The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1904-01-29
THE MISSISSIPPI
/, BUBBLE
By EMERSON HoUGH
Author of 'sThe Story Of the Cowboy"
"The Girl at the Halfway House. (" BIC.
(copyrieh-. 1908. BY Emerson HouxhJ
CHAPTER L
THE RETURNED TRAVELLER.
Gentlemen. this IS America!

Gentlemen, this is America."
The speaker cast upon the cloth
covered table a singular object, whose
like none of those present had eveI
seen. They gathered about and benz
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. at runs over with gold. No
man may tell its 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 az
this"
Bah! Pembroke" said Castleton,
pushing up the shade above his eyes
till it rested on his forehead, "tis q
child's SHOE"
mot So" said the first speaker. u
give you my word tbs the moccasin OF
my sweetheart, princess in her own
right, who waits my coming on the
Ottawa. And so far from the shoe
being too small. | say as gentleman
that she not only wore it SO, but in
addition used somewhat of grass there
In 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
q land where prineesses use hay foi
hosiery"
"'Tis 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 dn
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 | 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 told We, would We
believer"
The 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
aye 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 1alIs VI rns OnLonea-
grea "a mere trifle of cataract, gem
tlemen, into which We might pitch your
tallest English cathedral and sink il
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 known to run into the China sea
upon some far-off coast not yet we'll
cbarted. | have also read the story OF
Sagean, who was far to the west of
that mighty river Did not the latter
see and pursue and kill in fair fight the
giant unicorn, tabled of Scripture? Is
not that animal known to be creature
Of the east, and may we not, therefore,
Dc advised that this new country takes
hold upon the stored lands of the
sast? Why this holy friar with whom
spoke, fresh back from his voyaging
o the cold upper ways of the northern
ribes, who live beyond the far-oN
,hanne at Michilimackinac--d he
lot tell of a river of the name of the
blue Earth, and did he not himself
lee turauoises and diamonds and en-
|