San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-11-13

request; it would all come to the same
i'll the nd,-for in another week she
would be gone away.
AS Esther Hill sat tonight by that
study fire, she hardly looked like the
same woman who had begun to take up
her abode in the house scarcely two
months ago. Sad though the face often
was still, it had softened so, and grown
so young since then. You could hardly
see the old hard lines about her mouth
now; the extreme paleness of few
months ago had gone,-all the old stony
look had gone; she had looked of late as
If she had come back to a new natural
life. And then, besides all this, the
last few days had brought another
change.
Just before Christmas, Mr.. Dunstan,
coming one morning into Helen's room,
had found Esther sitting there with her
widows cap. She had been bending
over a table cutting out some work,
and, as she sat, the strings of the cap
had come in her way, and she had taken
it off and put it aside. In the mornings
in Helen's room she had often done the
same thing before, and of late both the
girls had assailed her more than once
to leave it off entirely.
"Why should you wear it-you, with
your beautiful hair? 1t is perfect
shame to cover such hair!" Gabrielle
would eXclaim to her: and one day they
had made her loosen all those luxuriant
tresses of hers, and let them down up
on her shoulders; and then Gabrielle,
who had natural gift for doing that
sort of thing, had wound and coiled
them up for her till she became en-
thusiaStic over the effect of her own
handiwOrk. "You don't know how
Ovely you are," she said to her. "Oh
Esther, don't put on your cap again:
leave yourself so for the others to see
YOU" But she would not leave herself
so, and MIR. DunStan had never seen her
head uncovered until this morning
when he came Unexpectedly into Helen'S
room, and found her cutting out her
work.
He naturally noticed the change in
her at once, but though he noticed it he
said nothing. He had come in to ask
some question of Helen, and he asked
it, and then stood for some two or three
minutes talking to her; while as for Es-
Their, for the first moment after he en-
tered she forgot that she had put her
cap aside, and then remembered it, and
colored, and with mingled feeling of
shame and yeXatiOn sat bending over
her table without speaking to him. He
was looking at her, she knew; he was
making his own comments on her, she
felt too. But he said nothing, and in a
few moments went away, leaving her
with feeling of annoyance and anger
at herself that was greater Seeing that
the matter altogether was Of such slight
Importance than seemed reasonable.
That same evening, after she had
been writing little for him in the
study, he made her come to the fire
for the night was cold-to warm her
hands; and as they stood there, after a
minute or two, he said to her sud-
denly
80 you have put on this head dress
of yours againY'-and he looked at her
as he spoke and brought the blood holly
to her face.
II had only taken it off this morning
for little while because was busy. I
often take it off for little while when
the strings come in my way" she said
quickly.
'And why don't you keep it Off" he
coolly asked her.
And then she made no answer, for
how could she tell him any good reason
why she did not keep it off, or give him
any good reason why she should con-
tinue to wear it2 She said nothing, and
after few moments he went on speak
ing;
your husbands death; why should you
wear that sign of special mourning for
him,-aS if your life was being spent in
hourly distress for his loss? 1t ought
to mean that if it means anything,-but
it does not mean that in your case, l
suppose, so why should you wear it?
AS long as you wear it you go about
making false profession"
II do not mean to make any false pro-
fession," she said nervously.
'Then why do you do it? Why don't
you throw your cap awayp l say moth
ing against your black gown, for you
might wear that without any meaning
at any time,-but your cap means only
one thing, and you won't be honest un-
til you cease to wear it."
But if | only wear it to assert the
fact of my widowhood?-as l do" she
said.
"What necessity is there for you to
be always asserting the fact of your
widOwhood? If your husband had been
as much to you as some women's hus-
bands are to them, could understand
your anxiety to assert it; but, as it is,
why need you be proclaiming it per-
petually to all the world? Would the
world be doing you any wrong If it did
not always remember itp Or does it not
rather do you wrong as it is flor to
think false thing is always to do youa
when you leave it to suppose
that your cap is not only sign of your
but that it is sign that
you are mourning because you are
widow? When the truth is that you
mot nnnllrnirr for that-ara vNn2O