Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1870-05-19
From Jersey City Journal.
Can you Blame Her

A book with the title" Can you for
give her," has had many readers, and we
presume that most of them, when the per-
usal was concluded, have felt that they
not only could, but would forgive this
| imaginary culprit of the novelist's Gre
alton. The story of real life given to the
world by Mrs. Richardson nee Mcfarland
will have more readers by thousands than
the novel, and the question that will sug-
gest itself will be-"Can you blame her ?"
That Mrs. Richardson has written the
plain truth, though with an evident pur-
pose, few candid readers will doubt. Her
narrative bears the impress of verify in
every line, and many known facts, outside
of the story as she has told it, corroborate
it. But oonceding the trutl- of what she
has written, what answer ought to be
given to the question at the head of this
article Putting aside, as far as it is
possible, all mere feeling in the matter,
for the purpose of trying to answer this
question fairly, it seems to us
that as Abby Sage she committed one
mistake, that of marrying Mcfarland, and
as Mrs. Mcfarland she was guilty of two
very imprudent acts, the first, in permit
ing any sort of engagement or arrange
ment for future marriage with Mr..
Richardson, while she was still legally
Mrs Mcfarland, and the second in going
to Indiana to obtain divorce in as quiet
way as possible, when she could and
should have claimed it in New York be-
fore all the world. To this extent and no
further we blame this lady. For all the
rest that she has done we commend her,
for much of it we honor her, and for her
sufferings we feel an intense and tender
pity. 1t will be observed that the three
errors, which our Judgment tells us she
committed, were all mere errors of her
Judgment, and committed under circum-
stances that may well mitigate the sever
ity of their condemnation. Neither of
them has any necessary element in it of
wickedness, and the first and last not
even any suspicion of wrong intention or
desire. She freely acknowledges her
errors, which we have here pointed out,
and in view of what she suffered in conse-
quence of them, none but the cruelty CEN
serious or willfully unjust will
desire to have even these remem-
bered harshly against her. In
them she erred as thousands of other
women have erred without committing
any act involving any stain on their moral
purity. Every candid mind VIII readily aL
solve Mrs Richardson from all suspicion
of any illicit love or immoral conduct, and
her reputation as virtuous woman ought
not to suffer in consequence OF anything
developed in this sad business. AS for
the other part of her story, it must move
the compassion of all right minded men
and women. She suffered from her con-
nection with a vulgar, low-lived, drunk
en-, thriftless wretch for years, with more
patience, and more silently than most wo-
men so circumstance would have done,
and only severed the connection when he
added the last cruel injury which no true,
pure woman can or ought to forgive, the
accusation of infdelity. She would have
been amply justified In leaving him long
before she did, for no woman is bound to
remain in companionship with man who
habitually neglects to provide for her sup
port and constantly or frequently assails
her with personal abuse and violence
When in addition to all these wrongs he,
without cause, accused her of being wan
ton, she would have deserved only. pity and
some contempt if she had not left him.
| We have no sympathy with the theory
that a wife is bound to fulfill her share of
| the marriage contract to its complete ex-
| tent, when the husband on his side breaks
it with impunity, and to his faithlessness
adds malignity and outrage. She is bound
| to keep herself virtuous--fOr that Obliga-
ton the owes to herself and to God-but
she is not bound to submit to her guilty
husbands tyranny and wrongs, nor to re-
main in his partnership. That this
woman left her husband when she did is
to her credit, not her disgrace, and we
will say further that those friends who
advised her to leave him are to be COM
mended, not blamed, for the part they
took The error committed by her and
by Richardson subsequent to the separa-
ton was serious enough in her it can be
partially, as we have already said, ex-
cused in him it was inexcusable and in
explicable, and most terribly has he paid
the forfeit. Yet on a review of the whole
case we are constrained to say, that we
believe Richardson erred only in judg-
ment, and not with any evil or immoral
intent. We do not believe that he either
stole the affections of Mrs. Mcfarland
from her husband, had any active part il
inducing her to separate from him, OIL
ever desired to, or ever did seduce hel
into the commission of any illegal
or immoral act. But he had no right
to proffer to her words of love
or a contract Of marriage while
she was still in the eye of the law
the wife of another man. To this extent
and to this only we blame him, and the
memory of his generosity, his kindness
his magnanimity, and his bloody grave
should be mantle to cover this single
fault. The practical deductions to be
drawn from this whole history seem to b.
these-.-That young girls should be more
careful before they marry, to ascertain
the truth about the character and habits
of the men who seek to make them wives
That married women should not submit
patiently to insults, neglect and brutality
from their husbands, but should claim
and insist on the Just treatment to which
wives are entitled, and if they find it inn
possible to secure it, should leave the un
worthy husbands and go their way separ
ately. That no man should NEEDLE il
any way, except as he may lawfully sym
pathize with and assist any one in dis
tress. with woman who is actually sep
Grated from, but yet legally bound to hel
husband. That justice and the due exc
cution of the law are not to be looked for
in cases where perverted public senti.
ment has predetermined to excuse crime
committed under a peculiar sort of provo
cation, and therefore, that the man whC
puts himself in the way of an enraged
jealous and murder meaning wretch, by
giving any such provoeation, does it a
the peril of his life, and must expect thai
his murderer will escape all punishment
so far as human law is concerned.
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sInIL s AND PAINTS OF ALI
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