Clarksville chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1857-1865, 1858-09-10

worked upon his feelings. The little man
never blessed with much frmness of nerve,
was very unsuitable messenger in case
of emergency, provided his own feelings
were in the mission, and on this occasion,
without asking a question of any one he
saw, as to where the doctor might be found,
he rode from place to place seeking that
gentleman, and never once thinking that
assistance might be sent to Mr.. Motley
whilst he was in search of medical aid
Encountering Mr.. Eskridge, after much
waste of time, that gentleman seized his
bridle-rein, and checking his horse, after
much cross questioning, learned the lea
ding facts, and with promptness and ener-
gy, went to work to do what the case de-
manded, after having told Dolt where he
could fnd the physician. =.
But, to account for the particular local
ity of DR.. -, at the moment he was so
much in demand, we must go back to an
earlier hour in the morning and trace,
downward, the intervening incidents. An
opportunity had presented itself, very ear
ly in the morning, to Mrs Meddler for
striking another, and heavy blow at Hell
en-, and in the right quarter; and anxious
to obtain credit with Estelle, for bril-
liant achievement performed without his
assistance, she set to work with a zeal
that, in good cause, would have gained
as high reputation for good works as she
had acquired for deeds of unmixed evil.
Notwithstanding Burton's caution, she
hadlearned that he claimed to be Helens
husband Having learned, too, that Mr..
Lee was aware of the claim, and had, in
consequence, left Helen and the Springs,
her highest ambition was to degrade our
! unlucky heroine in the estimation of Mrs.
Whitman and Ann Lee, and thus satisfy
her thirst for yengeaoce, even to repletion.
1t happened that, on the evening previ-
: Gus, woman had arrived at the Springs,
with child in her arms, claiming to be in
7 search of her husband. Mrs. Meddler
, heard of the circumstance, and with a
a prying curiosity characteristic of such
creatures, sought out the woman, early in
t the morning, and found her much dis
: tressed by the sickness of her child, and
t bewailing poverty that forbade her to call
in physician Presuming upon her des-
:, titute condition, Mrs Meddler set to work,
: indirectly, to bribe the woman to become
f her accomplice in scheme that had just
d occurred to her. But poverty and dis
n honesty are not convertible terms, any
:, more than wealth and honesty and the
d poor woman, puzzled by the hints thrown
r out, in Mrs. Meddler's cautious approach
y was prompt to understand, and to spurn
r the more direct overtures made by the
h unprincipled intruder upon her privacy
e and tempter of her integrity.
I, Unabashed by the severe rebuff admin.
e istered, Mrs. Meddler smiled in her most
d pleasant manner, and expressed herseli
= delighted to find the woman so honest
d fact she had not doubted, but it was {
a way she had of testing the merits Of those
d she wished to serve, and did not know
} 'I am poor, too she continued, in hel
l. blandest manner, "and unable to assis
you; but go to that cabin, which you Sc,
d in the grove, lay your case before th'
If taller of the two young ladies you will
Is find there, and she will give you all thu
aid you need She is wealthy, and moth
L ing gives her more pleasure than to re
At lieve the distresses of the poor, and espe
m cially of her own sex"
- The woman believed the statement--an,
it was literally true-and lost no time il
- seeking the promised aid after havini
:; procured the attendance of an idle maid
= = servant upon her child during her alb
" sence In the meantime Mrs. Meddle
FASTENED to her room, and half an hou
later, Ann Lee was reading the followin
" note, addressed to herself; 7 =. ...,
m "Miss Lee will doubtless be surprise
L. at the receipt of communication froI
y me; but as it explains itself l shall offe
as no apology for writing it, and the facts
ut contains, She can treat IS she pleases.
ld have been represented as a mischief make
10 by those who fear exposure, and their in
auence may have brought discredit upo
NC all may do or say, with those who d
lis not know me and if Miss Lee be of thi
re number, L ask her to watch and learn fc
lis herself the truth of what now stat,
n. 1t has been charged that Helen Berne
: married she denies it, and some of he
p friends deny it for her; but the proof
M strong enough before to establish the fa'