The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-11-04

strained my eyes to learn what could have
produced chat look OF placid and profound
vain, until one d thls group, rising with IN
apology to the rest, politely offered his chair
| 10 my mother. He. being comparative
stranger among. us, knew nothing Of her pe,
ctilaf Ideas, which were no secret 10 the rest
OF the house. saw the look Of laughing dis
may exchanged among those who were left .
| then, to my unbounded Amusement, saw my
! mother subside into tho offered chair In an
other Instant understood It..
| "Domsnoes' ! heard her say, In a tone Of
since | was 9 child, but I was very fond Of
them then. You seem to be playing some
game Of which do not know Che rules, but
| II you will bear with, my ignorance for a
| them SOON
| The others. with, | fanoie,l, a slight hest
fancy began to instruct her In the laws Of the
game. Soon | heard terms flying freely
canny as proceeding from my mothers lips,
| Hush pair. straight flush what
could II ali mean?
| II chipl' cried my mothers voice. In tones
of wild excitement. but
''Too later cries another voice. "How many
counters have your
TWENTY-FIVE" replies my mother, blandly
Instantly q twenty-five cent STAMP is laid
upon the table before her. She starts back.
cycling It with wild dismay. A horrible sus-
pieion creepH acrosH her mind and looking
| around The table, she gasps, family.
"What--what have been playing"
Amidst shout of laughter the answer
"Playingp why, penny ante TO be sure.
The cards were ali III uao 80 we have been
playing poker with dominoes by way of
must pass lightly over the tableau which
followed. or my tale will be too long over my
mothers apologies, remofse, fearful explain
ations, over her Indignant refusal Of the
money. her final acceptance Of IL under pro-
test. and II subsequent dedication 10 the
cauan Of missions All this | must leave to
your imagination. and pass to the next scene,
Georgia had succeeded at last In her efforts
at persuasion. aeDrgie Lenox was my eo,ls-
IN, and my mothers favurite niece. She waa
married now married a year ago to Rudolph
Aronach, one of the best fellows In tho world.
and they had taken up their abode In Hobo
KEN that most German Of all towns. II was
to the celebration of their wedding aniver-
sary that my mother had, after much liesta-
ton, consented to go.
IL is to be, be very quiet dinner" Georglle
who must be invited, that we have decided 10
give II at the German club Instead Of our own
house, which is too SMALL
Il am afraid II will be very gay and
worldly affair" sshed my mother, "but
Georgia makes such point of Il that for her
sake. ! suppose | must 70 But remember,
Frederick II geo any sigma of dancing.
leave 1t at once. for that really can not coun-
fea"se w ~ my wp e ae There Ia point
Or course | Satisfied her with cheerful
"All right, and she made her preparations
with sort OF resigned equanimity edifying
10 behold.
My mother was handsome woman sttl,,
~ ni hnr van tai
moulded figure delicate. elear-cut features.
unblurred yet by times ruthless touch, soft
blue eyes, and heaps upon heaps Of snow
white hair which glistened like spun silk
proud of her az locked AT her that evening
la her sweeping dress of black velvet FIN.
tshed at throat and wrists with aoft falls Of
creamy lace. Dress and laeea had been my
present upon her last birthday, and she had
accepted them with mild rebuke Of my OK
travagance, and wore them with an air of
quiet protest, blended with subdued pride,
which was charming.
Georges fiction d the "aaet dinner had
hardly imposed upon my mother, | think.
Nevertheless, ] felt her cling closely to my
arm, with n stitied groan, IA we entered the
one, long room which. then composed the
entire SECOND hoor Of the German Club.
lights and the little curtained stage al the
upper end on which her eye fell fret.
What does 1t mean r she moaned family. |
" win they ma Ike me drink wine1 Oh, Fred
erick, take me home
should not have done 30 in any case, but Il |
was already too late for Georgia had caught
sight of us and fastened up, followed by one
Herr Muller, German Of the stout. jolly. |
rubieund type. whom abe introduced to my
mother "a the son of u German Protestant
minister, My mothers face partially lost its
look Of hewildered dismay ut this item of
news. and she allowed him to lead her to her
place without further objection.
M
mother, for Helen was there the darling,
more beautiful than ever In her draperies OF
pale blue and paler salmon. with ton roses
and forget,menots Nesting among tho rip
pies OF her bonny brown hair: with her pure,
proud face, and her clear. steadfast brown
eyes, and tho gentle, tranquil grace which, |
of all her charms, was the ono which had
most attracted mo-
or course Helen knew nothing of tho state
of affairs between my mother and me- She |
would have broken off our engagement in an
instant. even at the risk of breaking her own
heart. had the faintest suspicion of II entered
her mind. Fortunately my mother and she
were not likely to be brought into close con- |
tact for the present. Even had they been,
Helen would probably account for my moth
er's indifference on the ground of her still |
being ignorant of our engagement, which was
an affair of only a months standing. AS for
me thought 1t best to let things rest as they
were until the way should be cleared, of which |
my mothers involuntary gambling had al
ready given mo good hopes
The dinner was thorough German affair. |
dishes, CONVEX sation, music, all |
We're German of the purest type. 1t was a |
little slice cut out of the very heart of water
land and set down In the midst OF an Ameri- |
can town. My mother did not understand |
n word Of German, but Herr Muller spoke ex-
cellent English, and / was glad to see my |
mother was gradually becoming more and |
more absorbed In the conversation. When |
she found that her refusal to take wine pro-
voked only very mild surprise and remon-
STRANGE, her last scruple melted away and |
was scarcely surprised to see her wildly wav-
rest the musical Hoch," which is the German |
version of our unmelodious cheer To be
sure, the toast which she elected thus to honor
was, TO the health OF our American friends
now present" but as no doubt OF the propriety
of her proceeding crossed her mind, it would |
have been pity to enlighten her
Now there was stir around the table. The
band, which had hitherto been silent, struck
un ma rrh- like mir Each n ~ Tar,J