Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1874-06-12
"Now, in this CASE" he continued,
"you must practice similar stratagem.-
You must have nerve to. follow it up"
ssAnd what shall I see Pr said I.

| 1NOW Ill UlllD CdoC1 lO ColiuIheaSNt
syou must practice similar stratagem.-
You must have nerve to follow it up"
ssAnd what shall see ?'f said I.
g Wonders he replied.
But what Pr 1 insisted.
e Say nothing to put her on her guard
and your eyes will tell you that. I shann
say word more ON the subject. Coco
night he said, and went quickly to the
hall door. @
/ followed him, and tried to slip his fee
into his hand as he passed me. But he
perelnptorily declined it; and repeating
s Good night, ran down the steps, through
the garden, jumped into his carriage, and
had driven away before half recovered
the stun of what he had said.
Z took along walk next day. kept as
much as possible out Of my wife's way
The DOCTORS mysterious conduct had given
me vague and secret. misgivings about
her; and sense of the espionage / med
itated, a duplicity imposed upon me as a
matter Of conscience, and such as had
never. pIacticed before in all my life COM
bined to embarrass me in her presence.
Idon't know whether it was fancy, but
I thought her fine black eyes. followed me
about with a steady but stealthy suspi-
cion all that evening, as if she were intui-
lively Informed of the altered state of my
thoughts, and knew, with a fearful antici-
patton, that light was about to break in
upon me. 1855
did my best to appear unconcerned
and easy. We played our short game of
ecarte as usual after tea. [ read aloud a
chapter of Miss Burney's charming novel
of Cecilia, and then our portion of the
Pilgrims Progress, and lastly, our accus-
toned chapter of the Bible.
saw her look at me- as I did so in a
marked and suspicious way, and before
we went upstairs she asked a little alb
Iuptly:
care you quite well this evening, Jer-
ry z"
L laughed what hypocrite I was be-
coming) as well as I was able, and assured
her that nothing was a,niss with me, that
I never felt better; and only wished that
she were half as well.
She seemed satisfied, and we went to
rest.
1t was my habit. ever since | had dis
covered her liability to the seizures which
I have described, and which appeared to
me since my secret interview with Doctor
Pelham, the night before, unspeakably
more awful than ever, to keep a light
burning in the room all night. was
therefore furnished, without any depar-
eure from ordinary habits, with means
and opportunity of observing all that
should pass.
| affected to fall into sound sleep; my
wife appeared to me really to do so.
1 continued to lie perfectly still, and to
breathe long and deep as before. 1 began
to feel unaccountably nervous.
AT about quarter to twelve my wife
sat Up in the bed, and looked at me. had
closed my eyes, except the least bit in life.
~, w s''f '' image, looking at
me. Theneshe leaned over me and listen
q, Then softly , and Hghtlz she Sid ont
IN and applied d black bottle to her
lips.
[ had risen, followed her around the bed
with noiseless tread on the thick carpet,
and before she had made three great gulps
from it's contents, stretched my hand over
her shoulder, and seized the bottle by the
neck.
l wish she had screamed [ almost wish
she had tainted; I don't know why, but
her silence shocked me. There she stood,
looking up in my face, for she had covered
Gown little, with u horrid deprecatory
smile, and her face and lips as white as
death.
I think | was as much Mortified as she
was. felt positively freezing with hor-
ror.
'Give me that" I said, gently but firm
ly withdrawing the bottle from her hand.
The smell told me what it was before |
raised it, and read "Best Cognac Brandy"
on the label.
peeped into the press, OF rather closet
round which broken shelves ran Whole
of empty bottles, similarly label
led, stood there, beside some half-dozen
next the door with their seals unbroken.
This l saw at glance. My wife attempt
ed little swagger, and affected indigna-
ton, but it broke down. The case was
too strong for her. She sat down on the
side of the bed and cried. L cried also.
At last she said: "I'll be a better wife
in future to you, jerry"
l kissed her, and then we cried together.
Poor thing She made a noble effort
She was very much changed after that.
used to see her looking at me when she
thought I was not minding, and her fine
eyes fill up with tears. [ never alluded to
the occurrence. There WIS good in her !;
and I think my forbearance touched her.
Our good old vicar was often with her,
She resisted bravely; and thank Heaven,
quite mastered her fault.
She was very affectionate and seemed
to wish to make amends, as if she owed me
a great reparation. / told her never to
think Of it more. [ reminded her that it
was only to herself she had been unkind
ard did my best to cheer and make her
happy. ;
But saw her looking at me as l have
described and sometimes she would turn
away from me suddenly, and / knew she
was in tears She had quite lost her gaiety
and seemed to have some great care al
ways upon her mind.
l took her away for change of scene to
Rhyl But she began to grow more mel
ancholy, and talked as if she had no hope
of Heaven. The detection of her mind af-
flicted me.
About six months after she was attacked