San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-03-04

unwisely TO the handsome young doctor.
After his death, she made futile efforts for
her child's sake, but the grinding wheel
Of poverty caught the poor butterfly and
crushed her to death.
My poor, tender-hearted, unhappy moth
err! Well, the world is a cruel place to
these soft unprotected natures.
| should have Jared badly but for Aunt
Agatha; her hardly earned savings were
all spent on my education. She was a
clever, highly educated woman, and COM
manded good salaries, and out of this she
cOntrived to board and maintain me at a
school until she married, and Uncle
Keith promised that should share their
home.
| never could understand why Aunt
Agatha married him. Perhaps she was
tired of the drudgery of teaching; at forty
five one may grow little weary of ones
work Perhaps she wanted a home for
her old age, and was tired of warming
herself at other peoples fires, and pre-
ferred chimney corner of her own; but
strange to say, she always secuted these
two notions with the utmost indignation.
Il married your uncle, Merle" she
would say, with great dignity, 'beCause
he convinced me that he was the right
person for me to marry. have no more
idea than you how he COntrived to nstill
this notion into my head, for though am
plain body and never had any beauty, |
must own | liked tall, gOOd-looking men.
But there my dear, | lived fOrty-tive years
in the world without three things very
common in wOmen's lives-withOut beau
ty, without love. and without discomfort"
And in this last clause she was certainly
right. Aunt Agatha was the most con-
tented creature in the world.
If Uncle keith-fOr never, never would
call him Uncle Ezra, even had he asked
me as q personal favor to do sO-if Uncle
Keith had been rich, could have under
stood the marriage better being rather
mercenary and far-sighted young person,
but he had only very small income. He
was managing clerk in some mercantile
house, and. being thrifty soul, invested
all his spare cash instead of spending it.
Aunt -atha had lived in grand houses
all her life, but she WAS quite content with
the little cottage at Putney to which her
husband took her. They only kept one
servant; but Aunt Agatha proved herself
to be u notable hOusthecUer She arranged
and rearrangei the Old-fashiOned furni-
ture that had belonged to Uncle Keith's
mother until she had made quite charm
ing drawing but that was just her
way; she had clever brains and clever
fingers. and to manipulate old materials
into new fashions was just play-WOrk to
her.
But for me. | am perfectly convinced
that Aunt Agatha would have called her
self the happiest woman in the world, but
my discomfort leaveued the household. II
three people elect to live together, the
success OF the scheme demands that one
of the three should not smile sourly on all
occasions.
For two whole years tried to be anna
bic when Uncle Keith was in the room,
and at last gave up the attempt in de-
spair, baffied by my own cyiltempeT5, and
yet l will say l was not a bad tempered
girl. must have had good in me, or
Aunt Agatha would not nave been so fond
of me. | call that II real crucial test-oth-
er peoples fondnesS for us.
Why is it so difficult to get on with
some folk, very worthy people in their
way?
Why do some people invariably rub up
ones fur until it brstles WITH discomfort?
Why do these same thoroughly estimable
creatures bring a sort or moral east wind
with them, scarifying ones nerves? Sure
ly it is beneath the dignity of a human
being to be rasped by a harsh, drawing
voice, or offended by trifling mannerisms
Uncle Keith was just like one of my sums
you might add him up, subtract from
him, divide or multiply him, but he would
never come right in the end: one always
reckoned that he was more or less than he
was He was little, pale, washed-out-
looking man, with sandy hair and prOmi-
nent brown eyes. Being an old bachelor
when he married Aunt Agatha, he had
very precise, formal ways. and was me-
thOdicaI and punctual to a fault Next
to Uncle Keith, hated that whte-faced
watch of his. / hated the slow, ponder
GUS way in which he drew it from his
pocket, and produced it for my special
benefit.
have said that my detestation of Uncle
Keith was somewhat unreasonable. l
must own had no grave reasons for my
dislike. Uncle Keith had a good moral
character; he was a steady church-gOer,
was painstaking and abstemiOus; never
put himself III passion, OF, lnueeu, lOSt
his temper for minute; but how was a
girl to tolerate a man who spent five min
utes scraping his boots before he entered
his own door, whatever the weather might
be; who said, "Hir-rumph" (humph was
what he meanD before every sentence,
booming at one like a great bee who al
ways prefaced lecture with my DEAR"
who would not read a paper until it was
warmed; who would burn every cinder