The San Antonio light. (San Antonio, Tex.) 1883-1886, 1885-08-04
A Strange Love-L



/ thin. sunhutncd face, grDi-h hair. we'll
cut features, fierce mustachc, aud pair Of
/ Kind gay eyes,
| II was n glorious evening. An Venice WAS
| ont of doors. IN the Piazza of 81. Mark the
| baud was playing. and crowds were prone
/ mailing; around tables, ut the Cafe ilDrnn
| and the Cafe Quadri, were officers, ladies',
| cosmopolitan artists, tourists, and middle
class Ncnctians; ycndcrs NJ evening papers
were plying brisk trade; ilnwcr-girls were
exchanging bouquets for hnlt-pcncc u grayrr.
or Is brighter, or more quickly changing
scene 1t would he difficult tn imagine. The
/ Cafe Oricnlalc though not far removed
| from this resort Of fashion, presented So
date and unprrtcntiuus air. Here, gay uni
| furms were the exception pfusy-luokiug
elderly civilians chattcd, slipped coffee and
cngnac, and matched their skill In games of
chess; u sprinkling Of such artists ns disdain-
ed the attractions OF the piazza were Ia be
seen and heard, luunging on accustomed
seats, and discussing ant and cigarettes; a
certain number Oi Americans were here. as
where not, IN places OF Venetian rendezvous:
and some wOrkmcn, In blOuscs, had put In
an appearance, bringing with them wives,
| sisters, dau differs, Or swccthcaris.
Our Eueli,hmn slipped his coffee. and con.
! ned hi, newspaper with the airut an hdbiiuc:
when be lifted his head from Us printed col.
| uuus Ia watch The cloud Uf smoke frum his
cigai disappear In the air, or Ia glance over
| the mUOu.illumincd water before the Riyu,
| his expression of cOuutcuunCC testified fuuil-
| larty with the scene before him. Truth to
| tell. the Engli-hman his name WAS Henry
| Courtney had occupied the samcconcr. I'M
der the awning, among chcss-playcrs, coffee
drinkers, readers, and cunycrsatlnnalists,
evening after evening Tor more months than
/ caro- tn count Ncnctians had begun TO look
upon him rs Venetian institution. IIe
knew every inch ot their town by heart lle
had pOkcd his investigating British nose into
every narrow cutie and insignificant campo;
he had explored remote churches and com
parativcly unknown galleries; he was as full
| of information ~ u gtiidt-bOok on the merits
and dement's Of different shops, restaurants,
and hotels. His knowledge geographical
and gcncral-cXtCnlcd itself 10 numerous
other continental towns. And yet, while es-
sontially n traveller, he WAS essentially
travelled Englishmnn. The cut Of his clothes
and the shape Of his boots proclaimed Lon
don origin; the newspaper In which he had
buried his face was the leading English
| journal; and his accent, when he called to
walter In italian for glass Of water, adj
| mtted no doubt rs 20 his nationality.
Excuse MEAN | addressing Mr.. Court
ncy?"
Down went the newspaper. Courtney look
ed up, with the half-aggricvcd wholly sur
| prised air common to his countrymcn, when
| spoken to by stranger. Courtney Il my
name" he answered shortly shade OF IL
sentiment IN his voice. But the correspond
ing shade Of resentment vanished from his
face when his eyes met those of his Inferno
gator. lie found himself addressed by
young man, who had Just taken n seat near
him, and who WIS OF singularly attractive
appearance. The ncwcomcr-ObylOusly
British tourist of the better class-was tall
and well made; he had good carriage, an
air of good breeding, frank, boyish face,
close curling yellow hair, and a pleasant
smile.
Courtney is my namc," repeated the En-
glishnlail, relaxing visibly Can do any
thing for your
"Wcll, yes you can. You know Gribhlc-.
Frank Grbblc, of the 18th llussars?'
YES, know Frank Gribblc-wcll?"
"My name is EdwarlCs. | have brought"
feeling In his packet for letter which he
produced and handed Ia his ncighbOr-"a
letter of Introduction from Gribblc, whom |
left the other day In Florence. intended
giving myself the pleasure Of calling on you
tomorrow. But heard that should find
you ut the OIientalc. A waiter pointed you
out to me, and thought that you would al
low me to introduce myself ut once"
Courtney bowed; he adjusted n pair Of
spCctaclcs, took his cigar from his mouth,
and read the letter, In slow elderly fashion,
which contraStcd with the evident cagcrncss
| of his new friend.
Can l do anything for you, Mr.. Ed
Ia. lao .,
letter to the envelope and his cigar to his
lips Then, as If conscious of an omission,
he added, with old-fashioncd formality, and
with a stiff little bow, II am happy IN make
the acquaintance Of Frank Gribblcs friend"
"rhank yOu-yes, you can do me favor,
| II you will. want yOu"-thc young man
bent his head low, and prOfesscd IA be en-
gagged In minute inspection Of his iingcr-nails
to Introduce me Ia Mr. kcnyOn-&hc Mr..
Kenyon whose family Is now In Venice. I'm
sure that you know linn, fur-fOr-l saw you
| speaking this afternoon, in the Piazza, 10 the
ladies' Of his party"
Courtney lifted his eyebrows. know Mr.
Kcnyonl know Tom Kenyon! have known
him all my life; he Is my oldest and best
friend"
"And you will Introduce me tn him, Mr..
| Courtney | shall bc exceedingly obliged"
"Ihe family seems already known to you,
| by sight"
"Ycs-cs; hut 1t was only yesterday, by ac-
| Cidcnt, that learned their names. | have
| seen them in the PiUllt In the English
church, here, there, and everywhere In Venice.
OF course remarked them; thcy-the ladies,
| mcan-cannot fail Ia attract attention.,
| wherever they may chance to be-"
~ suppose not" Courtney gave quick,
searching something like an apprchcnsivc,
| glance toward the handsome young face be-
side him, then his eyes wandered Thought
fuly-a little Straightforward the Wide water,
| where the moon was touching with silver
| light the gay-cOlOrcd sails Of the fishing
boats, "Miss Kenyon Is very beautiful" he
said, quickly.
Two ladies are with Mr.. Kenyon" re-
| spondcd Edwardcs, cyasiycly; "urc they
both his daughtersY
No; one is his ward, q Miss Stuart"
There was u pause. Was the desired
| promise of an introduction not forthcomingp
| Edwnrdcs began Ia grow little inpatient
But Courtney had fallen Into Tcycric Ills
eyes were still fixed on the water before the
Riva but they seemed to be looking beyond
his present surroundings and into vague dis
taiIc. YES, Ms !. son is very bcauti-
full" he said, muslngly. "She grows"-his
voice softened-"cyery day, more like her
mother"
"lndecd. | did not know"
"Her mother. No, my lad"-COurtney
woke from his rcyerie with a start-"not
likely, Mrs. Kenyon died when her child
was born"
~ suppose that there is no harm In con-
Tossing" said Edwardes, impulsiycly, as II
| In answer to an unspOh sen questiOn--and he