The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1894-08-30
CIRCUMSTANCES.

ueoIueuly cneertul. he had Just heard
something that pleased him immensely.
Ho had sent legion Of circumstances
against certain man who had, before
that, been certain of SUCCESS, and tho man,
after desperate struggle, had capitulatcd
to tho legion by dying abjectly.
So tho king Of Circumstances smiled
and said to one Of his Circumstances:
"The king desires to be amused Let
thoro BIO gamesl''
BY the time tho royal procession reached
tho Coliseum everything was In readiness.
Tho crowd was enormous, for the fame
of tho kings exceeding choerfulness had
spread quickly, and his subjects knew that
Ing games that day.
Now, thon," began the king, little
impationtly, as soon as no had settled him
self on tho divan in the royal box "what
comes flrst?"
1t was tho custom In tho Coliseum to
announce tho programme by the mouth
of Circumstance whom they called tho
chairman. The chairman, had ON accent
that belonged to tho English music hall,
but that also is merely q circumstance.
Hi Ave to announce, lydies and gen.
tloIncn, that Hive been harsked by the
we'll known Champion Circumstance to
iion0o q OhoiicuSO W 1ltaAy Iuu HOG
wishes to meet i'm in o foot ring. Ro-
man rules to prevail. Thumbs down,
hand the whipped man parsscs hout.
Thumbs up, hand he goes free. Walk up,
walk up! Does hany one wish to meet tho
ohampionp"
First of all, from far door, issued
most beautiful girl, slim, tall and CARRIED
most delightfully."-. There wero hugo puffs
In her sleeves that made her hands look
all the smaller. Her gown wldenod a little
whore it came close to her feet, and thus
1t was that tho slcndcrncss of her waist
seemed more symmetrical than symmetry
itself; her ourls were flying into the breeze
q little under her large, beflowercd hat;
her shoes wcro brown, and her step was as
buoynnt rs the spring. Sho was singing
something SO softly that the crowd only
caught the fnintcst echo of it.
And while she was advancing thus,
singing, another door opened, and Cupid
came forth. No sooner had he seen her
than he took aim and sont an arrow
straight at her heart. AS the shaft
wounded her, the girl turned her eyes soft
ly toward the boy and moaned. She put
her hands to hcr heart But the strange
thing was that she held the arrow fast and
made no effort to pull 1t forth So, when
Cupid saw that no had wounded her and
Ohno oiC Woo SldOi AlC DC8h1l UOWuIu
her to kiss her. and she, with ono hand
still clasping the arrow SO that 1t went
deeper and deeper into her heart, waited
for him with parted lips and an invitation
In her eyes.
The boy was within a few yards of her
when third door opened and thero ap-
peared a Circumstance. Immediately
most strange change came over the girl
Her eyes turned toward the Circumstance,
and a steely look came into them. Sho
drew herself up II little, and q stern pur-
pose Strengthened her mouth.
Cupid, wondering and panied, stopped
short. Sho turned away from him, and
walked toward the Circumstance who
merely stood quito still, smiling hidcous-
ly. AS she went, she tore the arrow of
Cupid from her heart and threw 1t before
her into the sawdust, 30 that as she strobe
forward sho stepped upon 1t and broke it
into fragments. And while Cupid threw
himself upon his pretty face, shaking with
sobs, his culver flung beside him, tho girl
kissed the Circumstance
But the Circumstance only smiled quite
coldly even while 1t folded her In its
arms.
For 1T happened TO be n Bank Account.
Tho king had begun to be quito pleased
with this number when 1t happened that
he f0lt an Irresistible desire to yawn 1t
was really duo to late hours In tho past,
but no decided at onco that it must be due
to the present. So he frownod at the chair
man again.
''Did you SEQ mo yawn?" no said severe
ly. Did you? When tho games arc so
stupid that tho king has to yawn, h'm"-
He did not finish, but tho chairman felt
uneasy because of tho things that the
king had omitted to say. Ho FASTENED Oh
to tho next announcement.
The title of hour next number is
'Tableau of Today" he cried, 'shand
which explains ITSELF
When everything had been arranged by
multitude of slaves of Circumstance,
tho scene showed IL large Office, with roll
er top desks and typewriter stand In
tho foreground was clerk who had served
his company Is years. He looked It,
AT the desk sat the Company. 1t was
thinking, through the pangs of headache,
of the night before and the day before
that. On tho day before 1t had run I'D
against a most unlucky lot of Circum-
stances 1t had made hugo speculation
In stocks Of tho p. p. G. railway, and tho
speculation had gone very wrong indeed
Then, In order to recoup itself, the Com
pany had tried its luck at cards that even.
Ing. And every trial turned out more dis
astrously than tho last. So this morning
tho Company saw that it had got to do
something to lessen expenses.
TO resign at the club was out of tho
question. To give up tho box at the opera
would DO absurd. When you have accus-
toned yourself to an expensive brand of
cigars and wines, st Is really quite impos
sible to drink or smoke anything inferior
There was only one thing to be done,
and the Company was going to do it.
1t called the lovely damscl who was in
the next room. 1t said to her, Take q
1nttar ,,1oo.ot,i