The Bozeman weekly chronicle. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1883-1889, 1885-03-04
UNEXPECTED BUSINESS;
Or
The Sudden Flight OF Superior
Being.

suffering from ills, of which (heaven be
praisedO we others are biissfully un-
conscious, but who are far less liable
to accidents of violent nature than we,
bestow but little sympathy upon each
others maladies.
But q broken limb, or gunshot
wound!
When they see the dark, crimson
blood slowly oozing out from under the
edges of the wound-the shrinking
flesh. expressing pain BY its nervous
contraction as ViVidly as by a shriek-
There, that viii do Tell me, my
little dears, haven't you already snud-
dered, merely at reading my descrip-
tionP
On the other hand. men, who have
mostly been more or less familiarized
to cutting and slashing, have no extra
ordinary sympathies for such things.
But when one sees his wife or daughter
suffering and pining away, growing
pale and thin with agonies he cannot
understand, his heart melts at once.
/ know little episode that proves
this theory, and that possesses, the
trapical and farcical elements so dex-
terously intertwined, that it is worth
relating, if only as study of certain
types of character.
During the month of August, some
years ago, the fashionable watering
place Of Belle Lake was visited by two
/ young gentlemen belonging to what is
commonly called good society. There
was Paul Ryder, the journalist, and
Astor Courtlandt, wealthy do-noth-
ing, who roamed up and down the
world trying to kill time as best he
might.
! BE was somewhat of a splendid fell
4 low, this Courtlandt; man of much
style and of excellent raiment, given to
the delights of clean and cool linen
suits, and the joys of late suppers, at
which the delicate woodcock, the mirth-
ful quail. and the tender hearted soft
crab were wont to assist.
RYDER, though not of the jennesse
dorce. was still well enough to do, de-
irving comfortable income from his
literary exertions, which he prosecuted
with great industry and versatility.
Everything was easy to him. appar-
emily, and he dashed off successful
1 plays, magazine stories, essays, re-
views, poems, dramatic critiques and
] editorial leaders with fearful facility,
! always postponing the time when he
1 should endeavor in good earnest to
1 produce some really valuable and last
/ ing work.
Toward the close of the first weeks
soiourn at the Belle Lake Pavilion,
these young gentlemen made the ac-
quaintance of a circle of Southern peo-
| pie who, like themselves, were fritter
ing away the cheated term" in the
/ laborious idleness of rustication.
These were two families, the Mores
and the Espies. old friends and capital
people.
The Espies had three daughters, all
of marriageable ages. The eldest and
Youngest were betrothed to two young
men Of the More family. The second
I was unengaged, though certainly for
no fault Of her own, for she was gifted
with charming blonde face, a fac,
though delicate figure, some intellect
Intelligence at least-and highly
! developed affectionate nature.
This girl, Sarah Espie, was marvel
ously struck by Astor Courtlandt. Her
romantic tendencies, which were power
full, lent an additional charm to his
easy elegance and elegant ease. She
appreciated the taste he displayed in
I all his surroundings-the epicurean
sentiment with which he enjoyed the
luxuries his wealth permitted him to
accumulate about him. The young
men she met in her native Georgia,
though manly and courageous, earnest.
honest fellows, of sterling worth and
merit. had not the refinement of habit
and taste that this pleasant idler
cvinced in every act, gesture and word.
She contrasted him, then, with others
and came to believe him q sort of sue
perior being.
The superior being, on becoming ac-
cuainted with her, saw in her only a
/ nice girl, of sentimental esprit, who
would be agreeable as a partner in
Irritation for the brief season that they
were to pass together.
With these views on both sides, it
was not strange that the young people
should come together good deal.
Astor was fond Of boating-had made
many yacht voyages to foreign shores
--and Belle Lake offers fine opportuni-
ties for that amusement; so he took
Sarah out in his fast sailboat nearly
every day, and the old ladies thought
/ that marriage was inevitable, when
they saw Astol. lying picturesquely on
the boat cushions, in the shadow of the
sails, reading Tennyson, aloud, while
4 Sarah famed him.
Paul Ryder. to whom the whole of
society was only sublime and intri-
cate study, watched this affair closely,
and found many little bits of social
comedy T1aJ interested MIN and pleaseo
him as student of life. Before long
he observed that Sarah's feelings We're
quite different from Courtlandt's. She
vas IN earnest. VI course IL W0uldn"G
do to show it'll in place where insin-
cerity and froth were the rule, and she
carried it off very well before most
people. But to Ryder, who was often
With her when Astor was absent, and
with them when none others were pres
ent, the truth was painfully apparent.
sIt is an extraordinary thing, said
he, to Astor, one day, as they sat on
j the long piazza Of the pavilion con-
suming after dinner cigars, sit is an ex-
traordinary thing that young women Of
fresh and tender turn of mind can
never understand the butterfly kind of
passion. Now, here is Miss Espie; she
is intelligent, has been in society. has
had admirers -offers, pernaps-and Is
quite an accomplished coqnette; yet,
when man like You comes along, and
laws lis Establishments before her. she
succnmbs at once, and in her minds
eve invests him with all the beautiful
and lamblike benignity OF marrying
man. Sarah Espie in word. is fear
fu..y and wonderfully in love with 5ou.
and expects you to marry her. most
eonfldentially, which you will not dos''
s.Nonsensel You are mistaken.
s.No; it is as plain us day. saw It
two weeks ago and have seen it every
day since. HaTen's ron noticed II
yourself, occasionally Honestly, now,
without vanity, don't ron see that she
IS 3 little hallucinatedg
Courtlandt, who had never been able
70 gst rid Of the trick Of blushing, col-