San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-07-27

voulez-vous?" Soml"ung OF THIS ST. /
did say to Lofty, who came to us with
her husband for a few days in August,
but they went away soon, thinking,
believe, that they didn't get enough of
each others society, though goodness
knows" l said to myself at the time, eff
they didn't want to racket about with US
they needed only to have said So"
But oh, how agreeable was my life!
If to be lacking several things, such as
rocs' eggs and private Pullman cars, and
a coronet, and company of soldiers to
ride about with you, is to fall short of
absolute happiness, then l was unhappy;
but if contentment is the test of hap
piness then was l happy to degree. l
deputed all my unattractive work, and
did well everything that wished to do;
and therein lies the true secret of happi-
ness, if you are only wise enough to wish
for the right thing Otherwise your
career will be cut short by Nemesis, who
will come down on you, just like the
fairy godmothers in the old fables.
But never became so paganized. /
spent my time in idleness, it is true; l left
undone most of the things that ought
| to have done, and did many things that
ought not to have done, and the rest of
my time was taken up in doing things
that made not much difference one way
| or the other. | entered with perfect
equanimity into discussions which only
| engaged the notice of my companions by
their doubtful character; l viewed with
| liberation the errors of some of my asso-
| ciates; indeed, / remember that when, on
one disastrous occasion, Penny, in COM
pany with good many other men, sue
cumbed to the effects of grand dinner
| was more amused than Mortified;
adopted several masculine habits and
ways of thought, and, in short, suppose
| came to think that there was no reason
why woman should be any better than
| a man, or entertain herself in any smaller
variety of ways.
In the pleasures of dress l was an cpl
cure of the first water. treated the va
rious members of my body almost as
seutient beings, and bestowed as much
thought ON stocking or a petticoat as
upon the skirt of ball dress. But l
never took baths of perfumed milk, for
instance, nor practiced any of the other
oriental Injuries in which many women
indulge themselves: and if was too lux
urious l was at least refined. AT any
rate, it is rather degrading to talk about
it, 1t is a great pity that we are not all
stirred solely by angelic emotions, and
all made of Dresden china.
OF course it was by gradual degrees
that arrived at such state of mind.
have endeavored to make that state of
mind entirely plain to the reader, and to
point out to her how insensibly l came to
adopt the opinions which then held. /
hope it will be borne in mind that the
little sketch which l am writing is in
tended to have a distinct moral. | am
now approaching its catastrophe, and
am anxious that my actions may not be
misunderstood. l do not wish to be
thought either too culpable or too inno-
cent Let no woman think that it would
be impossible for her moral sensibilities
to become as blunted as were mine; and
let no man conclude that my powers of
recuperation were still vigorous because
was not really as perverted as / make
myself out to be. Ny own opinion is
that just stopped in time.