The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1874-09-24

chances by living over again the gloomy
/ past"
IL must tell, and you must hear. Nay,
| will have it so, and it viii not be an in
I Jury, but a relief. You have-the world
! here has never known me but by the from
/ tier abbreviation of the State from which |
came, the State of my birth. My right
name is-swear that you will never men
/ ton it to mortal ears, is-nO, l cannot tell
! it. If should die, it matters not; if live,
! it is best unknown"
~ repeat, that you must not give way to
excitement; it may be fatal"
And what if it is? Death will be a
mercy to what have suffered for five long
years. Here, look at this"
He drew from his bosom a small pack
age, carefully wrapped up, undid it, and
handed to the physician daintily framed
miniature. Upon being opened, 1t reveal
ed face of the most exquisite beauty
that of woman scarcely past girlhoOd,
with hair falling upon her white shoulders
like a shower of spiral gold spray, large,
trusting, loving eyes of the deepest blue,
and carnation lips that seemed wOoing
kisses.
doctor, that was my wife-my wife ="
"Great heaven, you could not have
murdered one so young and beautiful, and
i know it must have been $3.50 pure ~
was the involuntary exclamation of Eli
ing.
'She died by this right hand, and it has
been since accursed. Will you swear that
you will never repeat the story, at least
while | am living?"
Il have never betrayed confidence" :"
. believe YOU. Listen and | will tell
you all as briefly as | can. | do not Won
der at your surprise that | could have
killed one so lovely as Ella. She was, in
deed, the fairest piece of natures handi-
work that ever was fashioned. But must
not talk of her. 1t would drive me mad {.
Ella-it matters not what her other name
was-and | loved eachOt her, even when
we were mere children. Loved? All! it
is a cold and meaningless word for my pas
sion. 1t was worship-adOratiOn. And |
believe she loved me equally as well. The
marriage was settled upon by our reSpec-
tive families long before we were of age,
and when | was free from college and she
from school it was cOnsummated. There
was wealth upon both sides, and there
could not have been the slightest objection
to our union. In fact, every one looked
upon it as one of the few matches made in
heaven
The man trembled so violently that the
physician forced him to desist from telling
the sad story for time, administered a re-
storative, and begged him not to give way
so entirely to his feelings.
81 am like mountain torrent" he eX-
claimed, ''swollen by the fierce freshets of
spring. | must go on until lost forever in
the ocean-whelmed for all time in the
unknown waves of eternity. Thought is
desperation; memory the next thing to
insanity. But | will try and be more
calm try and control for a time the
writings of the serpent that is slowly but
certainly crushing my heart. Well, we
were married | had fitted up as beauti-
full cage for my beautiful bird as could
be found in the land. And | was very,
very happy-believed no one in the earth
had ever been so much so-wOuld be
again. We lived but for each other, until
fierce, BLACK jealousy crept within my
heart. and insanely believed my match
less pearl was not spOtless-as if an angel
could have a stain upon its wing
Would that the red lightning bolts of out
ragged heaven had then laid me dead at her
feet"
again must caution you to be calm"
"Calml Man, man, you know not what
you are talking about. Go tell it to the
Young mother whose first-bOrn is lying
dead within her arms, and see how idle
your words are. How much more so then
with me! Yes, | was weak fool enough
to believe that her often avOwed love for
me was falSehood. | first heard it whiS-
pered among the servants, and could have
struck them dead. But the serpent had
found place within my heart. 1t fatally
nOurished and grew, and distilled its
loathsOme poison until my entire being
was filled, and-but | will not anticipate.
Time enOugh-time enough to tell of a
deed at which heaven weeps, and even hell
shuddered."
Drink of this and rest, even though it
be for short time"
81 would it were nepenthe; then, oh,
how gladly [ would drain it to the very
dregs. But" he continued, "one eve
ming as we sat alone, my beautiful Ella
crept into my lap, and twining her soft
arms around nay neck, whispered thai she
had something to confess-sOmething she
should have told me before our marriage.
kissed her and with light laugh chang
ed the subject. As if she could ever have
done anything wrong. But, o heaven.
that [ had listened. Then | should not
be now living with the mark of Cain upon
my brOw-an outcast, with a price set up
on my head. Again and again she en-
deavored to tell me her secret, but l
would none of it. Shut up that minia-
ture and put it out of sight. | must
keep control of my reason until have fin
iShed."
You certainly will not do so unless you
are more careful"
81 will, must, shall. Doctor, do you
know, can you have an idea what 10 is TO
grow strong in suffering? With all of
hope crushed out of the neither milestone,
despair steps in and makes the heart like
flint. Such is mine, and yet it requires
very little to strike fire from it. Ny glO-
r;ous wife still teased me to listen, and
replied with kisses and aresses-though
at length promised to hear all she had to
say on my return from New Orleans,
whittier L was driven by business. | went
was gone about week-came back, and.
God pity and forgive me, made myself
what ann
He paused as if memory was OverpOw
ering. bowed his head down upon his
clenched hands, and sObbed like child.
Then the native strength of character as
serted its force, the years of training came
TO his assistance, and raising his face, he
brushed back the tangled, inky hair from
his brow, and resumed:
1t was near midnight when reached
my home. Not soul appeared to be stir
ring. My dogs came and fawned about
me, and | stilled them. There must be
nothing of alarm. would steal in upon
my little wife-steal kiss from her Sleep
ING lips-crush her to my heart even while
she was dreaming of me. Removing my
boots, stepped upon the broad piazza and
climbed to the roOf-yOu know how South
ern houses are cOnstructed-and instantly
became aware that my bedroom was occu-
pied; and. though the lamp was turned
low. could readily distinguish two forms
and hear their subdued tones. They were
those of my wife and strange man, and
he was kneeling at her feet and kissing
her hands,"
- For the sake of your life put off the
completion of this story until another
day." urged the physician.
mo. 1t must be now or never. But
the end is very rear-near as wish mine
was"
That is impious."
=" cannot help it-cannot retract it. and
do not believe that just God will trea-
sure it against a poor wretch who has so
long suffered the tortures of the damned.
NaS I Saw nv wife with a man kneelinp