MEDITATIONS OF PAUL PRY, JUN.
Not a blessed bit of gossip have I heard for a whole week! Nobody’s run off with anybody’s wife; not asinglecase of “Swartwouting;” no minister’s been to the theatre; and my friend Tom, editor of the “Sky Rocket,” (who never cares whether a rumour be true or false, or where it hits, so that it makes a paragraph), is quite in despair. He’s really afraid the world is growing virtuous—says it would be a hundred dollars in his pocket, to get hold of a bit of scandal in such a dearth of news; and if the accused party gets obstreperous, he’d just as lief publish one side as the other! The more fuss the better; all he’s afraid of is, they won’t think it worth noticing!
Ah! we’ve some new neighbours in that house; pretty woman there, at the window; glad of that! In the first place, it rests my eyes to look at them; in the next place, when there’s a pretty woman, you may be morally certain there’ll be mischief, sooner or later,i. e.if they don’t have somebody like me to look after them; therefore I shall keep my eye on her. That’s her husband in the room, I’m certain of it (for all the while she is talking to him, she’s looking out of the window!) There he goes down street to his business—a regular humdrum, hen-pecked, “ledger” looking Lilliputian. Was not cut out for her, that’s certain! Well, my lady’s wide awake enough! Look at her eye! No use in pursing up that pretty mouth!—that eye tells the story! Nice little plump figure; coquettish turn of the head, and a spring to her step. Well, well, I’ll keep my eyes open.
Just as I expected! there’s a young man ringing at the door; “patent leather,” “kid gloves,” white hand, ring on the little finger—hope she won’t shut the blinds now! There! she has taken her seat on the sofa at the back part of the room. She don’t escapemethat way, while I own a spy-glass! Jupiter! if he is not twistingher curls round his fingers! Wonder how old “Ledger” would likethat!
Tuesday.—Boy at the door with a bouquet. Can’t ring the bell; I’ll just step out and offer to do it for him, and learn who sent it! “Has orders not to tell;” umph!I’veno orders “not to tell;” so here goes a note to Ledger about it; that little gipsy is steppingRATHERtoo high.
Wednesday.—Here I am tied up for a month at least; scarcely a whole bone in my body, to say nothing of the way my feelings are hurt. How did I know that young man was “her brother?” Why couldn’t Ledger correct my mistake in a gentlemanly way, without daguerreotyping it on my back with a horsewhip? It’s true I am not always correct in my suspicions, but he ought to have looked at my motives! Suppose it hadn’t been her brother, now! It’s astonishing, the ingratitude of people. It’s enough to discourage all my attempts at moral reform!
Well, it’s no use attacking that hornet’s nest again; but I’ve no doubt some of the commandments are broken somewhere; and with the help of some “opodeldoc” I’ll get out and find where it is!