American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-08-22


| resret-of Kingsford's conduct, and
ended by saying that time was pressing
and that if Miss kingsford would trust
him he would see that her family and
her brother emerged from the danger
which imperiled their peace and in
tegrity.
Wait a minute, please" said In
stead of being President of the Trust
Company, are you not clerk? Is not
your name Marshallr'
The man turned livid
| | arose and went to door which lea
to an adjoining apartment kingsford
was there, pacing up and down, uncon-
sc;ous of the near presence of those who
wee interested in him.
| bcckoncd to him.
He stepped into the room.
Each of the three people recoiled with
expressions of profound CONSERVATION.
They contemplated one another for u few
seconds in dsmayed silence.
must say that l felt very much like
laughing.
| finally addressed Marshall:
Your attempt to sell the secret of
your confederate has failed. The money
to repurchase the bonds he took has
been raised but the money to replace
those you have taken has not been
raised" did not feel that was ventur
ing on dangerous ground, for it was too
likely that Marshall, being a party to Il
felony, had also profited by it. you
thought to make a good stroke by per-
sonating to his unwary sister grieved
but kind hearted superior, while you
were in reality nothing more than a
wretch who sought not only to grow rich
on the wrongs committed by him, but to
cover him with so much shame-which
the flight advised by you would have
brought down-that his name would
have been a perpetual suggestion Of evil
and reproach. You are a thousand times
the criminal that he is, and | thank
Heaven that you have been thrown in my
way. / shall see that you are punished"
While uttering this piece of bombast
l fixed my eyes upon him, and then add
ed, quietly:
ing" -
He turned about and fastened to the
door | followed him. NV private officer
was in waiting Marshall was seized the
instant he passed into the hall, and was
taken, rs l had previously directed he
should be, to another and Il more Scclud-
ed part of the house, and was there kept
under surveillance for an hour and a
half.
Having seen that he was secured and
incapacitated from making any Interrupt
ton, returned to the brother and sis
ter.
Miss Kingsford was standing with her
face hidden in her hands beside the man
tel. Her brother, almost as breathless
rs a statue, stood near an opposite cor
ner, with his face averted.
Mr.. Kingsford," said I, "you have
been rescued from destruction; you were
upon the verge of exposure. The delay
of few hours would have ruined you
Incidentally, and the remainder of your
life and of the lives of your relatives
would have been made burdensome.
You have been carried by your weakness
within a short distance of all the perdi-
ton that is afforded upon earth, and you
have been inscnsibly drawn back by one
hand. You now owe great deal to that
hand. You can now become upright. 1t
has afforded you another opportunity to
become true to yourself and to those
whom you should love. Your sister
robbed herself of all her possessions in
order that you might regain another foot
hold and this after you have repeatedly
deceived her and proved treacherous to
those that believed in you The great
sum that will alone be sufficient to offset
the amount you have stolen and squan
dered has been procured by her by the
sale of her dresses and by The pledge of
her jewels to a pawnbroker.'
Miss Kingsford sobbed violently, and
her brother, overcome with his wretched
seemed to endeavor to hide |
himself behind himself.
| went on with the speech l had pre-
pared:
That you have been worse than use
less in the world must be evident to
yourself as you review your life. Ii is |
plain, however, to me- that you have |
been Il monster of ingratitude and cruelty. |
know that you have disregarded the |
affections and rights of those who de- |
respect from you. l know that |
you have frittered away your principles |
and your heart. | know that you have
descended so low that you have become |
The confidant of thieves. | know that
you have been capable of a degree of |
meanness that should condemn you to
live away from mankind altogether, as
one unfit for its company. You robbed |
your afiiancee of diamond cross which |
your sister had loaned to her, and you
to sell it to me so that you
might with the proceeds escape from the
city, and avoid the consequences of your
:rimes. That cross, previous to this
ittempt of yours, was pledged to me by
your sister for the purpose of raising
money enough to save you from expos
Ire and punishment. Here is the cross
| produced it.
The sister uttered IA fresh cry of dis
ress, and the brother was overwhelmed
with remOrse.
g Yes" said |, ''you have done i'll.
GU have done nothing but to make
Yourself dreaded and feared by those
hat are upright. You have permitted
our fancies to become passions, and
our passions TO lead you to commit
CLONES. You have approached very
lear to prison. At this moment you de-
erve arrest, arraiynment, trial and con-
lemnation. You should be rebuked by
Judge in open court. You should
,e made infamous by the press You
hould be clothed in the colored
acket of the convict, and you
hould be placed in a cell and be
guarded by Il man who would shoot you
hould you attempt to escape. Your
Ieart should be tortured by the knowl-
dye that you have broken the hearts of
'thers. You should be weighed down by
he belief that nothing is now due you
tut everlasting scorn. You should never
AVE another moment of peace. You
hould spend the remainder of your life
n sorrow and utter degradation. You
hould be wrapped up in the contempla
ion of your own sin and the devastation
hat it has made" (Kingsford was so
gitated that the table upon which he
eaned shook beneath his handy But
low different is to be your fate, The
rime that you have committed is to be
overed up No one is to know of it.
I GU are not to be challenged or dis
urbcd. Your sister, by her energy and
evotion, has screened YOU You can
walk, travel, receive and give respect,
ccome honest at heart love, marry, do
nythinT Won like. There is no honor