The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1875-07-09

ii. The friend OF the FAMILY SITS IN cor
ner restless with the effort to be calm. A
new and horrible suspense supervenes. The
hush of the house now is dreadful. Moth
ing but the gusty, coarse voices OF those
three men in that room there. Everybody
else is trying to think of something aside
from that room.
An autopsy is brief horror in such cases.
Fifteen--twenty minutes at the most, are
enough to satisfy the officials. The poor
dead woman is supposed 10 carry the Sc
cret of her death in her body. These men
unconcernedly pick 1t out with their tools.
One word explains everything-congestio
All is right and according to nature. Throw
a sheet over her. The coroner picks up
his cigar and rattles away to another case.
Enter the undertaken.
"But what" says Mrs. c., who laid
the body out" do those marks on her neck
mean, and that purple spot on her shoul-
der ?" She asked this question cautiously of
the lady who lived on the first floor. That
lady had noticed the marks, but was I'M
able to account for them. They were also
noticed by brother of the dead woman.
-Four purple spots on one side and one pur-
pie spot on the other.
All the friends were at the funeral ex-
cept the friend who had brought the body
home. Once under ground suspicious gave
way to discretion. Mr.. A. would not hear
of investigation. He did not say so, but it
was plain to be understood that he lacked
the courage. What might there not be gra-
ciously concealed in that inscrutable Thurs
day afternoon He looked at his six child
rem, shuddered, and wrapped himself up
in his grief. But women will talk. 1t was
hut Col hn fra; NJ Goa
sip that the reporter reaches the house, and
begins to pick up his little facts. Was this
friend of the family introduced by the hus-
hand No. He visited the house once or
twice week, and was entertained by the
wife. He was married man with fam
lily, resided in the suburbs and did business
on the west side of the city. Mrs. A
had been seen out in his company. Once
ii was known she had met him by appoint
ment at Woods museum. Her own son
had tracked her there.
Was Mrs Ain good health Yes,
never had been sick a day in her life, and
had never complained. Her vigor of body
and elasticity of spirits was remarkable.
She was the most active and NOSE indus
trious person in the house. 1t amazed them
all to be told that she had been carrying
about under all her vlvacity and show of
high health a general tendency to conges'
ton that was liable to kill her at any mo-
ment. Even her family physician when he
heard of it looked incredulous, and was as
emphatic as it is safe for doctor to be.
With the number of house on card the
writer of this article sets out and hunts up
the place where the woman is said to have
died. 1t is double house on side street,
well over toward the river. The friend of
the family does business in the next street.
Mrs--is on the door. 1t is notorious
house. Mrs.--is name that is banded
about as a noun of locality by men of loose
character. A tlaxen-haired girl, with blue
Morse eyes and broad, rhinoceros jaw,
opens the door carefully and puts part of
her head into the aperture.
The visitor steps inside Immediately and
says "Send Mrs. - to me-" The girl
has her arms full of French calico that is
being fashioned into a Dress She holds
her head down and says, sullenly, that
Mrs, - is not at home. But she leads the
way to the sitting-room when she is told the
nature of the business.
She knows all about it-that is, all that
anybody in the house knows-for she took
the lady in. ''The bell was rung at $50 or
10, or it might have been earlier, and gen
tlcman said a lady had fainted-would we
let him bring her in. They took her up
stairs, for we had company in the parlors.
All she said in going up was, oh, my
head We put her on bed, and some
body ran down the street for DR.. -. /
guess it was half an hour before he came.
had loosed her corset and underclothes
and was rubbing her limbs with spirits when
he came. He put his head down to her
breast, looked at her and said. why,
she's dead We didn't any of us believe it,
and kept on trying to restore her for some
time. i heard the gentleman who brought
her say to the doctor, whats to be done2
She is Il married woman And the doctor
He said the best thing would be to get a
coach and take her home. Which they
did,"
clad she never been here before 2"
"Never, that know Of"
''Was she carried or led up stairs ?"
swell, | didn't notice. l believe she
walked up. There was good deal OF ex-
citement and l didn't pay particular atten-
tion."
Sand she must have died as soon as she
got there 2"
"Well,I don't know"
During this dialogue the Norsewoman
crimped her calico with couple of dumpy
agile fingers, jumping up every three Sec
onds to look out the door. There was an
indefinite background of peering, whisper
ing women, now and then dishevellcd
head partly visible around a doorway or
over fan light.
DIR. - lived only stones toss from
the house. lie was its regular medical at
tendant. He corroborated what the girl
oat D,ttI In a.. Al. Al
man was brought there at 8 o'clock. lie
did not know the parties. The gentleman
had told him that the woman was a respec-
table married lady, and rather than have
her husband discover her in such place
the doctor had consented to her removal,
for which the coroner had placed him un-
der bonds to appear in case anything came
of it. He did not deny that he had been
handsomely paid by the friend of the fam
lily.
At this stage of the affair the reporter
finds himself in the open sea of conjecture.
He sees the friend of the family, who talks
intrigue, but scouts the possibility of VIC
lence, ana does not tell where Mrs. A
was from l.30 till 6 at night. It was
most unfortunate affair. That is all.
He sees the family physician, who gives
1t as his opinion that the dead woman, even
supposing that she had some kind of heart
disease, must have been killed by physical
or emotional excitement.
lie comes to the husband and son, and
they beg that he will not stir the matter.
The woman's death has opened dismal
chasm to them, which they are trying to
cover with forgetfulness. It is better that
there should be one unpunished wrong than
that an unnecessary wrong should be in
llcted upon an innocent family. The friend
of the household thinks this way himself
1t is not the reporters business to pur-
sue mystery in behalf of morals. He need
only chase it in behalf of intelligence. 1t
occurs to him, then, as he thinks OF the
broken-heartcd father, that he will tear up
this statement. But, thinking afterwards