256 MAKK TWAIN'S SKETCHES. 



have been a happy conceit on the part of Caruthers if he had started with his neck 

 and broken that first ; but since he has seen fit to choose a different policy and 

 string himself out as long as possible, I do not think we ought to upbraid him for it 

 if he lias enjoyed it. We must do the best we can under .the circumstances, and 

 try not to feel exasperated at him. 



"AFTER" JENKINS. 



A GRAND affair of a ball — the Pioneers' — came off at the Occidental some 

 time ago. The following notes of the costumes worn by the belles of the 

 occasion may not be uninteresting to the general reader, and Jenkins may 

 get an idea therefrom — 



Mrs. W. M. was attired in an elegant pdid de foie gras, made expressly for her, 

 and was greatly admired. Miss S. had her hair done up. She was the centre of 

 attraction for the gentlemen and the envy of all the ladies. Mrs. G. W. was taste- 

 fully dressed in a tout ensemble, and was greeted with deafening applause wherever 

 she went. Mrs. C. N. was superbly arrayed in white kid gloves. Her modest and 

 engaging manner accorded well with the unpretending simplicity of her costume 

 and caused her to be regarded with absorbing interest by every one. 



The charming Miss M. M. B. appeared in a thrilling waterfall, whose exceeding 

 grace and volume compelled the homage of pioneers and emigrants alike. How 

 beautiful she was ! 



The queenly Mrs. L. R. was attractively attired in her new and beautiful false 

 teeth, and the bon jour effect they naturally produced was heightened by her 

 enchanting and well sustained smile. 



Miss R. P., with that repugnance to ostentation in dress, which is so peculiar to 

 her, was attired in a simple white lace collar, fastened with a neat pearl-button 

 solitaire. The fine contrast between the sparkling vivacity of her natural optic, and 

 the steadfast attentiveness of her placid glass eye, was the subject of general and 

 enthusiastic remark. 



Miss C. L. B. had her fine nose elegantly enamelled, and the easy grace with 

 which she blew it from time to time, marked her as a cultivated and accomplished 

 woman of the world ; its exquisitely modulated tone excited the admiration of all 

 who had the happiness to hear it. 



