The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1899-11-10

vented by her, and kept to sympnthize
when she needed sympathy, or thought
she did. Another conti(lante was Look
ing-Glass. 1t told her many thiAes.
among them that more often than not,
though -, she looked ~.
She, Little-Girl-her pct name for her
self-is sitting by the fire in her den, and
signing over yesterday, Or, more explicit
ly. this time last night. Since the Ill ST
dance this summer she has been suffer-
ing from smart touch of that fever
which sometimes attacks elder sisters,
when younger ones come out: and the
symptoms are, i'll I4ittlcGirls cIse, tit
of the blues, carelessnrss about new
things" and fixed idea that she Is mid
dle-aged. or nearly SO.
But this is what happened yesterday:
Rather unwilingly she went to Il dance
with Aunt Mary (who, by the way, looks
every inch chapcron. being 80 stout,
but having no other qualification. and b.
Eeving in that dangerous maxim that
Girls will he girls"). There Little
Girl found that she was indeed very
young, and that even ut - one has not
tasted all the sweets life provides.
Her two sisters had gone, too; but we
! need not bother about them. They were
rosrbuds lust out, and the men will do
that for us.
Early on in the season mamma took
I.ittle-(;irl to "pctcr's" to buy an evening
dress, and the latter, in Il youthful frame
Of mind (not consulting her standard OF
What will people think?'O had chosen
an ingenue froc k-something fluffy and
pink and French and sweet. So last
would have thought that she. too, had
inst come out rosebud. to be plucked
and worn next your heart.
Little-Girl. who always generously met
| troubles half way. knew, of course. that
this was not the case, but could not find
| it in her heart to put on the manners be-
| fitting elderly spinsters, and SO enilghten
him when he fell into this mistake. :,
| He was. as Little-Girl expressed 1T III
the peculiar phraseology. of her own
thoughts. "a sweet youth" and added
detiantly: what if l am old enough to
be his aunt?' And we, too, dear reader
las the writer's in the forties atfectionnte'
ly addressed you), we, too, will call him
so, though we may still keep our heads,
| and not fall into sea of mixed meta
phcr and muddled mythology by also
| apollo with winged feet" for, in truth
he is only good dancer, possessing al
! open co;intenance and nice eyes.
''This sweet youth, being Il mere boy
why not this once pretend to be Il bud
and have just leetle fun2" Heather
and Blossom We're enjoying themselves
and the Busy Bees were gathering honey
in the form Of dances, so Little-Girl did
not look very severe when he took No. g.
| waltz. and Nos. II and IL, 50 that they
might sit out in two really comfortable
! basket chairs, away from the noise and
| glare, when they were tired.
| just a little smile, however, twinkled
at the corners of her mouth when she
looked at the programme md saw u
%. F. w.. Scrawled by No. ?, Jack by
No: 9. IF. Williams" by No, -, 81
W. by No. IL. and a. F. by No. IS
You see. Little, Girl was old enough te
| 90 sums correctly without her slate, and
when she put two and two together she
made five, and perhaps mamma would dc
the same when they showed her the pro
| Grammes, had it not been cooked, and
mamma, alas. done so we'll.
The twinkle. by the way. gradually
| changed ito droop when the though,
| came that evidently that sweet youth
John Edgar Francis Williams. must bt
an old hand at this. and that it WAS his
way of amusing himself at dances.
1he Latin motto carved on the arch nt
the music gallery she found some diff
| Guilty IN translating literally. knowing
! nothing OF Latin, but it looked as much
like Make hay while the sun Shines as
anything else, though he distinctly rea,
| 1t as Gather We rosebuds while ye
may. and when at No. 5, glancing along
| row OF walltiowers, he espied Little
Girl, this little youth asked her for tina,
dance. saving "he had it down" doubt
less the Recording Angel has also.)
At o'clock this morning, over the
soup, mamma commented that "Itosy
had not done so badly; she had only sat
out one Dance" whereat Miss ROSY
finished md fho NJ fu1
tired to come in for five minutes chat. rs
mamma wanted.
Looking-Glass at 2:45 confided to hel
that she looked then very nearly as fresh
as when they last met and when Little
Girls. head soon touched the pillow she
thought of the youth with smile in his
| eyes and a sigh on his lips as she saw
dow:
| And now she is trying to forget it all
She can no longer remember vhat he
thought OF the floor or the band or the
decorations; but not so easy is 1t ~ for
get that eyes looked love to eyes thai
| spoke again when he would not shake
hands and say goodby after their last
! waltz.
Neither can she forget her lodgings in
| the cioakroOm. Il wish he knew hat
looked different by daylight, AMI that |
have very sharp tongue. and tn. I'm
not always light-hearted, and th&t I'm
older than he is; and, oh, dear! that In,
dian summer were not so short as 1,cOple
make out; and that he may lo-iEe me
always, and if not. that shall be able
to bury the rememDi Of him and OF
tonight at the bottom of my ottoman
| with my evening things tomorrow.
| These were some of her wishes. for this
was poor Little-Girl's last dan e this
| summer.
| But wishes We're horses. and ga.loped
| away into oblivion when he took he1
| hand at parting and nothing seemed tC
and a maiden. When Little-Girl was
| awakened into reality again it WIS by
A''ntie saying: Rose, how You airted
with that young Mr. Williams. though
own he has nice manners l remember
| hirl when took your poor cousin Harry
20 his fourteenth birthday party. sixteen
ears ago. ! remember quite well, for
''oor Harry died that year,
L:tt!e-Girl is now thinking of thu. sun,
she did by the aid of her fingers Oh the
| carriage rug, and how il came out that
John Edgar Francis Williams is really
three years older than Rosale Mary Ell
| hot: she is wishing, too that there were
fairies now as in the old days, when ev-
cry good princess married her Prince
Cbarming: she is also wishing that this
one may net transfer his allrgiance to
younger and prettier sisters. as other
knights have been known to ,lo-that is,
OF course. were he to come to Auntie's
next garden party. Perhaps her good
fairy may yet lay ghosts that walk out
Of ottomans, and, being true, the castles
she secs in the fire inhabited by Little
Girls clad i'll pink chiffon. welded to
Princes Charming in immaculate even
ing dress.