The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-03-29
CHAPTER III.


twas a genuine blue Monday for Hewson
Dorp. All night long That goddess in gray
cloth had led him captive up and down in
terminable avenues thrOnged with gor-
geuusly dressed and gayly DOnneted wO-
men, and at times when the beautiful figure
fitted out of sight, D0rp in desperation
dashed like a madman through the stately
crowd, scattering danes and damselS right
and left, like SO many bundles of straw. 1t
was terribly hard work chasing up the lady
in gray, and Dorm was halfincllned 10 agree
with Mrs Taggart that she was only phan-
tom after all.
He had promised Pensierosa to drop in
during the morning to see new boOk-c0ver
she was working on. and by the time he had
finished his breakfast and skinned the
morning paper il was time to start. He
walked with his sister to the corner where
they parted, she being bent upon the seri-
Gus business of inspecting Easter bonnets
and gowns. D0rp now began to be heartily
ashamed of himself. While it was guile
true that Mrs. Taggart did not promise to
make very satisfactory mOther-in-law, yet
in many respects Pensiprosa came quite UP
to his ideal of wife. She would be so safe,
so correct. so eminently respectable; color
less, possibly, like her gowns, but nature
had intended that the female should be
neutral in tone. 70 Hewson DOrp women
with pronounced ideas We're like children
with toy guns-there was no telling when or
in what direction they were going 10 shoot.
DOrp did not care for brilliancy in the
woman whom he should choose Tor wife.
A brilliant woman could no; in the nature
of things be a comfortable woman.
Hence, as Hewson DOrp walked along to-
ward Miss Iaggart's residence, he was
forced 10 admit in his own mind that Pen
sitrosa was in many respects an admirable
girl, and, as already stated, he felt ashamed
OF himself that he had permitted his
thoughts to be turned aside from her so
Il hi
with her, and as the first step necessary to
convince PenSierOSa that he had concluded
TO give up the chase of the phantom in gray
he halted and armed himself with bunch
of the yeiloweSt of yellow lilies.
Mrs. Ta%gart had entirely recovered her
wouted c0mpOsure and actually saluted
Dorp as My dear HewsOn," when she saw
him enter the rather threadbare and scantily
furnished drawing-roOm of the old Tasgart
residence, with the yellow lilies ut present
arms Pensierosa was radiant in her new
esthetic gown. and rising from her tab0uret
and laying aside her picturesque embroidery
frame, she received Mr.. HewsOn Dorp with
a warmth and an aplomb which fairly
startled him, 1t was not the Pensierosa he
had known, it was PensierOsa playing
part To Dorp's eye the little hand which
was cliuging TO his so much longer than it
had been accustomed to do was Pensierosa's,
but the extraordinary vigor It was suddenly
manifesting was Mrs. Taggart's.
If Mrs. Iaggart was bent upon getting rid
of this sutton she could not have hit upon a
plan more likely to prove successful. Al
though man with only one forefather
Hewson DOrp was a great stckler for the
properties. The one thing about PensierOSa
which had pleased him most of all was her
grlish modesty, her genuine tImidity, her
unaffected fear of him, and now to have her
cast this al aside and come at him like
hardened society girl. conversant with all
the ways aud wlleS If the accomplished CO.
Quette, who puts her whole nina and none
of her heart in her work, sent a cold shiver
down his back.
And the harder Pensierosa struggled to
fascinate him the more Indifferent he be-
came Thinking the fault hers she began
to Overac., and after constraining him to sit
down on a chair which she had drawn
about as close to her tabOuret as it was pos
sible to get it, she actually laid her pretty
little doll head against his shoulder, leaving
the print of her cheek in rice powder on his
coat sleeve. Dorp was furious. At first he
didn't know whether he should brush it off
or summon Mrs. Taggart. and exclaim, as
he drew her attention TO his coat sleeve
where the rice powder had flecked it,
See, madam, what you have donel This
is infamousi TIE woman who Will dust her
cheeks to give them beauty which they do
not possess will throw dust into her hus-
bands eyesW But lie did nothing of the