Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-06-16

5SuilG DeiIlS .CJuuu6uCc, DuJ uOI 10
reward with affection-only to debase with
passion. Long rides, moonlight excursions
upon the flower fringed stream whose wa
tiers cleaned brightly and softly mid the
sleeping moOnbeams, all were not Unatteud-
ed Witlrthat happiness and influence In secu-
ring more strongly the confidence of an IN
suspectlng woman. In one hour she who
was the cynosure of all admiring eyes, the
pride of fathers home in which the gloom
of wiie's death had settled, the paragon
of womanly refinement and the type of fe-
male loveliness, and the ideal of womanly
perfection to many noble lover, fell from
the proud sphere of purity, never, alas, to
rise again from the unslghtly depths
of degradation. The magic spell
which passion threw around the soul
in glitterlng beauty paled before the
mocking realities of ruined virtue, and
he who had been so prone to promise, ave,
to even swear the honor of his love by the
stars Of heaven, yet as quickly 80 dehase its
purity as the clouds De obscure the heavens,
held not himself as man should do in Of
fering by marriage, the only atonement
possible on earth for crime so dark and
unfOrgiven that Gods own mercy Weeps to
know that It's enshrined within the soul of
man. True to the maddened instincts OF
an affection, which, painting q vision of
hope and peace SO fair, had brought a curse
of memory and life so foul, the woman
never cast an aspersiOn upon the
character nor traduced the motives of
her lover. The father, poor man, when he
saw what was his curse, was heartless, was
hopeless, and knew only snguish-that an
guish which tortures to madness, and de-
sires with a living misery even the peace
of death. Deep, deep in that fathers sOul
ragged fierce conflict Of shame and pride,
Of hoEoF and revenge, but upon the clOuded
valley Of his soul, where manhoOd's nature
had fallen in its sorrow and curseful mis-
cry, came the fearful face Of his child, wear
ing its hopeless grace of beauty and IN:
conscious sadness Of desnoiled purity. For
her to live, and for the great and blighting
curse to rest as lightly as could on her life,
was now the fathers only hope.
When moonbeams rested like spectre
sentinels on the bald cliffs of picturesque
stream, or threw a softly wild sheen on the
water, and no sound broke on the silence
of midnight's hour save the faint signs of
the wind harp, could be seen an Old man,
his head bent low and his eyes wandering
away to the heavens, seated near the road
which led to the stream. Soon the form of
a young man was seen approaching, and as
he neared the place where the other person
was sitting he paused as if affrighted by an
discovery; recovering his self
possession be darted towards the stream.
As he did so the dreary silence of the night
was broken by a pistol discharge.
A wild shriek, whose echo rang
along the Swallowed stream till lost |
among the distant hills, plunge into the |
water whose waVelets glistened in the |
and all again was silence in this
onely place, human being had eXpiated !
his pardOnless sin in d5ajh, and the bleeding |
heart of an agOnized father had found its |
revenge. Last October, an old gentleman |
accompanied by MS daughter, arrived in |
and took rooms in one of the |
many obscure places to be found in this |
,ity. a few days after the young lady gave |
birth to a child. This is one of the stories |
with the parentage of little |
,hild which having been left with an old
,olOred woman in South Nashville, died 1
If the affair is that the same beautiful young
Auy VI W uOAll VIC SRC6ns llobCDCu d. hOuAdll
90 often listens to the base deceit Of aged |
Ups. Her father died many years ago and was
'laced in the ground by the side of his
wife, whom it is said had previously been
aid in her grave. The young lady has two
'rOthers both engaged in the mercantile
business. Her home was il East Tennes-
ZEE and near by resided a gentleman about
orty-fVe or fifty years of age who had been
near and dear friend to her father. Al
houeh tie features of his face had been
marked by that terrible plague, The small
'Ox and his front teeth were gone, yet the
-oung and unsuspecting girl had cOnfded
ar too long in this cid gentleman to one
moment suspect his motives wrong. Pos
essing wealth with no one 20 share the
Ixuries Of his home the young lady soon
ell a victim to his OYertUres and frequent
Olicitations of matrimony. The elegant
ome with its many comforts and
be paternal kindness which she inn
gined would soon be hers, painted
many fair and beautiful vision of happi-
ess on her soul which gave way to the
etteg dictates of her refined nature and de-
troyed whatever of affection she may have
herished for others. Wealth, position, a |
anne, were temptations which too often be-
uile woman, found her not an unwilling
ubiect. Though the ardent flame of love |
urned brightly and joycusly, though its |
aser desires had found safety in the in
ulgence Of what soon must be her ruin IN
ess guarded by the sacred 20 lis of marriage,
till the legal acknowledgment of the rela-
ion of man and wife had been deferred |
rom day to day until the fearful truth
ould not longer be withheld. Many an
piust suspicion had been aroused and I'M
haritable remarks made, when during the
lonJh of October last the woman and her /
aramour, on plea of travelling West, left
Ome and came to NASHVILLE. Going to I
ne house of lady living on - street,
le gentleman who is about fOrty-six years l
age, engaged private apartments and {
illed TO bis assistance an old coloTed wo- z
ian. Remaining about two or three weeks !
ter the birth of the child, the party left it in
large of the cOlOred nurse and departed
IT Union City, West Tennessee, to visit
le unfortunate lady's. only aunt, who re- J
des eight miles from that place. The gen
eman agreed to give the cOlOred woman :
20 per month to take care of the child !
le has received pay only for one month.
Both the mother and father, the latter .
ore frequently, have written letters to the
bored woman, telling her they would
ION be here and compensate her according
the amount stipulated. In their letters
9TH express kindest feelings for the child, !.
no going under the name Of BiEdie, is