Page:Edward Prime-Stevenson - The Intersexes.djvu/466

 At last the family-party went off, and we could "get ready" undisturbed. We locked every door, opened every wardrobe. Gowns, underwear, shawls, shoes, garters—we rummaged till we had picked out the very handsomest. Ah, what delight it was to make ourselves so fine! What a pleasure when the very maid herself was perfectly fascinated with our looks! Then we heard the carriage. Our escorts had come to take us. They were simply amazed at our brilliant exteriors, but still more at the ease and elegance with which we wore our costumes. We stepped into that carriage like a regular pair of princesses."

"We arrived at the "Universum' dance. The music sounded out towards our approaching feet. We jumped out like two young roes. We made our progress through the ranks of the ball-guests, on the arms of our cavaliers. ( As a fact, our toilettes were much too fine for any "Universum" ball.) We took our seats. Therewith up came a robust, handsome man to me, and asked me with a questioning look "May I have the pleasure, Fräulein?" Scarcely had one such dancer broken the ice, than two or three others put their names down. We simply revelled in our delight at the success of our scheme. Meantime we had lost both of our escorts! But instead of them, we had two capital partners, who asked us to supper, and as both were handsome fellows, we consented.

"The two of them took us for young demi-mondaines. Our conversations with them gradually became more confidential; and we grew very coquettish, of course, when they asked us to go to a. hotel with them—for the night. We did everything possible to get out of that scrape, but nothing was effective: We had to get into a carriage with them! Almost fainting in terror, we fairly got to the hotel. Now, now, must our secret be unmasked! We were swindlers, and had played our parts with a most thorough intention. When finally, we were really in a room in that hotel, my friend began to cry,—I threw myself on my knees before our new acquaintances. I begged forgiveness for our naughty joke. I confessed that we were not girls, at all! I begged the gentlemen to let us go home. Confounded, the two men looked at each other. Then, at last, they declared, up and down, that—it was all the same thing to them—stay We simply must. And we did so—and we went back to my home the next morning, a where regular "scene" of course was waiting for us!"

The same amazingly enterprising young specimens of Uranian effeminacy in course of their shining careers in