A Young Man's Strange Adventure.

Free Lance, Volume I, Issue 34, 23 February 1901, Page 19

A Young Man's Strange Adventure.

MATRIMONY.— A gentleman, 23 years of age, with an income of £750, wishes to make the acquaintance of a young lady with a view to matrimony.— Address, X.Y.Z., the offices of this paper." So ran the advertisement which Jack sent to a London daily seven years ago, when he and I were at college. Jack did not want a wife at the time , even if he had wished to put his head in the matrimonial noose, he certainly would not have adopted that method. No , it must be confessed that he was of an inquisitive turn of mind, and, in order to satiate his curiosity, he often answered suspicious-looking advertisements. At last he decided to advertise on his own account, and the above advertisement was the result of much careful consideration. The age given was quite correct, but the £750 a year was a base fabrication. As a matter or tact his income was just what his father chose to allow him for his college expenses. , , Some of the replies he received appeared genuine, but the majority mentioned a trifling sum, varying from nve shillings to five guineas, for an introduction. Most of the letters were amusing, but some were pathetic. Unfortunately for Jack, a letter concerning a young lady who lived but five mfles from our college was accompanied by a photograph. The photo was a masterpiece of photographic 'flattery, or— the original was marvellously beautiful, to say the least. The letter was written by the lady's guardian, and it ran: ~ "October 11th, 1889. "Dear Sir,— 'The lady whose photo is enclosed is my ward. For sonie time she has been dissatisfied with my guardianship, and has repeatedly expressed a desire to marry. I naturally wish to see her comfortably settled, and by the tone of your advertisement I am inclined to believe that you will be a suitable partner for her. It you will fix the date you may call upon me, and I will contrive to let you interview the lady but, to be certain that you are not triflin" with us, I must ask you to deposit two guineas, which will be returned to you after the interview, it either you or my ward honestly think that a matrimonial alliance would be unwise.— Yours faithfully, "C. Edwards Jack went into raptures over the photo, and no wonder. The lady appeared to be about 19, and every feature was perfect. The eyes, which were unusually large, had an inexpressibly sad look in them. . "Doubtless the poor girl is unhappy, and wants some one to comfort her, said Jack. , "Nonsense'" I exclaimed. Its simply a trick to extort a couple ot guineas from you." "I'm well able to look after myself, at any rate. I'm going to pay the two guineas, just to see the girl. bhes worth it, even if Bhe is only halt as good-looking as her photo." For half-an-hour we argued the matter but Jack was obdurate, and in the end he had his way. He went to the address given, and I met him on his return. "Well, are you disappointed:' I asked. , "Not a bit. She's the loveliest creature I ever beheld. I never saw such beautiful brown eyes, and her figure is perfect. She has a low, sweet voice, but I must admit that she is not much of a conversationalist. I am satisfied now. I told her guardian that 1 did not think we were suited to each other, but I did not demand my £2 2&. ' And here, as we thought, the matter ended. , At about 9 o'clock the same night Jack and I were returning to college after a short walk, when we were mot by a lady closely veiled, who stepped right before us. "May I speak to you for a moment <> she said touchingly to Jack. Jack started, and I surmised that she was the young lady Jack had interviewed that morning. I walked on, and as soon as I was out of ear-shot she said to my friend, "You will think me a dreadfully rude woman. So I am, but I cannot help myself. I lead an awful life, and I am heartily ashamed of it. I am the accomplice of a rogue You were swindled out of £2 2s this morning, like many others before you If you had expressed a desire to many me vou would have lost more money, that's all . vou never could marry me — because — I am married already " Here she hid her face in her hands, and for a moment she could not speak. "I am ashamed of my life," she went on after a short pause. "That man who took your money is my husband. When you left our lodgings he followed you and that is how I learned your address. While you were talking to me he was hiding behind a screen in the same room. He afterwards abused me for not doing my best to ensnare you, but I had not the heart to load you on I thought, by the kind look in your

eyes, that you would piove the \ery man to help me out of my difficulties." At this point she grasped Jack's hand. He blushed, rose to his full height, and looked as though he would like to strangle her brutal husband. "Ah! I can see I was not mistaken," she continued. ' Can you help me ? Will you assist me out of the clutches of that inhuman monster, my husband?" "I can, and will," said Jack vehemently, "take me to the scoundrel." "No, no , he would murder me. I must escape from him by stealth. He allows 1 me no pocket money. Out of your £750 a year, will you lend me a sovereign — oh, how humiliating !— to pay my railway fare to my sister's home?" Jack winced when she spoke about his £750 a year, but only for a moment. "Certainly," he said, "here it is." "No, no , my husband will be waiting for me, and there is no tram until 9.30 a.m. If you call upon my husband at 9 o'clock and say that, after reflection, you would like to take me for a walk in order to become better acquainted with me, he will consent. Then you can take me to the railway station, and my happiness is secured. Don't give me the money now. I could not bear to touch it. I am so grateful to you. Good night!" Then, shaking Jack by the hand in almost childish delight, she departed. Jack joined me, but I could not persuade him to repeat a word of the second interview until the following afternoon. The next morning Jack was out by 8.30, and afterwards got into trouble for missing a lecture. It was with difficulty that he concealed his indignation when conversing with the lady's so-called guardian. After paying another two guineas for the privilege, he was allowed to take the lady for a walk. They hastened to the railway station, and he purchased a ticket for the runaway wife. On the way he had discovered, by means of discreetly worded questions, that she was absolutely penniless, and just as the train started he slipped a £5 note into her hand. She tried to force it back upon him, but she was not quick enough, the train was in motion. Thus ended the first act of Jack's romance. He told me the whole story during the afternoon, and all through the day he looked happy and contented. The interval between the first and second acts is seven years. Only a week ago I received the following letter from my old college friend — "Dear Old Man, — Do you remember my mama for answering advertisements in the old days? If so, you will doubtless remember the matrimonial advertisement which I inserted in a London paper. A short time ago I sent a similar advertisement to the ' .' To my astonishment, I received, among others, a photo somewhat resembling the one which captivated me seven years ago. The lady was undoubtedly the same. The letter which accompanied the photo was, as far as I can recollect, couched in exactly the same language. "Then the fact dawned upon me that the man and woman were a pair of clever swindlers, who made a living by preying on the sympathy and chivalry of simpletons like me. Up to that moment I had believed that the girl's story was true, but here was conclusive proof that she was a professional hypocrite, and that she was> prepared to go through the scandalous process aeain. "My next nroceedings were actuated by feelings of revenge. I wrote as before, and I again received a letter from the lady's 'guardian.' I went through the same old formalities, paid the same fee, and at once recognised the same 'lady.' The conversation was much the same, and I congratulated myself on the fact that she did not recognise me I left the house, and went to the police station, and, on my return, I was accompanied by a detective. The lady and her guardian were not at home. We waited, but they came not. Hang me if I hadn't been clean 'done' again! The detective said they must have recognised me, and cleared off as soon as I left the house. I mean to trap them yet , even if I spend a fortune in matrimonial advertisements. — Your old chum, "Jack."