The star of the north. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1849-1866, 1861-04-03

4
dance. No, in India or in China ladies are
at premium, and learn their own real
value. Where there is but one pair of fair
shoulders and one pair of bright eyes TO
every dozen of red coats or blue ones, the
disparity of the sexes tells entirely in the
ladies' favor. Such was the case at Hong
Kong, but there were handsome women
present. and however few, they attracted
none the less admiration.
Among them, be-ond conparison,-the
bsiles of the ball room,-was the beautiful
Mrs. G. "a fair young wife, almost a
bride, who had just come out from Eng
land with her husband, Captain C., the
junior captain OF the Rifles Captain C.
"Geordie," as we used TO call him, had just
got his promotion before sailing, and had
| been married less than year. He was
fine, manly fellow,-the best crickeier and
oarsman in the Rifles, and favorite with
old and young, high and low. He deserved
the Victoria Cross in the Crimea, every
body said, don't know how he missed get
ting it and the men swore by him, and
water. It was great proof of poor Geor-
dies popularity that don't think anybody
grudged him his good luck in getting such
a peerless wife as Mrs. c., the beauti-
full newcomer, was considered. ALI the
eEsigns and m iddies, and half the lieuten-
ants navy and military 10 say nothing of
the parboiled young gentlemen in mercan-
/ tile houses, were fairly raving after the an
gelic stranger The FOOLISH boys devoured
her with their eyes, ard wrote sonnels 10
their eyebrows, for aught | know, and she
never moved along the little parade at band-
time without an overwhelming escort; but
10 one ever said that Geordie was not
worthy of the good luck he had found, and
the s,eat prize he had drawn in the lottery
matrimonial-he, the 'tbest fellow" N
the service. | do not remember a more
attached couple, and yet so free were they
from the regular Edwin and Angelina pa
thos, the co, am populo demonstrations, that a
superficial observer would have set Mrs.
G-down for Ait, and Geordie for
careless fellow. Yet everybody knew how
they loved each other, everybody, down TO
that stupid garrison Adonis, young Cram
inion OF the Horse Artillery, who has since
owned TO me that he had penned nine cop
les of heart breaking verses Oh pink paper,
nine .periumed bilieis," as the young
BOBBY called them and never dared, some
how 10 deliver to their destined recipient
any of these measurable prodachons.-
however, On this night at least, Mrs. c.
was in the highest spirits, and waltzed and
hirted, well, to all appearance, and was the
very centre of atlraction-the target of all
eyes. Geordle, who knew her 100 well 10
spirits too SO we're most people. 1t was
very gay night, all the gayer because ac
tive hoslilities were expected between John
Chinaman and his namesake and best Gus
toner Mr. John Bull Nothing gives so
high zesl 10 life as specie of danger, es-
pecially in that enervaling tropical eli mate,
and many who are destined to perish in
goriousIy by sun and malaria were laugh
ing and chatting gaily, with hearts beating
high over the expected campaign. Al the
buffet where refreshments were in great
dem and, Captain c. was the centre
I of merry group who were drinking in lie
bations of champagne TO the future educa-
ton of the foiwery land-an education only
to be prefaced and grounded by the exer-
tions of those manly figures in red and blue
with The v f. on :heir buttons, whom her
Majesty had sent as school mas ers to teach
the celestial gentry respect for the law of
nations. Mrs. C went through dance
after dance, as the band played on with
admirable taste and spirit, and still partners
buzzed arolnd her, and her little ivory
memorandum book was filed with writing
as bank ledger. II was wonderful how
actively the dancing went on, and on such
a night. Even for Hong Kong it was pro-
nounced hot. The day had been broiling,
and The night was sultry to degree hardly
TO be realized by mere imagination.
1t was not the heat alone. though that
was bad enough, for every rock was rada-
ting the terrific amount of caloric it had
sucked in through The long baking hours of
the sunlight. Not the heat alone, but the
peculiar heavy aImosp here. the suffocating
steam, the moist vapor so peculiar 10 China
in which the strong perfume of the great
tropical flowers is so sickiy and rich as 10
load th,, dull air. No. a breath of wind
swept over the leland, or if it did, Victoria
Mounti.in kept off every puff OF The faint
sea Breeze from Victoria Town. The city
swettered in the heat. In the ball room,
the weight and warmth of the atmosphere
-an atmosphere almost sufocating op-
pressive as a steaming blanket wrapped
around each miserable individual-began
10 tell. The company gasped, and ate ice,