River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1889-03-21


of his but the Roast Ortolans.' know
from what | heard them say, though.
that he leaves out his who's and
Witches dreadfully, and he makes one
person talk as if he was two or three,
asking questions and answering them
himself, and all like that; but after
awEile-the girls said Mrs. Porter said
you get so used to sensing his poetry
with only part of the words said. and
some of them kind of put cart-before-
the-horse. that you don't have
near so much trouble as you did
at first. Though, when he gets to go
ing, he seems to be so full of the mat
ter that he gives a lurch here and a
dart there and dive in another place,
and you've got to be tremendous spry
if you keep track of him. I'm most too
old for such gymnastics, but | envied
Miss Henry and Jenny the way they
scrambled after him.
Maria never goes more than about
so far in any thing, you know, and then
she leans back and pokes fun at the
| rest. and Minnie has TO make believe a
good deal TO keep up appearances.
She d never bother herself about it If
it wasn't the thing to do. and, besides,
they must have splendid times at that
club, young ones and old ones together,
and good sprinkling of men folks"
Docs Mrs. Porter run it alOne?"
mo; there are two presidents and
two vice-presidents, man and a wom-
/ an in each Office, and the presidents
take it turn about. and the man vice
president takes the place of the man
president when he can't come, and the
woman vice-president of the woman
president, and they've never had a sign
of fuss. Maria says.
well, there! started to say that
had heard so much about Browning's
Obscurity. and all that. that l was
afraid | shouldn't get the gist of that
/ play they had acted, but there was no
/ trouble about that. The story was
plain as could be-all but what made
I that girl act sO-but it was terrible.
You never heard any thing like it in
all your lifei saw Romeo and Juliet
once, but this shook me up a sight
more than that did. There were Just
two lovers and a Queen, and that was
all, and it was enough! TIE name of
it is; In Balcony and Maria and
the girls rallied off one end of the
dining-room and rugged it up to look
like a balcony, with flOwer-pOts and
vines, and a real flower stuck on every
once in awhile. And then, by open
ing the folding-doOrs into the sitting
room, and the big door into the hall,
part OF the club could look sideways
and part frOntways through the doors,
besides the ones that sat at the other
end of the dining-rOom- 1t didn't
do to have it very light on the
balcOny-Only couple of umbrella
lamps all smothercd up in green stuff
SO il had to be as dark as pitch
everywhere else to make that show
for any thing. The girl was in the
balcony with her lover at the begin
ming OF il, and she stayed there all the
time. but Norbert, that was his name,
and the Queen had to go out the window
and come in again once or twice, Just
rs if they were going into the palace,
you know, instead of going out on to
Maria's piazza, as they really did.
The French windows came quite
handy.
MIR Bumstead was Norbert, and
he had on knee-breeches and velvet
coat with silver lace all down the
front, and big hat in his hand with a
long white feather in it. Miss Henry
was the Queen, and she had her hair
powdered and her face penciled a lit
tic to make her look old enough, and
she wore a red dress open in front over
a white satin petticOat. She looked
uncommOnly brilliant at first, taking
enough for any man to like, white
hair and all; but at the end! How
she ever got the tiger into her face,
and that white peaked look when she
went out lasti
Jenny was Constance, and she had
on blue dress with elbow sleeves and
lace. and her hair done beautifully,
and pink roses ON her waist.
when it began Norbert was on the
balcony with Constance. and he was
Just besieging her to let him go and
ask the Queen to consent to their mar
rage. He was a master hand at man
aging affairs. and he had made out to
get the Queen another crown besides
the one she had always had. There
was a ball at the palace that very night
to celebrate the victory, and he argued
that now was the time for him to ask
the Queen for Constance. He had been
working for dear life all the year, and
thinking OF nothing else but getting
this nice girl for his reward. He didn't
want to be put off any longer. He
made desperate love, so natural like,
and JENNY mean Constituents
good as owned that she was as deep
in as he was. that | couldn't see any
use of her doing as she did. First
she Just said it would ruin them. and
when Norbert didn't pay any atten-
ton, but ran on awhile longer about
wanting his Heaven now. she tried to
make him contented with knowing she
was HIS utAlAEI tA6 NbiAu huCN IL VI
not. and she reminded him how she had
slipped of to meet him many time
when the Queen and the rest of the
folks had no idea what they were up
to. and how afraid she'd been that
they'd be found out too soon; and was
all that 10 go for nothing? She said
that the Queen had been so shut off
from real life and real love in that
everlasting restraint she lived in, that
If Re went straight to her and showed
her this tremendous liking that he had
f5r her cousin Constance. she'd see the
difference between that and his polite
talk to her, pretty quick. Then she'd
realize that he had been exerting him
self Just for Constance. and their cake
would all be dough He'd get his
waking papers and not get his wife,
like as not Finally. she faced Nor
bert down with her scorn Of his blum
dcring mans way. and she made out
such a programme, For him to 90 and
pretend to the Queen that he thOughtthe
world and all of her, only it wouldn't
really be proper for him to say so. and
then kind Of make it seem to her that
As long rs there was no hope Of his