The Morning herald., 1877-06-13
The Tragedy at 1odd's
= u 4 U Palace H

n6 Cb0O 4AAsV ssA~ SS~~~ "s'e-
Of misery, and sat down upon l box be
side thes stoss. and bsgan to cry. 1t was
Queer thing for man like that to do
great, rough laborer, fifty years Of age O.
more, Some dreadful trouble, must hav'
.oom.upon hin 10 mike Him show his sor
row in that way without disguise. Th'
stranger stared sympathetically. After .
while the proprietor Of the store went uE
to him and said:
"Wslll neishbosy yous seem to be in
trouble; can we help you any?"
The man did not look up; he shook bis
head and said:
"No, no, no. It's very kind Of you
but nobody can help me. Isuppose you
= think I'm an gid focl ;Sbqt, she yas all the
family had, and she's dead :" and great
tear splashed down upon the floor.
"She'a dead. You can't do me any
good now but if you come around to my
little shanty there about nine o'clock last
night you might have done some good
dunno. When a. man is desernined 10
make brute of himself he'll do it per-
haps but If there'd been some one there
to say: 'Dodd, what on airth are you
about p why, mebbe-I dunno, tho I was
mad. When q mans mad and has had
glass too much, what's the use Of talking
to him? It's fixed things for me. Any
way-Lord forgive me she's dead"
The tears splashed down again, but the
people looked at him with faces that had
lost little Of their sympathy.
"You didn't--didn't do anything to
bring it rn-whatever it was n said an
old lady with large basket on her arm.
81 shouldn't have thought it of YOU"
"Yes, l did, did," sobbed the man.
"1f it hadn't been for me it never would
have happened. / loved her too. Yes,
/ did love her. Nobody could say she'd
ever lad hard word from me before in
all the days we'd lived together but last
night I'd had glass too mnch, and l
stopped at the butchers down in the vii.
lage and bought bit Of steak-a man
wants change from pork once ID a way
and she was fond of steak, she was-and
jest fetched il in, and said to her: 'We'll
have supper tonight ehT and she sort
of nodded and winked at me, jest Is jolly
and then went out to the we'll to draw
water, and as body does sometimes when
body is in hurry, lost the bucket off
and was terrible time finding it, and
when went in-well, you see, went in |
with an appetite-and there she sat- and
we'll, l amt dainty, but couldn't have
touched that steak to save me; and l got /
mad. Well, l got madder than ever be-
fore, and just around and gave her
kick. Yes. I did. If was to be hung
for it tomorrow I'd have to own up.
kicked her." S'''
"You bruter' said the woman with the
basket "kicked her because your steak
dida't suit you'll Well may you cry"
"Yesm,' said the man. "You can't
speak harder 10 me than I feel myself. /
kicked her in the side, and what is more,
I opened the deor and l kicked her out
Of it, and then I jest sat down alongside
my fire and talked the worst kind to my
SELF did, indeed-Lord forgive me; and
! said I'd never let her in again. Yes'm,
you can look as you like at me; I deserve
it and then I went 10 bed" ,-
"Went to bed and left her out in the
cold?" said the old lady. "Neyer seeing
whether she was dead or not ?"
Eyes / did," said the poor man, sobbing
hard, "and more than that went to sleepI
Il slept sound, too: and what do you sup
pose wakened me? Why, her voice-ll
knew it from thousand. It was the aw-
fullest shrek, and then another and an
other, and it came all over me what I'd
done. I'd turned her that had slept along
side Of me winter nights more years than
can remember, out into the cold night I'd
kicked her out. Oh, 1 was sober, then, !
saw what brute was, to do a thing like |
That, all for bit Of paltry steak, and got
up and l went to the door and called, but
she didn't come. I called again, and then
heard her scream, but fainter and farther
oh; and then I felt kind of horror com.
ing over me, and dressed myself and
took my lantern and went out. walked
This way and that. looked and I called
swung the lantern low and held it high.
There wasn't sign Of her; and at last
got down to Bolter's pond, there by the
edge Of the woods, you know, and l heard
kind Of growing and pass me, all in {
hurry, as they 90 when they've been doing
mischief flew those dogs Of Bolter's-l
1erce devils but they knew enough to be
afraid Of me, then. Il
And when I saw them my heart stood
'tlll and swung the lantern low again,
md | saw her. She lay alongside the
pond, and her gray hair wa, dabbled in
blood, and the marks of the dogs teeth S
we're on her neck and l jest took her up
u my arms and carried her along the road
1ome and brought her to the fire, and
here cried over her and called her all