The Savannah morning news., 1903-08-09

/ gle with the spicy perfume OF Wild
I crab tree in fullest blossom, which
/ stood near enough 10 peer into the
/ ball room. and, like a brocaded belle
| herself. challenge the richest to show
| raiment as fine. the loveliest TO look
as fair and joyful in the dawn.
Believe me. if all those endearing
! young charms
| Which l gaze on so fondly to-day,
| Were to fade by tomorrow and fleet
from my arms,
! Like fairy gifts fading away
So ran the violins in waltz time, so
/ bassoon and horn to those dulcet
! measures: and then, with one accord,
| a hundred voices Joined them in the
| old, sweet melody:
Thou wouldst still be adored as this
moment thou art,
/ Let thy loveliness fade as it will;
And around the dear ruin each wish
of my heart
Would entwine itself verdantly still"
And the jealous crab tree found but
| one to overmatch itself in beauty; a
lady who was the focus of the singing;
! for. by the time the shutters were
| flung open. there was not young man
in the room, lacked he never SO great
| ly in music or in voice, who did not
| heartily desire to sing to Miss Betty
! Carewe, and who did not now (cran-
| ingneck over partners shoulder) seek
to fix her with his glittering eye, while
! he sang "Oh, believe me" most di-
| rectly and conspicuously at her. For
that night was the beginning of Miss
| Betty's famous vareer as the belle of
| Rouen, and was the date from which
| strangers were to hear of her as the
! beautiful Miss Carewe," until "beauti-
| full" was left off. visitors to the town
! being supposed to have heard at least
re, NN..xr
There had been much discussion of
| her though only one or two had
! caught glimpses of her; but most of
the gallants appeared to agree with
! Crailey Gray. who aired his opinion
in an exceedingly casual way-at the
little club on Main street. Mr.. Gray
held that when the daughter of a man
as rich as Bob Carewe was heralded
as a beauty the chances were that she
would prove disappointing, and, for his
part, he was not even interested enough
to attend and investigate. So he was
going down the river in a canoe and
preferred the shyness of a bass to
that of a girl of eighteen just from
the convent, he said. Tom Vanrevel
was not present on the occasion of
these remarks, and the general con-
currence with Crailey may be suspected
as a purely verbal one, since, when
the evening came, two of the most en-
thusiastic dancers and love-makers of
the town, the handsome Tappingham
Marsh and that doughty ex-dragoon
and Indian fighter, stout old Gen
Trumble, were upon the field before
the enemy appeared; that is to say,
they were in the new ball room before
their host; indeed. the musicians had
not arrived, and Nelson, an aged ne
gro servitor. was engaged in lighting
the house.
The crafty pair had planned this
early descent with a view to monopoly
by right of priority, in case the game
proved worth the candle, and they
were leaning effectively against the
little railing about the musicians plat
form when Mr.. Carewe entered the
room with his daughter on his arm
She was in white, touched with
countless small lavender flowers:
there were rows and rows of wonderful
silk and lace hounces on her skirt, and
her fan hung from a rope of great
pearls. All. hideous, blue, rough cloth
of the convent, unfortunately, but laid
aside forever, what a chrysalis you
were!
Tappingham twitched his compan-
ions sleeve, but the general was al
ready passing. and neither heard the
words of presentation, because Miss
Betty gave each of them a quick look.
.
the slayers were Frustrated before
: their prey. Never were lady killers
more instantaneously tanned and sub
jugated by the power of the feminine
eve. VIII Cummings came in soon,
and almost upon his heels, Eugene
Madrillon and young Frank Cheno-
! weth. No others appeared for half an
. hour. and the five gentlemen looked at
one another aside, each divining his
own diplomacy in his fellows eye, and
each laboriously explaining to the 9TH
ers his own mistake in regard to the
hour designated upon Mr.. Carewe's
cards of invitation. This small embar-
rassment, however, did not prevent
Gen. Trumble and young Mr. Cheno-
weth from coming to high words over
Miss Carewes little gilt-filigree pro
gramme" of dances.
l 1t may not be untimely to remark
also. of these five redoubtable beaux,
: that, during the evening it occurred to
every one of them TO be glad that
Crailey Gray was bethrothed to Fan
5 chon Bareaud, and that he was down
r on the Rouen river with a canoe, a rod
and tent. Nay, without more words,
to declare the truth in regard to Graf
: ley they felt greater security in his
absence from the field than in his be-
: trothal. AS Mr.. Chenoweth, a youth as
open as out-of-doors, both in counte-
nance and mind. observed plaintively to
Tapingham Marsh in a corner, while
they watched Miss Betty's lavender
flowers mira culously swirling through
! a quadrille: "Crailey, you know, well,
Crailey's been engaged before." 1t was
! not Mr. Chenoweth's habit to disguise
) his apprehensions, and Crailey Gray
: would not fish for bass forever.
The same Chenoweth, was he, who,
; maddened by the generals triumphant
, ~ familiar way of toying with Miss
} Betty's fan between two dances. at
tempted to propose TO her during the
, sunrise waltz Having sung "Oh. be-
lieve me" IN her ear as loudly as he
could he expressed the wish-quite as
loudly-"That this waltz might last for
always"
That was the seventh time il had
been said 10 Betty during the night,
and though Mr.. Chenoweth's predeces-
sors had revealed their desires In a
guise lacking this prodigious artless-
ness she already possessed no novel
acquaintance with the exclamation.
BUT she made no comment. her part
ners style was not "a stimulant 70 re-
partee. IA would be heaven he ann
plihad earnestly III would be heaven
90 dance with you foreyer-on desert
! isle where tie others couldn't come lf