y might miss none of the
entertainment. When we were alone my guest and I sat down in facing
chairs and in depressed silence. The young man was nervous, and I was
both frightened and annoyed. I had heard suppressed giggles on the other
side of the wall, and I realized, as my self-centered visitor failed
to do, that we were not enjoying the privacy the situation seemed to
demand. At last the youth informed me that his "dad" had just given him
a cabin, a yoke of steers, a cow, and some hens. When this announcement
had produced its full effect, he straightened up in his chair and asked,
solemnly, "Will ye have me?"

An outburst of chortles from the other side of the wall greeted the
proposal, but the ardent youth ignored it, if indeed he heard it. With
eyes staring straight ahead, he sat rigid, waiting for my answer; and I,
anxious only to get rid of him and to end the strain of the moment,
said the first thing that came into my head. "I can't," I told him. "I'm
sorry, but--but--I'm engaged."

He rose quickly, with the effect of a half-closed jack-knife that is
suddenly opened, and for an instant stood looking down upon me. He was
six feet two inches tall, and extremely thin. I am very short, and, as
I looked up, his flour-bag trousers seemed to join his yellow sash
somewhere near the ceiling of the room. He put both hands into
his pockets and slowly delivered his valedictory. "That's darned
disappointing to a fellow," he said, and left the house. After a
moment devoted to regaining my maidenly composure I returned to the
living-room, where I had the privilege of observing the enjoyment of
my sisters and their visitors. Helpless with mirth and with tears of
pleasure on their cheeks, the four rocked and shrieked as they recalled
the picture my gallant had presented. For some time after that incident
I felt a strong distaste for sentiment.

Clad royally in the new gown, I attended my first ball in November,
going with a party of eight that included my two sisters, another girl,
and four young men. The ball was at Big Rapids, which by this time had
grown to be a thriving lumber town. It was impossible to get a team of
horses or even a yoke of oxen for the journey, so we made a raft and
went down the river on that, taking our party dresses with us in trunks.
Unfortunately, the raft "hung up" in the stream, and the four young men
had to get out into the icy water and work a long time before they
could detach it from the rock