San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1894-07-05
ON THE LoITER.
AT HOLLOW DIRGE CREEK.


There was no question about il
at all, but that it was going to be
an endless whirl of unalloyed
pleasure, commonly called grand
time, that the amiable family oil
Mrs. Priscilla Smith and the equal
ly amiable family of Mrs. Lucinda
Jones were going to have out OF
their joint visit to the "just too
lovely" family of Mrs. Gladys
White, out on Hollow Dirge Creek.
1t was to be love feast of at least
six weeks duration. The begin
ming of the visit was as sweet and
charming as anyone could wish,
then, however, an ineXplicable cool
ness sprang up in every quar-
ter. The Smiths held omin-
Gus, half whispered conversations
in their rooms. The Joneses did
likewise, while the White family
waxed quite warm in their little
private councils, which they held
just as soon as the Smiths and
Joneses had cotton out of distance.
This puzzling GOODNESS, have no
doubt, led later on to the collapse
of the already luke warm intente
cordial maintained by the three
families, and which, do much
fear, will never completely heal, or
if it does, will leave a large and
ugly scar.
1t would have done your heart
good, could you have witnessed the
welcome, the honeyed words, the
embraces and the kisses that were
exchanged between the hospitable
White family and their visit
Ors the Joneses and the
Smiths. For three days
and four nights the pleasure was
royal and unalloyed. The children
were so good and all the babies
were so sweet. But, would that l
need not tell it, on the fourth day,
Satan worked his cloven foot on
the three women with about the
same success. The tall and ever
smiling Mrs. Smith began to real
ize that she could never reconcile
herself to Mrs. Whites youngest,
whose lungs had been extensively
developed by constant vocal exer-
else and whose temper was vented
at each meal time by upsetting
the coffee or vigorously splashing
the spsOn in the gravy. She also
took serious umbraZe-in fact, she
couldn't bear the sight of him-at
Mrs. Jones' second oldest boy who
had the habit of dripping the sy-
rup or gravy on his waist front and
then lapit up pretty much like a
dog or a cat would lick its fur.
But like good, unselfish Christian
she, at first, bore her suffering in
silence.
At about the same time Mrs.
Jones, also silently, and in her own
heart, found out several little
faults in the Smiths that she wot
not of before. She was now OF the
opinion that Mrs. Smith herself
was proud and that her children,
who, in her estimation, were very
much spoiled, were nothing but
silly pack of thum bsuckers. Then
Mrs. White disappointed her very
much. She was so very fitful and
cranky, while the White boys were
too lazy to live.
Mrs. White on the other hand,
was not long in seeing that so
many visitors at time were quite
a burden. She also concluded that
the Smiths and JOneses did not APP
preCiate her hospitality, as they
ought, that they were vain people
and thought their respective child
rem to be much better than those
of any one else. These different
things did not dawn upon the good
women's minds at one time, but
after the first few unpleasant dis
COVeries were made, other real and
imaginary faults were very readily
found, so that by the sixth day the
good visitors spent most of their
time in their respective rooms,
holding whispered COnVersaZiones,
in which the faults and unpleasant
things observed of the other two
families were rehearsed and re-
counted with no little Indignation
and considerable warmth. The re-
suit was that the different families
treated each other with distrust
and a strong GOODNESS, showing
their dislikes of each other by fire.
quent sarcastic observations and
short, stray rebukes for some triv-
ial, thoughtless remarks, which re-
marks, of course, were always in
terpreted as studied insults.
This strange conduct continued
until the morning of the ninth