Year: 1859

of your precious time in business which is
more beft,iDga fool or madmao, and which
is alike dishonorable, whether practiced by
man or woman. Coquetry. to say the least,
is mean and low, and should be beneath the
contempt of man of sense and spirit; and
the sooner you abjure the detestable practice,
the better for yourself and others. How is it
possible Harry, for you, whom have always
found generous, upright and honorable in all
things else, when in the presence of girl
you wish to captivate, to wear smiles which
are nothing more or less than cloak for the
basest hypocrisy; to affect devotion which
you do not feel, thereby bunting and paraly-
zing all the finer feelings of your nature;
and what is still worse, doing all this with
the consciousness that you are trifiug wan
tonly with the peace aud happiness of your
fellow beings, is what I cannot wholly nm.
derstand"


p: "Well said, 'most potent, grave and rever,
end signorp All this homiy would be very
6ue if it came from any one but yourself;
but I am so unfortunate as to be totally un-
able to profit by precept without example
Presumptuous isn't it, for you to be indul-
ging in such trade against my malprac-
tices to be inculcating precepts when your
practice has been just the opposite? You!
who have airted with every girl in the eoun.
try who was worth the trouble, and now to
sum up the long list of your misdeeds, are
about to commit the most foolish act Of your
life, by exchanging your state Of single bless
edness for one of "matrimonial bliss" | say,
Ernest, it is we'll enough for you to look
back as you are about to pass the threshold
of matrimony, and indulge in such sage re-
fectiols. Well, all the good wish you in
return is, that you may always be subject to
the terrors of the poker and the broomstick,
aud that scoldiug wife may be continually
discussing in your ears a 'seveufold cho-
rus of hallelujahs and barping symphonies. >"
'"And in return for your most christian
wish, Harry, I only hope that you may come
to regard this matter in the same light that
do. Iknow that there is a chord in your
soul which must respond to the touch of love,
and whenever that chord is touched, if not
before then, you willacknoWlcdge its exist
ence."


81 am by no means incredulous on that
point even now, and I would not be surprised
at any moment to fud myself 'head and
ears in love. But you have made an accu.
sation which nothing less thar our strong
would render you safe in making.
| utterly deny that ever Airted in my life,
and challenge the proof. Mention single



s.Here is one just in poiot; who sent you
that boquet this morning"


"Miss Landon, whom I met at Mrs. BIS
last night"


"And with whom you remained most Of
the evening; to whom you paid the most
marked attention and who is firmly convinced
that you are captivated with her."


"If she thiBks so it is more her fault than
mine; she must have seen that I made her
the object of my attentions merely because
there was no one else to receive them, ex
cept Mary Clayton, who is as ugly as sin,
and Amarinta Blair, whose stupid nonsensi
cal, pulling scutimentalism, I would rather
undergo martyrdom than hear. Besides,
Miss Landon is very fascinating girl she
is so intelligent, and has such soft, winning
voice that cannot help being attentive
when she speaks"


"Wbere are the two Claverings whom you
followed like their shadow all last summer"


"Oh the twins! We'll really did have
some idea Of falling in love with one of
them but I found myself unable to decide
which, and as could not take both, l vas
compelled to take neither. They were as
jealous of each other as they possibly could
be; if l smiled upon one, the other was sure
to pout; if pressed the hama of one, her
sister always mustered up tear for the oc-
casiou. Once when I called upon them,
unfortunately for me, they occupied seats on
opposite sides Of the room, and in the attempt
to give my whole attention to both, I nearly
became cross-eyed for life."


"Have you forgotten Miss Morant who
was your pole star all last Spriug?".


"By no means; what glorious eyes she
had! so large, so bright, and so earnestly
that it seemed as if her inmost
soul was revealed through them. 7 always
had curiosity to know if couldn't see my
image reflected in them, as in a looking
glass"


"What has become of Miss Davidson, your
college Aame":


"Poor Efie she was harmless creature,
too good for this rough world she had such
a pretty name, loved so much to pronounce
it, and I loved still more to hear her call
mine in that soft, sweet voice of hers. But
that voice is no longer heard upon earth, it
now mingles its melody with the seraphic
strains of the saints around the throne of
God. The lovely flower. was too frail for
earth, so God transp!auted it into more ge-
NAL soil; there, it shall know no change,
but shall bloom with perennial beauty in
the pure sunlight of heaven"


"And do you still remember Lucia Berk-
ley, whom you escorted to every ball last
Winter, and with whom you danced all the
faucies and half the quadrilles ?'


"Remember her. l guess l do, and with
reason too. She told me once that she would
never marry a man who couldn't beat her