"Subject to the approving, or correcting, judgment of Mr. E. DROOD, I
make bold to guess that the modern true lover's mind, such as it is, is
rendered jerky by contemplation of the lady who has made him the object
of her virgin affectations," proceeded Mr. DIBBLE, looking intently at
EDWIN, but still making farther and farther reaches toward the distant
crackers, even to the increased tilting of his chair. "I venture the
conjecture, that if he has any darling pet name for her, such as
Pinky-winky,' 'Little Fooly,' 'Chignonentily,' or 'Waxy Wobbles,' he
feels horribly ashamed if any one overhears it, and coughs violently to
make believe that be never said it."

It was curious to see EDWIN listening with changing color to this
truthful exposure of his young mind; the while, influenced
unconsciously, probably, by the speaker's example, he, too, had begun
reaching and chair-tilting toward the crackers across the table. What
time Mr. BLADAMS, at the opposite side of the board, had apparently sunk
into a sudden and deep slumber; although from beneath one of his folded
arms a finger dreamily rested upon the rim of the cracker-plate, and
occasionally gave it a little pull farther away from the approaching
hands.

"My picture," continued Mr. DIBBLE, now quite hoarse, and almost
horizontal in his reaching, to EDWIN DROOD, also nearly horizontal in
the same way--"my picture goes on to represent the true lover as ever
eager to be with his dear one, for the purpose of addressing implacable
glares at the Other Young Man with More Property, whom She says she
always loved as a Brother when they were Children Together; and of
smiling bitterly and biting off the ends of his new gloves (which is
more than he can really afford, at his salary,) when She softly tells
him that he is making a perfect fool of himself. My picture further