San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-06-17

the hour of your train; and
nv carriage shall meet you
at the station. The dinner-hOur can be
fixed 10 suit your convenience of course:
what say you to eight o'clock? After
dinner you can betake yourself to the
Villa ROmani when you please-your
enjoyment of the lady's surprise and
rapture will be the more keen for hav-
ing been slightly delayed. Trusting you
will not refuse to crafty an on old mans
within, l am
yours for the time being,
CEsARE OLIVIA"
This epistle finished and written in
the Grabbed disguised penmanship it was
part of my business to affect. | folded,
sealed and addressed it, and summoning
Vincenzo, babe him post it Immediately.
AS soon as he had gone on this errand, l
sat down to my as yet untasted break
fast and made some effort to eat as
usual. But my thoughts were too &C
tive for Appetite counted on my fin
fiers the days-there were four, only
four, between me and-what? One
thing was certain-I must see my wife,
or, rather, l should say my betrothed-l
must see her that very day. | then be-
gan to consider how my courtship had
progressed since that evening when she
declared she loved me. l had seen her
frequently, though not daily; her be-
haviOr had been by turns atfectionate,
adoring, timid, gracious, and once or
twice passionately loving, though the
latter impulse in her / had always coldly
checked. For, though | could bear
great deal, any outburst of sham senti-
ment on her part sickened and filled me
with such utter loathing that often when
she was more than usually tender l
dreaded lest my pent-up wrath should
break loose and impel me to kill her
swiftly and suddenly, as one brushes the
head of a poisonous adder-an all-too-
merciful death for such as she. pre-
ferred ID WOO her by gifts alone-and
her hands were always ready to take
whatever / or others chose to offer
her. From rare jewel to a COM
mon flower she never refused
anything-her strongest passions were
vanity and avarice. Sparkling gems
from the pilfered store of Carmelo Neri,
-trinkets which / had especially de-
signed for her,-lace, rich embroideries,
bouquets of dollhouse blossoms, gilded
boxes of costly sweets-nothing came
amiss to her-she accepted all with a
certain covetous glee which she was at
no pains to hide from me-nay, she made
it rather evident that she expected such
things as her right.
And after all, what did it matter to
me? thought-of what value was any
thing possessed save to assist me in
carrying out the punishment | had de-
g.. L.. I.,s ,,.I,
critical coldness-I saw its inbred vice
artfully concealed beneath the affecJa-
ton of virtue-every day she sank lower
in my eyes, and wondered
vag uely how / could ever have loved SO
coarse and common a thing! Lovly she
certainly was,-lovely too are many of
the wretched outcasts who sell them
selves in the streets for gold, and who in
spite of their criminal trade are less vile
than such woman as the one / had
welded. Mere beauty of face and form
can be bought as easily as one buys a
fower,-but the loyal heart, the pure
soul, the lofty intelligence which can
make of woman an angel-these are I'M
purchasable ware, and seldom fall to the
lot of man. For beauty, though so per-
ishable, is a snare to US all--it maddcnS
our blood in spite Of ourselves, .
we men are made so. How was it that /,
even /, who now loathed the creature |
once lovcd,-could not look upon her
physical lOveliness without o foolish
thrill of passion awaking within me-
passion that had something Of the
murderous in Admiration that was al.
most brutal-feelings which | could not
control though l despiSed myself for
them while they lasted! There. is d
! weak point in the strongest of us, and
! wicked women know well where we are
most vulnerable. One dainty pin-pricB
| well aimed, and all the barriers of eau.
ton and reserve are broken down-wt
| are ready TO fling away our souls for d
smile or kiss. Surely at the last day
| when we are judged,-and maybe con
| demned,-w can make our last excuse
| to the Creator in the words of the first
misguided man:
| THE woman whom thou gavest TO bt
| with me,-she tempted me, and | die
eat!''
| lost no time that day in going to the
| Villa Romani. | drove there in my car
rage, taking with me the usual love
! offering in the shape of a large gideC
osier- basket full Of white viOleCS. Thei
delicious odOur reminded me of that MAJ
morning when Stella was born,-and then
quickly there flashed into my mind the
words spoken byGuidoFerrari at the time.
How mysterious they had seemed TO
me then, how clear their meaning now
On arriving at the Villa l found my
tiancie in her own boudoir, attired in
morning deshabille, if trailing robe OF
white cashmere trimmed with Mechlin
lace and swansdown can be considered
deshabille. Her rich hair hung loosely
on her shoulders, and she was seated in
a velvet easy chair before a small spark.
ling wood fire reading. Her attitude