Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1884-02-28
A CLEAR CASE.
The Romance Of a Lake Voyage.


day, and the steamer was plowing
along through Erie-that most deceit
full, most dangerous lake of all the
chain-clearly in ending to reach Buff
falo by next day noon.
The passengers had been having
their little fun, for they had all become
pretty well acquainted in those seventy
sweet, blue hours, velvet beneath, satin
above, sunrise to sunset, with never a
cloud or drop of rain, or seasick soul,
save one dear woman. who early re-
tired to her state room and partook, a
discretion, of nux vomics, third po-
tency.
Some one had bottled q written ac-
count of the trip; some one else had
mounted the capstan. made bright If
rhapsodical speech, and hurled the bot
tie into the waters, the ceremony being
attended with much hand-clapping and
laughter. This concluded, most ex-
cellent humor pervaded the company;
even the six stately representatives of
two most exclusive families-social pill
lars of a western metropolis conceded
the claims of the occasion.
OF this party of six, two were elderly
ladies, sisters, Mrs. Wolfe and Mrs.
Close; the remaining four, the two
daughters of each, young ladies, whose
ages might safely be reckoned within
the limits of II to %.
Papa Close had put them all aboard
the steamer in their own dear, dirty
Western river at o'clock the Tuesday
evening previous. 1t was now Friday,
and Papa Wolfe would meet them at
the dock in Buffalo on the morrow
Deo volante. So they could be consid-
cred exactly as unprotected females.
Besides was not the jolly skipper their
..most obedient," with all his Hiber-
nian absurdities?
They had started out with an excess
sive frigidity towards each and every
one else aboard, but this had thawed,
and they were now disposed to patron
ize-after kindly fashion. The young
ladies were standing, arms lovingly en-
twined, in groups of twOs; three of them
were dressed alike and closely resem-
bled each other; the fourth was an odd
lamb, her countenance being more
piquantly expressive than that of sister
or cousins, light, sparkling, mischiev-
GUS, where theirs was tolerant and
heavy with the weight of propriety and
"good form" Her eyes were heavily
lashed; her nose tipped saucily; her
mouth was carnaton leaf, and the
sugarspoon hat that she wore, like the
others, had hardly secured her from
sunburns and freckles.
She carried yellow, foot-square
satchel of alligator skin, with her name
silver-lettered on the outside-one of
her names at least, and that by which
she was best known
.'HELroTRopE."
She wore blue-tiannel yachting
suit: her hair was the sweetest brown
with veins of red gold shining through
out. She lacked the self-conscious ex-
preston of Isabella Close or Agnes
Wolfe. the ladies at her left, just back
of Delicia Close, thin edition, whose
embrace bored her little.
Nearly all the passengers were on
deck in groups of threes and fours.
The excellent mammas, Close and
Wolfe, sat not far away, middle aged
and we'll dressed, with an occasional
fine diamond as letter of credit. Up
and down the narrow passage between
the cabin and the rail of the propeller,
..sauntered the steward of the vessel, a
remarkably good-looking, yet at times
melancholy, young man, with a cigar
in his mouth that might have been an
immortelle for its apparent everlast-
ingness.
At times he seemed to gaze medita-
ivcly upon either Delicia Close or He
iotrope Wolfe, an unprejudiced observer
on oath might hesitate in saying which.
Mrs. Wolfe could have said, though, for
Helie was only too often in mischief of
the kind.
Besides-but this takes me back to
ehe night that they started. That night
the moon was just rising, as yellow as
gold and as smooth as a platter, when
the good-byes were sp ken, the last
kisses, exchanged, and Papa Close, with
others equally forlorn, went ashore,
rejecting that during his family's six
weeks sojourn at the seaside he might
give undivided attention to his newest
Facehorse.
N. B. Itwas the middle of August;
but they had all been doing the Dells
Of the Northwest-al save Miss Hello
trope, who had spent two months with
school friend not far from her own
city.
The propeller was growing hoarsely
rs it moved down the river, through
open bridges and the tangle of ship
ping, out under the star of the harbor
light, into the caressing arms of the
lake; and the Wolfe-C Close party having
concluded the inspection Of their state
rooms, shifted doubtfully at the six
inch looking glasses, and wondered if
there were mosquitoes or-arything
else that bites on board, appeared on
deck to witness the moonrise.
They all found seats together except
Heiie, who, with her usual peryersity.
wandered off to the other side and
stood gloomily by herself.
She stood so but n few moments. how
ever, when q gentleman, who had sud-