Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1872-11-08

AFTER TWO AND HALF YEARS CHASE
With some writer's the fckleness and in.
stability of woman IS a fayorite theme
Oceans of ink have been she'd 70 nrove tbat
her nature is essentially tickle. and that her
great Characteristic is a love and craving for
change. We have neither the time nor dis.
position to argue this point. We have seen
wives desert their husbands when misfortune
overlook them-then again we have seen
them cling with ten-fold tenacity when dis
loved
An incident of the latter kind came 10 on,
knowledge the other day which is so ex-
iraordinary in its character that we cannot
resist the temptation of giving it to two read
ers.
The people of Toledo will recollect we'll
to-do carpenter named p, who resided
IN town some five years ago, and afterwards
purchased farm in one of the western
counties Of the State. After residing there
lor about year, he sold his farm and went
to Missouri. He had been in Missouri some
elgteen months, when rumOrs reached Toledo
that he had committed some.crime, had been
tired and sentenced to the Penitentiarv.
The story was talked Of for few days.
p was pitied by his friends and abused
by his enemies, and the whole thing was
forgotten. The circumstances as they after
ward tTanspired were these p becom-
ing embarrassed for funds had sold pair of
horses to stock buyer for $500, receiving
that amount in national currency, all in new,
clean bills. Two Of these he paid out the
next day, when it was discovered that they
were counterfeit. p was arrested; and
on ms person was found the remainder of the
money (some $3.50 in the same spurious
currency. He had at once stated that he had
procured the money Of the horse dealer in
question, whom we shall call A., but to
ms horror that parsonage denied all knowl-
edge Of the notes. and asserted positively
that the money he had paid was on an Hi
nols bank and the most of it in bills oflarge de-
omlnatlons 1t the time an immense amount
oil counterfeit money had been set ahoat in
that region, and the idea existed that an
/ organized hand Of eounterfeiters was located
IN that vicinity. rs p was the first
man detected in uttering the counterfeit
/ currency, public opinion set strongly against
hlm A. was also arrested. but as no
spurious money was found on him. and rs he
! told 4 perfectly straightforward story. deny
ing Indignantly any participation in the
| matter, no case could be made against him.
and P was made the sufferer. He was
tried, found guilty and sentenced to five
/ years Imprisonment in the Penitentiarv.
lis wife, however, did not desert him. She
/ believed in his innocence. and determined To
make it patent to all mankind. But first
she made visit TO the Governor. and in
| plored the pardon Of her husband. stated the
case, insisted on his innocence. but to no
purpose. lie Sympathized with her. pitied
/ her, but could not grant her request. The
| offence had been too common. and a due re-
gard for public veal demanded that the law
be allowed to take its course. The courts
had found him guilty, and the Governor
could not set aside their verdict until facts had
been brought to his knowledge. showing the
innocence Of the prisoner.
Her next step was to convert the uropertv
into cash. She felt satisfied that A. was
the real pcrpetrator Of the offence. and she
determined to follow him until She could
force the truth lrom him His first move
was TO Freeport, Illinois. and thither she
followed. watching him untiringly, dogging
his footsteps and cliuging to him Ike
shadow. She had not been in the place a
week ull large amOnnt Of spurious money
was set ahJat. This convinced her that
A. was engaged in this business. He
next pushed for Fort Wayne. Indiana. and
the same thing occurring there. she caused
his arrest. Nothing could be fastened upon
him, however, and he was discharged. From
Fort Wayne he came to Canton. Ohio. and
thence Wen to PittSbrrg, Altoona. Lancas-
ter, Chambersbutg, Philadelphia. Pa. Cos
hen. Deposit. Binghamton. Oswego. Elmira
and other towns in New York. remaining
sometimes a. long as two and three months
IN place. In each town he pretended to
have different buineSs. Sometimes he was
horse buyer, a purchaser of grain. or a
rdeale in provisions By some means. not
fully explained. she kept herself informed Of
ms movements, and wherever he went She
went with him. In every place he went
counterfeit money became plentiful, but all
her efforts TO fix the passing of it upon him
were unayailing
Two years and half were spent in this
manner, when finally he turned up in New
ton, Sussex county, New Jersey His dav
of tribulation bad arrived; he was taken sud
denly lil-not dangerously so. but enough to
coniine him to his bed Mrs. P-was at
the same hotel, and the moment his illness
became known 20 her she determined to turn
1t into account. She Immediately sent for
the physician who attended A.. and told
him her story. She narrated how she fol-
lowed the cause Of her husbands wrongs.
and the Ilanner in which A. had betray-
ed him and begged of the physician for the
sake Of justice and right. to assist her.
She requested him to give his patient medi-
cine that would PROSTATE him a time. and
then when the sickness thus produced was
at lis height, to inform the sick man that he
could not live. She had faith that his terror
in the supposed presenceO Of the grim monster
would induce A 10 make a clean breast
Of his past sins, and clear her husband
Touched by her story the physician assented
-dosed him heavily with a prostrating bat
not dangerous preparation, and then when
the medicine had its full effect upon the
sufferer, Informed him that he probably
would not live twelve hours. and that if he
had any arrangements to make prior to his
death, they had better be made at once.
A. was thoroughly terrified and sent i'm
mediately fora clergyman, who pointed oat
the necessity Of repentance, and urged him
not to enter the unknown world without
clearing his soul Of the weight of his past
transgressions At this iuncture Mrs. P,
his shadow for the previous two and half
repair the great wrong he had done to her
husband and not to die with that great sin
darkening his soul. With death staring him
in the face A. consented and made deposi-
ton before magistrate who was sent for
without delay. coniessing that il was he who
two and a half years before had paid the
spurious money to 2. lie acknowledged
further that he was member Of an exten-
business waS-n0t the uttering of counter
felt money. but distributing ii among con-
federates in different portions Of the Union.
To keep himself above suspicion, he always
paid for purchases with good money, and
had only ased the spurious in that single in
stance, because he happened to have no other
with him-and wanted the horses.
Armed with these proofs Of her husbands
innocence, Mrs. returned to Missouri
as fast as team could carry her, and laying
them before the Governor of that State, had
the satisfaction Of carvings n speedy pardon
to her husband. The reunited pair are now
residing in Southern Illinois, and no one in
that locality suspects the romantic story OF
the husbands service in and release from the
PenitentiaIy.
4 few hours after his confession, as death
failed to call for him, A was told of the
ruse that Lad been praetieed upon him by the
physician. who felt that it would be unfair,
even with his notorious crimes, to cause his
arrest The dying man, when he heard the
truth, recovered rapidly and in few days
disappeared from the neighborhood no l-
knew whittier The lesson was a saluta-,
one. and it is believed that A. has left
the counterfeiting business for eyer.-Iotedo
Blade
MILK As a REMEDIAL AGEST.-Consldera-
bic has been said in medical journals CON
cerning the value of milk as remedial
agent in certain diseases We notice an |
;sterestine article upon this subject that |