San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-07-06

den in wells of flowing white muslin. Be-
hind these again, one woman's slight
form arrayed in heavy mourning
garments; her veil was black,
yet not so thick but that | could
perceive the Sheeny glitter of
golden hair-that was my wife, | knew.
PiouS angel! how devOut she looked! l
smiled in dreary sCOrn as | watched her;
l cursed her afresh in the name of the
man / had killed. And above all, sur
rounded with the lustre of golden rays
and encrusted jewels, the uncovered
Host shone serenely like the CLEAN of
the morning star. The stately service
went On,-the organ music swept
through and through the church as
though il were a strong wind striving TO
set itself free,-but amid it all / sat as
one in a dark dream, scarcely seeing,
scarcely Observation-Disclosures and cold as
marble. The rich plaintiff voice of one
| Of the nun in the choir singing the Ag-
nus Del, moved me to a chill sort of
wonder. ''Qui TOLLS peccata mundi,s-
"Who takeSt away the sins of the
world" No, no! there are SOM sins
| that C mot be taken away-the sins of
faith IS women, the '~'little' sins as they
are called now-a-days;-fOr we have
gr Dwn very lenient In some things. and
| ,ery severe in Others. We will
..nprison the miserable wretch who
steals five francs from our pockets, bat
the cunning feminine thief who robs Us
Of our prestige, our name and our hon
Orable standing among our fellow-men,
escapes almost scot free; she cannot be
put in prison or sentenced TO hard labor
not she! A pity it is that Christ did not
leave us some injunction as TO what was
to be lone with such wOmen-nOt the
penitent Magdalene, but the creatures
whose mouths are full of lies even when
they pretend to pray-they who would
be capable Of trying TO tempt the priest
who comes to receive their last confessions
they who would even act out a sham
repentance Oh their death beds in order
to look well. What can be done with
devils such as these? Much has been
aid latterly of the wrongs perpe-
trated on women by men; will no
one take up the other side of the
question? We, the stronger sex,
are weak in this-we are too chivalrous.
When a woman filings herself on our
mercy, we spare her and are silent. Tor
lures will not wiring her secrets out of
us; something holds US back from betray-
ing her. / know not what it can be
perhaps it is the memory of our mothers.
Whatever it is, it is certain that many q
man allows himself to be disgraced rather
than he will disgrace a woman. But a
time is at hand when this foolish chiyalry
Of ours will die out. On changera tout
celia! When once our heavy masculine
brains shall have grasped the novel idea
that woman has by her own wish and
choice resigned all claim on our respect
or forbearanCe, w shall have our re-
yenge We are slow TO change the tradi-
tiOns of our forefathcrS, but no doubt we
shall soon manage TO quench sthe last
spark of knightlY reverence left in as for
the female sex, as this is evidently the
point the women desire to bring us to. We
shall meet them on that low platform of
the equality they seek for, and we
shall treat them with the unhesiLating
and regardless familiarity they so earn
eStly invitel
Absorbed in thought, l knew not when
the service ended. A hand touched me,
and looking up | saw Mere Marguerite,
who whispered
Follow me, if you please"
| rose and obeycd her mechanically.
Outside the chapel door she said
pray excuse me for hurrying you,
but strangers are not permitted to see
the nun ahd bOarders passing out"
| bowed, and walked on beside her.
Feeling forced to say something, l
asked
Have you many boarders at this hol-
iday season.
'Only fourteen she replied, ''and
they are children whose parents live far
away. Poor little Ones!' and the set
lines Of the nuns stern face Softened
into tenderness as she spoke. I'VE do
our best, to make them happy, but
naturally they feel lonely. Whe have
generally fifty or sixty young girls here,
besides the day scholars"
"A great responsibility" l remarked.
Very great indeed" and she sighed;
"almost terrible. So much of a wo-
mans after-life depends on the early
training she receives. We do all we can,
and yet in some cases our utmost efforts
are in vain; evil creeps in, we know not
bow,-some unsupported fault spoils a
character that we judged to be admira-
bic, and we are often disappointed in our
most promising pupils. Alas! there is
nothing entirely without blemish in this
world"
Thus talking, she showed me into .
small, comfortable looking room, lined
with books and softly carpeted.
This is one Of u libraries" she ex-
planned. THE Countess will receive you
here, as other visitors might dis
turb you in the drawing-room. Pardon
me-" and Der steady gaze had something
of compassion in it, but you do not
look well. Can l send you some wine?"
l declined this offer with many ex-
pressions of gratitude, and assured her
/ was perfectly well. She hesitated, and