Vicksburg weekly herald., 1870-05-14
WOMAN DRAmATIzEB.
From "sOeIal studies" in New York wOr

y
as Il theological mOralist than fol
his manifold literary attainmcnts, il
may be accepted as something
wholly without alloy OF either eX.
aggerated fact or sensational hc
ton. Some years ago Il minister
Of the gospel, who sometimes un.
dertook the arduous duties of g
volunteer city missionary, discov.
cred, in the family Of poor labor.
er, IN one OF the most miserable
tenement houses OF New York.
two youthful sisters. whose ap
pearancc and natural abilities were
apparently, much above their
squa!id lot in lie. liy his agency
they were placed in Il school, theil
home rcadered more comfortable,
and their desire for Il future OF bet
ter surrounding, made practical to
them. All went well until the
period IF schooling was over when
the elder and more interesting OF
the two, III IN hour Of blind. girl.
ish folly, became the wife of =
young man greatly her inferior in
Intelligence and general worth, To
her the story nov belongs, and the
romance Of her life began with the
mad act hv which she threw away
every opportunity to ripen her cX.
istencc into a better reality. Loves
first ftful fever being over, she
became aware of her great mis-
take, and after o bricl, inharmo
nious experience Of matrimony,
Withdrew from her mismatchcd
husband and disappeared from the
city. Her family and their good
friend, the clergyman. were in
great distress thcreat, fearing that
the unhappy Young wife had been
driven to some desperate resource,
but, at the end Of some weeks,
there came to the minister q letter
from the missing one. After con,
tiding to him the story OF her in
tolerable matrimonial sorrows. and
declaring that she had renounced
her unfit husband forever, the
writer confessed that she had
had become an actress in q theatre
Of Memphis, Tennessee, under an
assumed name. In this new ca.
pacity she was gaining much sue
cess, and begged her old friend to
keep her secret, and act as her
agent in . friendly watch over the
husband she could no longer live
with. She promised to send
money, from time 70 time, Which
the clergyman was to apply, as
from himself, to such aid as the
husband mightahsOlutely require +;
but begged JlIat no effort should
be made to persuade her back to
the life never 10 be hers again
Convinced that all such persuasion
must I've useless. the recipient Of
the extraordinary letter sadly
Welded 10 the inevitable, AM
wrote to the actress that he would
act as she desired. Consequently.
while the detached wife led the life
Ola player in Tennessee. she was
still able to keep an eve, through
her friend, upon her husband in
New York, and see that he did
not fall iato abjcct want.
One day, few weeks ago,
a letter from the clergyman
told her that the man whom she
had vowed 10 love, honor and
obey, was lying sick OF relapsing
fever in a wretched garret to
which he had rctreated. On the
day after the arrival Of this news,
she abruptly closed her engage.
ment at the Southern theatre, and
disappeared from Memphis. Two
days thereafter, a nice, benignant
old lady appeared in the New York
tenement house in which lay the
fever patient, distributing tracts
and inquiring for sick persons to
visit. The people of the lower
floor told her about the dying
man in the garrct, and, with bas.
ket on her arm, she went up to see
him. There he was, tossing and
delirious in q burning fever, with
naught to smooth his pathway to
The grave or cool its scorchlng air.
She filed his room with comforts.
employed q physician and q nurse,
and made daily visits to the
place thereafter. No one knew
who she was. nor where she came
from: but tho rough men Of the
rookrfy ai>cd uich shabby hat,
to her when she passed. Nothing
cOuid save the sick nan: he grew
worse. and in his delirium otter
called for his wife. Just befor,
death the old lady disappeared
from the bedside, and in her plac,
sat 4 young woman richly dress
cd, The sufferer was too far gon,
to recognize her, but she was hi
wife; IN the disguise of the OLE
woman she had relieved his las
wants. and in the end she CAV,
him Christian burial. The las
act OF her married life being fin
ished, the dramatized woman re
vcaled herself to her sister anC
their friend the clergyman, bu
only to say goodbye before re
turning to the South. Her las
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