We Drew My Evening Dress Up Underneath Both
Skirt And Apron And Pinned It Securely On My Shoulders, And This Made
Me Stout And Shapeless.
Around this immense waist and over the apron
was drawn a wide sash of bright pink, glossy cambric that was tied in
a huge bow at the back.
But by far the best of all, a real crown of
glory, was a pigtail of red, red hair that hung down my back and
showed conspicuously on the white apron. This was a loan by Mrs.
Joyce, another friend in mourning, and who assisted me in dressing.
We wanted the benefit of the long mirror in the little parlor of the
hotel, so we carried everything there and locked the door. And then
the fun commenced! I am afraid that Mrs. Joyce's fingers must have
been badly bruised by the dozens of pins she used, and how she laughed
at me! But if I looked half as dreadful as my reflection in the mirror
I must have been a sight to provoke laughter. We had been requested to
give names to our characters, and Mrs. Joyce said I must be "A Country
Girl," but it still seems to me that "An Idiot" would have been more
appropriate.
I drove over with Major and Mrs. Carleton. The dressing rooms were
crowded at Mrs. Gordon's, so it was an easy matter to slip away, give
my long cloak and thick veil to a maid, and return to Mrs. Carleton
before she had missed me, and it was most laughable to see the dear
lady go in search for me, peering in everyone's face. But she did not
find me, although we went down the stairs and in the drawing-room
together, and neither did one person in those rooms recognize me
during the evening. Lieutenant Joyce said he knew to whom the hair
belonged, but beyond that it was all a mystery.
That evening will never be forgotten, for, as soon as I saw that no
one knew me, I became a child once more, and the more the maskers
laughed the more I ran around. When I first appeared in the rooms
there was a general giggle and that was exhilarating, so off I went.
After a time Colonel Fitz-James adopted me and tagged around after me
every place; I simply could not get rid of the man. I knew him, of
course, and I also knew that he was mistaking me for some one else,
which made his attentions anything but complimentary. I told him ever
so many times that he did not know me, but he always insisted that it
was impossible for him to be deceived, that he would always know me,
and so on. He was acting in a very silly manner - quite too silly for a
man of his years and a colonel of a regiment, and he was keeping me
from some very nice dances, too, so I decided to lead him a dance, and
commenced a rare flirtation in cozy corners and out-of-the-way places.
I must admit, though, that all the pleasure I derived from it was when
I heard the smothered giggles of those who saw us.
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