The post. [volume] (Middleburg, Snyder County, Pa.) 1864-1883, 1875-08-12
VI / sc q l Il n q - u ~
A Remarkable Narrative.

A most oventful and instructive
personal history has come to our
knowledge, mainly through tho state
ments OF lady, now far advanced in
years, and still living in this state,
who was formerly u resident Of Lock.
port, and the wife Of a practicing
physician of that place. She is por-
sonally known to the Country Gem
tiema,., and reliance may bo placed
in oil hor statements.
The occurrences rcforred to began
about 1923 or 1924, when tho great
excavation for the Erie Canal through
the solid rock for milos at Lockport
was in progress, under tho s,lpor-
vision Of David Thomas as Chief En-
gineer, and Of which Darius Com
stock, . widely-known citizen, was
ono Of the largest contractors.
The physician to whom we have
referred returned ono day from his
visiting rounds under good deal OF
excitement, and exclaimed to his
wife, al have visited to-day. in a
poor Irishman's hut, tho most beau-
tiful woman / ever saw in in my life,
She il very sick-her case must be
an extraordinary one-and you must
go and see what you can do for her.
The wife consented to go, and on
entering one Of tho most poverty
stricken novels she had ever secn-
the floor OF bare earth, tho door cut
partly down through the log sides,
so that on entering it was necessary
to step over the logs that wore left
-she found tho sick woman lying on
q bod Of straw, supported on rough
poles, which constituted tho bed
stead. She was young in years, aud
trouble had not obliteratcd the sur.
passing beauty nor the refined OK
preston OF her countenance. The
language she usod indicated high
and excellont education, and she had
evidently beon brought up in eenteel
society, notwithstanding the utter
destitution Of her present surround
ings. Her husband, young man
recently from Ireland, was day
laborer, employed by Darius Com
stock and Otis Hathaway, his as
sistant, in excavating tho bed Of the
canal. The sick woman was, Of
course, adverse to giving any account
Of their history to a stranger, but
after several visits tho physician q
wife secured her confidence, and she
related their remarkable history in
substance AZ follows:
She was tho daughter of q gentle
man in Ireland, in rank but little
below nobility. Har father employ
cd as clerk and steward a young mar
named John -, of rare attain
ments and ability. The gentleman &
daughter and tho young stewarC
formed q mutual attachment; but a,
he was below her in rank, notwith
standing his high character, th,
father would not listen q moment t.
anything of tho kind, and seeing
what was going on, dismissed hin
from his service But tho attach
ment was too strong TO be quenchot
by q mandate. When tho younl
lady and her lover found there wa
no other resource, they concluded t,
Iget married and "run away" Wit
his sosnty means, and what littl
property Of her own she could SO
cure, they started for Qubeo, in Can
ada. The ship WAS wrecked in th
st. Lawrence, and they barely ea
capped with their lives. All their Of
fects and money went to the bottom
of the wide river. Their condition
was desolate enough, without means
without experience, unaccustomed t
hardship, and in an unknown countr
to strangers. Ho was compelled :
labor by the day to keep them fror
starving He became utterly dis
couraged, and through the entice
ments Of bid companions he resorte
} to drinking. In this state they foun
their way to Lookport--aplace wher
many laborors were wanted at tina
!, time for excavating the canal, an
..l,..< ho ~x..lI ,l.to.,, oc,,loy,, al