Ellsworth American., 1870-05-19

ket anu laying open MS breast he would
brandish them about, swearing he
would let out his hearts blood before
me. He told me then. shrinking girl, i,
that he kept loaded pistols with which
he woald at any moment shoot me.
He left one evening, declaring that he
should shoot gentleman because he
had been invited to join himself. his
wife and another lady in party to
some public picture gallery, although
l had at the most general acquaint-
ancc with the party and refused the in
vitation as soon as made. One morn
ing during this winter which am now
describing, after Mr.. Mcfarland had
been out nearly all night in drunken
orgie and had risen from bed in one of
his worst tempers, | approached as he
stood by the mirror finishing his toilet
and began to say something to prevent
the outburst OF his old temper which ]
feared was soon coming. He turned
around and struck me blow across
my face which made me reel backward.
From that time took an entirely diff
ferent course with him. When in one
OF these furies | shed a great many
tears under his cruelty and tried TO
reason with him and had tried entrea-
ties and persuasions. After this when
ever he was in one Of his paroxysms.
as he himself called them, never nov
ell or spoke but keeping perfectly self
controlled. As far rs could | sat
quiet. always keeping nv eve on him.
because ! always fancied as long as
looked steadily ut him he would not do
me any mortal violence !; | believe now.
as | believed then, that my life was
saved by this silence and self control.
lie has sometimes approached with his
hands extended. the fingers bent like
claws, as if he were about to clutch my
throat, and cried. "Ilow ! should like
To strangle YOU" or Your life is
bound sometime 70 end in tragedy" or
n our blood will be on Your own head,
and has. as think, been restrained
because simply looked at him without
saying word. In these furcs ne would
often se.zc and break anything which
was at hand, lamps, glasses. mirrors.
AMI sometimes the heavier furniture Of
the room. Oflcn he would rise from
bed in these uncomfortable fits Of pas
sion, tearing away all the bed clothing,
tearing in >hreds hi, own night cloth
in. throwing anything he could find
which was breakable. crashing about
the unlighted room till it has seemed
to me there could be no paniemonium
worse than that in which lived. and
all this he would do without eXplaua
tlan or even pretext for complaint
against me and when knew no more
what excited him than babe unborn.
lie would sometimes keep up this con-
duct and this abuse for hours without
syllable Or 4 motion on ms part aht
he would then burst into tears, beg
glng my pardon, say | was the best
woman that ever lived. and then 50 to
sleep exhausted. Sometimes he said,
your damned silence irritates me
more than ii Won talked. In the win
ter of '6J and "a we were at Mr. SIN
clairs, our neighbor's, one night.
While there Mr. Mcfarland came home
50 bruised aud bleeding frum some street
brawl, common occurrence on his part
that wa, obliged to call on Mr. SIN
clair for all in getting hun 10 bei. 1t
was only two or three weeks before
the death OF IN: youngest child. or |
should not have done 50. Thls event
kept Mr. McFarlaud in his room Tor
more than week. carried his meals
to him myself that his disgrace might
not be seen and commented on by the
boarders.
Mrs Richardson also narrates her
efforts to support herself and her chill
dren by writing for papers and maya
zines. the greater part other earnings
being appropriated BY Mcfarland. She
declined aid from the Sinclairs from
motives which could not allow her to
receive charity, and mentions McFar-
lands procuring thousand dollars in
January, 1865, by black mailing AZ oil
land owner Of Pennsylvania, threaten
ing to expose irregularities in his in
come returns if he did not give him
money. In the winter of 1866 she first
met Mrs. Calhoun, and January I'd,
1867, after unusually harsh and inhu-
man treatment from her husband, wrote
her the letter giving the statement of
her wrongs and appealing for sympa-
thy and advice, which Mrs. Calhoun
answered in the letters which We're
read Oh the trial. In this, Mrs. Rich
ardson says:
Dear, ! try to write these things
coldlv and mechanically. l want to do
so as not to be unjust, but must write
you. l feel l must let you know some
thing Of my inner life, OF the struggles
that none, no one can see, or shall die.
l don't know what to do or what course
to take. want to be advised. l have
written these wild words incoherently,
l know, since writing is not my natur-
al method of expression, to get some
of this weight otf Of me, and have tried
to write justly, l know l must in some
way protect myself from Mr.. Mctar-
lands mode of reycnging any careless
words upon me. have half made up
my mind to-day to tell the Sinclairs.
feel the encroachments Of his habits.
l dread my future SO much, and have
nv babies to think of. Besides yester-
day he drew two weeks of my salary at
the theatre and paid the weeks board
bill and | fear will spend good deal
of the money which we need SO mach