ch ruffled over it. And,
what was most enjoyable to me in this case, I glided in whatever
direction pleased me and took with me the armful of cloud, which was
the girl with whom I was dancing, on long swoops of my own will,
instead of being led in my flights by another as had always before
been the case with my dancing. It was the most of a joy that I had
ever experienced. And as I so enjoyed that freedom I did not know how
it was that I should have such a feeling of dissatisfaction when I
beheld that beautiful Madam Whitworth dancing within the arms of the
Gouverneur Williamson Faulkner. I blushed that I should be so
unworthy, with such an unreasonable fury in my heart, and I looked
away so that I seemed not to see the smile that he sent to me over the
head of the very sweet Belle girl in blue ruffles and silver slippers
I was guiding past him in the trot of a fox.

"Yes, Sue Tomlinson _is_ as lovely as a ripe peach, isn't she?"
asked Mademoiselle Blue Cloud of me as I lowered her almost to the
floor over my arm, slid her four steps to the left then trotted her
two back and two forward; and her tone had a very sweet demand of
wistfulness in it as she looked up into my eyes and pressed very close
to that protecting towel of the bath.

For an instant I could not think of one single bonbon of compliment to
offer the lady and I wished I had sat up all of the night to talk to
that Mr. G. Slade of Detroit in the railroad train and had had my nice
gray lady friend in the Ritz-Carlton there with her notebook to
transcribe the many pleasing things he reported himself to have said
to the ladies whom he called "skirts." Then nice Lord Chisholm came
all the way from England into my memory to assist me in my difficulty.
I translated from him freely in this manner:

"Aw, on me word, you _are_ a ripping good sort and I could take
you on for the whole evening if you'd let me. What?"

"I wish I could," she answered and by that time I had thought out a
nice little squeeze for her very pretty waist in its silver girdle
under my arm. Then I had to put her into the arms of a nice young man
named Miles Menefee. To get my breath and to think up some more of the
compliments that had been given to me for my pleasure in the past, I
made my retreat behind a very large palm that was in the corner of the
room, and out upon a wide balcony which hung over a moonlit garden
across which I could see dim hills in the moonlight.

"Girls of all nati