Year: 1874

neighbor, or the full-lipped, yellow-halred
beauty over the way should be the certain
type of June; but November reminds you OF
nobody, and nothing but that lean, grim
Banks, friend of your youth, known as the
cynic, the msanthrOpic genius, the POE OF the
college Glass; whom you would have iked 10
punch in the head dozen times day, but
refrained on account of the :" divine afiiatus'
which was popularly supposed to possess MIN.
The divine aflatus has landed him In news
naper office as writer of book notices, which
was but shabby treatment, common sen SO anu
Good bumor having done better for every one
of his college mates.


The world in general deals with Banks pre-
cisely as the college boys did, it has the largest
liberty for eccentricity the man with a way
of his own has his applause and ADMIRERS
whether his freak happens to be crime OF ohiy
boorishness, while his fat jOg-trot Drother ~
hedgcd in by thousand moral laws besides
those written on the tables of stone. Whether
Ranks chooses to cut up a new book out OF
sheer wantonness Of i'll temper, or to go to bed
and rise up in a suicidal, despairing, dumb
ness which makes their home foretaste Oh
hell to his light hearted children, 1T Is all SET
down to the account of his genius. lie IS no
more responsible for it than is November for
its muddy skies and dashes of cold ram.
There are plenty of Bankses in the world.
Ambitious men and sallOw women-every
one of us with fine tastes ana
lean pocketbooks-have their November
days, their moods of causeless des-
pondency and grumpishness for which we'
like Banks, can find some fine aesthetic rea-
son. Bankss wife, roly-pOly red-cheeked
little woman, never looks for this aesthetic
cause she looks and sighs as though she gave
full credit to his disgust with life and long
ing to have done with it, then she goes TO
the kitchen and tO5ses up some savory little
dish for him. She contrives to secure him
two or three more hours sleep in the morn
ing she gives him podOphyllin candestlnely
Under this treatment Banks Is acquiring or
late more cheerful views of life, and also some
flesh on his bones. 1t is astonishing, too, how
many clever books are sent nowadays to his
desk for notice. Mrs. Banks is not a
learned woman or progressive at all; but
with her house full of nervous, bilious, ex-
citable children, she discovers wonder
full skill and infinite tact in apply
ing her mental lotions, salves, and irritants.
w hen Sne Calcu lncuu W Iodu i''oo Jun
day evening, and they came in, peevish and
crying and squabbling, she put the Bible
away and told some funny stories of her
school-days, until they shouted with delight,
and then they had little feast of jelly and
grapes and cream, and said their prayers with
smiling faces, and sank to sleep with vague
idea of good world to live in and good
Lord watching overhead This little woman,
in time of joy or great trouble, brings her
faith in God, profound and glad as it is,
directly to bear in the family; but in times
of moodiness or melancholy she goes to the
stomach or the atmosphere for a cause and
remedy.


1t would be worth while for us to take
hint from her, and in our November days be
quite sure false, hollow world or unjust
Creator has nothing whatever to do with our
despondency, but late supper or malarious
night air, just as certainly as that these
"saddest days of the year" owe their melan-
chOly to black frOsts.