The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1878-01-29
THAT wOMAN'S SECRET.
coNoLurEp.

nuSD0nu arose 10 DIS leeU anu Huuo thiS
request my heart almost ceased its beat
ing. feared, believed that he was
about to confess that he had attempted
the life of the girl who had rejected him.
But no All Heaven, mol / never
before had realized one iota of the base
ness of the mani Standing there, with
hypocrltical tears upon his face, Egbert
Gilmore denounced me as the would-be
murderess of Agnes Leighton. he tes-
titled to having seen me put q white
powder in her wine glass while the at
tention of the company was otherwise
directed. He said that had long been
jealous of her; that had uttered threats
against her. sat there benumbed, stu
pefied, powerless to reply, till suddenly
all became dark and fell to the floor.
Would that had never arisen ! Oh,
how can tell the miseries of the next
wretched month Let me hasten on
with the shameful story. A package Of
arsenic was found in my pocket, which,
Heaven knows, 1 never placed there.
An effort was made to keep the matter
a secret; but, through the base machi-
nation of Egbert Gilmore who feigned
the deepest grief, and played the part of
a base hypocritical villain throughout,
all was made public; and this Scandal
in High Life became the town talk. /
was tried for the crime in court of jus
tice but 1 will not, cannot, dwell on
this There was much perjury "a
wretched creature being put upon the
stand who swore he sold me the deadly
drug-and general prejudice against
me in the public mind from the first.
The bitter end of it all was sentence to
a weary term of years in the State Pris-
on. Oh, God !"
Mrs. Elmore paused, deeply affected.
"Of what interest is this story to me
or to my friend, Bentley ?" Major Heith
said, with sneer, having fully regained
his composure. My good woman, if
you assert that am this man, Elmore,
L shall fear your troubles have turned
your brain"
"Do you still deny that you are Eg-
bert Elmore?" the woman demanded,
turning to him with glance under
which, in spite of himself, he quailed.
But" he replied, "I-I have heard
of this affair before; and happen to
know that Elmore has been dead several
years"
&c supposed him dead until lately"
returned Mrs. Gilmore; "but when /
saw you, base wretch, / knew that he
still polluted the earth with his pres
ence."
Bentley" the major cried, turning
to his host with menacing glance,
This woman is mad. Summon SER
want to eject her from the premises; orr
he added, in a whisper, "I1l proclaim
your secret to the household Have her
elected at once.'
will not" returned the banker, in
the same low tone. 81 wish to hear
more of this narrative; for remember
that when the remains supposed to be
those of Egbert Darrell were washed
ashore, his friends announced that his
real name was Elmore.''
With bitter curse the major turned
away.
" Madame" added Edward Bentley.
addressing Mrs. Gilmore, " proceed, if
you please"
''After my committal to PRISON. con-
tinued Mrs. Elmore, "my husband be-
came more than ever dissipated, plung-
ed into all manner of vice; and
only month after the conclusion
of my trial, left his fathers home for
ever, cursing the parent who had done
for him all that mortal man could do,
who had borne with his faults until all
patience was gone. He became pro-
fessional gambler; and changed his
name to Egbert Darrell At last, one
night, he suddenly disappeared, and it
was believed that he had left the city to
avoid paying his debts, which were
enormous. But few weeks after his
disappearance body supposed to be his,
was found at the foot of pier - East
river, and buried by his relations. But
this body was not his, for he still lives.''
Just Heaven, thank thee!'' the
banker exclaimed. 81 am innocent of
that terrible crime. Oh, what burden
of remorse is lifted from my soul"
Father, what do you mean ?" Edith
Bentley cried
Edith, for years have supposed
myself to be the murderer of Egbert
Elmore. This man. whom now