The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1868-01-15
4 Midnight Apparition.
o treacherous night!

that he was not a healthy man. He wa
: misanthropic in his views, though he had thu
reputation in the street of being very kind
hearted and benevolent man. Every day
seemed to usher him into the arena Of a new
strife with the powers of misery. Apparently
he was tired of life and impatlently waited fol
the hour that had now come, and which would
put him beyond the trials and woes of this
sub]unary existence.
And yet many could remember when be
was gay and cheerful person. Before his
marriage with poor but beautiful girl, some
seven years before his death, he had worn a
a sunny smile, and his life seemed to him a
pleasant dream.
Though only thrty-fve when he married,
people said there was too much difference be-
tween his own age and that of his wife, who
was, | believe, about twenty-five. She had
been poor and forced to content herself with
but few Of the gayctcs Of life but now she
was ricl, and her induI5cnt husband gave her
free access to lis Golfers. Wealth fOstcrcd
pride, and Mrs. COlcbrook became a leader of
fashionable gayest of the gay. Her beauty
and influential position in society made her a
queen, and her smile was courtcd by the bril-
liant and dissolutc The house, when she
was at home, was always flied with gay gal
lants and lorlIv ladies'
All tic world could see this and the next
! thing it saw was, that Mr.. Colcbrook grew sad
and mcIancholy-that his wife was cold to
him, and there was little if any sympathy be-
tween them. The people said the poor man
had married badly, and the croakcrs all knew
( it would be so.''
r,oc Ioa1 .
had weighed him down, he was beyond their
reach now. People said he had died of a
broken heart; that the whirl of pleasure in
his own house had been hell to him and
that his gay wife had been the scorpion who
had stung him to death.
For my part, pay but little attention to
the busy tongue of gossip. | account all it
says, whether good or bad, as mere SANDER.
Whatever stories | had heard concerning Mrs.
Cocbroob-anI | had heard many-nasscd
" in at one ear and out at the other.''
Mr.. Morton " said man at my door.
"That is my naulc'
{" Mr.. CoIcbrook is dead, and Mrs. Cole
brook wants you to come up to the house and
lay him out!'
5" Mr. Colcbrook - exclaimed, for the in
teIh9encc was very unexpected to me as well
as to the whole city, when it was announced.
had neard that he was suffering from an
attack Of bilious cholic, but it had not been
even rumored that he: was dangerously i'll.
& Yes, he is dead,'' replied the man Mrs.
C0'cbrook wishes you to make haste.'
"lIe got very bad last night, and grew
worse ever since, till twenty minutes ago,
when he died.
Mr.. COlebrooA's house was not five minutes
walk from home, and FASTENED there to per-
form the office for the dead. was shown in
to the room where the corpse lay, just as death
had done ITS work. The sufferer had appar
entity c'ed IN the greatest agony. The bed
clothes still evidenced the struggle between
the tyrant and bis V'ctm
WIN Sho assistance OF the man servant who
had gone 10 my house, l lad HIM out and
put the room IN order.
was about to depart when the man servant
called me PACK.
mrs. toIeOrooN would like to see you,'
ne sald' as he showed me to p"llor in front
OF lhe room IN which the corpse lay.
>he appeared TO be IN the deepest distress,
anu the family physician was Still present,