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Literary Lapses
·
Stephen Leacock
62
"In
the
following
winter
the
habit
of
wiping
his
pen
upon
his
handkerchief,
which
I
had
remarked
during
his
final
examination,
became
chronic
with
him,
and
I
knew
that
he
had
entered
upon
the
study
of
law.
He
worked
hard
during
that
year,
and
dress
shirts
almost
disappeared
from
his
weekly
bundle.
It
was
in
the
following
winter,
the
second
year
of
his
legal
studies,
that
the
tragedy
of
his
life
began.
I
became
aware
that
a
change
had
come
over
his
laundry;
from
one,
or
at
most
two
a
week,
his
dress
shirts
rose
to
four,
and
silk
handkerchiefs
began
to
replace
his
linen
ones.
It
dawned
upon
me
that
Fifty-Six
was
abandoning
the
rigorous
tenor
of
his
student
life
and
was
going
into
society.
I
presently
perceived
something
more;
Fifty-Six
was
in
love.
It
was
soon
impossible
to
doubt
it.
He
was
wearing
seven
shirts
a
week;
linen
handkerchiefs
disappeared
from
his
laundry;
his
collars
rose
from
two
inches
to
two
and
a
quarter,
and
finally
to
two
and
a
half.
I
have
in
my
possession
one
of
his
laundry
lists
of
that
period;
a
glance
at
it
will
show
the
scrupulous
care
which
he
bestowed
upon
his
person.
Well
do
I
remember
the
dawning
hopes
of
those
days,
alternating
with
the
gloomiest
despair.
Each
Saturday
I
opened
his
bundle
with
a
trembling
eagerness
to
catch
the
first
signs
of
a
return
of
his
love.
I
helped
my
friend
in
every
way
that
I
could.
His
shirts
and
collars
were
masterpieces
of
my
art,
though
my
hand
often
shook
with
agitation
as
I
applied
the
starch.
She
was
a
brave
noble
girl,
that
I
knew;
her
influence
was
elevating
the
whole
nature
of
Fifty-Six;
until
now
he
had
had
in
his
possession
a
certain
number
of
detached
cuffs
and
false
shirt-fronts.
These
he
discarded
now,--at
first
the
false
shirt-fronts,
scorning
the
very
idea
of
fraud,
and
after
a
time,
in
his
enthusiasm,
abandoning
even
the
cuffs.
I
cannot
look
back
upon
those
bright
happy
days
of
courtship
without
a
sigh.
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