Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1879-03-07
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hand might touch inc Hiost VI '"e wv
surface.
later a little while Langton went
across the room and stood over her like
sentinel lion Then he said in low, KIND
voice that made me think more OF him
than ever / had thought before. Did the
little fellow feel the cold p
81 tried not to let him. she answered,
looking up for moment. Il am always
afraid to leave him behind, my baby son.
am afraid he looking fearfully at the
door, might come and steal him away
from me. My own! my own"
''She bent and absolutely gloated over
the little pale sleeper, until queer kind
of dead pain came into my heart.
".There is no fear of his doing that,
said Langton. 1T is the child's money he
wants and not the boy himself.
"She rose to go. Langton conducted
her to the door as though he were the flrst
gentleman in England, she the finest woa
man in London. the first lady in the land.
Good day. said he, Good day, said she,
and she was gone.
..Langton came back and stood looking
gloomily into the fire. What scoundrel"
he cried; what an arrant scoundrel what
an unapproachable scoundrel" He drove
his heel into the coal and repeated the
words.
"'Tell me about it,, said |.
Easily enough. he answered. lie was
a clerk in a stock brokers office two years
ago, and she earned just enough to live
on in some umbrella mandatory. Her
people had been comfortable once but lost
all they had at her fathers death and two
years ago, as far rs she knew, she was the
only survivor of her family. She was then
about Internationally years of age and
very plain-lookiRg, SO that dare say she
had no hope of ever marrying. She
lodged in some place off Stamford street.
Blackfriar's bridge and her nearest friend
was her landlady, to whom she paid three
and-sixpence week for her attic. Two
years ago this Rvland came to lodge in
the same house. He was 1.-the gentleman"
of the place, and rented two rooms on the
first floor; dingy and dismal rs the street
was, the rooms were large, and, owing to
the locality. cheap. From the very first
he began paying attention to this woman,
and in the end he made downright love to
her.
"'You may fancy how this poor creature.
no longer young, who had never been any
thing but ugly, felt flattered by the honor
able approaches Of ''the gentleman" on
the first floor" Well, to cut it short, in a
few months they were married she, in the
full belief that he loved her for some sub
tie charm of mind which he told her he had
discovered--he was too consummate a liar
to say he loved her for her looks and he
in the full consciousness that she had been
left. year before, about five thousand
lie H.. l.. 1. 4 q
coming home from .Jamiaca,' and of
whom she had heard little or nothing all
her life. The money had been devised to
her father and his heirs absolutely, and
had been advertised. Thus he got scent
of it and hunted her down.
Sharp as he was, he counted without
the law. He thought that things were still
with regard to married womens property,
as they had been long ago, when the hus-
band could say to the wife, whats yours
is mine; what's mine is my own" He
showed his hand too soon. After week
he grew careless of her. This nearly broke
her heart. In month he told her about
the legacy, and steps were taken to realize:
Seeing how the thing was now, the land
lady penetrated the whole design. The
good woman's husband brought Mrs. Ry-
land privately TO me. Whenhe found this
out, he turned from Indifference to threats
and from threats To the most atrocious and
inhuman cruelty. To sum up. we proved
the will, got the money, and invested it
in stock. BY this time | found out that he
owed large sums of money; he had been
speculating through another, and had got
heavily let in. He continued his bad treat
ment Of her and at last, Just when her
baby was about to be born, we gave him
two thousand five hundred pounds to take
himself off and leave her in peace. All
could do would not induce her to have a
legal separation. She seemed to think that
such step might in some way, goodness
knew how, injure the future status of her
unborn child. may tell you that for
whole month | resisted giving him the
money unless obtained from him some
thing more binding than a written under
taking not to 90 near her or modest her in
any way. | did not consent until saw
that to hold out any longer would be to
imperil her life. OF course, the undertake
ing given by him has no more legal value
than the ashes in that CRATE. Her whole
soul. her whole nature now seems centred
in that child. When she had made up her
'ihiu ebot ho HAL Woulu ever WOO her he
came. He was above her station at the
time, handsome, as you saw accomp-
lished, as | know, and fascinating. as YOU
may have guessed. He became her sweet
heart, and she knelt down and worshipped
him. He became her husband and spurned
her as she knelt. He told her he thought
less Of her than of the lowest of her sex.
and she drew back from him after an iliad
of inhuman abuse and violence; one only
dream of life gone forever into the world,
vile waste of dead hopes that festered
IN sickly sun. She would have worked
for him, given him her hearts blood; but
he told her he did not want her presence.
and that he loathed the very street She
lived in. lie derided her folly for ever
supposing that any man such as he could
dream OF enduring the presence of such
frightful caricature of nature as she. He
heaped every insult and contumely upon
her, but he did not break her down tor
Baird, she knew she was soon to be a
mother. He might leave her, and did
leave her, but the baby came in the win.
ter of her life, in her worse than widow
hood, the baby boy came. She had given
money to the husband to go away, but the
4 baby had come instead and layln her arms
all day and all nj ght. sweet for her kisses