第一次舞会（译作，小说）

ZY

第一次舞会

曼斯菲尔德

确切地说，舞会什么时候开始，莱拉怕也答不上来。那辆马车，就像是她的第一个舞伴，和谢利顿家的姑娘们以及她们的兄长一起分享，倒也挺不错。她斜靠在马车的一角，手放在搁手垫上，仿佛置于一个陌生小伙子的晚礼服衣袖上。马车疾驰着，路旁的灯柱、房屋、篱笆和树木，都跟着一起跳起了舞。

“你真的从来没参加过舞会吗，莱拉？这也太奇怪了……”谢利顿家的姑娘们喊道。

“我们最近的邻居也在十五英里之外。”莱拉轻声回答，说着还轻轻摇了摇手中的折扇。

天啊，要做到无动于衷，可太难了！她故作镇定，免得对舞会心生向往。然而，每件事都那么新奇，让人兴奋……梅格的晚香玉，约瑟的琥珀扣环，还有劳拉那颗从白色毛皮领子里探出来的小脑袋，都让她印象深刻。她甚至为劳瑞扔掉新手套扣子上的薄纸而感到心疼。她真想把那些薄纸当作纪念品保存下来，当作一种回忆。劳瑞俯身向前，轻拍劳拉的膝盖，说：“看这里，亲爱的，像往常一样，第三个和第九个，小树枝。（懂吧）”

啊，有个哥哥真好！兴奋的莱拉心中不禁感慨，如果有时间，如果不是不可能，她真想大哭一场，因为她是独生女，从来没有哥哥对她说“小树枝”；也没有姐姐会像梅格对约瑟那样说：“我从没见过你的头发像今晚这样往上梳得这么漂亮！”

然而，已经没时间了，马车已经到达舞厅，热闹极了。马车接踵而至，扇形灯束在道路两旁移动，人行道上兴奋的青年男女们仿佛在腾云驾雾，女孩们的锦缎鞋子迅速地轮番向前移动，宛如追逐的鸟儿。

“抓住我，莱拉；你会迷路的。”劳拉说。

“来吧，姑娘们，我们快跑。”劳瑞说。

莱拉用两根手指轻触劳拉的粉红色天鹅绒斗篷，不知怎么的，她们就被挤过了金色大灯笼，沿着走廊被带了进去，然后被推入标有“女士”字样的小房间。这里人山人海，几乎没有脱衣服的空间，喧闹声震耳欲聋。两边各有两条长凳，上面堆满了衣服。两个系白围裙的老妇人来回奔走，把一堆堆的外衣扔到长凳上。每个人都拼命往前挤，想挤到房间那头的梳妆台和镜子前。

一道巨大而颤动的煤气灯柱照亮了化妆室。它似乎等不及了，它已经在跳舞了。当门再次打开时，舞厅里传来一阵乐队调音的声音，灯光几乎跃到了天花板上。

原文

Exactly when the ball began Leila would have found it hard to say , Perhaps her first real partner was the cab . It did not matter that she shared the cab with the Sheridan girls and their brother . She sat back in her own little corner of it , and the bolster on which her hand rested felt like the sleeve of an unknown young man ' s dress suit ; and away they bowled , past waltzing lamp - posts and houses and fences and trees

Oh , dear , how hard it was to be indifferent like the others !' sh tried not to smile too much ; she tried not to care . But every singl thing was so new and exciting ... Meg ' s tuberoses , Jose ' s long loop of amber , Laura ' s little dark head , pushing above her white fur like a flower through snow . She would remember for ever . It even gave her a pang to see her cousin Laurie throw away the wisps of tissue paper he pulled from the fastenings of his new gloves . She would like to have kept those wisps as a keepsake , as a remembrance . Laurie leaned forward and put his hand on Laura ' s knee .

" Look here , darling ," he said ." The third and the ninth as usual . Twig ?"

Oh , how marvellous to have a brcther ! In her excitement Leila felt that if there had been time , if it hadn ' t been impossible , she couldn ' t have helped crying because she was an only child , and no brother had ever said " Twig ?" to her ; no sister would ever say , as Meg said to Jose that moment ," I ' ve never known your hair go up more successfully than it has to - night !”

But , of course , there was no time . They were at the drill hall already ; there were cabs in front of them and cabs behind . The road was bright on either side with moving fan - like lights , and on the pavement gay couples seemed to float through the air ; little satin shoes chased each other like birds

" Hold on to me , Leila ; you ' ll get lost ," said Laura ."

" Come on , girls , let ' s make a dash for it ," said Laurie .

Leila put two fingers on Laura ' s pink velvet cloak , and they were somehow lifted past the big golden lantern , carried along the passage , and pushed into the little room marked " Ladies ." Here the crowd was so great there was hardly space to take off their things ; the noise was deafening . Two benches on either side were stacked high with wraps . Two old women in white aprons ran up and down tossing fresh armfuls .' And everybody was pressing forward trying to get at the little dressing - table and mirror at the far end。

A great quivering jet of gas lighted the ladies ' room . It couldn ' t wait ; it was dancing already . When the door opened again and there came a burst of tuning from the drill hall , it leaped almost to the ceiling .

黑头发的女孩，浅头发的女孩又开始整理头发，系好发带，把手帕塞进背心的前襟，抚平云石似的白手套。她们个个都笑得都很开心，在莱拉眼里，她们是那么可爱。

“难道连一个隐形发夹针都没有吗？”一个声音叫道。“太奇怪了！我连一个隐形发夹针都看不到。”

“给我背上扑点粉，亲爱的。”另一个人喊道。

“可我必须有一根针和棉花。我把衣服褶边撕了好几里。”第三个抱怨道。

接着，“传过去，传过去！”的声音响起，装节目单的草编篮子在粉臂间传来传去。可爱的粉色和银色节目单，配有粉色铅笔和毛茸茸的流苏。莱拉的手指颤抖着，从篮子里拿出一张。她刚来得及读到：“华尔兹 3； 二，在独木舟上的二个人；波尔卡 4；让羽毛飞起来，”梅格就喊道：“准备好了吗？莱拉。”她们从走廊里拥挤的人群中挤出来，朝着舞厅的双门走去。

舞会还没开始，乐队却已经停止调音——那嘈杂声太大了，好像演奏一开始就会永远听不到。莱拉紧靠着梅格，越过梅格的肩头往前望去，觉得连天花板上对角挂着的微微颤抖的彩色小旗子都在说话......她完全不记得害羞了，也不记得出发前打扮至一半的时候，突然就心虚了，坐在床上，一只脚光着，一只脚穿着鞋，央求她妈妈给她的表亲们打电话，说她终究还是不能去。一阵难以抑制的渴望，渴望坐在他们被废弃的乡下家里的阳台上，在月光下听小猫头鹰叫着“还要猪肉”……这渴望现在却变成了一阵蚀骨销魂的欢喜。她紧紧握着折扇，抬头张望，只见金光闪闪的地板，杜鹃花，灯笼，大厅那头的舞台上铺着的红色地毯和放着金光的椅子，还有角落上的乐队，她屏息思忖：“太妙了；简直没得说！”

所有的姑娘都聚集在门的一侧，男人们则站在另一侧，而那些穿着黑色礼服、笑得有些傻乎乎的老妇人充当着监护人，小心翼翼地迈着碎步，走过磨光的地板，走向舞台。

“这是我的小表妹莱拉；对她好点；给她找个舞伴，她在我的保护之下。”梅格对一个又一个女孩说。

陌生的面孔向莱拉微笑着——甜美而又模糊。陌生的声音回答说：“亲爱的，那当然。”但是，莱拉觉得那些女孩根本没有看她，她们看的是站在房间那头的那些男人。男人们为何还不开始呢？他们在等什么？他们就那样站着，摆弄着手套，抚摸着光亮的头发，相视而笑。忽然间，仿佛他们刚刚决定该这么做的，他们滑过镶木地板，飘然而至。女孩们不禁心花怒放，人群中泛起一阵涟漪。一个高高的、白皙的男人飞到梅格身边，抓住她的节目单，匆匆写了些什么；梅格把他传给莱拉。“我可以有幸请您跳支舞吗？”他弯下腰，低下头，微微一笑。一个戴眼镜的深头发的男人走了过来，接着是劳瑞表哥和他的一个朋友，然后是劳拉和一个长着小雀斑、领带系歪的家伙。

Dark girls , fair girls were patting their hair , tying ribbons again , tucking handkerchiefs down the fronts of their bodices , smoothing marble - white gloves . And because they were all laughing it seemed to Leila that they were all lovely .

" Aren ' t there any invisible hair - pins ?" cried a voice . of ' How most extraordinary ! I can ' t see a single invisible hair - pin ."

" Powder my back , there ' s a darling ," cried someone else .

" But I must have a needle and cotton . I ' ve torn simply miles and miles of the frill ," wailed a third .

Then " Pass them along , pass them along !" The straw basket of programmes was tossed from arm to arm . Darling little pink - and - silver programmes , with pink pencils and fluffy tassels . Leila ' s fingers shook as she took one out of the basket . She wanted to ask someone , Am I meant to have one too ?" but she had just time to read :" Waltz 3. Two , Two , in a Canoe . Polka 4. Making the Feathers Fly ," when Meg cried ," Ready , Leila ?" and they pressed their way through the crush in the passage towards the big double doors of the drill hall。

Dancing had not begun yet , but the band had stopped tuning , and the noise was so great it seemed that when it did begin to play it would never be heard . Leila , pressing close to Meg , looking over Meg ' s shoulder , felt that even the little quivering coloured flags strung across the ceiling were talking , She quite forgot to be shy ; she forgot how in the middle of dressing she had sat down on the bed with one shoe off and one shoe on and begged her mother to ring up her cousins and say she couldn ' t go after all . And the rush of longing she had had to be sitting on the veranda of their forsaken up - country home , listening to the baby owls crying " More pork ' in the moonlight , was changed to a rush of joy so sweet that it was hard to bear alone . She clutched her fan , and , gazing at the gleaming , golden floor , the azaleas , the lanterns , the stage at one end with its red carpet and gilt chairs and the band in a corner , she thought breathlessly ," How heavenly ; how simply heavenly！

All the girls stood grouped together at one side of the doors , the men at the other , and the chaperones in dark dresses , smiling rather foolishly , walked with little careful steps over the polished floor to - wards the stage .

" This is my little country cousin Leila . Be nice to her . Find her partners ; she ' s under my wing ," said Meg , going up to one girl after sanother .

Strange faces smiled at Leila - sweetly , vaguely .' Strange voices answered ," Of course , my dear ."" But Leila felt the girls didn ' t really see her . They were looking towards the men . Why didn ' t the men begin : What were they waiting for ? There they stood , smoothing their gloves , patting their glossy hair and smiling among themselves . Then , quite suddenly , as if they had only just made up their minds that that was what they had to do , the men came gliding over the parquet There was a joyful flutter among the girls . A tall , fair man flew up to Meg , seized her programme , scribbled something ; Meg passed him on to Leila ." May I have the pleasure ?" He ducked and smiled . There came a dark man wearing an eyeglass , then cousin Laurie with a friend and Laurai with a little freckled fellow whose tie was crooked .

随后，一个挺老的男人——胖胖的，头上有一大块秃的——拿过她的节目单，嘟囔着：“让我看看，让我看看！”他花了好长时间比较他的节目单，那上面满是名字，看上去黑乎乎的。这似乎给他带来了很大的麻烦，莱拉都觉得不好意思了。“哦，别麻烦了，”她急切地说。但那个胖子没有回答，而是写了点什么，又瞧了她一眼，轻声说：“我记得这张发光的小脸吗？”他继续道，“是我从前的相识吗？”就在这时，音乐乍起；那个胖子旋即失去踪迹。他被一股音乐的巨浪抛了出去，那巨浪从闪闪发光的地板上飞过来，把人群拆散成一对对，驱散他们，让他们旋转起来。

莱拉在女子寄宿学校学会了跳舞。每个星期六下午，寄宿生们都被匆匆赶到一个由瓦楞状的铁皮盖就的小布道房，埃克尔斯小姐在那里开设她的“精选”课程。然而，那个满是尘土味的大厅——墙上贴着写有念文的白布，那个戴着赭色天鹅绒小帽和兔儿爷耳朵的可怜的、心惊胆战的小女子，敲打着冷冰冰的钢琴——与眼前的场面实有天壤之别。莱拉确信，如果她预先约好的舞伴不来与她共舞，那么，她唯有听着美妙的音乐，眼睁睁地看着别人在金碧辉煌的地板上翩翩起舞，她会伤心至死，抑或昏厥，抑或张开双臂从一个黑黢黢的、显示着星星的窗户里飞出去。

“我想应该是我们的——”有人躬身，微笑着伸出手臂。她终究不必死了。有人的手按在她的腰上，她像一朵被扔进池塘的鲜花一样飘走了。

“这地板相当不错，不是吗？”一个微弱的声音在她耳边慢吞吞地说。

“我觉得很滑。”莱拉说。

“什么！”那微弱的声音听起来很惊讶。莱拉又说了一遍。在声音回响之前，有一个短暂的停顿。“哦，确实！”然后她又被转了一圈。

他领舞得很好。莱拉断定，这就是女孩和男人跳舞的最大区别。在女子学校，女孩们会互相碰撞，还会踩到对方的脚；而有教养的男士总是能紧紧抓住你。

杜鹃花不再是各自分开的花朵，而成为粉红和白色的一面面流动着的旗帜。

“你上周参加过贝尔家的舞会吗？”声音又来了。听起来很疲乏。莱拉不知道是否应该让他停下来。

“不，这是我的第一次舞会。”她说。

她的搭档轻轻地喘了口气，笑了起来。“哦，我说。”他抗议道。

“是的，这真的是我参加的第一次舞会。”莱拉非常热情。能把心里话告诉别人真是一种解脱，“你看，我到现在为止一直都住在乡下……”

这时，音乐声戛然而止，他们走到靠墙的两把椅子上坐下小憩。莱拉把她穿着粉色缎鞋的脚收进藏在椅子下面，扇着风，同时愉快地看着其他舞伴经过，并从摆动的门中消失。

“玩得开心吗，莱拉？”约瑟点了点金色的脑袋问道。

劳拉走了过去，对她微微眨了眨眼。这让莱拉在一瞬间感到兀自惶惑，自己到底长大成人没有。当然，她的搭档确实没说太多。他咳嗽了一声，把手帕放好，拉了拉背心，从袖子上扯下一根细线。但这并没关系，几乎在同时，乐队又开始演奏了，她的第二个搭档似乎从天花板上跳了下来。

“这地板还不错。”新的声音说。难道一上来总是从地板讲起的？然后又说，“你周二去内夫家了吗？”莱拉又解释了一遍，这是她参加的第一个舞会。她的搭档对此却并不那么感兴趣，这或许有点奇怪，这可是她的第一次舞会，惊心动魄！在她看来，一切都才刚刚开始体验，好像以前从来都不知道夜晚究竟是怎么似的。直到现在，夜晚至于她而言，一直是黑暗的、寂静的，往往很美——对，确实很美——但总是有点令人感到黯然神伤；令人肃然生畏。而从今以后，再也不会像以前那样了——她的夜晚不会再凄凉寂寞了，而会豁然开朗，灿烂炫目。

Then quite an old man - fat , with a big bald patch on his head took her programme and murmured ," Let me see , let me see !" And he was a long time comparing his programme , which looked black with names , with hers . It seemed to give him so much trouble that Leil was ashamed ." Oh , please don ' t bother ," she said eagerly . But in stead of replying thc fat man wrote something , glanced at her again " Do I remember this bright little face ?" he said softlysr " Is it known to me of yore ?" At that moment the band began playing ; the fat man disappeared . He was tossed away on a great wave of music that came flying over the gleaming floor , breaking the groups up into coupls scattering them , sending them spinning .

Leila had learned to dance at boarding school . Every Saturda afternoon the boarders were hurried off to a little corrugated iro mission hall where Miss Eccles ( of London ) held her " selcet " classe But the difference between that dusty - smelling hall - with calico tex on the walls , the poor ferrified little woman in a brown velvet toque wit rabbit ' s ears thumping the cold piano , Miss Eccles poking the girk feet with her long white wand - and this was so tremendous that Leil was sure if her partner didn ' t come and she had to listen to that mar vellous music and to watch the others sliding , gliding ö ver the golde floor , she would die at least , or faint , or lift her arms and fiy out of on of those dark windows that showed the stars .

" Ours , I think -" Someone bowed , smiled , and offered her his arm ; she hadn ' t to die after all . Someone ' s hand pressed her waist , and she floated away like a flower that is tossed into a pool .

" Quite a good floor , isn ' t it ?" drawled a faint voice close to her

I think it ' os eatifly slippery ," sai Leila .

" Pardon !" The faint voice sounded surprised . Leila said it again . And there was a tiny pause before the voice echced ." Oh quite !" and she was swung round again .

He steered so beautifully . That was the great difference between - dancing with girls and men , Leila decided . Girls banged into each - other , and stamped on each other ' s eet ; te girl wows genleman - always clutched you so .

The azaleas were separate flowers no longer ; they were pink and white flags streaming by .

" Were you at the Bells ' last week ?" the voice came again . It sounded tired . Leila wondered whether she ought to ask him if he would like to stop .

" No , this is my first dance ," said she .

Her partner gave a little gasping laugh ." Oh , I say ," he protested .

" Yes , it is really the first dance I ' ve ever been to ' Leila was most fervent . It was such a relief to be able to tell somebody ," You : see , I ' ve lived in the country all my life up until now ."

At that moment the music stopped , and they went to sit on two chairs against the wall . Leila tucked her pink satin feet under and fanned herself , while she blissfully watched the other couples passing and disappearing through the swing doors .

" Enjoying yourself , Leila ?" asked Jose , nodding her golden head .

Laura passed and gave her the faintest little wink ; it made Leila wonder for a moment whether she was quite grown up after all . Certainly her partner did not say very much . He coughed , tucked his handkerchief away , pulled down his waistcoat , took a minute thread off his sleeve . But it didn ' t matter . Almost immediately the band started , and her second partner seemed to spring from the ceiling .

" Floor ' s not bad ," said the new voice . Did one always begin with the floor ? And then ," Were you at the Neaves ' on Tuesday ?"" And again Leila explained . Perhap ' s it was a little strange that her par - ners were not more interested . For it was thrilling . Her first ball ! She was only at the beginning of everything . It seemed to her that she had never known what the night was like before . Up till now it had been dark , silent , beautiful very often - oh , yes - but mourn - ful somehow . Solemn . And now it would never be like that again - it had opened dazzling bright .

“要吃个冰淇淋吗？”她的搭档说。他们穿过摇摆的门，沿着通道走到餐室。她的脸颊发烫，她口渴得厉害。小玻璃盘子里的冰淇淋看起来多甜啊，结霜的勺子也很冷，也结了冰！当他们回到大厅时，那个胖男人在门边等着她。再看到时，她感到他很老，又吓了一跳。他应该和父母一起在舞台上。然而，当莱拉将他与其他搭档比较时，他看起来很寒酸。他的背心有折痕，手套上掉了一个扣子，他的外套看起来好像沾满法国粉笔灰。

“来吧，小姑娘。”那胖男人说道。他几乎不曾费心去搂住她，只是轻轻地携着她，宛如闲庭信步，而非翩翩起舞。至于那地板，他却是只字未提。

“这可是你的第一次舞会，对吧？”他轻声问道。

“你怎会知晓？”

“呵。”胖男人笑道，“这就是老人之所以为老人！”当他引着她绕过一对步伐笨拙的舞伴时，呼哧呼哧地喘了口气，“你瞧，这三十年来，我一直都在干这档子事。”

“三十年？”莱拉惊叹道。那可是比她出生时还早十二年啊！

“想想便觉得难以承受，不是吗？”胖男人愉悦地说。莱拉看着他的秃头，心中不禁为他感到难过。

“我觉得能一直坚持跳舞，着实了不起。”她好心地说道。“善良的小女士啊。”胖男人说着，将她搂得更紧了些，轻声哼起一段华尔兹的旋律。“不过呢。”他接着说，“你可别指望能跳这么久。不——哦。”胖男人忽而说道，“在那之前，你便会坐在那舞台之上，静静地看着。身着你那美丽的黑天鹅绒衣裳。而那双漂亮的手臂，也会变得又短又胖，你会用一种截然不同的扇子——那黑黑乌木扇——来打节拍。”胖男人似乎不寒而栗，“而你会像那些可怜的老妇人一样，微笑着指着你的女儿，告诉坐在你身旁的老妇人，曾有个可怕的男人在俱乐部的舞会上试图亲吻她。你的心会痛，会痛啊……”胖子将她搂得更紧了，仿佛真的为那颗可怜的心感到难过——“因为已没有人想亲吻你了。你会抱怨走在这些磨光的地板上面多么的别扭，多么的危险。呃，脚步轻灵的小姐，你说我讲得对不对？”

莱拉微微一笑，但她其实并不想笑。这一切——这一切难道都是真的吗？听起来是如此真实。这第一次舞会，莫非只是她最后一场舞会的序幕？就在这时，音乐似乎变了；听起来是如此悲伤，如此悲伤，像一声巨大的叹息升将起来。哦，事物的变化是如此之快！为何幸福不能永远持续下去呢？永远，应该也不会太长吧。

“我想停下来。”她上气不接下气地说道。胖男人领着她走到门口。

“不。”她说，“我不想出去。我不会坐下的。我就站在这儿，多谢了。”她斜靠在墙上，用脚轻轻敲击着地面，拉起手套，试图微笑。然而在她内心深处，一个小女孩正将她的围嘴捂着头，嘤嘤地哭了起来。他为何要将这一切都毁掉呢？

“我说，你要知道。”胖男人说道，“你可别把我的话太当真了，小姑娘。”

“好像我会似的！”莱拉说着，扬起那黑色的小脑袋，咬住下唇。

又有几对舞伴并排散步。摇摆的门开了又关。此时乐队指挥又奏起了新的乐章，然而莱拉已不想再跳舞了。她只想回家，或者坐在阳台上聆听小猫头鹰叫。当她透过漆黑的窗户仰望星空时，它们都有着长长的翅膀似的光芒.

不过须臾，一首轻柔的、情意绵绵的、令人心花怒放的曲子响了起来，一个卷发的年轻人在她面前鞠了一躬。出于礼貌，她只得木愣愣地步入舞池；倨傲无礼地将手搭在他的衣袖上。然而不过一转身的工夫，她的双脚便又轻盈地在地板上滑呀，滑。灯光、杜鹃花、华服、粉面、天鹅绒椅子，都幻化成一个美丽飞转着的轮子。当另一个舞伴不小心撞到那个胖男人，他说“对不起”时，她对他笑得比任何时候都笑得艳丽。她甚至再也认不出他来了。

——完——

" Care for an ice ?" said her partnerh And they went through the swing doors , down the passage , to the supper room . Her cheeks burned , she was fearfully thirsty . How sweet the ices looked on little glass plates , and how cold the frosted spoon was , iced too ! when they came back to the hall there was the fat man waiting for ) by the door . It gave her quite a shock again to see how old ne wa . he ought to have heen on the stage with the fathers and mothers . Att when Leila compared him with her other partners he looked shaby His waistcoat was creased , there was a button off his glove , his coat looked as if it was dusty with French chalk .

" Come along , little lady ," said the fat man . He scarcely troubled to clasp her , and they moved away so gently , it was more like walking than dancing . But he said not a word about the floor .

" Your first dance , isn ' t it ?" he murmured .

" How did you know ?"

" Ah ," said the fat man ," that ' s what it is to be old !" He wheezed · faintly as he steered her past an awkward couple ." You see , I ' ve been doing this kind of thing for the last thirty years 。

" Thirty years ?" cried Leila . Twelve years before she was born !

" It hardly bears thinking about , does it ?" said the fat man gloo . mily . Leila looked at his bald head , and she felt quite sorry for him ,

" I think it ' s marvellous to be still going on ," she said kindly ." Kind little lady ," said the fat man , and he pressed her a little closer , and hummed a bar of the waltz ." Of course ," he said ," you can ' t hope to last anything like as long as that . No - o ," said the fat man ,"" long before that you ' ll be sitting up there on the stage , looking on , In your nice black velvet . And these preity arms will have turned into little short fat ones , and you ' ll beat time with such a different kind of tan - a black bony one ." The fat man secmed to shudder ." And you ' ll smile away like the poor old dears up there , and point to your daughter , and tell the elderly lady next to you how some dreadful man tried to kiss her at the club ball . And your heart will ache , ache "- the fat man squeezed her closer still , as if he really was sorry for that poor heart -" because no one wants to kiss you now . And you ' ll say how unpleasant these polished floors are to walk on , how dangerous they are . Eh , Mademoiselle Twinkletoes ?" said the fat man softly .

Leila gave a light little laugh , but she did not feel like laughing . Was it - could it all be true ? It sounded terribly true . Was this first ball only the beginning of her last ball after all ? At that the music seemed to change ; it sounded sad , sad ; it rose upon a great sigh . Oh , how quickly things changed ! Why didn ' t happiness last for ever ? For ever wasn ' t a bit too long .

" I want to stop ," she said in a breathless voice . The fat man led her to the door .

" No ," she said ," I won ' t go outside . I won ' t sit down . I ' ll just stand here , thank you . Pil She leaned againsti the wall , tapping with her foot , pulling up her gloves and trying to smile . But deep inside her a little girl threw her pinafore over her head and sobbed . Why had he spoiled it all ?

LI say , you know ," said the fat man ," you mustn ' t take me serious - ly , little lady ."

" As if I should l " said Leila , tossing her small dark head and suck - ing her underlip . ndk

Again the couples paraded . The swing doors opened and shut . Now new music was given out by the bandmaster , But Leila didn ' t want to dance any more . She wanted to be home , or sitting on the veranda listening to those baby owls . When she looked through the dark windows at the stars , they had long beams like wings .….

But presently a soft , melting , ravishing tune began , and a young man with curly hair bowed before her . She would have to dance , out of politeness , until she could find Meg . Very stiffly , she walked inte the middle ; very haughtily she put her hand on his sleeve . But in one minute , in one turn , her feet glided , glided . The lights , the azaleas , the dresses , the pink faces , he velvet chairs , all became one beautiful Bying wheel . And when her next partner bumped into the fat man andhe said ," Pardon ," she smiled at him more radiantly than ever . She dida ' t even recognize him again .

——end——