134 THE FOGY DAYS AND NOW ; 



pecially desired to range. The service over, my attention was 

 directed to two young ladies, who were talking in an under- 

 tone and casting significant glances in my direction ; then 

 heard a suppressed giggle as a servant girl placed a lamp on 

 the corner of the piano so as to shine directly in my face. 

 Turning suddenly to where my sweetheart sat, the seat was 

 vacant ; she had slipped out. Then my old experience recur- 

 red in all its original force — deserted ! She had gone back 

 on me; and now, like Peter, I lost my faith — all my prayers 

 for a wife wasted. Right then it occurred to me that I or the 

 Lord one had made a bad mistake; and to complete my dis- 

 grace, I was now an object of sport for those two young ladies- 

 It was too much. I determined to forget the unfaithful girl 

 and my prayers, and to leave for home the next morning — even 

 thought of hunting another roof for the night ; but the girls 

 had riled me. I was going to get even with them before I 

 left, to show them I wasn't the kind of a bug-eater they took 

 me for; so I picked up my chair and sat down right in front 

 of them and commenced a rattling, don't-care sort of confabu- 

 lation. This bold act brought them to their p's and q's, and 

 placed them on the defense. Directly, turning around, I^saw 

 the two old gentlemen regarding me, as I thought, with critic's 

 eyes, and feeling just like I didn't care what corn was worth a 

 bushel, moved my seat and tackled them, and soon had the 

 l^leasure of thinking I had paralyzed the whole party, and was 

 now ready to vamose the ranche, cursing (in my mind) the 

 unreliability of the entire fair sex. 



Just about this condition of affairs I observed a handsome 

 young woman tripping in the parlor; the gay deceiver was 

 making for me. I recognized the face and the form ; was she 

 about to tell me to git up and git? I braced myself for the 



