t dancin' wuz the wickedest thing ever
done. This boy wuz brought up as strict as a he nun, and now see him
prancin' round!"

And I spoke up and sez, "I hope he will prance off some of them
hereditary sins, if he's got to prance." They looked round at me
considerable cool and I said no more. But everybody wuzn't so clost
mouthed, for pretty soon a old lady come and sot down in a chair by
the side of me--Faith had moved a little back--and she sez:

"I want to dance; I love it dearly."

I looked up at her in amaze. Her cheeks wuz fell in. Her brow wuz
yellered and furrowed with years, and though her dress wuz gay she
couldn't conceal Time's ravages.

"Dance," sez I kinder dreamily and brow beat, "well, why don't you
dance?"

Sez she, "I don't know any of the gentlemen here."

I felt a movement on my nigh side and see that Josiah wuz leanin'
forward in deep interest, and thinkses I, he is sorry for her folly,
he has a noble heart. Well, ere long she riz up and went out into the
hall, and I mused on what I had so often mused on--how necessary it
wuz for everybody to keep on their own forts--sixty years had fled
since dancin' wuz her becomin' fort, now a rockin' chair and knittin'
work wuz her nateral fort, but she didn't realize it.

Well, the dancin' kep' on, the music pealed out sweet peals, heavenly
sweet, heavenly sad, and I wuz carried some distance away from myself
and heeded not what wuz passin' by my side. Anon a dance come on that
wuz called a German. In some of the figgers they seemed to be givin'
presents to each other, and had these presents kinder strung onto 'em,
same as savages ornament themselves with beads and things, though
these wuz quite pretty lookin' and seemed made up of posies and
ribbins and pretty little trinkets. And then the lights wuz lowered
and I see a long line of figgers come glidin' in, keepin' step to the
music, each one bearin' a pretty little colored lantern. And as I
looked on my eyes wuz almost stunted and blinded by a sight I see. Who
wuz the couple bringin' up the rear? Wuz it--it could not be--but yet
it _wuz_ my pardner, leadin' in the ancient dame, who wuz footin' it
merrily on her old toes, or as merrily as she could, liable to fall
down every step with rumatiz and old age. And what did my pardner bear
in his hand!

That very day in goin' about the place he found in a store an old tin
lantern, a relic of the past someone had left there to be sold. It wuz
a lantern that