The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-03-20


Gid not see Mr.. Lewis all day, nor his
wife; bnt just ut twilight, 1 was startled by
the latter coming quietly into my little
kitchen and asking me for the milk. She was
a pretty looking young woman, wearing her
hair i'll short cutls; it was fair hair, and she
was fair too, qniet and shy in her manner,
speaking in voice so low that could SCARCELY
hear her. She explained that her husband
had, unfortunately, taken severe cold, and
would be obliged to keep his bed for day or
two OF course, offered any assistance in
my power. She thanked me, and went up
stairs. When she had gone, l could do no.
thing for the life of me for many minutes,
but sit and think other; there was an unac-
countable feeling, quite certaioty, it seemed,
of having known her before, although when
or where [ could not say. SO strong and
strange wss this impression, that it vas all
most terrible to me, and, as L said, L could
think of nothing else for long tune. How
ever, shook the feeling off at | lst, and went
about my work, seeing no more of my lodger
or his wife that night.
Robert at the Waite Lion told me, when
he brought the supper beer, that, although it
was hushed up as much as possible, yet it
certainly was the Fenian who had escaped
and that 1T was one of the most desperate and
ingenious escapes ever heard of. "Not,
ma am, he said, ''as believe in any of your
y
doing with rusty nail, or two prongs of a
dinDer-folk, or some such thing, in four or
five hours what it would take a couple of
smiths all day to do with basket of tools.
It's the warders, ma'am, and they make these
excuses; that's what it is, ma am" This was
the opinion of Robert at the White Lion, aud
| must own thst had, on similar occasions,
heard many people in Weymouth express
themselves to the same effect.
Once twice the next day / saw Mrs
Lewis, and each time the impression that L
had previously met her grew stronger; L
fsncied, however, that my looking straight at
her, to try and remember when it could have
been, disturbed her, so l avoided doing 50 as
much as possible, but for the life of me L
could not help doing it sometimes. On the
following morning. | had to go out for an
hour or two, and when 1 came back, l found
my windows cleaned, the mould in the flower
boxes turned over, and various little things
done, which told me that Lewis had been at
work again, as, indeed, found was the case.
He had, unfortunately, been taken very un-
well just before came home, but previously
he had been busy as usual in the front of
the house.
AS all attempts to recapture the convict
had failed, and SO there was no longer, sup
pose, hope of keeping it quiet, that night
great bills were stuck up about the town,
offering $500 reward for the apprehension of
the Fenian colonel-for it was he, after all
and one of these bills was stuck up on an
empty house just opposite to my own door.
l naturally got talking about this with Mrs.
Lewis; at least talked, and she listened, for
she said hardly word; and at last, when L
struck light to find something she wanted,
l found she was crying. l told her l was
afraid she was weak and low, that her long
journey and her husbands illness had upset
her, and asked her to let me make her some
port-wine negus the last thing that night.
She thanked me, but declined; and when she
went away the remembrance of her face, with
the tears on her cheeks, seemed ten times
more familiar to me than ever. / determined
to ask Mr.. Lewis, when 1 saw him, if his wife
had ever lived in Weymouth, but it seemed
as though l never should see him again.
However, did see him that evening.
had been upstairs for some time, and as 1
was looking over the contents of an old
drawer, l was very quiet, and my lodgers
thought 1 was ont; but presently came
down and met Lewis ascending, carrying a
light. was in the dark.
GOOD evening, Mr.. Lewis, l said; 81
hope you are better"
He looked up and said: Eyes; much bet
ter, thank you" He passed on, and left me
almost petrified. 1t was not the same man.
There was the same dark skin, moustache,
uhit, ana Wulshetb, tno sdLlo ciOtueS, puI tulS
man, although short, was taller than my
lodger, decidedly stouter, and had altogether
a harder, sterner expression. There was no
possible mistake; his voice too was wholly diff
ferent; and / staggered, rather than walked,
into my kitchen, feeling as though 1 had seen
ghost. i bad not strength to procure
light, but in few minutes Mrs. Lewis
down, as l found, by her husband-came in
with one. Seeing me sitting, 80 pale and
scared, in my chair, she said:-"Are you ill,
Mrs. Gerran! My husband fears you are"
As If a flash of lightning had suddenly pene-
trated all the dark places of my mind, L saw,
as she spoke, the meaning of all that had
been mysterious and by her face l saw that
she knew her secret was revealed. She was
my lOdger, she was the Mrs. Lewis / had
known. Altered and changed in every respect
as she was, knew her now. She locked her
hands together, and twisted her fingers with a
nervous, frightened air, and looked anxiously
at me.
"Wbo-who are you 2" / asked. "Why
are you dressed like this? Who is the
man.
"Oh, Mrs. Gerran :" she cried, throwing
herself down at my knees before l could
move TO stay her, 'forgive my deceivlng you,
and still be my friend-be my husbands
friend. IL you are not kind and true to US,
we are lost We have no home but this-no
friend but you. II will soon, trust, be diffe-
rent; but at this moment my poor husband is
fugitive, an outlaw, a convict, and price is
set upon his head.
"a price upon his head :" ! echoed. sis
be, then"
YES" she said, interrupting me, although
she was sobbing as if her heart would break
Eyes, my husband is Colonel La Traulle,
the Eenian Wa ara Amaricana and WA ara