Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-08-30
= Strange Story. History of Former
st. LOuIs Teacher.

= StfHhHe SI0Eys AHEsEDFY OF a FOfmcf
st. LOuIs Teacher.
(From the Kansas City Times, Aug. 49,
About four years ago there resided in R
| county, Ky, about eighty miles south OF Gin
cnnati, family, composed oil father, mother
and two ehildren-a son and daughter. They
were well TO do, being the owners Of one of the
finest stock farms in Central Kentucky and of the
| purest and best lineage that the old Blue Grass
state can boast OF. AT the time in which we intro
| duce our story both the sou and the daughter
| were at school, the Young lady attending a
| seminary at Covington, where she was among
| the elite. f Kentucky's fair daughters.
Her education finished, she returned to her
rural home, and as her brother, too, had just
| graduated, and there being q somewhat nu-
merous circle of young people about her home,
| she passed the first year after her graduation
quite cOntentedly under her palernal roof. In
| the spring of 1869 her brother went away to
| Cincinnati and accepted a situation in COM
| mercial house, leaving his sister at home with
| the old folks. There had been, that spring,
| general breaking up of the select social circle
| in which she had moved in the neighborhood of
her home and 50, as the summer passed, Miss
Sallie, as we will call her, found herself troubled
| with ennu and discomfort.
! She was an ambitious girl, and having had
| the misfortune to write one or two passabe
| sketches of fiction and little poems, which had
| been published in literary journal, she be-
| came infatuated with the caeOethes scribendi,
| than which no disease can be more fatal, except
| it be spinal meningitis or Asiatic cholera. So
| nothing would do but she must go TO Cincin-
natl, to gain Il livelihood with her pen. Her
parents remons trated, but to no avail To 20
| she had made up her mind, and 90 she would.
Finally, finding that expOstulations and en-
| treaties were of no avail, the grieying parents
fitted their willfu daughter out TO the extent Of
| their ability, which was not by any means mea-
| gre, and with well illed trunk and purse,
| hopeful heart and aspiring brain, the nineteen
| yearOd country girl whirled away on the cars
| to POrkopolis.
| Arriving there she had no difficulty in find
| ing her brother, who provided her with elegant
| lodgings, and sought TO procure her employ
| ment BETTING her station and aspirations. But
| he found that literary talent was by all means a
drug in the market, even in a city so celebrated
| for mediocrity as is Cincinnati, and after max
ing the round of the press daily, weekly, hi
weekly and monthly, secular and religious,
news and literary, ne concluded that if his
| sister was TO shine in the literary armament,
| Cincinnati was not the particular system in
| which her orbit was to be cast
| He therefore advised her to return home, and
| he would still keep up his search for position
| for her, and would acquaint her Immediately
| with his success ii he should meet with any.
| But this her pride would not permit her to do
| She said she had started out to make her for
| tune, and she did not propose TO return home
no richer or more famous than when she went
| away.
| She then determined to come to St. Louis,
| where she had some friends-young ladies whom
| she had met at school. Arriving at st, Louis,
she made pleasant visit to her old friends, and
| remained there during the greater part OF the
| winter 1S69-70. Her financial wants were sup
| piled from time to time by her brother, and thus
| she found the first part of her journey in search
| OF fame and fortune an exceedingly smooth road
| to travel. Gifted in every particular-in per-
| son, in manner and in mind; beautiful far be-
| yond the average of young ladies' spirited,
| bright and cultivated her winter in St. Louis
became more of belleship than a struggle for
| a livelihood.
Meanwhile her brother had gone into business
| on his own account in Cincinnati and early in
| the spring Of 1870 he suffered from reverse of
| fortune which stranded bin and wrecked his
| father, who had become deeply involved with
| him by going upon his paper
This news was communicated TO the young
| lady, but Sallie had too much OF the Kentucky
| pluck and pride about her to think Of throwing
| herself a burden upon her bankrupt family. AC
| corGing she told her friends that her season of
| pleasure must come to an end and that she
| must do something to earn livelihood for her.
| self. Awaiting herself of the services of her
| friends she was soon installed as an instructress
| in one of the public schools of st. Louis at a
| remuneratlye salary.
| Here she performed her duties so well that she
| attracted the notice of those in charge OF the
| school and she became one of the most highly
| esteemed of the whole faculty She continued
to write for the press, but her ill success in
this particular seemed to be as persistent as her
success as a teacher was gratifying.
She remained in St. Louis until july 1871,
| when she accepted an offer of a position as
| teacher in one Of the towns of Holt county, in
| the northwest part Of the state.
What led her to leave st. Louis does not ap-
| pear, but it was certainly nothing discredtabie
| to the young lady, and she came to Holt county
with high recommendations and character as
unspoted as the snow. Not long after she had
oes I'D rfIr los in horn uI,a
tracted the notice of young lawyer, real eS-
tate agent and politician of the town in which
she was teaching, and his addresses soon be-
came so assidiouS that he was allowed to monop-
Ollie her society. This intimacy was not CON
ductve to Sallie's welfare. For it happened
that her warm, condding nature and the utter
abandon of her affections for the roue who had
wound his web about her. made her an easy
victim to his arts. The rest goes without say
ing. Willis tells it in
Is As loves wild prayers dissolved in air,
Her woman's heart gave way"
When she had sufficiently recovered herself to
comprehend the situation, she became thorough
ly desperate, and visited the office of her beray-
er, armed and bent on mischief. He succeeded
| in calming her, however, by promising speedy
| settlement of all existing complications at the
altar. She insisted that she must be made his
wife without delay, but he finally persuaded her
| to wait until some little preparation could be
made, for the sake, at Leaf, of outward propriety
| The next day the artist was not TO be found he
| having awaited himself of the gloom and quiet
| that always intervene between two days. together
| with the running arrangements of the Council
Bluffs railroad, to put distance between himself
| and his victim.
Sallie was now helpless. Too proud to make
| known the story OF her wrongs, and too sensi-
| tive to face the world even with the conscious.
ness of her shame locked up in her own breast,
| she could not bear to stay where she was Her
hank account was limited and I he tyuo huudrad
and fifty dollar check signed by her hetrayer,
| which she found in an envelope directed to her
| through the post office, she Indignantly tore
| into fragments and stamped under her feet
| Her first move was to take the down train to
| Kansas City, where she arrived-wel, no matter
how long ago, but not many months, anyhow
and took a room at one of our principal hotels
Here she remained three days, ana then, having
paid her bills, suddenly disappeared. 1t seems
that she had attracted the attention of a Young
professional man, who happened to be boarder
at the aforesaid hotel, and in her desperation
she had told him her story. He had thereupon
provided her furnished room in a quiet part
of the city, and taken upon himself the task of
paying her expenses
She became very much attached to herIStrang-
er "friend," and grew to love him with an
dolatry that met cruel shock when he found
himself compelled by financial stress to give IN
his beautiful mistress and consign her to the
only fate whose portals were yet open to receive
her.
Then she became an inmate of one of the
numerous resorts of the half-world, where she
soon became faVorite and a belle. This was
last spring 4 short time ago young man
came here from Cincinnati, and being of fes-
tive turn of mind, as most Cincinnati young
men are, he went out with small but select
party of friends to see Kansas City by gas-lght
Taking in all the sights OF course involved
visit TO the resort in question, and, on entering
the parlor, the festive young man from the city
of pork-packing and fighting editors was con
tronted by the sister of his intimate friend, and
his own former acquaintance and object of adj
miration, when she was in Cincinnati, three
years ago last winter.
As may be imagined, there was scene.
There was no faintiug nor any Mysteries nor
foolishness of any sort, but there was recogni-
ton, moment of hesitation, and then our Gin.
cnnati man said, "Sallie, you must come out
of this" Salle was not at all 10th to 60, and
the MADAME" though disposed TO object, was
speedily quieted by the threat of invoking the
police and the newspapers, the trunk was speed-
lily packed, and its owner placed ia the hack
and quietly taken 10 the hotel, and the North
Missouri train of the next afternoon bore Salie
and her rescuer away to the east, and home
ward,
A letter recently received by friend of the
young lady in this city announces her arrival
home, explanations, forgiveness, and, let us
hope, entire aud lasting reformation,