Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1874-01-03
JACK CHICKERING'S WIFE.

was beautiful woman. Her igur
was superb; her head carried with
stately grace that alone would hav
marked her among crowd her fac
was clearly cutand beautifully rounded
and colored softly with the most deli
cate flush of pink; her eyes were larg
and black, with straight black brow
above them, all shaded with droopinl
bands of jetty hair; her dress was o
soft, clinging white material, with clus
ters of pale pink roses here and ther,
and taken altogether she LOOKED
more like some figure seen in a dream
or rare picture, than like mortal.
That is-don' makea scene, boys
that is jack wife.
His wife, said the. other, in mos
incredulous tones.
Factl And isn't she a gloriou,
looking woman? She has turned tn,
heads of more. than half the fellows ii
the city,
What induced her to marry him
He is ugly as sin, and if | remember
rightly, has not dollar outside of hi'
salary
Quite right but she had a fortune
and married him for love. Shall tel
you the story? It's rare one.'
Yes, by all means. Come away
where we shall be undisturbed.'
And taking one long look at the
beautiful lady and her ugly lord, the
speaker led the way to secluded cor
ner. apart from the company, where
they seated themselves and expressed
themselves in readiness to hear the
story.
You all know Jack he began
He was in the Harvard with US,
though our senior by term; but We
had an opportunity to know something
of him, and to learn what thorough
going, ghole-souled fellow he was.
After he graduated, he shot clear OF
professions, and took to the army, and
made himself well known during the
war. 1t was after the war, and he had
settled down to first rate Government
appointment at Washington, when he
ran across Alf Hallida., whom you all
remember for his daring exploits and
rascalities in college.
Alf had quarreled with his father,
and when Jack met him, was about as
downcast at heart and poor in pocket
as man can well be and alive. He
had few friends, but like many other
lonely, low w-spirited wretches, he had
selfishly consoled himself with wife,
and already had two little children.
well nigh starvation, in the miserable
abode he called home.
Jack did all he could for him. He
ran a considerable risk, in vouching
for Alfs honesty and ability, to OBJ
tain the poor fellow a lucrative situa-
tion, and he loaned him months sal
ary, and made himself useful in a
thousand ways to his cid college friend
and the little family.
1t was not in Aft Halliday to be
grateful. He could take Jack $
money. and allow the noble fellow to
compromise himself to almost any ex-
tent; but to be brave, upright, hon
est man himself, was beyond his abili-
ty, and Jack soon found it out.
= think, too, in justice to his sound
sense, that he would have withdrawn
from the business, and left Alto have
carved his own destiny; but at that pc
riod Alfs wife fell sick, and JACK s
chivalry held him then.
WhydOn'tyou write to your father?'
suggested Jack, when doctors bills,
room rent, grocers and apothecaries
threatened to use him entirely up.
l have written, and my letters are
returned unanswered.
Go to him.
And be kicked out for my pains
And while Jack reasoned, and Alf
procrastinated, death stole march
upon them, and took away Alfs wife.
So what could Jack do but stick by
him and the two little ones? They
who were near to it all tell me that the
brave fellow shed tears upon the white,
dead face of pretty Amy Halliday, and
took her little ones to his own comfor-
table rooms afterward and took care of
them, and made regular old woman
of himself; but Alf gave up all hope
didn't care whether he worked or
played, lived or died, and just hung
around Jack, and loafed, and drank,
until he was unfit for life or death
either.
Jack wrote to old Halliday. and his
letter came back with line written in
pencil: l will have nothing what
ever to do with the affair." and no
more.
So all thatlong winter Jack worked
at his desk, economized and kept Alf
from starvation, clothed and boarded
the two babies, and kept them from be +
ing wretched by all sorts of maneu-
vres.
Raleigh, one of our boys, says
that Jack used to promenade fp the
avenue, with one on his arm and the
other trudging by his side, and had a
habit of stopping at candy shops or
gingerbread stalls, to buy them anything
which they happened to fancy; and
others said that he dressed them
and rocked them every morning, before
he went to his Office, and that he read
every essay on Group, measles, whoop-
ing-cough or scarletina, that came out.
But whatever he did he was a true
friend to Alf Halliday's motherless.
and worse than fatherless babies, and
was braysr man than any one of us
would have been under the circum-
stances.
Before that winter ended. Alf Hal
liday was found dead in the streets, and
in less than a week after, Jack asked
leave of absence for few days, and
with the two babies started for New
York city.
'Itwas bitter night when he ar
rived, but nothing daunted he ordered
a carriage, and with his little charges
drove to the house where Alfs father
lived. 1t was in the very heart of ar
istocratic New York, and Jack says
that he said a great deal more than his
prayers when the carriage drew up be-
fore magnificent house, ablaze with
light from garrett to basement.
They were giving grand party, but
Jack walked boldly into the hall, and
ordered the porter to show him to a
room where he could see Miss Halliday
alone. Alf had told him a great deal
of good sister, and Jack had long since
made up his mind to appeal to her
when he had the opportunity.
AS he waited in the small room.
holding the children near the fire to
warm them, and talking all sorts of
baby nonsense to quiet them, he could
hear the crash of music, and the tramp
of feet, and the murmur of voices I;
and [ can readily imagine how
keenly his honest heart felt the injus
tiee and cruelty of poor Alfs misera-
bic life and wretched death, and that,
as he afterward expressed it, he had
hard work to restrain himself from