VIII.] REJOIN THE MARCHESA. 185 



partners, their beseecliiiig tones of entreaty, the natural diffidence 

 that I felt in such an unaccustomed situation, and the coyness 

 with which I was eventually induced to bestow the dance upon the 

 most persistent of the fair ones. But truth compels me to relate 

 a different story. Even the brilliancy of the bottle-candelabra'd 

 room failed to throw a halo of romance around the affair. The 

 young women were not beautiful, and, as a matter of fact, I would 

 just then have hailed the appearance of my old college bed-maker 

 as a third suitor with delight. However, there was no time to be 

 lost ; the seal-hunter, the American nigger, and the tall Swede 

 were already hard at it, and slipping my arm ai'ound the waist of 

 the nearest fair one, I plunged blindly into the dance. 



The affair was simple enough at first. The dance merely con- 

 sisted in shuffling slowly round the room side by side, the gentleman 

 with his left arm free, the lady accompanying the music with a sort 

 of monotonous chant. Time was of no particular object, and smoking 

 was permitted, and as we had partaken neither of the cranberries 

 nor the corn brandy, we felt as well as could be expected under 

 the circumstances. It was not for long, however. Suddenly the 

 music stopped ; everybody clapped their hands ; and, short 

 and stem, the order rang out in Paissian — "Kiss." There are 

 moments in which even the stoutest spirit quails. I turned a 

 despairing glance on my partner and my heart sank within me. 

 All hope was gone ! We all know how in moments of supreme 

 emotion the most trivial details become indelibly stamped upon 

 the mind. The scene is before me now. I saw the red-haired 

 seal -hunter bend down to meet his fate like a hero, his green tie 

 dangling in the air ; I saw a gallant officer who had served Her 

 Majesty in many climes struggle nobly to the last. Slowly my 

 partner's arms dragged me down . . . the lips stole upwards. I 

 nerved myself for a final efibrt . . . and all was over ! Before the 

 next dance I had fled. 



About noon on the following day we again rowed down to the 

 mouth of the river, and as we neared the bar we saw that to have 



