Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1872-05-23
THE ROUsEKtEpER,s CRIME. IN !:

the. Medical Herfe1r. (, Z. .le..,.,.s
The fire in the CRATE was low,
the night was stormy, and the
clock on the stroke of eleven ]
was just abont TO turn of the
gas and retire, for being a bach,
elor, slept in a room connected
with my office, when there was O
pull at my bell, q .ls--,, s.2 y,s ,5ss4 ..4''
Istarted up suddenly, for this
was something new. Middlebnry
was decorous sort of place, -and
people usually managed 70 be
sick at seasonable hours. -..',,5 .,..
| TOOK up my night lamp and
went to the door, A strong gust
of damp, sleety wind nearly ex-
tinguished my light, but shading
it with my hand, I dimIys dis,
cerned the torn Of a woman. s5r sfa Il
"Come in, said |, holding open
the door, bnt she declined with o
gesture of impatience. - - = a-,.s =
''You must come out" :" she re-
piled, in a sharp, decisive tone
land be quick about it" e. ! .s...i e.. i.ss5 ss5
put on my overcoat without
demur, locked the surgery door,
and stepped out into the Storm
AS | did SO, the woman laid a firm
hand on my arm, and putting her
face close to mind, said '.,ss3' s55s
''Dr. Lockwood, can you keep-a
secret ?" ,'-l. ~ q, -. -.
Il think so, madam. - 80, = =
"Swear it" -,sg -,
"Is the secret of yours of pro-
fessional character? That is, is
it anything you wish to confdeto
me as professional man p '',-ss .ss,'-.r
"It is. .- .a ,=se-5 ..;j
"Very well, then--I swear IT,"
"This is right. A man respects
his oath, though why he should
is mystery, since mems mouths
are running over with them. - - .
~Whither"are you taking me
and for what purpose ?" .,,.s .s;s.
ITO Clifton House to see the
mistress" -- ''.,7., =. So. 80 . = ...3 s-,533
l started. p =.e
Clifton House was an old man.
sion recently taken by. DR.. Spen-
Ger, a stranger to every one in
Middlebury. Spencer was a tall,
dark, rather distinguished look
ing man, who had hung out his
sign in the village only a few
doors above mine, but yet he had
got no practice. 5 ---- - I. = -, ss =
The doctor had a wife, it was
said, but no one ever saw her.
She was an invalid, and a.. Miss
MeIrose, a friend of the, family,
presided over the establishment,
and always sat at the the head of
the table 5e.rqa
"As we walk along, said
my companion, ''let me explainto
you just what is necessary you
should know, My mistress is i'll.
Il beg your pardon, is it Mrs.
Spencer or Miss Melrose?" ss'A
She laughed pitifully. 4slaI
"Miss Melrose | would die
sooner than call her mistress. =
My mistress is lady noble, roy!
al, and of a gentle birth. Its
an honor to any one to serve my
mistress. " ..
"And is she ill? How slong
since?' b-a,.75s
Ever since she married him
the wretch But l must not get
excited. | must tell my story, or
rather hers. DIR. Spencer at one
time was engaged to Miss Lucille
MeIrose, but he broke the en-
gagemeut and married. 4, my mis-
tress instead. Miss Melrose was
as poor as Jobs turkey /; Miss
Herndon was an heiress, and DR..
Spencer was deeply in debt and
hard pressed by his creditors,--
Do you see anything singular in
that ?" c-
"Perhaps; go on" 4
"When my mistress married
Spencer she was but seventeen,
and she had been taught to obey
her father in everything. She
was a gentle and affectionate child,
and it would have been easy for
Spencer to have won her love;
but he did not try to. It was
money he wanted. 1t paid his
debts it bought him fast horses !;
it set his table with costly dishes,
and put it in his power to keep
Miss Melrose like queen. And
all this time my mistress had been
slowly but surely failing. And
look you, DIR. Lockwood, / believe
she is not dying of disease, but
Of" she lowered her voice to a
whisper as she spoke the word
"poiSon y .sa.