The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1885-08-05
A NARROW ESCAPE.

gustus Chandler was the worst As chile
he was the Ounce of the school, simply be
cause he could not recite well-learned les
son with the bright-eyed, girlish faces
around him.
81 shall have to get private tutor fo
him." said his father, in utter despair. H,
never'll make anything unless do
The boy proved the wisdom of such
course by making rapid progress ther
graduating at celebrated college with en-
viable honors, and entering enthusiasticall,
upon his chosen profession, that of physi
clan; strange one, indeed, for such diff
dent man. Stranger still, he advanced
rapidly until he had well-established pay
ing practice.
After the death of his parents, he lived
alone in the comfortable homestead, his
fathers home and his grandfather's before
him, with two old servants who had grown
gray in the family service.
:" All he wants is q wife" his friends ell
agreed, but he was content
Constant association with his fellow-mor.
tails so far overcame his timidity that he wa
no longer conspicuous in that respect, bu
had settled down into q sober, retiring
bachelor of forty.
Then an uncle, who had accumulated nj
enormous fortune in India, died leavin,
him sole heir of the wealth which he hat
denied himself even the comforts of life tc
obtain.
Somehow he found that life suddenly pre-
sented q different aspect, and he found thai
country doctor, no matter how talented,
and gentleman with good bank-account
were far different persons as the world sees
Mammas with manageable daughters
smiled sweetly upon him, and the fair dam
sells themselves greeted him with shy glance.
from demurely downcast eyes, that set hil
pulses to dancing in way as bewilderine
as 1t was terrible. tf4ttt
Mr.. Chandlers opinion was all-powerful
and no entertainment was complete withou,
his presence.
You ought to marry" said one friend
after another.
But he only smiled in a superior way al
he avoided the quicksands of matrimony.
At last there came to Wakefield comely
widow of thirty-fve or thereabouts. She
had not been comfortably settled in the
place week before she knew the exact in
come and bank account of Augustus Chan
dler.
The knowledge satisfied her exceedingly
but being woman well-skilled in human
nature, she did not begin an open siege Of
his well-fortified heart
She simply lay in ambush and awaited
her chance, which came at last as it always
does to patient walters. 49,
1t was q lovely day in June, and merry
party we're assembled in the cool oak grove
behind the Chandler mansion.
No one knew how it happened-the un
lucky man himself could never tell-but the
pretty widow and their obliging host soor
strolled away from the others, and at an art
of the mansion.
With pretty ordinations of delight she
sought out the hooks dear to him from hii
childhood, while he followed with a pleased
smile, until she stood upon . vine-coyeref
balcony. I A4fA ! iagil k0Nkt ~
1t is oil perfect-the house, mean =
began the widow, artfully. /" There is bu
one thing wanting.'' II f.1 AfA
And what is that p asked Augustus
eager to remedy any defect.
" 1t well-just little gloomy,
,aid the widow, slowly.
=" Yes," admitted he, with q deep sigh
thinking of the faces that had frightened
the homestead in other days.
&C. think-in fact-well, Mr.. Chandler,
If may be 30 bold-I should say that the
one thing needful was o wife," answered
the widow, bluntly, looking a him with .
bewildering smile.
II o cannon-ball had whizzed by him, he
could not have been more astonished.
Do-do-you think SO !" he stammered
1t last, vainly striving to avoid her magnetic
eyes, that resolutely sought his.
81 certainly dol" she replied, emphati.
,ally. ga house is always frightened by
the presence of q loving woman. Persons
of--of our age, Mr.. Chandler, need com.
partnership more than younger ones. A
home becomes a necessity, and as old age
sreeps on, we feel more and more tLs mood
Of some one whose interests arc idsntiea
with our own. That is the case with mo.
have never known a happy hour since poor
dear Harry left me-"
A snowy handkerchief covered her eyes,
and Augustus Chandler looked around with
flushed brow for some means Of escape
Tears were something he could not with
stand.
Gould you-would You. = he began FOL
want of something to say, with true msscu.
line laundering choosing the wrong wtrds,
playing into the widows hand as a bird
into fowler's snare" could you think q
in