article would cause her to think of him the
most, so the day before Christmas he unbosomed himself to his employer,
and asked his advice as to the proper article to give. The old man is
bald-headed and mean. "You want to give her something that will be a
constant reminder of you?" "Yes," he said, "that was what was the matter."
"Does she have any corns?" asked the old wretch. The boy said he had never
inquired into the condition of her feet, and wanted to know what corns had
to do with it. The old man said that if she had corns, a pair of shoes
about two sizes too small would cause her mind to dwell on him a good
deal. The boy said shoes wouldn't do. The old man hesitated a moment,
scratched his head, and finally said:

"I have it! I suppose, sir, when you are alone with her, in the parlor,
you put your arm around her waist; do you not, sir?"

The young man blushed, and said that was about the size of it.

"I presume she enjoys that part of the discourse, eh?"

The boy said that, as near as he could tell, by the way she acted, she was
not opposed to being held up.

"Then, sir, I can tell you of an article that will make her think of you
in that position all the time, from the moment she gets up in the morning
till she retires."

"Is there any attachment to it that will make her dream of me all
night?" asked the boy.

"No, sir! Don't be a hog," said the bad man.

"Then what is it?"

The old man said one word, "Corset!"

The young man was delighted, and he went to a store to buy a nice corset.

"What size do you want?" asked the girl who waited on him.

That was a puzzler. He didn't know they came in sizes. He was about to
tell her to pick out the smallest size, when he happened to think of
something.

"Take a tape measure and measure my arm; that will just fit."

The girl looked wise as though she had been there herself, found that it
was a twenty-two inch corset the boy wanted, and he went home and wrote a
note and sent it with the corset to the girl. He didn't hear anything
about it till the following Sunday, when he called on her. She received
him coldly, and handed him the corset, saying, with a tear in her eye,
that she had never expected to be insulted by him. He told her he had no
intention of insulting her; that he could think of nothing that would
cause her to think of the gentle pressure of his arm around her waist but
a corset, but if she felt insulted he would take his leave, give
the corset