The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1894-08-29
LAMBERTvILLE, N. J.. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 49, 1894

4
damsel, Wasn't this the night you were
going to take supper with mef"
There was great deal Of applause at
the conclusion of this tableau. The king
came so near to smiling that the chairman
began to feel safe and reckless.
''Hi will now present to you, he an
nounced pompously, "ha Domestic DETAIL
which will be the last hof hour hattrac-
tions for this day" He bowed very low,
and, still bowling at odd moments, return
ed to his chair.
The king frowned as he watched him,
but he said nothing, for the play was be-
ginning.
These two, this young man and his
wife, had only been married little over a
year, and that year had been rs dream
of perfect happiness. These twain had
been one, in the most complete and de-
lightful way possible. All their joys and
sorrows they had shared.
But now there happened to them a Cir
cumstance that wrought cruel change
in them both. The Circumstance was a
ioyable one, and that was the pity of it.
The young husband looked at the Circum-
stance and began to feel a fearful hate to-
ward it, for the reason that he caught his
wife looking at 1t with love in her eyes.
And there were moments when she. too,
looking at it, found her husbands eyes
fixed lovingly upon 1t, and then she hated
it flercely and blindly. AS for the Cir
cumstanee, it kept smiling to itself.
Jealousy and unreason reigned now be-
tween these two They grew nervous,
touchy, irritable. Each feared that the
Circumstance was robbing him or her of
the others love- And then, again, there
-. 4
vanity, each determined to conquer in the
fight and win the sole title to the Circum-
stances love.
One day fearful thought came to them
both. Each struggled with the thought
but it triumphed. Then they gave way
to it. The thought, in each of them, was
that If the Circumstance were out of the
way they might return to the old days
when they loved each other so dearly.
The Circumstance was lying up stairs,
asleep Through the half open door the
husband approached on tiptoe. He went
round to the other side of the couch and
in his hand, which was shaking a little,
was glass of water He had reached
the farther side of the couch and was just
pouring white powder into the water
when his eyes took on "a queer fixed stare.
Through the half open door came his
wife, and in her right hand was glass
of water. Her eyes were fixed upon the
face of the Circumstance, and in the lines
of her own face a battle was raging be-
tween Love and Self Sacrifice and Hate
The eyes of husband and wife met, and
two glasses of water went crashing to the
floor. Quick signs of shame dyed their
faces and after an instant of helpless con-
sternation they came into each others
arms, and for long time held each other
so, silently.
When tho Circumstance awoke, 1t heard
them speaking all manner of strange
things.
I'VE will never let it come between us
again, they were saying. "We will love
each other first. and for it we will have an
equal though secondary affection. But,
first of all, we will love each Other"
The Circumstance smiled to itself,
thinking they might have come to that
conclusion long ago without all this trou-
BILE and heartache. 1t did not know how
near 1t had come to never waking from
that sleep. And then, as the full purport
of their new resolution came to 1t, the Cir
cumstanee clustered with mighty obiec-
tions To be second in their affection
mean nothing more nor less than defeat.
But they merely listened TO its ragings
and smiled. wait, they said; present
ly we.will attend to you. Just now we
two have a long fast to atone for" Then
in delicious whisper, Come dear, let
us go for walk alone together as we used
to in the old days. y
And they went out leaving the Ciroum-
stance bowling with defeat and wounded
vanity.
For the Circumstance was their own
child
A queer curl came to the kings mouth,
something between n smile and a sneer
He called the chairman to him. 'You
will now receive the reward of justice, -
he said. "Kindly step down into the
arena" Then he gave signal to Cir
cumstance by his side, and this Circum-
stance went down into the arena with the
chairman who was white and trembling.
The chairman, in a fearful apprehen
sion, started to cry out for help. But the
vast audience, In fashion since become
quite universal, had already arisen from
its seats, and with much rustling of skirts
and fans and crumpling of paper and shut
ting up Of opera glasses and talking and
laughing was proceeding up the huge
aisles and out of the Coliseum. So what
ever the chairman had wished to say was
left unheard. --Percival Pollard in Chap
Book