
have seen the symptoms of the advancing
malady but we were only obtuse and
short-sighted men. Now as l look back
over these months / recall incidents that
might have been warnings. The gradual
decrease of BUdelPs hilarity at the club,
and the grsdual increase of his excursions
into societycOuld hardly, indeed, have been
portents, for Budell always did go more
into society than the rest of US. The first
allusion that he made to me about the lady
who was afterward to play Beatrice to his
Benedick was at a coneert-or rather in the
cloak-room after a concert. That's what
call pretty girl, he whispered to me
" that dark-eyed girl over there in the
warm, feeoy brown shawl-none of your
himsy white opera-cloaks." The girl was
pretty, in fresh piquant sort of way and
even sworn bachelor might have been ex.
cused for being pleased at receiving such
frank smile as she greeted Budell with.
Again. not many days after he re-
marked to me GprOpos deS bottles" Met
rather an interesting girl last night
quite agrees with me on the subject
of names. may be excused for neglect
ing this hint B1deI | think would have
found a mollusc interesting Psf it had
only agreed with him that there was
nothing more Objectionable than to have
ones name murdered. He was nervously
anxious that his name should be pro-
nounced with the accent on the second syl-
liable and | afterwards found that he had
been introduced flor the second time) to
this interesting girl as Doodle. Just
as though l rhymed with noodle "-as he
Indignantly expressed it. But the most
important hint was given the night after
Mrs. Burton's ball, at which we had all
been present. We were lounging in
Budell's rooms, and Smithers was giving
us highly colOred and graphic description
OF the frivoliEy which passes for converse
tion between young men and maidens.
That's all nonsense" broke IN Budell
I" it's your own fault at any rate. Why,
last night l had quite serious and inter
esting conversation with maiden. l
even quoted Scripture to her.
" Bet you hat you misquoted," said
the irreverent Smithers, who thought that
every one was as ignorant as himself.
6 No; I'm not joking; it's fact, and
l got an idea or two, let me tell you"
Had he only told us that he had ventured
into the conservatory in order to carry on
HE conversation without interruption,
am convinced that at least should have
surmised that the acquisition OF an idea or
two was not the only result. However, 1
was not long in my ignorance. One day,
a month or so after, Budell hunted me up
to confide to me that the bachelors club
was all bosh he was over head and ears
in love. and did think he ought to tell the
other men Then there followed shower
of apologetios, in which "soft brown ewes"
and goodness knows what other personal
attractions were prominent. When 1 re-
covered breath I assured him that
thought it quite incumbent upon bin to
inform the club. l was rigid and cold !
with him, for felt indignant it was al. |
most an insult TO select me as his conf. |
dant, as though my celibate principles were |
less fixed than Marby's or Smithers'.
His announcement that evening was re-
ceived in solemn silence by the Square |
Club. Even Smithers had at first othing !
to say. At last Marby asked: 4" Is itper- |
mitted to inquire the lady's name, and
when the marriage is to take place p Bu-
dell looked uncomfortable. "Well, the
the fact is" he said, 81 thought / ought
faaU kba cinb at once bue havenit-
at is, don't quite know how to set
bout asking the lady"
Budell looked SO cOmically distressed sa