Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1869-12-03
The Broken Home.
TRUTH STRANGER THAN FIC-
TTON"

The interior of this house is even more beau
tiful than its exterior, every apartment being in
its way gem of magnifcence and refinement.
The library especially realizes the most perfect
| ideal of an elegant and cultured home
And yet, at the moment we look in upon him
one August afternoon, as he occupied his library
the proprietor of all this wealth appeared of all
men the most miserable.
He was Mr. Morton PEBBLE, for many years lead
ing banker of San Francisco.
1t was in vain that the broad bay-window at the
south end of the room had been opened, giving IN
gress to the sunshine and the fragrance OF rare flow
ers-in vain that the walls were lined with richly
carved bookcases and paintings-in vain that SOFT
touches and luxurious chairs had been gathered
around him.
| He was wretched.
He lay on sofa, in the depths of the great bay
| window, the wreck of a once powerful man. His
| figure was thin and gaunt; his face white as mar
BILE; his eyes having an expression OF woful appre-
tension of narrowing anxiety of dreadful expect
| ancy.
1t was evident at glance that no merely physical
| ailment had made him what he was.
By what whitening secret, by what destroying
affection, had he been thus agonizedF thus haunt
| edg thus hunted? he SO noble and goodl he go
wealthy and distinguished
! AS he moved restessly upon his luxurious cush-
ions the pretty clock on the mantepece struck fve
every stroke seeming to fall like hammer upon
the heart of the nervous invalid. He aroused him
SELF struggling feebly to sitting posture
"Oh, win this fatal day never, never pass?'' he
murmured; 8. nor bring relief!'
Noticing with a nervous start that he was alone,
he touched bell upon table before him, and
called
"Helen, Helenl where are your
Before the echoes of his voice had died out
step was heard, and his wife entered his presence.
II left you only for moment, Norton" she
said, advancing to the bankers side. "fou were
doing, think wished to send for the doctor ~
She was beautiful woman, of some six and
thirty years, graceful, with broad white brows and
loving eyes, in which the brightness and sweet
ness of a sunshiny nature were still perceptl6le,
under grief and anxiety no less poignant IMAM
1.-THE doctor p he echoed half reproachfully.
Eyes, DEAR" she said, in calm and cheerful
voice, as she drew chair to the side OF the sofa,
and sat down. stroking the corrugated forehead OF
the invalid with magnetic touch. HE Will be
here Immediately. Your last nervous crisis alarmed
me: You may become seriously i'll p
Mr.. Preble bestowed affectionate look upon
his wife, but said despondently:
1.-THE doctor! He cannot minister to mind
dseased' Oh, if these long hours would only
pass II only knew what the day has yet in store
LOOK up, Mortonl" enjoined Mrs. Preble, with
reverently trustful glance upward through the
yond the azure clouds therein. Let us appeal
from the injustice and wickedness OF earth to the
goodness and mercy of HeavenW
81 cannot look up, Helen" he answered, with
passionat tremor in his voice only down, down
at the grave that Is opening before mel 81. f,s.a
softly, while she lifted her pale face to the sunlight
streaming into the apartment.
"Look up, Morton-always look upI' she again
enjoined upon the invalid. During all these
fourteen years of agony, have not once doubted
either the goodness or the justice OF Heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be
cOmfOrted.' / believe that shall yet rejoice
more keenly than we have mourned, and that we
shall to glorious day Of joy beyond all this
long night of sorrowl'
The face of the invalid lighted up with an an
swering glow, and he murmured:
"Glorious faith Ny wife, you are indeed
blessed comforter Perhaps, after all, you are
right ~
A knock resounded on a side door at this juno
ture, and the next moment DIR. Hutton, the family
physician, for whom Mrs. Preble had sent, entered
the rooms
He was an old man, portly in figure, with white
hair and beard, but with fresh and ruddy COM
plexon, pair of shrewd blue eyes, and with an eX
uberant boyishness of manner that sat well npOn
him. He had kind heart and clear head. He ap-
preached the sofa after greeting the husband and
wife, and lifted the thin restless hand ofthe invalid,
quite a high fever he said after brief pause
worrying again, Ell, Mr.. Preble You are wear
ing yourself out. Medicine will do you no good so
long as your mind is in it's present condition.
must give you an opiate-''
mot now, doctor" interposed the banker. 6 l
cannot-must not-sleep to-day! need to be broad
awake now, for cannot tell at any moment what
the next may bring forth. am looking for the eu-
mination of all my years of angush-fOr the crown
ing agony of the whole. Perhaps even now All,
what was that?'
He started up wildly, and then, as the sound that
had disturbed him was not repeated, he sank back
again on his cushions, pad and painting.
The doctor looked at Mrs. Preble with an anx
jous, questioning glance.
- 80 ha m
spoken inquiry the anniversary of our loss''
'"Ah, yes" SAID the doctor. 81 remember"
Yes, it's another OF those terrible e. days, cried
tor, and will tell you the whole story. l can
think of nothing else to-day, and am almost wild
with apprehension and anxiety. Sit down."
DR.. Hutton drew up "a chair and seated himself,
his face expressing the double sohcitude OF friend
and physician
Mr.. Preble. 6 We lived then where we do now, in
a cottage on the site Of this great mansion. There
were but the three of us-Helen and |, and our
three-year old Jessie. And it was fourteen years
ago to-day that our little Jessie was stolen from
u.s."
IL remember it," said the doctor softly. "Yet
might she not have been lost, Mr. Preble? She
went out to play in the garden, If l remember
rightly, and was never seen by you again. She
might have strayed away
$50 we thought for whole year, doctor" in
terrupted the banker. 1--WE never dreamed that
she had been stolen. We searched everywhere for
her, and offered immense rewards for her recovery.
1 employed detectives, but all to purpose.
When our little Jessie down the steps into that
flower garden" and he pointed to the front of the
house, ''as if the earth had opened and swallowed
her up, we never saw her again..
"She must have found the gate open, and
wandered out, suggested DR.. Hutton. "She might
have srolled down TO the waters and been
drowned
The banker fixed his burning eyes upon the
physicians face, and whispered:
g said we never saw the poor child again.
did not say we had not heard of her. She was lost
on the 9th of August, 1854 For year we thought
her dead. But on the anniversary OF our loss
we received written message concerning her."
"a messagei' cried DR.. Hutton, starting.
ga mere scrawl-a single line in a hand evil
He produced a dingy scrap of paper from a
drawer in the table, and held it up to the view of
the physician, who bread as follows;
.'August 9, 1866 Jessie, hd, bd! Jessie"
Dr. Hutton looked, with puzzled air, from
the scrap of paper, which he turned over and
over, to the countenance of the banker.
81 can make nothing of this he declared. 81
is merely date with the name of your lost
daughter. 1t tells me nothing.
Nor did it us, at first said Mr.: Preble. Then
that name and that date, with the demon laugh
connecting them, set as to thinking. A whole
year we agonized over the dreadful problem, and
then we received another message, which you shall
see."
He thrust second slip of paper, identical in
shape and appearance with the first before the
gaze of DIR. Hutton, who read 1t aloud:
august 9, 1856 Your Jessie still liUes."
The physician started as if electrified.
''Ahl this is something Notwithstanding de-
cisive," he muttered = 1t convinced you that
your daughter was still living
Eyes, DOCTOR said Mr.. Preble, and every ami
versary of that day has brought us some message.
The disappearance of the child, mysterious as it is,
does not seem to me half so strange as that the
villain who took her away could contr1ve to COM
municate with us every year since, and always on
particular day-the anniversary of that on which
heinz able QlecOVeT