Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-02
THE ROSE RIB A II D
Continued from page s

CONUNhe0
ming, and pressed nv lord towards the bushes
where l hid, SO that | could hear their heavy
breathing. And then sharply my lord dis
engages himself and gets under the guard
with pretty riposte, and t'other's sword fell
to the earth
"Zounds'' he cried, and / could see from
abled.
'Tis the fortune of war, my good sir.
saws nv lord, feeling in his pocket for snuff
box, and elegantly serving himself. But
t'other was in some pain, as was evident. and
said naught And so riveted were my eyes
on the scene that did not notice the approach
of third man till his voice rang out
"'Twas we'll, We shall have a witness, my
lord -
Bless your pretty soul twas no other than
the cock sparrow in plum. whom had clean
deadly rival rival Ny lord, whom he had ad
dressed. turned on him slowly.
know not who the devil you be- said
he. but if you require lesson in manners
you shall have it >
And in a twinkling they two were at it.
while the tall fellow was bandaglng his arm
and cursing indifferent to what went forward
and | could scarce contain my merrlment In
my hiding place
The cock sparrow ragged through the duello
like storm. and made my lord play unwary
strokes through his sharp onset And to say
the truth | could not see how it happened
but twas not long ere they were apart. each
with a wound of some sort and the cock
sparrow lying in heap on the grass.
lis time for me to go. thinks l. and l
slipped through the bushes towards a gap IN
the hedge leaving my lord in his shirt sleeves
leaning on his weapon, the cock sparrow. claws
uppermost. and the tall man, that must have
been Sir Nigel, still swearing under his breath
as he struggled with his bandage. got back
to the house; and by the time had reached
it l had seized a pretty idea 1t had been
my thought to bewilder these stout champions
of the riband by spreading the symbol abroad.
as it were like thrower casting seed But
they had took their punishment and there
remained Mistress Vanity or Vixen, what
dye like l am not above colloquing with a
handsome woman of parts. but. damme l
striving to set all by the ears for the sake of
her mere vanity. Very well, says | to myself
No sooner was l entered than | made my
way to the first gallant did see, and beckon-
ing mysteriously, took him aside.
"A certain lady. sir, said |, who shall be
you this and entreats you will wear it as her
favor" and out pulled riband. But that
which had been in my coat was there no
longer
He was silent a moment. and then asked.
=" Who be you. sir!
If were to say" said prudently may
be it would say more in your ear than would
be wise
And so faith it would have done
Tell my lady l honored by her
favor says he with bow. sticking it IN his
coat.
And then said | very solemnly. AT the
hour when my lady calls her chair she hath
bid me whisper in your ear
And so | went on to the next with the same
tale, and thus again until l had exhausted
almost all my stock of rose ribands Some
were suspicious, and some asked questions.
but one way and another | secured them all
Damme there is as much vanity in some men
as in all women.
Well the upshot of this you will see pretty
plain: for presently the chamber was full of
favors, flashing from the lapels of all the bucks
of town. Sure. twas a garden OF red roses
that lowered there. and each man staring at
his neighbor with wonder and no doubt ask
ing of himself what it portended. And there
was litter among the ladies who were there.
for | doubt not they recognized some joke
was afoot and knew against whom it was
directed For one of them stopped me with
her fan. and says she
Fie sir YOU undrapedl Where Is
Your flag | would think shame to go banner
less were | man. and she giggled as II 1t
were fine lest
1t was clear enough what I'll understood it
for and no sooner had | clapped eyes the
lady than knew she had taken it sorely Her
vexaton was manifest in her gait and. though
she feigned innocence it must have CALLED her
to see upon all sides the derisive insignia OF
her service hooking her Yet she bore herself
very we'll and | could not but admire her
talking and LAUGHING in the highest manner