THE HESPERIAN.
it. The heroine of the story is a young society girl who has
the tcputation generally of being rather uninteresting, but
her inability to shine in society is due to an excess of shy
ness; and her few particular friends know her to be animated,
witty, and an exquisite conversationalist. Maud such is her
name falls violently in love with a very ordinary young man
whom she had met frequently in society Arthur Burton.
She couldn't help it. They never can. At least so I have been
told by victims ofthis inevitable hallucination. Unfortunately,
hpwcvcr,thc young gentleman was not at all inclined to fall in
love with Maud in fact, he already imagined himself in
love with another girl. Maud was in despair. Every time
she met Arthur in society her shyness would overcome her to
such an extent that he was almost justified in thinking her
stupid. At length, as the outcome of a conversation with
one of her married friends, she conceived the revolutionary
idea that a lady has as much right as a gentleman, to declare
her affection, and run the risk of its being reciprocated.
So one evening she frankly told him that she cared for him
and ask him to treat her kindly, assuring him, however, that
she would not pursue him. Imagine the position of the poor
youth! I suppose he had never been made love to before,
and he didn't know whether he was scared or amused most.
He went home and gazed at himself in the glass half an hour
to sec whether he could findany reason why a girl should fall
in love with him. The instinct of a gentleman prompted him
at length to do all he could to render her embarrassment less
acute. He realized that she couldn't help it. That seems
to be one of the most pronounced characteristics of
the malady its utter irresistability. The result was of
course a friendship which ripened into love until at last they
were married and died happy.
The only reason I speak of this yarn at all is because it
has, in places, strong appearances of truth, and it is barely
possibles that some poor unsophisticated damsel would infer
from this that the whole was true. I shall have to pass over
cutircly the question of the posibility of, and the durability
of, such affection, and also the right of a young lady to take
the initiative. These questions arc quite too deep for me.
It is the effect of such a flattering discovery upon a young
man that I wish to question. In my opinion it would
undoubtedly spoil him completely. It is more than a sense
less whim which has established the rule that a lady should
be perfectly passive in such matters. Underneath it is the
deep principle that a man wants the direction of affairs
entirely in his own hands or he wont play. I don't believe
the average youth is very conceited, and to him the idea that
a girl likes him is actually in love with him would be so
surprising, so intoxicating in its complete surpassal of any
thing he ever dreamed that it impossible to conjecture, what
the consequence would be.
SKETCHES.
An incident occurred not long since, by which one of the
students has been placed in a false position. This young
gentleman had always been a model par excellence as regards
smoking, etc. One evening, however, misfortune overtook
him.
While spending an hour in conversation with some fellow
studerits the young man remembered that it was necessary for
him to secure a lady's company for the next Friday evening.
He wrote his invitation immediately, folded it, asked one of
his companions to see that it was delivered, and then tossed
,the note upon the table with careless grace.
Now this young gentleman, who had never smoked, was
entirely ignorant of the fact that a student's cob pipe can ex
hale a more pungent odor than a tar barrel. While the note
was being written the other young men had been firing up on
some cob pipes of home manufacture. The young man in
question paid no heed to the smoke. Neither did the note
which he had just finished. Everything was calm and peace
ful in the young man's mind.
Hut just before the note, properly folded and addressed,
was tossed upon the table, a pipe had been placed upon that
same table. As it happened the note fell upon the pipe.
The young man did not notice it. He went home in a few
minutes. The note was delivered the next morning.
That young man failed to have company the next Friday
evening. His invitation was not accepted. A certain young
lady now turns up her nose in scorn when she passes him.
The young man's heart is heavy. When he remarks that he
docs not smoke his lady friends look at him with suspicion.
If only the young man knew; but perhaps he will when he
reads this story of his misfortune.
There is a young fellow in this institution who is utterly
depraved. He lives in Lincoln, but that docs not account
for his depravity. No one, as yet, has succeeded in discovering
the source of this young man's depravity. He is not bad in a
certain sense, but there arc a number of people who will give
their testimony in court that he is not good. The young fel
low himself admits that he is not good. In fact he is a non
descript. This boy, as he is not of age yet, docs not smoke, does not
swear, docs not drink (sodawatcr), and docs not gamble. He
goes to church twice on Sunday, and is always at Sunday
school. He puts a nickle in the collection basket as often as
it comes around. What, then, is the matter with him? He
plays cards and sometimes dances. But everybody knows he
he docs, so he don't care. I1
The other evening the minister announced that the even
ing sermon would be about "Satan's Agencies;" and ex
plained that he would rebuke card playing, dancing, gamb
ling, etc. The young man was on hand at half past seven.
He was there before the minister. He occupied a front seat,
and he gave the closest attention to the sermon. He sang
the hymns louder than the choir. The church members were
puzzled. What did that young man mean?
After church the young man tried to take three girls home.
He couldn't doit. Another fellow cut him out on one of
them. The young man took the two girls home, and then
slugged the fellow who took the third girl. Then our young
man walked out in the countiy for exercise. He came back
at 10 o'clock. He prepared a pony for Monday's examina
tion. Then he studied his Sunday school lesson for half an
hour. Then he went to bed.
The young man is a queer combination of good and evil.
Next Sunday he will go through the same programme that he
did last. He will probably sing in the choir, or else pass
the collection basket. The young man is undoubtedly get
ting there. But it will accommodate a few people who are
interested in his welfare, if some one will say whether he is a
sheep of a black or white color.
CURRENT COMMENT.
The bulletins issued by the agricultural experiment sta
tion are well worth preserving. In them may be found
much valuable information that is not obtainable elsewhere.
The men whe contribute to these bulletins are well known,
and rank among the best in their respective lines in the
i
