The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1872-05-24

minutes hence be here again"
"Oh, don't talk so ~ | said excited
ly "but you won't wh,n you know
all"
"Know what? Ny dear Bessie, what
a fuss you are in ~
"And SO will you be-" ! exclaimed, a
little pettishly, fear, for her way of
taking the matter provoked me, when
you hear that Major Compton Is mar
ried man."
Greatly to my surprise and dismay,
Gerty at this announcement laughed
contemptuously.
$50 people say" she iejoined care.
lessly, but, nay poor Bes sic, you will
learn in time that you cannot always
Judge correctly from appearances. But
here he Is" she whispered mot II
word more will tell you everything
tomorrow"
This she did, and the everything"
amounted TO This, namely, that Burford
Compton had, by his own account, pro.
yidcntially discovered that an inior-
mality in his marriage with one who
according 10 his version Of the case
was simply de,estable, empowered him
at any moment 10 free himself from
his hated bonds, and unite himself,
should he so choose, to more congo
NAL partner.
never heard of more odious
woman ~ said Gertrude, on whom the
details of the miseries 10y which the
handsome Majors conjugal life was EN-
FILTERED had evidently made a deep i'm
preston. "She is a foreigner, and has
not, he says, single nice English
habit. And then she is so ill-tem-
pered, and so dreadfully unfeeling.
Their poor little boy was lost-is sup
posed to have fallen into the Alster-
Just the very day before the great frost
set in. Major Compton says that he
was in despair, but that she took it so
coolly Even when she was told that
il might be weeks, or even months be-
fore the poor childs body could
thanks to a thaw-be sought for, and
possibly recovered, she seems TO have
shown no signs of emotion"
and where is Mrs. Compton now ?"
| asked, feeling, | must own $50 apt are
we TO be run away with by strongly urged
testimony, especially when that testi-
mony comes from the lips of one who
has right to be well informed on the
matter), a considerable leaning in the
way of sympathy toward thi, ill-mated
Englishman.
81 don't Mountaineering somewhere,
! believe. Major Compton is quite sure
she is running him into debt; but he
shrinks, poor man, so sensitively from
taking the necessary steps TO restrain
her. 1t really seems sad case. And
he has such kind heart; and actually
cannot live, he says, without sympathy
and affection"
CATER this, Major Compton-of whose
married life, by the way, very little was
known in Hamburg-became frequent
visitor, both at our house and the one
where Gertrude Ruckmann temporarily
resided. We all liked him indeed he
was universally popular, and society was
apparently unanimous in the opinion
that the lady who had been SO little
known in the city-indeed, she had only
resided therein for one short fortnight,
the fortnight preceding the loss of her
little hoy-was the one Of the two who
was solely and entirely in fault. The
excellence, the perfection of his tenn
per, and the kindliness of Burford
Compton's heart spoke in manner not
to be mistaken in every feature of his
handsome face. There could be no
mistake about it, les abSents ont toujour5
tort: and Mrs. Compton-or Countess
Fenigstein, as her husband said she
insisted, Notwithstanding his great OBJ
lection TO her doing so, on being called
was reprobated and abused accord,
ingly.
"Well, 10 cut long story short, Ger.
trude, impressed with the belief that
the Major was single man, grew as
attached to him as her nature was capa-
BILE of being. That she would one day
when the truth concerning his mar.
riage with his supposed wife should be
made apparent-be led to the altar by
her fascinating admirer, the infatuated
girl firmly believed; and it was when
this blisstul dream was at its height that
the frost broke up, the passage of the
Elbe became open for steamers, and the
hour of our departure drew nigh. But
before we took our leave of the pleasant
sunny Jungternstieg, we were made
cognizant Of the fact that the search in
the now unfrozen waters OF the Alster
for the bodies of those whose remains
had been for months locked up therein,
was taking place. Many were taken out,
but among them, much to the surprise
Of Hamburg society, was not the little
six-year.old corpse of Major Compton S
son. He, during that trying season of
suspense, remained in his own apart.
ments; but it leaked out that his state
of excitement was most interesting, and
public sympathy with his sufierings was
proportionately great. 1t had hardly
begun 20 subside when our party-some-
thing to my regret, for we left many
kind friends behind us-iound ourselves
steaming rapidly away in the John Bull
to London.
"And now, my dears," continued,
" comes the pith and marrow of story
which you have, fear, found lacking in
interest, but which | have undertaken
TO tell in order that you may see the
advantage of looking before you leap,
or, in other words, of not being carried
away by your impulses.
81 had not been more than week
in London before ! received letter, in
an unknown but foreign hand, signed