El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-02-17


As WE'LL
"But, uncle" said 1, "you-don' t
you suppose-you must-that life will
unmask him? You don't think he can
go on through actual affairs and be
estimated as these schoolgirls estimate
him.
Judge Kilbraith looked at me with
curious scorn.
''You don't know much about actual
affairs. do you? When you do, you'll
find out that it is not in this world that
they reduce men to their fighting
weight. That's an illusion. Some affairs
may. You'd think war would as much
as anything, but it didn't. Ask any
soldier # the best men got the best
places. 1 suppose professor of mathe-
matics must know something of his
business, and in the dry goods trade an
eye on the market may be Imperative;
but, though a lawyer doesn't have as
good chance as a doctor to be fraud,
/ can tell you that there are more
things than law or logic that decided
his fate. Gilmore stands a good chance
for good living. Lawyers may have
their opinion about him, but as long as
he has juries on his side it will not be-
come the lawyers to express themselves,
and until he gets chance to establish
himself with the juries the less his
kinsfolk do to discount him the better
for the family"
Patsy listened and knitted as chat
tered on about my various relatives,
particularly Elmore and she occasion
ally brought forth question or re-
mark.
''Miz Claymore's mighty proud. She
air good to rale pore white folks and to
niggahs, but she's hash and proud
with e neighbors which amt pore and
amt quality she said once. She
trusted herself no more on the fatal
name, and this apt and true charac-
terization of Cousin Nancy, whose
darkest dread was that of becoming or
having any of her children become one
with the people around her, was her
nearest approach to the subject of Ell
more or her relations with him or his
family. She did not quite recover her
equanimity, and when she went to go
the faint color crept reminiscently up
her snowdrop face.
Evidently this homespun small per-
son belonged to the class of women in
whom sex and pride are forever unit
ed as one thing, whose senses of feml-
ninity and dignity are one. To have her
hearts blood thus turn rank and sue
cessful traitor to her hearts secret-it
struck me as small tragedy. After
she had gone 1 lay deep cuddled in my
clean, fresh feathered bed, watching
the freight flicker on the big polished
cherry knobs of my four post bedstead.
trying to see the case in the humorous
light which 1 felt it should by rights
present. But, no; the humor was there
certainly, but my mind steadfastly re-
fused to be amused, and 1 slipped into
sleep with a weird confusion in my
dreams between Patsy knitting stead
tasty by the fire and the sweet ringing
notes of the fatal horn in Herman.
Naturally the next morning the
whole matter looked very commonplace.
Only Patsy's fresh and gentle lowell
ness, as she came in with a bucket of
spring water. saved me from so react
ing on my own emotions as family to
detest her; so much are we ourselves
akin to the capricious powers we rail
against. But l melted completely when
che stood gazing at me silently and
wistfully az L put the last touches to
my toilet while old Telegraph and the
buggy awaited Us at the door. All the
yearning and wonder about the great
world of Strathboro all my fascination
as its representative, and more still as
a kinswoman of Elmore's, were ex-
pressed in her serious, fine little face
To me it was anything but an anti
climax when she touched with reverent
finger my jacket and half whispered.
"Air that the fashion? p
The poor little daughter of Eve, with
her heavy heart, and yet room in it
for this sweet interest in that great alb
the fashionl
Before 1 left 1 promised to send her
patterns of every visible garment i
wore. L saw her again sooner than l |
expected. Indeed there was then little |
reason to suppose we should meet again |
We were to stay but week at Cous-
in Nancy's. and we would then pass
over the utmost boundary of her world |
into that unimasined universe beyond |
Strathboro Cousin Nancy's sternly !
handsome profile grew sterner when l
attempted to gossip lightly about our
hosts, the Nonlys. Through long and
onely life she had too conscientiously
asserted her class uperiority-such as
- was -dSdiASt pOFeI6y anu d hlSdl-
lance and an untoward environment to
ind it practicable to approach the sub
ect of the Nonlys in this easy, matter
If course, undetining way. Moreover.
t appeared that the Nonlys were in
measure disgraced among their own
lass
Bob Monty is a distiller." said
Cousin Nancy finally and with final
ir. Up to recent date the temper
nee sentiments of the south found
heir chief if not their sole expression
n the social ostracism of all but the