The Cincinnati daily star. [volume] ([Cincinnati, Ohio]) 1875-1880, 1879-10-09
The Princess and the Dock.
1TinsleYis MAgaZina.1

The Princess was gushing young
damsel of some fifty summers, to say
nothing of the wear and tear of as many
winters. She was on her way back from
the nuptial altar, attended by an escort
of two limp-looking bridesmaids and a
weakened retainer. The Princess looked
glorious in her bridal costume Of white
satin-not much soiIed-with majestic
coronet of glass buttons and flowing
veil-not much darned-which had all the
appearance of duty in the daytime as a
window-blind. Judging by the shouts off
the stage, she had left the majority of her
escort there. She rewarded their husky
adulation with reckless distribution of
tin money. While this was going on her
retinue was augmented by youth with
long feather, who made his appearance
in such state Of disheveled haste that
he had evidently been thrown on.
At this point dancing girl with short
hair and shorter skirts came bounding
before us, and after skipping about the
stage in the most spasmodic manner to
the most spadmodic throbs of music, she
flung herself at the feet of the Princess,
who very naturally asked what she
wanted. In reply she pointed to her
mouth and shook her head, and by this
we knew she was dumb. However, the
loss of speech proved to be no drawback
to her story, for she at once proceeded to
make known her wrongs in the language
of limbs, and she tripped and whirled
perfect volume of terpsichorean COM
plants. When the pantomimic linguist
had finished her unique story, there was
loud burst of applause, but none of us
knew what it was about. There was a
deal of skipping and bounding eloquence,
but we were all in the dark as to the pre-
else meaning, and should have remained
50, had it not been for the accomplished
Princess, who, it appears, was proficient
in this mystical tongue; and, we were,
one and all, indebted to her for trans
ation, by which we learned the follow
ing:
The dumb girl was fsherman's sister.
The announcement caused some of the
ladies in my neighborhood to wonder a
little A scarcity of rainbow skirts and
an amplitude of ribbons seemed hardly
waterproof enough to meet the storms
and squalls of her seafaring occupation.
Perhaps, whispered one, she is in disguise
All, that was it-she was in disguise, and
the poor dumb girl would turn out to be
the Princess, and so she sparkled with
tinted skirts and ribbons to avoid obser-
walton. Returning to the translation
A gentleman of high rank, under prom
ise of marriage, had trifed with her feel
ings, and she sought the Princess to crave
protection and justice. The ladies of my
neighborhood agreed ''that the men
was just as bad then as now; but
they know'd she would get justice, Cos
they always got it on the stage, il
nowhere else"--which, / suppose, was
sarcasm on the police courts of our own
day. The princes" placing herself in
the center, and looking snspiciously at
the two limp bridesmaids, then at the
youth with the long feather and throw
ing doubtful glance on the weak
kneed retainer, asked aloud, in her most
majestic manner, "Who done it," Upon
which the "Dook," her husband, ap
peared. His presence had the effect Of
putting the dumb girl in state of vile
commotion; for she gureled and pointed
at him in the most marked manner, anc
finally fell down, after three or fou
pirouettes, in perfect mass Of crumpled
prostration. ....