@@@@@"The boy will get it backNow let's get to
@@@@@"The boy will get it backNow let's get to supper before all the oysters are gone
For once in your life, Scarlett, you're going to have more food than
you can possibly eat
Even ladies gorge themselvesThe Season is over,
and it's almost Lent It was shortly after two when the doors to the
Hibernian Hall openedThe young black torch boys were yawning
when
they took their positions to light the revellers outAs their torches
were lit, the dark waiting streetcar on Meeting Street came to life on
its tracksThe driver turned up the blue-globed lamp on its roof and
the tallchimneyed lanterns by the doorsThe horses stamped their
feet
and bobbed their headsA white-aproned man swept the canvas
walkway
free of the scattering of leaves that had accumulated then slid back
the long iron bolt and swung wide the gatesHe disappeared into the
shadows just as the sound of voices poured from the buildingFor
three blocks along the street carriages waited to move in turn to
collect their passengers"Wake up, they're coming," Ezekiel growled
to the sleeping boys in the footman liveryThey jerked at his prodding
finger, then grinned and scrambled down from their resting place at
his feetPeople came pouring through the open doors, talking,
laughing, pausing on the porch, reluctant to see the end of the
eveningAs they did every year, they said that this had been the best
Saint Cecilia ever, the best orchestra, the best food, the best punch,
the best time they had ever hadThe streetcar driver spoke to
his horses
"I'll get you to your stable, boys, don't you fret He pulled the
handle near his head and the brightly polished bell beside the blue
light clanged its summons"Good night, good night," cried obedient
riders to the people on the porch and first one couple, then three,
then a laughing avalanche of young people ran along the white canvas
pathTheir elders smiled and made comments about the tirelessness
of
youthThey moved at a slower, more dignified pace
In some cases their dignity failed to hide a certain unsteadiness of
the legsScarlett plucked Rhett's sle