Connecticut western news., 1875-02-19
THE YELLED PORTRAIT.


 Bengal mutiny, found myself home on sick leave. My health had been injured by service in India, and -by~our suffer ings consequent ong the revolt; while my nervous system had been so seriously shaken by grapeshot wound received at Lucknow, that it was completely changed, and I became cognizant of many things so utterly new to me, and so bewildering, that until read Baron Reichenbaeh's work on magnetism and crystalism, l feared that I was becoming insane. -a. .=
 Nearly year had elapsed since the mutiny. The massacres at Delhi, Luck now, Cawnpore, and elsewhere had been fearfully avenged by that army of retri- button which marched from Umbailan, and l found myself in London, en- feebled, enervated, and, as the saying is, "weak as child" The hustle of the great capital stunned and bewldered me; thus I gladly accepted hearty in- vitation which received from Sidney Warren. w@sz NN
 Who, thought I, that was lord of such place could dream of broiling in India of sweltering in the white washed bar rack at Dumdun, CT the matched canton ments of Delhi or Meerut!
 My friend came hurrying forth tomeet me.
 "How goes it, old fellow? Welcome 10 my new quarters he exclaimed.
 "Wen, Sidney, old man, how are you2" '-..-- Then we grasped each others hands as only brother soldiers do.
 | l found Warren, whom I had not seen | since the commencement of the revolt, nearly as much changed and shattered in constitution as myself. He received me, however, with all the warmth of his I old comrade, for we had thousand I topics in common to con over, while the regiment, which neither of us might ever see again-he certainly not, as he had sold out-would prove an endless source of conversation. a | Sidney Warren was in his fortiett year, but looked considerably older. His once dark hair and coal-black mustache were quite grizzled now The expres sion of the face was one of intense sad. ness, as if some secret grief consumed him; while there was weird and far seeing expression that led me to fear he was not fated to be long in this world Yet be had gone through the storm ot the Indian war without receiving even scratch Why was this |?
 1 Before had spent two days with Sid ney, he had shown me all the objects ot l interest around the Warren and in it though there was one object which ht would neither shownor permitme to lool upon, and which se emed to make hin shiver or shudder whenever it caugh his eye, and this was picture of some kind In tho hbrary-a room he very rarely entered. It was the size of life portrait, but covered closely by green baize hanging. Good taste compelled me to desist from talking to him on tht subject, but resolved to gratify my GU riosity on the first convenient occasion so one day when he was absent at thu stable court drew back the hanging O. this mysterious picture. D.'
 It proved to be the full-length DOT trait of a very beautiful girl-a proud and stately one, too-bordering ol blooming womanhood. Her feature were clearly cut and classic; she had al ohve-colored complexion that seemed t. tell another land than England, yet tn type of her rare beauty was purely Eng fish. Her. attire was Q green riding habit, the skirt of which was gathered il her left hand, while the right grasped tn bridle of her horse. It was not DOT trait of his wife, whom remember t have been fair haired little woman; & who was this mysterious lady
 Herein" thought I, ''lurks som mystery which may never be cleared II to me-" But in this surmise I wa : wrong, for one nighttime night of Sun day, the 10th of May, the first annivel sary of the outbreak at Meerut, after W had discussed an excellent dinner, War ren became suddenly seized by one those confidential fits which many me unaccountably have at such times, and while he unsparingly and bitterly re preached. himself for the. part he ha acted in. it, | drew from him, little b , little, the secret story of his life..s ss
 Some ten years before those days ( , which I write, when in the Guards, an
 deeply dipped in debt by extravaganza, he had, unknown to his family, marie secretly a beautiful girl who was penn . less, at the very time his friends wei
 seeking to retrieve his fortune by wealthy alliance An exchange into u
 Line" the sliding scale" e"-becan
 necessary, thus he was gazetted to o1 ' regiment in India, at period when h young wife was in extremely delicar lhealth; so much so that the idea of h voyaging round the Cape-there. were r P. and O. Liners lthen-was not to l . thought of, as it was expressly forbidd. Z by the medical men; so they were to : separated for time; and that time ? parting, so dreaded by Constance, can |. inexorab1y. '-H , The last fatal evening came-the Ia