The Rhode-Island Republican. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1809-1841, 1839-04-30
SELECTED TALES,
From the London Monlhly Miscellany Tor March.
THE WIDOWS FIELD.
Ut W. n. HARRISON.
Many years before I retired to the eou

Many years before I retired to the coun.
~ Of -, there lived in the vicinity of the
place which subsequently, fixed upon for
my local hnb'ta,ion : two young women,
whose beauty was their only dover, but it
wns OF so rare quality that they had
scarcely emerged from girlhood before each
was besieged by competitors, and some Of
no common pretensions, for her hand.
They were simple country maidens. farm
ers' daughters and though they might have
been termed rival beauties, we're attached
/ friends. Their lots in rnatrin,ony-and
whit, after all, ms far as The purblind vision
ot mortnls is concerned, is mstriinony but n
lottery l-were widely different. One mar
RED wealthy ireeholdrr, who farmed
some five or SIX hundred acres of his own
land, and that the best IN the county his
name was Benson. The other dan,sei cast
her lot with small farmer, one Edward
Holcroft, whose land, with the excepiion
OF" little Pa,rl'nony consisting Of home
siend and some forty acres, was held under
a lease from n nobeRan who resided in the
ne ghborhood.
! The relative position Of the two Young
women, as far as worldly circumstance.
went, was greatly altered by their marriage 1:
but no dimanition or affection followed The
change; and although comparatively speak
ing, one lived IN IA palace and the other in a
cottage, their intercoure MAS MS frequent
aud rs cordial us heretofore. Tine wore
on; Benson became the father of two chill
dren, hoy mud girl while Holcrufl',
family consisted but of son, whom he on.
ly lived To see attain The n.e of fifteen years
The calamity that made Mrs. Holcroft a
widow, appeared 10 have the effect Of bind
ing Mrs. Benson yet closer to the friend of
her youth; and thus it happened that yaunr
Edward Holcrott and Emma Beason were
brought up together, almost ms brother and
sister. "now not that there WIS any nat
uTds similarity ftnsies between those Young
persons-indeed, from what have heard,
a." ."e.He" 10 nneS sS9H,aary * as 9R,spSp nhta nhta
their constant companionship gave rise,
bege;s n similarity Of taste, If il does no, iu,-
ply IL. Thus il happened, that before
long before, it may be,-'he young people
had attained their respective ages Of sixteen
and eighteen, their hearts we're linked to-
gether by an affection, to which every year
]
without diminishing its purity.
Three years more elapsed, and Edward
ilolcroh attained the age Of twenty ore,
J aud with it the pairimonlal estate, which,
small though it was, gave him vote for
The county,-a fatal privilege for him, poor
fellow ! as The event proved; for an cleo
ton occurred shortly afterwards, nnd, un-
fortunately, he and Mr.. Benson took oppo-
site views Of the respective candidates.
( That each voted according to his conscien-
tious conviction, l believe there was no
doubt in'the minds Of any one who knew
them; and Edward, who carried good bu-
nor with him to the hustings, brought it a.
way with him. Not so, however, Mr.. Ben
son /; who, piqued at the inefficacy Of hif
arguments in gaining the other over to his
views, and still farther exasperated by the
defeat Of the candidate whose cause he had
espouscd, proceeded to the extremity OF for.
blddiog Edward the house, aud interdictng
any communication between his wife and
her friend.
1t would have been well had the mischief
stopped here but Benson, although, when
unopposrd, was what is usually termed
good, quiet SORT of man, was a perfect
/ fury when aroused by what he conceived
insult or injury. There was q certain field
which had been purchased by Mrs. Holcroft,
since she became widow, aud which she
cultivated, in addition To her husbands pat
/ rimony and the land she had rented. Ed
ward, i, should be mentioned to his honor,
had, Notwithstanding lis coming Of age,
I IL 4 A.
had done before that event, so that no d-
vision Of the farm took place, but he con-
iinued % msnsge the whole, rs tie agent
Of his mother. The field in question WAS
very valuable sBe, aud had been purchased
st lower rate Than lbe averaged price Of
that quality Of land, in consideration Of
there being, rs was supposed, a link want
ing 10 the tile. As, however, the right Of
possession could never, even under his
supposed defect, be challenged, except by
Mar. Benson, compared with whose estate 4
~ns drop of water to the ocean, the risk
was considered NJ next to nothing, and the
purchase was completed.
I IL has been well said, that there ere few
occasions Of quarrel which conduct persons
to such extremes Of temper 10 political diff
ferences aud thus IL was, that Benson, not
content with the eo,npr rsiivcly passive
means Of showing his resentment, to which
he had, MS We have seen, re,orted, deter
mined on availing himself Of the defective
title, as an engine for consumn,siing his
vengeance. Notices Of ejeetmeut were ne-
cordingly served, end the usual bauaIis Of
the Law suayed sgsips: the widow, Who
was compelled to throw herself into the
hands Of an attorney and be-wouId he
had bsen tive only disgrace the profe'sion
has known was q scovndrei, who, bs'-
ing led her TO the tkreshhold Of court Of
l.s. snd drawn every shilling from her