Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1880-03-25

tnetx eyes nxe0 upon tMo 4E4s al
last midnight struck ; vusef ihe tone
of which was identical win bit or the
bell Of The clock. was heard Eging:
'This IS The hour; We inukf dance"
AL the assembly rose. lie arm
chairs drew back or their Own accord;
then each cavalier took The hand Of .
lady. and the same voice SAID
"C0me, gentlemen Of The eleAestra,
begInl''
/ forgot 10 say that the sub fls oflhe
tapestry were, en- one side Italian
concerto, and On the cthssAR or~vs swsst
with huntsmen blowing gnssiS.--
The buntsmen and musicians, who, un-
I'll then, had not made any gestures,
bowed the head IN token Of adhesion.
The maestro raised has wand and live
~ dance-music sounded from one end
Of the room. The first dance was q
minue.. But the rapid notes of the
score harmonized badly with those
grave courtesies, and 50 after . few
minutes each Of the couples began to
pirouette like Dutch top. The silk
dresses of the women crumpled in the
giddy maze Of the dance. gave forth an
odd sound, ike the sound of the whir-
ring pigeons wings. The wind filing
them from beneath pufed them out so
that they looked like swinging bells.
The bows Of the fiddlers passed so
rapidly over the strings that electric
sparks few out. The fingers Of the
fiute-plsYers moved up and down like
quicksilver; the cheeks of the hunts
men were swollen out like balloons,
and all that formed deluge OF notes
and trills so hurried and Of ascending
and descending gamnte so complicated.
SO inconcelvable, that the very demons
could not have followed such . meas
ure for two minutes. Il was piliful to
see all the efforts Of those dancers to
catch the time. They bounded and
whirled round, and plrouetted until the
sweat poured down from their forcheads
over their eyes, and carried away their
paint and patches. But it was all in
vain, the orchestra was always three or
four notes in advance.
The clock struck one; they stopped.
| then saw something which had es-
capped my notice. woman who was
not dancing. She was seated on low
chair in the chimney-corner, and did
no. seem 10 take the least part in the
world in what vas going on around
her.
Never, even in dream, had anything
so perfect presented itself 10 my eyes; a
sk,n Of dazzling brightness, hair blond
cendre, long eye-lashes and blue eyes,
so clear and transparent that / saw her
soul through them as distinctly as a
stone in brook. And felt that il
ever / came TO love anybody 1T would
be her. Jumped out OF bed, from which
! had not yet dared 10 stir, and went
toward her, conducted by some instinct
in me which | could not explain. ]
found myself at her knees, one Of her
hands in mine, talking with her as IL |
had known her for twenty years.
But by astrange prodigy. while speak
ing 10 her, marked the music with a
movement OF my head. II had not
ceased to play; and, although IL was for
me the height Of happiness to talk with
such beautiful woman, my feet were
burning TO dance with her. Still, I did
not dare TO make the proposition. II
seems she understood what ] wanted,
for, raising her hand toward the dial ol
the clock. she said:
"When the needle shall be there, we
wIlI see, my dear Theodore"
know not how il happened, but /
was in no way surprised 10 hear myself
called by my name, and we continued
to talk. At last, when the appointed
hour struck, the silveTy voice vibrated
once more in the chamber and said:
angela, you may dance with the
gentleman IL you please, bus you know
what VIII be The result"
"No matter" replied Angela in 3
po0ting tone.
She passed her ivory arm around my
neck.
"Prestissimo! !" cried the voice.
And we began to valse. The bosom
OF the young girl touched mine. her vel
vet cheek skinned my own. Never in
my life had experienced such emo
tion; my nerves qufvered like springs
Of steel, my blood flowed in my veins
like torrents Of lava, and / heard my
heart beat as if watch were ticking in
my ear. Still this state had nothing
painful in il. II was in food Of inef-
fable Joy and ] could have wished to
have remained always as was, and,
remarkably enough. although the or
chestra had tripled IFS quickness, we
needed no effort to follow it.
The bystanders, astonished at our
agility. erred bravo. and clspped their
hands with all their might without pro-
ducing any noise.
Angela, who until then had waItzed
with surprising energy and precision.
seemed suddenly 10 become falisued;
she hung on my shoulder as if her limbs
bad failed her: her little feet which n
minute ago had barely touchedthe floor.
rose slowly as ifthey had been weight
ed with lead.
Angela, you are weary" saId to
her; ''let US rest"
Yes" she replied. wiping her brow
with her handkerchief; shut while We
have been dancing they have all sat
down: there i only one chair, and We
are two."
"What does that matter, my angel ,
] will take you on my knees"
III.
Without making the slightest objec-
ton Angela sat down. threw her arms
like . white scarf round my neck, hid
her head in my bosom 10 warm herself
little, for she had become cold as mar