The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1875-01-07
uI-CN gHoRF.
A TRUE WIFE.
AN EPISODE OF LIFE AT HoarBURe

I
| for a stranger, unless 1t be the pro-
| fusion of flowers which spring up round
/ the graves. Roses red. white, and vel
low, dahlias, geraniums, pansies, sweet
| william, and a legion of wild-howers,
seem to mock with their gayety and sad
shadows of the gTave-stoues. Many OF
the monuments stand In a small plot of
| their own, fenced in by n miniature pal
/ isade, and laid out in fower-beds and
| tiny paths, a space being left for a seat
under a treIlised canopy. These gar
dens are more generally left TO the
] bounty of nature than to the care of
man, but occasionally may be seen a
somber figure stopping over a flower
bed, or trimming the borders of some
loved inclosure.
I was strolling, one June evening,
amid the tombs and roses, when I saw
! the seat in one of the little gardens oc-
| cupied by a man clad in deep mourn
ing. An EDglishman certainly, from
his appearance, I at once Judged him to
be, before I had heard the veice of a
| little brown-eyed, ruddy child, who was
toddling about the paths, and stopping
over the flowers. Not far from the spot
stood a man-servant, hidden by the ar
! Dor from the view of the visitors to the
| grave. The occupant of the seat who
was a young man of neat, soldier like
| appearance, was gazing vacantly upon
| the little girl, who was engaged IN fill
| ing a wire basket with flowers, picked
with no small amount of difficulty.
| When filed, this was carried to her
! father (for so naturally guessed him to
be-, duly arranged by BIN, and then
laid as an Offering at the foot of the
| bright green mound. This done, the
| child, clsmbering mp to her father s
side of the seat, asked him sOlemniy:
''Will mother like to smell them,
father ?''
"I am sure she will, darling, was
the reply.
was all this time concealed behind
an adjoining monument, whence
watched every movement of the mourn
ers who had so attracted my attention.
! Presently, the man-servant, coming for
ward, intimated that it was getting late,
and, with an air of authority, mingled
with respect, opened the small gate of
| the inclOsure for his master to pass out.
| The latter -kneelipg fer moment, with
| his forehead resting upon the cross
which sprung from some ivY-ciad rock
work at the head of the grave, kissed
| the name inscribed, aud, followed by
ing the gate herself with great careful
ness, took the path to the entrance Of
the cemetery. As soon as they were ont
of sight, hurried to the spot, which
had alIeady awakened in me q strong
feeling of curiosity, and read these
words inscribed in gilt character on a
cross of white marble:
Heir ruhet in Gott, Louise Margaret Mar
tvn, Geb. den % August, 1849. Gest, den
Mai, 1870.
On the reverse of the cross, an Eng
lish inscription ran thus
Here rests in peace Louise Margaret Msrtyn,
the dearly loved wife OF Cyril John MartyH.
late a Captain in Her Britannia Majesty's
-th Hussars. Born % August, 1919. Died
8 May, 1870.
After gazing sadly at these words, and
noting much that 1 have described,
bent my way hOmeward, in a saddened
state of feeling.
It was easy enough to read tale of
sorrow in what had seen but there
was something moro to be read between
the lines, felt sure. The expression
of the widower's face, and the authori-
tative manner of the servant, could not
| but mean something. How ever, I soon
| sfterward entered the gardens of the
! Kinhaus, and mingled with the crowd
] Vi pLOlnCnaAC4bs NY ALACLAAg LIZ \ 4NulCs
/ had asked me to sup with him, that
evening he would be sure to know
! something about the Martyrs, if there
was anything worth telling, so that I
! did not fail to avail myself of his invi-
| tation. After our pleasant little meal,
| when the doctor had pulled down from
the wall china pipe, with a stem as
long as himself, and 1 had filled my own
| pipe with caporal, told him what ]
had seen in the cemetery.
"Ah there's sad story about them,
my friend, almost too sad for happy
meeting like the present but you shall
hear it. It was in 1869, somewhat early
in the season, that an English gentle
man, named Martyr, called upon me
for advice. He was a strong-lookinp
man of athletic build, and had one ot
your regular English faces, expressive
of GOODNESS and resolve. From his ap
pearance, 1 should have said that there
was not healthier man in HOmburg
nor was it easy for me, after careful
examination, to discover his ailment
But I need not tell you, that it is Otter
the physicians duty to devote his atten
tion to an imaginary sickness, and Il
listen with as interested an air TO delu
sions as to real suffering. Without en-
tering into any technical details, il vii
be enough for me to say that my patien
described himself as suffering from gen
eTal debility and lack of energy. HI
said he was always losing ground, tina
/ luck was against him, and that ther,
must be some one thing radically wronC
in his constitution, which prevented hi
playing a successful part in the world
He had tried all sorts of systems, as b.
called them, but they had failed miser
ably, and he was now brokeD-dowl
man. He assured me that be had n,
mental cause of anxiety, that he wa
perfectly happy IN his domestic rela
tions, and that he was not IN any degre
hypOchondriacal. prescribed for hin
a course of bathing, early hours, ant
regular exercise, and, on his takini
. leave, begged for my wife TO be allowe,
to make the acquaintance of Mrs. Mar
! tyn. This request, you must under
, stand, made from a desire to have
, few words conversation with my ps
tents wife regarding his case. But a
, he grew fidgety and nervous on m
making the proposal, bade him good
! bye with the hope of seeing him agai
j in my own house. His manner ha
, tended to confirm my rising apprshen
/ sion that my patients disease was no
1 of such a nature as we can minister "a
and, after a second prolonged visit fror
him, I felt the absolute necessity @
putting myself into personal communi
, cation with his wife. I had alread
made her acquaintance in the gardens
and had been struck by her singula
grace and sad beauty of expression.
called at their lodgings, one day, afte
D my afternoons work, and was ushere
3 at once into a small room at the top {
Q the house, which was IN DorotheeI
( strasse, a street not much freQuented
e as you know, by your countrymen.
: found Martyr and his wife seated OppC
: site to each other ct a small table, o
, which was placed an oval board covere
? with green cloth, and marked with Oh
plan of rou-et-noir table, Opposit