Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1855-05-19
gfIetteS TaIe.
THE WIDOWS TALE.
BY CHARLES DICKENS.

hm and dlSDellcYCd them. 1 never thought
about his goodness only knew that he was
beautiful and gifted beyond all that had ever
met within our narrow society. | loved him,
with no passing school girls fancy, but with
my whole heart, my whole soul l had no life,
no joy, no hope without him, and Heaven would
have been no Heaven to me if he had not been
there. say all this simply to show what a
madness of devotion mine was.
My dear mother was very kind to me through
out She had loved my father, / believe,
almost to the same extent SO that she could
sympathize with me even while discOuraging
She told me / was wrong and foolish, and that
| should repent but | kissed away the painful
lines between her eyes, and made her smile
when | tried to prove to her that love was
better than prudence. So we married, not so
much without the consent as against the wishes
Of my family and even that wish withheld in
sorrow and in love. | remember all this now,
and see the true proportions of everything :;
then | was blinded by my passions, and under
stood nothing.
We went away to our pretty, bright home,
in one of the neghborhOOds of London, near
a park We lived there for many months-Ii in
a state of intoxication rather than in state of
earthly happiness, and he was happy too, then
for | am sure he was innocent, and | know
he loved me. Oh, dreams-dreams
| did not know my husbands profession
He was always busy and often absent but he
never told me what he did There had been
no settlements either when | married He
said had a conscientious scruple against them :;
that they were insulting to mans honor, and
degrading to any husband This was one of
the reasons why, at home, they did not wish
me to marry him Bat | was glad to be able
to show him how trusted him, by meeting his
wishes, and refusing on my account, to accept
the legal protection of settlements. 1t was
such pride to me to sacrifice all to him.
Thus, [ knew nothing of his real life-his
pursuits or his fortunes. | never asked him anv
questions as much from the Indifference of
everything but his love as from wifely blindness
of trust. When he came home at night, some
times very gay singing opera songs and calling
me his little Medera, as he used when in good
humor, | was gay too, and grateful And
when he came home moody and irritable-which
| he used to do often, after we had been married
about three months, once even threatening to
strike me, with that fearful glare in his ewes
remember so well, and used to see so often
afterwards | was patient and silent, and
never attempted even to take his hand or kiss
his forehead when he bade me be still and not
interrupt him, He was my law and his ap-
probation the sunshine of my life so that my
very obedience was selfish for my only Joy
was to see him happy, and my only duty to
obey him.
My sister came to visit us My husband had
seen very little of her before our marriage, for
she had often been at home when he was with
us down at Hurst Farm-that was the name
of my dear mothers place-and | had always
fancied they had not liked even the little they
had seen of each other Ellen was never loud
or importunate in her opposition knew that
she did not like the marriage, but she did not
interfere ] remember quite well the only time
she spoke openly to me on the subject-how
she flung herself at my knees with passion
very rare in her, besceching me to pause and
reflect as if | had sold myself to my ruin when
| promised to be Harry's wife How she
prayed Poor Ellen can see her now, with
her heavy, uncurled hair falling on her neck as
she knelt, half undressed, her large eyes full of
agony and supplcation like a martyred saint
praying Poor Ellen l thought her preu-
diced then and this unspoken injustice has
lain like heavy crime on my heart ever since :;
for know Judged her wrongfully, and that
| was ungrateful for her love.
She came to see us. This was about year
and half after | married. She was more
beautiful than ever, but somewhat stcrner, as
well as sadder She was tall strong in person
| and dignitied i'll manner, There was certain
manly character, i'll her beauty, as well as in
her mind, that made one respect, and fear her
too, little. | do not mean that she was
masculine, or hard, or coarse she was a true
woman in grace and gentleness but she was
| Drawer than women i'll general. She had more
| self-reliance, was more resolute and stcadfast,
| and was more active and powerful in the body.
| My husband was very kind to her He
paid her great attention and sometimes half
perceived that he liked her-hc used to look
at her so often but with such a strange
| expression in heS eyes | never could quite
make it out, whether it was love or hate
Certainly, after she came his manner changed
towards me. | was not Jealous | did not
suspect this change from any small feeling of
wounded self-love, or from any envy of nv
sister but / saw it-I felt it in my heart
yet without connecting it with Ellen in any
way. | knew that he no longer loved her ; at
least not with the same kind of love | used
to be surprised at Elen's conduct to him. She
was more than cold she was passionatcly rude
and unkind not so much when / was there as
| when was away. For | used to hear her
voice speaking in those deep indignant tones
that are worse to bear than the harshest scream
of passion A; and sometimes used to hear hard
words-he, speaking at the first soft and plead
ingly, often to end in terrible burst of anger
and imprecation. / could not understand why
| they quarrelled. There was mystery between
them did know of and did not like to ask
them, for | was afraid of them both--as much
afraid of Ellen as my husband-and felt like
reed between them-as if | should have