The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1884-06-14
A NARROW ESCAPE.

Colonel Augustus Chopleigh, late OF He
Msjesty''s Indian Army, lived in stately re
tirement upon his snug little estate in on,
Of the pleasnntes. Of the home counties
From an outsiders point Of view, the Colo
mel seemed to possess most things which
are generally considered to consti.ut,
mundane happiness. His liver had BUR
viyed pawneee, curries, and tropical SUI
intact; bis income was ample; be belonpe,
to two or three good London clubs; be ha,
an excellent cellar OF wine; be was a ]. P,
respected by his neighbors and worshipet
by hia tenants; and he rode to cover o,
the best of cattle. Yet with all this, til,
Colonel had two eternally grinning skele
tons in his cupboard. a.
The first was the possession Of ne'er.do
we'll aon, and the second vas the non.pos
session Of vile. Gi5,Is"-, = :
Augustus Chopleigh, junior, although ,
ne'er-do.well in the eyes OF a parent VII,
wss more rigid and precise than are mos
gentlemen who have breathed the atmos
phe,e OF barracks and canto. ments dnrin,
the best parts OF their hvee, was, after ali
but an ordinary everyday young man. }
He bstted little, it is true; be belonged Il
club where play was sometimes hiph o.
an evening; he could drink his c!sret ike /
man; he wss connoisseur in cigars: hf
possessed two or three long tailor bills: and
he was given to staying in town for wees
at time. Sill, alter all, what could bf
expected OF a hIgh-apiri,ed young fellow
Tho had received q frat class education
and was therefore unified for sny aerio,,,
walk Of LIE; who was good looking. whr
dressed well, who found lite at stately Dnn
Dunn Hall a little monotonous at times
and VINO had q handsome annual allow
ance? ~. -..'-''','f
But in the eyes Of the Colonel all these
little peculisri;ies were heinous crimes
and the poor old gentleman, IS he ponder.
ed the solitude Of what he called his
study" saw. very clearly that, unless the
young man Was setsled in lille With we'll.
bred, well connected girl, he would in.
fallibly follow, at headlong pace, that broad
road which leads to destruction, II
Often alone at DUN DUN Hall, deprived
Of the society OF his son, and not caring
very specially for that society when offered,
It WAS hardly to be wondered at that the
Colonel yearned for suitable partner in
his exile. R si.l $50 &C., p ! >
The memory Of the departed Mrs. Chop.
leigh could hardly be sid to be yet green,
for she had succumbed to an aggravated
attack OF jungle fever some twenty veara
before, when Augustus, Junior, was but a
STRIPPING in plaid dresses and bare legs. Il
might be said that tho remedy was essy,
Why didn't the Colonel take unto himself
a second Mrs. Chopleigh? There were
plenty OF eligible spinsters who would
Gave jumped at an c far from such fresh.
faced active, wealthy gentleman, who was
little beyond the prime Of life. There was,
however, an almost invincible obstacle,
Unlike most military men, Colonel. Chop
leigh was painfully shy, perhaps remen.
brances OF the departed Mira. ChopeiQb,
who was known as the Dunn Dunn Tartar
had driven ( out the youthful Assurance
which he'd won her; at any rate the latter
OF q petticoat awakened feelings within the
gallant Colone!'s breast which we're not to
be stirred by horde OF yelling, mutinous
Sepoys, or by the stiffest bullfnch in the
country. He had loved at a distance q
score Of timer, but he never placed himself
within speaking reach Of tho various OBJ.
jsca 81 his affection. Il ;G y. a III, 2 a.
: Suddenly matters took different turn,
A young lady Of etrikipglv prepossesainp
appearance MillicentI Vaniohn, onlv
daughter otthe Rsy. Aloysius Y anjahu, the
only vicar-had been espied by the Colonel
proceeding up the lane which ran parallel
with his grounds, s'he paced along his
shrubbery walk. Being on bis own proper.
ty had inspired him with courage; be had
vszed at her, and she had blushed and
looked down. He hurried into the house
and shut himself up in his study. .tts is.; 9.
Il am 55."' be eaid to himself. II am
we'll, l an well.looking; my waistcoat is of
decent girtb: I have good complexion;
and man ia only SIS old as be feels. Why
shouldn't l? II I may be called an old fool,
Well, there ere plenty Of older fools in the
world. %I-yes-Iw whip ~ iiiIs!l.Il
Miss Varjohn VS. walking at the identi.
cal spot at the identical hour the next day,
and the next day alter that, and so on lor
more than wees, and each day the same
little dumb COMEDY was played -eheeps'
eyes on ths pars Of The Colonel; bushes
and loohi-gs-down on the part oil Miss
Millicsnt Vapjohn. ss.
Did Mis- ,Valj ,hn walk up that lane sc
regularly with e 4 ked purpose? OF course
abe did. }: Z. n b II
: Punctually at 4 o'clock every afternoon
Mr.. Augustus Cnopleigh, SJr., met her a,
the top Of it. iswss rather an odd thinl
70 dc-the daughter OF weil.known par.
son mee.il z sub rosa the son Of an equally
well.known Colonel. The following con
yeraation explains it; G fys}l I. x Il
i"Oh, Gus I begin to feel SO swfully
guilty, meeting you like this | Why cam
We love eaph other openly There's moth
ing to be Ashamed Of IN it" s55E555 9sE
lSH""For more than one reason, m7 darling
I've bad reputation down here; oil lei
low IS have 10 country places who 70 up tt
Town, belong to q club, drive down 10 As
cot, take medicinal E..cnd s,'s, and so on
| II the old man were TO know that I wa
spnoning you he'd rush of to your fathe
and warn him. II your father we're /,
know, he'd rush on to Aaine and tell hin
that ! wasn't o fit sspirsnt tor tie hand Q
bis daughter" IS W..
"But lie your father lrch terrible Of,
gentleman, then B What is he like7 "
never seen him" sSfsl {55,j ,ia54s
f"No, I don't suppose you have. H
fights shy Of anything with petticost o,
it like the plague I've known him to Gu
q; good run short becauae there were ladie
alone with him In the same field, and h
was afraid that In case OF accident he'd hav
to assist them. He's a tall old fellow wit
a fresh complexion and gray moustach,
and always wears shepherds plaid trousen
summer, and winter. Why, what's th
mater r. .j.5''5 4.
80 dear! o dear Gus, don't 70 OF
please don't or I shall dis OF laughing ~
- 51"Why, what Is there to laugh at in !