Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1850-1854, 1852-04-16
the Spanish widow.

There lived in the province of Gallica, lady
SO perfectly beautiful, that she was called by al!
travellers, and indeed by all who beheld he r. the
| Flower of s pain With these excellent charms,
she possessed all the virtues which SO rarely are
to be found united to such extreme personal low
illness. She had therefore, many wooers, but
especially certain old knight of CASTLE, as
coarse in mind as he was ungainly in person.
Being very wealthy, he fully expected this beau.
tful creature would gladly become his wife, the
more particularly Us she was poor, though we'll
born parentage But she preferred 70 allow her
affections TO rest on young gentleman OF small
estate, but amable character; and being married
to him, they retired to the provinces, and spent
three years of as perfect happiness as is permit
/ ted frail mortal 10 enjoy. AT the end of this Pc
riod he was obliged to 90 TO Madrid, on business
of q law suit, and was unfortunately murdered on
the way, leaving his unhappy widow with one
little boy and in rather Strengthened clrcumsian
! ces.
| Shortly after, the old knight again proffered
his hand which being decidedly rejected he
neither respected the sacredness OF her grief, or
her forlorn state, but pestercd her so continual
" with letters and presents, that, but for her
fatherless child, she would have consented to
die At length she determined to withdraw 10
some remote village, to free herself from this O.
diOus persecution.
A few DAYS before the time she had fixed on
TO remove to her country abode, her servant hap
pened to open the door of a closet in her miss
tress bedroom, when out fell the dead body OF
man, and the police being summoned BY her
shrieks they soon recognized II to be that OF the
old knight of CASTLE, though his countenance
was SO blackened and distorted as to appear hard
ly human II was evident that he had persisted
L 1 A. I,1,, GOULD
no account of the matter, in spite OF her hitherto
fair and unblemished reputation, she was thrown
into prison as his murderer.
The persecution she had suffered from the de-
ceased knight was generally known, but was
now attributable to a dshonorable cause, and the
murder of her husband never having been clear
ed up, she was considered by many as guilty OF
both crimes, and the whole province was shock
ed that so beautiful a creature as she was should
have brought disgrace upon her sex and upon
human nature.
At her trial the court was crowded % excess
and as the lady had nothing else 10 offer but
assertions of her innocence, the servant, Maria,
having suddenly disappeared, the Judge proceed
ed to pass sentence of death.
1t was the custom in those days, for woman
who had committed murder, to be first strangled
and then burned in the market place, bat before
this sentence could be pronounced, witness
was moved by remorse TO come forward IN her
behalf This was the servant Marin, who had
hitherto been disguised in the body of the court.
She stood on one of the benches and earnestly
entreated to be heard. She then confessed tina.
she had been prevailed on by the brides and pro-
misses 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 solemnly
declared she knew no other cause Of his death,
except that on one of the shelves she had placed
some sweet cakes, containing arsenic, to poison
the Tats, and that the knight, being rather gut-
tonous, might have eaten of them in the dark and
so died.
At this probable explanation the court was in
stantly moved to declare the ludy's innocence
with one voice.
She revived a little at the noise, and being told
of the providental discovery, only clasped her
hands, and them in a few words, commended her
sonsto the guardianship of good men, exclaimed,
g can never survive the shame of this unwor-
thy reproach," and with deep sigh, expired OH
the spot-De Balzac.