San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-07-26
SINGLE SATURDAYS.

by the wonderful power of letters,
have walked through Rome in com
pany with q certain gentleman by tn,
name of Hare"
The fairy machinery which he EN-
ployed to convey me to the "eterna
city, is a square, corpulent volume o
rather formidable appearance anc
difficult to hold open. 1t bears the
legend upon its back "Hare's Walks
in Rome" and promises to the student
and lover of art, a satisfying fountain
of information.
One rises above any more longing
for q Summer trip" as they read
the wonderful accounts of buildings
reared and statues carved while our
own continent was all unknown.
We mix the tragedies of profane
history with the stories of the Christ
ian Saints.
One page we are told how Mes
salina was murdered on the fiagstOne
of the imperial garden and on the
next We are informed that the lean
ing wall in the Pincio garden
will never fall because an apostle de-
Tended it ages ago.
All hail! at any rate to Augustus
Hane for his graceful compil-
alton. Did it not require
some courage to put hims elf in
to literature as continually on the
move, a gentle ghost walking among
the ruins he described in the flesh be-
fore he promenaded peacefully out of
existence.
A friend has sent me the journal
of Marie Baskkirtseff.
/ have read some half dozen maya
zine articles On the subject to boot.
The book is pitiful IN all respects, but
it made me rejoice on n point, viz
that the spirit has moved SO few of our
young girls to write or publish jour-
nails.
1t fill me with satisfaction to see
the masculine honor and astonish-
ment over the record of this ill fated
maiden's life.
She was silly, poor thing and badly
raised, but by no means SO exception
ally placed as she imagined herself.
I,have known many gifted, wilful,
and filled with that intense brillinncy
and thirsts for life which so often fore
stalls an early death. They did not
put Oh paper the record of littleness,
selfishn sss, and cynicism, so
cratic as to border on hysteria-;
therefore the men that knew
and tended them did not dream OF
the existence of such qualities. 1t is
a tribute to feminine self control that
the book has awakened so loud q pro-
test, and a grave warning to men,
bers of her own sex not to 60 and do
likewise.
1t was said at the time of its publ
cation that Zola's "L' AssOmoir" was
the greatest temperance ermon yer
preached. May not the story of this
hapless damsel furnish us with two
full tiedged morals. Firstly: One
to keep our own counsel, or
only reveal our human weakness to
those friends near enough to love
us in spite of or even the better for
them; secondly to be careful of the
influence we throw about our chill
dren.
Children will imbibe the tone, good
or bad, of almost any atmosphere;
they will drain the poison of bad ex-
ample as soon as it is held to their
young lips-and it is a poison for
which no antidote has been found.
"What books are these under the
Journal"
All! yes; DeMusset and Beranger;
favorites of hers, no doubt.
"Where are the SHOWS OF autumn?
lou sout les neiges d'Autumn?)
sings De Musset, but in vain,
We know there were no SHOWS inTeXas
last Autumn, nor will there be any
this year. Sentiment and physical
geography must have a certain afin-
ity!
But Beranger, did he not fore
shadow the present mystical style of
poetry, if he stopped in his merry,
lucid singing to give us.the following:
81 love a dozen of lovers,
That come at my beck and call,
But you, who are not my lover,
You love me the best of all.
I honor your guarded friendship,
L honor your steady will,
But / feel through your splendid
courage,
The love that is t hrobbing still.
| You watch the others that WOO me,
Whenever they dare to come,
To tease, to torment, to sue me,
But only your lips are dumb.
And not for a million millions,
Not once for my W sad sake,
Must you turn aside from duty,
Not once must you bend or break.
I have no trust for the lovers,
That come at my beck and call,
But you who are not my lover,
/ trust you the most of all.
RERA GREGORY pREIAT