The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1881-05-04
pancing in a French ,1aa House.
Correspondence New York Herald


took n seat, as soon as one was vacant,
behind a strange and antique female, whom
| understood TO be a monomaniac She wore
the costume of gentleman of the Henri
Ill. period, and labored, poor soul, under
the harmless delusion that she came of an
illustrious and noble race. Her face.
withered and wrinkled, though it was bv
the hard experience of Gull sixty wears, had
something pleasing in il, and, despite the
disdsinful sueer that from time to time sat
upon her hp she looked every bit kindly
old lady. Before L mad been long i'm her
nefShborkood heard her confide the secret
of her Wrongs to the person who sat next
her. She had been defrauded of her birth
right Her pareHss were of the highest
rank, AID ii was PAINFUL in the extreme to
her TO kave to nix with the vulgar herd.
FiveRinutes later | saw her dancing a quad
rifle. My eye WIS soon after attracted by a
midland timid4OOking girl in costume that
might have been intended for Scotch. /
should have taken her to be the most harm
less being IN She room. A house servant set
me right on the subject, however She was
a dangerous maniac. us 1t possibler' said
/. considerably astonished. Then who is
that wild-eyed woman with the elm locks,
dressed as a sorceress@p Which do You
mean?' replied NJ. NJ, for there were two
sorceresses walking arm in arm. i POINTED
out the one | referred to, and was Informed
that she was one of the attendants As for
her comDanion, a fat, buxom lady of about
forty, she had long come out ct straight
waistcoast, and might any day be put into
one again. Make note OF that for the
New York Herald" said M. Lebas to me
just then with smile. No sooner and the
words issued from his mouth than our
buxom friend, attracted by the word New
York." turned round to us and
with flippant fiuency addressed me
whole string of questions in English.
IDIOTS AT THE DANCE.
Look at that little PAGE SAID NJ. Lebas,
pointing to a beautiful but precocious girl
of about fourteen, dressed in tight hose a
tunic and a graceful cloak of black velvet
and silver. "She is hysteric That peas
ant girl next to her is a hopeless epileptic.
That other child is an idiot" Indeed, there
was no need for Information in the last case,
for idiocy was stamped on every line and
feature of her poor little face. Idiots or not,
they danced with a will, caring not one joI
for our intrusion. After the polka came a
quadrille, and then again a polka, which
seemed to be the favorite dance. Presently
NJ. Lebas made sign. and the whole COM
pany marched past us two and two in
procession. There were pierrots and
pages, milkmlids and columbines, Jack
tars and Italian peasant girls, queens and
court fools. On reaching our seats each
couple gave us polite salute, bowed to the
director and walked on. till all had gone by.
Then the lady at the piano took up the
interrupted tune. We ibade them all good
bye and went out into the black night again.
Here and there we came upon knot OF the
asylum warders, who eyed us sharply as we
passed, fancying, perhaps, we belonged to
the masqueraders and were trying to es-
cape. Not long ago a hysteric patient (very
pretty, they say) actually did run off, so the
warders had cause to be vigilant. She dis
guised herself one day in the clothes of a
workingman, walked boldly through the
gates without any enc attempting to
hinder her, and when next heard of was in
RalOinu,