San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-07-03
STOLEN FRUIT.


One afternoon, not long since, In the hand
some parlor of fine residence in a flourish
ing town not far from the Garden City,
there were assembled several women. There
would be nothing strange in this, for wo-
men are gregarious. of the free nature Of
birds, they flock together, and fill the vici-
mage with their chatter and their chirpings
In this instance, the assemblage possessed
some unusual qualities not characteristic Of
the average conclaves of the fair sex. There
were five Of them, and each of them save one
handled an infant Oh her knee, and, in fact,
one OF the ladies had two of these appurte
nances on her lap 1t was not a convention
of nurses, nor of servant girls out for an air
ing with their charges, but meeting of gen.
uine, really and truly mothers.
None of the mothers present had passed
beyond % years of age. One of them, a
chubby girl. herself with baby mouth, and
the wonder lighted eye of young girlhood,
held in her arms rampant infant which
any stranger wonld have sworn to be her
little brother. In the arms Of one of the
quintet, girl yet in her teens, and clad in
deepest black, was pair of twins, exquis
itely dressed. and which clawed each other
with the ferocity of couple of young tiger
puppies.
There was one of the five women who was
like and yet not like the others. She was,
perhaps, older than her companions, al
though she was yet young in FRESHNESS OF
complexion, the clear beauty of her teeth, in
her abundant raven hair, in her dark, sensi-
tive eyes, and in her modest, winning de-
meanor She was the only unmarried
woman present.
This fact could easily have been detected
by an experienced observer. On the surface
there was nothing to indicate that she was
different from her visitors. Her face shone
with happiness and her eyes flashed with sat
isfaction. She was, like the others, chatty,
vivacious, bubbllng over with riotous joy,
and thoroughly in rapport with the spirit OF
the occasion.
And yet there was a marked distinction
between her and her associates, which could
easily be seen by an acute examiner. She
had in her eyes virginia. shyness, and in her
pastures and her willowy movements pal
pable sensitiveness that made her unlike her
companions The clear, open eyed gaze Of
the married women, their abandon, their re-
tainty towering about them, their charming
frankpess as they barred their rose tipped
breasts to suckle their babes, their freedom
of laughter and conversation their hilarious
outbursts Of fun, all announced them as
emancipated from the chrysalis Of timid,
wondering maidenhood.
1t was a jolly party, both of babes and
mothers The masculine soul, attuned to
the coarse key notes of practical, every day
experience, cannot appreciate the finer vibra-
lions of the chords Of the nature Of the new
mother Her babe Is the rich fruition Of her
maternal blossoms, the realization and per.
lection Of long entertained hopes Every
touch Of its soft hands is cares; every tone,
whether of pain or pleasure, affords her SD
preme Joy in that it is an appeal Of the help
less to the innumerable resources of her ma
ternity
To the average observer the five babies
would have appea led to be in no respect IN.
like 10000 other babies There are calloused
men and unfeeling women who could not
have picked out any one of these growing
infants from the others after study Of
weeks And yet, to the mothers, each one
others as a violet in bouquet of rosebuds
While the friendly mothers generally ex-
tended liberation 70 the little ones of the
others, each Of them in her inmost soul won
dered what they found to admire apart from
her own darling. Even if her infant had o
perceptibls squint in his little eyes. and down
as red az a carrot and a squawk "a dissonant
as that of guinea hen, still 1t did not i'm
pair his superiority; he hsd 10000 little
sweetnesses, and cunning ways, and endear'
ments which nobody but herself could COM
prehend.
The mothers gossiped, laughed, exchanged
experiences on infant collie and teething, dis
cussed their husbands, and inquired concern
ing mutual friends the babies cooed, laughed,
cried, squallsd and displayed on their faces at
the same instant tears and smiles, sunshine
and rain. They munched bits Of cake,
straugled over rubber Tubes, tumbled over on
their little noses, and were shaken up, cod
died. scoldsd aud caressed, as tho situation
demanded
The young woman with the shy eyes WINS
the bostesS The matrons assembled with
their babies were her old townswomen. with
whom she had played az girls, studied as
classmates and associated in social life They
had married. soma of them still lived in the
place, many had moved to other points Just
DOW some Of the absent ones had come home
on visit. and their old playmate had in.
vited thsm 20 have a reunion, and spend
with her the afternoon The young hostess
was the daughter of wealthy parents, was
highly educated, accomplished in music, was
gifted with linitIess attractions, and yet was
fast verging toward the fatal rs pears which
would leave girlhood behind her,
h.. Of sralaadid &alnailsZ an