Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1894-09-07
CIRCUMSTANCES.

OllOO ~ llk Il AN OLIkJs
The king of Circumstances was feeling
decidedly cheerful. He had just heard
something that pleased him immensely.
He had sent legion of Circumstances
against q certain man who had, before
that, been certain of success, and the man,
after desperate struggle, had capitulated
to the legion by dying abjectly.
So the king of Circumstances smiled
and said to one of his Circumstances:
'The king desires to be amused Let
there be games"
BY the time the royal procession reached
the Coliseum everything was in readiness.
The crowd was enormous, for the fame
of the kings exceeding cheerfulness had
spread quickly, and his subjects knew that
there would be some particularly fascinat-
ing games that day.
"Now, then, began the king, a little
impatiently, as soon as he had settled him
self on the divan in the royal box, what
comes frst?"
1t was the custom in the Coliseum to
announce the programme by the mouth
of a Circumstance whom they called the
chairman. The chairman had an accent
that belonged to the English music hall,
but that also is merely circumstance.
eli ave to announce, lydies and gen.
tlemen, that Hive been harsked by the
Swell known Champion Circumstance to
Tissue challenge to hany man wot
wishes to meet i'm in a foot ring. Ro-
man rules to prevail. Thumbs down,
hand the whipped man parsses bout.
Thumbs up, hand he goes free. Walk up,
walk upl Does hany one wish to meet the
champion"
First of all, from far door, issued
most beautiful girl, slim, tall and CARRIED
most delightfully."-. There were huge puffs
in her sleeves that made her hands look
all the smaller. Her gown widened little
where it came close to her feet, and thus
it was that the slepderness of her waist
seemed more symmetrical than symmetry
itself; her curls were flying into the breeze
a little under her large, behowered hat
her shoes were brown, and her step was as
buoyant as the spring. She was singing
something SO softly that the crowd only
caught the faintest 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 sent an arrow
straight at her heart. AS the shaft
wounded her, the girl turned her eyes soft
" toward the boy and moaned. She put
her hands to her heart But the strange
thing was that she held the arrow fast and
made no effort to pull it forth. So, when
Cupid saw that he had wounded her and
that she was glad, he began to run toward
her to kiss her, and she, with one 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 few yards of her
when a third door opened and there ap-
peared q Circumstance. Immediately
most strange change came over the girl.
Her eyes turned toward the Circumstance,
and a steely look came into them. She
drew herself up little, and stern pur-
pose Strengthened her mouth
Cupid wondering and panied, stopped
short. She turned away from him, and
walked toward the Circumstance, who
merely stood quite still, smiling hideous-
ly AS she went, she tore the arrow Of
Cupid from her heart and threw 1t before
her into the sawdust, so that as she strobe
forward she stepped upon it and broke it
into fragments. And while Cupid threw
himself upon his pretty face shaking with
sobs, his culver flung beside him, the girl
kissed the Circumstance.
But the Circumstance only smiled quite
coldly, even while it folded her in its
arms.
For it happened to be Bank Account.
The king had begun to be quite pleased
with this number when it happened that
he felt an irresistible desire to yawn. 1t
was really due to late hours in the past,
but he decided at once that it must be due
to the present. So he frowned at the chair
man again.
"Did you see me yawnP" he said severe
ly did your When the games are SO
stupid that tho king has to yawn, HIM
He did not finish, but the chairman felt
uneasy because of the things that the
king had omitted to say. He hastened on
to the next announcement.
1.-The title of hour next number is a
'Tableau of Today" he cried, "hand
which explains itself"
When everything had been arranged by
a multitude of slaves of Circumstance,
tho scene showed q large Office, with roll
er top desks and a typewriter stand. In
the foreground was a clerk who had served
his company 10 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 the day before it had run up
against most unluclly lot of Circum-
stances. 1t had made huge speculation
in stocks of the p p. G. railway, and the
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 the last. So this morning
the Company saw that it had got to do