Ellsworth American., 1877-11-01
~ viii they make me drink wine? Oh,
Frederick, take me homeI'

W VIII tbey make me drink wine! On,
| Frederick. take me bome!''
I sheaoe Hsrhave done so in sny case,
but it was siready too late. for George
had csaxlsss .ht of us aud FASTENED up.
followed by one Herr Miller, a German OF
the stout jolly. rabicund type, whom she
! introduced 10 nv mother as the son OF a
| German Protestant minister. Ny mothers
| face partially lost its look OF bewildered
| dismay at this. Hem of news, and she al
| lowed him to lead her TO her place with
| out further objection.
| I am afraid that at this point my atten-
ton wandered slightly from my mother
| for Helen wss there, the darling, more
| beautiful thaacv.r in her draperics OF pale
blue and paler salmon, with tea-roses and
| forget me-nots nesting among the rlpples
| of her boany brown hair; with her pure.
| proud face and her clear. stesdfast brown
| eyes and the gentle, tranquil grace which,
| Of ell her CHAINS, vas the one which had
most attracted me.
OF course Helen knew nothing OF the
state OF Affairs between my mother and
| me. She would have broken of our en-
| gagement in an instant. even at the risk OF
breaking hee own heart. had the faintest
suspicion OF II entered her mind. Foriu-
nately my mother ahd she were not likely
to be brought into close contact for the
pftscut- L<scu bAu tuey oteus htisH "puh
| probably account for my mothers indlfier-
ence on the ground OF her being still ig-
norant OF our engagement, which was an
affair OF only q months standing. As for
me, thought 1t best 10 let things rest A.
| they were until the way should be cleared,
! Of which my mothers Involuntary gam
bling had already given me good hopes.
The dinner Was . thoroughly German
/ affair. Servants. dishes. conversation,
music. all were German OF the purest type.
II was q little slice cut out OF the very
heart OF vGtsridad, and set down bodily In
| the midst OF an American town. My moth.
er did not understand q word OF German,
but Herr Miller spoke excellent English,
and was glad to see that my mother was
gradually becoming more aud more ab-
sorbed la the conversation. When she
| found that her refusal to take wine pro-
voked only 4 very mild surprise and remon-
STRANGE, her last seruple melted away. and
was scarcely surprised TO see her wildly
waving her empty glass, and chanting with
/ the rest the musical "Hoch, which Is the
| German version OF our unmelodIoas cheer.
| To be sure. the toast which she selected
thus TO honor was. ITO the health Of our
American friends now present" bot as u"
doubt Of the propriety Of her proceedin.
/ crossed Ter mind. It would have been a
| pity to cnlighten her.
| Now there was 4 stir around the table.
| The band. which bad hitherto been silent.
struck up q march-llke air. Each gentle
! man offered his arm Ia his partner, and we
1 moved arouBd the room In a dignified
prone Ade, while the waters entered Ia
| clear the tables and push them out OF tile
way. Round and round We went, my
mother besming with mild enjoyment a.
| she leaned upon her partners arm. Sud
denly the measure changes /; hand Is libked
10 hand. and the long line winds and waves.
weaving itself In and out In graceful undu-
lstions. For an instant my mother, In CON
| fusion and bewilderment, yields TO the i'm.
| pulse. Then . dreadful suspicion breaks
| upon her mind. and she turns TO heI part
ner with the freuzled question:
! What Is III What are We doing?''
Doing madam repeats Herr Muller,
looking bland. but slightly puzzled. We
are dancing the Polonsise. To be sure. Do
not be troubled; you DO perfectly well. |
assure you"
But my mother waits tor no further en-
! coutsgement. With q gasp she wrAsts her
hand quickly from the grasp upon it,-Snd
mechanically retaining her hold o.
partner, she whirls him too. out OF
ranks, and drops, limp, collapsed b
I upon the nearest chair. Helen and -
engage ourselves from the line and hasten
up TO her. But consola.ia0nin in vain. She
only raises her fearful 10 mine and
murmurs.
Frederick. your mother will disgrace
both you and herself In her old age. First
gambling, and now dancing! Oh, Fred.
erick. send me back 10 Nepoosuc. before
sink furtheI." And covering her face with
her hands, she bursts Into helpless tears.
while her bewildered partner looks on.
unable to form the slightest conjecture as
TO the meaning Of this remarkable scene.
Obviously there Is bot one thing to be
done, and that ! do, BY hastily conslgning
| Helen 10 Herr Muller's charge. aud lead
| ing my mother out OF the room as quickly
and quietly As possible.'
| II Is Sunday morning-thc Sunday after
my mothers little escapsde at the Gevman
! Club. The church bells are filling the air
| with music. church-goers throng the
streets. and still my mother does not come.
| / have been waiting Ia the hall for fifteen
minutes, and already the bell has ceased
! Ginning and begun 10 toll. grow uneasy
At last. and am halfway up the stairs,
when meet her coming down. What mad
| detained herr How can tell? A string
had come OF. or = button would not fssten.
or something of that sort. What do know
OF the various but triAing accidents OF
woman's toilet. She WAS ready at last,
| however; had caught up prayer-book and
mufi, aud hasteued down to join me.
The service had begun as We entered the
| church which my mother and attended.
/ Episcopaliauism WAS not her favorite form
OF worship, but she had consented to go
with me to that church, fearing. | suppose.
that otherwise would not go at all. Need
l say that my choice had been decided by
the TACT that Helen V0Rs . member (and
most devout ene) Of that church7 con-
sidered myself fortunate 10 having been
able to secure pew exactly in front OF
that which her family oscnpied. and thither
We directed our steps. Ii was situated
we'll up 10 the middle aisle, and as we en-.
| tered later than our wont. my mother who
| prided herself rn"n ler punctuality, was
somewhat 1ustered by the time VIZ reached
| II.
| "Dearly beloved brethren, the scripture
moveth US" repeated the clergyman, in his
| full rich tones.
"Captsn Jinks, Of the Horse Marines;
give my horse good corn and beans
Where on earth did it come from? Not
| words. you understand, only Q tnkle of
jig-s jlgjig-jg- jig -a-jig.jg. curously near
| eho oiSsibCsp euu Sottoosigs uottiui( map
propriate to the occasion. looked about
10 doubt and amaze; so did everybody else.
Had Innate strayed into church that
clear November morning. or Suddenly
my gaze fell upon my mothers face-such
| . scarlet, agOnized face as IL was AS her
trembling fingers fnmbled nervously but
vainly with the clasp Of her prayer book.
which she held. My eyes followed hers
downward. and the mystery was solved
Instead OF q prayer.book. she had 10 her
haste caught up . musical photograph al.
bum. which was Of precisely the same size
and shape. never discovering the differ.
ence until the fendish thing began to rat
tie out its rOllicking tune at this horribly
iDOpportune time:
"Cdptain Jinks. Of the Horse Marines,
1--WE have erred. and strayed from Thy
ways like lost sheep"
II was all q confused Babel Of sounds.
People stared, giggled, and wondered. My
mother I'm wrath And a0Onv struUOled