San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-11-12

been only too happy to have forced up
on him, could have afforded, If he had
chosen, to live in a better way than he
did, only that he and his wife had never
cared to live in better way. They
were thrifty people, who liked better to
put by what they could save against
rainy day. 1--WE don't know but what
George may want it yet" they used to
Say-a vague suSpicion-proud as he
was of his sOn-alwayS lingering in the
blackSmith'S mind that engineering,
though an honorable craft, was on the
whole not to be relied upon with conf
dence for q. maintenance, as smiths
work was. The world might get on with
out engineers, the blacksmith shrewdly
thought, but it must have a blacksmith
in every village.
So he chose to live frugally. and lay
by his extra pounds; but yet the little
household was anything but poor or
sordid one. The garden was always
trim, and in summer bright with flowers;
within doors everything was solid and
comfortable. The parlor even boosted
its little evidences of taste,-a pretty
carpet on the floor, some fairly good
prints upon the walls, ornaments on the
mantelpiece a little superior to china
shepherdesses. Mrs. Gilbert was proud
of her parlOr, and spent many an hour
over the adornment of it. She had be-
gun to use it daily this winter, not with
out some natural scruples, which show
ed themselves especially in dislike to
disarrange the chairs, and suspicion
of the rectitude of much sitting on the
sofa; but these little uneasinesses were
only manifested when she was in the
room alone; when Gabrielle came to
see her they vanished, and gave place
to a pleasant feeling of gentle pride as
she wheeled one of her chintZ-cOvered
arm-chairS to the fire. and installed her
guest within its comfortable depths.
Eyes, they're nice chairs. | bought
them when first set up housekeeping,
ones best" she would tell Gabrielle.
i've been used to a Windsor chair, my
dear, for thirty years" So she always
sat in her Windsor chair, with her knit
ting in her hands: while Gabrielle, in the
seat of honor, made out pictures in the
fire, and, in her idle way, listened while
the other talked.
Mrs. Gilbert was a great talker. Il
never knit as fast as when I'm talking"
she would say to Gabrielle. That
seems funny to you, don't it?-but when
my tongue goes my fingers go too. And
Pm fond of talking-I know that.
You've got all your own share of lik
ing for it, mother, and mine too"
George says to me sometimes. But
George was always such quiet lad
don't know where he gets his quietneSs
from. He'll sit over there and never
open his lipS-nOt for hours together.
| call to him Have you
fallen asleep, GeOrge?"-just to get
word out of him. But l know he's
never asleep-it's just his way, bless
him! He would read book, if you'd
let him. from the time the sun rose till
it's down again, and hardly take bit or
sup the while either. That's just the
difference in peoples ways, you see;
but he's good, if he's queer; he's right
good!" she would say And then, after
some such eXOrdium as this, it would
happen often that for the next half
hour to come Mrs. Gilbert would go on
talking of her son.
Perhaps Gabrielle was tired of hear
ing about him sometimes, but if she
was she never showed her WEAKNESS.
She used to listen with wonderful pa
thence and placidity to details that it
was scarcely possible could interest her,
concerning the youthful years and
juvenile exploits of this young hero; she
would put questions to the old lady,
and lead her to talk more and more, in
the most goOd-natured way; she even
one afternoon got her eyes filled with
tears almost to overlooking as Mrs. Gill
bert related to her how once in his tif-
teenth year her boy had caught fever
and almost died of it; and it was that
nrt vI,,, cl, 70
take leave, that the girl, from some
sudden impulse, bent over Mrs. Gil
bert'S chair for the first time and kissed
her.
This kiss completed her victory over
the heart of the blacksmith wife.
My dear, love that young thing!'
she exclaimed to her son an hour after
ward. Il don't know what there is
about her, but she just makes me that
I'd do anything in the world for her"
And then she told him, little to his
surprise, about Gabrielle'S kiss.
This was a fortnight ago, and during
this laSt-fOrtnight Mr.. Gilbert had not
seen much of Gabrielle; perhaps by this
time, for other reasons than his first
one, he was once more becoming shy Of
going often to WreXham. He had be-
gun to say plainly to himself that no
good could come of doing it, but rather
the reverse of good. But yet, perhaps,
upon him too, on this evening when,
after a weeks absence, he had come
again to the house and had hardly spok-
en- TO her. there had fallen an invOlun-
tary sense of disappointment and vague
dissatisfaction, as, side by side with
Mr.. Warrington at the close of it, he
had betaken himself home again.
Possibly, too, event the cOmpaniOnship
of the young clergyman had scarcely |
proved. as soothing as such reverent |
cOmpanionship ought to had done. To |