The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1896-12-25
nrR LAST DANCE.

hGds a aIlanty and the mother of
sreGand- W. She still retained so
'.1 p rirginal expression and con
Imagination was 10th to ac-
n i ir 4af matronhood. One felt,
.t la if the "Ewige Weiblich,
' ~. obapgeless, radiantly soul
eiul9 core ore to be personified, here
' ~ model Gracious ana graceful
inc and joyous, she possessed
re. manageable, - cultivated to
fIen.' dooree,-to degree that had
ei'a .n4iced former own enjoyment and
irsS 5'eootion of a host of admiring
'Ds cut not too exacting friends, who
' anu Ia' her delightful prodigy and
'S ,l,d her accordingly
sU ". now. cudeel the stunned brain
R~ a,oo1l,. 70 real capability N''of
H sn value, as II had been SO
nol. az mt to her even in these early
hultg u fmisery-Cousin Selma always
+ h' o.sncs bit bluntly, she felt with
PDi 'n Dhpar of annoyance-no resource
l na5 s she discover to stand her in good
'ol ai ,r tbe dreaded day that had come
aSlu The bolt had fallen that morn
o. i' s"a with numb, folded hands and
n.y. I.arror-flled eyes, she sat in the
n.y. .st corner q her gay little draw
u. uain nsom beneath the CHASTITY chamber
~ Eaoo we're soon 10 be borne the earth
Sr rsn,ains Of her husband.
Mat was she to do? How was she to
.,,rre not the uzuries without which
4, scarce imagined her child could
=. but the bare necessities of life?
rrorv niece Of furniture in the house
-. mortgaged to its full value, and
h.r,ost level had gone to pay the rent.
rbont heaven, they would have this
t.ro, for some time to come. She was
i dabt to butcher and baker, and she
I'D not had new pair of gloves for
nntbs ShiIIirgs had become the basis
\ evenditure as guineas had been
hitherto
hthemornu g sympathiZing friends
zane suppo. and assist her through
NJ ring ordeal All passed like
i,sn Tout passe, tout casse," she
I'D mer ana over. but my heart is
nns'
Fea. nth later, she sat with
rrs1 Selma rs The same room. in the
srecba.r listening again to the gusty
nnas it beat against the windows, it
wtoher as II no appreciable time had
tqrerel Draomily she took up the
thread of her thoughts where she had
hopped it that sad night, and the
strange conce,t came back to her.
Women. less brilliant but stolid and
holding. We're eusconced in journals
where she had ajsdained even to allow
ler verses toanrear With voices in no
Ear comparable 10 hers, she saw others
succeed while she, who sang like
trl-but Ike bird, too, only when in
Tired-couId make no impression.
And 50, lowered as she was, she was
poorer and more helpless than the
humbeSt woman who could conscien-
ionsr knit n pair of stockings or en-
noiler a teacloth.
The pretty face seemed pinched and
weary; two deep lines began to inclosc
the dropping mouth. Il smile Ell
Igenthesc," She said, to Cousin Selma.
Is she turned from the mirror, where
she was trying to change the express
sOn Of those uivering lips, that even at
the moment curved upwards, a Cupid's
bow, at the quaint conceit.
More surely than ever she knew she
could ask no favors, but must put her
own shoulder to the wheel. But what
TODD when all else failed? To dance on
thestage! Why not? She could dance;
all her life she had loved to dance. In
hergreatest Joy she had ever found full
'stexpress,on in dancing to her own re-
Hections before the long mirror in her
Ooudoir \ hundred times her darling
bad been lulled to sleep, eased of her
pain by the dancing of her pretty
Aumsie." Once, with her husband, she
had seen a famous actress-a woman
chaste as hcrself-dance SO gracefully,
yet with an abandone so perfect as to
captiyate an audience accustomed to eX-
hbitions from which she had turned
ID loathing to his annoyance. since
DIS taste grew yearly less refined. Even
lIen, The pity of it," she had sighed.
And how much even then was implied
mat she should say, turning to him:
That could do, am certain"
May you never need" he had an
@ered feryentIy. For he loved her and
was proud of her, though his paths IN
iue we're devious, though he would not
follow her. lta all came back to her vivid
g-the gay scene, the eager faces, the
murmur of delight, the applause that
rose again and again, and could not be
stayed. Her heart beat fast; yes, she
would dance. 1t might cost her the few
friends She still possessed, but as long
as she helped herself she could maintain
her pride.
Next day began a tiresome round OF
interviews with impatient, incredulous
VI Experiment managers, with heart
growing daily heavier and a brain
S,nafpened almost to viciousness. Al
last an impresssrio, touched by her
grace and the expression of brave des-
palr IN her hungry eyes, granted her a
ial, fixing an hour at the theateI on
me following day in the early forenoon.
and a concourse of women, some sym
pathetic. some brazen1v inouiSitive, all
80 different from herself that she scarce
ielt they were her sisters, she made her
IrSt essay. How unreal it seemed; q
sieam, she kept telling herself, dream
IRON which she would waken in a mo-
nent.