The Van Buren press., 1875-09-07

blind! The pictures were but delusions
the castles had dungeons beneath them.
His wife was to be an angel, glorihed in.
TO womanhood She was u woman. pull
ed down by petty, selfish fancies. and q
creature of common clay.
l would have given all that had rath.
er than see his life thus broken but
could do nothing He came to me tha,
night, and saw that he knew the worst
But men do not cut their faces, and pour
ashes oh their heads, because their hearts
are bursting. They do not mourn thre'
the highways and byways, calling atten
ton to their wretchedness. They nero.
ly live and suffer He helped himself to
cigar, lit it, and then sat down in his
customary manner. After few puts at
the cigar, he said: Maria was here, to.
day, ehr
Yes
/ Surprise your
Yes
Pm to have the boy, you know
/ Yes
It's pretty hard on Maria
did not answer.
4 am afraid she will be very unhappy
without the boy
It wa. like him to feel sorry for her,
and it never entered his head that she
should dislike her own child.
/ feel like an old man, Ed, since her
father told me. know l must have been
to blame, and yet tried to do all that
man could do to make her life happy
II had said anything. it would have
been highly ueonpiimentary to Maria,
SO | kept silent.
Il am afraid you were hard on Maria,
to day, Ed; her father says you were
You ought not to blame her She has
tried to be contcnted, and is not to blame
because she cannot change her nature. l
want you to look after her. Ed
Il won't broke in savagcly will
not have anything to do with this unhap
py affair
I am sorry you feel that way, Ed, I
wanted you to feel differently. Come
home with me; Maria has gone to her
fathers
| went home with him, and could hard
ly keep my eyes dry at the picture ofdcs-
olation that rcigned there. | was glad to
get away in the morning, and began to
plan how his life might be frightened.
was unable tn do anything for him. He
and the boy were comfortable as they
were, he said, and he could not change.
In few days formal separation was
drawn up between himself aud his wife,
and he settled upon her a sum that was
much too liberal, thought. but he would
not listen to my advice. When this was
done, he took up his dreary life; dreary,
but for his little boy. 1t was our custom
to take stroll down the main street OF
the city, when the boy was sent to bed,
and we started out one night at a slow
pace as was usual with US; but before We
had gone many squares, we began to hur
ry with others towards bright light that
was ahead of u.s. A handsome mansion
was on fire. The owner had filed his
house with invited guests, and the orders
of the dancing-master had been rudely
interrupted by the servants cries that the
house was on fire.
High breeding is not much different
from no breeding, when life is in danger
The upper-tcn in the parlors were no less
sclfshly anxious for number one, than
were the servants in kitchens and halls.
The fire had broken out in the lower
rooms, and the stairways were first to be
choked with the flames. From the sec
ond story the people were released by
ladders until the fire had become master
there. A few people were still in the up
per rooms when VIC reached the scene,
and long ladder was raised to them.
One after another they were helped down
until there were but two to come, and
just as they were preparing to step on
the ladder, it was licked by tue flames,
and, in a breath, was burned in two
A great shout went up from the throng
and we looked for some one to go to the
womens assistance, with the expectancy
that some one in the crowd would surely
be equal to the occasion. just then a
man came near US who seemed to know
the women. caught the names. and
hoped Tom did not, but he had. He
turned to me My God, Ed, Its Maria !!
Before l could say word. he had throw
his coat into my arms. and was lost in
the crowd heard cheer, and saw hin
climbing up the water spout at the cor
ner to leeward Of the fire. God! How
prayed for him! Up, up. up, he went
reached the foor the women we're on
dashed into the smoke and flames; reap,
peared at another window: disappeared
in the smoke again, and then was seer
with the women. How the crowd cheer
ed. But could not checr--I could only
pray. The fire was very near them. Ton
lowered a string he had carried up with
him, and with it raised a strong rope
They had to climb to another part of tn,
house, and then saw Maria being slow
cred. She was landed safely, and tn,
rope went back again. The two up it
: the flames had to crawl up on the roof
and Tom arranged the rope around tht
chimney, aud then the other woman Wa.
landed in safety. saw that much though
! was some distance from the fire. l haC
taken charge of Maria, for Toms sake
She was in a deathly faint. and | wal
helping the physician to bring her out o
it As we drove her to her fathers. 44
1t was late in the night before her IA
thcr would permit me to go to my room
and he was after nc at very early houl
in the morning bought paper, as W.
rode along, and my heart nearly stopped
its beating, as read of the last night,
work. had no time to talk of the news
with her father as had hut read il wi or