San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-02-18
naI7sn ana numlIlaungI

surprising were able to gather up my re-
lation with her again and make it really
friendly one-l should take, | think, very
definite line; should make up my mind to
be OF use to her. After all, it Is true what
she says-there are many things in me that
might be helpful to her, and everything
there was she should have the benefit of. |
would make a serious purpose Of it. She
should find me a friend worth having"
His thoughts wandered on a while in this
direction. 1t was pleasant to see himself in
the future as Miss Bretherton's philosopher
and friend, but in the end the sense of reality
gained upon his dreams. Il am fool" he
said TO himself resolutely at last, land may
as well go to bed and put her out of my
mind. The chance is over-gone-done with,
if it ever existed
The next morning, on coming down to
breakfast, he saw among his letters a hand
writing which startled him. Where had he
seen it beforef In Wallace's hand three days
agoi He opened it and found the following
note:
NY DEAR Mr. KENnAL-You know, think, that
am OH next week-On Monday, If all goes well.
We go to Switzerland for a while and then TO
Venice which people tell is often very pleasant
In August We shall be there by the Isl OF Au-
gust, and Mr. Wallace tells me he hears from you
that your sister, Madame de ChateauvLeux, will
be there luDut he same time. forgot 10 ask you
yes;C:t.ay. UuJ Il you thluk she Won u not object
to H. would you give me little note introducing
me TO herr AL that | have heard of her makes
me very anxious TO know her and she would not
find me troublesome person. We shall hardly,
suppose, meet again before ! start II not please
remember that my friends can always find me on
Sunday afternoon. Yours very truly
ISABEL BRETHERToN.
Kendars hand closed tightly over the note.
lope, and walked away with hi. hands behind
him and the note in them, TO stare out OF
window at the red roofs opposite.
THAT is like her." he murmured to himself:
81 wound and hurt her: she guesses | shall
suffer for it, and, by way Of setting up the
friendly bond asain, next day, without
a word, she asks me to do her a kindness!
could anything be more delicate, more gra-
cious!"
Kendall never had greater difficulty in fix
ing his thoughts to his work than that morn
ing, and at last, in despair, he pushed his book
aside, and wrote an answer to Miss Breth-
erton, and, when that was accomplished, a
| long letter to his sister. The first took MIN
| longer than its brevity seemed to justify. 1t
| contained no reference to anything but her
| request He felt compulsion upon him to
| treat the situation exactly as she had done,
| but, given this limitation, how much cordi-
| atty and respect could two sides Of letter
paper be made to carry with due regard to
| decorum and grammar!
When he next met Wallace, that hopeful,
bright tempered person had entirely recov-
! cred his cheerfulness Miss Bretherton, he
| reported, had attacked the subject of Elvira
| with him, but so lightly that he had no OPP
portunity for saving any Of the skillful
things he had prepared.
"She evidently did not want the question
seriously opcncd," he slid, $50 followed
your advice and let it alone, and since then
| she has been charming both to Agnes and
me. l feel myself as much of a brute as
ever, but see that the only thing can do is
TO hold my tongue about it." To which
Kendall heartily agreed.
| A few days afterwards the newspapers
| gave a prominent place to reports of Miss
| Brctberton's farewell performance 1t had
| been a great social event. Half the distin-
gushed people in London were present, led
| by royalty. London, in fact, could hardly
| bear to part with its favOrite, and compli-
| mentS. flowers and farewellS shOwered upon
| her Kendall who had not meant to go at
| the time when tickets were to be had, tried
about the middle of the week after the Ok
ford Sunday to get a seat, but found it ut
terly impossible. He might have managed
| it by applying to her through Edward Wal
lace. but that he was unwilling to do for
various reasons. He tod himself that, after
all, it was better to let her little note and his
answer close his relations with her for the
| present Everywhere else but in the theatre
she might still regard him as Ter FRIEND but
there they could not but DO antagoniStic in
some degree ono to another and not even in
tellectually did Kendall wish just now to meet
her Oh a footing of antagonism.
So, when Saturday night came, he passed
the hours of Miss BrethertOn's triumph at q
ministerial evening party, where it seemed
| to him that the air was full Of her name, and
that half tho guests wero there as pis-aller.
because the Calliope could not receive them
| And yet he thought he noticcl in the COM
mon talk about her that criticism of her as
an actress was a good deal more general than
it had been at the beginning Of the season.
Tbs little knot Of persons with an opinion
and reasons for it had gradually influenced
the larger public. Nevertheless there was no
abatement whatever of the popular desire to
see her, whether on the stage or in society.
the engouement for her personally, for her
beauty, and her fresh, pure womanlness,
| showed no signs Of yielding, and would hold
out, Kendall thought, for some time, against
a much stronger current of depreciation on
the intellectual side than had as yet set in.
He laid down the Monday paper with a
smile Of self scorn and muttered: 81 should
like to know how much she remembers by
l II