New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-07-21
y ,TuER FELIPES MADNESS

.onnded the peach orchards ana gliuns the uis'"nS
'do,ss Of the great estancla house OF
Win Ianla. Father Felipe rose from his
saat among the peach-trees, and thrustlng ms
TrsViarv into the pocket of his soutane, TOOK ms
NV mn IN the house TO await the hour OF dinner.
80 tbouch H. was there was still work going on
IN the shecp-corralS as he passed them; Tor owing
70 The revolution that had broken out IN Uruguay,
labor was scarce that summer, and long hours nad
IN make up for the want of hands. me priest
tonned on his way and, leaning against thc WOODEN
fence watched with an absent air group OF solne
five or six men who were buslly catchlng the EiIlo
sheen and pairing their OvergrOWn hOOlS. All Jay
lono the same work had been going on: point alter
mint of sheep had been shut into the marrow en-
leisure. examined, doctored, and let go, ana tne
lock was not yet finished. OF the thirty or lorty
,,en who labGred on the estancia only these lew
Nerc left: all the rest had either gone 10 SVEN
tbe ranks OF the revolution or had tied away lnto
aiding 10 avoid being pressed into the OoverhineDV
II is growing TOO dark, Anselmo" grumbled
one of the men, rising TO his feet and stretching
his tired limbs; I'VE shall never finish the Work
Courage. man" cried the mayor-domo, n
busting little fellow who had been dong the
Nori of two mon through the day and superlntenu,
ing The work of ali Come! There are hardy
hundred sheep left now the dock Will soon De
done with All Don Felipe! Good evening TO
you Would You like to lend us hand Here
is knife for you, If you have not gou one
The priest started from his revere
Willingly Anselmo! very Willingly, bnto 1 ao
not know how to help you. am not SNiiieu 10
Tins labor" -. ,.o,s
he repeated, mimicl<ing the priests depreGauhg
tone, but TO eat his dinncr--yeS! Oner MN a
knife 10 eat his dinner, AnsclmO, II you want 10
him use II. That is what prltSO C"liIOo
The men laughed. Don Felipe pretended not to
hear but the muscles of his face qulVered ana Ine
hand that grasped the railing shook i'll spte oil MS
efforts 10 appear Indifferent.
His tOrmentor cast mOcluyg glance at HIM as
he passed before him 10 GStch another Sneep'
Aha the fat wcther." he>cried presently, drag
ging the struggling sheep after him by the leg.
Oh the far priest. This is the kind OF priest that
plcases me; this one makes good fat meat and
good thick wool; this one deserves ms dinner
every day But the other priests, Bah Ill y0n
were 10 cut all their threats tomorrow you would
get nothing by them"
The men laughed again il mattered little 10
them what the wit was so long as II was directed
against the proper person, and 10 their ideas
priest an eminently proper person for ridlcule
Hold thy tongue, 1eoiilo!' said the mayor
domo, sharly Thou knowest that D6n Zero
nimO will not have the father insulted; and il he
complains, then il is / who am blamed. Besides.
priest or no priest, he is not a bad man that Don
Felipe" he added carelessly.
Don Felipe did not hear the remOnstrance. Al
ready he was on his way 10 the house, walking
with slow measured steps that contrasted
curiously with the passion that was working IN
his face Broken CALCULATIONS started invoun-
tarily from his quivering lips. They all hate me-
They all despise What harm have ever
done what words have ! ever spoken 10 them?
Inc mcAncSl DeOn Oh lIe pldce lnlnkS llldl nt IoS
the right to insult me-" His hands were fever
ishly clenched and unclmched. the perSpiratiOn
stood out on his forehead, and his face flushed
burning red with the heat OF shame and powcreSs
indignation. When he was out OF sight his steps
were more hurried then suddenly he stopped ana
paused irIesolute being half minded to return and
confront with angry words the men that Jeered at
him. Thinking better of this impulse, he resumed
his way TO the house, crying out aloud TO himself
as he went with kind Of angry eXultatlon, IL IS
not through fear. No. Not through fearE
hale 1ff II
promptly resented and revenged it is only
those that are accepted in silence that remain I'M
healed and every fresh wound added 10 their
number starts the old wounds bleeding afresh.
smarting with accumulated pain Perhaps the
keenest pang that Felipe felt was the horrible
whether il was really his cloth alone
that prevented BIN from reyehgng his pride
" II is not thrOu Oh fear. he cried TO himself Had
he been more sure that fear had 10 influence with
him he would not have felt the necessity OF so
often telling himself so.
lie sat down on a bench outside the house and
wiped the sweat from his brow. Hardly more
than two-and-twenty, his cleans haVen face made
him look even more youthful, and there was
something almost pathetic in its incongrulty
with the long formal soutane and ugly peaked
hat His features were good. though wanting
in strength and his eyes were beautiful "
did ask you 10 send me a priest wrote bona
ApOlinaria 10 her old friend the Nicar-Gencrai at
BuenOs Ayres and yOu sent me a pretty boy.
However, his manners are nice, so | will not com
plain Feipos manners were nice, rare thing
Dona Apolinara had no fault 10 find with the
chaplain that her friend had selected for her. IL
would have been difficult 10 find 10 him any other
especial qualifications for his post
The csiancia of Santa Paula belonged TO the
Usabarrcnas,. one Of the richest families Of the
Republic of Uruguay. At that time the family
consisted of three individuals only-Don Geronimo
l. sabarrena, whose great wealth and influence IN
he country had made him a likely candidate for
he Presidency at more than one eection-had he
ever been elected he would have made a very hon
est and perfectly incompetent ruler: fortunately
both for himself and his country his ambition was
not rewarded by success DOna ApOlnara, his
wife, a native Of BuenOs Ayreo, and related 10
some of the first families of the Argentine Rcpub-
lie; and Elena, their only child. a pretty girl of
nineteen, with a rather sullen expression of face
and such supercihOus manners as beiittcd great
an heireSs Geronimo Usabarrena was Il good
goddess old heather, who feared and
respected no man, but only his wife. Political
troubles had eXiled the family from Monte NdcO
Tor more than two years, and Obliged them to live
altogether on their country estate. Had the
truth been told Il sabarrena not sorry TO escape
from the constant worry and anxiety Of the ia-
uigues with which his wife's ambition surrounded
nm as IT was, he did his utmost to reconcile her
70 her temporary secusiOn, even to the extent of
building chapel for her for Dona ApoEnaria WAS
a devout woman and constant in her religious
auTse ana allowing her TO send to her old home
IN BnenoS Ayres for priest Thus IL had bnan
that Felipe had entered on his first dntios in re
profession "U'''' III lib
lie had come there straig ht from the religions
seminary III which he had been educated and
which he had entered al the age of Ten of bis
childhood he had bnt the vaguest recollection
Always, so far as he could remember he had Eved
with the same old woman: always in TIE 80
dingy street, always in the same dark LITTLE b"mse
that NJ one entered but themselves lie sunnoSed
The old woman TO have been his grandmo,bcr
why he supposed her 20 be 80 he did not rerne,n
her, did he remember anything very clearI,,
about her except that she beat him occosonaiiy
with a leather strap kept for that purpose Tbs
strap and the old woman had become inseparsble
In his memory; he never thought OF one Wrthont
The other, and the general impression left 'on his
mind by his infancy that he had been bron oht !
up By "A leather strap aided by an old woman
lie did not know the names of his parents: his
father he had never heard Of his mother he had
seen but once. very handsome woman. of nm.
certain age, and rather stOutS her voice was harsh
and dsa grceable and her dress astonishel even
bis childish cyes-but not all the powder and paint
with which il was daubcd could hide the cxtraor
binary beauty of her face The old woman had