New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-03-27

|
the Holy Church close as you see tneni nun
remember wCl tie wedding, Tor was . ,o '"as
man then. It W9r giand. IGr D ~ an "r women
| rio mos, beautiful You can see that now.
senior. aud though at the wedding ne wol nnni
whispered and the men smiled, e|erN.nihg not Of
we'll some said that the marriage was not U!
| lovc and that il was Don RamOn's wealth. thaO
brought it about But what of that? Al' ,,ir,'
month or two love often grows 10 DC al oiu s'orS
| Ones entire life is a long tme 10 sPehu III w II
| love-aflair but with money II Is Inherent
| nevnr crows old Don Ramon was not Of our
| people lie had come from the south YEAR, uc
! forc and had crown rich in the mining OF silver
| lie was older than Mercedes, who was born heIe.
| Not many, but some years OLDER perhHe oo
or fifteen but still a Young man ana rlcli o"c'
lie knew Mercedes when she was very So" ngI,
a child-and knew her people. She was an OILY Ply
child That Old gray-halied man teI to W. iio him
father. and her mother is that woman peSlde M,
| at the right lhat u the way they sla!iu at
the altar, and, when they come here we P onC
them in the same way INIT e ramcmbsr it and
! stand them together And sometimes inc ohc
who is left marrics again, and then We STAND 'ie
three tosether to wat nn as Tie S"pI knows how
such will settle 1t Them senior IL Is hO' '''
affair. 49,
Yes, yes: / had forgotten Well, the wedding
was a grand affair. Everybody was there Tor
Don Ramon was rich and Mercedes 1atner had
| been a great man. Ills was an old family, anu
| had he kept but tenth of the money tiiaI hls
| father had left him, the marriage would meyer
| lave taken place, for, with all his Weaith, D9l
Ramon a son of hoDody-Just one OF the pe0Pc'
| When he first commenced TO make love to Mer-
ccdcs everybody laughed at the thought that she
would marry him, for she had another , ,pOerb
Don Carlos Martinez. No. he is not here, though
lis fathers are for many years back. FOR aughV
| know he is still alive.
After the wedding everything seemed 10 go
well. and Don Ramon gave his wife everything
She desired. But il did not make the love come
She was still the most beautiful OF all our women
and nothing was complete without her. At hrst.
/ Ian
husband should for you know how all men follow
after q woman that is beautiful. But she was
attention to lis mines and their silver than ne
did to Dona Mercedes. He was older, and with
age the love for women grows less ana the WISH
for money stronger. Not that Don Ramon ceased
to love his wife, for never was there such devoted
husband: but she was of jente iino. and how could
she care for man VINO haa m1nue
As time went they seemed TO grow apart, untll
people noticed it but still everything seemed 10
| he well until Don Carlos Martinez returned. lie
was in the army, and was commandante here. lie
was handsome man, and many were the women
VINO admired him. For awhile he and Dona
| Mercedes avoided each other as If unwilling 10
meet People said that they had quarclled, and
| that Mercedes had married Don Ramon In re-
venge. Others said that he had gone away 10
avoid marrying her on account OF her poverty, as
his father would not consent TO his marrying one
so poor Quien sahe ? Life is n singular thing
when get 10 making love. :, r,.
After awhile, though, II all changed. Ihey
were always together Not as lovers. senior
but you know what / mean. When a woman
is married one must be discreet B1 a PsCpf
| Don Ramon. He knew nothing but went on
mining for the silver But such things must end
some time-and 50 it was with this. 1t was one
evening when there was grand ball al the
| Preside on the bi1 where you can still see
the flag flying. There was revolution in the
South, and the soldiers were going away, and
not want to go; but that makes no difference
here Everybody was at the ball except Don
|
such matters You know how il is. senior. When
a man is only one of the people il is hard for
| him 10 feel at home with the great ones OF me
earth-evcn if his wife is one OF them Not that
| Don Ramon not good enough, for q better
man 10 the church never lived. while OF hu the
peones who labored in the mines, his were the
most envied, so well did he treat them. And
then, too they said that be had not been informed
OF the ball, for it was sudden afair-arranged
in day or two after The soldiers had received
their marching orders. Every one thought that.
as usual, he was at his mines working for the
silver OF all the women who were, present.
bona Mercedes was the most beautiful. Men
said afterward she had never looked so beautiful
Through all the evening she seemed never to
grow weary of Don Carlos; and when she left for
She lived right below the Presidio-n that old
house which has such fine gdrden Yes, you
know, it. Truly king might live there with.
out shame. Don Ramon seemed 10 care only for
silver in order 10 spend II in gratifying his wlfcs
wishes. Since that night though, no one has
ever lived in that house. People say that there
THAT night, senior, when Dona Mercedes went
her The old porter. who slept in the patio, said
il had never happened before. He was an old
servant who hal nqrse1 Dono n, Merce anG
had come with her from her fathera
house when she married. What, could he DO
senior? BESIDES, he was only an Indian-an I'M
| reasoning bcing-not of the geHte de razon. How
| long Don Carlos and Dona Mercedes were in that
room together before the husband came, the IN
dian never told-not even 70 the priest, who
shrived him after he vas cnt 10 death while Try
| ing 10 warn them But II could not have been
long, for in the morning Mercedes still wore The
white dress she had worn at the ball, some Of the
| flowers were still in her hair and the slippers that
you see there senior, were still on her feet. Don
| Ramon must have followed the old man right into
his wifes room, stabbing him at every step. for
when the porter fell it was into the door mat
the two in the had half opened in their alarm
the noise. and then across his body stepped Don
| Ramon. NOu know what our rooms are senior.
| How the windows are barred, much like prison
When you caught there, it is simply kill or be
killed, for You cannot fly, but Don Carlos was not
of the fighting kind Even If he were, be had no
arms, and when he saw the husband, all that he
did was TO beg for mercy, while Dona Mercedes
herself only asking that her lover be spared, Of
fering her life for his. The old Indian told this
He lived long enough to tell what happened and
all we know came from him: but he told it truth
fully as tells dying who knows that death
Is near. Lying in the hslfopcncd door, he could
do nothing but watch and remember what he saw
| IL Is his Story l tcll YOU lie SIh tItt ilIouIH
il all Dona Merccdcs's prayer was only for the
life Of her lover, and when her husband told hcI
in his rage at her r"rdy it should be So she never
flinched but only asked him to swear by the
Holy Virgin that hers should be the only life
taken.
"You know what rintas arc, senor-Of good
strong rawhide, with running loop hard and knot
ted With one you can whip the life out OF
man or drag him until nothing is left. In this
room was one that some fancy Of Mercedes had
brought there. Probably 10 lower letter out q
her window Who knows? Women have used
them for that before Well, Don Ramon took thai
RATA and, throwing it 10 Don Carlos, told him, il
he wished to live, to put the loop around Mer
cedess neck For n moment Don Carlos stood as
if choosing death instead, while Mercedes urged
him to save his life regardless of hers. They say
that the old Indian, even when dying, spat q