Weekly hawk-eye and telegraph. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1855-1857, 1857-02-11


is Nj where cIhsrity had giysn - roof
she vas vet MP, and shisering over tho Goals
demanded food hut she burst into tcaSs,
and told nae there was none 6errely or
dered her 70 get some. She turned her eyes
padly upon me, and tears fell oscr her
cheeks. AT this moment the child in the era
die awoke, and sent up furnishing wall,
startling the despairing mother like ser
penis sting.
ave have no food, James-have had mono
for several days i have nothing for the
babe. Ny once kind husband must we
starve
aThat sad pleading face and streaming
eyes, and the feeble wall Of the child, mad
dened me, and Ives, I-struck her blow
in the face, and she fell forward on the
hearth. The furies Of he'll boiled in my boz
som, and with deeper intensity, as felt had
committed wrong. Ihad never struck Ma
~ before, but now some terrible impulse bore
me on, aud stopped down as welias could
in my drunken state, and clenched both my
hands in her hair
.'God of mercy, James," exclaimed my
wife, as she looked I'M in my fendish coun-
tenance, '.you will not kill us--you will not
harm Willie" Us she sprang to the cradle
and grasped him in her embrace. | caught
her again by the hair and dragged her to the
door, and as lifted the latch the wind burst
in with cloud of snow. With a yell like
fiend / dragged her on, and hurried her out
into the darkness and storm. With wild
ha hal closed the door and turned the
button, her pleading means mingling with
the wall of the blast and the sharp cry OF the
babe But my work was not yet complete
II turned 70 the bed where lay my older
son, and, snatching him from his slumbers
and against his half awakened struggles, OPEN
ed the door and thrust him out. In the ago
ny Of fear he called me by name was no
longer fit to bear, and locked his fingers IN
to my side pocket / could not wrench that
frenzied grasp away, and with the GOODNESS
ola devil as was, / shut the door upon the
arm, and with my knife severed it ut the
wrist"
The speaker ceased moment, and buried
his face in his hands, rs if to shut out some
fearful dream, and his chest heaved like a
storm swept sea. My father had risen from
his seat, and was leaning forward, his coun-
tenance bloodless, and the large drops stand
ing out upon his brow Chills crept back to
my young heart, and wished l was at home.
The old man looked up, and | never since
beheld such mortal agony pictured upon o
human face as there was upon his
ut was morning when l awoke, and the
storm had ceased. l first secured !: drink of
water, and then looked in the accustomed
place for Mary. As missed her. for the
first time a shadowy scene of some horrible
nightmare began to dawn upon my wander
ing mind. I thought I had had a fearful
dream, but involuntarily opened the outer
door with shuddering dread As the outer
door opened the snow burst in, followed by
the fall of something across the threshold,
scattering the snow, and striking the floor
with sharp hard sound. My blood shot
through my veins, and l rubbed my eyes to
shut out the sight 1t was-O God! how
horrible!-it was my own injured Mary and
her babe frozen to ice The ever true moth
er had bowed herself over her child, and
wrapped all her clothing around it, leaving
her own person stark and bare to the storm.
She had placed her hair over the face of the
child, and the sleet had frozen to the white
cheek. The frost was white in its half open
ed eyes, and upon its tiny fingers l know
not what became of my brave boy"
Again the old man bowed his head and
wept, and all that were in the house wept
with him. My father wept like Il child
In tones of heart broken pathos the old man
concluded
81 was arrested, and for long months /
raved in delirium. | awoke, and was SEN
| fenced to prison for ten years but no fortunes
could have been like those | endured within
my own bosom. . God, oil am not a
| fanatic. l wish to injure no man. But
| while | live let me strive to warn others not
to enter the path that has been so dark and
fearfulto me. would see my wife and child
rem beyond this vale of tears"
The old man sat down, buta spell, as deep
and strong as that wrought by some wizard
breath, rested upon the audience Hearts
could have been heard in their beating, and
tears to fall The old man then asked the
people to sign the pledge. My father leaped
from his seat and snatched at it eagerly [
followed him, and as he hesitated moment
with the pen in the ink, a tear fell from the
old mans eye on the prayer.
"Sign it-sign it, young man. Angels sign
it. / would write my name there ten thou
sand times in blood, if it would bring back
my loved and lost ones"
My father wrote "Mortimore Hudson
My father trembled, and held up his left
arm, from which the hand had been severed.
They looked for moment in each others
eyes, but the old man reeled and gasped-
"My own injured boy ~
"Niy father'
They fell upon each others necks, until it
seemed that their souls would mingle into
one. There was weepingin that church, and
l turned bewildered upon the streaming IA
ces around me-
''Let me thank God for this great blessing
which has gladdened nv guilt burdened
soul!' exclaimed the old man; and kneeling
down he poured out his heart in one of the
most touching prayers l ever heard. The
spell ywas then broken, and all eagerly signed
the pledge, slowly going to their homes, as if
10th to leave the spot. 1888
The old man is dead, but the lesson he
taught his grandchild on his knee, as his
evening sun went down without cloud, will
never be forgotten. His fanaticism has lost
none of its fire in my manhoods heart
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