Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1858-07-28
Misttllaneous.
THE FREAKS OF CHANCE
BY NINE DE cHATELAIH.

1t was dark, dismal, biting cold day
in the depth of winter, when the par
tally frozen waters of the Serpentine had
attracted an unusual number of skaters
to risk their lives out of mere bravado on
its slippery surface, that two fresh com
ers, from the opposite points of the com
pass. entered the park and joined the
throng at late hour in the afternoon.
Nothing could be more dissimilar than
the dress and appearance of these tive
individuals. One was dressed elegantly
and luxuriously, being protected from
the cold by fashionably cut paletot and
a comforter of the finest cashmere; while
the other wore threadbare coat button
ed up 10 the neck, hat destitute of all
vestiges of nap, pair of mended boots,
and worse than all, perhaps, in the case
Of decent poverty, he had no gloves on
his aItenuated hands, which were obvi
ously red irem the effects of cold, and
not rough work. Yet, strange to say,
in spite of the striking differences exhib
tied in their appearance, these two men
had repaired to the same spot that day,
on The very self same destructive"
thoughts intrnt-lheir aim being not to
make show of callousness TO danger
like the skaters, but to fling away their
lives in reality, though in such manner
as should pass for accident.
As the reasons that determined each
to'cast away Gods gift upon the water,
and desert their post before the appoint
ed hour, these were as widely different
as everything else about them. Theo
dosiOus VIlliers. Esq, the rich man of
the world, had come to the conclusion,
at the age of thirty six, that there was
nothing worth living for-that life with
ten thousand year was a bore-and
that he longed to be rid of it. Only as
he was desirous of p prforming even the
last fatal act in as gentlemanly man
ner as possible. and had horror of a
ccroner's verdict of Temporary insani-
ty," and wished 10 avoid one of .felo de
Sc, not to Illustrate his natural heirs un
handsomely, he had resolved 20 let il ap
pear as if he had met his uniimely fate
by mere chance. and thus lattering
paragraph on departed worth in next
days Morning Post. On the other hand
the shabby dressed man. poor Lawrence
Owen, had come to the dismal conclu-
sion on far more excusable grounds, at
the earlier age Of thirty two. He had
lost his situation as clerk, owing 10 the
bankruptcy of the firm that employed
him, and then became light porter, but
lately had been deprived of even that
poor resource, in consequence Of the loss
of parcel, falsely attributed to him,
though in reality through the fault of
another person in the establishment, and
which led to his being discharged at a
moments notice. After selling his fur
niture piecemeal to keep the wolf from
the door as long as possible, poor Law
renee left his last half crown on the ta-
bic, and stole away from his wife and
children, after silently commencing them
to heaven, to commit the last fatal act of
despair.
The rich man was tired of life because
he had too much money and did not
know how TO make use of it; the poor
one because he had not money enough
to keep body and soul together. Surely |
the sins of these two will not be weighed
in the same scale by all-merciful justice!
The rich man had provided himself
with pair of Skates to give an air OF
probability to his supposed accident, just
the same as he had carefully twisted his
scarf round his neck, as if to keep him |