Year: 1877

DuoHiul DtHsOu.


Rev. Jerome II. Benson is Young man
a minister Of great promise, and is greatly
beloved by the members of his flock. Blu,
he is very bashful young man, and it is
quite cross for him to make pastoral
calls and get acquainted with the people
OF the congregation. He has lived in
Burlington only about eight weeks. A
few days ago he fixed himself up and
went to call at the residence Of Mrs. JAS
per l.. BlaSingby, on West Hill, who is
very stylish, and has four lovely daugh-
tiers, and young Mr. Benson was accord
ingly more than usually nervous and en-
barrassed, and when he got to the house
and entered the parlor door and saw COM
pany, two young gentlemen visiting two
of the Misses Blasingby, his wits imme-
diately went wool gathering.


Mrs. Blasingby bowed him into the par
lar, grandly introduced him to the young
men, and waved him toward an easy
chair. AS he moved toward it she made
a second effort to capture his hat, and af-
ter some feeble resistance by the young
minister she succeeded. And then that
man, thoroughly demoralized by the loss
of his hat, made a wavering advance to-
ward the easy chair, and then, impelled
by the thought that he was very selfshly
taking the most comfortable chair in the
room, he swerved aside and headed for an
inviting looking straight back chair that
stood against the wall. Mrs. Blasingby,
returning from the hat-rack in the hall,
OWNED his intention, and bore down up
on him for the purpose of getting him
anchored in the easy chair But the
young minister had the weather gauge,
and the more she bowed and flourished
and said, "Oh, do take this easy chair,
Mr. Benson" the more steam he put on,
and the nearer he worked to the straight
back chair. He reached it. He caught
hold of the back to lift it from the wall,
and the back came out in his hand like a
loose tooth. For brief second he stood
there, very gracefully holding the chair
back in his hand, listening to Mrs. Bla-
singby's hurried explanations about the
children, and then he attempted to put
the chair back where it belonged. He
didn't succeed very well, for the back
weakened on itself as he fumbled with
it, and two or three pieces fell out of it.
Mrs. Blasingby was now begging him to
leave it alone and sit down in the easy
chair. His face was so hot and red he
couldn't hear word she said, and in
desperation he set the back on the chair,
leaned it against the wall, and picked up
the chair bodily and started across the
room with it, without any particular in
tention, and followed by trail Of chair
back, legs, and stray springs that dotted
the, carpet like the track of tornado.
He doesn't know to this day how Mrs.
Blasingby got the chair away from him.
He can only remember that when he was
about two blocks away from the house he
discovered that he was carrying switch
cane with an ivory head, carved in very
Black Crook design, evidently the prop
erty of one Of the young men, and that
his head was covered by jaunty little
hat of dove-colored silk and rough straw,
turned up at one side, and decorated with
pearl buckle and long dropping
plume, all of which he had often admired
on the head of the youngest Miss Blasing-
by. His peculiar appearance and evident
mental distress when he was met in this
guise by his senior deacon gave rise to
the rumors that he was intoxicated, which
were, however, so we'll explained at the
church meeting last evening that Mr..
Benson was unanimously requested to
withdraw his resignation. This, we are
sorry to learn, he steadfastly refused to
do, and it is understood that he has, ac-
cepted chaplaincy at the Black Hills
Burlington (Ia.) HaOkeye.