The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1872-10-12

toms piazza together. sergeant came up
with message to the general, which he deliv-
cred and went away.
what a handsome soldierp' said Daisy
is heT' said Gen. Burlington.
MY DEAR" said Mrs. Burlington, "you
really, ought not to notice common sol
der"
tie wasn't common soldier" SAID Dalsy,
for he had braid on his arm"
1.-The principle is the same" said Mrs.
Burlington.
''But he was handsome" insisted Daisy;
and Mrs. Creste laughed. But Mrs. Bulling-
| ton did not laugh.
She delivered a sort of lecture upon the
evils which might larise from young ladies
! looking at young people of the opposite
sex; and then, with swift, feminine logic, as
serted that such evils were intensified when
there was great social inequality between the
locker on and the looked on. Daisy stood
there, very pretty and slightly vexed, pulled
boquet to pieces, as the calm stream of Mrs
Bullington's discourse meandered gently on.
Again the sergeant appeared, and stood be-
fore them. Daisy saw him look at her ad-
miringly and colored; then she observed that
his eye fell upon the flowers she held. Sud-
denly, almost abruptly, she held them out to
| him.
do you like flowers q' she asked. sIf you
| do, you can have them'' And the sergeant
|
| eye was blue and expressive,-an then he
| walked away
MY DEAR" began Mrs. Burlington; and
then she stopped; utterance failed her.
| ''Well," said Mrs. Crestle, ''has that SER
geant made conquest of you, Daisy? First
you called him handsome; then you gave him
flowers; what will you do next?''
''Oh was that the same sergeant?' said
the little humbug, innocently
IT course it was" replied Mrs. Crestle.
II think you are mistaken, Mrs. Crestle,"
said Mrs. Gen. Burlington, with dignity.
"Oh, come nowp' said Gen. Burlington in
dgnantly, "let us drop the sergeant.
And so the sergeant was dropped. But
some three or four days afterward, as the
same people were sitting in the same spot,
Col. Crestle said, >
There is going to be ball tomorrow
night"
"a ball" said Daisy, suddenly frightening
Eyes," said Col. Crestle; IA ball over at
Porter's Gap. Shall we go?''
'Oh, yesv' said Daisy: "by all means.'
why, Ned" said Mrs. Crestle: 'Just
think what you are proposing! There will
be miners and all sorts of creatures there land
its fifteen miles away from here. Our going
is quite out of the question"
Il think you are mistaken, Mrs. Crestle,''
said Mrs. Burlington. cit is possible for us
to go, and l for one should enjoy it. Gener-
al, we will go, and will take Daisy with us.''
every WE'LL" said the general submissive
ly.
Now, Mrs. Gen. Burlington did not wish
to go to the ball at Porters's Gulch, and on
ly the controversial spirit inspired her to do
so. But, OF course, it was impossible for her
to recede from her position; and so, on the
appointed evening, she and Daisy, together
with DR.. Burlington and DIR. Gilbert, entered
ia -Wa halo 70 f1o
camp, and started for Porter's Gulch. Just
as they entered that fourishing settlement,
Dr. Gilbert was recognized, and carried off to
attend sick person near: so that the Bull
ingtons and Daisy entered the dining room of
the Gulch House, where the ball was to take
place, alone. Oh. --l-.-.
The dining-room was certainly not an i'm
posing apartment. The ceiling was low and
smoky; the walls, unlike those in most of the
houses at Porter's Gulch, were papered, but
with paper so hideous in its design and color
as to make the spectator regret that the laths
and plaster, which had, at all events, the mer-
it of simplicity, were hidden from view
Dancing had already begun when the Bull
ington party entered The room was crowd
ed: there were three sets of ''plain cotillions''
wonderfully plain, Daisy thought, with a
shudder, ALREADY on the floor; while forty
three young men with large feet and hands,
who were unable to secure partners, sat grim
" IN the seats which were placed on all four
sides OF the ballroom. Such a motley as
semblage as that was! Fat women, gaunt
women, gray-haired women, and little girls
| among the dancers; and grandmother. if
Daisy had only known it, was executing that
interesting and beautiful figure known as the
ladies chain' with her granddaughter
AT one end of the room the orchestra sat in
state, composed of a melodeon, violin, a
guitar, cornet and bass trumpet. The
performers on these various instruments
seemed to have various ideas of time and
tune, and continually INDUCED in little de-
partures from the key in which they were
playing. The blast of the trumpet was not
sustained, but intermittent: when it did oc-
cur, however, it was so powerful as to en-
tirely drown everything else. In spite of the
confusion and noise, the entrance of the two
ladies excited an amount Of attention calcu-
lated to delight both ladies had they been vo-
raciously craving of masculine admiration.
The plain cotillion" soon reached its end;
and several men thereupon rushed toward |
Mrs. Burlington and Daisy i
The next dance" said one of the rough
est-looking ofthese, sis waltz. May have |
the honorsmarm ?'
'Sir," said Mrs. Bull igton, in mingled an |
ger and disdain, 81 do not waltz"
II learn you how, marm," said the man. |
with persistence worthy of better object |
Il do not dance with strangers" said Mrs
Burlington, with increased severity.
You'd better, marm," said the man per-
suasvely. Women is scarce hearabouts,
and we'd like to have you and your daughter
there to trot out little. We don't want no
folks here that won't Dance
In spite OF the presence of Gen. Burlington, |
poor Daisy felt a little frightened. She did |
not want to dance with man whose pistol |
and bowie-knife were his most striking fea- !
lures. just as she was sitting there, perplex-
ed aud confused, hardly realizing what the
various men about her were trying to say,
the tones of a mans voice, which sounded |
fresh, pleasant, andmanly struck her ear Now.
when the feminine ear is struck by the tones
OF mans voice, in the feminine eve turns to
look at the owner of the voice. The voice
said,- 3..
"Why, Miss Gilbert, this is pleasant sur
prise. Don't you remember me,-Harry Cur
ramp
And Daisy looked in accordance with the
law which we have just enunciated and recog-
nlzed him. Then she gave little gasp, and
looked at Mrs. Burlington, and saw that she
did not recognize him.
inlay renew our acquaintance by waltz,
Miss Gilbert ~ said Mr.. Harry Curran: and
Daisy said, Yes, and they left Mrs. Bulling-
ton, and in an instant his arm was around her
supple waist, and off they went, all fire and
grace and beauty, in spite of the melodeon
and the trumpet, exciting admiration even in
the stupid louis around them. So well did
Mr. Harry Curran waltz, that Daisy went
once and half around the room before she
stopped, and then she said, ''Of course you
must explain your conduct, Sergeant"
II owe it to you, / know" said Mr.. Cur
ran; 'But | wish you could trust me enough,
and believe am sufficiently gentleman for
you TO forget my real position. 1 came over
here without leave OF absence; and, if 1 am
discovered, am disgraced. saw that those
men troubled you, and l hoped to help YOU
out of your difficulty.''
what did you come over here for?' said
Daisy.
For thesame reason that you did, said
the sergeant; sand yet that was not my only
reason"
"What vast, then?" said Daisy, imperi-
ously.
Because you came" said the sergeant
boldly; and then he eolored
You are no sergeant" said Daisy. cat |
least, you talk to me as 1 have heard other
young gentiemen,-no, don't mean that
who are yonT
Don't ask me, please, Miss Gilbert" said
the sergeant My life has been a ruin
and waste; brilliant hopes and pros
poets have been worse than crushed and
now l am simply Sergeant Butler except to-
night, wlsn l try to forget what 1 am, and
retura to what l was. This waltz is over:
may dance with Won aoaino