San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-09-26

-5iii no sign. A snlver passed through una
throng Not many but thought of a possible
tragedy on the other side of that mysterious
door The truth is the man had been usher
ed into the library, where he saw a sedate
gentleman of 80 sitting behind a table, who
asked him simply if he brought a statement
of his debts. For a reply he presented it.
The amount was small, and the gentleman
laid aside his check book and handed him the
sum in gold He was then invited to pass
into the adjoining parlOr and to be seated;
he was requested kindly TO remain till
o'clock, or until the crowd dispersed. And
|, watching at the window, realized that the
slightest variation in the temper of the mob
would sweep away every penny of our fam
lilies wealth, for both Noble and | would
have died before we would have allowed
demand To go unhonored while anything re-
manned.
1t was evident that we had been mistaken
when we supposed that the final and universal
verdict had been that our notice was a hoax
We had not walked out the last night, it
being Sunday. If we had done 50, it is likely
we would have learned there had been a
change. While almost all, l. afterward
learned. had continued to ridicule the thing
and pronounce it a humbug, there had been
a secret preparing of statements and deter
mination to be not far distant at the appoint
ed hour This had been so general that it
had resulted in the immense gathering now
before me. But why did they not press inT
1t would have been supposed that their very
numbers would have permitted no other
thought. But 1t is likely that those before
the door feared that If they started it would
be to go III alone; that those in the rear
would let them alone run the risk Of the jeers
that would follow if it proved they had been
hoaxed. The fer of ridicule, so strong
motive ordinarily, before such crowd, be-
came superlatively powerful. The sources
of those impulses, more contagious than pes
thence, that move vast crowds are generally
mysterious and indiscernible. FickeneSs is
the ordinary characteristic of a mob. In
the throng before our door, fear of humbug,
and a powerful dread of ridicule superin-
duced by the concourse itself, were the
causes to which attributed the inaction of
the first hour. ButDne man had the strength
to throw off the general paralysis
But undoubtedly other causes came into
action the second hour The house stood be-
venturesome man did not return, and the
strangeness of the whole affair, the imposs
bility of assigning any motive for the pub
lished notice and the strange behavior of the
crowd itself in every other member of which
each saw his doubts reflected, all conspired to
throw around an atmosphere Of mystery and
underlined fear. Thus it was that the people
stood, while the church clock hands moved
on toward 4. An occasional wave seemed to
sweep over them, but left them standing as
before, under paralysis. Ten minutes to T.
Every hope was now on the return of the
man. Five minutes to T. There was a lean
ing forward, but no man stirred foot. Three
minutes, two minutes one minute. The clock
struck 4. | ru-hcl down to Noble and caught
him in I!:v G.:.lS. How we danced. We went
up together TO tie front apartment and the
window. Now it is stranger than anything
else connected with the affair that there was
no violence toward our residence But when
we looked ont into the street, it was fast be
coming empty. But ui those we saw hasten
ing away, every one seemed to be possessed of
the very spirit of the devil. They were all
fighting, striking each other with their fists,
sticks, stones, and cursing like demons. But
very soon the street was empty.
Such is an esOteric account of an affair
which caused no small stir at the time.
Noble and |, in our nightly rambles, often
talk it over. Our experiment came near be-
ing more serious than we would have liked
If the man who ventured in ever told any
one of his reception, it never came to the
ears of the public, and to this day London
has few mysteries more profound than the
episode known as The Pudding Lane Hoax. y
William Bayard Hale in Harper's Weekly.