Abbeville press. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1860-1869, 1869-09-10

When Matilda Hartley waa twenty
years of age, al! living not ;hc hep
piest Of lives viii, grabbed old auil.,
who had brought her ur, there c:,i:.y
into tho village OF l;ullciGh. where
. sho had Been born, and which she
had never lief! since, q slasiinE: sea
captain Of tliirty-six Or thirty c;ah;
who spent his money freely enough
to mako him an acquisition to tbs
ono hotel Of the place, ald wlo
was SO far from ba*hfuI that, before
lie had been there = week, every wo-
man had been either "starcI A." o.
followed quite home, my dear"
The young chambcrmai,ls had cacl.
been kissed, tho landlords daughter
had been chuclscd under the chin,
and the landla'ly herself, striving 10
blush, and failing, because no red
nose could be 'rc,ldcr than she wag
alrcadNs and declared that q little
moro, and she must really :;ln5iltion
it TO Mr.. Landlord"
AS for Captain Waters, he consid-
cred all this Ahc proper thing for a
man Of spirit to do, and continued
tho general admircr Of tho fair of
Rudlcigh, until, falling one day. into
tho society of Mattio Hartley, he
became ut once her particular slave.
Hc courted her ono week, proposed
tho next, and married her on the
third.
Lie was we'll enough to do to retire
from d sca-farins life, was owner and
hitherto Captain Of the Awunda, and
was moreover Il widowcr; his first
wife having taken advantage of his
absence On voyage to clopc with q
Fresnchman, who, so report ran, pci:;-
oned her.
ffsis he told, with Craze face, to
little Matte before he popped the
question.
1f [ thought women folks were
all alike, I'd fight shy Of them, L can
tell you," he said. "But In suro YOU
havo heart, and true one, Matte. -
And SO Mattio gavc Linn her heart,
and her hand with it.
For year or two they wcrc very
happy.
Than Tue jolly, rcj-clcckcd captain
fell i'll; and i'll his illness baby that
had come to them, boy ci \ few
months old, WAS stolen from a pcra1n
bulator, which q careless nursc had
left standing by the road side while
she chdttcd with bean.
There had been band of Gipsic:
in tho ncighborhood, and suspicion
naturally felkon them bit they were
followed in vain, and none Of the re
wards which were offered throw any,
light on tho subject.
Tho agitation did the captain great
l*srm, and probably hastcned his end.
lie died in q few months and poor
Mattlo, bro!scn-hc"rtcl and dcaoIatc,
prayed to dio also. What rood could
coma to her, now that Frank Aa,!
baby wcro both gone? In vain the
OLD clergyman preached Submission,
and spoke Of '.temrting Providence
by r:bclnon.''
Mattio heard mono Of tho stcrco.
typed phrases that were poured imto
her ear-heard nothing and saw moth
ing, until ono day, u tall bo!d-faccd
woman walked unannounccL into her
presence, and before tho old clergy
man himself, announced the fact that
she was Captain Waters wite-tha.
lor children and his were at tho no.
tel, and that Mattic Was q mora
usurpcr.
That reused tho widow 1t LAST
Hcr Frank 50 vile crcaturc Her
FRANK deceive her SO |! She could not,
sho would not believe it and no one
else would. She ordered the woman
out OF tho house, and tho woman
went but only to lawyers hard by.
There she produced proofs that were
conciusive-a certificate signed by a
well-known clergyman, and letters
from tho captain; and iu q certain
church q register was found, all that
was necessary to establish her claim.
Matje asseveratcd in vain that the
. captains wicked first wife was dead
that this woman was all impostor,
and that sho did not believe one word
OF all the story. Other people be-
heved it. No ono know the captain
previous to his sudden appearance ut
Rudioigh.- And soa-faring men are
not always supposed to be too good,
especially in quiet inland towns. to
have dozen wivos apiece.
y The end of all this was, that tho
shew Mrs. Waters took possession of
e dwelling and property of the
gin, and disgraced and wretcbed
ie returned to tho maiden amt
Whb having becn opposed to ,hol