The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1886-07-01
BELL OF THE BELLIES.
Mysterious Thinking Music Which,
Coming From an Unseen Source
Accompanies the Modern
Belle.
How a Casual Caller Was Driven to
the Verge Of Distraction by the
Seeming Mystery.

How these nursery-day rhymes jingled
in my ears a few days ago. l could not
get rid of them! And all because of a
| little Informal call made upon Miss
Nougat, who lives upon Clinton avenue.
| dropped in for a careless chat. and
had hardly began to talk of this and that
and what not before heard the muffied
tinkle, tinkle of tiny bell that seemed
TO come from no place in particular AT
| first it did not disturb me. but gradually,
as the music continued, without visible
cause, it began-well, not exactly to an
nov. rather say tease or pique me.
soon discerned that the jingling
sound was regulated in volume by the
eyed ner Wristbands, necklace. fingers
rings, but there was nothing at all resem-
bling a bell. had read somewhere that
the darlings of fashion had taken to
wearing these tinkling cymbals on their
boot tops; and so, when it could be done
with seeming delicacy, | dropped my
eyes to where the young lady's feet were
most likely to be, trusting, of course,
that they would not be hidden under her
dress. No, they were quite open to view
But my timid glance had neither chance
or need of peering beyond dainty ankle
to convince me that | should not find
there an explanation OF the
PULLING BELL-RINGs.
The ladys feet were encased in pair
of low shoes-sandals | believe is the
technical term-lhe tops of which |
could see plainly as need be. and there
were no bells there.
The never ceasing ringing irritated
me strangely. Several times found my.
self stopping abruptly in the middle OF a
sentence to listen To the tink-a link. 1t
actually made me nervous and distract.
Twice | was tempted to ask my cOmpan
ion the source of the mal-apropoS music.
But her womanly intuition seem TO warn
her of what Was in my thoughts and she
cleverly turned the talk from what might
prove II forbidden path
Yet she rather enjoyed my discomtit
ure, She moved about somewhat more
than The quiet current of our converse
| demanded And she had way of en-
| phasizing many Of her remarks by stamp
| ing her foot with much the same effect AS
the use of three or four exclamation
points, whereupon the little bell emitted
| perfect shower OF NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. [
| began to wonder--but stopped right
there. If | ever began to wonder there
| is no telling where would pull up at.
Yes. | had better 90 before my uneasy
curiosity led me to embarrassing queries
Miss NOugat noticed an apparent brus
queness in my manner, ana when she
babe me good night at the parlor door
there was Just the quaintest twinkle i'm
aginable in her eyes. heard her walk
toward the library humming n
CASINO WALTZ
very softly with pianissiuo accompaniment
OF that same eXasperatiug tink-atlnk not
quite unlike the melowed notes that one
catches on summers day from far of
fields and meadows,
TIE mysterious sound haunted me so
persistently after leaving the house that
began to think that | was the victim Of
Il delusion, that If any ringing did exist
it was only IN my mind. Still could not
get rid of the tinient sensation. On the
contrary, every succeeding tiukle sung
some new change of the now familiar
tnpo AT first il WAS the Jingle from
Mother Gouse-"She will have music
wherever she goes, wherever she goes,
until | found nv head pOddinu in un,
conscious accord with the verbal rvthm
Then was engaged in a silent struggle
tn mould nv thoughts in consopapce with
tho carried novausp,e Of pnais "RaIl.u nc
Th,d hoard them recited he an amateur
eIocutionist .t a rprpnt "evoninn.at,
home Tban ,bougb, If Matthias the
wretch whose crime was visited unon him
IN the shane of bells which no one heard
but himself 7 mean the character nor
,rc,,od bv Irwin ubo, ha uncs throuuh tho
- !, cor, of 6v,.u,., wal,, oo !,
mnved nv elfn srrinos to keen time with
the snasmodic iapGlinp But as I was
ouite CERTAIN that | bad never murdered
npv neddler who drove about the country
in an omen SLEIGH felt no esnecial nm.
e,ainees S,ill tho ringing was tIerar
ruhbed INV oars nc if "a drive away tbe
pbantom noises. hut only seemed to sci
The bells rattlinr AT a livelier nace
would On IN hed and slean II would
mass away with good nights rest
Rnt the veriest tritIes consDired to fur.
tho, my upeasiness I nushed a chair
o,vo,, from tho fro ,Jsco .,6 each os tn.
casters sent ont a beIl>like note pitchee
in a different kew. I took a glass Of
water from the table and in doing q,
s,ruck il against the pitcher NOTHING
very unusual about thatq No lint ON tbi,
occasion that goblet seemed called upor
10 r;,o nm, a biob e until tho surface n
tho water fairly buhhIad with conn,
u-avoe EvorytLing that 7 toucbed viii
"a,es, 80 LIS ,n"' u, y. WV
''"'' u 'ne'"' y, s9o "Do'' ;. $50
some hin'ner y, "'"''"'1uS WIZ atlon
Al my WINS emo LOT pcaCe, l 'nreW hlSse,
on 'ae ped' put whereas 'ia' couci
usually ueporteu i.scii WIN tne quiet una
Incomes nee! place VI resi- '1n'sh' every la
r'V'u,'ai spr'nS u.'ereu a u,,.'noe "nu u,i
,e.un' no's: 10 my rAo''eu I'M '" .'
|, IL "'' Nv u'iii1u'' 'a'n w ANY ''a' '"os