h a
spot, amid such surroundings, war seemed a dream, a far-off delirium.

Drawn thither by the music, we climbed the broad stairs toward the
ball-room, passing as we did so, in the upper hall, four drawing-rooms
containing sideboards with refreshments. The ball-room itself was a
picture of Oriental magnificence--the walls were delightfully decorated,
the ground-work pale blue, panelled with a small, gold bead, the interior
filled with drooping festoons of flowers in their natural colors. Below
the surface the ground was of rose pink, the drapery festooned with blue.
The effect of these decorations was vastly increased by nearly a hundred
mirrors, decked out with rose-pink ribbons and artificial flowers, while
in the intermediate spaces were thirty-four branches with wax lights
similarly ornamented. No pen of memory can describe the scene, nor
picture in the gallant company, resplendent in coloring, now moving back
and forth in the evolutions of the minuet.

My companion disappeared, and, to escape the pressure of those surging
back and forth through the wide doorway, I found passage close to the
wall, and half circled the room, finally discovering a halting place in
the recesses of a window, where, partially concealed myself by flowing
curtains, I could gaze out over the brilliant assemblage. Half ashamed of
the plainness of my own attire, and feeling a stranger and an alien, I
was yet consciously seeking the one face which had lured me there. I saw
fair ladies in plenty, and more than once my heart leaped, only to
discover its mistake. There were so many ladies of the Blended Rose on
the floor as to be confusing, and with their similarity of dress, and
powdered hair, I was never sure until they turned their faces toward me
that my patient search was still unrewarded. Yet if she was indeed upon
the floor I saw her not, and my heart grew heavy with delay. But in this
survey I discovered others--of both sexes--whose names had been mentioned
that afternoon, and recognized the faces of a few officers whom I had met
during my wanderings. Surely some of these would present me to the lady
of my dreams could I but see her, learn her name. Before the music ceased
I was convinced she was not among the dancers; I would search the side
rooms, and the apartments below, yet, even as the company sought seats,
soldiers crossed the floor, extinguishing the lights, and amid laughter,
and repartee, the throng surged toward me, hemming me