The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-08-27
1T HAPPENED BY ACCIDENT.
MARGARET E. sANGsTER,


! be said to perish by the act Of God.
But when man takes hold of a live
WIRE with bare hands he has only
himself to blame If he drops dead the
next instant. The accident was stupid
and foolhardy.
We need not limit what happens by
apparent accident TO disaster and ca.
lamity. There, are pleasant things thai
may properly be set down to the ac-
count of accident. since we have not
Planned them nor in any way made the
least provision, mentally or materially
ior their coming TO pass. a young man
casts about for good place to spend
a brief holiday. Business claims him
so constantly that vacations are few
/ and far between. Not often does he
obtain a recess. Shall he go 70 the
mountains, 10 the old homestead, to
Inc inland springs or the shore? Shall
ne accept a friends invitation to join
MN on yacht, or possibly shall he
go on a bicycle tour over a distant
state? He finally decides on one jaunt
or another. with no ultimate object
except to have a good holiday
Yet on the yacht or in the farmhouse
or by the way he is to meet a girl
whose eyes shall capture his heart and
who shall change the face of the world
for him for the rest of his life.
How came Hugh to marry BELIEF
1 once asked. wondering at what seemed
an iQcongruOus marriage. the hus-
band man of profound culture and
varied learning, while the wife was a
brilliant social butterfly who cared for
little except personal adornment and
beautiful surroundings
oh. said the friend who answered
me, they met on a slow steamer cross
ing the Atlantic. Nearly everybody on
board was seasick. But they had in
common the fact that they were both
oil hrr -
reached Liverpool they were engaged.
You might call it an accidental we'd
ding, due to propinQuity, but it has not
turned out badly, though they are so
IN contrast. Belle adOres Hugh and
locks up to his superior scholarship
with the proper degree of admiration.
Most. men appreciate homage. AS for
Hugh though Belle is shallow. he has
never found it out. He. will read a
thesis to her. and she will sit looking
like a modern Madonna, really consid-
eriRg the style of her next gown. but
outwardly listening TO her good mans
deep voice as it goes droning along the
resonant periods. She does not un-
derstand much of il. but she makes
him comfortable, and a good deal of
married happiness is built upon foun-
dalton of domestic comfort and mutual
aGOra ton.
A little romance may be lent to the
most prosaic day if we are ready to
find pleasure in agreea BILE accidents
For instance. on the Veranda of an inn
a d resort which is patronfzed ali the
year round, alike in winter as in sum
mer. one may meet an old gentleman
o. an old lady whose memory is a
treasure house Of incidents and anec-
dotes of a by-gOne day. Interesting as
younger people are, they cannot bear
comparison with delightful old people
who have lived i'm the midst of things
through their busy years. and are con-
tented to sit on the edge Of things in
the Indian summer of their lives Ac-
cidentally the lady who is spending
few weeks for her health in a place
like this drops into conversation with
the old stager, who is postmaster or
mistress of charming gossip, and finds
the idle days greatly enriched by the
chance acquaintance.
Accidents of this kind are common
enough but should never be taken for
granted. They drift into our days like
extra sunbeams and should be re-
ceiVed with thankfulness. The hap
piest people are those who begin each
morning with the expectation that
some accidental joy will overtake them
before night.
Copyright. 1905, by Joseph B. Bowles)