第13章 II(6)
I earned my two dollars a week that year, but I h ad to wait for my wages until the dog tax was col- l ected in the spring. When the money was thus raised, and the twenty-six dollars for my thirteen weeks of teaching were graciously put into my hands, I went ``outside'' to the nearest shop and joyously spent almost the entire amount for my first ``party dress.'' The gown I bought was, I con- s idered, a beautiful creation. In color it was a rich magenta, and the skirt was elaborately braided with black cable-cord. My admiration for it was justi- f ied, for it did all a young girl's eager heart could ask of any gown--it led to my first proposal.
The youth who sought my hand was about twenty years old, and by an unhappy chance he was also the least attractive young person in the country- s ide--the laughing-stock of the neighbors, the butt of his associates. The night he came to offer me his heart there were already two young men at our home calling on my sisters, and we were all sitting around the fire in the living-room when my suitor appeared. His costume, like himself, left much to be desired. He wore a blue flannel shirt and a pair of trousers made of flour-bags. Such trousers were not uncommon in our region, and the boy's mother, who had made them for him, had thoughtfully selected a nice clean pair of sacks. But on one leg was the name of the firm that made the flour--A. and G. W. Green--and by a charming coincidence A. a nd G. W. Green happened to be the two young men who were calling on my sisters! On the back of the bags, directly in the rear of the wearer, was the simple legend, ``96 pounds''; and the striking effect of the young man's costume was completed by a bright yellow sash which held his trousers in place.
The vision fascinated my sisters and their two guests. They gave it their entire attention, and when the new-comer signified with an eloquent ges- t ure that he was calling on me, and beckoned me into an inner room, the quartet arose as one person and followed us to the door. Then, as we inhospit- a bly closed the door, they fastened their eyes to the cracks in the living-room wall, that they might miss none of the entertainment. When we were alone my guest and I sat down in facing chairs and in depressed silence. The young man was nervous, and I was both frightened and annoyed. I had heard suppressed giggles on the other side of the wall, and I realized, as my self-centered visitor failed to do, that we were not enjoying the privacy the situation seemed to demand. At last the youth in- f ormed me that his ``dad'' had just given him a cabin, a yoke of steers, a cow, and some hens. When this announcement had produced its full effect, he straightened up in his chair and asked, solemnly, ``Will ye have me?''
An outburst of chortles from the other side of the wall greeted the proposal, but the ardent youth ignored it, if indeed he heard it. With eyes staring straight ahead, he sat rigid, waiting for my answer; a nd I, anxious only to get rid of him and to end the strain of the moment, said the first thing that came into my head. ``I can't,'' I told him. ``I'm sorry, but--but--I'm engaged.''
He rose quickly, with the effect of a half-closed jack-knife that is suddenly opened, and for an in- s tant stood looking down upon me. He was six feet two inches tall, and extremely thin. I am very short, and, as I looked up, his flour-bag trousers seemed to join his yellow sash somewhere near the ceiling of the room. He put both hands into his pockets and slowly delivered his valedictory. ``That's darned dis- a ppointing to a fellow,'' he said, and left the house.
After a moment devoted to regaining my maidenly composure I returned to the living-room, where I h ad the privilege of observing the enjoyment of my sisters and their visitors. Helpless with mirth and with tears of pleasure on their cheeks, the four rocked and shrieked as they recalled the picture my gallant had presented. For some time after that incident I felt a strong distaste for sentiment.
Clad royally in the new gown, I attended my first ball in November, going with a party of eight that included my two sisters, another girl, and four young men. The ball was at Big Rapids, which by this time had grown to be a thriving lumber town. It was impossible to get a team of horses or even a yoke of oxen for the journey, so we made a raft and went down the river on that, taking our party dresses with us in trunks. Unfortunately, the raft ``hung up'' in the stream, and the four young men had to get out into the icy water and work a long time before they could detach it from the rocks. Natu- r ally, they were soaked and chilled through, but they all bore the experience with a gay philosophy.
When we reached Big Rapids we dressed for the ball, and, as in those days it was customary to change one's gown again at midnight, I had an op- p ortunity to burst on the assemblage in two cos- t umes--the second made of bedroom chintz, with a low neck and short sleeves. We danced the ``money musk,'' and the ``Virginia reel,'' ``hoeing her down'' (which means changing partners) in true pioneer style. I never missed a dance at this or any subsequent affair, and I was considered the gayest and the most tireless young person at our parties until I became a Methodist minister and dropped such worldly vanities. The first time I p reached in my home region all my former partners came to hear me, and listened with wide, understand- i ng, reminiscent smiles which made it very hard for me to keep soberly to my text.