hew as the right time to make a point.

"Then I shall not see you, Miss Trapper, during all that time!" he said,
with a sigh.

Miss Trapper levelled a sharp glance at him, and said, "I suppose not."

The remark was tartly made; but Matthew had noticed that she habitually
spoke quick and short.

"Our acquaintance has thus far been very pleasant, Miss Trapper; at
least on my side," whispered Matthew. "Must it stop here?"

To which Miss Trapper replied, "I don't know."

Though the observation was not encouraging, it was, on the other hand,
not entirely forbidding.

"Since we are to be separated for three months, Miss Trapper, might I
solicit the great privilege of corresponding with you occasionally?"

Miss Trapper's thin lips expelled two words, like shot out of a gun:
"What for?"

"What for?" echoed the amazed Matthew. "Why--for the pleasure of
exchanging our ideas, you know."

"That would be a bore," said Miss Trapper.

"I didn't understand you," said Matthew, distrusting his ears.

"I said it would be a bore--a bore!" returned Miss Trapper, with painful
distinctness. "I hate letter writing."

"Oh! ah! Do you?" said Matthew, feebly. "Perhaps you would like some
pickled cauliflower, Miss Trapper?"

"Thank you."

Matthew handed the pickled cauliflower to her, and held his tongue,
satisfied with what he had seen of Miss Trapper's singularity, and not
at all anxious to receive a larger piece of her mind.

"I am doomed to be a bachelor," thought Matthew, with a suppressed
groan. But Hope, which attends upon fat and lean men alike, whispered in
his mind's ear, "Why not marry a woman as fat as yourself?"

"A capital idea!" thought Matthew "and if there's no other way to find
one, I'll advertise for her."

Dinner was protracted to a length that seemed tedious to all but the
representatives of the old school. When it did come to an end, the party
adjourned to the parlors, where a reasonable time was devoted to
conversation and flirtation. At length the musicians, having taken their
wedding dinner in their apartment, and drank full bumpers (which,
somehow, never interfere with the accuracy of musical performances) to
the health of the happy pair, struck up a quadrille, which was at once
interpreted by the younger people as a signal for dancing. Two sets were
instantly formed, and rattled through with. The Lancers followed, and
was liked so much that the musicians were called upon to repeat it three
times. T