Middletown transcript., 1882-03-31
FROM TALES OF THE CHES-
APEAKE.
The Fall of Ute.
BY GEORGE ALFRED TOWNSEND.

The reception at Secretary Flakes
was at its height. Bland Van, the
President of the nation, had departed
with his boys the punch-bowl had been
emptied nine times and still the cry
from our Republican society was, 6 Fill
upl''
A pair of young men, unacquainted
with each other, pressed at the same
time to the punch-bowl, and Jack, the
chief ladler, turning from the younger,
a clerk in civil dress, helped the elder,
a full naval officer, to couple Of glasses.
The clerk, young Ute, who was some
what flushed, addressed the chief ladler
and remarked:
You dam niger, didn't you see
my glass ?"
"See it, sab ? Yes ! I've seen it
sev'al times afo, dis evening""
Black Jack then received the current
allowance of curses for his color and his
impudence, all of which he took meekly,
till the officer, Lieutenant Dibdo, inter-
rupted on the negro's behalf.
tits none O. yo' affair, l reckon !"
cried Ute, sullenly.
"The man had no intention of slight
ing you," said Dibdo. "You have
been drinking too much, boy, and your
coarseness is coming out"
A fresh crowd of thirsty people press
ing up at this point gave Jack his OPP
portunity to cry: Groom around de
punch bowl ~
And the disputants were separated
and squeezed by the promenading tides
into different rooms
The officer presently forgot all about
it, but not SO with young Ute, who was
partly drunk, entirely vain, not a gen.
tleman by nature, and outraged that
anybody had dubbed him "a boy"
He sought the side of fine young girl,
the daughter of the chief of the bureau
where he was employed, and with whom
he was in love. She was attired in the
free costume Of Republican receptions
bare arms, low dress giving ample
display to the whitest shoulders in the
room, and fine natural hair dressed with
flowers. Every gentleman who had
passed her during the evening had
looked his homage freely-old beaux.
dignitaries, officers, foreign deputies,
roues-and as she had been two or three
winters in that kind Of society, nothing
discomposed her.
Robert, +" she said, with part of a
glance, as Ute rejoined her, "you 60
to the punch-bowl too much. You re-
fleet upon me, sir. Besides, I heard
you quarreling with that handsome
officer. am dying to know him. Who
is he ?'5
Ute looked viciously up, anger and
jealousy inflaming his heated face. for,
although he had no engagement with
Miss Rideau, he conceived himself her
future suitor. But some rash words
that he said against the officer were
scarcely heard by the self-possessed
beauty Of official society, because, just
then, the young officer and a friend
were approaching them. She dropped
her eyes when she met Lieutenant Dib-
dos bold glance of admiration, perhaps
in order not to be privy to the more
searching look with which, like a gen
tleman of the world, he ran over the fine
points of her plump body as he passed.
But young Ute, seeing the offender OF
a moment ago taking such ardent and
leisurely survey of the girl under his
care, turned pale with hate. The officer
did not notice him at all, absorbed in
the fine colors, eyes, and proportions Of
Miss Rideau, and this further outraged
Ute, who, to his credit be it said, had
only modest thoughts for her. When
he saw, however, that she looked after
the manly figure and naval gait of him
of the profane eyes, as if to return his
admiration, the intoxicated boy dropped
an oath.
II will horsewhip that powder mon.
key p he said.
Robert" said the girl, placidly
"you won't. You have no horse and