The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1874-05-21

|of heavenly beauty. Time and the out.
|er world were lost in this delightful
trance, and desired nothing, nothing
else IN the world TO make my life content
forever.
To lie there on the marble and dream
lily watch the glorious white Of the living
statues, with the long bIack.hsir and the
rich dark eyes to see the soft, unduIat-
ing motions of these swimming
in the warm, delicious water !;
to look at the lovely forms stretch
ed at full length on the divsns
and on the edge Of the fountains and
others laughing, sporting. mingl'ng with
affectionate glances and wrestling in the
water or upon the marble floor, dripping
from every limb the perfuEed water
that glistcned on their bodies, and the
trickIing OF the fountains. and the rosy,
subdxed light that stole in through the
jealousy guarded windows, were enough
to send one OF an imagination like mine
off into the realms Of fancy, and make
one believe it the promised land, and
cause tho whole soul to be satisfied with
the enchanting picture, which needed
no Imagination 10 eMbellish. For after
all what is the heaven VIC have been
taught to believe in but place where
all is light and prefume and love and
beauty; where every sense shall DO salts
fed, and every desire filed with a pure
and exquisite fullness ! 1t is true that
in this heaven Of mine there were not
any men, but did not miss them in my
supreme content, nor, ! think, did any
of the women who were lying about
elapsed lovingly in each others arms, or
laughing and sporting in the water, and
think now, as have before, ! had just
as lief have my paradise ono where no
men could come.
Just as l arrived at this very sensible
conclusion my attendant aroused me
from my dreams of perfect peace By
pointing to the fountain and Sighting
that was also to get in. My four friends
then made their appearance with tbs scr
wants and our luncheon, and nobody can
tell of the comical look of US five sitting
around the caskcts eating, and without
any clothes on. have seen so many
sights in my life, but we women aound
those baskets, with chicken logs in
our hands, and glasses of wine and
other things, were too perfectly ludl-
crous for anything, and laughed till ]
couldn't cat. If had only napkin
to cover my face ! think l should have
laid down and died on the spot.
All my dreams of Luxurious, sleepy,
sensuous paradise, filled with undulating
figures Of transccndant beauty, were
gone, and was fully possessed of the de-
mon of mirth, and provoked the others
into nv own state Of mind-a capacity
which has never deserted me at any time
Or place, or without any person, in my
Iife-and NO were soon the maddest OF
The crowd in the perfumcd waters. ]
would be afraid 10 tell al! the freaks We
performed and antics and pranks we
;ut. Although it did not in the least
Startle the natives, it might some who
have imagined me to be the modal of
perfection in department.
But then you must remember th:t Mrs.
Grundy does not live in Constantinople,
and she has no one to tell tales out Of
school except my own sclf, and never
.ell more than suits me. 1t was two
full hours before our wild sport ended,
ald We slid out of tho water and sat
talking in little knots of four or five,
while the attendants were drying our
hair, and separating it till it stood out
in a light puff all around our heads.
Not q tangle was left in it, and no comb
Or brush was used. Then we were laid
On the same marble divans, through
With thick bathingtowel this time under
Us, while the attendants punched and
pulled, and rubbed all our joints, and
cracked all our knucklcs and elbows
and shoulders, till I thought l should be
always even more unsteady than ever.
They don't give you the least chance to
make protest to this sort of thing. They
roll you and rub you, up and down and
round, till you only want q chance to
get your hands free to "punch their
heads" when all at once, painting and
they grin at you and say
pekkey, which means call riSht.'-Olirc
Harper.