CATASTROPHE TO A LOVER.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1840, 14 May 1888, Page 3

CATASTROPHE TO A LOVER.

A certain young man paid impetuous attentions attention to a young- lady. Being the son of poor but honest parents, he was obliged to walk oyer to tbe village whioh oontaioed hia adored on the Sunday night he visited her. But there he labored under another awkward disadvantage. The young lady's father conceived a. singular and moat violent dislike to tbe smitten lover. This necessitated extreme caution on hia part, and that he waa equal to tbe emergency waa a matter of oourse, Hla ingress to the house was by a window on the second floor, whioh he reached by springing from the cover of a water butt and oatohlog bold of the window ledge. His egress waß effeotod by hanging at fall length from the ledge and dropping on the w&ter cover, a distanoe of about six lnohes. One Sunday daring last month he per* auaded a friend of his to accompany him, aa it was very lonely walking home at night They reaohed the place, tbe young hdy heard the signal, and Luke sprang up into bliss. Hia friend waa to amuse himself himself about the village until the hour of departure. He did amme him self. It does not seem possible that anybody oould be so brutal, but that young man actually removed the cover off water butt. Then he sat down on a fence and Btnoked olgara, and oalmly awaited resulta. Luke fiofa'.ed hia courting, aud | b.cked out of the window the full length hia hands wonld admit. " Goodbye !" he gasped In a whisper. "Good-bye, Lukey !" she whispered baok, as he pre* pared to drop. Then he let go. and Instantly shot from eight into a yawning abyss of darkneea and rainwater, and If he had been made of solid Iron, heated to a white glow, he oould not have oreated more of a commotion m striking the water. It is not necessary to repeat what Luke said, both when crawling out of the water butt and during the eight miles' walk home.