San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-07-28

the fact that Penny had gone to Europe.
For the first time in my life | tasted
the bitterness of despair. Oh how
wretched was-mentally and physical
ly! If could only have arranged mat
tiers respectfully with Penny-if l could
only have presented myself to the world
as spouse at perfect accord with her
husband in spite of ali that had passed
If had only been in position to snub
the weakliRgs and defy the stroug-fer
aught l would have cared the whole
story might have been sounded through
out the length and breadth of the land
by brazen trumpets and published in
The London Truth as we'll! But as
things stood was at the mercy Of every
body in town. And it would have been
idle for me to suppose that nobody knew
what had happened.
OF course had not spoken to any one.
Bran Boullter and Capt. Brague had
been equally silent, was quiet sure, and
all the indications pointed to the conclu-
sion that Penny had departed in a fit of
rage without taking anybody into his
confidence.
But there is in society a breed of
| pointers who are as quick to detect an
incipient scandal and as true to indicate
its position as ever is the thoroughbred
to discover covey. Rmnors few about
as thick as snowfakes; some were absurd
| and none were absolutely correct-but
all connected the break between Penny
and myself with the Maennerchor, and
| most of them of course brought in poor
Capt. Brague. And the real culprit all
the time was Emma Naples! 1t was too
| aggravating.
"a good chance for Mrs. Charter to
keep Lentm people cried, ''she hasn't
done such thing for several years"
| Oh, how furious it made me to think how
all the idle old heads were bobbing and
the false old fronts bristling and the
venomous old tongues wagging! And
really my condition of mind might well
have been desperate. was ready to do
anything-I would have been obliged to
| anybody for any good practical sugges-
| tion-but really there was nothing to be
done. My real friends were very good
to me, however. They came to see me.
Lofty the first-she, dear girl, came on
the instant, and insisted on full conf
dence, and gave me counsel out of her
| own heart and never once told me what
| Mason said. Olive came, too, and Miss
Mayburn. They gave me my own time,
never abiding to the unfortunate state
of affairs.
| At first l could not talk it over with
them. / wanted action, as l say, and
| or md IN,
confidence. I don't know what Bran
thought. dare say he blamed himself
| terribly and was tortured by remorse,
but can't say thought much about
| him at the time. He sent me card the
day after the little affair with Forgive
me, and remember that l am at your
service" written OF it. But l tore it up
impatiently and threw it into the fire,
wondering what good he thought he
could do. Capt. Brague must have been
broken hearted. l know that Katy
Laugton-bless his good soul-was, to
use his own phrase, INTERNALLY broken
up about it," and instantly framed u
hundred wild plans for helping me,
which the superior good sense of Paddy
into execution.
But when | think of the behavior of
| Emma Naples! OF course she must
have known what had happened, though
don't believe Capt Brague told her
| anything directly. She knew that l had
| found out that it was for her that the
| captain had mistaken me-of that /
am certain; but she never once came
near me, Never did she bring me
the company that misery loves; never
looking at it in the most petty
light-did she attempt to crafty that
foolish little desire that | felt, that
every one feels-the desire to talk it all
over with some one who had had Il hand
in it-her wretchei selhshnesS bred in
her mean cowardice and pitiful fear
that would work on Eer feelings, and
make her tell my husband that it was
her fault! Goodness. She was mex
pressibly mean!
At any rate-how degrading it is to
speak of it-she need only have given
Penny the merest hint, the s. ghtest
word; and as for thinking that l would
have descended to asking her to do it!
| grant that she did not have much OPP
portunity to show her generosity, but
she did have one opportunity, from the
embracing of which she fed in wild
alarm. But degrade myself by speak
ing of her. And really am not gen
orally so violent, but cowardice l cannot
excuse, and, whatever may have been
my faults. never have been mean.
Such an cutlery rs the above, more
over, have never made before WAS
forced at the time to eat my sorrows and