Columbia gazette., 1854-05-06
A POOR DELICATE CREATURE

Suppose we 90 to Lady Gunter's ball
Do you see that beautiful girl, spinning
round in the waltz with that Austrian
attache-the crystallized foreigner, now
| opposite to you, who is such revolving
pillar Of diamonds? Yes, we see the
lovely blonde-if you mean her-with
the bare arms and naked shoulders; a
costume, which, by courtesy, is called
full dress. What a rate she is going at!
Precisely;the Tines steam engine is, ia
quickness, a slow-coach compared to her!
She makes more revolutions in one min
ute than the French have made in all
their lives; and, if you notice, she shows
no symptoms of fatigue. She will keep
up that same speed for hours, and the
moment she ceases she is ready to be-
gin again. She is indefatigable; no
wheel in a cotton-factory could spin
around quicker, or work for so many
hours with less apparent fatigue. But
she is going out on the balcony; why,
she will catch her death of cold! No;
she is accustomed to it. A sailor
walking the deck wouldn't trouble him
self less about colds than she does. All
atmospheres are the same to her. She
is no fragile hot-housc plant, but har-
dy annual that will bloom anywhere
up the chimney, if you please, or down
in the cellar, or by the side of the kitch-
en- fire, or at the bottom of the well-the
small question of temperature doesn't
make much difference to a constitution
so we'll seasoned as hers. But does she
take no uourishment to keep up this ex-
traordinary fatigue? Yes: iccs-plenty
of ices and biscuits-varied occasionally
with jelly, and, perhaps, late in the
evening, the tiniest wing ola chicken
with little lobster-sauce, or a nlover's
egg, CT bit of blaac-mange, the whole
of it washed down with not more than
half glass of champagne. ButI have
seen her eat a very good supper-a sup
per worthy Of a guardsman in love-but
it has been very late, when there were
very few persons in the room, and she
has had pleasant companion, who made
her laugh, and keep continually filling
her glass. And after that? Why after
that she goes up stairs again, and dances
more necessarily than ever. She is in
satiable for dancing. To look at her,
you would think Tarantula had bitten
her and that she couldn't keep still for
the fraction Of minute. The wonder
is how one pair Of satin shoes lasts her
through the same evening. You would
imagine with her rapidity-and it is as
much as your eyes can do to follow her
that she would wear out half a dozen
pairs at least. And how long does she
keep it up' Why, as long as she can
till four or FIVE O'Clock in the morning
till the wax-candles begin to droop-till
the musicians have nearly played them
selves fast asleep-until she hasn't a
partner left to dance with-and then.
loath to leave, she goes unwillingly home
to begin the same dance the following
evening. How often does this occur;
Why, four or FIVE, and sometimes SIX
times week; and frequently there are
two or three balls on the same evening,
and she goes to every one of them, ans;
this, mind you, after she has been to a
concert, or matinee, or picnic, perhaps
in the daytime. What, only think OF
the exercise Well, that is something
to be sure-and if the calculations could
be made, it is probable it would be as
certained, by the most generous cab
mans measure, that the young lady does
not dance less than twenty miles in the
course of an eyening-and that is only
allowing at the rate Of four miles an
hour, which you will acknowledge is alb
surdly moderate for human waltzing.
Multiply this by six, and you will have
the sum total of 100 miles danced by a
young lady in the period of one week
l.And this, recollect, is independent Of