Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1878-10-29
A Heart. Rending Story.
SAD DEATH OF A YOUNG LADY IN
LONDON,

London letter.
God help the poor women who have
gone down to the gates of death in Lon
don, Paris, Dresden, Berlin. and other
places-victims. of an ambition which.
at home, might have secured them EN-.
ployment in some respectable capacity i:
but here. no door offering, thew have
perlshed! Is this fancy sketch? Lis
ten. In 1872 there came a young lady
from America as governess. It appears
that the lady who engaged her dis
charged her from no fault but that of re-
1uslng to take servants situation in
addition to the duties of those of a gov
erness. The following letter speaks for
Itself. In despair she went to West
minister bridge, threw aside her hat and
shawl and plunged into the Thames. A
ponce ofncer who saw her went to her
rescue, but too late. Life was extinct.
Next funeral was gotten up for her
ana monument was erected over her
grave. Thus for bread she was given q
stone!
This letter was found in her room:
LONDON, September 8, 1872, No. 178
High street, Shadwell.- 1.-The crime I
am about to commit, and that must
suffer for hereafter, is nothing COM
pared to my present misery. Alone
in London, not a penny or friend to adj
wise or lend a helping hand tired and
weary with looking for something to do,
failing in every way, fOotsore and heart
weary, prefer death to the dawning of
another wretched morning. Ihave on
ly been in Britain nine weeks. came
as nursery governess with a lady from
America to Wick, in Scotland, whence
she discharged me, refusing to pay my
passage back, giving me my wages,
which amounted to f3 10. After my
expenses 20 London I found myself in
the great city with only IS. What was
/ to do? I sold my watch. The paltry
sum obtained from that soon went in
paying my board and in looking for q
situation. Now I am destitute; every
day is misery to me. No friends-no
hope-no money. Oh, God of Heaven,
have mercy upon a poor, helpless sin
ner! Thou knOwest how have striv-
en- against this !; but fate is against me.
| cannot tread the path of sin, for my
dead mother will be watching me. Fa-
ther!ess, motherless, home I have none;
oh, for the rarity of Christian hearts! /
am not mad. For days i have foreseen
that this would be the end. May all
who hear Of my end forgive me. and
may God Almighty do SO, before whose
bar must soon appear. Farewell to all
this beautiful yet wretched world.
AA4QB BLANCH OSWALD.
ana twenty years of age on the l4th
Of this month.
The Daily Ne.as, touching the suicide
OF this young person, says the thought
OF her awful Observation-Disclosures. moth
erless, homeless-was too much for her
brain. The severe sel-respect which
restrained her from telling even the peo-
pie with whom she lodged Of her diff
cnlties seemed, as her letter shows, to
shut her up to the fatal course she adopt-
ed, The letter also shows how tren, ZEN
dous was the struggle that took place in
her mind before that resolution was
taken. 1t is evident that she had moth
ing to learn pa to the character of sui
cidp. 4p the first line of her letter she
designated her act as q crime, and in the
last she commend the whole circum-
stances Of her case to the Judgment
which is unerring, the mercy that is in
Unite. And so she left the world with
out vindictiveness-nots 80 much as men
tioning the name of the woman who
had used her hardly-bpt with humble,
trustful prayers. 4 sadder story it has
not been our lot to recall-the more sad
because it seems that SO little help, had
it come In time, would have saved one
for whom the world would gladly have
found or made a place.