Mary Baldwin College - Bluestocking Yearbook (Staunton, VA)

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20 The Anmial of Marcia, Cato, and the rest. I did my dut) ' , faithfully clapping hits that I didn ' t understand at all, till finally the curtain fell in a wild thunder of applause. The crowd now began rushing in one direction, carrying me with it by main force, and soon halted before one of the boxes. Inside stood a stout man with a genial, benevolent face and shy, awkward manners. He was shaking hands with all, but was evidentl} ' hopelesslj embar- rassed by the congratulations showered upon him. Suddenly like a cyclone some one rushed by me and precipitated himself on the neck of the portly gentleman. Oh, my dear Jo ! thou hast surpassed thj ' self, it was glorious! fine! and I realized that this impulsive person must be the lovable Dick Steele. Raising mj self on tip-toe, I caught a glimpse of the two as they left the house. ' Dick ' s eyes were shining with triumph at the success of his friend Addison, whose neck he still encir- cled with a protecting arm. The dwarf caught me by the dress, and pushing our way through the throng, we once more stood before the Kit-Kat. The lamps illumined with feeble rays the long crooked streets, and I caught sight of a vague figure approaching through the gloom. This person, whoever he might be, took the greatest care to touch each lamp-post as he passed, and once when he missed one, he calmly retraced his steps, touched it and then came on. Arriving before the club he paused, biting his nails in evident indecision. Wy heart gave a leap as I recognized in this uncleanly individual with snuff-colored suit, big hands, and scorched wig, the writer of that famous classic — Johnson ' s Dictionary. The illustrious Samuel was joined by an ac- quaintance, and they immediately plunged into deep conversa- tion, slowly wending their z.y toward the Kit-Kat. As the mighty door swung slowly to on them Johnson ' s voice came floating faintly back — No sir! why sir, you don ' t see your way through the question at all, sir! The spirit and I now strolled through the foggy night air, halting at last before a large house from which came music and the sound of many voices. This we entered and, preceded by powdered footmen, who struck awe to my unsophisticated heart, were ushered into a drawing room, filled with a crowd of chattering society people. The central figure of one group,

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Tlic Mary IhiliUciu Seminary. ) gathered fast in my eyes at the sad sight, and when I had wiped them away the scene had changed. There now came before my vision a room filled with men, who lolled at ease round a table loaded with wine and cigars. Con- versation went smoothly, and puns and gibes flew from mouth to mouth. A man, who seemed to be the leader of this war of words, sat at the head of a table in a raised chair. His crooked figure was decked in full court .suit, and his eager, burning eyes glowed in his sallow face. Now and again through his gay banter, ran a decided vein of venom, and I straightway decided this deformed body and .sharp tongue could belong to none other than the wicked wasp of Twickenham. Once when he had sliot an unusually rancorous dart at humanity in general, a man who had been standing in the background, came forward through the curling wreaths of smoke, and laying his hand on the speaker ' s shoulder said, Right, right, when you think of the world give it an extra la.sh for me. What a shame to encourage him in ' ' I shrieked in my dulcet tones but was not allowed to finish, for invisible hands caught me up and set me outside a fast shut door, over which the sign of Kit-Kat Club was suspended. I suppose that man was the Dean Swift who wrote those sickening hieroglyphics to ' Stella? ' I asked, when I had gotten my breath. And if he was, you had better show more respect in speaking of your superiors, growled the dwarf, w hose temper was evidently ruffled by the sudden exit. Wisely holding my peace, I followed in my sullen compan- ion ' s foot-steps. Soon we entered a theatre and I found myself surrounded by a gayly dressed throng. The boxes blazed with the stars of Peers; great Lords and Ladies flirted on every side. Beneath me Sir Gilbert Heathcote, mighty governor of the Bank of England, sat wath his attending satellites. What is it? I whispered to my deformed cicerone. He flashed a glance of disgust at such ignorance, then said: Presentation night of Cato. ' ' Those men in the pit are the representatives of Will ' s Coffee House; over here are the Kit-Kat; those on the right are Lords, and on the left, Whigs; the but he was interrupted by the tinkle of a cracked bell and I turned eagerly toward the stage, .soon becoming deeply interested in Juba,

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Till ' Afary Baldwui Seminary. ■ ' 1 particularly attracted my attention. It was that of a short man resplendent in a suit of Tyrian l)loom, and blue silk breech- es; his face was pock-marked and his attention was completely taken up in the management of the sword at his side, and an enormous gold-headed cane which he carried. Now and again he made desperate efforts at conversation , floundered hopelessly and was silent. Something familiar about the figure made me stop and think, when suddenly I grew scarlet, this man was no other than the Oliver whom I had been so basely wronging when the dwarf had appeared. The spirit broke in upon my embarrassment, and said in casual accents but with an under- tone of malice. By the way, could you tell me Goldsmith ' s exact date? I clutched my hair wildly. O that memory of mine! How I had been crannning dates for examination and now, here in this great emergency, I couldn ' t for the life of me remember, whether Goldsmith was 1720 or 1728. Rack- ing my brains I stood at loss for an answer, confused by the Shaw sprite ' s malicious gaze. Lower and lower sank my head with shame, vague sounds flitted around me, till suddenly — I awoke! The clock striking ten broke the stillness of the old room, over which peace reigned supreme. But one terrible thought flashed through me, as I dragged my dazed conscious- ness back to earth — Bed-time and two more pages of Shaw to learn, while all that remained to me of the past wasted hour, was but, the shadow of a dream. Alice Peyton. IN CHINA. Land in sight, shouted the captain. A great commo- tion followed as the passengers rushed to the side of the large ocean steamer and strained their eyes to catch the first glimpse of China ' s shores. It was a relief, after seeing the vast ex- tent of water for so many days, to look upon the gray line just above the horizon. Oh, won ' t we have a delightful time seeing all these queer sights in China ? Mr. Wood looked down with a smile upon the speaker, inwardly congratulating himself that it was