RACE FOR A WIFE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 12740, 17 December 1904, Page 2 (Supplement)

RACE FOR A WIFE.

! SPECIAL TRAINS CHARTERED BY RIVAL SUITORS. Is- the days when the telephone was a toy and the motor-car an expensive hobby no one. save Royalty, ever dreamt of chartering a special railway train. A "special" in those days was a prohibitive luxury. Times have changed, for this year has been a reJ fold one for special trains. Nowadays a special train, though costly, I may be had as. a matter of course, and. I strangely enough, at the tiroa when the J " special" has ceased to be regarded as anyI thing uncommon, romance has steppsd in to save it from being consigned to the prosaic position of an "ordinary." It was only recently that there was a flutter of excitement at one 01" the principal termini of the metropolis. A well-dress-ed gentleman rushed up to the traffic superintendent and breathlessly asked for a special train to Bristol. Hardly had he done so than another young man burst into their presence. " A special for Bristol," he exclaimed, and on seeing the other man instantly drew back with a scowl on his face. The impatient actions and gestures of the two charterers gave rise to much comment among the railwaymen, who. in a -short space of time, had the two specials bowling from the station. It was some days before the whole Story leaked out. and every guess of the railway officials as to the reason of the " specials'' was wrong. It was a race for a wife. The two gentle; men were stockbrokers, and both loved the same girl, who. however, loved No. 1. He was a most inattentive lover, and it was only the merest accident that brought to light how strongly he did love. V' No. 2, on the other hand, was most attentive. In fact, he oppressed the lady with his devotion, so much so, indeed, that she fled to her native Bristol with a breaking heart. No, .1 was the only one for her. and No. 1 was thoughtless. In the meantime No. 2 showered letters on the lady at Bristol, and in desperation she answered one of his piteous appeals in the affirmative. She would grant an interview at Bristol. It so happened that the offices of No. 1 weie below those of No. £!, and by some mischance —perhaps the postman was tiredthe very letter addressed to No. 2. and making the appointment, was delivered at No. l's. Without looking at the address No. 1 opened it, and realised what had happened. He at once sent the letter to bis rival, and the scene on the platform was the result. At Bristol the inhabitants of Terrace were treated to a neck-arid-neck race between two cabs, from which two men descended in as composed a manner as possible. What took place inside it is not known, further than that No. 2 returned to town that night, and that No. 1, arriving late the following morning, announced the fact that he was to be married in the first week of November. Another semi-romance surrounded the chartering of a special train to the north. A well-known young nobleman, a bachelor, was billed to attend a certain aristocratic gathering in the Highlands, and, incidentally, an American lady had designs on this young noblemannot for her own sake, but for her daughter. But the nobleman was wary and managed to escape north for : ie snooting season without leaving his addr.ss. However, the keen American lady discovered that he was to attend a certain fun- lion on a certain day, and she chartered a special train. It is known that she introduced her daughter, but as yet the engagement is not announced. It was only the other day, too. that a special train saved a young officer from being cashiered, lie was in charge of a small draft of men leaving for India. He had important business to transact, and arranged 1 for the senior sergeant to march the men to Waterloo. He missed the train, and would have missed the boat, but, by chartering a ''special," arrived at Southampton in the nick of time.