San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1893-05-20

town as the vanishing point in the per.
spective of an inglorious past With
what lofty smile should have received
the hint that the dark eyed little girl
whom | had left to tie her roses alone
might one day amply avenge all my
Sights!
II concealed my bOyish delight in life
Lpuer the most pronounced and classic
'indifferentism, and | wonder even now
how ever my mother could put up with
me. My old friends laughed at my airs
and my reformed accent, secretly dislik-
ing and envying me. naturally found
it much pleasanter to spend my vaca.
tions in the soothing atmosphere of be-
ings like myself, after brief visit to lay
mother.
During these occasions l saw Mar
garet only once or twice, and always
carried away the disturbing impression
that she was in no way impressed either
by my superior manners or talents. This
was slightly annoying, as she was far
and away prettier than any girl of my
acquaintance, east or west. To be sure,
l had made her blush-such an exquisite
red-but it was with vexation. Upon
my first departure we had written one
another quite regularly, but about the
middle of my first year | received let
ter from her, in which she professed
humbly to believe that her western ways
We're but burden to such an exalted
being as | had become-and wrote no
more. Her letters were so fresh and in
dividual that | missed them, but was
fatuOus enough to accept her silence as
a simple hearted tribute to my worth.
say, Sawyer, when a man is a fool how
many different ways he finds to show itr'
"Or when he is in lover added Saw
yer ruefully.
enough. Along the last months of the
year had caught winged words here
and there regarding some not impos-
sible she, spending year in Boston,
who had become creator of contention
between various givers of college
course not interested. Would this she
accept one or all of the invitations show
cred upon her? Would she like Van
Rensselaers rooms best, filled as they
were with old colonial furniture and
silver, or would she prefer to linger at
Tarrey's, in purely Bohemian atmos-
phere, with boxing gloves and burrings3
The affair promised to be interesting,
and | was bent upon being a witness
possibly myself not wholly unnoticed.
1t was therefore with very bad grace
that read in letter from my mother
that Margaret Burton was in Boston,
and asking me to see that she was suit
ably initiated into the preciousness Of
things Hawaiian. And yet was
piQued enough when in answer to my
formal note-l had dispensed with the
needful call received a closely worded
little note saying that she had already
accepted for spreads at Weeds and
HalwOrthy had of course supposed
that she knew nobody, and had been by
no means averse to act the modern
mentor to fair Telemacha. OF course
you've guessed the end. Even an expert
detective would have a clew by this.
But | was as unsuspicious as only a
fOregone conclusion can make one, and
when sauntered into Whites rooms at
Halworthy and saw Margaret sur
rounded by the superlatives, as we
call them, smiling, gracious, witty and
wholly at ease, | was dumfounded,
overcome, ecrase. Whether it was that
my nativity spoke for me, or as think
now, from pure womanly kindness, Mar
garet neither scorned me, as | deserved,
nor frOze me, as she well knew how.
She gave me her hand in its long yellow
glove, made place beside her, and then
seemed to quite forget me.
1--WE made lengthy preamble, but
the denOuement is at hand. Suffice it
that the next year | was her slavish
shadow. | climbed awkwardly down
ont of the rarefed air of my superiority,
content to be in the same world with
her. She perhaps suspected the truth
of one of my own epigrams-that it Is
only an unrequited love that makes a
man good and keeps him humble. She
was sweet and frank and charming, but
she had no bushes to hide from me.
There were no quarrels to make up, and
while got as many smiles as the rest
and the rest were many and ardent
was never given confidence nor made
trembling witness of tear.
Wherever Margaret went followed,
usually on later train, as | was always
forbidden if stated my intentions.
Now comes the crisis, modestly dra-
matte! Margaret had gone to Nara
gansett for a week. After two days |
found the town unexpectedly hot, and
getting off late arrived at the hotel
about II o'clock. There was dancing