_Luc._ Ah, if you refuse me, I shall ask you to give me back my sprig of May. _Cha._ (_kneeling_). Never. I will keep it to the last moment of my life, and with it the hand I now hold. [_Sinks on his knee. Door opens._ _Luc._ Get up: here’s some one coming. _Enter_ PRICHARD, R. 2 E. _Pri._ Madam, sir, the postilions are harnessed: I mean the horses. _Cha._ Confound that landlord!—Come here, landlord. (_Takes_ PRI. _up_ C.) Did you ever hear that this hotel of yours was infected with a malady of the most infectious character? _Pri._ Sir, I beg most distinctly to state that— _Cha._ Landlord, you’re very drunk. [_Pushes him through door into next room, where he falls on sofa._ _Luc._ Oh, Charles, dear! I hope we sha’n’t catch it. _Cha._ Don’t be afraid, dear: the malady which I allude to is one from which we are both of us suffering, and it is one that has but one remedy for its cure. (_To audience._) Dear friends, the malady is love: the remedy is marriage. If any of you are suffering from some of the premonitory symptoms of this insidious disease, you will, I feel sure, accord us your utmost sympathy. But if there should be any here who have not yet been attacked, and who wish to avoid contagion, let me strongly recommend them to avoid, upon any pretence whatever, a conversation with a lady which is to be carried on * * * * * UNDER A VEIL. _Curtain._ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ “=Books that our Teachers ought to have on hand to SPICE UP with now and then.=”—ST. LOUIS JOURNAL OF EDUCATION. GEO. M. BAKER’S READING CLUB and HANDY SPEAKER, BEING _Selections in Prose and Poetry_, SERIOUS, HUMOROUS, PATHETIC, PATRIOTIC, and DRAMATIC. FRESH and ATTRACTIVE PIECES for SCHOOL SPEAKERS and READING CIRCLES. In the words of the GOSPEL BANNER,— _‘From grave to gay, from lively to severe,’ In poetry and prose a judicious mixture here; Beside outlandish dialects, full of words odd and queer, Which stir one’s sense of humor as they fall upon the ear, Pleasant to those who read or speak as unto those who hear._ Published in Parts, each Part containing Fifty Selections. Paper Covers, 15 cents each. Printed on Fine Paper, and Handsomely Bound in Cloth, price, 50 cents each. READING CLUB NO. 1.