The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-02-01

mower a white rose is, she continued,
though l am a bold girl to be blair
neying with young gentleman 1 met
no longer ago than last night"
But why shouldn't you blarney with
gentleman, when you began by saw
ing his life?"
"Or, rather, when the gentleman had
the politeness to gallop about the coun-
ty with me tucked under his arm ?"
She stood still and laughed softly, but
consummately, and her eyes closed
tight with the mirth of it. She had
taken one of the roses from her waist,
and, as she stood, holding it by the
long stem, it's petals lightly pressed
her lips.
You may have tin exchange" she
said. He bent down to her, and she
began to fasten the pink rose in place
of the white one on his coat. She did
not ask him, directly or indirectly, who
had put the white one there for him,
because she knew by the way it was
pinned that he had done it himself.
Who is it that ev'ry morning brings
me these lovely flowrs?" she bur-
lesqued, as he bent over her.
d" Mr.. Windy he returned. 81 will
point him out to you. You must see
him, and, also, Mr.. Bodeffer, the oldest
inhabitant-and crossest."
will you present them to me?"
mo; they might talk to you and
take some of my time with you away
| from me-" Her eyes sparkled into his
for the merest fraction of a second,
and she laughed half mockingly. Then
she dropped his lapel and they pro-
ceeded. She did not put the white rose
in her belt but carried it.
The Square was heaVing with lost
| ling, good-natured, happy and con-
stantly increasing crowd that over
! flowed on Main street in both direc-
| tons; and the good nature of this
crowd was augmented in the ratio that
its size increased. The streets were a
| confusion of many fcolOrs, and eager
| faces filled every window opening on
! Main street or the Square. Since nine
o'clock all those of the court house had
been occupied, and here, most of the
damsels congregated to enjoy the spec
| tacle of the PARADE and, their SWANS
attended, gallantly posting, themselves
| at coignes of less vantage behind the
! ladies'. Some of the faces that peeped
! from the dark, old court house win
| dows were pretty, and some of them
were not pretty; but nearly all of them
were rosy checked, and all were pleas
ant to see because of the good cheer
| they showed. Some of the gallants aft
fected the airy and easy, entertaining
| the company with 'badinage and repair
tee; some were openly bashful. Now
| and then one of the latter, after long
| elaboration, constructed a laborious
compliment for his inamorata and, af-
! ter advancing and propOunding half
of it, again retired into himself, smit
with a blissful palsy. Nearly all of
them conversed in tones that might
have indicated that they were separat-
ed from each other by an acre lot or
! two.
Here and there, along the sidewalk
below, a father worked his way
| through the throng, a hcorice- bedaub-
ed cherub on one arm, his coat (borne
with long enough on the other; fol-
/ lowed by mother with the other chill
! dren hanging to her skirts and tag
| ging eXasperatingly behind, holding
red and blue toy balloons and defect
! able batons of spiral-striped pepper
mint in tightly closed, sadly sticky fin
gers.
A thousand cries rent the air; the
strolling mountebanks and gypsying
booth-merchants; the peanut vendors;
| the boys with palm-leaf fans for sale;
the candy sellers; the popcorn ped
dlers; the Italian with the toy balloons
| that float like a cluster of colored bub-
bles above the heads of the crowd, and
the balloons that wall like a baby; the
| red-lemonade man, shouting in the
| shrill voice that reaches everywhere
and endures forever: "Lemo! Lemo!
| Ice-cole lemo! Five cents, a nickel, a
J half-a- dime, the neutrality-suspicious.
| Lemo! ICe-cole Ieme!"-all the vocif-
Grating harbingers of the circus crying
| their wares. Timid youths, in shoes
| covered with dust through which the
morning polish but dimly shone, and
| unalterably hooked by the arm to
blushing maidens, bought recklessly OF
peanuts, of candy, of popcorn, of all
| known sWeetmeats, perchance; and
| forced their way to the lemonade
stands; and there, all shyly, silently
slipped the crimson-stained embrosio.
Everywhere the hawkers dinned, and
everywhere was heard the plaintive
| squawk of the toy balloon.
But over all rose the nasal cadence
of the Cheap John, reeking oratory
from his big wagon on the corner:
| walk up, walk up, walk up ladies
and gents! Here we are! Here we
are! Make hay while we gather the
moss. Walk up, one and all. Here 1
! put this solid gold ring. sumptuous
and golden, is carats, IS golden car
ats of the priceless mother, of metals,
! toiled fer on the wild Pacific slope, IS
garnteed, 1 put this golden ring, rich
and golden, in the package with the
| hangkacheef the elegant and blue-rul-
ed note-paper, self-writing pens, pen
ell and penholder. Who takes the lot Z?
| VINO takes 1t, ladies and gentS?"
His tongue curled about his words
| he seemed to love them. Fer a quat-
of-a>6ollah! Don't turn away, young
man-you Teller in the green necktie,
! there. We all see the young lady on
! your arm is a-langrishing fer the gold
I en- ring and the package. Faint heart
! never won fair wummin'. There you
are, sir. and youth never regret 1t. Go
and be happy!- Now, who's the next
man to git solid with his girl fer a
| quat-of-a -dollah? Life is a mysterus
| and unviolable shadder, my friends:
who kin read it's orgeries? To-day we
are here-but tomorrow we may be in
! Jail. Only a quat-of-a-d ollahl We are
Seventh-Day Adventists. ladies and
| gents, a-giVin' away our belongings in
the awful face of Michael, fer quat-
of-a-dollah. The same price fer each
an-devery individual. lady and gent
man, wummin. wife and child, and hap
! piness to one and all fer a quat-of-a-
dollah!"
Down the middle of the street, kent
open between the waiting crowds. ran
! barefoot boys, many of whom had not
slept at home, but had kept vigil in
the night mists for the coming of the
show, and, having seen the mutfiad
pageant arrive, swathed. and with no
pomp and panoply, had returned to
town, rioting through jewelled cobwebs
I'm the UoorptDg folds en- ta.,