young confidences
before we'd been twice round the circle. Montagues and Capulets! The
rich uncle who has reared her is the bitterest enemy of her Emilo's
papa who is a general of revolutionary tendencies. "Me," she said
with a shrug, "I can never marry! _Vestire los santos!_" (Which
means, "I shall dress the saints!" Old maids having unlimited time
for church work!)

_Buenas noches_,

J.

_December 14th._

DEAREST SALLY,

The loveliest idea came and sat on my chest in the pearly dawn! I'm
going to take Maria de Guadalupe Rosalia Merced Castello with me on
this tour as Spanish teacher! She accepted with tears of joy and
the Morales family bore up bravely. They will be frankly glad of
a few nights' sleep,--Lupe's gallants come nightly to "make a
serenade,"--not a lone guitar but the tenor from the opera house and
a piano trundled through the streets. The more costly the musical
ingredients, the greater the swain's devotion!

To-day we went with various members of the Morales clan to visit the
_Hospicio_ (see the Budders for dates and data!). I only remember a
girl of twelve who sat by herself in the playground, the small,
cameo, clear face with its sorrowing eyes, the pathetic arrogance in
the lift of the chin, her withdrawal from the other noisy little
orphans. I knew she must have a story, and when I asked the pretty
sister in charge, she burst into eager narrative.

Twelve years ago, approximately, a young physician was called at
night to the _peon_ quarter, and to his amazement found that his
patient was a lady, a girl whose patrician manner was proof against
all her terror and suffering. She utterly refused to look at her
child and threatened to smother it if he left it within her reach.
He took it to the _Hospicio_ to be cared for temporarily, and a few
days later, going as usual to attend the young mother, he found her
vanished. There was a lavish fee left for him, and a note, bidding
him insolently to banish the whole matter from his memory. The
neighbors knew only that they had heard a _coche_ in the dead of
night. The child, whom they named in their mournful fashion Dolores
Tristeza--sorrows and sadness--was always the doctor's protegee. One
day he came in great excitement to tell the pretty sister the
sequel. He had been summoned the night before