San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-12-26
B6dtrlX Randolph.
By JULIAN HAWTHORNE
Copyright 1880, by American Press Association-l
CHAPTER l.
HOW DESTINY BEGAN TO OCCUPY ITSELF
WITH HER AFFAIRS.

WITH HER AFFAIRS.
fortune he soon after ran for an once,
but was defeated, as a foregone conclu-
sion, by a crushing majority. To crown
all he lost his wife, to whom he was de-
votedly attached. She died of typhoid
fever in 1868 He was left with two
children, Il boy of 10 and girl of 6.
Mr.. Randolph, though of a naughty and
headstrong character, was not what is
called thorough. He was tall and of
slender build, with high shoulders,
gray musttche and imperial, and thick,
wavy hair, growing rather long His
eyebrows were bushy and overhanging.
and gave to his eyes fiercer expression
than might otherwise have belonged to
them: he had habit of twisting them
between his thumb and finger when in
thought, which looked ominous TO stran-
gers, but really amounted to nothing
His fingers were very long, and so were
his arguments and discussions: almost
the only short thing about him, in fact,
being his temper. His general aspect
was that of retired southern brigadier
whose slaves had been unrighteously
made contraband His expression was,
ordinarily profoundly serious, and he
SAILED rarely; but it was not difficult to
make him break into a shrill, giggling
laugh, which absurdly marred the severe
contour Of his visage and betrayed the
underlying weakness.
He was fond of phrases, and had a
fancy for calling himself 1.-THE most in
dulgent of fathers" but whenever his
children transgressed the moral law of
their fathers good hu,nor or Incidence
and this WAS not seldom the case with
Ell, who was as restless and independent
us hawk-he fell upon them with
sweeping broadsides of rebuke, culmina-
ting, if they answered him back, in vio-
lent assertions of their total depravity.
Ed was sent to school, but the study of
looks had no part in his scheme of exist
ence. In the boys seventeenth year
Hamilton Jocelyn, a friend of the fam
liy, being on visit of a few days to the
2aadolphs, was tickled by Eds bearing
AID the story of his exploits. and offered
to take him back with him to New York
city for month or SO, to give him in
StT1cti0n IL the laws and amenities of
polite society
lie went of accordingly, and the
month had prolonged itself to six before
he came back His father thought that
he had been improved by his sojourn
there. He had brought back with him
certainly Il great deal OF entertaining
talk, and gave Beatrix endless accounts
of the great city, its streets, its houses,
It's horses, its theatres: above all, of its
operas and its concerts. Both she and
Ed had always been passionately devot-
ed to music. They had understood it,
by the light of nature, as it were, from
a very early age. and had constantly
practiced ever since. Eds voice was not
of much use. but he was an admirable
performer on the violin. Beatrix. on
the other hand, was above all things a
singer. and her voice developed into a
z2ssCana as remarkable range aid power
Her studies were not confined TO church
music She knew by heart all the great
operas and oratorios, and in pursuance
OF the marked dramatic ability which
she possessed she had, with Eds assist
ance, acted out scenes from many of the
former $50 far as two performers might
on the stage of the back drawing room.
One day Hamilton Jocelyn, who had
heard all the famous singers of the world
in his time, attended one of these private
entertainments. Contrary to expecta-
ton he turned out to be the most eulo.
CYSTIC auditor that Beatrix had ever had
and he wound up his praises by declar-
ing that she must be provided with a
master to bring her voice out. The most
indulgent of fathers was gratifed by
this tribute of admiration from such a
source to his favorite child, and week
or so afterward the master was sent for.
This was an elderly Englishman of
respectable antecedents, who twenty
years before, had begun his musical
career with what was considered the
finest tenor voice of the age and whose
knowledge of tha principles of music
was as profound as his proficiency was
remarkable. But before he had been a
year on the operate stage the theatre in
which he was singing caught fire, and
he was burned about the throat in such
way as forever to destroy the voice
which would have made him rich and
famous enough to Satisfy ambition itself.
Professor DoriInar, as he afterward came
TO be called, had some small private
means which rendered him in humble
s@l-s 7nG-nenGenJ. aGC with a nn,I1-
sophical serenity which rarely char
ont +ha ,,,,,gio,1