Page:The Ladies' Cabinet of Fashion, Music & Romance 1832.pdf/87

Rh vibrated to every eoho of Lucy's feet, there was not a single chord of association in the mind of Johnny Anson, which connected the image of Miss Atherton with the idea of wedlock. On the contrary, having seldom seen her except on high days and holidays, when she shone as a bright peculiar star in the constellation of village beauty, her name was engraven on the same tablet on which was recorded his agreeable recollections of village fairs, fiddle-strings, minced pies, egg- flip, and hot spiced ginger-bread. All these good things came together, and with them always came-Lucy Atherton. When therefore the notion of a wife came into his head, it was like the intrusion of a comet into the solar system, disturbing the regular economy of nature, and eclipsing the other orbs by its brilliancy. It entirely unsettled the well ordered succession of his thoughts, which commonly moved on from point to point as regularly as the hands of a watch. "A wife !" -quoth he, casting a look of silly bashfulness all around, as if afraid of detection-" A wife !" -exclaimed he a second time, laughing aloud as at the absurdity of such a proposition-" A wife !" muttered he again, and then the image of Lucy Atherton came dancing before him. The greatest discoveries have been the result of accident, the happiest invention is but the felicitous application of a known power to a novel purpose ; and equally fortuitous was that train of thought in the mind of our hero, which united his own destiny with that of the fashionable and admired Lucy Atherton. The thought was ecstatic ; it brought a glow to the heart of Johnny, and he resolved to become, forthwith, a candidate for the hand of the village belle. Great designs give unwonted energy to the character. Idle and timid as our hero usually was, the idea of marrying Lucy Atherton awakened him to a new being. His conceptions were enlarged, his resolution quickened, and all his senses strung anew, and he was as different a man from what he was an hour before, as a stringless violin is from the same instrument properly attired and screwed into tune. He felt his importance increased, his notions of happiness expanded, and his whole sphere of existence extended and beautified. He considered the matter settled. " Me and Lucy will just suit," said he to himself. " She dances prime, and I can outfiddle the world." It never occurred to him that the lady would make any objection to the arrangement. How could she ? for Johnny was possessed of the only two things which he considered absolutely necessary to enjoyment ; music and money. What more could a lady want ? "And then,”