The emigrant aid journal of Minnesota. [volume] (Nininger City, Minn. Terr. [i.e. Minn.]) 1856-1858, 1858-01-02

gle, your dress is blowing terribly high-your ankles
will be town talk with the gentlemen =
Nor was I conscious of having a very small foot for a
man, and had donned a pair Of open work stocking which
came up nearly to my waist, with a pair Of CATERS bor-
rowed from the servant girl, in all Of which toggery my
: running gear looked quite feminine and respectable !;
but the idea of the gentlemen talking about my ankles,
and of being cautioned thus by a young girl, who would
have been frightened to death if I had told her the same
thing yesterday, was too much for me. / burst into q
sort Of strangulated laugh, which I could only check by
swallowing half Of my little 6lagree lace-edged handker-
chief. The young ladies all looked at me, in apparent
astouishment at such a voice, and l wanted to laugh all
the more. Fortunately, Mr.. Bimby came to my rescue
at the moment, and edged himself in among the crino.
line. r
May I sit here 2 he asked pointing to a low stool
near me.
Certainly I ~simpered, in my high falsetto.
'Ah, thank YOU said Bimby-with q lackadaisical
air, which nauseated me, as coming from one man to
you are as kind as you are fascinating! i
you fatter me -
Il? No, indeed praise Of you cannot be Aattery,
Miss Lee
.Oh, sir, really you are q very naughty man. I said,
in the most feminine tone l could command.
He cast a languishing glance at me through the black
lace veil, and | fairly began to fear for his feelings.
We soon arrived at the grove, and found our baud
ngaged-beforehand-awaiting US. Of course dancing
was the first amusement, and lawyer Bimby led me out
for q schottish. 1t was hard, at first for me to take the
lady's part in my dance, but l soon got accustomed tc it.
When a waltz was proposed l resolved to have a little
amusement at the expense of the unfortunate Bimby.
1 had first nrade him ~purposely jealous by dancing
with two other young fellows, one Of whom l knew, in
my own character, but who never suspected me as Mag
gle Lee. This young man, who was a great woman
killer-a sort Of easy, devil-may-care rascal, who made
the ladies run after him by his alternate wrath Of action
and GOODNESS of protestatlon Il selected to play off
against my legal admirer. l allowed him to hold me
very closely and occasionally looked at him with a halt.
expression. When we stopped dancing he
led me to my seat, keeping his arm about my waist, and
l permitted it.
Having thus stirred Bimby up to feats Of wrathful
valor, l asked one of the gentlemen to direct the must.
clans to play a waltz. Bin.by came Immediately.
g Athena Miss Lee, shall la have the honor Of
a-trying a waltz with you?
l smiled a gracious acquiescence, and VI commenced.
Now l am an old stager at WALKING. l can keep it
up longer than any non professional dancer, male or
female, whom | ever met. As long as the Cachucha or
for a year.
Not so with Mr.. Bimby. He plead want of practice,
and acknowledged that he soon got dizzy.
aha, old boy thought l, IN give you a turn then =!
But l only smiled, and said that i should probably
get tired first
'Oh yes = he exclaimed, of course I can waltz as
long as any one lady, but not much more
For the first three minutes my cavalier did we'll. He
went on smoothly and evenly, but at the expiration Of
that time, began to grow warm. Five minutes elapsed,
and Bimby's breath came harder and harder. On we
went, however, and 1 scorned to notice his slackeniDg up
at every round, when we passed my seat. After some
ten or twelve minutes, the wretched man gasped out be-.
tween his steps
,sAh, Are you not-get-getting tired ?
'Oh, no y | burst forth, as coolly as if we were rid.
ing round the room-'Oh, no, l feel as if l could waltz
all night 81 1854. ~" tr
The look Of despair he gave was terrible to see.
l was bound to see him through, however, and we
all directions. His shirt collar wilted, his eyes protrud-
ed, his jaw hung down, and, altogether, saw he could
not hold up much longer. "s p
This is delightful 1 said composedly, and you,
Mr.. Bimby, waltz so easily ..a5 'sssl
-de-Gghtful,' gasped he.
Don't you think it ought to go a little faster?'
He rolled his eyes heavenward in agony.
'Ah-puf-puf-I NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS..
So when we neared the musicians, l said, faster, if
you please-faster = and they played a Ia whirlwind.
Poor Bimby threw his feet about like a PAGER, and re-
volved after the manner of u teetotum which was nearly
run down. At last he staggered a step backwards, and
spinning eccentrically away from me pitched headlong
into the midst Of a small bevy Of ladies in a corner.
[ turned around coolly, and walking to my seat, sent the
young .woman-killer for a glass of ice water.
The miserable lawyer recovered his senses just in time
to see me thank his rival tor the water 800
l got some idea,1 from this Of the fun young ladies
find 10 tormenting uss poor devils of the other sex.
At this junction, and before Mr.. Bimby had come to
apologize for his accident, little Jennie came running
into the pavilion which served az a ball room. As she
came near, | perceived that her hands were clutched
tightly in her dress, and positively shuddered, a. she
whispered to me
ooh, Maggie come and help me fix my skirts they
are all coming down 4
What should l do? was in agony. A cold perspira-
ton broke out upon my forehead. | wished myself a
thousand miles away, and mathematical Bob Styles
masquerading project inwardly, with fearful maledictions:
e 4 said I was tired out-could not somebody else 60 ?
No, nothing would do, but | must accompau her to
the house of a gentleman who owned the grove, and as
sst her to arrange her clothing. sa Il.
So Invent. a14.4f
What if it should be necessary to remove the greater
part Of her raiment! What if she should tell me to do
some sewing What, if in the midst Of all the embar-
rassment Of being closeted with a beautiful girl Of seven
teen, in a state of comparative freedom from drapery,
my real sex aud identity should be discovered by her !!
However, 1 nerved myself up for the task, and ac-
companied Jennie to the house designated. An old lady
showed US in her chamber, and Jennie heaving a sigh Of
relief let 20 her dress. As she did 80, a-paldon my
bushes Ia ~petticoat fell to the floor. She was about
to proceed, but 1 alarmed her by a sudden and vehement
gesture.
'Stop!' cried, frantcally, and forgetting my ~falsetto,
: stop don't uniress, for God s sake ]
She opened her great brown eyes to their widest ex-
tent.
'And why not 2 rs t2
Because 1 am-I am-a-can you keep q secret 2
why yes-how f~rightful you look Why what is
the natter Maggie You -why-oh ! oh /! :! oh ~!
Aud she gave three fearful screams.
Hush, no noise, or | am lost ! putting my hand
over her mouth. Il swear | mean 20 harm, If l had l
would lot have stopped you. Don't you see =
She was all OF u trembie, poor little thing but she
.vv tho forco Of nv arua,n,ant qt.E
.Oh, SIR she said, i see you are q man but what
does it all mean !?
l told her the story, as briefly as possible, and exacted
from her a promise Of the most sacred secrecy.
" l then went outside the door, and waited till she had
arranged her dress, when she called me in again. She
had heard Of me from Maggie and others, and wanted to
hear all the particulars SO | sat down by her, and we
had a long talk, which ended in a mutual feeling Of
friendliness, and old mountaineering, quite wonderful
for people meeting for the FIRST time. just as we started