The worthy pedagogue, on inquiring for the queen
of the kemp, as he styled her, was told that he might know her by the
flowers in her hair. "There she is, masther," said one of them, "wid the
roses on her head."
"Well," said O'Finigan, looking about him with surprise, "I have, before
now, indulged in the Cerelian juice until my eyes have become possessed
of that equivocal quality called the double vision, but I must confess
that this is the first occasion on which the quality aforesaid has been
quadrupled. Instead of one queen, wid Flora's fragrant favors in her
lock, I think I see four."
Finigan indeed was right. Dora, on being presented with a simple chaplet
of flowers, as the heroine of the night, in a spirit of true magnanimity
generously divided the chaplet among her three rivals, thus, like every
brave heart, resting satisfied with the consciousness of victory, and
anxious that those who had approached her so nearly should also share in
its honors.
It is not our intention to enter into a detailed account of the dancing,
nor of the good humor which prevailed among them. It is enough to say
that the old people performed minuets and cotillions, and the young
folks, jigs, reels, and country dances; hornpipes were performed upon
doors, by rural dancers, and all the usual variations of mirth and
amusement were indulged in on the occasion.
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