San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-07-27
IN THE SWIM
Ethel Jones.
Herself.
The Storu
Reiatec
Press Association

DC CLLGCt-JE.NJS, 49, 10 IndC was re-
signed, though l could not help thinking
that it would be better if the feeling
were mutual. Still we We're together a
good deal, though Mr.. Latitude did say
Jhat we reminded him of two doves-in
different forests-and I'm sure it was
never said of me as it used to be of Mr..
Latitude's sweet tempered sister, that
my service had to be of plate because l
broke all my china over my husbands
head.
We used to have very jolly little even
ings toward the end of Lent and in the
early summer. A good many people used
to drop in quietly of an evening. Penny
got himself silver grill, and somewhere
or other picked up an abominable little
book, THE Bartender's Guide with
which he was highly pleased, and by the
aid of which he used to compound MKT
ures which, to give them their due, were
often nectareous. admit that the fam
lily next door to Us went away on &C
count of what they called our scandal
Gus behavior. AS they used to nearly kill
me by playing parlor organ at 9 o'clock
in the morning, l cannot say that felt
the blow particularly.
Our most frequent visitors were Mrs.
Jimmy Naples, Belmont Lascham, Jack
Newmarket and Capt. Brague. Bel
mont Lascham and Jack Newmarket
were great horsemen. They were for
ever talking on matters equestrian; they
belonged to innumerable hare and
hound clubs, hunts, meets, and so forth;
their calendar depended ON such great
feasts as the Baltimore races; when they
stood in my drawing room windows on
Sunday morning they criticised the
horses and not the people who passed;
and when there was nothing else going
on they ran about to country fairs, and
not unfrequently rode races themselves
at such places, by way of keeping their
hands in.
Of my old friends 1 saw very little.
Olive had become very religious after
the death of poor Willy Woodburn, who
killed himself while out shooting, and to
whom she had been engaged since they
were children, apd she now gave up her
whole time to sewing classes, Sunday
schools and other charitable employ
ments; and as for Lofty, she was too
much occupied with her approaching
marriage to think of anything else. The
only one of my old friends of whom l
saw anything was, curiously enough,
Bran Boullter. Bran appeared to me to
have changed good deal. He was by
no means so uniformly gay as he had
been. His humor was often wild and
little dangerous, and 1 noticed that he
was sometimes depressed.
Report said, moreover, that he drank
a good deal: myself had often seen
him with flushed face and tumbled hair
talking in an excited manner. Once or
twice l heard it whispered that some
girl had treated him very badly; but l
had no suspicion as to who it could be.
We were very good friends, but on &C
count of his changed temperament did
not take as much pleasure jim his society
as formerly had done, and rather pre-
ferred the jovial manner and careless
laugh of Capt. Brague. Then, too, Bran
made shift once or twice to get me to
sympathize with his Affections. One
afternoon | remember we had made up
a party to go out to our country house
and spend Sunday, agreeing, as Bran
had put it, that we would fly from the
dark and noisome byways of the city to
the green fields and the sunny cham
paign.
1t had been arranged that Bran should
drive me out in the dog cart, everybody
else going in the drag. Bran had been
so very delightful before the excursion,
making outrageous verses about seeking
for modest violets and quafing the froth-
ing vintage of the bovine, that l prom
ised myself very jolly time with him.
but as soon as we started | noticed that
his humor had changed. He scarcely
spoke at all as we drove up to the park,
and began to think | should have to
amuse myself with the scenery. Quite
contented with this idea, was leaning
little way from him and looking up
the wooded slopes of the Schuylkill, now
family green, when he suddenly turned
toward me and asked me rather abrupt
ly if | was not bored.
"Not at ALL" said l. "To tell you the
truth, was looking at the river, and
had almost forgotten your existence"
He turned away and flicked his whip
at the leader, who was dancing little;
then he looked at me very earnestly.
Mrs. Charter" said he, 81 am in
bad way. What ought a fellow to do
when he's in bad way
must say felt rather aggrieved at
first. Why should people have Attic
tons? Why could not everybody take
things easily, as did? l was willing to
be sorry for poor Bran, but what could