A Narrow Escape.

Manawatu Herald, 22 March 1894, Page 3

A Narrow Escape.

. Joseph Hatton, in one of his *■ •« cigarettes " in the People tells the following tale : —

Life is a continual narrow escape from death. The Thirteen Club and The Opals, a much older institution, have let people talking out-of-the- | way ocourrences. In conneefci n with one of the recent railway calamities in America several curious ' instances of men and women not I going by the train at the last moment are mentioned. This kind of thing, however, always happens and without any excuse for bringiug &te in as a factor. There was an incident, however in thr career of the late Edward Lloyd that a religious man might have taken to heart as a divine interposition I remember talking to him about Hoe, the great^ printing machinist. I happ4v to have met Hoe in New Yorl. He was Lloyd's ideal inventor and mechanical engineer. Lloyd was Hoe's ideal newspaper ttfl. "And y«*i" I»»14» "jou.

have never been to America." " No," he replied, " I had once made up my mind to go and had fixed upon the ship; 1 think she was called the Arctic. Douglas Jerrold was against my going, aud did all he could to persude me not to venture upon it. • But,' he said, 'if you must go, give this play into Jim Wallace's own hands. He gave me the manuscript of • The Rent Day, 1 which had been produced at Drury Lane. The object of my going was to see Hoe and arrange for two machines on certain revised terms, so that if one broke down I should have another to fall back upon Just before the time for railing I received a letter from Hoe telling me that I could have all I wanted. In consequence of that lettfer I did not go ; and the ship in which 1 was booked for the voyage went to the bottom."