Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1873-07-24

~ -litaz1 slsGsire sd5 bEa ,ss3ooE
turning to the fiy-leaf of a splendidly
bound copy of Shakespeare, read -
!, TO Mary Frances 81 =, from hel
= devoted husband, Henry e. rar
= A thrill of surprise and anguish ran
r from vein to vein. My thoughts seemed
pafalyzed. The truth had burst upon
me with such suddenness that the blood
. rushed with shock to my heart. ar
knew Henry F.; had known
him intimately for years. He was a
frienl toward whom all my sympathies
n had been drawn, for ne had seen such
d sorrow as makes the heart grow old be-
Q fore its time. His wife, whom he loved
had deserted him. She had taken with
her his only child. She had desolsted
a household; and forgetting honor,
shame, everything that pertains TO vir-
. tue and to God, had fed from the coun-
try with the man whose arts had won
her wanton love. How conld remain
under this roof that now seemed ac-
cursed? How meet the destroyer OF
virtue--the fiend who. had reyeled in
sneh conquest, Icould only, think of
the evil they had done-not what they
might suffer through the tortnres of re-
morse. 1t was some time before. the
sedncer came into the room where |
| still sat with the child, determined to
meet him once morea before i left the
house. OIL how guilty! how heal IT.
stricken his appearance!o Renorse sat
on his forellead--loOked ont from his
eyes-spoke when he was silent.
-sWill you come to dinner? q he
asked. e 700 i18 sHt2''' %. ''i
I hesitated.. Should I partake OF his
hospitality ?-tlle hospitality Of one of
those fiends in human shape whose steps
take hold ON hell? knew his guilt
why delay to declare it? Why not, at |
once, in burning words, upbraid him
| for bis villainy, and flee, as from q pes
thence, his sin-eursed house? The man
noticed my. hesitation. He, could not,
of course, interpret its cause. As he
repeated his request, the look of dis
tress upon his face excited a feeling of
pity which, for the moment, Slightly
disarmed my resentment, and under the
influence Of this feeling, almost uncon-
sciously, 1 passed into the dining room.
~ am sorry little Nellie's mamma
q was glad he did not dare to use the
sacred name of wife)--is not able to
sit down with us,' he said. at is
many months since we have had her
presence at our meals. She is suffering
from the effects of slow fever, in
fdueed by the climate" he added grave
ly, as lie motioned me seat before
him. =aillti -all io -9llGJl
The table glittered with silver plate.
Obedient servants brought, on the most
costly servers, delieacies such as had
never seen before. But, the skeleton |
SAT at the feast. could not talk, save
in monosyllables. Ny host ate.hastily
almost carelessly--waiting upon me
with many abrupt starts and apologies.
Wine came. He drank freely. Soon he
sent the little girl and servants from
the room, and seemed striving to nerve =
himself to conversation. Sod
6 fon are from ;7----7 city, Ibelieve," :
he said nervOuslv. ez.GH i,.-s, f-.
answered in the affirmative. a4ra 4
Did You ever know 4 gentleman there a
by the name Of Henry F-----s'h frsaf J
81 knew him, sir,n said sternly, !
looking the man steadily in the face,
'and 4 know him also as ruined,
man. With an ejacula- n
tion of anguish, he put his handker-
chief to his eyes. 1t would have SEEM
ed hypoeritieal, but the suffering ON his
face was nnmistakable. f.'- n' 10
Perhaps you have suspected, them n
he began in a qnivering voice. =,
Not calmly, bnt with the words of an Q
accuser, / told him what I had seen, e
and thought and felt. , 80 ~, ~
Sir, said he, in tones which shall '
never forget, rt'if 1 have sinned, God in $
hea7en. knows that I have suffered and a
if in F.s'bereavement he has cursed me,
that curse is fearfully fulfilled Poor i
Mary is edyingHzhas been dying for ,
and have known it. 1t has p
been for me to see the failing step--thel q
thinning eye; it lis for me now to see u
the terrible struggles sof her nearly g
worn out frame it. is for me to listen e
to her language OF remorse that some "
times almost drives me mail. Yes mad y
--mad-mad," he said in frenzy, rising tt
and crossing the floor with long, hasty "a
strides. Then burying his facein his g
hands. exclaimed, "Too late--too late e.
have repented.' There was a long o
pause, and he continued more calmly: II
'No human means can now restore my e
poor companion. Her moral sensibili- q
ties become more and more acute as she v
fails in strength, so that she reproaches Z
herself constantly 9u avgd H.5g btg
A weary, mournful sigh broke from
his lips, as if his heart would break. J.
90! if he knew he exclaimed
again, ''if he knew how bitter penalty
she is paying for the outrage she has
upon him, he would pity :,
her--and, if could be, forgive
"Willyou see her, sir?" "'F !,
shrank from the very thought. :.
"She has asked for you, sir; do not
leny her request. Hearing that you
came from America, she entreated me
to bring you to her. fpromised that !
az will go, then" ~ s.- ~. ;,
Up the cool, wide, matted stairs he
led me, into a chamber oriental in its
its ehaste magnifeence.I nd
There, half reclining in wide, easy
chair-a costly shawl of lace east over 4
her attenuated shoulders; the rich q
dressing-gown clinging and followed "
to the ravages sickness had made-sat ],
one whose great beauty and once gentle Il
gifts made the light and loveliness
Of a sacred home. c
But noio. opity! pity! ....
The eyes only retained their lustre;
they were wofully sunken. The bla- y
ling fire, kindled at the Yitals burned 4