ROMANCES OF LONDON LIFE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVII, Issue 95, 21 April 1906, Page 13

ROMANCES OF LONDON LIFE.

STOEIES FHOIL-TBE FOUt'E COtTBTS-

Xot infrequently the budding writer la search at ideas may find-.tSeia ready to- h» hand &l tie nuitter-of-fact chronicles of the police courts. Who- could wish for a more dramatic situation thaa tf\at suggested by (ro give a recent Instance* a eliarge of attempted burglary wliicir came before * .London- court the otlier day? A. husband and wife were going , out for rbe Evening - ,, but something or other occurred unexpectedlyto keep the wife at home, and her husband went off without her- Left alone in the house, she sat reading by die parlour fire, into which site thrust the poker to- mate tt burn better. Suddenly the silence was disturbed by a fains rattling sound, apparently coming from the front door. Tip-toeing into the passage, the lady was confronted by the astonishing: sight of a man's hand projecting tlirougii the letrer-b'ox aperture in the doo?. The fingers field a loopeuV piece of" stringy with wMck ttie band was geutiy

"nsMng" for the bolt o-n the inside of the door- It was a. burglar trying to effect an entraace. Cor a minute or two the woman, watciied the mysterious hand at work, herself too terrified to. move- Then suddenly a wild impulse drove her back to the parlour. Snatching the poker out of the Sre-gratei ahe stole back to the paseagev up , to- the frenr door, and. "Jabbed" at the unprotected band with the red-hot iroa. Tuere i. yell of agoay from without, the haad. dis-

appeared as though by magic, and then, all was stilL When, the husband returned the lady told him what had happened, and. ne kept watch and -ward till morning , , but nothing mare was seen or heard.

In the morningr the lady went to. call oa. her dearest friend, ta tell her aOI aoout the wonderful doings of the night. The friend ltced Just next door. "When; the visitor called" only the friend's husband was ax home. He was sitting in his parlour nursinj —a burned hand'

Another little drama of ri»Al life was told in the anromantic surrotmdinss of Lambeth County Court thia -week. Some years ago a. sergeant in the Royal Artillery, named Dowling, became engaged to a Miss Annie PoundV a 1:00k. When war in South Afric* was declare* th* soldier, befere his departuTe, made a will in favour af his sweetheart. After the war he settled in Nora Seotia.fr.Oßi which place he sent £12 to Miss Ptrand —with whom he had kept in communication —in order that .she might .join hint aad get married. At the same time he asfced her to obtain a bos belonging to him at Margate, and briny it with her. The woman, made all preparations for the Journey, »oi aJso bought her ticket. When the box reached her from Margate, a few days before the date of sailing, she noticed that the lode was broken.

With feminine curiosity ahe looked Inside* an* to her amazement discovered a letter Iα Dowllng*3 handwriting-, In which he referreii to "hia wife and two children." The sfloefc and disapEOintment to her produced a serious illness; and with feelings outraged she wrote to her lover breafcfnjj off the ensagement. Upon receiving the unexpected, letter froe his sweetheart, Dowlingt paid his addresses Co- a girlim STova Scotia, and eventnallyj*" married her. Having returned to> this coqflP try, he commenced aroceedings against Ms* Pound for the return of the £12, and, in explanation of the letter which had had such a strange sequel, informed the Court r that "Ms wife and two children" meant t» ' refer to a widow and two cbild.ren. whom he and others had befriended, out of respect lor a dead comrade.

After hearing- Dowiiny's statement, jud*r meat -was given, for him for £4 15/,. and Court fees.