San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-11-03
NOT PROVEN;
OR
ESTHER HILLS SECRET.
BY GEoReIANA NJ. CRAIK.
OR

but her innocent forgetIulness or this
fact took nothing away from the kind
ness of her intention. She watched
over him none the less good-naturedly
that she watched in vain.
1T is really wonderful, my dear, how
much he has got to be like other people!
l assure you, Nelly, if l hadn't known,
l should never have guessed that he had
not been accustomed to dine like us all
his life" she said in the drawing-roOm,
when she and Gabrielle had left the two
gentlemen over their wine. And as
for his manner-why, his manner is just
what you would wish it to be. 1t isn't
polished, of course, and he doesn't seem
to have much to say to ladies-well, you
couldn't expect that he should; but it's
nice land straightforward and sensible"
sand, in short, he is going to be one
of Aunt Susan's PETS" Gabrielle said.
HE will be rather an unmanageable
pet, however, l fancy. If l were you,
Aunt Susan, Iwould be cautious about
stroking him too much. Like Rover, l
suspect, he might look askance at you,
if you did, and snarl."
aMy dear Gabrielle. what nonsense
you talk" said Aunt Susan.
But Gabrielle was in rather a mock
ing humor, and persisted in going on
talking nonsense.
In fact Gabrielle had found the din
ner dull, and had slightly lost her tenn
per over it. She had been taken so lit
tie notice of by anybody. Mr.. Gilbert
had not opened his lips to her (she did
not mind that, she said,) and her uncle
had devoted himself to his guest land
that she did mind). She had been of no
importance whatever to any one, for
even Aunt Susan had no eyes for her;
and if there was a thing that vain Ga
brielle hated it was to find herself of no
Importance. 1t did not suit her-it was
not good for her-it made her cross and
ill tempered.
She came into the drawing-room,
thinking that she did not much like
George Gilbert, with his grave face, and
his head full of engines and inventions.
She cared a great deal for geniuses, but
she did not care much, she thought, for
a genius whose gift only lay in the
direction Of engineering. That was but
a poor development of the divine facul-
ty, it seemed to her; and she shrugged
her pretty shoulders presently, as she
sat down to read by n OF the open
windows till the two gentlemen should
come in to coffee. If MI. Warrington
at this moment had CHANGED to be at
hand, and to have repeated his former
rough diamond, / doubt very much il
Gabrielle would have taken the trouble
to dispute his Judgment, or would have
been at all disposed to stand up for the
young man in the way that she had
done a week ago. She opened her book,
and she lay back comfortably in her
easy-chair, but she yawned a little as
she began to read it, Life was a dull
thing sometimes: how sleepy it made
one, Gabrielle thought.
Mr.. Dunstan and his guest came into
the drawing-room in the twilight, but l
do not know that Gabrielle gained very
much by that. MI. Gilbert was evident
~ shy of ladies,-and of young ladies
especially. He talked a little to Aunt
Susan, and, won by that good wOman's
kindness, he talked to her, when the ice
was broken, pleasantly enough; but he
kept at a safe distance both from Ga
brielle and Helen. Perhaps it wa not
to be expected-perhaps it would hardly
even have been to be desired-that here,
in the village in which his father had
lived and worked for fifty years, he
could have been wholly at ease in So
ciety so far above his fathers station.
In other places he mixed easily with
educated people, Indifferent as to
whether they knew his parentage or not,
but here he found that he could not do
it without a certain sensitiveness. With
his host, indeed, he felt no difficulty,
for Mr.. Dunstan's cordial manner made
it impossible not to be at home with
him; but with these two girls the case
was different. The n in her invalid's-
chair, with her sickly faded face, kind
led some interest in him. and had she.
made any advance to him he might
have met her half way not unwillingly;
but Helen Lynn did not often care to
give herself unnecessary trouble, and
she was a little proud and superciliouS
too, and did not feel at this moment
that she was specially called upon to
entertain the blacksmith's son. So she
merely bowed when he was introduced
to her, and then limited her attentions
during the evening to the interchange
with him of a couple of sentences.
And as for Gabrielle-Gabrielle sat in
her white dress by the window, with a
bright ribbon in her hair, and her fair
young face looking like something re-
moved miles away out of George Gill
bert's sphere. AT least that Vas how
it seemed to him. She on her part
would have talked to him mot perhaps
without a certain sense of cOndeScen-
sion, but still she would have done it)
if he had come up and talked TO her,
but he did not know that, and would no
more, on his part, have thought of adj
dressing her without q special invita-
ton TO do so, than he would have
thought of addressing some fair young
creature who might pass him in the