Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1904-10-06

table, little Tom Macon, OF the artil-
lery, rushed up. "Myi Mrs. Crane,
you do look stunning tonight. You
have got to come and dance.
Don't sit here, come and join our
giddy circle. I'm awfully sorry IL
engaged my partner SO long before
hand."
Tommy was a nice boy, and, II l had
been married only five years earlier,
might have been my son. Such out
spoken admiration on his part was
rather a surprise.
But, Tommy" l said, "ITl dance, of
course. if I'm needed, but | have no
partner. besides l came to give out IA
yors."
There are plenty of dowagers here
to do that" he said.
The high official was approaching. |
knew him Slightly. He was a very POM
pous person, and l had always found
him rather hard to talk to.
Il have been told by these young
people, he said, with a wave of his
hand toward a group of cotillion a n
gers, that l am expected to renew my
youth tonight. l have not danced the
german for many years. May | have
the pleasure of dancing it with the
belle of the ball?"
IF by that sounding title you mean
myself" l answered, immensely fat
tered, 81 shall be most happy" and
we took our seats in two empty chairs
il the cotiliion circle, Just as the music
began for the first figure. =
The high official danced abominably,
but l did not find him hard to
talk to that evening. He was not at
all the kind of man l had supposed
him to be. He was jocose-indeed,
f1irtatious, and he whispered stifted
compliments in my ear all the time we
sat together.
| must confess that this time was
| rather limited, for l was constantly on
the floor. This was g surprise. I had
always enjoyed a good dance, and was
rather a favorite chaperon with the
young people; but such attention as |
received this evening had been unpre-
cedented for years. l was past my
first youth, and there were many young
and pretty girls present; but | noted ii
with establishment, / was the belle Of
the ball.
Before the evening was half over
-..a 1a5a-- .lNu,,, with faynrS VnunS
naval ensigns, whom / scarcely knew
by sight, gave me paper hats and Jap
anese toys, and then bore me Off in thu
waltz with an unmistakable air of tri
umph. Naughty officers of the divls
ion staff, who always wor such a pre-
occupied air when | met them on tn
Luneta, that | almost hesitated to bov
and disturb their weighty c%ogitations
came to me with offerings of fans an
wooden shoes. The general and tn
admiral lowered about my chair unit
the high official became quite grumpy
When Tom came in later in the even
ing, he stood watching me with a sur
prise which l could not help but fee
was unfiattering.
At the conclusion of the cotillion, m
partner escorted me to the dressin
room door, where he expressed tn
wish to wait upon me soon Che neve
made calls). He babe me good-by wit
i, an almost fatuous smile as he presse
may, squeezed my hand.
i
t well, old lady, you've done prett
WE'LL" said Tom as he edged I'M
I the victoria with me and my favor
! 1.-THE children will think that SAM
t Claus is abroad in the land. There
enough stuff here to trim a good-sizt
Christmas-tree."
81 really had a delightful time
$ said. why, Tom, | felt quite
1 used to as a girl at u dances
t home. Do you remember that SUNNI
i cotillion, where We first metz"
Remember! I should think 81
That was nearly twenty years ag
t I, a callow second-lieutenant, FREE
from West Point, and you a slend
Il little girl in a pink frock! You we
G awfully pretty then, but and he
my husband went on to say solnethll
!, foolish, which was quite unusual I
ii him; for, happy as we were, with
It those things were more often undo
u stood than mentioned.
n AS I was preparing for my need
repose that night, | took off my rim
as usual to lock them away in I
'. iewel-case, and dropped one, viii
rolled off into some dark corner.
looked for it a moment, but being We
sleepy and seeing that only the lit
a moonstone ring was missing, l po
poned the search until morning.
D then informed Fortuna of the 10
. She told me later that, after looki
thoroughly, she had been unable
70 find the ring. I was almost sure II
Il it had rolled underneath the was
. stand, but when we moved that pit
70 Of furniture and it was not there
dismissed the thing from my mil
as the article was really Of no intr
1. sic value.
at That evening as my carriage stopI
! by the bandstand on the Luneta, a
as / exchanged greetings with
friends, I saw many Of my partn
10 Of the previous evening. A few
= them stopped for a word or two.
many of them passed on with mer
es a bow. / was rather amused to
of that staff officer who had nearly 81
e. tears the evening before, when a p
re vious engagement had prevented
accepting from him a tin trum
nd bedecked with ribbon, pass me
Of with a stony stare. He never saw
ge at all. Indeed, I could not but REM
that the fervor Of my admirers OF
nd night before had waned perceptibly
on Upon reaching home that event
found an unpleasant episode
4. rroorocc As We drove through