The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1872-06-11
iId nj, anti her, but I knew better than

''s g She was taken away for change Of air,
but Zelma, the woman that went gttn he a
M nurse. was one of the slaves that nao p
innovd to nv father: and was devoted 20 M .us
aMrs. Landry fingered for many n.oh t;,s
hut she at last died, when you "eie ~.
years old. - Armand was
,ra,a,,;,,a In Europe, rarely writing nome,
ana navcr sending me line.
anu " w. per wore ten wears old when he came
zeina was dead, and i felt safe. now
.Sao, tho onIy one who could accuse me OF
sns.leating the death of Ellinor Russell was
gone. s.ue,,ur do.bod
70 the earth; for he brought with him a
vo,,ng wife, cousin of Ellinor's, and also an
heiress. They stopped in New Orleans, and
from there Armand wrote to me the foiio":
ing lines:
New ORLEANS, October both, 49,.
81 write. to you, Hagar, to say that no
option will be allowed you as TO your re-
moyal from the vicinity Of me and mine.
az came back to my native land, bringing
with me a cousin of my lost one as my Wlfe,
the resemblance in person and character De
tween the two attracting me irresistlbly 10
Helen.
al might have taken her to lie Bocage TO
meet the same terrible fate had not mere
encountered the priest who attended Zelma
in her last illness, and recetred her COMES
sion. o.,
"Ah. nv heart, cannot write it!
"Go far away-take your daughter.
al am not rich in my own right, but when
she ia old enough to marry will give ner
snitabIe dover. This Is all can or VIII 40
"ARMANp LANDRY"
at had nothing to do but obey Armands
comrnand.n continued Mrs. Blake, land 30
came hither with you, where we have iiVeo
till now. This Is my history.
CHAPTER II.
A PHYSICIAN IN LOVE WITH THE pAuGHTER-A
F1ENDIsH PLOT.
There WAS residing in the same village
with, Mrs. Blake and her daughter physl-
clan. twenty-eight or thirty years OF age
I)r. Macon-who for two years had been ar,
IDENTIFY in love with the daughter. she mao
toved and trifled with him during all tnaI
| time: but he had finally insisted upon ue-
cidpd answer to his suit, and on that very
evening he was coming to learn MS iate; az. ~
he aDproached the house he oVerHeaiu '.is
voices of mother and daughter engaseu ~
close conversation, and drawing near ~ .he
window and meanly listening, ne nau on.
famed full possession OF the lefTiDie Se.i. I
of Mrs Bikes life. Madly IN loNe, anu
utterly INSCRIPTIONS, he at once oeterlnlneo
~ make any use which might be necessary
of his newly-acquired advantataSto secure
the hand of Hester.
ON that very evening DR.. Macon was en-
oaoed to take tea with Mrs. Blake and her
da1pbter but their old housekeeper re-
t,Irned from the village with the intelligence
That n shocking railroad accident had oc-
curred in the vicinity, and the Doctor had
hastened Off to the assistance of the wounded.
On the return of DR.. Macon he called upon
Mrs. Blake, and surprised her with the in
formation that among the hurt was Armand
Landry, MORALLY injured He was accom-
panicd by his daughter, the half-sister OF
Hester, and she had been stunned by blow
ON the head. They were both lying at a
farmhouse near by, and Mr.. Landry, know
ing that he must die, had requested that
Hester should visit him the next morning,
that he might inform her of the pecuniary
provision which he had made for her sup
port.
And now was concocted one Of themost
tlendish plots ever devised by the human
mind. 1t was suggested by Mrs. Blake, and
acouiesced in by DR.. Macon and Hester, that
the halt-sister, who was still unconscious,
should be kept in state of imbecllitE by
drugs. which the doctor should skiffully ad-
minister to her for that purpose, and Hester
whose resemblance to her was so close Us to
defy detection-should usurp her place as
heiress of the immense estates entalled upon
,.1r hor
The inducement to DIR. Macon was Hes
ter's promise, on the accomplishment OF the
scheme, to become his wife.
But when Hester came to read over the
letters which lay concealed in the bottom of
her halEsister's trunk she found among
them several from Raymond De Lorme, a
handsome young man whom she remelll-
bered as her own first lover at the South,
when she was little more than mere child.
These letters were written in most impas-
stoned strain, and showed that between him
and his fair correspondent--Estel Landry,
Hester's now stricken half-sister-a marriage
engagement existed.
No sooner had Hester discovered this fact
than her old love for De Lorme was re-
kindled, and she resolved at once to have
him also, rs we'll as Estele's fortune, let what
ever obstacle might be in the way. He was
| now absent in Europe, to remain year or
two, and her purpose must be most careful.
| ly concealed from DR.. Macon; but, come
what would, the young man should yet be
hersl
Mrs. Blake's housekeeper, Mrs. Muller, a
German woman with an American education,
was great gossip, and cunning, selfish,
evil-minded woman. Hester, at her mothers
suggestion, had turned the key on the out
side of Mrs. Muller's sleeping-room, while
| their internal plot had been planned; but
the suspicious woman happened to be
awake, and she had risen, and emerging
through a window, crept around where she
| could listen to all they said. She, too, now
meant to have her profit out of the scheme
the secret of which she had obtained un
| known to them.
On the following day Mr.. Landry felt his
end rapidly approaching. He had forbidden
| peremptorily that Mrs. Blake should be ad.
mitted to his presence; but Mrs. Blake had
determined to see him before he died. He
was very anxious for confessor, and was
finally told that although there was no priest
accessible, Sister of Charity might he OBJ
tanned. This assurance afforded him great
relief, and he desired that no time might be
lost In sending for her.
Mrs. Blake determined to improve this OBJ
| DortlInitp to see him without his raropnizino