The Cairo daily bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1870-1872, 1871-11-05
THE BULLETIN.
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Publication once. Bulletin building.
Washington Avenue.
ALICE CARY.
THE ROMANCE OF HER LIFE.
"WA1TED FOR ONE WHO NEVER
CAME BACK"

"uepeHdsHf:
Yet, no less because OF these words. sac
religious hands have rudely attempted e
hit 1t. The sanctuary Of that pure heart
. Is ruthlessly invaded even in the grave
a story under the title of Unknown
Love Of Alice Cary" in the newspapers
is still travelling through the length OF the
land. 1t asserts that in her youth she
was afiianced to Rufus w. Griswold tina,
he was false to hcr-forsaking her for a
women Of the world; that, long after,
when he returned TO New York, friendlcss,
poor and sick, she forgave him the great
wrong that he had done and nurscd him
TIL he died. This story, in many conflict
ing phases, was often, to her great annoy
ance, told of her during her life. The fact
that Rufus w. Griswold did in his last
will bequeath to her his personal effects
was made much o. in printed and private
circles, and used as an unanswerablc proof
that at one time he had been her lover.
| Within II week / have read in letter to
the New York Erening Post that the will
proved the love and relationship between
the persons beyond doubt. Yet no less,
in its foundation, the story is false. Re
ferring TO it once while we two sat alone
together, Alice said to me IL will tell
you just the truth. If you ever think it
necessary. YOU can tell it,. ] believe it to
be but justice to her sacred life, with
which idle gossip is yet to busy, TO tell it
| now.
! Bereavement in death and in life had
made her Western home too desolate to
be borne. These, with the impulse of tn
brave will that served her TO the last,
brought her 10 New-York to make not the
| life that she would have chosen for herself
| yet life worthy 10 be lived Ignorance
stood me in the stead Of courage she said
| Had | known the great world as ] have
learned it since, / should not have dared;
but didn't. Thus came. The leading
Gterateur at that time was DR.. Rufus W
| GriswOld. He had compiled the books
called THE Female Prose Writers and
| "The Female Poets Of America lie was
sharply on the lookout for every new gem
Jus in literature that appeared. He had
visited the sisters in their Ohio home, and
in 1850 obtained publisher for their first
volume, and had added both their names
with selections from their poems to hi.
own Poems of America He knew every
thing necessary 10 their success in the
sphere of labor which they had chosen,
while they practically knew next to moth
ing. He encouraged and helped them in
many Way, and thus commanded their
gratitude.
For Alice to incur debt of graft ude
| WAS TO pay il, if at the cost of her life Yet
even the good will of one type Of man to
n woman Is often u misfortune. Her soul
may be white a. snow vet he cannot take
her innocent name upon his lips without
smrching it with something of hi, own
vileness. Iii, vanity has been ilattercd by
IDLE women, til conquest has become not
only the habit, but the necessity, Of his
/ morbid and miserable soul: TIL where he
knows he has not won il, he vet is base
enough to boast ct il. Such u man ljudg-
ing by every record left of HIM was Rufus
W. Gri-wo.d lie VII, man Of poetic
temperament, of fine scholarship, OF gem
erous impulse, and in certain direction, of
rare gift, yet no less be Wa, man of
tickle fancies, Of violent temper which Of
ten fell upon his dearest friends, of mon
strous vanity, and Of ungovernablc pas
sions. II never loved him. laid Alice
Cary to me. Il could not have loved such
a man, though | learned him in his best
phases. ] came to pity him, because he
was his own worst enemy. \, friend |
owed him much, and before his death |
| found it in my power to pay back in part
turned to New-Iork, poor and sick, with
certain death before him, l., with Miss,
hired room and nurse for him. From
that they have made the romantic story
of my nursing him foriunrequited love. 1t
was old Betsey who nursed him. You
know how big and strong she is yet even
she became worn out, for his sickness was
long and very painful. Many unkind
even cruel things have been said because
he willed to me his personal effects. Be.
side the books and pictures which he be-
queathed to the Historical Society, these
were all that he possessed and he left them
TO me not morel out Of personal regard
than to repay as far a. he was able the
money which / had expended for his COM
| fort during his last long sickness"
In the profoundest sense Alice Cary
never loved but once. The man whom
she loved is still alive yet gossip, with it,
keenest scent, has never found or named
him. With all her fullness of affection,
hers was an eclectic and solitary soul.
He who by the very patent of his being
was more to her than any other mortal
could be might pass from her life, but no
other could ever take his place. \ proud
and prosperous family brought all their
pride and power to bear on son to pre-.
vent his marrying girl uneducated, rus
tic and poor. +" / waited for one who new
er came back, she said. yet be-
lieved he would come till read in a pa
per his marriage to another. Can you
think what life would believing one,
waiting for one who would never come =
He did come at last | saw him. His
wife had died, Alice was dying. Tho gray
haired man sat down beside the gray
haired woman. Life had dealt prosper
ously with him, as is its wont with men.
Suffering and death had taken all from
her save the luster of her wondrous eyes
From her wan and wasted face they shone
| upon him full of tenderness and youth
Thus they met with life behind them
they who parted plighted lovers when life
was young. He was the man whom she
forgave for her blighted and weary life,
with smile of parting as divine as ever
lit the taco of woman.