Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1874-03-13
A Wronged and Deceived Wife.

his work last night, and taking of
his coat requested his wife to mend
a rent in his sleeve, then sank upon
the sofa behind the evening paper.
Wifc-like, she took up the coat;
woman-llke, she dived down into
the pockets. From the inside pock-
ct she drew forth 4 letter, directed,
in delicate chi-ogr.phy, ITO her hus-
band. With darkcning brow, she
quickly took the suspicious looking
missive from the envelope, and,
without noticing the date, began to
read:
"DEAR GEoRGE:-1 am lonely, oh,
so lonely, since you left me last
Thursday night"
"Ah, ha! that was lodge night,
he told me-" said the now thor
oughly interested woman, as she
glanced viciously over at her hus-
band, who appeared to be just fall
ing asleep. ooh, how can you
sleep with the weight of this deep
sin upon you? But I'll see what
more the brazen huzzy has to say if
it kills me-" With one hand pressed
to her throbbing heart, she read on:
81 know l am foolish, darling, but
when you arc away there seems to
be a barrier between me and all
that is bright and lovely. The sun
does not shine half so bright; the
moon is but white spot in the sky,
and the stars stare coldly down,
when you are not with me, lord of
my life and heart"
"Was it for this? was it for
this?" moaned the unhappy wife.
"Fortune speed the day when we
may be united in those indissoluble
bonds that are sacred in the eyes of
heaven and earth"
"What mockery! Does he or she
consider that his vows made to me
are not sacred? What are they 60
ing to do with me, any way, won
der? Poison perhaps. Oh, false,
false, pertidious man! Oh, wicked,
hellish. designing wan'on!" Still
the suffering woman read the letter,
though each word burned to ashes
a thousand hopes and joys.
''when we meet no more clandes-
timely, and tremble in each others
embrace"
"Fd make you tremb.e if l had
you in nay embrace a minutcw
"when my head may be pillowed IN
safety upon your breast"
"The fiendess!"
"and your arms twinc in loving
pressure about me"
'"Furies!''
"and our lips smother the tender
words that would escape between
them"
"Oh, the sirenic she-devil!" Kissed
the woman, as she tried to keep
down the boiling rage within her.
She crushed the letter in her hands,
then threw it upon the floor and
sprang upon it with her heels, as
though it were snake, and ground
it into the carpet. Then with com
pressed lips and clenched hands,
strobe back and forth across the
room, ever and anon making a move
as If to spring like fury upon her
husband, who, with = paper over
his face, was apparently sound
asleep; dreaming, perhaps, of the
wicked temptress that had come be-
tween him and his fond wife. Pres
emily reaction took place, and she
found relief in that blessed panacca
for female iIls-a flood of tears.
Grown calmcr after n while, she
picked up the rumpled letter,
smocthed out the creases, and with
an air of mingled despair and res
ignation, looked for the signature.
"Your ever loving and devoted,
but poor, apprehensive-"
"What's this! Flut-ter-tering
birdie. A-D-A-ADA. Why, bless
me! this is one Of my own old let
ters to George. What a fool l."
A sound from the sofa, first like
escaping steam, and then like car
rattling over the stony street, as
sured her that her ridiculous actions
had been witnessed by her husband.
Burning with shame, the foolish
woman flew TO her room, and locked
herself in, and she is almost as mis-.
erablc now as when she felt that
she was a wronged and deceived
wife -Bruns,cicker.