The daily republic. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1853-1853, 1853-07-16
THE REPUB LIC.
SUMMER sKETCHEs-No. A.

BY MARY J. WINDLE.

DEAR READER: Please shut your eyes and
dream that you are with us at the '.irst bali
here Not a mere grand rout, where people are
crowding each other to death and repeating q set
of conventional phrases to each other during the
whole evening; but a really gay, animated party,
where set ofyoung people meet to enjoy them
selves. Such gay, airy, pretty girls, and such
lively pleasant young men! We want you to
mark Miss -- (excuse the nancy as she trips
gaily down the dance as if her soul were in her
feet, little as they 1t is not strange that she
should take a conspicuous place among the bellies
here But we are not going to describe her.
We shall merely remark-e' passant-dear Mr..
reader,sto you, that she bears decided and re-
markable resemblance to your idol. And to you,
dear Miss or Mrs. reader, that she looks exceed
ingly hke-yourself And now, Of course, you are
both satisfied that she must be the most enchant-
ing woman in existence; if not, the fault must lie
in your taste and not in our spirit of accommoda-
ton. The gentlemen quote poetry to her and
bring her bouquets. And yet she parodies their
verses most ludicrously to their faces gives them
the slip whenever it suits her convenience, and
ridicules the pretensons of all outright. But
every one is willing she should Hirt Just as they
would look indulgently, because of its beauty and
grace on lovely, petulant, and happy humming-
bird, as it darts from flower to flower, sometimes
nesting tenderly within them, and sometimes
tearing them mercilessly to atoms After all, il
she shares with too many her heart, it is because
she has more heart to spare than most people, and
does not grudge it where it can give pleasure.
The leading feature of this ball was the waltz
ing, which was going forward in every direction
when we entered. Couple after couple passed
round and round with perseverance, and so
lcmnity perfectly astonishing, when it is remem
bered that many of the individuals thus engaged
are delicate, fragile-looking creatures, who Ger
tainly do not appear able to endure the fatigue
An unceasing circuit Of the vacant spacc-a
wreathing Of arms and clasping of waists
the only variation we were able to discover was
an increase of speed, which rendered the move
ments Of the parties only more conspicuous AT
first sight one would think it was quite an easy
matter to catch the STEP but in reality it requires
study and frequent practice to accomplish it,
even with tolerable grace; and the best dancers
introduce varieties which, like the shakes and
fiourshes in singing, SO disguise the original
movement with ornamental addition that you
would hardly recognise to what family it be-
longed.
To this dance the visitors here seem devoted.
No evening is complete without it; and to sur
pass all competition in dancing the polka is glory
enough for our bellies.
Miss $500 has had her curiosty--that quality
which is SO universally imputed to the daughters
of Eve-most painfully tested. bouquet was
sent her few days ago, but there was no sign of
the messenger or who was the giver of the fairy
gift From whom could it have Gomez n
She ran over the roll of her admirers. One by
one they passed before her, shadowy and dim
like the procession in Richard tent She had
received bouquets before--bushels Of them-with a
profusion sometimes truly ludicro us. Almost any
day Of the three hundred and six five she might
have been smothered in roses; but never before
had bouquet SO touched her fancy. There were
bright young rose-buds, the slender green arms in
which they had so long been nestled still clasped
about them, as though 10th to give them up; and
pansies, with their purple eyes full ofsweet loving
thoughts; and the daisy spreading abroad its tell
tale petals as though asking to be inquired of
and many delicate Towering thing peeped from
beneath sheltering leaf, sat in state upon its
own slender stem, like queen upon her throne.
Who could be the giver of such tasteful gift !
Her latest lover was not man with taste for
these frivolities He made love like a merchant;
he conquered by addition and multiplication; ba-
lance sheets were his love-letters-notes of hand
were his ssbillet-dour' She did not for a mo-
ment suspect the flowers were from him.
She took up the beautiful mystery very care
fully, and turned it over in her hands, and thrust
the tips Of her taper fingers beneath the leaves to
discover all they concealed, and wondered within
herself-her lips all the time parting with a sur
prised smile All! Miss --- (excuse her name)
made great wonder of the matter, even to her
self; but here was something whispering her al
the time the whole truth. In peering among the
stems, she found slip Of paper, with certain
words upon it written in a bold hand-vory!
Wby did hor check crimson with burning
blush? Why did she bound into the hall, spring
up the stairs into her room, and sit down stone
still upon chair Why did she look fxedly
upon the floor and remain perfectly motionless tol
five minutes, Why? Because that handwriting
was written upon her consciousness suddenly anc
dazzliney, as tho mystic words upon Nebuchad
nezzer's wall. Because she was lost in luxury O
happiness. never HhBereo lA0 ~ '"oi' " 'o'H
as in these Since that day there has been
general disappearance of her lovers. They have
scattered in focks as the migratory birds DO on
the first cold day, and her table on the second day
after that event was as vacant OF any floral en-
bellishments as if it had been signal for the
death of the flowers, and no more were destined te
bloom. t n E.ts. IN. su. \ 4
But we have gone as far into this delicate mat
ter as the limits of sketch will permit. we may
give you the ''denouemcm' in future article
No more of those dear delicious rercrtes, s'ghc'
Miss ---, as she ponsivcly pointed to the an
nouncemcnt of SIX Marvcls' marriage in q
journal before hcr--no more Of his ripping lin
pidty, she mournfully added, as if inwardly re
newing her reading of those moving pages.
hon Apu EtpratJrC OeCallS