San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-02-27
PERFECTLY SHOCKING.

have ventured to call the story of little
bit of my life Shocking" to remind my
readers that they are expected to be shocked
by it, and that the moral it conveys should
be brought home to the hearts of all truly
fashionable people. But, shocking as my
conduct was, | fear cannot repent or be
ashamed of it, though | am philanthropic
enough to hope that my sad example may
act as warning to all young married
women.
The essence of autobiography is egotism, as
some writer remarked, and shall therefore
not apologize for the nUmer of us" that will
occur in the following pages:
NV mother was a very we'll known person
in New York society; she lived in and for the
world-the world of ball going and amuse-
ment-and played her part in it with much
zeal and success.
1t was only when an unfortunate redness
of her nose, caused, i'll natured people said,
by tight lacing, disguised her with the look
ing glass, that she adopted the high church
pietism to which she is now so devoted, and
as she sits in her favorite corner of the Church
of the Beatific Pharisee, with her lovely
books of devotion, her smelling bottle and
her general air of condescending piety, you
really forget about her nose, and are inclined
to ignore the reason which has so happily, n
painfully, brought her into the arms of the
church.
She was always a very good mother to
me, and from the suspicious day which saw
my debut in society TIL that no less au-
spicious one when she wept quietly behind
me as Tom placed gold ring on my hand at
the altar of Grace church, she was always
most careful of my welfare and eager for my
advancement and happiness. And what
chaperon she wasl Even at in the morn
ing, when other chaperonS were asleep or
Tuning with the desire for bed, there she sat-
pale and determined, ready to encourage a
good parti, or frOwn upon a bad
one, or on me if | encouraged him.
Many a time have reached home from Del
mOnico's, smarting from the pincheS she,
for my own good, had bestowed upon my
arms, when had been more than usually OBJ
stinate in preierring some good looking
journalist with nothing a year, to an abdOm
inal broker ready to place the disposal of his
millions at my feet.
And her vigilance had its reward. for at
the end of my second season, just as papa
was beginning his annual grOwl about the
bills and the cottage at Newport, the society
papers were enabled (by mamma sending
them information to announce my forth
coming marriage with Mr.. Thomas Van
Pygg, of Sixth avenue and 1rvingtOn-On-
Hudson, quite one of the best men, in pc
cuniary SENSE of the year. Tom loved me in
the most ridiculous, old fashioned way, and
always treated me as if | were in some way
his superior, whereas-but | suppose | had
better keep my deficiencies to myself. Let it
suffice that was and am rather pretty, could
play on the piano and sing after a fashion,
and had developed quite a marvellous amount
Of aesthetic taste in what we call high art
furniture. l think knew how to dress, too,
and papa-who usually found fault with me,
so his testimony is important-said that |
had an enormous talent for spending money.
Well, we were wed, and we went off for
! our honeymoon, grinning like couple of
! idiots, as we no doubt were. And here comes
one Of the most humiGating of my confes-
sions. was absurdly, inexpresSibly happy
during that same honeymoon. l had SO
often laughed at the thing, and vowed it was
a relic of barbarism, and declared that a
married couple should at once commence
the life apart from one another, except al
meal times, which is their after fate, that it
was very dreadful for me to be so happy
OF course, no one is ever Gin love" nova
days; so it couldn't have been that No,
fancy it must h. Seen the getting away
from papa and mamma, combined perhaps
with the feeling that I was now free to