The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1866-05-31
-FHE THIRD TINE OF ASKING.

sWell, Flora, you are certainly bent on
conquest tonight. 1 never saw your So
ber ladyship half SO charming before"
said my sister Alice, dropping me very
; playful courtesy as came towards her,
and very sincerely returned her compl'-
ment.
Vanity apart, and Judging ourselves by
the standard of each other, [ think l may
say that we were a very presentable pair
of debutantes, as we stood there arrayed
8 for our first ball. We were twin sisters,
lust seventeen years OF age, although L
was generally distinguished as the elder'
on account of my more sober character.
Alice's golden hair, violet eyes, and rlch'
warm color, were all reflected in my case
in paler, fainter tints. We were alike
: but' she was far more brilliant than l was
in every respect. She was the MONDAY
and I the evening. AS I stopped to ar
range the wreaths of trailing ivy which
looped up the delicate white tulle dress,
she whispered, half laughing, half blush
ine. sWilfred Anderson will be there,
Flora. Do you think he will recollcct
me-that is, us?"
ssDo YOU think he will forget us-that
is, YOU 7" 1 retorted. "You have the adj
vantage of me, Ally-one more pleasure
to look forward to among the many we
are anticipating. Now, I expect no old
friend, no Wilfred Anderson, to turn up
for my especial benefit tonight"
aAhal we shall see, sober Flora said
Alice, dancing about. "For my part, L
should not be surprised if
care you ready, children ?" interrupted
my mother, approaching the door in her
rich black silk and point lace cap, look
ing, as Alice protested, "much better than
either Of us;D and in five minutes more
we were on our way to the ball.
NV father, though by no means one OF
its wealthiest inhabitants, had long held
a good position in his native town. There
he had married my mother, the daughter
of a highly influential landowner, and
there he had resided throughout an ac;
tive and energetic career, following the
profession of physician. We, his only
children, had seen little of the world be-
yond the immediate neighborhood of oul
home and to this day my brightest and
most enduring memories are clustered
around that dear, quaint little town, with
its gabled streets, over the very shop
windows of which grape vines wreathed
with proud luxuriance, its noble church.
and it's anciently endowed grammar
school On the latter institution Eldoun
was wont to plume itself; and indeed the
groups of gowned and trencher-capped
5Iacs, or c6hgsfsgatsd hhdSF Pfs HE
walnut trees which overhung the clois-
tered walls of the grammar school, add
not a little to the responsibility as well as
to the picturesque character Of the place
Three years previously to the date OF
nv story, Wilfed Anderson had been
senior scholar at Eldoun, and there had
somehow sprung up sort of boy and
girl liking between him and my pretty
little sister for our father, who had a
rare sympathy with all school lads, and
who especially regretted having no sons
of his own, would frequently invite those
boys whose manly and healthful interest
in outdoor sports accorded with his Pc
culiar tastes, home to his house, where
many an ardent discussion on angling,
cricket, etc, took place around our cheer
full tea table; the doctor holding forth
like an oracle, and his young guests drink,
ing in his words as eagerly as if he had
really been such. Wilfred Anderson was
always favorite; but when he came to
bid us goodbye, before going to Cam
bridge, it was not my fathers hand he
held the longest, nor my fathers face he
looked at the last. The lad of eighteen
went away, firmly believing himself the
most sorely tried of constant lovers, and
Ally's bright eyes were clouded for at
least three days after his departure.
It has been questioned whether any OF
the pleasures of our lives come up to the
expectations we have formed of them. I
think, however, I may safely say our first
ball did. Everything appeared to our en-
chanted eyes cozeur de rose. AS for Alice.
before she had been three minutes in the
room, Wilred came to claim her hand
looking altogether so manly, handsome