A STRANGE LIFE AND DEATH.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11562, 19 May 1905, Page 2

A STRANGE LIFE AND DEATH.

The other afternoon I haft .the delight of listening to some talcs of this kind j from the lips of a man who has- seen. much. One of his stories must be interesting ey.en "in niy clumsy retelling. I omit some 'details to avoid the identification of my subject. A.B.C. cams to London from a remote part of the country many years ago, and applied himself to his profession. He worked so diligently that his industry "»»i as the amazement of the most industrious. Except for his brief ,' 'lonely meals and hl9 carefully measured allowance- of sleep, he allowed himself practically no relaxation. On Sunday ho unbent a iittle, but-^ntoie,; as it seemed, from a sense- of duty, jthan anything else. He lived in two -smallshabby attics wretchedly furnished." In course of time he manttged toNearn a very .large income, and he wis.able'tjb save, veiy nearly the whole of it. So he went onthifi ,round of ceaseless toil and ufrelaxed frugality till'hs became elderly^ Suddenly! he stopped. He had apparently summed up his years and his possessions, and he resolved to make a new departure while there was yet time. He had never been known to havo a woman friend, but it turned out that he had come acquaintances, and he proposed to a lady who was 20 years younger. than himself. She accepted him, and he then proceeded to rent a huge derelict mansion in the vicinity of his nativei place. He abandoned;' every kind of work, and oeaised to communicate with such friends as he had nH»de';in London. Naturally his wife found herself much at sea in her new surroundings. But, a few rooms of the mansion were furnished, and they did the- best they could. J^® man seemed quite satisfied. He wa^ /not tlemonstrativs, but so far as coukftbe sc^n he did not repent. After a feyK;.ycarß. of this* life, he told his wife onfe* jnorning that he did not feel well, and^ould remain in bad. Next morning he /said to her, "Can you say a prayer?" , 'She was much siirprise, for he had never shown any inclination to .religion. On her saying that she could repeat the Lord's Prayer, he said it would be better she should do it, and so she did. Then he asked her to take his hand. This also was surprising, for though kind enough he hsd never been demonstrative in hia; affection. So she took his hand, and he said "Good-bye." "What do you mean?" she • asked in great astonishment. "I am dying," he replied, .'and turned round and 1 breathed his last?— British Weekly.