San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-01-18

eHerVescence or the cup or pleasure up
to the proper sparkle.
At late-a very late-breakfast, the
morning after the Shirley ball, the
Smiths were assembled, with the excep-
ton of Blanche, who had entreated to be
left undisturbed, since she must sleep or
die, and Percival, who had breakfasted
sketchily ON scraps and confectionery
hours before, was away in the woods
with his gun.
The mail, always deposited in little
heap beside the generals plate, had been
distributed. There was very little-two,
newspapers, couple of letters for Nesbit
Thorne, and one for Norma from a New
York friend, claiming\a promised visit
and OVERLOOKING with gossip and news
of Gotham, full Of personalities also,
and faint ladylike suspicion of wicked
Mesa racy, entertaining letter. The
writer, a Mrs. Vincent, was Norma's
most intimate friend, and she often sac
rificed an hour of her valuable time to
the amusement of the girl, whom she
felt convinced was bored to death down
in that country desert. The letter in
question was unusually diffuse, for Mrs.
Vincent was keeping her room with q
heavy cold, and had herself to amuse as
well as Norma. Norma read scraps of
it aloud for the edification of her mother
and the young men; the general, with
his nose in his paper, let the tide Of gossip
pass.
Thorne, after comprehensive glance
at his own correspondence, slipped his
letters quietly into his pocket, and gave
his best attention to his cousins. He
had a rooted objection to reading even
indifferent letters under scrutiny, and
these he felt convinced were not indif-
ferent; for one was addressed in the
handsome large hand of his wife, and
the writing on the other was unknown
to HINT had legal aspect. They
were letters whose perusal might prove
unpleasant; so Thorne postponed it.
There is an old adage relative to
thoughts of the power of darkness being
invariably followed by the appearance of
his emissaries, and although Mrs.
Thorne was far from being the devil, or
her letter one of his imps, the arrival of
the one, so promptly upon the heels of
thoughts of the other, was singular; her
husband felt it so.
Mamma" observed Norma, glancing
up from her letter, "Kate says that
Cecil Cumberland is engaged, or going
to be engaged, can't exactly make on,
which. Kate words it a little ambigu-
ously; at all events there appears to be
considerable talk about it. Kate writes:
Cecil looks radiantly worried and sulkily
important. His family are ranged in
solid phalanx of indignant opposition,
which of course clinches the affair
firmly. Eva Cumberland was here this
morning in a white heat of passion over
it, and believe apoplexy or hydro
phobia is imminent for the old lady.
The fact of Mrs. - Norma's voice
trailed off into an unintelligible MUIR
muir, and she read on silently.
"Mrs. who, my dear?" questioned her
mother, with lively interest. "Is Cecil
going to marry an Objectionable widow
"Wait moment, mamma. Kate
writes so indistinctly, I'll be able to tell
you presently" there was shade of re-
serve perceptible in Norma's voice.
"But why do the family oppose it?"
persisted Mrs. Smith. A warning look
from her daughter admonished her to
let the matter rest; that there were facts
connected with Mr.. Cumberland's mar
riage, the investigation and discussion
of which had better be postponed. Mrs.
Smiths tongue burned with inquiries,
but she bravely held them back and
sought to produce diversion by idle
conjectures about Percival. .....
Norma parried the curiosity of the
others adroitly, and declining any more
breakfast betook herself and her letter to
the back parlor, where she drew deep
armchair to the fire ard settled herself
comfortably to re-peruse that portion of
her friends epistle which related to Cecil
Cumberland's affairs
Thorne presently followed her and es-
tablished himself opposite. He was great
friends with Norma; once, in the days
before his marriage, there had appeared
likelihood of their becoming more than
friends. All that had been forgotten by
the man; the woman's memory was more
tenacious. They were wonderfully good
friends still, these two; they never wor-
ried or Jared on each other.
Thorne, having no special desire to
read his own letters, lighted cigar,
stirred the fire to glorious blaze and
waxed conversational. The theme he
selected for discussion was the topic in
PRODUCED and interdicted at the break
fast table few moments previously
the debatable engagement of their New
York acquaintance. On this subject he