A DOUBLE VICTORY.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXII, Issue 3, 17 May 1895, Page 23

A DOUBLE VICTORY.

(P.y JOHN J. Cantwell in Donahue s Magazine)

•' When auger arises think of the consequence?," said thit mi: old celestial Confucius, and probably oce of the reasons that his cpi*n»m is not oftener cj'.ai.lerei ia that pejpte of the present day di not know him as intim ,tely as they do Shak"spoare or even Oscar Wilde But there are few quotations as apt as this ancient one, and while absorbing the details of this little domestic comedy, it would b j quite apropos to put the moral in a safe place in your memory, for which purpose I have placed it at the beginning of the story. Jack Leslie had political aspirations, ambitious", commendable or otherwise, according to your point of view in a young man whose 2G years had beeu lived in a model way ; a young married man who had stepped from college to his father's banking business, and had been most successful ; with a beautiful city home, deeded to him aa a wedding gift, and possessing all those characteristics which make an able and popular fellow. It was not strange when the ward politicians were looking for a candidate for Senator that John Leslie's name came to be frequently mentioned. A nomination in the diatrict was equivalent to an election, but there was another aspirant for the nomination. la the usual course of things the reßideoce of Mr Leslie became a club house for the meetings of trusty workers and friends who had political influence in the district.

A June bride Mary Leslie had been, and while Jack was by no means aa handsome as an Apollo, she had seoretly been his champion for years. She would scan the papers for mention of his name, and once when a cut of him had been printed, as pretident of the 'ward committee, bhe treasured it carefully. Her hero was not loag in finding out how matters sto:d, and aB her brown hair and large gray eyes

had been Jib , rowon in all his uadertaki-^ (although be kept her jnfluenc, o him-ell), be claimed her, and the four monft. S heir earned life had b-en m*st happy. Since J ack waß ia J^ in pohticP, she .icemed it proper alno to obtain an understanding of the Be. ace, aDd on one occasion she ventured to say • manr JaCk> really believe thal a cheap coat makes a cheap " Now dearie," with a smile, «I am sure that a sealskin sacqae becomes a dear gnl, and you shall have one next mouth " * A few evening later a, he was resting after supper,' the evening paper spread before him, and a cigarette between his teeih, she 3 in with a journal two days old and exclaimed :

account., and now the office i* running after Graball " At last convention day came, and if you have never been a candidate, you can httle real.se the importmce of this day to hTm who for .year, or peihap B longer, bus spent h,a time and moneyon ZvesuH of he ehberationa of the delegates Jack LesUe was onfy hum Q He eahsed that while success meant fame and further honours defeat at the convention undoubtedly sealed his political Career . Then had been a meeting o f h. friends on the prevous evening, and he J* been assured at nothing could prevent his nomina io ; but the fact of the matter was, that an unpledgo i delegation, from a rural d.sfriei, heldtae balance of power. This morning, P robl y r om anx.ety over th, results o f the coming convention, he fel s tIZ mdieposed. Mr 3 Leslie, sharing in the excitement, had a slight headache Our candidate ome down to breakfast a lit l , late and ta ted m with he vehemence of a very hungry individual. Z y not ced that he bud omitted something, and said • noticed "Ob Jack, you forget to ask a blessing on your breakfast." He looked critically at the meal, and answered, smiling • My dear, I think we've blessed everything here before " nLtS* C °"' rnparat ° ry l ° ' iOWn lowa tothG offi" he 1 8baI1 mb ° ■- °<

" lam sorry, Httlo girl, ,f my friends have troubled you We attain object; on th,- sh uldcrs of others, you know » and burned a hole in it " ° on ll o^-tj.^'ri^Lir" bec " ae yon havcn '' th ° J_ lodeed I I matl rem!loter , Ycu are goiDg ,o, o di< , late |o

" Now, dear, this won't do. You're getting angry " "Angry did you say, John Lesli, ? You are very anxious to charge me with being angry, but the t-uth is I don't care^whether your friends, as you call them, come here or not, but I do carl abou being spoken to in this manner. Angry, indeed. We are marred

■' You will charge me with falsehood next." '' Why, M,,rj 1 i never thought you had "such a hot temper » Not quite aa Lot as yours, nor from the same cause A 'man

" Mary, Mary, you know I drink very little, and, at you said, there were many otherß besides me here laßt night. Don't talk foolishly." " I shall talk just as long as I please, and say what I please." 11 That will do, then. Talk to yourself. I wonder how you dare act bo." " Dare I Mr Leslie, did you say dare ? Then I say that I wonde r at you for so forgetting yourself. What nm I? " " You are my own dearest wife, but you are acting very foolishly jaßt now." "Thank you, sir. You have at lust given me to understand the esteem in which you hold me. How I did love you, Jack Leslie, but now I will go back to my mother's at once." Patient reader, I have the most profound admiration for a mother-in-law, and I should have never introduced her had not bhe been the culminating point in my Btory. Jack Losliewaa but a man, and that was the last straw. " Then, hang it, go to her ?" he roared , and slamming the dining, room door, he walked to the front entrance. Here he stopped as the Bound of subdued sobbing reached him and he tiptoed his way back to the dining room and listened. Mary was crying, and then he remembered that for the first time since their marriage he bad not kissed her " good morning." He longed to reopen tht door, but, man. like, he said to himself. " I didn't start this quarrel and I won't go back." He went out, slamming the front door, and started briskly for the office, thinking as he went along, " I wonder if she had any real reason for quarrelling with me." He remembered that at the Jones' reception and ball last week she danced most of the plain dances with Tom Gray, his big college cousin, and she had bad a long, confidential talk with him. He remembered how proud ha had felt

when his wife said, when Tom asked her for a waltz, " I dance the round dances only with my husband." But Jack was just in the mood for thinking most dreadful thiDge, and he muttered .

" Tom wasn't at our wedding last June, and why should he stay away, unless "

A hungry-looking dog came along just then and was uncere" moniously kicked into the stree f , and the young man continued gloomily toward his office.

11 Say, keep yerselves straight ; de young boss is cranky die mornin'," was the message the office boy sent down the line of clerks about ten minutes later, and before lunch it became quite apparent. The " young bops " was always the kindest of employers, but this morning there was trouble. The office boy had dropped a bottle of ink on the floor, an event which on any other occasion would have caused a laugh, but Mr Leslie, afler angrily commenting on his carelessness, discharged him on the spot, ihough before departing the youth whispered confidentially to the head bookkeeper :

" Say, Mr Smith, I'll be back in de mornin'. He won't never think of it."

Tears came to the eyeß of the pretty typewriter at the sharp way she was being Bpoken to, and even several business men were snubbed quite badly.

Bo the morning passed. No business. No lunch. He sat in the private office thinking, and the more he thought the more he multi. plied the significance of his wife's conversation with his college cousin, and the more miserable he felt. Just in the midst of this unpleasant reverie the junior clerk opened the door and announced : " A gentleman to see you, sir." The stranger, a plain-looking, red-faced man, stepped inside. " Don't you know enough to knock at the door before you open it?" Baid Mr Leslie to the unfortunate junior clerk.

" I— l knew you were alone, Bir, and I never knocked before nless you had visitors, Bir," was the hesitating reply.

"See that you do bo hereafter. What can I do for yon, sir?" turning abruptly to the visitor who had bo disturbed his meditations. Tbe man opened wide his eyes. He had undoubtedly expected a different reception. "I'm Duffee, of Kidgefield," he answered. " Pleaaa state your bnßiness quickly," as the appearance of his visitor did not seem agreeable to Jack Leslie. " Its of no importance. Probably you'll hear from me again," significantly responded " Duffee of Ridgefield," as he started toward the exit. " .Fust as you pleaße," and Leslie wheeled around in hii chair, leaving the stranger still in amazement. The latter made a uiution, as if to sps^k, and then, turning, left the office. CTo be concluded. ,")