X 
THE BEAR 
393 
during the summer months (this was the middle 
of August) ; waistcoats were despised; and the 
costume of the period consisted of a flannel shirt, 
and a pair of trousers sustained by a belt in lieu 
of braces. Attached to this belt was the omni¬ 
present six-shooter in its holster. I was the only 
person who possessed, or at all events exhibited, 
a coat; and I felt that peculiar and unhappy sensa¬ 
tion of being over-dressed, which I feared might 
be mistaken for pride by our unsophisticated com¬ 
panions. 
We were not a cheery party ; on the contrary, 
everybody appeared to be so determined not to say 
the wrong thing, that they remained silent; the 
dulness of the meal was only broken at long 
intervals by such carefully expressed sentiments as 
“ I’ll trouble you to pass the salt, if you please,” or 
“ Will you kindly hand the bacon ? ” 
There was no vulgarity in this, and we were 
afterwards informed that these rough people, who, 
as a rule, season their conversation with the pepper 
of profanity, are painfully sensitive to the presence of 
a lady, before whom they are upon their P’s and Q’s 
of propriety; and, should an improper expression 
escape their lips in an unguarded moment, they 
would be in a state of deep depression from the 
keenest remorse, which might perhaps cause a sense 
of unhappiness for at least five minutes. They most 
sensibly refrained altogether from conversation in a 
lady’s presence, to avoid the possibility of a “ slip of 
the tongue.” 
