Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1897-10-10
From the London Truth.


the eminent physician, throwing down
the evening paper which he had just
been perusing, and delivering himself
in his most sententious manner. How
many complete comedies and tragedies
for the matter of that may often be la
tent in two or three commonplace lines
of print"
And what, pray, most sapient phil
osopher, has evoked from you that pro-
found sentiment" l inquired, laughing
ly.
THE concluding sentence in this OBJ
ituary notice of the bishop of X" he
said, taking up the paper again and
reading aloud the passage: "'He mar
ried, in 1866, Margaretta, third daugh-
ter of the late Joshua Barker"
Indeed" said "And is it a come
dy, my philosopher. or tragedy that
turks in that very simple historical an
nouncement?''
''Umph! A comedy. AT any rate the
comic element prevails"
you knew the bishop in his young
days. l believer"
Intimately, and his wife too. In
fact, / myself was spectator of the
little comedy which resulted in their
marriage"
you were?"
81 was" said Thorley, with an i'm
pressive air. | saw that he was burst
ing to tell good story. We were by
ourselves in corner of the club smok-
ingroom. There are men from whom,
in like circumstances. l should have
fed incontinent, pleading an imme-
date engagement But Thorley was
an excellent raconteur and I had moth
ing particular to do for half an hour
| therefore lay back in my chair and
regarded him encouragingly.
Il believe" he went on, chat you
would find the story rather diverting."
''Then, by all means, let me hear it, -
I suggested
And nothing 10th. he began:
1T all happened more than thirty
years ago" Thorley said 81 need hard
ly say that the bishop had not, in
those days, attained to episcopal hon
crs. He was, in fact, merely the vicar
of Peterborough, where l, youngster.
was carrying or my first practice. and
where Margarettas father was brew
ing Indifferent beer. But even then his
reverence was cleric marked out for
future preferment, no less by his aris-
trocratic connections than by his in
trinsic personal merits Nor by that
do | mean to imply that these merits
were incOnsiderable. He was decidedly
intellectual, an eloquent preacher. a
good organizer. And his bodily pres
ence contributed an appreciate quota
RI tho pffAct IF thlco qualities To c.
tall, imposing, dignifed. Calm author
itativeness sat upon his placid and am
pie forehead. Solidity and weight
swelled in the undulations Of his ca
paciOus waistcoat. Severe moral rec
titude helped to stiffen every line of hia
upright and stately bearing Even
apart, therefore, from his intrinsic self
he made a splendid figurehead for the
spiritual life of the parish. l suppose
his age must have been about 40,
though he booked older. And he was a
confirmed bachelor. So much so, in
fact, that the single ladies in Penn
borough, of whom there were many,
hardly regarded the vicar as a matri-
monial possibility, albeit, with his high
connections and good prospects, he
would have been an excellent spec for
the best of them.
mot that he was boor or brutal
misogynist or anything of that kind.
Very much the reverse. He mixed
freely in the social life of the place. He
enjoyed the company of ladies, and.
indeed, in his sanctifed way, was quite
a proficient flirt. But to that deeper,
lasting sentiment which leads through
courtship to wedlock he was entirely
strange, and | honestly believe that
the bare idea of matrimony had never
crossed his mind.
Now | will revert a minute to the
Bankers.
Il have said that Joshua Barker, the
head of the family, was brewer of in
different beer. In spite of the quality
of his malt liquors he/did large bust
ness, having many tied houses, and was
worth a considerable sum of money.
But then he was the father of fourteen
children, so that his fine income was
somewhat discounted. I shall not have
much to say about any of them, except
ing his eldest daughter, Margaretta,
whom | knew better than any of the
others and who was a great friend OF
my wife's. In fact, the young lady
spent great part of her time at our
house. And l was glad that she did so,
for my wife, having only lately been
married to me, and having come from
house full of brothers and sisters,
was in need of a genial companion.
"Margaretta was a handsome and pre-
possessing girl; though even in those
days she showed some slight tendency
toward that richness of form and fea-
ture which she has since abundantly
realized. You have never met the bis
hops wife? All we'll! She has long
measured a good forty-five inches
round the waist and is now the pos
SCISSOR of four chins. But in her girl
hood she was pretty and fascinating,
and slight, and not few local bloods
were enamored with her. These local
bloods, however, were all of the plebs
plebian, and Margaretta was a girl OF
aspirations. She wanted to escape al
together from the sordid vulgarity of
Peterborough society and TO blossom
in some more selct and fashionable
sphere Thus. at least, she frequently
confided to my wife, who womanlike,
aided and abetted her in this ambitious
folly.
my wife was talking to ME about
Margaretta one day She was deploring
the fact that there was no well born
and bred young men in Peterborough to
marry the poor girl, and remove her
into that HIGHER circle in which she
was SO well Ou9Iified IN shine And T