Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1898-05-19

of intermittent fever, and come every
,other day. In between she is what
lChristabe calls good really petted
land spoiled, She is indeed an enfant
terrible. | forget to say that | have
had my first experience of an English
dinner-party. | wish you could have
seen It, it was most amusing; that Is
to say, the evening was, for | did not
dine. thus escaping an infiction of
two hours. The ladies come to the
drawing-room about nine or perhaps
later looking very sleepy and bored
and then they sit trying to talk for
about half an hour, a footman bring
ing in first coffee and then tea to pre-
vent them from quite going to sleep'
must tell you that they are all
dressed to match, the married ladies
chiefly in grays, NATIVES, and violets
and the young ladies in limp white
muslin. suppose 1t is the way
English people put on their clothes
but they always look as if they had
been out in one of their fogs. Later
in the evening the gentlemen straggle
into the room, as if they didn't much
want to come; they all look very
black and sombre, the old gentlemen
wearing great white ties and the
/ younger ones stiff-looking collars,
and no dress clothes at all, for they
/ are all clergymen, there seems scarce
I ly a layman in the place. They stand
all together in a group, like so many
rocks, though it is not thought i'm
proper in England for them to speak
to the ladies, and perhaps two or
three do venture into the circle by
and by | noticed the other night
that there was quite a little ma
newer TO secure vacant chair.
Englishmen seemed so much happier
when they are sitting down, they
never seem to know what to do with
their hands and feet, otherwise. AL
together, it was a bad specimen
people never could endure many such
parties, surely, they would die of on
nui. Why do you ask point-blank If
! am happy? 1t was inconsiderate of
you. OF course | am not, and can not
be, away from you AS to the cathe-
dral, it is marvelously beautiful but
the long daily services do not agree
with me; perhaps it is being quite
unaccustomed to such things, or per-
haps the foreign prayers, or it may be
what Mrs. Mortlake would call my
/ frivolous French mind but certainly
they are at present penance
NO one here has good word to
say for Frenchman-they seem to
think we are all Communists, and
forget that the martyrs, Monseigneur
Darboy the Able Deguerry, Pere du
Coudray, and many others, were also
French 1t is very hard to bear, |
suppose, however. the troubles are
nearly over now? Have you heard
lately from Monsieur Lemercier?
hope he has not been arrested, poor
man. How wonderfully in earnest he
was that morning we left Paris.
With my compliments to Bismarck.
"Je t embrasse de tout occur,
"Esperance Bien-Aimee de Mabillon.'
In reply to this letter Gaspard sent
a little French edition of the Eng
lish Church Services, and she was so
much touched by his anxiety for her
and so really anxious to do right, that
she tried very hard to attend better
One bright sunny morning, about
the end of September, Esperance, af-
ter a greater effort than ueual to listen
to the Psalms, had taken her place in
the uncomfortable oaken stall, which
was her usual seat, and had opened
her French Bible, in order to follow
the reading of the first lesson, when
sound ofvoices in the choir aisle
reused her curiousity. The speakers
were evidetly close behind her, for she
could distinctly hear even the low
toned conversation.
mo painting allowed in service
time, sir"
What, not out here? How can
possibly disturb the seryices?' re-
piled the second voice.
Cant tell, sir" answered the first;
but tbs against rules; you must move
at once"
''N'N tNils NNif my SpOu iSlio"s
this is my service, Just as much as it's
yours to wear black gown and carry
that poker besides, the light is per-
feet now"
4 The reply was inaudible, but was
followed by a crash, as OF something
falling heavily on the stone floor
/ An unguarded exclamation of wrath
made itself heard so distinctly in the
choir that the reading Of the lesson
was for a moment suspended, and the
/ two vergers. Selling their silver
headed slaves FASTENED to quiet the
/ disturbance
! Esperance listened with hushed
breath, really quite trembling for the
victim. She heard a great many
Irepetitions of hush" then the eager
voice rising again, 81 was doing no
/ harm here"
Another admonitory hush" fol-