The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1907-04-25

Lake rose shut III Il book
| In which pure women may not look.
t'or its base pages claim control
| TO crush the flower within the soul
| -ISOSSctu
A Poor Clown dressed as q Jack OF
Hearts; a Kiralfy ballet Girl; Man
who had lost the power of loving. and
a Woman wearing gloves of scarlet
these belong to my story.
Twenty odd clowns. 500 ballet girls.
and tier after tier Of loges crowded
with humans-thcse have NO part In
my story, having each and all. like
the rest of us, stories of their own.
| but they are. on my page. fused into
one by the blare and trumpeting of cir
Gus music and the damp odor of tan
bark. as the great canvas-covercd
arena of Madison Square garden is
filled with the gaudy radiance of Il
shifting. music-obeying ballet
| Suddenly. amid fresh trumpeting. /.
sudden change in music. Il fresh dc.
tacl,nont Of dancers comes 1iuttering
out OF II catvaS gateway, 1t is gay in
wild rose--ycllow ard iaunty with
huo%ant ribbons CT raIc green. Among
ihcm is one noticeable for extreme
youth and i certain crude beauty. She
t:i&cs her primitive steps with the
! awkward grace of Il child She is Il
common littl" thing. her frccklcs being
covered with Grcase-pai:A. and her
round, wid.:-0lcu eyes heavily lined.
And with the ballet IN it's green and
lff nj, al,
| clowns. clcvcrly gotten up as !. pack
nf cards.
III lower box IL Woman leans with
| cold eyes to watch their absurtlitieS.
Her hair is masscd about he" little
head like coils of pale gold snakes.
She is III white. but her restless hands.
| Will! which she SeStic,,latcs rs she
talks, are covered with gloves of scar.
let. Over her shoulder leans Man,
whose ieasy-lidded eyes watch non.
| cEa!a;!tly the .sirl of the ballet
Five hundred coryphees grouped as
ii mammoth flower. and under the box
where the Man and Woman sit, i HUI.
man atom poses as the extreme point
OF orc of the petals. Balancing, sway
ing. i'll at ease, startled into fresh mis-
takes by the attention she eXcites, the
Grl glances upward, and looks stupid
~ into their faces.
Between them comes tumbling alb.
ruptly a clown dressed as Jack of
| Hearts. His eyes CLEAN, shy and cum
ming. through the CHASTITY white OF his
makeup.
And then the ballet writhes. spreads
and palpitates into the semblance of u
glittering star. but for some unreasoll-
able reason, the eyes of the Man and
of the Woman follow the Girl with
careless interest.
Little sin,pleton!" murlnurs the
Woman.
| Pretty simpleton!" corrects the
Man with emphasis.
IN take her home with me to sup.
per-" suggests she, rubbing her gloves
softly.
And why?" asks he of the heavy.
lidded eyes.
Caprice! A fancy to see what
these animals are like; she is like a
kitten. She purred when 1 caught her
eyes"
Kittens scratch"
Not ii one strokes their fur well. "
"Or--grow to be cats"
Thanks" Her face clouds as she
watches him
| "Oh---ls you like" he continues,
yawning behind his hand discreetly.
Just then two other men entered the
box. and the Woman turned to them.
But the Man followed the Girl with
his glance. so like an unholy caress.
And waiting. grimacing, tumbling,
came and went the clown dressed as a
Jack OF Hearts.
Like a rose shut in il book. in
which pure women may not look
quoted the Man with the weary face
IN the box. as he watched the Girl of
| Inc innocent face. For he was OF the
artistic temperament and somewhat of
= poet
i'ut tine Clown. who had no poetry
II his soul but only poorly cooked
dinner in his stomach, followed his
glance. until nc also noticed the Girl.
oh. ho!" said the clown, and turned
:, few tandspringS in all absen: minded
| way
For he had not particle OF deli.
lacy. being very vulgar sort Of q
follow. given more to drink than was
desirable And emotions with him
| generally evolved themselves into tu,Ii.
Ling of some kind Resides. lie had
u..or heard of Rossetti
The next figure of the ballet was the
last! In it. the dancers carried iron
hoops which We're hung as with glow
ing jewels, with small illuminated
globes. while all were entangled in
fires d: fantastic hues which we're
'"iirlcd by men in the upper balconies
And still that sturdy. womanly little
figure the New Girl in the ballet, with
tn" refund, freckled baby face covered
with paint. marched and counter
marched quite bravely with the rest.
And the Woman with the scarlet
gloves SAW that her companion still
found her worth watching. She
smiled. hesitated. then scrubbed with
Il tin! lm:,icil a few words, an address