The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-02-10
A True Story of a Travelling Mans
ri

A True Story of a Travelling Mans
Fright.
Mr.. CIarkson, a commercial traveller, was
returning TO New York from six weeks
absence. He was in the best OF spirits, hav-
ing booked orders enough to make him the
envy of all the other agents of his house.
He battered himself that he looked exceed
ingly well, too, and every shining surface
that he passed lured his alert eye that
he might see reflected therein his Grecian
figure and handsome face. The heart Of
the commercial agent Is prone to vanity as
the rain falls downward.
As he tripped up the stairs Of the Sixth
Avenue elevated road going up town, he
came very near breaking into song, he was
50 happy. He wished he could meet some
good-looking female friend, that she might
see what a sunny and smiling spirit he was,
even when saturated with business.
After settling himself in the car his eye
wandered over the passengers in search Of
specimens of female beauty worthy his
admiration
His gaze was arrested by young lady in
front of him. She was pretty and stylish.
Like most Of the commercial fraternity,
Mr.. Clarkson adored style. ''She is worth
looking at :" was his verdict.
Accidentally glancing along his own side
OF the car he saw her sitting there, three
seats from him, and directly opposite where
she had been but a moment before Yet he
hadn't seen her move. In fact, his eyes had
been on her every instant. He looked across
the car and there she was in her old place.
He looked again on his side of the car and she
was there too. Mr.. Clarkson began to DOUBT
the accuracy Of his own eyes. Was there
any mistakes No. The young lady who
sat on his side of the car was the same per-
son who sat opposite There was the same
bright Spanish face, the same lovely dark
eyes, the same jaunty little bonnet, with its
yellow and brown tips, the same modish
brown dress, the same gloves, the same atti-
tude; but how did she manage to be in two
places at oncel
Mr.. Clarkson began to feel queer. He had
now approached a point when amazement
merges into fright. His eyes rolled from
one side of the car to the other necessarily
and almost uncontrollably.
He looked at the rest of his fellow passen-
gers to see if they noticed anything unusual.
Evidently they did not He watched the
young la6y-the real one-intently, to see if
she were aware of the phenomenon. Unmis-
takably she was not.
When Mr. Clarkson realized this he turned
very pale Something was wrong in his
brain. He was seeing two women where but
one could possibly exist. This was madness.
He took off his hat and rubbed his head,
having blurred idea that the faculty of
seeing double had probably enlarged that
casket of thought He put on his hat again
and was actually astonished to find that it
lit as well as ever.
Meantime, he kept furtively watching the
other passengers, feeling sure that presently
they would all be looking at him, and some
of them laying violent hands on him, per-
haps.
Tue damp dews of agony gathered on his
forehead. ''Here I am" he Esilently Isolilo-
quized, ''riding along with fifty other people
looking all right, and yet as crazy as a hor-
metz. Then he wondered if he were likely
to get much worse Immediately, and if this
strange faculty continued with him how he
would keep his friends from finding out his
condition.
At that moment the young lady rose tc
leave the car; and, oh, horrors, so did heI
double. What was still more surprising she
spoke to the double and called her ''Sister
Nettie."
Mr.. Clarkson gasped and sank back in his
seat half fainting with relief. For him the
clouds had instantly rolled by. The extra
young lady wasn't ghostly double, or an
optical delusion. She was a twin. Mr..
Clarkson went home a subdued man, with
no signs of the self-conceit about him which
had enveloped him like an aura but half
hour before EBBoN OLIVER
Nsw YoaK. Oct. 4