OR, THE WORLD HAS CHANGED. 113 



flounndering down into the murky abyss of despair; 'twas a 

 stunning fall, and it is still fresh on my memory to-day; that I 

 was deeply impressed at thnt especial epoch in my life; that 

 something had drapt, and though near a half century has sped 

 o'er the hills and valleys of time since then, I doubt not that 

 some of the footprints of that eventful period mought still be 

 traced amidsts the sands of my gizzard. 



I llrst diagnosed my trouble from the great disquietitude 

 raging in the interior of my internalities, fur indeed, they 

 seemed to be litterally tored up; my old friend slumber became 

 estranged from my habitual command, my grub lost its for- 

 mer savory attractions, instead of my previous eubulistic gush, 

 I was now wont to go it alone, a sort of lonesome far off feel- 

 ing had sot down on me. I forsook the society of my old hale- 

 fellows well-met, sought the mellowed rays of the sympathetic 

 moon beams. I tried to hold sweet converse with the twink- 

 ing little stars, fur I felt an aching void in my raging bosom, 

 that nothing else on earth but she could ever fill. But in the 

 vehemence of my desire, my powers of conquest seemed bar- 

 daceously parrallalized, and in the persuit of the object of my 

 yearning I became both blind and dumb, and my whole pan- 

 oply for acquiring victory, want nothing but dern fool ardour. 

 As to tact or diplomacy, I was asguideless as a timble bus, my 

 intentions were noble, but even a superficial observer might 

 have remarked, "his intentions were good, but darn his judg- 

 ment." 



But now I approach the climax, the focus-pokus, the culmi- 

 nating point of the pittiful finale. I had on divers previous 

 occasions made desperate efforts to pop the question, but upon 

 every assay courage had oozed out. and had resulted in signal 

 disaster, when I confronted the fortress. When the time for 



