The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1870-02-01

husband had first drank great part OF it.
Then, seeing him trifie revived by
the wine, sat by him on the floor, hav.
ing given trife to his wife to buy
bread, and directed her to send for .
doctor When she was gone, said, 80
ssMy poor fellow, open your heart to
me tell me what bitter strait brought
YOU to regret that you hadn't strength
left to become q murderer. Was it only
famine Pr - ssueE s.s 1oo4 slaag
mo- frfes ss5r fe7 #.a9 els 1ol as3i8at
He was very weak--past food or med
ical help; all that was too late for him
now. This murderous attack on his
wife had been the last mad effort of fe-
yer and delirium, the flickering up OF
the dying fame before it expires.
s.What then Tell me, that may
know how to help you.'
e j drew his terrible story from him in
short questionings aud answers, a. he
ceuld bear it. He withheld the portions
relative to his own greater privahons.
These I afterwards gathered from his
wife. So essoi3aa aaez as' ro zz.w
He had been out Of work ten months,
along with many hundred others, and
there was no work in his trade obtain
able anywhere. He gave up his little
house first. That was great pain. His
wife was above his own station, and had
taken such pride in il, and made even
out of his poor things , house fit for
gentleman, he said. The little savings
from his weekly wages soon went, and
when he moved into two rooms the fur.
niture began to go. They remained in
two rooms till it was all gone for food
but the mattress. Tien they moved
here, and nothing was left but few
garments to pawn. All this time he
sought work, tried to get only an hours
employ as porter, messenger, any thing
az long as it was work but the lower
down the scale the fiercer men fight for
their own, hunger makes them so keen.
Hundreds were struggling for the like
employ. The strong and the clamorous
succeeded, while the heartbroken were
trampled down in the crowd. Now and
then he did get q few pennies in the day
for holding horse or something Of the
kind. And in taking this home to his
wife and his daughter Nelly. he always
made them believe he had spent part of
what he earned on food for himself. and
would seldom touch their bread. Then
he felt the end was coming. He could
no more go out. And there was no
food, and no more clothes left to pawn
to obtain any. His only shirt had long
gone, and his wife and child were SO des-
titute as only to have rags enough be-
tween them to cover decently the one
who went out to fetch any thing.
All that morning he had been lying
in kind Of stupor which he had thought
was the end. But, awakening, he miss.
ed his daughter, and asked for her. His
r h,~r rNvYtr
then owned what she had done, how she
had sent her out on the streets as q last
resource to get money to buy bread to
save her fathers life, money not to be
begged nor stolen.
"Oh, not that - the man b adj groaned.
in bitter agony, "not that, mother! Bet
ter we all die than that o God, how
could you, the mother that bare her, and
not have killed her rather r' Then in
q wild frenzy Of horror and anger, think.
ing his strength had returned to him,
he had leaped up and fallen on his wife
with the piece of iron, thinking it better
they all had died than that: but found
himself too weak.
mo, SIR he said to me, ''don't tell
me about God, or his book only fetch
me my child, my little Nelly,-it may
not be too late,-that may see her be>
fore I die and know that it is not too
late" ~ -2zfa
He was right left him kneeling at
his wife's side, although it was last
effort, got medical advice and q trifie Of
food, and. promising to return, set of
on my errand. l got woman from the
house to accompany me to identify the
girl, and found o policeman to dirict Us
in our inquiries. We visited every
house in the neighborhood, and every
den where there was . chance of q poor,
ragged girl being found but without
success. We then took each street and
alley within circuit Of three miles, and
wandered about till evening waned into
night, till night waxed to midnight, and
the pale moon stared out in q sickly
halo through quickly drifting. gusty
clouds, and stars cleaned far of in the
depth behind the clouds. Farther yet
we traversed, and the night grew on,
till passing along . deserted street we
came to great and fine building dedi.
Gated to Foreign Missions, a glorious
monument of the benevolent interest we |
take in the welfare of the heather who |
dwell where Afric's sunny fountains run |
down her golden sands. There, crouch.
ed on the steps, numbed with the cold,
and asleep from sheer exhaustion, was |
the poor child we sought. Thank God,
it was not too late, her wan and fright. |
ened looks, and the poor rags that clad
her, were her surest protection from
evil. We fed her first, there in the |
street, for had bought little bread
before the shops closed, and put in my
pocket with . small flask of brandy
She ate ravenously and when she had
taken as much as we deemed prudent to
allow her, we brought her home in the
middle of the night. If ever saw de-
vout thankfulness and supreme gratitude
to the Father in heaven depicted on any
human beings face, I saw it in that poor
mans as he lay dying with his head
resting on Nelly's lap, the only pillow
he had. or wished for.
sI thought" he said, "my last sim