San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-03-11


occurrence from her mind-it was an
noying certainly. but after all it was a
trife, not worth any great prodigality OF
thought or speech.
But Miss Cornelia could not see it in
that light at ALL In her circumscribed
life every incident was an event. and
when connected with herself an event
OF magnitude. So far from dislnissing
the evildoer from her thoughts as utterly
beneath wellbred contempt, she allowed
him to usurp considerable portion of
her mind and nearly her entire CONVEX
sation, until poor Mary, with her pa
thence worn to tatters, was forced
through sheer WEAKNESS and aggrava-
ton to constitute herself sort of cham
pion of the man for whom she had no
admiration and very little liking.
81 wonder where he comes from?~
pondered Miss Beverley, one day. using
no name to designate the subject of her
thoughts, since in aversion, as in love,
the object speedily attains the dignity Of
pronoun and becomes the sole repre-
sentative of a sex.
"Who, auntieY' questioned Mary alb
sently. her hands busy with torn
blouse. her thoughts with the contents
Of an old trunk of clothing Of her hus-
bands, from which she proposed to
evolve certain garments needed by her
children.
THAT odious Mr.. Anthony of course.
Who elsey replied the old lady, with in
dignation in her voice. "You never will
pay the faintest attention to me, Mary,
or listen to single word say. For all
the companionship have, | might just
as well live in hollow tree on the top
of the Blue Ridge as in this house. You
haven't an idea in your head beyond
those tiresome boys-their clothes, their
manners and their mending. You don't
care an atom for anything outside of
them and their concerns, and ought TO
be used to it by this time. My thoughts
and conversation are never worthy of
attention"
This was true, although not in the
way in which the resentful old lady
meant; her thoughts were commonplace,
and their expression about as worthy of
attention as the rafting of beans in an
empty gourd, and yet they met with
consideration often denied to better
things. Mary smiled placidly and broke
off another needleful of thread, leaving
her reprehensible motherhood unde-
Tended.
HE isn't gentleman, pursued Miss
Cornelia; anybody can see that with
half an eye. And If he was swaddled
- 10 -. IL
moonstones strung on every hair Of his
head and of his hideous brown beard be-
sides he wouldn't be one. | wonder
what family Of Anthonys he belongs tor
There are Anthonys in the southwestern
counties, connections of the Beverleys by
marriage. He doesn't belong to them,
know, because Judge Wilmer asked
him about it, meaning to trace out the
connection for him. Very officious in
the judge, must say, considering the
number of disagreeable kin people can
find without searching. The man de-
MED any relationship with the south
western Anthonys, however. There was
another set down in the lower counties,
quite ordinary people; went to school
with one of the girls in Richmond, and
detested her. She had red hair and
freckled skin and such hateful ways.
think he must belong to them"
Mary laughed. "He is western man,
auntie, or calls himself one," she said.
"He isn't" snapped Miss Cornelia,
land don't care what he calls himself.
He's southern man, know. and a Vir-
gilman, think; indeed, he owned as
much to Mr.. Meredith, the lawyer. He's
too familiar with the ways and the life
here to have come to Virginia for the
first time last month. Belinda, the wom-
an who does his cooking, told our Sophy
that the first morning she got out break
fast he called to her to make him an ash
cake and bake it with cabbage leaves
around it; said that he hadn't tasted one
baked that way since he was a boy.
Nobody raised outside Of the south
knows anything about wrapping corn
dough up in cabbage leaves and baking
it in the ashes"
Mary gave up the point of Mr.. Antho-
ny's western origin without contest.
There were other shibboleths besides an
affection for the ashcake of his boyhood
which forbade the idea Of his being a
stranger in strange land.
Miss Cornelis stared into the fire, lost
in thought. There was some mystery
about her enemys antecedents she felt
convinced, and she was determined to
unravel it, and if possible to his con-
fusion and overthrow. Her mind went
hunting about with its nose to the
ground like q hound on cold scent.