The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1906-01-25

The dancers seemed bitten to the
quick with the tarantula of an ecStatic
hilsrity. Their bodies sWayed in per-
feet harmony to the swing Of the fid-
dies and the swell of the chorus. The
spell Of that mad magic. Their move
ments, that in the beginning of the
dance had been shy and awkward, be-
came almost beautiful. They forgot
arms, hands, feet. Their bodies had
become like the strings of some skill
sponsive to rhythm, and in that COM
posite blending Of races each in his
dancing brought some of the poetry Of
his own far land. The scene was
amazing in it's beauty and simplicity,
like the strong, inspirational power
and rugged rhythm Of some old border
minstrel. One by one the dancers
glowed with better understanding. Dis
cOrdant elements, alien nations, were
fused to harmony in this vivid picture
Peter turned to Kitty expecting to
see her face aglow with the warmth of
it. She stood beside him, the one un-
responsive soul in the room, on her lips
q pale, tolerant smile
aren't they splendid, Kitty, these
women? More than half of them work
like beavers all day, and they have
young children and dozens Of worries.
But would you suspect it? They're
Just the women for this country
Now, in the present state Of affairs
almost any other subject would have
been better calculated to promote good
feeling than the one on which Peter
had alighted. Kitty's thoughts had
perversely fingered about one who,
though not one with these women, had
yet their sturdy self reliance, their ac-
Quiescence in grim conditions, their
pleasure in simple things. Kitty's ap-
prehension, slow to kindle, had taken
fire like forest, and by it's blaze she
saw things in a distorted light. Her
present vision magnifed the relations
of Peter and Judith to a degree that
month ago she would have regarded as
impossible. "He is her lover! was
the accusation that suddenly flashed
through her mind, and with the
thought an Overwhelming desire to say
something unkind, something that
should hurt him, supplanted all jrdg-
ment and reason.
"Oh, it's a decidedly remarkable
scene, pictorially, I agree with you
And an artist, Of course-but isn't it Il
rJ1ivntio 70
because they are having a good time?
There's no virtue in it. 1t is conceiva-
BILE that they might have to work just
as hard and have just as many little
children to look after and yet not have
these dances you praise them for COM
ing to-
I'm afraid you find us and our
amusements little crude. Evidently
the spirit Of our dances does not ap-
peal to you. But I did not suppose
it necessary to remind you that they
should not be Judged by the standard
of conventional evening parties" said
Peter, hurt and angry in his turn.
Us, our amusements, our dances?
So you are quite identified with these
people, my dear Peter, and I had
thought you an ornament of cotillons
and country clubs. I can only infer
that it is somebody in particular who
has brought about your change Of
heart
Peter flushed little, and Kitty kept
on: Some Of the native bellies are quite
wonderful, I believe. Mamie Wetmore
tells of a half breed who is very hand
some'
Peter set his lips. AT the expense
Of spelling Nannie's pretty romance |
must tell YOU that the lady she refers
to is not only the most. beautiful of
women, but she would be at ease in
any drawing ROOM" Peter spoke with
out calculating the conviction that his
words carried. He was angry, and his
manner, voice, information, showed it.
Kitty, now that her most unworthy
suspicious had been confirmed by Pc
ter's ardent championing of Judith, lost
her discretion in the pang that gnawed
her little soul: Il beg your pardon. Pc
ter. When I spoke did not, Of course.
know that this young woman was any
thing to you"
! Anything to me? My dear Kitty,
I've never had better friend than Ju-
dith Rodney
The dance was at it's food tide. The
exhilaration had grown with each
sweep of the fiddle bow, with the sor-
Gerry Of sinuous, swaying bodies, with
the song Of the dancers as they Joined
in the calling out Of the figures, with
the rhythmic shuttle Of feet, with the
hum Of the pulses, with the leaping of
blood to cheek and heart till the dan
GERS whirled as leaves circling toward
the eddies Of whirlpool. The dane
Ing Mrs. OAK split her favors into in
intestinal fragments, for each meas
ure OF which her long list Of waiting
gallants stood ready to pick quarrel
if need be. Her dancing, in the splen-
dor OF its spontaneity, had something
of the surge Of the west wind sweep
ing over field Of grain. Sometimes
she waved back her partner and alone
danced a figure, putting to the music