The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1868-08-07
.4n EtOpcmseiat, Extraordinary
az nf ard It's SeqtteI. m Ha.n

' "Burleigh" writes to the Boston Journal
from Binghampton, NY. the sad detail
of story ofcrime occurring in an adjacent
town: ,i tf.e -. So
A merchant of standing and wealth had
a family consisting of his wife and several
children. The lady had great personal
beauty, was very accomplished and intelli-
gent, capital housekeeper and earnest
Christian, and greatly devoted to her fami-
ly. Not far from her residence lived
young lady of twenty three summers, tall,
coarse-featured and as unattractive as coulc
be imagined. Her mother was dead, and
she kept house for her father. The visits
of the merchant tot .ouse attracted con-
siderable attention. 1t was known, how,
ever, that the father was generally present
at the visits of the merchant, and the COM
munity was generally divided about the
sitter. Riding and walking succeeded
and the scandal became general. One
morning the merchant informed his wife
that he was going to leaye-that he was
going to sail for California and take the
| girl with him. Her father, he said, had
given his consent and agreed to keep the
/; thing secret till after his departure. He
told her that no power could prevent his
| leaving. Ii she kept quiet until after he
was gone he would give her the house in
which she lived and $4,000 in money. If
she did not, he would go all the same, but
would leave her penniless. He asked her
/ to fix his linen and pack his trunk, and
have it ready by Thursday morning, ali
which she agreed to do. He bought a
trunk for the girl, and gave her $500 for
her outfit On Thursday morning he left
his home While his hand was on the
door-latch, his wife told him that she
should remain just where she was and take
care of the children, and if at any time he
wished to come back, the door would be
open to him. He went over to the house
where the young woman was in waiting
/ He gave her father some money, and he ac-
companied the parties to the ears. On the
way down the father referred to some ex-
penses he had incurred in giving his daugh-
ter music lessons. The merchant handed
him 5000, which he pronounced satisfacto-
ry. After the train had started, the old
man told the story of the elopement. When
some one remarked to him that the mer-
chant would desert his daughter as he had
his wife, he said that was Impossible, for
he had never seen such love between two
persons before. When he was asked why
he did not'put stop to a step that could
only be fraught with misery to all sides, he
said that his daughter, when she told him
of her intended journey, showed him bot
tie of poison, and said if he opened his
head on the matter till after she was gone,
she would poison him and herself too
And she would have done it, he said. The
sequel to this affair is more than usually
tragical.
The parties Immediately sailed for Cali
fornia, and tor some reason not explained
took the return vessel back to New York
They landed in the city, where the girl was
: left-at hotel, penniless. She succeeded
in reaching this place, deserted and ruined,
and sent immediately for her father, who
!; visited her at the hotel She agreed to go
home with him in the morning He called
for her at the time agreed upon. He found
:, her corpse. She had committed suicide
during the night. In them eantime, the
merchant had not been heard from after
DESERVING the girl at the hotel.
Ten days ago he appeared at the door
of his own house. True to her promise,
: and true to her womanly love, she threw
the doors wide open and bade him welcome.
Hidden from the eyes of his neighbors and
friends, he remains indoors. The commu-
nifty are equally divided whether he ought
to be tarred and feathered or forgiven.