HOW A MINISTER'S WIFE CAME TO GRIEF.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 173, 22 July 1881, Page 1

HOW A MINISTER'S WIFE CAME TO GRIEF.

[From the [Inventors' IRecord.l | An ingenious Chicago inventor baa constructed a bicycle driven by tlie ; eipansivof qrce of astropg steel Bpring. When thio machine is to ,be/ used the spring is wound up. Tbe rider thejn leaps into bis place, and tbe mo'merife his weight presses tbe saddle^ tHe, ' spring' is released and the bicycle starts off at full speed, thus obviating all danger of falling. The spring is warrahted^ keep the bicycle : ifc*inotion for ant fiou^anrl by pressing a lever placed jrjaineHiately injlront of the: saddle; the -nia-' ; chine can he instantly: etopped; -••''^Bests for the feet, Tißcdnneete'd ,f with - .:(lie treadles of the wbeet.'are; 'provided,^ . arid the rider can thus journey without pjaking tbe least exertion, ontilatj the end of an hour he js obliged to dismount and jvindup the ;^hgi Sev. Mr . Maepherson ,bad m bfefen i for nearly a year the rector >of^ th 6 j. church in Isbkatawbunky } ; Iowa): and, together, with his young an d,' attractive wife, had won the warm admiration , of all but the unmarried ladies of his parish, when he became intefested . jn bieyclee. - Being young and ; acetic, he soon became an excellent rider and every afternoon after 4 o'clock be was accustomed -tp mount; his bicycle in the .backjard,;tp tide swiftly .down the carriage path; to the street^ and thence through the village. As his 'house was an insolated one, and no curious neighbors were near, Mrs Mac..pherson , undertpok to r learnv' to ride the lengtb of jbbe yard,. where :ber busband wonld meet ber and hold the niachin^ while she dißmbnnted, : ; Sfie^ enjoyed tbespQr^^^jti.niayj possibly have been riiaqEdep: to temosei dFrom her the temptation to veiiture brj ride outside of tbeyard that berhuebarirJ avoided teach ing her to dismount wit^ put his help.; A fortnight ago J^rj Maepherson bought :dne of the new, Chicago spring-motor vplocipiedes witb-l out informing h# wift of th;S .nature of his purchase. ; it vea^deiivered at b.isi house while he was absent at the! Biocesan Convention and his wife was; filled with admiration^ of 'its beauty.! Sne was entirely ignorant £^at it "was I in any respect rdifierebt from other ima- i -chines, and .late in the afternoon she! determined to try it. Her. husband not being at hand to help -her to mount i it, she called the cook, and gave her instructions as to how to catch the machine and bold it. Then taking the new bicycle to' tbe extreme rear of the yard Mrs Macpherson sprang into the aaddle and — was off at a speed- of fifteen miles an hour. It need hardly be said that she was terribly frightened. Scarcely lees frightened was the cook as she saw her mistress sweeping down on her at so terrific a speed. Instead of trying to stop the machine she screamed wildly and ran out of its path. The gate was :open,;and Mrs Maepherson .whirled into the street. She would have given worlds f to stop . the bicyOle, but she didnot tjie ■ 6eV crejfc of; , the re'](rer,_ and. she j^iij rript .dare to;riijk;b.e.r lifeby jumping off ' Iq a few minutes she found : herself ; entering th/e^ long ,pt I^kjta- : wbujq^y, a.nd saw tji^ the iQhabjtairts j wereifiockipg to theßidewalk to^wateh i her. She was crimson 'with borrof ; as sb.;e; reflected, that t|ie .^as- ; strjc^^ Me^igtied^fbE ridera •ih irousorej ! andrfcvtajnometitf she aWost -made- up her ;mind to throw herself oh the i ground regardless of cdrise^nViice?, : she reflected ,tbat tbe , rejsuits of ja fall, would be" .even more : startling and extensive tban those entailed by keeping her sear^ arid so/ trfiog to comfort herself wife& the reflecjtion.that her hos^e were real Balbriggan | and unusually . tasteful in color ■ arid pattern; sha rode on.' Sbe would have i I gladly changed places 'with Mazeppa, j wbo'rode thrjougb a of a ! crowded atreei;- and jsbjs -eavied Lady iGrodiva, who had induced the people of CoyentJi'y to close their window blinds. •The sensation s^e made; as she rushed i through the vjllage and out again upon jthe prairiecannot bedeacribed, biit she ;knew perfectly well that, no possibje jstory that she. could devise; .woqld be jaccepted . ,af ,. ap explanation, oi the ifrightfuliimpcopriety: of which she bad ;been guilty. The runaway bicycle jcame to a stop ten miles oijftdflshkajtawhunky, and close to a railway ■station. Mrs Maepherson promptly itpok the: train to ' Mailwaukee, .where jber p,6ren^s resided, andrthpp tele- 1 graphed & §r ; 'Musfjdi?d. : O^ljipqw^-' phe never returned : ;to Isbkata.wbunky,: and Mr Macpherson was requested to ■resign his parish 6^ the JgroijQd th^t the conduct; pf ; h^ ? wife ;wis ; ;to the, last degree. e^ndiiipus. . ,