San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-11-01


briellel OF course young George Gill
bert is remarkable young man--we all
know that; but as for taking it for
| granted before you have ever seen him
that he is ten times better than Mr..
Walkington-"
Il shouldn't wonder that he might be
| tlCenty times better, Aunt Susall I'll
| say twenty times, if you like. A man
might be that, and yet not be worth so
very much" said willful Gabrielle.
And the little dispute ended, as little
| disputes between these two often did,
| by one laughing, and the other in meek
helplessness shaking her head.
And so, in a certain sense, Gabrielle
may be said to have remained the vic
tor at the end of this discussion; but it
was a little notable that two days after
| this, when she happened for the first
time to see Mr.. Gilbert, her accomplish
| ment of that business seemed to fill her
with curious reserve, in so much that
she in no wise troubled herself to re-
peat, with the decision that would then
| have been more reasonable, nor indeed
to repeat at all, the assertion she bad
| so glibly made to-day respecting the ex-
tent of his superiority to Mr.. Wa king
| ton.
Indeed, to tell the truth, it so happen
| ed that her brief sight of him upon this
first occasion CHANGED not to be quite
| happily timed.
The Gilberts' cottage stood next door
| to Mrs. Coulson's, and the forge adjoin-
ed it. They were a pair of semi-detached
| houses, with their two doors side by
side, so that, if you walked up the gar
den path of one and the door Of the other
happened to be standing open. you had
almost of necessity view of that adj
jacent interior.
Gabrielle wanted to speak to Esther
! Hill one morning, and, going for that
| she passed up the little garden walk
she came into very close proximity to
the two Gilberts, father and son, who
CHANGED at the moment lit was about
eleven o'clock) to be engaged in the
satisfactory but homely business of dis
cussing an early lunch of bread and
| cheese and porter. The morning was
hot, and the blacksmith's son was sit
ting in his ShirtSleeveS, with his shirt
collar thrown open and pewter pot at
his lips. Moreover he was seated, not
after the customary manner of gentle
men, but on a corner of the kitchen
table, and upon his face was a, probably
unconscious, smear of SCOT, which,
caught somehow in the forge, had made
smudgy line across his forehead, and
half way down one cheek.
| Coming daintily in. her pretty light
colOred summer garments up the gar
den path, Gabrielle saw this grimy APP
| partition, and opened her eyes at it with
something OF start. us that George
Gilbert?" the girl thought. She had
been little disposed to make small
| harO nf tba ynrpn m, N y, Iuripy tbaco fu
last days since she had taken his part
against Mr.. Warrington, but l am
| afraid that the sight of the BACKED face,
and the pewter pot, and the seat made
| of the kitchen table, brought on asome-
what rapid and precipitate revulsion in
her mind. For it was one thing to inn
| agine a blacksmith'S son with refined
| soul aiding his father at his forge out
| of pure filial love and reverence, and an
other thing altogether to see a brawny
| Young man repOsing himself upon the
kitchen table after his forging labors,
| and apparently with no more thought
of his refined soul than the blacksmith
might have had himself) enjoying bread
and cheese and beer in his shirt-sleeves,
with a smudge across his face. He
| looked at Gabrielle too as she came
through the adjoining garden, and never
so much as relinquished the pewter pot
as his eye followed her up the path.
Old Gilbert pere saw her, and came for
ward from some inner part of the kitch-
Ell to touch his forelock to her at the
| house door; but the son las well as Ga
brielle could perceive behind the black
| smiths stalwart figure) stuck sturdily
| to the seat, and never budged an inch.
II saw George Gilbert just now as
| came in, II had thought he would
look good deal more like gentleman"
| Gabrielle said few minutes afterward
to Esther Hill.
'"Do you not think he is like gentle
man? / have only seen him two or
three times in the garden, but thought
| his appearance was very much in his
favor" Mrs. Hill answered.
| we'll don't know" said Gabrielle
obviously: and then she described in
rather vivid colors the picture that she
had seen as she came up the path.
"Of course there was no harm in what
| he was dOing,-Only somehow he looked
| as if it was all so natural to him. An
| ordinary gentleman might do the same
thing, but don't think he could posi-
| bly, look as much at home in doing 1t as
young Gilbert did," Gabrielle said.
POSSIBLY not; only l don't know that
says much against him." Mrs. Hill re-
piled indifferently.
And then the matter dropped; and
Gabrielle when she went home merely
said,-"I saw George Gilbert for mo-
ment as I went up to Mrs. Hills this
morning,-but / could only just glance
| at him; don't suppose should know
him again." And she did not utter
single word touching his manifest
superiority to Mr.. Warrington.
IL ,unc q fou dnrs after this that be-