Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1900-11-08
cON PABLO'S AWAKENING

! ing toward Seville as he sat in his
own grounds enjoying his cigar. Be
| low him, at his left, flowed the amber
waters of the Granddaughter; Seville,
| cleaning white in the sunlight, lay in
the distance beyond; near him blazed
a field of scarlet peoples; the limbs
of the orange tree above his head
J It'll retained some of their yellow
fruit, and all around glowed and
throbbed the richness and splendor
of the Andalusian summer.
But the gorgeous col0rs about him
produced no effect whatever upon the
mind Of Don Pablo. When nature
deepened the tinge of pink upon the
| cheek of a young girl he appreciated
| the work of her wondrous brush. for
women should be beautiful; he had
often thought the old and plain ones
ought somehow to be put out of the
way, but everywhere else he agreed
with those crusty old philosophers
who saw beauty in utility only. The
white bloom of his orange trees re-
minded him simply of the fruit they
promised, which later was to turn
into yellow gold; but the peoples and
I the cacti we're merely weeds to him.
| Don Pablo had seen sixty summers
come and go. The sunshine, which
had ripened the fruit in his vineyards
year by year, had Drowned his COM
plexion until it presented the appear
81 10 lnofhnr uyh
each thousand pesetas that he gained
stamped wrinkle upon his face. A
| life of economy and thrift had made
rich man of him, and while he knew
there were those who called him Ell
Mezquino" (the stingy one), the fact
did not trouble him in the least, for
he comforted himself with the
thought of his ever-increasing wealth
In his younger days more than one
pair of bright eyes had flashed allur-
ing glances at Don Pablo over the top
of a fan. But he said: "a wife is a
luxury for the rich and not for the
man who must make his own fortune"
AS years went on he became so abb
sorbed in the accumulation Of money
that a wife had no place in his
thoughts.
But on this particular morning as
he gazed at the Giralda tower in the
distance, Don Pablo was not thinking
of that historic structure or of the old
Arab who designed it; he was think
ing Of matrimonyl This unusual
state of mind was the result of a
dream of the preceding night, in which
he had seen himself the proud posses
sor Of wife who was young, beauti-
| full, economical and rich, and the de-
sire to make this dream true in every
particular grew with each moment.
My house is lonely" thought he,
"Old Juaquina is growing careless
and allows the other servants to
waste my substance. l an also GER
tain that she gives much from my ia
| bic to her relatives. | need the aid
of one whose interests are identical
with my own My wife must be young
| and handsome, and must have a for
! tune of her own. for then she will not
always be nagging me for money.
But where can find such a one?"
| Mentally he made list of all the
women of his acquaintance who were
unmarried, but found that there was
some Objectionable feature connected
with each of them. He had just given
up in despair when old Juaquina hand
ed him a letter.
1T is from the Dona Engracia," she
said, for Juaquina examined the post
marks Of all her masters letters and
would not have SCRUBBED to read their
contents had not a slight defect in her
early education prevented her doing
so.