The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1913-02-21
Sold everywhere. In boxes. 10e.. Csc.

ed myself to be covered with glory.
Being a quiet. serious. studious. digni-
fed person, WAS in an agony. Every
nine feet Of tail behind me, excited the
laughter not only of those in the set
with me. but every one in the room.
The antics Of the others 10 get out of
the way of my tail feathers were alone
enough to set the whole company into
babel Of hilarity. One couple after
another stopped dancing to look at me
till at last the set | was with was the
only one remaining on the floor, the
others forming ring around US to
laugh at me. | made break to get
away. but Sue caught me by the tail
and held me long enough for others to
Interfere and put me back in my place.
And so | was forced to make spec
tacle Of myself for the others till the
end of the dance. Sue endeavoIed to
keep me steady by an occasional pres
sure of the hand or some other method
Of coddling me. But my modification
and anger We're gradually getting the
better of me. and. though concealed
It, was vowing vengeance on her. 1t
occurred to me that no girl would thus
demean a man she felt any love for
and that she had taken this means of
showing her contempt for me.
BY the time l had finished this first
dance | was ready to leave the room,
take off my bird costume and go away
in anger l think l should have done
so had not Dan Wilson, an intimate
man friend of mine, told me that but
one course remained to me-to carry
out the joke as though l enjoyed it.
To give way to anger would only make
the matter worse l saw the sense of
this advice and resolved to act upon it.
Having taken this resolution. did
the best could to play my part, and
It might have been after all quite q
successful plot on the part of Sue and
her abettors had not her recklessness
spoiled it all. l gradually recovered
my equanimity so far as to dissemble
with her and conceal the bitterness /
felt against her for leading me into
such a trap. Possibly this encouraged
her to go further. Having borrowed
"a match from the box of one of the
men, she lighted the tissue paper on
the tip end of my tail.
IS Very young persons are not overbur-
dened with common sense. and as the
little fame quickly spread it greatly
amused the company. Feeling a
warmth, l turned my head and, see
ing the flame. my body. in an effort to
put out the fire. giving a swish that
famed it into a confagration.
The laughter of the lockers on sud-
denly gave way to anxiety, and sew
But by this time the flames had ac-
quired considerable Roadway, and the
task was a difficult one. My tail
feathers were all aflame and those on
my back were being ignited. A thrill
-of horror passed over those standing
about me. The women. in their fimsy
costumes drew back. while the men
pushed forward toward me. One. who
was dressed as an Indian. took blan-
ket from his shoulders and wrapped it
aJ0nt me, while the others kept pluck
ing the burning tail feathers. This
saved me from death. but not from
burning. My back and my legs were
seriously scorched. l was led out of
the hall. and l remember seeing
faces that of Sue Gwinne. the very
picture of remorse and despair.
The incident finished the ball before
It had well begun. was told after
ward that few persons remained
and attempted to carry on the dances.
but the fact that l was known to have
been badly burned took the spirit out
Of the affair." and before midnight all
was dark which should have been a
brilliantly Illuminated scene of gayety
1t was a month before left my
room. confess | acted very badly to
ward the perpetrators of what though
intended for an innocent joke, yer!
nearly became a frightful tragedy Sue
sent me word of her distress and beg
ged that she might be permitted to
do something for me. But. believing
that her action toward me had been in
tended to be contemptuous. | did not
find it in my heart to forgive her. ]
showed my spleen by making no reply
to her massage. She sent others to
tntercede for her. but | was adamant
1t was not the burns that restrained my
forgiveness. but the fact that my love
so ! considered-had been spurned
Finally my chum Dan Wilson, whose
opinions had great weight with me-
told me. that while Sues act was to be
considered as foolish and reprehensi
bic in the extreme, the whole affair
had been conceived in a spirit of mis-
chief, ard had no bearing whatever
on her feelings toward me. unless it
might be construed to indicate that
she was favorably inclined toward me
He represented that the poor girl was
suffering intensely in consequence of
her act and my treatment Of her was
little short of cruel
So l wrote Sue that l had come to |
the conclusion she had meant neither |
harm nor disrespect in providing me |
with bird of paradise suit and firing
the tail feathers. and begged that she |
would not distress herself further