the matter over carefully and well, and it is the only chance I see for you.  It would have been a happy conceit on the part of Caruthers if he had started with his neck and broken that first; but since he has seen fit to choose a different policy and string himself out as long as possible, I do not think we ought to upbraid him for it if he has enjoyed it.  We must do the best we can under the circumstances, and try not to feel exasperated at him.

“AFTER” JENKINS

A grand affair of a ball—­the Pioneers’—­came off at the Occidental some time ago.  The following notes of the costumes worn by the belles of the occasion may not be uninteresting to the general reader, and Jerkins may get an idea therefrom: 

Mrs. W. M. was attired in an elegant ‘pate de foie gras,’ made expressly for her, and was greatly admired.  Miss S. had her hair done up.  She was the center of attraction for the envy of all the ladies.  Mrs. G. W. was tastefully dressed in a ‘tout ensemble,’ and was greeted with deafening applause wherever she went.  Mrs. C. N. was superbly arrayed in white kid gloves.  Her modest and engaging manner accorded well with the unpretending simplicity of her costume and caused her to be regarded with absorbing interest by every one.

The charming Miss M. M. B. appeared in a thrilling waterfall, whose exceeding grace and volume compelled the homage of pioneers and emigrants alike.  How beautiful she was!

The queenly Mrs. L. R. was attractively attired in her new and beautiful false teeth, and the ‘bon jour’ effect they naturally produced was heightened by her enchanting and well-sustained smile.

Miss R. P., with that repugnance to ostentation in dress which is so peculiar to her, was attired in a simple white lace collar, fastened with a neat pearl-button solitaire.  The fine contrast between the sparkling vivacity of her natural optic, and the steadfast attentiveness of her placid glass eye, was the subject of general and enthusiastic remark.

Miss C. L. B. had her fine nose elegantly enameled, and the easy grace with which she blew it from time to time marked her as a cultivated and accomplished woman of the world; its exquisitely modulated tone excited the admiration of all who had the happiness to hear it.

ABOUT BARBERS

All things change except barbers, the ways of barbers, and the surroundings of barbers.  These never change.  What one experiences in a barber’s shop the first time he enters one is what he always experiences in barbers’ shops afterward till the end of his days.  I got shaved this morning as usual.  A man approached the door from Jones Street as I approached it from Main—­a thing that always happens.  I hurried up, but it was of no use; he entered the door one little step ahead of me, and I followed in on his heels and saw him