The Penn's Grove record., 1895-08-30
AN M. P.'S
~INFATUATION.

HNHH ReueFdi 1mpresSlou uiuohh
Jim Percival's friends was that
L he might have done a good deal
better for himself than he did In hi
matrimonial venture.
An NJ. p, with a safe seat and decid
ed abilities, young, g~ood-looking, well
connected, but having only a limited
income, he was just the man who
should have married money, and this is
exactly what he had not done. He met
his wife in Paris during a holiday trip.
She was a pretty, vivacious Irish WON
an, ladylike and attractive, but she had
no fortune, and was of no particular
family. The NJ. P.'s friends shook Their
heads over the match, and all felt con
WINGED that before long he would find
out what a mistake he had made.
There could be no doubt that under
the circumstances his marriage was an
imprudent one. With his $500 q year
Pcrcivai had subsisted comfortably
enough as a bachelor, but as a married
NJ. +. he found thai his income went
simply no way at all. To cut himself
off from society and to live with his
wife In economical secluslon, was, of
course, out of the question. 1t would
have made him unpopular with his con-
stituents, as well as with certain infu-
entail friends In town. to whose good
offices he looked for securing some post
In the government when his party came
back to power. And as he had no pro
f~esslon, but had launched himself for
good or Ill upon a parliamentary career,
it would have been madness In him to
prejudice his chances of political pre-.
ferment.
The natural consequence followed
Percival got into debt. He consoled
himself first of all for outrunning the
constable by the consideration that his
psr.y must 500 return to power, and
that then no should he able to recoup
his present expenditure. But the rad
icals remained SIN" session after ses-
sion; the lcoked-for general election
came no nearer, and Percival began to-
feel very lububrious Indeed. He al
ready owed nearly ff,00o-a crushing
liability to a man with a small income
and no capital; indeed. he did not at
tempt to disguise from himself that I'M
less something very unexpected turn
ed up he must soon be hopelessly insol-
vent His wife had long been urging
immediate and rigid retrenchment, but
each time she mentioned 1t Perciya'
shook his head.
The house was In committee on a bill
which vas being fought tooth and nail
by the opposition, and urgent whips had
been issued to the members of both par
ties to be as frequently as possible In
their places. But there were many
dreary intervals of debate, when no big
division was imminent, and during
those intervals Percival did not always
remain in the precincts of the house.
He might no doubt have spent them
Mt home or In escorting his wife to one
or other of the famous social functions
which, for his sake, she rellglously at
tended. But In his worried state of
mind the dullness of q domestic even
Ing, or the yet deadlier boredom of o
political Conversations, was uninvit-
Ing. He preferred to forget his trou-
bles In more e%nlivenlng genes. Within
n mile OF the palace of Westminster
there is, as all the world knows, a fam
GUS theater OF varieties. 1t Is under an
eIceptlonable management; 1t puts for
ward the strongest and most cnterpris.
Ing program OF the kind In London. One
evening during a particularly drowsy
debate a fellow III. p. Ind suggested to
PercIyal that they should run across to
tho X. and see tho rainbow dansensc.
Perciyal had complied. After that night
he went to see her pretty regularly.
yust before the dance the stage was
d~arkened; behind looueG q background
of murky clouds. gloomy as the sky be-
fore an impending thunder storm; then
a brilliant blaze OF sunlight burst upon
the Swallowed scene, and, whlrling Wild
ly In its dazzling rays appeared tho
famous rainbow danseuse. What a
sight hat wasi How dextrously she
managed her lass OF gorgeous drap-
cries, which foatsd all about her. and
swirled and spun like a revolving
wheel. At times nothing but tho fascI-
mating hues of these robes vas visible.
At other times a lovely face, crowned
with golden yellow locks, stood out
among them. radiant. spiritual, superb
-and then, while this enhancing Up
partition smiled and the audience clap
ped and shouted. rumbllngs OF thunder
rolled upon the air; clouds overcast the
sunlight; and. amid their gathering
gloom, the rainbow goddess radsd slow.
iY from the scene.
If 1t had ended with his merely admir-
ng this ravishing beauty from a dis
lance, all might have been well. But
such infatuation as Percival's was not
satisfied to confine itself within those
modest limits. A strong desire came
over him to make her personal ac-
q~uaintance. He ought, course, to
have withstood it 1t should have been
perfectly obvious to him that in giving
way to this desire, he was voluntarily