Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1867-07-26

| Her first emotion may De described as SOllu
| astonishment, and her next as a molten
sea of indignation. Her only spoken.
words were, "The impertinent, wicked
little wretch"
Then came the question, what should
she do? This problem was rendered some
what complicated by letter she received
that morning from the Colonel In which
he urged her not to go to Washington On
account of the malaria, and advised her to
remain with Mrs. Ottoman. After some
hesitation, after rejecting how nicely
Jamie was getting on at his school, after
considering that She was in the cheapest
respectable boarding house whichshe could
hope to find she decided to follow her hus-
bands counsel. But how should she man.
able Mr.. Pullet?
| This was an all-important question.
This question is, in fact, the hub, the
motif, the germ of this whole story. Ought
ladies to communicate affairs like that
which now annoyed Mrs. Steinway to
their husbands? They never do-at least
they seldom debut ought theys
| After much painful bordering she
| decided that they ought; that wife
| has no right to hide matter involving
/
| life that to have such a secret is the be-
| ginning of Generalization, danger and
/ sorrow.
Colonel Steinway was an exceedingly
| wrathful man when he received Mr.. Pull
let's note and his wife's explanation. He
curled his black mustache, strobe about his
tent, uttered Get us pardon him) few
Oaths, looked at his sabre, looked at his
| pistols, and, in short, looked dangerous.
| Go back and slaughter the grocer he could
not, for he was under orders to embark for
| Yorktown the next morning. After walk
ing off "a portion of his excitement, he
added the following postscript to letter
which he mad just finished and was about
| mailing:
| SMY DEAR,-I have received yours of the 10th
| lilt., mclosing Mr.. Pallets insult. / thank you
/ with all my heart and soul for this renewed proof
/ of your good sense, confidence and affection. l
| promise you in return that / will never have Sc
cret from you. Leave the matter in my hapds ;
simply see the man no more. guarantee that
will sufficiently punish him without doing him
any physical harm, and without causing scandal.
| Once more thank you for being altogether one
! with me. God bless you, my darling
| Then with smile of grim humor he
took the Pullet etfusion, scratched few
lines on the back of the sheet, and mailed
it to friend who had relieved him as
mastering officer, with the request that he
would deliver the missive in person to Mrs.
Pullet.
"Won't you sit down, sir?" said
this little lady smiling upon the hand
some lieutenant--West Pointer, she had
heard with awe-WhO brought her the let
ter.
Ono thank you, Madame" replied the
officer.
eve would be glad to have you stay
to dinner" size ventured
| 81 am really obliged, but / have an en-
gagement to dine"
wasn't you wanting to wait for
an answer ?" sher inquired, making one
more effort to secure a stylish acquaint-
ance.
| "No, Madame" and he was gone
Then she opened the long official envel-
ope, and took out pink satin note, folded
as pink satin notes seldom are. Her first
idea was that it was love-letter from some
"army man." and she became little trcm-
ulous, feeling that temptation might be
dangerously mighty.
There was writing in two ruled columns
on the outside of the narrowly folded
paper, and she could see through it that
there was also writing on the inside She
read one column and gave a gasp sh e
read the other and gave hysterical
scream; she read the inside and burst into
tears.
Meantime our unworthy Joseph was
| walking home to dinner, ignorant whether
he had or had not prospered in his illegal
wooing Mrs Steinway had not answered
| his letter; she had been regularly "not at
home," although he had called thrice, his
| wife as often; but then she had net gone
to Washington, and that looked favorable.
Repeatedly during the past week he had
| tried to meet her in the street, but without
that luck which so often favors even the
stupidity wicked.
| And so, ignorant of the present, unable
to divine the future, perplexed, anxious,
and fearful, he was walking home to eat
| his dinner, if so be he should have any ap-
| petite for it. Oh, how poorly prepared he
was for the coming trial He was no har-
| dened sinner; he had never before had a
secret from his wife; heihad a character to
he was soft-hearted, too, and possessed the
remains of conscience. Merely to imag-
inc the possibility of getting into such a
miserable scrape as this of Pullet's is
enough to make the perspiration stand ON
the forehead of hopeless old bachelor.
| Unsuspectingly Mr. Pullet entered his
parlor. There stood Mrs. Pullet, open
| eyed, white faced, sublime, terrible She
| advanced four steps toward him with Jerk
| ing movement, like that of puppet figure
| or an actress in French tragedy, and
| placed paper in his hand, Immediately
| twltching her own hand away with the
| spiteful action of pin machine. Mr.. Pull
| let had not even the presence of mind to
wish that he was dead, as, not knowi ng
what else to do with himself he read the
| following brief and Endorsement in the
masculine hand of Colonel Steinway:
TBRIEF.l
New BosToN, May 1, 1862.
EIIiet, ,IOSeph.-States Ito Louisa) that he will
be brutaly frank that he has loved her ever since
| he first her, and that he loves her now with
| all his heart Asks if her departure not be
delayed or given up. Promises to aid with all that
he has and is. Promises to call next day and hopes
| she win not refuse to see him.-F. s.
[INDoRsEMENT.]
CAMP CAMERON, May 4, 1862.
Respectfully referred to Mrs. Joseph Pulet who
will please attend Immediately to the morals and
| intellects of her husband.
FRANCIS STEINwAY, Col. 12Gb B.. Vols.
1t is totally impossible to describe MI.
Pullet's feelings as he read these inscrip-
| tions of his shame and glanced guilty at
| an edge of his own handwriting on the in
| side of the note. Could others have seen
him as he then appeared in his own eyes,
| he would have been considered the small
| est man that ever was, and Barnum would
have paid thousands to get him for his Mu-
scum
Human nature can only bear certain
| amount of strain. After the two had faced