Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1858-08-18
CLEVELAND. WEDNESDAY MORNING. AUGUST 49, 1865

I from her husbands violence, and to get th,
man out Of the house as quickly as possible
but as the matter turned out, this was the luck
lest thing in the world Heathcote altered tn,
one upon the order to iye,' and the mum.
Der 100 to 500,' and so got the check chan.
ged by the commission of a felony. The next
time that this fellow came for his mereiless ta1
which was soon enOugh-Mr. Raby had Do
licemaD in waiting for him. " IT." said that
gentleman, ''yOu ever again attempt to persc-
cute my unhappy niece, transport YOU for the
term of your natural life You nav thank her
alone that l suffer you to escape lust punisl
ment this time. II 1t rested with me only-and
luckily the proof of your penal crime does Test
with me, and with no milksOp'-yOu should be
shipped off as soon as the law could ship YOU.
HeathcOte hectored good deal, and str0ve 10
obtain an interview with his poor wife but
Alr. Raby was firm He told him out one hun
dred five pound notes, and enclosed them in a
cover, whereupOn he wrote his own name and
address to remind him of this compact, telling
him that It was the last hand writing and the
last shilling Of his that be should see The
conditions of gift were, that the recipient should
depart for Australia forthwith, and never set
foot again in England. " The fellow five hun
died, the forged check sir, is in my possession:
duced IN q court OF lawn-which penalty the
other, there being no help for it agreed to-
Heathcote's brutality must have been some
thing excessive TO have trodden all traces Of
love out Of heart like James but he had
quite succeeded IN so doing. Although she
had not consented to her uncle's threat being
held over him-and happy was it that it did not
rest with her TO use it-she could not but feel
comfort from the event. Six months expe-
rience Of freedom did wonders in restoring her
roses and Tightening her heart of sorrow
that seemed likely to crush 1t altogether. She
began to move about less like an automaton. to
wear the smile of content, if not of merriment.
and to be IN some sort like the Jane Raby OF
i've years before. Then came some news
which made her serious and silent while. but
could scarce have made her sad Heathcote
was dead in the bush, slain by the hand of one
his own wicked companions In a concealed
pocket within his vest was found the roll of
bank notes in their still unbroken cover. It
had escaped the eyes of his murderer, or the
passing by Of some honest settler had disturb
cd him IN his unfinished search. They for
warted the parcel to Mr. Raby, with nara
ton of these facts. a year after this event, it
would have been impossible to recognise the
spirit bowed and fragile Mrs Heathcote in the
~ AA' 'AAAl0AA5 AANOuSDi-DlG MluON WHICH Hue udQ
then become. Thanks to her brief matrimonial
career, she was not rich, but beautiful and hap
py as you see her now, Mr. Grantley, or rather
as you did see her until within these few months.
My brother married with the full knowledge of
her former life, and has never had a moments
cause, as he says himself, to regret his choice.
This narration which the kind hearted but
misdoubtlng little old maid made piQuant with
various garnishments of her own, in the way
Of filings at the foOishness Of young girls, and
the futlhty Of her early marriages, did not
much enllghten me as 10 what was ailinp with
poor Mrs. Markham, although 1t increased my
interest In her fortunes. Her conduct towards
myself remained unaltered, or was uarked by
even greater cOmmuaieatIveness She put 10
me several hypothetical cases of conscience, Of
which could see no possible bearing on her
self, and begged me, as a clergyman, to give
her my best opinion on the subject. She told
me that she had often bewailed the having no
children, which she had once considered to be
the sole blessing that had been denied her; but
that now she thanked God she was childless.
The horrible thought began TO cross me that
my dear benefactress and firm friend was going
out OF her mind; and that idea grew stronger,
although Miss Markham shook Ter head at it,
and hoped it might be no worse.
Suc vas % gnu Il person as ever liFeQ (, but
she had the weakness of her order, which
somehow is always to think the worst that can
be of all her sex. But when I had seen Mrs.
Markham come out of the fIewood, under tie
sandelitf, little after sunrise one morning, and
she told me, pale as q spectre, and quivering in
every limb, that she had only been to get an
appetite for breakfast; when she asked me at
another time for the loan Of twenty pounds for
a very pressing emergency, and begged me to
keep 1t secret; and when coupled with these
shngs her pIteous endeavOrs, so transparent to
myself and her sister-in-law, TO conceal herup-
happy condition at all times-a mark most sig
nlfcant of an unsettled brain-I felt quite sure
OF my painful surmise being but too true /
was even debating how to break this horror to
Mr.. Markham, that remedial measures might be
resorted to before it was too late, when cir
cumstanee occurred which changed my suspi-
cions into certainty even still more terrible.
l..