The weekly Lancaster gazette. (Lancaster, Ohio) 1852-1855, 1853-03-10
The report to its original, / am grieved to

the report 10 It's orlglnals i am grleVeu 10
find IL is too true
please say what it is said Mrs. Com
eggs in a hrm voice.
IL is sud that you bought n dress at Il dry
goods store in this city, and that on its be-
Sng sent homo there proved 10 be some
yards more in the piece of goods than you
paid for, and that instead Of returning what
was not your own, you kept It, and had II
made up for one o fyour children
The face of MIS-. Comegys instantly be-
came like crimson, and she turned her head
away to hide the confusion into which this
unexpected allegation had put her. As
soon as she could command her voice, she
said,
you will, of course, give me the author
lof this ch irgc.'
.You are entitled to know | suppose
said Mrs. Markle. The person who orig
mated this report. is Mrs. Grimes, and she
was present when the dress was sent home;
that you measured il in her presence, and
that, finding / ere were several yards over,
you declared an intention to keep it, and
make off; a frock for your little girl; aud,
moreover, that she saw Julia wearing a frock
afterwards, exactly like the pattern you had,
which she well remembers. This seems
pretty conclusive evidence. At least it
was so to my mind, and | acted according
ly.'
Mrs. Comegys sat, for the full space Of a
minute, with her eyes upon the floor, with
out speaking. When she looked up, the
flush that was on her face, was gone, and
it was very pale. Rising from her chair,
she bowed formally, and withdrew without
saying n word.
An me! isn't it sad!' murmured Mrs. NJ,
as she heard the street door close upon her
visitor. 80 much that is agreeable and ex-
%cellent all dimmcd by the want Of princi-
pie. 1t seems hardly that that u woman.
with everything she needs, for so small a
matter, could act dishonesty. Three yards
of lawn against integrity Of character!-
What IA price to set upon virtue
Not more than hal an hour after the de-
p%arture Of Mrs. Comegys, Mrs. Grimes came
in to see Mrs. Markle.
Il hopc,' she raid, that you won't shy a
word about what | told you Il few days ago.
] shouldn't have opened my lips on the
subject, ifyou hadn't asked me about it. l
only mentioned it, in the first place, to a
friend in whom / had the greatest conf
dcnce in the world. She has told some one
very improperly, for it was impaired to her
as a secret, and in tina, way,i it has spread a.
broad. ! regret it exceedingly, fer | would
be the last person in the world to say a
word to %iujure any one. am particularly
guarded in this
IL it's the truth, Mrs. Grimes, l don't
see that you need to be anxious about keep
9 ing it u secret
'The truth! Think | would utter a word
that was not the TRUTH
Il did net mean to infer that you would.
| believe what you told me about Mrs. Com
eggs was the fnct.'
That it was! But then it will do no good
to make a disturbance about it. What has
made me call TO see you is this-some one
told Inc that in consequence of this matter
you had dropped the acquaintance Of Mrs.
Comegvs.'
1T is true. | cannot associate, on init
mute terms, with u woman who lacks hon
est pr%inciples.'
But don'tyou see that this will bring mat
tiers to a head, and that | shall he placed in
a very awkward positionN
you are ready TO adhere to your statement
in regard to Mrs. ComegysP
ooh, certainly! | have told you nothing
but the truth; but still you can see that it
will make me feel exceedingly unpleasant.
, Things Of the kind are never agreeable, !
know, Mrs. Grimes, still, we must act as W.
think right, let what will follow. Mrs.
Comegys hus already called upon me to ask
an explanation Of my conduct towards her.
/, She hasF Mrs. Grimes seemed sadly dis
tressed.
? what did you say to hcrn
Il told her just what | had heard
Did she ask your authorityr Mrs. Grimes
was pale with suspense.
: She did
'Of course you didn't mention my name.
'Yes, | named you
+ ooh dear! Mrs. MarSle, ! wish you hat
o not done that. | shall be involved in q
I world of trouble, and get the reputation of
= %taltler and mischief maker. What did she
sayP
Mot ono word
She didn't deny it!'
NO.
4 'Of course she could not. Well, that il
some satisfaction at least. She might hav,
denied it, and tried to make me out II liar
and there would have been plenty to believ,
o her word against mine. am glad sh,
a didn't deny it. She didn't say a word!
NO.
did she look guiltyr
y 'You would have thought IS il you hat
seen her.
a 'What did she dog
4 'She sat with her eyes upon the floor, ant
: then, without uttering a word, rose and lef
the house,
O 'Ilwish she had said something; It woul,
have been a satisfaction to know what shl
9 thought. But | suppose the poor woman
was so utterly confounded that she didn'
know what to suy.'
n 80 it appears to Inc. She was com
pleteIy stunned. really pitied her from
t my heart. Bat want of principle SHOULD
never be countenaneed. IfwNare to havt
social integrity, we must mark with appro
PIRATE condemnation, all de, ia,ions there
from. 1t is exceedingly painful to me t
: act as | have done, but the path Of duty wa,
/ before me, and | walked in il, without fal
f tering,'
Mrs. Grimes was neither so well satisf
4 cd with what she had done, nor 30 clear.
: sighted as all this. She left the house
, feeling very unhappy. Although she hat
r been using her unruly member against Mrs
r Comegys with due industry, she was all the
time on the most friendly terms with her
3 visiting and being visited. II was only
few days before that she had taker tea ant
I spont the evening with her, Not tha
Mrs. Crimes was deliberately hypocrAical
but she had u free tongue, and like too
2 many in society more cautious about what
they said than she, much better pleased to SO,