Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1874-02-05

with brilliant, spanish SOFT Oh Ueauty ,
you would not suppose it, to see me
now?'
~ have given no thought to the matter
at ALL" said little sharply, recognizing
her at last as one whom l had formerly
disliked, and suspecting that she was
about to confess the theft of Isahel's gold
thimble. or somthing of the sort.
81 suppose not, but you must give both
thought and understanding to the rest of
what have to say. Mr.. Deane and his
wife, as possibly you have noticed, were
the most perfectly happy married people
that ever saw. Being so long under
their roof, I had every opportunity to OBJ
serve it. always sewed in little room,
adjoining their bedchamber, which Mrs.
Deane used as nursery; indeed, she usu.
ally sat there with the only child she had
then.
'She treated me kindly, after fashion,
but somehow she seemed 20 make no diff
ference between me and the servants in
the house. was just the person who
served her purpose, and she wanted no
more TO do with me | had been taught
that my good looks were to be my fortune,
and she never noticed them ut all.
"She was a plain-looking woman at
times when she had no color; but If she
had been full-hedged angel, MIR. Deane
could not have been more convinced of
her beauty. He fairly worshiped the
ground she walked on, and when | could
hear them billing and cooling over their
boy, would grind my teeth with sheer
envy of her happiness.
II tried in every way to attract Mr..
Deane's attention, even TO lacing his wite's
boots after she found it difficult TO stoop;
but he had eyes only for her foot, and
never saw the scarlet flower in my hair.
| held his boy till my arms ached, and
tried to magnetic him with my touch;
but might as well have been so much
empty air; for him, there was but one
woman in the world.
at is not SAFE occupation for young
girl to try such experiments. had not
been in the house two months before
loved him with all my heart, and lac
scarcely knew me by sight. He had a
habit of reading aloud to his wife for an
hour or two every day, and one book, in
which they were much interested, was
James Greenwood's Seven Curses of
London Mrs. Deane pretended great
sympathy with the poor wretches that 1t
described, and talked very lovingly of the
fallen ones of her own sex; of course,
Mr. Deane loved her for it more than ever,
if that were possible.
They gave il up, however after read
ing few chapters, because she said in
her mawkish way that IL was too painful
TO be true. hope she has found out by
this time that because things are painful
they are all the more likely to be true.
got the book out of the library again as
soon as they returned il, and finished 1t
myself. If you have read IL (and If you
have not, recommend it to you and all
other starched.up women, who have seen
nothing but the whited side of this sep
ulchre of world)-I say, if you have
read it, you cannot fail To remember GER
tain chapter which, after describing many
forms of villainy in the way of anony-
nous letters, goes on TO detail very in
genious method of getting money out OF
widows and orphans, called the dead
lurk'
after man dies somebody writes a
very familiar letter purporting 10 come
from his mistress, or an accomplish in
some piece of wickedness, asking for
money according to promise, as If they
| had not heard of his death. The odds
are that the poor woman, hoping to pre-.
serve her husbands name from the stain
and disgrace of an investigation, will send
| the money. Women are so credulous that
they will believe one story as soon as
another. | admired the talent and acute.
| ness OF such trick; it was to me the
cream of the book, and did not think II
too painful 10 be true.
about month aiterward Mrs. Deane
| happened 10 hear me use vulgar word
before her little boy, who repeated 1t at
once. II was slip o! the tongue not
worth noticing; but she could not make
| fuss enough about II, and sent me away
| directly. She was too self-righteous 10
| give me any recommendation TO her
friends, and / had to go into strange
place, with very little money and no Ger.
| tificate Of character. But never mind
that now, she las had her rewardl
81 soon found people enough to look al
my black eyes and the flowers in my hair
and came to grief of course. You have
been looking all along as if you expected
il. / came % grief without delay, as
said, but got some plea sure on the way
perhaps as much as my betters in the
long run. i got on well enough till q
slight cold turned to cough, and l be
gan TO grow sick and poor equally fast.
| | had one child 70 support; he was then
about five years old, the only creature
who ever loved me. But see you are
not interested in him; nobody was ever
| interested in him except his mother.
~ had no prospect before me but lin.
gcring death In the poor.house, while my
lovely, blue-eyed boy would be cuffed
about some orphan asylum until he was
old enough 10 work. In this evil case,
when was in sorest extremity, l saw the
death of John Deane in newspaper, and
| all my old wrongs at his wife's hands
rushed over me like food at the same
moment remembered the Seven Curses
of London and the trick that had adj
mired so much. don't pretend to make
any defense you are too hard-beartcd to
admit 1t, If did, but | was desperate,
and / could not see my boy starve..
| with the utmost care and dellberation
/ put together a letter addressed to Mr.
Deane, which would have carried conyic-
tion, even to your mind, that | had been
near and dear 10 him. IL was long and
afrectionate and signed by my own name
| 1t referred to those first days when he
| had spoken kindly 10 me in the sewing
room, and 10 my meeting him more and
more often afterward away from home
and how wiser than a serpent he had