id.

Delight swelled in the breast of Mr. Bob Blagdon. He raised his hand,
and from a neighboring thicket there rose abruptly the music of banjos
and guitars and the loud, sweet singing of negroes.

Aiken will always remember that dinner in the woods for its beauty and
for its gayety. Two or three men, funny by gift and habit, were at their
very best; and fortune adapted the wits of others to the occasion. So
that the most unexpected persons became humorous for once in their
lives, and said things worth remembering. People gather together for one
of three reasons: to make laws, to break them, or to laugh. The first
sort of gathering is nearly always funny, and if the last isn't, why
then, to be sure, it is a failure. Mr. Bob Blagdon's picnic was an
uproarious success. Now and then somebody's whole soul seemed to go
into a laugh, in which others could not help joining, until
uncontrollable snorts resounded in the hollow and eyes became blinded
with tears.

And then suddenly, toward dessert, laughter died away and nothing was to
be heard but such exclamations as: "For Heaven's sake, look at the
moon!" "Did you ever see anything like it?"

Mr. Blagdon had paid money to the owner of Red Oak Hollow for permission
to remove certain trees and thickets that would otherwise have
obstructed his guests' view of the moonrise. At the end of the vista
thus obtained the upper rim of the moon now appeared, as in a frame.
And, watching in silence, Mr. Blagdon's guests saw the amazing luminary
emerge, as it were, from the earth like a bright and blameless soul from
the grave, and sail clear, presently, and upward into untroubled space;
a glory, serene, smiling, and unanswerable.

No one remembered to have seen the moon so large or so bright. Atomized
silver poured like tides of light into the surrounding woods; and at the
same time heavenly odors of flowers began to move hither and thither, to
change places, to return, and pass, like disembodied spirits engaged in
some tranquil and celestial dance.

And it became cooler, so that women called for light wraps and men tied
sweaters round their necks by the arms. Then at a long distance from
the dinner-table a bonfire began to flicker, and then grow bright and
red. And it was discovered that rugs and cushions had been placed (not
too near the fire) for people to sit on while they drank their coffee
and liquors, and that there were logs to lean against, and boxes of
cigars and cigarett