Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1913-04-17

sails on the air like thlstle-doWn.
felt sorry for Tom. for when he
danced with me he could see her.
and when he danced with her /
pouted at him, even over Judge
Wade's arm. l verify believe it was
from being ratified that he asked
little Pet Buford to dance with him.
by mistake as it were After
that if Pet breathed sin
gle strain of music out of
his arms I didn't see it. I knew that
gone expression on his face, and it
made me feel so lonesome that / was
more gracious to the judge than was
exactly safe. He dances just as mag
nificently as he exists in life, and it
is kind of ceremonial to do it With
him. The boys all wore white fan
nels, and most OF the men, but the
judge was as formally dressed as he
would have been in midwinter and L
wondered if Alfred could be half as
distinguished to look at. suppose
my eyes must have been telling on me
about how grand / thought he was
looking, because newell. 1 was
rather relieved when one Of the boys
took me out of his arms for a good
long, swinging two-step.
And how I did enjoy it all, every
single minute of it, My heart beat
time to the music as if it would never
tire of doing so. Miss Chester and I
Exchanged little laughs and scraps of
conversation in between times, and [
fell deeper. and deeper in love with
her. Every pound have melted and
frozen and starved off me has
brought me nearer to her, and l just
can't think about how 1 am going to
hurt her in a few days now. l put
the thought from me and so let my
self swing out into thoughtlessness
with one of the boys. And after that
/ really didn't know with whom I was
dancing, and l began to get so in
toxicated with it all.
never heard musicians play better
or get more of the spirit of dance in
their music than those did tonight.
They had just given us the most
lovely swinging things, one after an
other, when suddenly they all stopped
and the leader drew his bow across
his violin. sNever in all my life have
/ ever heard anything like the call of
that waltz from that gypsy's strings.
1t laughed you a signal and you felt
yourself follow the first strain.
Just then somebody happened to
take me from whomever was with
and | caught step and glided off the
universe. The strongest arms that |
had felt that evening-or ever-held
me and | didn't have to look up to
see who ii was l don't know why |
knew but l did. | wasn't clasped 50
very close to him or left to float by
myself an inch; / was just a part of
him like the arms themselves or the
hand that mine nodded into. And
while that wonder music leased and
caioled and Knocked and rocked and
sobbed and throbbed, / laid my cheek
against his coat sleeve and gave my
self away. didn't care to whom.
Again that strange sense of some
wonderful eternal good came TO me
and l found myself humming Billy's
little soul to keep" prayer against
the doctors sleeve to the tune of that
magic waltz. ! had never danced
with him before. of course, but l felt
as if / had been going it always, and
l melted in his arms as that baby had
wilted to his mother out in the cabin
few hours earlier and / don't see
how such happiness as that could
stop. But with a soft entreating wall
the music came to an end and there
the doctor was, smiling down into my
face with his whimsical friendly smile
that woke me up all over.
Somebody has stolen a rose from
the Carter garden and brought it TO
the dance" he said with laugh that
was for me alone.
NO" | flashed back, "a string
beam And with that / danced off
again with the judge, while
the doctor disappeared through the
door, and / heard the chuck Of
his car as it whirled away. He had
just stopped in for a second to see
the fun and God had given me that
gypsy waltz with him, because He
knew l needed something like that in
my life to keep for always.
This has been a happy night, in
which / betrothed myself to Alfred.
though he doesn't know it yet l am
going to take it as a sign that life
for us is going to be brilliant and
gay and full of laughter-and love.