Mineral Point tribune. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1854-1858, 1857-01-27


all the crowded heads of Europe, the
gentlemen of New South Wales, and
the Queen of Tahiti" There were tow
ers OF play-books and pyramids of bale:
music; helmet and light halberd hang
from one nail, kept in countenance on
another by Roman sandals, a Highland
bonnet and the French spy's own rusty
blade, with which he defeats the turband-
ed mlnion of the Dey. A French pIas-
ter statuette Of Tagioni, as the Svlphide.
stood on one leg IN Gothic bracket. while
II the corner,Iike a collapsed masquer-
ade, or free fight of all nations, COS
tunes from the peasants to the imperial
velvet and ermne-Mrs Crowdles being
of an imposing figure always went on for
The queens and such ike personages in
I professions and regal hanquets-could be
seen overlapping and bearing one on the
other IN seeming inextricable confusion.
the whole pressing on regal diade.n Of
pasteboard and colored glass and gold
leaf, which peered out at the base as if
struggling TO free itself from the weight
of popular opinion-very like some
crowns of higher prrtensions.
The time had passed so cheerfully in
slipping the chocolate, and exhuming the
sardmes, like so many scaly mummies,
and trying to find the Joints of the fowl
without succeeding, aud drawing the cork
! from the cordial, which, after fruitless
attempt with fork, had to be pushed in,
that Christmas had come upon them, as
Mrs CrowdIes remarked, almost before
they knew it,
The General, in high state of enjoy
ment, was in the course Of narrating how
she had once upon time played one of
the young princes to the Kean's Richard.
and now, having a cold in her head. she
slfeezed violently at The wrong time, lust
as She ought to have spoken, and from
her continuing TO sneeze, how impossible
she felt It 10 begin her speech at all, at
which the house, instead of ENJOYING the
tyrants agony burs, into a general roar,
and how, when she stopped sneezing, the
house wanted her to begin anew, and
cried encore, encore. The old lady was
about to describe the passion Of the great
traSedian when he came of, when throw
ing her hands suddenly up and crying
= Indy, I'm going" carried out her prom
ise by rising on the instant, tottering, and
falling headlong ON the floor"
MY God she is deadr
No, no. cried Indiana, springing to
her mothers head, 8, its nothing-that is
not much5 she's used to them"
Accustomed to these visitations, La
Belle promptly applied such remedies as
had generally proved effective, but this
attack seemed obstiuately to resist all IN
reference in the Generals behalf SO
leaving her to the care of Beca, l. Belle
hurried eff for a physician, it being too
late aud the case seemingly too urgent to
waste time in calling up the people in the
house to her assistance.
To Beca, Mrs Crowdles had opened
quite a new feature in the social system.
Her simple, quiet nature had never ioslled
with anything as peculiar as the Gener-
al. Indiana was something she had
family conceived and could understand.
treating lightly with her fa,slts aud loving
the good that would leap forth, bat her
mother was something, out of a funny
scrap-bool1. a creation in fairy tale and
nowhere else, the kind-heaIted sultana Of
. a vicious ogre for instance, continually IL
tercediug for the lives OF innumerable
victims as continually falling into the pow
er of her lege lord the aforesaid ogre
When Mrs. Crowdles fell. Beca's blood
chilled, for she was unable to help her to
/ recovery, but when La Belle explained,
nothing that the General could have done
would in any way have astonished her.
/ She came to regard 1t as q little more Of
Mrs, Crowdles' cccontricity rather over
done, and sat, though with an anxious look
As wondering what was to come next
She had no fear for the result And
when Indiana had left, and she was alone
with the relic, lying there very like a fos-
sd indeed, she was not in the least sur
prised, when that respectable female, sud
denly ceasing to grind her teeth into fine
powder, opened her eyes, rubbed them,
and rose frebly 10 her feet, holding on
to the table, with the enquiry if anything
was broken2
Beca IS wondering-what next2
j The Generals eyes travel slowly and
mis;ily round the room and came to Beca.
They rest on her as she sinks into chair,
and she says, with her hands pressing on