Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1903-08-15
Her R PRIVATE BOX
tOrieinall

:, tOrsinall
& nan Lester was of a 1ea,ons d,..
~ n. Ills wife was above reproacb
]; - wnen man begins to fret ovor a
osetole misfortune, it first becomes a
R.voao'e and eventually an actual one.
=. es1er' when he built his new honse
wmcn at the time contained every mod.
.n improvement, left an opening h.
-. 49, tne closet OF room occupied for
us study and one for his wife's recen-
t% on room, the space being closed by a
'tnAn panel In the closet and one in the
toom' When one Of the panels was re-
tno'eo any conversation In the ad1oin-
-!e room could be readily heard. A
pm hole also enabled one to look from
the closet to the reception room. Roth
closet and reception room were paneled
anke, so that the device would not he
readily noticed.
one evening q gentleman was an
nounced whose acquaintance Mrs. Les
Ter had recently made, but who was
unknown to her husband. She begged
MI. Lester to come into her reception
room and make the mars acquaintance.
Lester declared that he had some writ
Ing to do and would remain in his
study. But no sooner were the couple
comfortably seated than he touched
the spring removing the panel 1t flew
pack with jerk. Lester put his eye
to the peephole and saw his wife and
her visitor chatting on commonplace
subjects and apparently unsuspicious
that they were watched. Lester wish
ed only to try his eavesdropping ap-
paratus and soon replaced the panel,
taking care that it should not fly back
noisily. Everything was now ready for
spying upon Mrs. Lester and Eugene
Powell, q man whom Lester suspected
as soon as he should make another call.
One evening he was sitting in his
study, his wife being with him, when
PoWel's card was brought in. Mrs.
Lester went into the reception room.
Lester remained In the study. No SOON
er We're the couple seated than he went
to his closet and slid back the panel.
Powell and Mrs. Lester were chatting
on familiar subjects. Lester watched
them for time, then closed the panel,
convinced that his suspicious had been
unfounded.
A few evenings later Mrs. Kate
Strong, a widow, an intimate friend of
Mrs. Lester, called to spend the evening
with the Testers. Mrs. Lester CON-
planned of a headache and begged her
husband to go down and entertain the
guest for awhile until she felt better,
when she would 60 down herself.
The two chatted for awhile on ordi-
nary topics. Then Mrs. Strong took up
a book. Of foreign photographs to look
them over. She was sitting on a sofa,
and Lester went and sat beside her.
They turned over large number Of
pictures, discussing their different fea-
lures, Lester, who had collected them,
brief remarks on the subject Of
each.
"This," he said, us st. Paurs cathe-
dral in London. It was built by Sir
Christopher Wren. This Is the Tower
Of London, and here you see Tower hill,
where so many political magnates were
That one is the Place de la
Concorde, in Paris, also once used as
place of execution. During the reign
of terror the guillotine was set up
there, and blood flowed from It like
water. The Arc de Triomphe was built
by Napoleon l. to commemorate his
victories. The battle field Of Waterloo
you remember the superb description
Byron wrote Of it?'
mo. Can't you give itT'
Lester was proud Of his elocution and
dozen or more stanzas from
''Childe Harold" in which the descrip-
ton is given beginning
There was a sound OF reveiry by night
when Belgium's capital had gathered
there
Her beauty and her chivalry and bright
the lamps shone DER fair women and
. brave men,
BE had barely finished when serv-
ant entered with word from Mrs. Les
ter to Mrs. Strong asking to be ex-
cused, as she had violent headache
and must go to bed. but hoping that
Mrs. Strong would make herself at
home and that Mr.. Lester would sue
coed in entertaining her. Mrs Strong.
however, now It was understood that
Mrs. Lester would not appear, took
her leave, thanking Mr.. Lester for the
entertaining hour he had afforded hee-
Lester. went up 10 his wifes room
he found her In dressing gown
to gotng 10 bed He COO
doled with her upon her headacha
though be saw no evidence OF any m-
disposttioo. Indeed she ives stan6a11
bafore q mirror fixing her hair tor tho