The Tupelo journal., 1904-10-14


night.
AS l seated myself at the favor
table, little Tom Macon, Of the artil-
lery, rushed up. MY! Mrs. Crane,
you do look stunning tonight! You
simply have got to come and dance.
Don't sit here, come and join our
giddy circle. I'm awfully sorry
engaged my partner so long before
hand!"
Tommy was a nice boy, and. If 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" I said, "Ill dance, of
course, if I'm needed, but | have nc
partner, besides | came to give out IA
vors.'
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 I had always found
him rather hard to talk to.
] HAVE DtSn tOiu W Tvs Obh
people," he said, with a wave of his
hand toward a group of cotillion mana
gers, that | am expected to renew my
youth tonight. l have not danced the
german for many years. May | have
tile pleasure OF dancing it with the
belle of the ball?"
IF by that sounding title you mean
myself" / answered, immensely flat
tered, Il shall be most happy" and
we took u seats in two empty chairs
ir; the cotillion circle, just as the music
began for the first figure.
yhe high official danced abominably,
but | did not find him hard to
talk to that evening. He was not at
all the kind of man | had supposed
him to be. He was jocose-indeed,
fsrtatious. and he whispered stilted
compliments in my ear all the time we
sat together.
| must confess that this time was
rather limited, for | was constantly on
the floor. This was a surprise. | 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. | was past my
first youth, and there were many young
and pretty girls present; but | noted it
with establishment. | was the belle of
the ball.
-. 49, ,-onino yroc half nNnJs |
was laden down with favors. Young
naval ensisns, whom | scarcely knew
by sight. gave me paper hats and Jap
anese toys, and then bore me off in the
waltz with an unmistakable air of tri-
umph. Naughty officers of the divis-
ion staff. who always wore such a pre-
occupied air when / met them on the
Laneta, that | almost hesitated-to bow
and disturb their weighty cogitations,
came to me with offerings of fans and
wooden shoes. The general and the
admiral hovered about my chair until
tie high official became quite grumpy.
When Tom came in later in the even
ing. he stood watching me with a sur
prise which | could not help but feel
was unfiattering.
At the conclusion of the cotillion, my
partner escorted me to the dressing
room door, where he expressed the
wish to wait upon me soon Che never
made calls). He babe me good-by with
an almost fatuous smile as he pressed
nay, squeezed my hand.
well, old lady, you've done pretty
we'll" said Tom as he edged into
the victoria with me and my favors.
THE children will think that Santa
Claus is abroad in the land. There's
enough stuff mere to trim a good-sized
ChristmaS-tree."
81 really had a delightful time" |
said. why, Tom, | felt quite as
| used to as a girl at our dances at
home. Do you remember that summer
cotillion. where we first metz
Remember! l should think SO!
That was nearly twenty years ago.
[, a callow second-lieutenant, fresh
from West Point. and you a slender
little girl in a pink frock! You were
awfully pretty then, but" and here
husband went or to say something
foolish, which was quite unusual for
him; for, happy as we were, with us
those things were more often under
stood than mentioned.
AS l was preparing for my needed
repose that night, | took off my rings
as usual to lock them away in my
jewel-case, and dropped one, which
rolled off into some dark corner. |
looked for it a moment, but being very
sleepy and seeing that only the little
poned the search until morning. |
then informed Fortuna of the loss.
She told me later that. after looking
thoroughly, she had been unable to
find the ring. / was almost sure that
it had rolled underneath the wash
stand, but when We moved that piece
of furniture and it was not there, |
dismissed the thing from my mind,
as the article was really of no intrin-
ST.. value.
That evening as my carriage stopped
by the bandstand on the Luneta, and
az l exchanged greetings with my
friends, l saw many of my partners
of the previous evening. A few Of
them stopped for a word or two, but
many of them passed on with merely
a bow. 1 was rather amused to see
that staff officer who had nearly shed
tears the evening before, when a pre-
vious engagement had prevented my
accepting from him a tin trumpet
bedecked with ribbon, pass me by