[Xpp-general] of the girl there awaiting him, and would have fel

[Kludt <hon...@he...>]

Grow too old to recall the pleasure of our school dances? Then lights
seem brighter, toilets more ravishing, music sweeter, our partners more
fascinating, and the supper more tempting than ever before or after. The
house was brilliantly lighted from top to bottom, excepting in such cosy
corners as were specially conducive to confidential chats, and in these
softly shaded lamps cast a fairy-like light. Miss Preston, dressed in
black velvet, with some rich old lace to enhance its charms, received
her guests in the great hall, some of the older girls receiving with
her. There were ten or more girls who were taking special courses, and
these were styled "parlor boarders," and at the end of the school term
would enter society. Consequently, this dance was looked upon as a
preliminary step for the one to follow, and the girls regarded it as a
sort of "golden mile-stone" in their lives, which marked off the point
at which "the brook and river meet." A prettier, happier lot of girls
could hardly have been found, and none looked lovelier, or happier, than
Toinette. Her dress, a soft, creamy white chiffon, admirably suited to
her golden coloring, had been sent to her by her father, whose taste was
unerring. No matter how many miles of this big globe divided them, he
never forgot her needs, and, if unable to supply them himself, took good
care that some one else should do so. So the dress had arrived the night
before, and Miss Preston had been able to give her another pleasant
surprise for the dance. And now she looked as the lilies of the field
for fairness. She was whirling away upon her partner's arm, when, chan