Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1905-12-04

fact, celebrity. For she was Miss
Finetta.
AS she rode in at a brisk canter in
the superbly fitting habit which seem
ed an outer skin of the little supple
figure and followed by the correctly
clad groom mounted on horse as
good as that of his mistress, the hats
of the men flew off, and the eye
glasses of the women went up as
their owners looked another way.
But to smiles or frowns, pleasant
words or icy stares, Finetta returned
the same COOL good-humored smile
and flash of the white teeth and black
eyes.
Every now and then London has a
fit. Sometimes it takes the shape OF
hero worship, and down the mob
goes on their knees to some celebrity,
male or female; at others it goes
black in the fact with hooting and
mud-f1inging at some object which it
has suddenly taken into it's head to
hate.
At present all London-all fashion
able male LOndOn-WaS in its of ad-
miration for Finetta, and, strange to
say, no long ago she had been play
ing with other girls in the alely in
which her fathers small coal store
was situated, and was perfectly happy
with her skipping-rope and hop-scotch,
Ivy
the organization came around with
that popular instrument.
Her mother wanted her to go to
school, or at any rate to keep her in
the green-grocer's shop, which was
run in connection with the coal-store;
but F'inetta-her name at that time
was Sarah Ann, by the way-declined
to go to school, and confined her min
istration in the shop to stealing
oranges and apples. Her mother al
ternately beat her, her father declar-
ed with emphatic and descriptive Ian
guage that she would come to no
good; and Sarah Ann, taking the
scolding and the beating and prophe-
cies of a bad end with infinite good
humor, went on playing hop-scotch
and dancing round the organ quite
happy in her ragged skirt and her
black face and hands.
But the gods, they say, delight in
surprises, and one day an Individual
happened to come down that alley
who was fated to have an immense
influence on Sarah AIMS career.
He was a well-known dancing mas
ter, a first rate one; a man whose
whole life had been devoted to his art
and nothing else.
He saw the group of girls dancing
round the organ, stood and watched
them with an absent, reflective smile,
and suddenly his face lighted up and
his eyes frightened. Sarah Ann had
run out of the green-grocer's shop
with an orange she had stolen, and, as
she tore off the peel with her white
teeth, set to dancing with the rest.
The dancing-maste drew aside
little and kept his eyes on the dark,
angular girl, whose dark orbs glanced
under the excitement of her dance,
which, unlike that of her companions,
was in perfect time with the music"
and full Of grace which was natural
as young Indians.
M. Faber-he was a Frenchman
went up to her.
"Are you fond of dancing?" he ask
ed.
Gam I? Amt I? she retorted,
flashing her teeth upon him. ''Why,
Oh course | am-who ain't?''
so am l." he said. would you like
to learn to dance-properly?"
Learn? I can dance already!" she
returned, with a toss of her head.
''Ah, you think SOL" he said smiling,
with kind of good-natured pity. He
looked round; the alley was empty ex-
cepting for the children, and he sign
ed to the organ-nlan to go on playing;
and as he played the thin, dapper lit
tie Frenchman began to dance. We
won't try to describe it; all the
world has seen him and knows what
is meant when it is said that it was
M. Faber at his best.
He seemed to be made OF springs
India rubber springs; to be as light as
thistledown; to tread afloat on the air
and to possess the wind and speed of
g dervish.
The black-eyed slip of a girl watched
him in bref.thless amazement and
delight; and when he had finished
and came on his toe-points as if he
had just f1oated from the grimy house
tops she uttered a long sigh Of envy
and admiration.
Il couldn't do that" she said look
ing at him sullenly but wistfully
mo; not yet he said and why,
my child? Because you have not been
taught. One does not know how to
dance till one learns. Would you like
to learn?"