The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1873-07-25

i"u are Soili3 100 iar.'
"Am u" she asked, starting up.
"Polly, Polly Jones, come here!'
\ hurried note, scrawled upon one OF
the ehildren's states, and left by Polly
in hiS room, stating that She was going
of to drown herself, had quieted his ap-
prehensions concerning her; so he was
not prepared for the apparition that ap-
peared in response to Ellen's excited
call.
Polly Jones confronted him with a
look Of calm, detected defiance.
"Beholdr' said Ellen with emotion.
81 confront you face TO face with your
own wickedness. It is now my turn to
sue for a divorce. Had you been any
other than the vile miscreant you have
proved yourself you would have begged
me 10 take this step-both Of you. But
| shall have my revenge. The woman
shall stay with me till get my divorce.
This cannot be, rs you have managed
matters, till the public has learned of
=
you will marry her, if she is willing, or
l will have you indicted by the Grand
Jury for a licentiOus life. The woman
is wicked, and / will not try to palliate
her guilt. She has confessed all to me.
and now, rs it is never too late to do
better, / say to both of you, have but
one request: Restore to me my children,
and will give you all the chance can
to reform your lives and act uprightly
before God and man. To be plain with
you, l despise you both. Last night
when Polly told me of her sins and
wrongs felt as if could forgive her.
now forgive you both, but remember,
despise you, and for once my lucky star
is in the ascendant, and l shall use my
triumph to suit myself"
The woman dropped her eyes in sui
len silence, and Peter looked the hang
dog villain that he was. At length he
spoke:
81 don't see how Pm going to get
along over at the house. All them chill
dren there, and the hired men"-
"Never mind" interrupted Ellen.
"Send the children to me. Wen take
care of them here / have plenty To
live upon; no thanks TO you, Peter
Dowd.n
Peter Dowd and Polly Jones made the
vow that Ellen exacted, and then, prom
ising to send the children to her, and
to remain away himself in considera-
tion Of Ellen's promise that she would
not prosecute them, the miserable fel-
low kissed the twins and stalked away
in silence and detection. The next day
brought a glad reunion Of mother and
children.
Polly Jones, with strength like Her
cules, made herself humbly useful, and
Ellen DOwd, for the first time in her
married life, found herself mistress Of
her own acts, with power to exercise
her own will and Judgment without
overtaXing her feeble physical powers.
The cause Of this sudden change in
Peter Dowd's affairs was not for some
time publicly known.
Great had been the gossip in the
neighborhood because OF EIlen's per
sonal defense in court.
"Such brazen-faced impudence," one
woman chad never heard Of"
Another was ASHAMED of her sex"
Still another always knew their was
something wrong with the huzzy."
Men who had sat gaping in the court
room during the trial had gone home to
their wives with highly-colored stories
about her boldness; and boys, who had
listened in the hope of hearing some
thing indelicate, only to find themselves
disappointed, had joked among men
and women about "women who wanted
to be men," until all the foolish young
girls would elevate their noses and di-
late most vapidly upon a "womans
proper sphere"
Not a woman dared TO enter Ellen's
house. Occasionally some neighbor
man, whose reputation" was not so
fearfully ticklish, would venture upon
her premises, but as the farm was rent
ed out, she had little cause for business
intercourse with them, and she repelled
all social advances from every old-time
friend but DIR. Gon, who occasionally
called at the house as her counsellor and
friend.
High rs gossip ran, Ellen managed To
keep the real cause of the great change
in her family affairs from the knowl-
edge Of every one but the Doctor. She
was too happy in caring for and educat-
ing her children to pay heed to the out
side world, and as days and weeks
rolled on into autumn, her health re-
turned, her step grew elastic. and her
spirits buoyant.
WIN difficulty Ellen resisted the
temptation TO retaliate upon her bns-
band with an advertisement beginning
with Whereas" aud concluding with
an accusation akin To one which had
been published on a former occosion
about herself, but remembering tba
counsels Of One who said blessed are
the merciful," she waived the retalia-
ton.
No excitement was caused in the
community by Ellen's suit for divorce.
Peter Dowd did not appear against her,
and her prayer for the custody Of the
children, a certain annuity for their
maintenance, and her own dover were