Ypsilanti sentinel. [volume] (Ypsilanti, Washtenaw Co., Mich.) 1843-1900, 1848-02-16
THE N WIDOW.
BY DE RALZAC.

There lived in the province of Galicia, a la
dA so perfectly beautiful, that she was oalled by
all travellers, and indeed by all who beheld her,
the "Flower of SPAIN" With these excellent
charms, she possessed all the virtues which so
rarely are to be found united to such extreme
personal loneliness. She had, therefore many
wooers, but especially a certain old knight of
CASTLE, as coarse in mind, as be was u~ngainly
in person. Being very wealthy, he fully expect
ed this beautiful creature would gladly become
his wife, the more particularly as she was of
poor, though well born parentagr. But she pre-
ferred to allow her affections 90 rest On a young
gentleman of small estate, but amiable charac-
ter, and, being married to him, retired to the
provinces, and spent three years of as perfect
happiness as is permitted frail mortals to enjoy.
At the end of this period, he was Obliged to go
to Madrid, on the business of a lawsuit, and was
unfortunately murdered on the way, leaving his
unhappy widow with one little boy, and in rath-
er straitened circumstances. Shortly after, the
old knight again offered his hand, which she de-
cidedly rejected; he neither respected the sa-
credness of her grief. nor her forlorn state, but
molested her continually, with letters and pres
ents, that, but for her fatherless child, she
would have been content to die. At length she
determined to withdrw to some remote VILLAGE,
to free herself from this odious persecution.
A few days before the time, she had fixed On
to remove to her country lodging, her servant,
Maria, happened to open the door of a closet in
her MISTRESS bed room, when out fell the dead
body of a man; and the police being summoned
by her shrieks, they soon recognised it to be
that of the old knight of CASTLE, though his
countenance was so blackened and distorted, as
to appear scarcely human. 1t was evident that
he had persisted by poison and as the unhappy
lady could give no account of the matter, in
spite of her hitherto unblemishsd reputation, she
was thrown into prison as his murderess. The
persecution she had suffered from the deceased
knight was generally known, but was now at
tributed to a dishonorable cause, and the MUIR
der of her husband never having been cleared
up, she was considered by many persons as gull
ty of both crimes, and the whole province was
shocked that so beautiful a creature should have
thus brought disgrace upon her sex, and upon
human nature. AT her trial the court was crow
ded to excess, snd the lady had nothing to Offer
but assertion of her innocence, the servant, Ma
ria having suddenly disappeared, the public ad-
vocate proceeded to pass sentence of death. Il
was the custom in those days, fore woman who
had committed murder, to be first ~strangled, ant
then burnt in the market place but before thi:
sentence could be pronounced, a witness wa;
uO'Su ChlOiSC " COtuC vi dIu III uCI NC
half. This was the servant, Maria, who hat
hitherto been disguised i'm the body of the court
She stood on one of the benches, and earnestly
entreated to be heard. She then confessed sh'
had been prevailed on by the brides and promi
ses of the old knight of CASTLE, who declared
he intended to marry her mistress, to secret.
him in the closet in her lady's chamber, but de
clared solemnly she knew no other cause 70
his death, except that on one of the shelves sh'
had placed some sweet cake mixed with arsenic
to poison the rats, and that the knight, bein!
rather gluttinous, might have eaten of them Ii
the dark, and so died. At this probable expla
nation, the court was instantly moved to declar
the iady's innocence with one voice. She re
viving a little at the noise, and being told o
this providentlal discovery, only clasped he
hands, and then in a few words, commendin!
her son to the guardianship of good men, ex
clalmed-fI can never survive the shame o
this unworthe reproach," and with a deep sigh
expired on the spot.