Honolulu Republican, Volume IV, Number 506, 25 January 1902 — A MOMENT OF WEAKNESS. [ARTICLE]

A MOMENT OF WEAKNESS.

£ Hrw a Ccnple Obtained Consent j X to Their w *--• - 4 “What on earth are we to do?” cried pretty Lydia Darrell almost tearfully. "I won’t marry old Fiebel-Jones- not if all the aunts in the world told me to.” “Marry me and defy the old cat."’ “Yes; that's Just what I should like to do. but(one must consider things.” “You mean money?” “Yes; I mean money. Yon see. if Aunt Judith had any rational ground for objecting to our marriage, if she said you drank or were already married—of course I know you are not—but 1 am supposing a case”— “Don’t you think you might suppose something a little less uncomplimentary?” “Xo: certainly not What does it matter In supposing? Well, then it would be different, and I should feel that, however wrong she might be, she really meant well. But when she can only say that you are one of the most arrogant opponents of all the noblest and purest aspirations of our sex—which means that she suspects you of laughing at her bloomers—why. then. 1 know that it Is not me that she is thinking of but herself all the time. And she wants me to marry FiebelJones because he flatters her to the top of her bent and calls her a pioneer and all that sort of nonsense.” “Do yoi; think that punching his bead would do any good?” “X’o; I’m quite sure It wouldn’t, or I should have told you to do It long ago. But. for all that Aunt Judy can do wbat she likes with all my money until 1 come of ago, and if I marry without her consent before I am ill all my property goes Into trust, with ber as trustee, and she can allow me as much or as little as she likes. If Aunt Judith were an ordinary aunt, one might expect that she would come round when •he found out what a dear you really are. But 1 know she would be only too delighted to get the money for her movements and societies, and I should never get a penny. So we must wait till I am 21.” "If I could only get round her In some way. If this was in a novel, there would be dozens of ways. I should drop on her in a railway accident and soothe her last moments with my brandy flask.” “You forget that she Is a teetotaler.” “If yon had met as many teetotalers a* 1 have, you wouldn't bet. I know one who simply wolfs down a trifle that Is stiff with brandy and vermuth, though he wouldn’t touch either honestly out of a glass, or I might be in the way when her horses bolted.” “Ob. she doesn’t keep any!” “She would in a novel. And I should stop them at the risk of my life, and she would fall on my neck and call me ber preserver.” “I should like to see that!” cried Lydia, with a delicious trill of laugh ter. “Lyddy. you have np imagination.” •aid Bab Falk, with dignity. ”1 am sure the scene would In* most dramatic. especially if Lady Judy happened to be in bloomers. And her remorse would be so great that she would give me her consent written on a visiting card, or perhaps my shirt cuff, to pre vent mistakes.” “How can you talk such nonsense! But you have given me an idea Couldn’t you save her when she is out bicycling?” “What from? And how am I to And her at the right moment?” “Well, really 1 should have thought that a man could have arranged all that in a minute." “Seems as If the purest plan would be to arrange the accident. One might bribe a tramp to attack her and allow himself to be driven off by one. ano » then he would probably blackmail me for the rest of .my life. Or one migb* get a generous friend to do the tramp part In disguise, only I can’t at the present moment think of any man who would bo such a Jay Besides, your Aunt Judy Is Just the kind of energetic female who would Insist on seeing th< villain safe in Jail after the rescue Then 1 should have to give myself ur to save him. The plan is not so bri! Ilant as It seemed at first” “Xo; It Isn't; very far from it. But listen to me. On Monday Aunt Judy starts on a bicycle ride to Scotland alone, She wishes to show that ■ a« woman In bloomers can go through the length of England without coming to grief. Now, my idea is that you should accompany her.” “ ’Myes? Do yon think she will catch on to the elopement?” “Oh. she Is not to know. I will find out the route she goes by. and you wIT follow at a d‘stance and keep her hr sight Then If she gets into any dlffi mltles and I feel sure she will-you can rush to the rescue and earn ber eternal gratitude.” “Supposing she sees me early In the Jaunt and smokes the trickT’ “Yon must take care she doesn't If yon keep behind her all the time, she wont be able to see yon.” Bob Falk was very much in love With prettj Lydia Darrell.and he would

un attempted aEjth’ag that hnea tto pr: cisw of td' lacing tbs data »f their carriage. Beaides, at that cotnetst the young woman of the library, who. knowing them by night and llrln! ; a !ot» affair. had humanely left them aione tn the bark room for a few minutes. returned with to apoiogetlc and at the name time derided expression. For one of the results of Lady Jnlith’s harsh policy In ordering that “not at home" was to be said to Mr. Falk and in e\crc;«:ng a strict censorship over th- 4 letters received by her niece was that Lydia had hit upon the Id* a of the library as a m-euug place, and Bob put messages In the agony column when he wished to comm pairs te with her. Lydia of course duld write to him. "In consequence of 1 * rmatlon received.” as the police *. Bob Falk started In pursuit of L» ' Judith partially disguised in a si. of very old cloth-? and a peculiar.y vlllainoua cheap bah By the time the qur.rry had passed the oae hundredth milestone from London Bob was unable to resist an Involuntary feeling of admiration for her pluck. She rode hills which most of her sex would ha~e walked. She took no heed of the chaff which from time to time floated round the unaccustomed spectacle of her bloomers. She kept up a steady pace and stuck to bVr arranged route with an accuracy that materially helped the pursuer. At the close of tbe third day. during which she had beaten her pievlous record. Ijidy Judith stopped at a wayside hostelry. Hitherto Bob brd avoided the hotels which she favond with her patronage, but now there was no help for It. He must either put up In the same building or ride on five miles to the next town. He thought ibat if he avoided the front of the house and effaced himself among the people in the bar parlor she would never notice him. After alb if she did she was scarcely likely to suppose that he was there on her account. He loitered about for some little while In order to give her time to settle down In her place and then walked Into the bar. The next minute he emerged again with singular alacrity. “What the devil am 1 to do? I suppose they won't have her in the best rooms in that get up. and she's too tired to go on. if I interfere, it is 10 to 1 that 1 do no good and 40 to 1 that she only hates me ail tbe more for seeing her. It seems brutal to do nothing or at least not to try. but no woman could forgive a man who had seen her In such a plight. By Jove, if there were only some evidence! All’s fair la love, especially In a cr<e like this.” He prowled disconsolately to the back of the building, cursing his luck and wondering what he should do. There be hit upon an Individual who evidently combined cycling with photography. A brilliant Idea sprang up In his brain. He engaged the amateur photographer In conversation and explained bis desire. The kodak changed bands, and so did a gleaming yellow coin. There was some shuffling of new dims. Then Bob Falk took hasty snapshots of the hack and front of tbe building In order to divert suspicion from his real purpose. After that he conveyed the kodak to tbe bar. Some little time after her return from Scotland Lady Judith received a very singular letter. It ran; D«r Lady Judith—T h«v» a (L'tpn of th* !b----dowd. Wt»t would you recouraind me to do with them? Tour* truly, Robert Fall The Inclosure was a photograph. She removed the silver paper hastily and saw. Well, you see. when the landlady of that hotel positively refused to ad mit her to any of the rooms used by la dies on the ground that her costume would do harm to the establishment she had consented to take her meal In the barroom and put up with an attic rather than proceed farther in her ex hansted state. She had regretted this weakness ever since. Sne only hoped that no knowledge of the Insult which she had allowed to be heaped upon the cause would /om« to the ears of her strong minded sisters. Now she saw before her eyes a visible presentment of the scene—herself In her semlmanly garments seated at a ■mall table to the right discussing provisions, to the left a knot of common men and tbe apparatus of tbe bar It was bad enough to be exiled from her proper place. There was tbe worse thought that by her she bad given tacit encouragement to the curse of drink. Bob Falk married Lydia Darrell with her aunt’s consent, and no one could ever make out why Lady Judith ebang ed her mind so suddenly, least of ail Professor Flebel Jones, who thought himself aggrieved Aunt and niece did not see much of each other after matrimony.—Madame. * Card Playing la (\ urch. Frequent cases of card playing occurred in churches In olden days !n the high or curtailed family pews that were to be found In several parts of this country A cast of card play it g was mentioned by the poet Crabbe as having occurred In one of thv>se pews In Trowbridge |*arlsh church. Mr. Her esford Hope stated that card playing was not uncommon In churches having curtained pews, where those occupying them were screened from tbe observation of tbe rest of the congregation, and that one of the (Jeorges Is credited with taking part at a game of whist In the church he attended. The church at Little Stanmore. In Middlesex, has a luxurious room pew which Is approach ed by a special door and staircase. The old St. Paul’s cathedral before the great Are of London was used by business men as a sort of exchange. The portico was let out to hucksters, and in those days gambling and cards are both said to have been Indulged in without let or hindrance within the cathedral.— Loudon Standard