San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1895-11-26

that one OF them was from Mr.. Alan.
She was ON the point of saying as much
to Mrs. Cameron, but prudently re-
pressed herself Mrs. Cameron present.
" went through an ELUSIVE leave taking
and disappeared.
Theu Katherine read Louis Alan s let
ter, with pickering eyebrows and red
dening angry cheeks:
MY DEAR Miss SHIRLEY-Can you see me to-
morrow-and what time? Do pray see me. 1
have, as Shakespeare says, "a motion much
imports our good" want to say something
to you which have long prayed for the cour-
age to say, and which must be spoken at last.
Tell me when / may come-for pronounce
ment of happiness or sentence of death. Liv-
ing or dead, forever yours, LOUIS ALAN.
"Stuff ~ our angry maiden exclaimed.
Sentimental affectation Sickening
nonsensel Perhaps he had just been
writing some silly letter to Nellie Cam
eron. 1t is pity he did not put them
into the wrong envelopes and send hers
to me and mine to herl Oh, l do wish
he had sent mine to her! 1t would open
the poor silly things eyes" She put
the letter into her pocket, waiting for a
quiet time to answer it. The other let
tiers that she got were of the ordinary
social and conventional type-invita-
lions and replies to invitations, and so
forth. More callers came, and her time
frittered away. Her mind was divided
between two feelings-vexation at
Alan's letter and vexation with herself
.l1 fa,.n,nl CHI no
what harsh to Graham. That, however,
she thought, with pleased and conf
dent smile, could be easily remedied.
There would be no trouble in pacifying
Graham-if he needed pacification. Per-
haps he had not noticed anything in her
manner. Oh, yes; he must have noticed
something, but she would explain it all
tomorrow. She would not write any ex-
planation-she would tell it all to him.
She would tell it to him when he came
tomorrow. In her letter she would only
tell him when to come.
At last she was free to answer her
letters and to write to Graham. She
longed to see him again-longed as if
weeks had passed since their last meet
ing, as if it were likely that weeks
would pass before their next. She
thought she had been little harsh or
cold to him, and she was eager to make
him amends. But she would not write
to him until the very, very last. She
would get the mere drudgery of letter
writing done, and then she would write
a letter to Graham. What an unspeak-
able difference sometimes between let
ter writing and writing a letter! So
she answered and issued numbers of in
vitations-she conducted most of the
correspondence of the house-and she
wrote to her dressmaker, and after much
work of the kind she came to answer
Louis Alan's unwelcome and trouble
some letter.
Now this was serious business. She
had never particularly liked Louis Alan,
but she had been good deal touched by
his devotion-and her stepmother she
knew would have wished her to accept
him because he was rich-and he must
have known this quite well, and yet he
was always delicate and forbearing in
his manner to her and never pressed his
courtship unreasonably or unfairly, and
for this she was grateful to him. He
was rather self conceited no doubt, al
though darling Graham made little
too much of that defect in a man whom
he considered at one time as his rival
His rival! Only think of that Louis
Alan rival of Graham! The thought
had often amused her, but now it al
most shocked her. For when it HARM
lessly amused her to smile at Graham's
overwrought dislike to Mr.. Alan she did
not know then what Mrs Cameron had
just told her. Now she knew, and fancy
her lover, Graham Welwyn, thinking
that there could ever have been any ri
valry in her heart between him and Louis
Alan
What crime had Louis Alan commit
ted? Not much of crime after all He
had got into romantic hyperbolical
Irritation with aesthetic Mrs. Cameron,
and they had written to each other va
there was good deal of vanity and
nonsense on both sides and no serious
thought of love ON either In truth Mrs.
Cameron was very fond of her husband,
who was a successful queens counsel
and hardly ever had time to talk with
her. She used to say that she would be.
very glad if her hostesses at London
dinner parties would allow her husband
to take her in to dinner, for then she
would be secure of at least an hours
talk with him. But her husband was
too busy and had absolute faith in her,
and she got into this ridiculous high
flown sentimental correspondence with
Mr.. Alan, and they wrote Of themselves
as conpenial souls-and other such stuff