San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-07-23

a. StIlSlDlC huCoIlOll lllGIt was OILY OIlo
answer. 1t was pleasant enough to read
Shakespeare in Lotty's little class, but it
would have been ten times more fun to
have read some of the delightful French
plays that l Skinned with one eye at the
library when no one was looking, and a
hundred times more fun to have acted
something. AS it was few of us could
make pretensiOns to reading well. Never
shall forget Mr.. Charter moaning out
in lugubrious tones
The big drops cursed one another down his
innocent nose.
The mistakes, to be sure, were the
most amusing part of the whole affair.
One of our men never swore. and he
consequently insisted on leaving out
every word which in his opinion remote
ly resembled an objurgation-the conse-
quence of this being that most remark
able gaps were sometimes left in the
conversation. Then the marking of the
books-of course we always used stage
editions-was productive of some very
funny blunders, because it was generally
done by the girls, instead of by the men.
One girl, remember, struck out all that
Sir Andrew in Twelfth Night says about
"the Vapians passing the Equinoctial of
Queubus," because she was sure that it
was improper: and another hesitated over
Jacques "Ducdame," till she looked
lower down and found that twas "a
Greek invocation to call fools into a
circle" The casting, by the way, was
always unsatisfactory. If on one night,
for instance, Lefty Risquict read Viola,
the next night some one else had to have
Rosalind; yet Lefty was the only girl
who read a heroine decently. Then,
when Milly Mortmain took Beatrice, it
was impossible for Mr.. Temple, who al
ways read the lover, to have Benedick,
because it was generally rumored that
they had once been engaged, before she
came out, and that the families had
broken it off.
Yes, was beginning to forget that
only short time before my great and
single aim had been to establish myself
firmly. | actually found myself out of
humOr at several parties because l felt
continually an imaginary restraint OPP
pressing me. How did my first assembly
go off, indeed? Bran Boullter, bless him,
had my name put on the sacred list of
subscribers entirely of his own accord
and before any one consulted him on the
subject. ] waited for the second assem-
bly, with Lofty and the other buds and
shared with them the fever of excite
ment that always precedes that impor-
tant event. We talked it over among
ourselves early and late-recounted the
experiences of the older girls, speculated
as to the probability of getting partners!
all the famous traditions were revived
for us and all the old stories retold
We heard of the great year when
nearly a hundred men of the most ideal
elegance came on from the other cities
and when for three days there were part
ners enough to satisfy even the wall
flowers; of the famous assembly when,
because Mrs. CTocu5 Slowjlrop had thir-
ty-Swo bD, IS al Violet Iorning-
glory only JIiyty-32' Morris Japonica
rushed ont into a diving snow storm
and returned at l.; might With two
bouqut.s. which he preserved to Violet,
which lrgoof Of devotion it WAS. accord
ing to cUmnl1I aCcOC2t, thai finished
h,r and woI hill his triumph; Of the sad
assembly. wheu lie news CG.un Of Patty
Calqua's clOpement. add ali iAa men VINO
Were in love with h.. " 'rc 80 miinrable
that tIay would sp,:,; t. nJ1oIy-our
interest deepenel and oar excitement
grew "J We listened nos Cuiy 20 these
tales, but to tales of awful discoveries
and dire accidents, of great success and
woeful failures-tales that grow into
traditions, traditions that ripen into ar
ticles of faith.
remember saying in the heat of dis
cussiOn that if had no engagements at
all, | should be afraid to enter the room;
but as, at the time, | was engaged for
the german and two waltZes, | fancy
that must have been viewing tlH sub
iect from that standpoint of sentiment,
rather than Of reason. was especially
fortunate in being so well thought Of.
Nv waltzes We're with Bran Boullter and
Mr.. Charter, and | had to promise the
german to Mr.. Hall. Bran asked me for
his waltz very early in the season. be-
fore l knew whether | was going or not,
and nearly took my breath away; and
Mr.. Hall was quite carly. too, engaging
me for the german. But donot wonder
that men often do not ask girls to dance
before the evening of the ball, for every
engagement means Il bouquet and not
all the men in society are able to afford
more than one compliment of that nature
at assembly time, by any means.
We never thought of that when we
were buds, of course, and remember
that most young girls considered it quite
mean for men to go to the assemblies on