"Well?" says I, completely beat out.
"Some dress themselves up as beasts and birds."
"And some as tame animals."
"You don't say so!"
"The ladies put masks on their faces."
"Masks! now what are they?"
"Pieces of silk, or gold and silver cloth, with holes for the eyes, and a fringe over the mouth. Then over the dress they put on a great circular cloak, with a hood to it, and loose sleeves that hide the shape, so that a man don't know his own wife."
"Oh, it's a hide-and-seek ball; but ain't some of the ladies in danger of losing themselves," says I.
Cousin Dempster laughed, and his wife turned red as fire.