San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1886-11-22

opened up the sore you see, and made 1t
bleed afreSh.
We never had n minutes trouble with
Ralph; he was as good boy as ever breath
| ell. | don't mean 10 say that he hadn't his
tempers; | wouldn't have a by without
them; he'd have no spirit; but hr was
| good boy. We could trust him, an we did.
| Well, he grew up, and when he was big
| enough, he went into the sd Iirr's service
too, bird soaring, and wtcdilg and all sorts
| Of odd things at first and then int resu-
| lar place about the preserves, til, when he
was eighteen, he was und 'r-ketp r. and as
| fine young fellow as ever | set eyes OH.
| The squire liked him very much, and put
him forward all he could, and he had money
| In the bank, and all seemed Ia be going well
with him, when evil days cam upon him,
and he fell in love.
don't mean tr say that falling in love is
evil; Heaven knows there never was a bet
ter thing for me than my marriage; but il Is
when lad falls IN love with the wrong wO-
man that mischief comes of II; and that's
Just what my poor boy did. never saw
her; she lived miles away on the other side
Of the county, AMI hc had seen her when he
went with the .quire and stayed two days
once at q pla where some Il our pleas
ants were taken for he .0cd.
And Ralph went IT, r. about il, and from
that hour he wa a changed lad. lie was
absent and broOdy, and the old light had
gone out Of his eyes, and the smile, that was
so fresh and pleasant, from his dear face,
and we guessed what had come to him, and
his mOther-we were always father and
mother to him. for lie knew no Other-taxed
him with it.
Its woman that's wrong with you,
Ralph, my lad" Cherry said when he could
not eat his supper, and sat with his head Oh
his hand staring at nothing. You've been
falling In love, and 1t don't agree with you"
Don't laugh at me, mother" he said;
don't chat me; can't stand it,"
II won't" Cherry said. Tell me all
about it, my boy? Who Is it?''
don't think we ever made out rightly
who she was. She was In service at farm
er's over wherJ Ralph had been, and she
was as beautiful as the daylight. | didn't
take much account of that, because il a wO-
man is as ugly AS Bee!zebub, and as wicked
as the father of lies himself, the man who
Is unfortunate enough to fall in love with
her, will think her an angel, in spite Of all.
This girl was as good as she was beautiful,
Ralph declared, and, like himself, she was
an orphan.
asked Ralph did the girl love him, but
he shook his head; he was not sure, he
didn't know; he hoped SO; but he had said
very little as yet, and there was someone
else, someone with longer purse than he
had, and more winning ways maybe, though
don't see how that c0ald be very well, and
altogether he was far more unhappy than
happy in his new excitl ment.
1t went on for some time, and at last
things grew settled, and Harry came home
one day, after he had had two days holt
day, quite radiant and satisfied. Harriet
that was her name-did love him, she had
admitted that much, and the rest would
come all right In time; she would be his
wife, and he was the happiest fellow in the
three Kingdoms. l don't know why felt a
misgiving about 1t, but i did; queer things
come into ones head sometimes, and had
feeling that Ralph's love would bring him
mischief.
would not say much TO him till | had
seen the girl and judged for myself what
she was like. gathered that she was rath-
er fighty and fond of dress, from one or two
things that Ralph had said, and present
or two that he had given her, which seemed
filter for young lady than poor servant
girl; but Ralph said she was like lady In
her pretty ways, and felt troubled as
heard 1t. l asked him about the other man
that had been hanging about the girl, and
he laughed and said that that was all over,
that Harriet had told him she wanted moth
ing more 10 DO with MIN, and he had had
the good sense to give her up.
ldaresay good many people would have
gone to where the girl lived, and found out
Tor themselves what they wanted TO Know,
but Uerry and are Oid-faShloned folks
rather slow-mlnded, pcrhaps,-and 1t never
occurred to us. We knew that Ralph would
bring her to see us soon, and enc Saturday
he said he was going off to see her and, II
she could get away, he would bring her back
with him the next day. She couldn't, for
he came back without her and rather down
hearted we fancie1; but she was to come
the next week; hefmistress had given her
leave and had been very kind to Ralph, and
entertained him quite Hospitality.
There had been something little un-
pleasant between him and Harriet which
accounted Tor his low spirits. The other
man had been hanging about her again, and
she had treated 1t lightly and as If 1t were
good joke, instead OF life and death to the
lad VINO loved her SO well.
shes heartless hussy, If she's playing
fast and loose with my boy" Cherry said,
when he had told us about 1t, Il shan't like
her, Ralph, l am sure Of it."
"Oh. YES, yop will, mother DEAR he said.
mo one can help loving my Harriet she's
prettier than any woman you ever saw.
Il.