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

to harmony with it; and sometimes,
through doing this with too great con-
fidence in her own clearness of vision,
the result was that she confirmed her
self into belief not of truth but of
lie. Helen had a great deal of self-con-
tidence, and was not prone to think that
she could easily be deceived; so she built
up story about Esther HIPS marriage,
and not only believed it herself, but
made it fit in so nicely with the few I'M
questionable facts that were known to
them that both Gabrielle and Aunt SUI
san believed it too: and indeed it was
plausible and natural story enough;
only Extraordinarily for the truth of it
it was founded upon the assumption
that Esther Hills husband had been a
scoundrel, and Esther Hills husband
had not been scoundrel by any means.
Mr.. Dunstan had chosen to reproach
her for her reserve, but yet even at the
time he did this Mr.. Dunstan had
known more about her than these three
women knew. He had watched her
more closely perhaps; he had made her
speak more to him too. He knew what
the others thought, for they had talked
about it all together on more than one
OCCASION; and one day when she was
story he was familiar with of an unhap-
by marriage, where the husband had i'll
treated his wife, and almost broken her
heart; and at the end of this tale, after
a moment or two's silence, he turned to
her. and said suddenly
Was that sort of thing your trouble
too?"
Miner" she exclaimed, with a look
and tone of surprise: and then-''Oh
mol" she said next instant earnestly and
quickly.
II thought perhaps your husband had
been bad MANI"
NO" she repeated again.
"Did he not treat you unkindly?"
"He was never unkind to me-" she
said. II have nothing to accuse him
of. He had nothing to do-at least, 1
mean," she added, faltering little
lit was not in his power to prevent
what had to BEAR"
Then what you had to bear was not
brought upon you by him?"
But when he asked this she gave a
strange look into his face,-a startled,
almost frightened look, and opened her
lips twice before she answered at last
ut came through him,-but he
couldn't help it."
HE did not bring it on you then de-
liberately?"
"No-certainly mott" she said eagerly.
This talk occurred one day just be-
fore Christmas. 1t was after that day
on which he had reproached her for
her want of confidence in him, and she
had taken his rebuke to heart, and had
been forcing herself since to speak with
something more approaching to frank
ness about herself and her former life.
She had fallen, as he had told her, into
such a bad habit of reserve that 1t was
not easy to break through it, but she
had at least honestly begun to try TO
break through it. She had been driven
by the great trouble she had gone
through into so morbid a state of feel
ing that, in nervous terror lest her Sc,
cret should be discovered, she had
her former life-have spoken freely.
"Let it all be forgotten" had been her
one unreasOning, passionate feeling;
"let me keep my lips fast shut, SO that l
NAV give no one any clew to find out
the TRUTH" and in her feverish desire
to do this she had at first been almost
blind to the fact that nothing was so
likely to rouse suspicion against her as
such determined silence. She could un-
derstand this now-now that the first ago
ny was over, and that the world had got
filled for her once more with something
else than her own dark figure; she could
see when he rebuked her that she had
not acted wisely, but that she had acted
like what in fact she had Deen,-a
scared and terrified woman.
She had been trying hard since he
had been angry with her to break
through her reserve, and to speak frank
ly of such parts of her life as she knew
she could with safety speak of, not only
to him but to the others; but perhaps
she had spoken of them most to him, or
he had made her do so most.
He had questioned her about her faith
er and mother, and had made her talk
to him about her old life at home when
she was girl, till she had almost grown
happy in telling him about it. There
had been no thorn in all that long past
home life,-no poison mingled with its
sunshine. He only asked her two ques-
lions in connection with it that she would
not answer; he once asked her fathers
name, and the parish where he had his
living, and at this the color went up to
her face, and she would not tell hi m.
do not be angry with me, but cam
not tell you that, " she said.
And then he did not press her. He
was very kind to her during these days,
with a soothing reassuring sort of kind
ness that healed the wound his rebuke
had made. lie had made her very deep
ly happy more than once flor, in spite
Of everything-in spite of her own will
in spite Of even passionate distress
when she was alone about their rela-
tions to one another, she still was often
happy when she was with him) before