This little skirmish over, the married lady, who was the mom of the rosebud, smiled sweetly upon the younger gentleman, and accused him of being a flirt; the younger gentleman pleading not guilty, a most fascinating dialogue befell upon the important point whether the younger gentleman was a flirt or not, which being an agreeable dialog of a mild sort, lasted a substantial time. Never,’ he replies, bending over the item of admiration, ‘by no means however in your eyes.’ ‘Oh, Mr. Caveton,’ cries the younger lady, blushing in fact. However, the cavalcade moved at length, every coachman being accommodated with a hamper between his legs something bigger than a wheelbarrow; and the company being packed as intently as they possibly could in the carriages, ‘in accordance,’ as one married lady noticed, ‘to the immemorial customized, which was half the diversion of gipsy parties.’ Thinking it very probably it is perhaps (we now have by no means been able to discover the opposite half), we submitted to be stowed away with a cheerful side, and had been fortunate enough to occupy one corner of a coach wherein had been one old lady, four young ladies, and the renowned Mr. Balim the young ladies’ younger gentleman.
At length, a short silence occurring, the younger ladies on both side of the younger gentleman fell suddenly fast asleep; and the younger gentleman, winking upon us to preserve silence, received a pair of gloves from each, thereby causing them to wake with equal suddenness and to scream very loud. We have lived to witness the unmasking of another throwing-off younger gentleman, who went out a visiting in a army cap with a gold band and tassel, and who, after passing successfully for a captain and being lauded to the skies for his crimson whiskers, his bravery, his soldierly bearing and his pleasure, turned out to be the dishonest son of an honest linen-draper in a small nation city, and whom, if it were not for this lucky exposure, we mustn’t yet despair of encountering because the lucky husband of some rich heiress. Now we have heard another throwing-off young gentleman, after placing a notice or two upon the piano, and accompanying it accurately (by dint of laborious apply) along with his voice, assure a circle of questioning listeners that so acute was his ear that he was wholly unable to sing out of tune, let him try as he would.
There’s one other nice characteristic of the throwing-off young gentleman, which is, that he ‘occurs to be acquainted’ with a most extraordinary variety of individuals in all parts of the world. There was an important occasion acquired up by some get together-loving mates of ours final summer, to go and dine in Epping Forest. We were all in a state of great mortification and uneasiness, when one of the little boys, running into the room as airily as little boys often run who have an infinite allowance of animal meals in the vacations, and keep their arms constantly compelled right down to the bottoms of very deep trouser-pockets after they take train, joyfully announced that Mr. Balim was at that second arising the road in a hackney-cab; and the intelligence was confirmed past all doubt a minute afterwards by the entry of Mr. Balim himself, who was acquired with repeated cries of ‘Where have you ever been, you naughty creature?
One younger lady supported a parasol over his fascinating head, another held his hat, and a 3rd his neck-cloth, which in romantic trend he had thrown off; the young gentleman himself, along with his hand upon his breast, and his face moulded into an expression of probably the most honeyed sweetness, was warbling forth some alternative specimens of vocal music in reward of female loveliness, in a method so exquisitely good, that we burst into an involuntary shout of laughter, and made a hasty retreat. Observing that our arrival in lieu of the unknown occasioned some disappointment, we ventured to inquire who was yet to return, after we found from the hasty reply of a dozen voices, that it was no aside from the younger ladies’ young gentleman. Mr. Balim’s lodgings. This, nonetheless, the papa resolutely opposed, observing, in what a short young lady behind us termed ‘quite a bearish means,’ that if Mr. Balim did not choose to come, he would possibly stop at house. Mr. Balim may need been married that morning-for which impertinent suggestion she was summarily ejected from the room by her eldest sister. I am positive I can-NOT think.’ As these final words have been uttered in that measured, emphatic method which painfully declares that the speaker has not fairly made up his or her mind what to say, however is set to speak on however, the eldest daughter took up the subject, and hoped no accident had happened to Mr. Balim, upon which there was a common chorus of ‘Dear Mr. Balim!