St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1872-03-01

]
ton and impatience with me, which
would have done in one hour more to
intensity his love for her, and to change
! its nature from pure, involuntary
sentiment into an acknowledged and
guilty one, than Years and Years of free
intercourse could do. But | have reach
ed the limit of my physical endurance.
| My nerves are giving away. am re
ally very i'll, but nothing is out of order
in my body aside from the effects of
| this anguish. \ month more of this
would make me Il hopelesSly broken
| from the sight of it will almost make
me we'll"
could not refrain from interrupt
ing her.
ELLEN, you are mad you are mad =,
You mean to go away and leave him to
see her constantly alone, unrcstraincd
by Your presence 1t has almost killed
you to see it. How can You bear i'm
agining it. knowing il -
.'Bctter than | can bear seeing it, far
better. Because have still mdimin-
iShed confidence in the real lasting
ness of the bond between John and me.
Emma Long would have been no doubt
Il good, IL very good wife for him. But
| am his wife, am the mother of his
children, and just so surely as right is
right, and wrong is wrong, he will re-
turn to me and to them. All wrong
things are like diseases. self-limited.
1t is wrong for man to love any wO-
man better than he loves his wife; |
don't deny that, dear" she said, half
smiling through her tears at my indig-
nant face; .'but Il man may seem to do
it when he is really very far from it. He
may really do it for days, for months
for years. perhaps; but if he he a true
man, and his wife Il true wife, he will
return. John is il true husband and Il
still truer father. John is mine, and
shall live to remind You of all these
things, Sally, after time has proved
them true
| | was almost dumb with surprise.
was astounded. To me it seemed her
plan was simply suicidal. told her in
the strongest words could Use of the
scene of the night before.
] Il could tell you of still more trying
scenes than that, Sally. | know far
more than You. But if | knew ten
times us much, | should still believe
that my plan is the only one. OF course
| may fail. 1t is III Gods hands. We
none of us know how much discipline
we need. But know one thing: if
do not regain John in this way, | can
not in any. If | stay | shall annoy,
vex, disturb, torture him, Once the
barriers of my silence and concealment
are broken down, shall do just what
all other Jealous women have since the
Il l,..,r t.,r n r.
on earth like those which II jealous wo
man intiicts, except those which she
bears, | will die sooner than intlict
them to John. Even if the result proves
me mistaken, | shall never regret my
course, for | know that the worst is
certain if remain. But have ahso-
lutte faith, and her face was transtig-
ured with it as she spoke, John is mine.
If could stay 10y his side through il all
and preserve the same relation with him
which have all winter, all would Soon-
cr or later he well. Iwish | were strong
enough. My heart is, but my body is
not. and ] must go"
When she told me the details of her
plan, | was more astounded than ever.
She had taken DIR. Willis into her full
confidence. Ole had been to us father
and physician both ever since our faith
cr's drath.) He entirely approved of
her course. lie was to say which i'll
deed he could conscientiously do that
her health impcrativcly required an
entire change of climate, and that he
advised her to spend ut least one yeaI
abroad. 1t had always been one OF
Johns and Ellen's air castles to take all
the children To England and to Gcrma
posed to take the Youngest four, lcav-
ing the eldest girl, who WAS her fathers
especial pet and companion, to stay
with him. \ maiden aunt of ours was to
come to keep house, and was To stay
with the family. This was the hardest
of all.
ELLEN, | cannot DO not oh. do not
trust me. | shall never have strength
shall bctray all some day and ruin all
your hopes"
.Iou cannot, you dare not. Sally
when | tell You that my life's Who'll,
happiness lies i'll your simple silence
John is unubScrvant and also unsuSpic-
ouS. He has never had intimate rcla-
tion with You. You will have no diff
Guilty. But YOU must he here, because
dear, there is another reason, and here
her voice grew very unsteady, and the
tears ran down her cheeks.
, ..In spite of all my faith, do not
disguise from myself the possibility o
the worst. do not believe my hus
= band would ever do dishonorabl,
thing. | do not believe that Emm;
Long would. And yet, when | remem
} Der what ruin has Overtaken many mel
and women whom we believe upright
dare not he wholly sure. And mus
know that some one is here who wOul,
see and understand if time were ap
preaching at which it would he needfu
for me to make one last effort with anC
, for my husband face to face with him
/ Unless that comes, do not wish you t.
r allude to the subject in your letters.
, think | know just how all things vii
: go. | believe that in one year, or less
all will be well. But if the worst is t,
come, you with your instincts will fore
see it, and | must be told. | shoul,
have power, even at the last moment
t to save John from disgrace. But
should lose his love irrecoverably; it i
, to save that that | 60"
could say but few words. | wa
: lifted up and borne out of myself, as i
were, by my sisters eXultatiOn of at
mosphere She seemed more like som,
, angel wife than like a mortal woman
Before left her room at noon, | believ
t ed almost as fully as she did in the wis
l dom and the success of her plan.
r There was no time lost. Every da,
+ between the announcement of her pur
e pose and the carrying it out, would b
+ "A fearful strain on Ellen's nerves. Dl
Willis had long talk with John in hi