The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1904-04-27
THE MISSISSIPPI
, BUBBLE
By EMERSON HoUGH
Author of''The Story of the Cowboy"
The Girl at the Halfway House. "Rtc.
Copyright, lao2. BY Emerson Hougn.,
CHAPTER L
THE RETURNED TRAVELLER,

THE RETURNED TRAVELLER.
Gentlemen, this is America!"
The speaker cast upon the cloth
covered table a singular object, whose
like none of those present had ever
seen. They gathered about and bent
over it curiously.
This is that America" the speaker
repeated. Here you have it, bar
barrie. wonderful. abounding!'
With sudden gesture he swept his
hand among the gold coin that lay on
the gaming table. He thrust into the
mouth of the object before him a
handful of louis dor and English
sovereigns. There is your America .
said he. 1T runs over with gold. No
man may tell it's richness. Its beauty
you cannot imagine
Faith" said Sir Arthur Pembroke,
bending over the table with glass in
eye, "if the ladies of that land have
feet for this sort of shoon, methinks
we might we'll emigrate. Take you
the money of it. For me, would see
the dame could wear such shoe as
this
Bah! Pembroke" said Castleton,
pushing up the shade above his eyes
till it rested on his forehead, otis a
child's shoe"
Not so,' said the first speaker. 81
give you my word tits the moccasin of
my sweetheart, a princess in her own
right, who waits my coming on the
Ottawa. And so far from the shoe
hainO tnn cY,oa1 COW uapflor,o ',
that she not only wore it SO, but in
addition used somewhat of grass there
An in place of hose"
The earnestness of his speech in no
wise prevented the peal of laughter
that followed.
There you have it, Pembroke -
cried Castleton. would you move to
land where princesses use hay for
hosiery"
otis curious DONE" said Pembroke,
musingly, none the less.''
"And done by her own hand" said
the owner of the shoe, with certain
proprietary pride.
Again the laughter broke out. do
your princesses engage in shoemak-
ing?" asked third gamester as he
pushed into the ring. "Sure it must
be rare land. Prithee, what doth the
king in handicraft? Doth he take to
saddlery, or. perhaps, smithing?"
Have done thy jests, Wilson," cried
Pembroke. "Mayhap there is some
what to be learned here of this new
world and Of our dear cousins, the
French. Go on, tell us, Monsieur du
Mesne-as think you call yourself,
sir?-tell us more of your new coun-
try OF ice and snow, of princesses and
little Shoes"
Tell we more-and If did, would We
believe it? What If l tell We of great
rivers far to the west of the Ottawa;
OF races as strange to my princess
people as we are to them; of streams
whose sands run in gold, where dia-
monds and sapphires are to be picked
up as We like? If l told We, would We
believer"
Tho martial hearts and adventurous
souls of the circle about him began to
show in the heightened color and
closer crowding of the young men to
the table. Silence fell upon the group.
Eye know nothing, in this old rot
ten world, of what there is yet to be
found in America" cried Du Mesne.
For myself, have been no farther
than the great falls of the Ontonea-
grea-a mere trifle of a cataract, gen.
tlemen. into which We might pitch your
tallest English cathedral and sink it
beyond Its pinnacle with ease. Yet
have spoke with the holy fathers who
have journeyed far to the westward,
even to the vast Messasebe. which is
we'll kpnwn to run into the China sea
npon some far-off coast not yet well
charted. have also read the story OF
%, gean, who was far to the west of
LOT e n.,,'ckty hysr, Did not the latter
that