San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-10-17


Sybil; thank you for having listened to
me so patiently"
Not at all" answered Lady Belvoir
politely, lit has amused me very much
to listen to you, assure you"
With that she gave him her hand and
queer look which caused him to lower
his eyes hastily and the interview ter
minated
About an hour after this smartly
attired and complacent looking gentle
man of low stature stepped briskly up t.
the doorof Lady Belvoir's mansion and
inquired whether her ladyship was at
home. This gentleman was not unknown
to her ladyship's domestics, who may
have received instructions respecting
him, for he was at once admitted and
conducted upstairs. Mr.. Schneider had
perhaps no right to look complacent or
to feel hopeful; yet the world had gone
so remarkably well with him of late
that his self confidence. if illogical, was
not wholly unnatural.
During the summer and autumn he
had largely increased the number of his
| aristocratic acquaintance; he had had
| singularly successful racing season; he
had become member of parliament,
and he had looked into his affairs with
most satisfactory results. Finally, he
had been informed, through what had
| appeared to him to be an inspired chan
mel. that Lady Belvoir had arrived in
London. All these things caused him to
| believe that his star was in the ascendant,
and his heart beat high with joyous an
ticipation as he mounted the stairs with
which he had been so agreeably familiar
six months before.
Yet, after the lapse of barely half an
| hour, this fatorite of fortune might
have been seen retracing his steps with
a sadly crestfallen mien. AS he passed
out of the door he glanced suspiciously
at the servants to see whether they were
smiling; he actually forgot to smooth
his hat before putting it on. and he wan
dered off i'll an aimless way, as if he
neither knew nor cared whittier he was
| going-which was in truth the case.
Possibly it was unconscious cerebration
| that took him to club of which both
| he and Lord Guise were members; for
it is certain that of all people the last
\ whom he desired to see at that moment
was Lord Guise
Lord Guise, however, desired very
| much to see him, and it was Lord Guise's
| habit to take what he wanted He took
poor Schneider by the arm and led him
into an untenanted room. "Well, said
| he, what luck? Of course know where
you have been"
Its all up" answered Schneider
| gloomily: shell have nothing to say
| to me-.
Guise made an effort to conceal the
satisfaction which be felt, and evince
the sympathy which he did not feel 1t
was not a very successful one: but that
was of little consequence, for his friend
was not looking at him. lie said:
We'll, you see, Schneider, no woman
! likes to be cut. You would have done
better to go aoroad, like Thorold and
| Moreton."
"Oh, it wasn't that" answered
Schneider, gazing despondently at the
| carpet; "she knows l couldn't help my
self, and she said she quite understood
that it was all your doing-as of course
it was. No; the fact of the matter is
that there is some other fellow"
"Did she tell you that there was?"
asked Lord Guise quickly.
mot in so many words; but think
she meant me to take it that there was
somebody. She said-but after all l
don't know why should tell you what
she said; it wouldn't interest you"
Lord Cruise, however, was of opinion
that it would interest him greatly, and
Schneider was prevailed upon without
much difficulty to relate what had passed
between him and Lady Belvoir. 1t ap-
peared that she had been perfectly frank
with him. She had confessed that an in
creased income would be extremely well
come to her; that she was free from any
prejudice as regarded pedigree, and that
for him individually she had just about
as much regard as she had for most peo-
pie. Nevertheless, she found herself I'M
able to accept his offer.
Whatever ones convictions may be-"
she had told him, s'one can't alter ones
nature, and mine, unluckily, has faint
of romance in it which is apt to crop up
at the most announcement moments and
upset all my plans. Little as you might
suppose it to look at me, am just one of
those women who form foolish attach
ment and sacrifice everything to it."
"And then" observed Lord Guise,
you naturally wanted to know the
name of the man to whom she had be-