The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1904-03-04


strutteH vallahr1y as & growing cock
Try his own %barnyard.
Come, Placide. we are going to a
ball: we can do nothing in our quest
tonight"
ITO a what?"
"A ball. 1 thought 1T might be we'll
to nave you look in upon Madame
Ms n recite your lessons. 1t is
to be a famous gathering and we'll
worth your seeing"
l was in q whirl. a stupor, by this
time. and obeyed implicitly; beside, 1t
required such an infinite skill to keep
my sword from swinging between my
legs and throwing me down, I had no
line to consider of minor matters. He
led the way and 1 followed meekly as q
lap-dog.
At the great entrance gate we be-
came e%ntangled in a medley of soldiers,
coachmen, torch-bearers and servants
coming and going-such a babel Of
strange oaths-I wished I were safe
again in the quiet of Biloxi. I pleaded
with Jerome to turn again, but he was
inexorable.
tonight" he explained.
OF this ball 1 remember nothing but
that h slippery floor, in which a man
could see his own face, kept me in
deadly fear lest my sword trip me.
Jerome was gay and laxative. pointing
out many people Of whom I heard, but
they did not look so great after all.
For sake Of heaven. man, wear not
so long a face; 1T is not the funeral Of
thy mistress I have brought thee to-"
I marveled that SO many old ladies
should carry such young faces, or per-
chance their hair had turned gray ear
lier than was its wont In the colonies.
And, too. they seemed sadly disfigured
with boils. for or the chin or cheek
OF nearly, every one there showed a
patch OF black sticking plaster. Poor
things! 1 sorrowed for them, it was
so humiltating. Verify, I pitied them
all, and speculated on the wonderful
compensations Of Providence. With all
their wealth and rank. their lordly
castles and tl.eir Jewels, these noble
danes could not purchase tina which
the humblest serving-maid in Quebec
mac, and to spare-a clear skin and
sunny locks.
ouched upon these matters to
jerome, but he only laughed immoder-
ately. He was ever a light-headed
young spark who a V no contempla-
tlon 10 deeper questions than present
enjoyment.
OF a sudden my wits almost left me
at a terrible cutlery from one end of
the great hall, a cry not of human be-
1ngs but of wild beasts, muffled and
menacing. The dancing, the music, the
hum Of voices ceased. and a thick ST.
lence as of direst fear fell upon them
all. Then there came a loud cracking
and shattering of glass, a woman's
scream. the first OF very many. This
for aught I know might have been a
usual happening at a ball, T had never
been to one before.
l ooked for Jerome. He was gone,
speeding toward a young lady sur
passing fair, with whom he had been
speaking bu a few moments since. 7
fam would have assisted him, for the
damsel appeared wofully beset, but the
Whole throng Of mincing lords and
screaming ladies, in the rankest riot.
overran me. They swept me from my
feet and bore me back to The farthest
wall, where l found myself pinned tight
and fast against a window.
What the danger was I could not
see. but 1t must have been dolorous
from the headlong terror of their fieht.
Soon by the thinning of the crowd
through the doors I saw a cause. 1t
was a motley n a moving spectacle.
For by some mischance a flock of sheep
had broken into the ballroom, and
frightened u Of their shallow senses
by the lights and music, they rushed
pellmell here and there, upsetting with
out discrimination whatever stood In
their path.
Verify such an onset would do brave
work gains an enemies ranks, for
could our knights but make a gap like
that, an army Of children might march
through unhindered. All went down
alik before their charge, my lord and
my lady, the prince of the blood, and
the humblest page III pore his
pouncet box Such a slipping and a
sliding across a floor slickened with
much wax and polishing, was v
In q ballroom before, nor ever was
again. One old ram regarded each mir
tor as a certain avenue Of escape, and
the %radtattng fracture Of each taught
him no greater wisdom concerning the
others.
Standing s%pellbound as. a statue In
the midst Of the ruins, I caught sight
OF a ford, rotund lady. speechless III.
her horror and her misery.
THE duchess does not enjoy her
quaint surprise" laughed q light voice
behind me, n a slim finger directed
my gaze toward the lady whom I had
just noted.
I observed then at my back, stand
Ing upon a chair where she could see
the better, a young woman Of distin-
gu1shed appearance, rather more plain
ly attired than the balance. She ap-
peared greatly to enjoy the confu-
sion.
(COnttnued Next woeLN