San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-02-15


fresh. Her ignorance, which on the stage
had annoyed him, in private life had its par
ticular attractiveness. And, with regard to
this special subject, he was conscious of
breaking down n prejudice; he felt the
pleasure of conquering great reluctance in
her Evidently on starting in London she
had set herself against everything that she
identified with the great French actress who
had absorbed the theatre going public during
the previous season; not from personal jeal
ousy, as Kendall became ultimately con-
yinced. but from a sense of keen moral re-
volt against Nine. Desforets' notorious posi-
ton and the stories of her private life which
we're current i'll all circles. She had decided
in her own mind that French art meant
tainted art and she had shown herself very
reStive- Kendall had seen something of 1t on
their Surrey expedition-under any attempts
to make her share the interest which certain
sections of the English cultivated public feel
in foreign thought, and especially in the
foreign theatre Kendall took particular
pains, when they glided off from the topic of
mis- sister to more general matters, to
make her realize some of the finer aspects
of the French world, of which she knew
50 little and which she judged so harshly;
the laboriouS technical training to which the
dwellers on the other side of the channel sub
nit themselves 50 much more readily than
the English in any matter of art; the intel
iectual conscientioIISneSs and refinement due
to the pressure Of an organized and c0ntinu
Gus tradition. and so on He realized that a
good deal of what he said or suggested must
naturally be lost upon her But 1t was de-
lightful to feel her mind yielding to his,
while it stimulated her sympathy and per-
haps reused her surprise to find in him, every
now and then, grave and unpretendirS re-
Spouse to those moral enthusiasts in herself
which we're too real and deep for much di
rect expression.
whenever | am next in Paris" she said
to him, when she perforce rose to go with
that pretty hesitation of manner which was
so attractive in her, 'woud you mind
would Nine. de Chateauvieu1-if asked you
to Introduce ME TO your sistera 1t would be a
great pleasure to me-"
Kendall made a very cordial reply, and
they parted knowing more Of each other
than they had yet done. Not that his lead
ing impression of her was in any way modi
fed. Incompetent and unpromising as an
artist, delightful as a woman, had been his
earliest verdict upon her, and his conviction
of its reasOnablencSS had been only deepened
by subsequent experience; but perhaps the
sense of delightfulness was gaining upon the
sense OF incompetence After all, beauty and
charm and ssI have in all ages been too
much for the clover people who try to reckon
without them. Kendall was far too shrewd
not to recognize tho very natural and reason
able character of the proceeding and not to
smile at the first sign Of it in his own petson.
STILL hs meant Co try, if be could, to keep
the two estimates distinct, aud neither to
confuse himself nor other people by con
founding them. 1t seemed to him an intel
lectual point Of honor to keep his head per
fectly cool on the subject OF Miss Brother
TONS artistic claims, but he was conscious
that 1T was not always very easy to do-a
consciousness that made him sometimes all
the more recalcitrant under the pressure of
her celebrity.
For it seemed to him that in society he
heard OF nothing but her-her beauty, her
fascination and her success. At every dinner
table he heard stories Of her, some Of them
evident inventions, but all tending in the
same direction-that is to say, illustrating
either the girls proud independence and her
determination to be patronized by nobody,
not even by royalty itself, or her lavish kind
heartednesS and generosity towards the poor
and the interiors Of her own profession. She
was for the moment the great interest of
London, and people talked Of her popularity
and social prestige as a sign Of the times and
proof Of the changed position of the thea
tire and OF those belonging to it. Kendall
thought it proved no more than thht an ex
tremely beautiful girl Of irreproachable
character, brought prominently before the
public in any capacity whatever, is sure to
stir the susceptible English heart, and that
Isabel Bretherton's popularity was not one
which would in the long run affect the stage
at al. But he kept his reflections to himself,
and in general talked about her no more
than he was forced to do. Ho had q sort Of
chivalrous feeling that those whom the girl
had made in any degree her personal friends
ought, as far as possible, to stand between
her and this inquisitive, excited public. And
1t was plain to him that the enormous social
success was not Of her seeking, but of her
relations
One afternoon, between 6 and Z, Kendall
was working alone in his room with the un
usual prospect of a clear evening before him
he had finished a piece Of writing and was
standing before the fire deep in thought over
the first paragraphs Of his next chapter when
he heard knock; the door opened and Wal
lace stood on the threshold
May come I'M It's shame to disturb
you, but I've really got something important
IN III