The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1901-01-17

and n delicate mustache. She was i'm
perial in carriage. "The dress / shall
wear to the ball." said she, with hui
initiating deliberation. She was hold
ing the light blue thing up.
"That!" rasped he. "Oh, woman!
Your black skin will never go with this.
light blue! Look at yourself in the
glass. Hold this internal thing up with
you. See! A Guanajuato mummy is
tasty beside you!"
They say that Dona Maria used to be
a charcoal woman before she became
exalted. But she ruled the ruler.
"Your ideas Of beauty" she said, with
crushing calm, "are not for me-
"You shall not! Will this woman
hang ever round my neck. nor progress
with me? The state bows before me.
Porfrio Diaz believes in me. And can
my wife exhibit no dignity? tell You,
you are hideous in that light blue"
Retire. Mariana" replied she. her
ample bust swelling; nor cut these
capers.'
cryic~. "S-s% 49, ----'> ~--' EIo
am to have my banq uet without mole.
My dignity is stamped on. oh, the
devil.
BY eight Of the evening his mood was
black. An all-day beating against that
rock. his wife, had rent his last nerve.
He was morose, mean. At ten mill
utes to nine she swept into his presence.
surely majestic enough, and making a
tremendous display of light blue. Don
Mariana gritted his teeth as he handed
her in at the carriage. They drove
away, leaving in the corridor trem-
bling maiden, who turned and tluttCrcd
to Cenobio and cried: "To-morrow!
And the good Mary will help me-
The dance was at the American hotel.
The ballroom was gorgeous in green.
white and red bunting. y long row Of
pretty senoritas sat on one side Of the
room, the young men not approaching
them freely. An orchestra struck up
tune and the ball began. The light
blue dress foated everywhere. Like an
empress she carried it, 1t was very
ugly. She danced with the governor
governor by the grace of Senor Ortiz,
who looked bored, and carried one hand
in his trousers pocket. She danced with
n dashing young federal senator (scn-
ator by the grace of Ortiz. who wore a
brown sack coat. She danced with the
weazened, tiny old secretary of state.
who moved in blear-eyed dream. Oc-
casionally she danced with Don Mari
ano, and looked fxedly over his head
And during those dances Don Mariana
could be heard muttering more and
more weakly. For the light blue seemed
it reminded him again of the GUIANA
juato mummies.
Between dances the young men
brought beer, cognac and other slim
ulants to the young ladies', who drank
of all without prejudice, being trained
to it, But the treasurer acquired a
habit Of retiring into corners NOR
bidly. Midnight coming on, he
watched the dances grmly. and his
eye could not tear itself away from
the wounding tower of blue. People
whispered that the sultan was i'll.
They longcd for his merry laugh.
During one interval they saw him
drain off three bottles of beer in pain
ful solitude. 1t was recalled that
many glasses of cognac, as other
liquors. had gone the same way. He
refused the next dance. The old.
wheezy secretary came mumbling.
"Oh, now, what's the trouble with
him." said he. with a grandmothcr's
insinuating fondness.
what's matter with the
lights?' asked Don Mariana.
"Nothing!" cried the secretary,
scanning the chandeliers.
Thought" muttered Don Mariana,
thickly-"thought the lights-lights.
also, were turning blue"
At two o'clock they removed Don
Mariana to his carriage, and heard
him murmuring: "Where'sh -
where'sh ma dignity? Sh'gone!"
The next morning Concha. the Ma.
donna-like, kept from under the eye
of Dona Maria. In the Kitchens far
thest corner, behind horseshoe
curve of adobe braseros burning blue
with charcoal, she labored. On
stone metate she ground separately
the following articles: Twelve ounces
of black. dried peppers, or chiles; four
ounces of red, dried chiles; one small
cupful Of sesame seed; - chocolate
beans; . half s1nss o4 almonds; one
cents worth II eeaex pepper; one-half
cents worth Of cloves; . stick Of Gin
namon; fair measure Of several kinds
of nuts; n few tomatoes; such guam
tity of anise seed as may be taken up
with five fingers; such quantity of CO.
riander seed as may be taken up with
three fingers; two or three small,
hard loaves of bread goodly portions
of garlic; goodly portions of onions
two dried tortillas, an unstinted
amount Of pumpkin seeds; and seeds
of the black chile. Every one of these
things had been separately fried be-