San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-05-31

UNNECESSARILY alarm yourself, my dear; he is
not drop of blood to me that I know. 1t is
his mind, darling, his mind that calls me
father"
"His mind~ she repeated, with litter
between scorn and Mysteries Ellis mind,
indeed Henri, is this an idiotic pleasantly,
or are you madl His mind! And what of
my mindr'
Truly" replied the doctor, with a shrug,
"you have your finger on the hitch. He will
be strikingly antipathetic to my beautiful
Anastasie. She will never understand him;
he will never understand her. You married
the animal side OF my nature, dear; and it is
on the spiritual side that find my affinity
for Jean-Ma So much so, that, to be per-
fectly frank, | stand in some awe of him my
self. You will easily perceive that I am
announcing calamity for you. Do not, )" he
broke out in tones of real solicitude, do not
give way to tears after q meal, Anastasie.
You will certainly give yourself false di-
gestion.'
Anastasie controlled herself. "You know
how willing am to humor YOU" she said,
sin all reasonable matters. But on this
point
"My dear love-" interrupted the doctor,
eager to prevent a refusal, "who wished to
leave Paris? Who made me give up cards,
and the opera, and the boulevard, and my
social relations, and all that was my life be-
fore 1 knew youi Have 1 been Faithful
Have I been obedisnt9 Have l not borne
my doom with cheerfulnessi In all honesty,
Anastasie, have l not right to a stipula-
ton on my sidei l have, and you know it.
| stipulate my son."
Anastasie was aware of defeat; she struck
her colors instantly. "You will break my
heart" she sighed.
mot in the least" said he. "You will
feel a trifing inconvenience for a month,
just as 1 did when I was first brought to
this vile hamlet; then your admirable sense
and temper will prevail, and l see you
already as content as ever, and making
your husband the happiest of men,"
"You know l can refuse you nothing" she
said, with a last flicker of resistance; "noth-
ing that will make you truly happier But
will this? Are you sure, my husband' Last
night, you say, you found himl He may be
the worst of humbugs"
81 think not" replied the doctor. "But do
not suppose me so unwary as to adopt him
out of hand. l am, l fatter myself, fin
ished man of the world; 1 have had all pos
sibilities in view; my plan is contrived to
meet them all. l take the lad as stable boy.
If he pilfer, if he grumble, if he desire to
change, 1 shall see was mistaken; shall
recognize him for no son of mine, and send
him tramping"
"You will never do 80 when the time
comes" said his wife; 81 know your good
heart
She reached out her hand to him, with
sigh; the doctor smiled as he took it and car
ried it to his lips; he had gained his point
with greater ease than he had dared to hope
for perhaps the twentieth time he had proved
the efficacy Of his trusty argument, his Ex-
calibur, the hint of a return to Paris. Six
months in the capital, for man of the doc
tors antecedents and relations, implied no
less calamity than total ruin. Anastasie
had saved the remainder Of his fortune by
keeping him strictly in the country. The
very name Of Paris put her in a blue fear;
and she would have allowed her husband to
keep menagerie in the back garden, let
alone adopting a stable boy, rather than per-
NIT the question of return to be discussed.
About of the afternoon the mountebank
rendered up his ghost; he had never been
conscious since his seizure. DR.. Desprez was
present at his last passage, and declared the
farce over. Then he took Jean-Marie by the
shoulder, and led him out into the inn gar
den, where there was a convenient bench
beside the river. Here he sat him down and
made the boy place himself on his left.
"Jean-Marie," he said very gravely, ''this
world is exceedingly vast, and even France,
which is only a small corner of it, is great
place for little lad like you. Unfortunately
it is full of eager, shouldering people moving
on, and there are very few bakers shops for
SO many eaters. Your master is dead; you
are not fit to gain living by yourself; you
do not wish to steali No. Your situation,
then, is undesirable; it is, for the moment,
critical. On the other hand, you behold in
me man not old, though elderly, still en-
joying the youth Of the heart and the intel
igence; a man of instruction; easily situated
in this worlds affairs; keeping good table;
a man, neither as friend nor host, to be de-
spised offer you your food and clothes,
and to teach you lessons in the evening which
will be infinitely more to the purpose for a
lad Of your stamp than those Of all the priests
in Europe. Propose no wages, but if ever
you take a thought to leave me the door
shall be open, and 1 will give you 100 francs
to start the world upon. In return, I have
an old horse and chaise, which you would
very speedily learn to clean and keep in or.
der. Do not hurry yourself to answer, and
take it or leave IL 'ou judge Alright Only
Il a