The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1875-05-13
NINE YEARS WITHOUT A WORD.
Troy Husbands Brutality Toward His
Wife--Reunion in the Presence of Death.

A Troy Husbands Brutality Toward His
Wife--Reunion in the Presence of Death.
The Troy Press tells the following
strange story concerning the husband
of lady who died recently in West
Troy:
The lady and gentleman referred to
were married about twenty years ago,
and came to West Troy shortly after,
and lived there together until the death
of the wife. The latter was a most in
dustrious, highly respectable, and re-
ligious woman. For the first ten years
of her married life, during which period
five children were born, she did every
thing possible for n woman to do in or
der to please her husband, but to no
purpose. When she did her best her
husband was sure to make out that she
had done wrong. He grumbled con-
tinually, but at times he would break out
and pour upon his wife the most unmer-
ciful abuse, continuing it for several
days together. Then would intervene q
silence broken only by his seeking an
opportunity to give his wife beating
when nobody was in sight, and when she
least expected it, After he had abused
her he would bring in the neighbors and
say to them that his wife had fallen and
hurt herself, poor creature; how sorry
he was for it; and he would address her
as "My DEAR" and ask if she was badly
hurt, and he would run for a doctor.
He was so plausible and kind and aflec-
tionate that nobody would believe his
wife when she told that it was her hus-
band who had caused her the injuries.
The neighbors thought her crazy, or at
least hysterical, when she made any
statements of this kind. For long
time he managed to beat his wife, and to
conceal it in this way. Indeed it had
reached point, the wife taking those
all but completed to send the poor
woman to an insane asylum. One day,
however, the broken-hearted wife was
sitting by the cradle, in which was her
youngest child, baby, rocking it, and
attending to some sewing at the same
time. Her husband was in one of his
silent moods at the time. While she was
sitting as described, the husband entered
and passed through the house into the
yard. He returned within few min
utes, but in the interim neighboring
lady had entered and gone into an ad-
joining bedroom. This lady observed
him walking up quietly behind his wife
and, without word or giving the least
warning, doubled his fist and struck her
tremendous blow on the back of the
head, leaving her sprawling on the floor
insensible. This done he at once ran
out to bring the neighbors as usual, and
affected the greatest concern about his
| wife, wondered how much she was hurt,
and finally proposed to go for the doctor.
The lady who had secreted herself in
the bedroom accused him of the assault,
and when he was gone for the doctor she
went for the police and had him arrest
ed. His wife appeared in court and told
the whole story of her husbands cruelty
toward her, but woman like, begged the
court to forgive him. Her request, how
ever, was denied, and the cruel husband
had to languish several months in jail.
On leaving the dock after receiving SEN
tence he turned to his wife and said that
she had wronged him by what she had
testified to, and to remember that he
would never speak to heragain on earth.
This scene occurred nine years ago. The
man served out his sentence and return
ed to his family. From the day of his
return until two days before her death,
which took place recently, he never ex.
changed a word with her directly. 1t
was necessary, living together as they
were, husband and wife, the parents of
the same children, to havean interchange
of sentiments regarding the affairs of the
household occasionally. This was done
in the following manner: When they
were sitting in the same room the hus-
band would tell one of the children to
say so and so to the mother. The moth
er would answer directly, which, if it
required further answer, would be done
through the child as before. But it was
only when he was in particularly happy
moods that he would even communicate
in this way. His most usual mode of
communicating to his wife what he want
ed to say was for him to retire into a
separate room, and thence issue his man.
dates through one of the children. Two
days before the wife died, after she had
been sick for some weeks, her condition
was made known to him, when he was
working in the garden, by the doctor in
attendance and the clergyman who had
been called in. He was told that his
wife was on the verge of death, and that
he must make his peace with her while
she was yet conscious. The idea of
death seemed to stagger him. He was
silent for a moment, and then bursting
into tears, repaired to the death-bed of
his wife. He bent over her and begged
her forgiveness in bitter plants and
tears. The dying woman grasped his
hand, and, calling him by name, said she
freely forgave him all, and added that
she was now prepared to die, being at
peace with the whole world. A few
hours before death the wife said-and
they were the last words she was heard
to utter" that the last two days with
her husband, who never was away from
her bedside but when he left it to serve
her, had been the happiest days of her
life, and that she only wished they might
be the beginning of happy days to her
husband"