Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1880-03-25

abduct one Of his children, Fred, /
little boy 5 years old, thinking that !
he would then follow and speak to
me, but my heart failed me when /
thought of his wife. 1 knew it would !
nearly kill her. Once 1 sent him an
elegant diamond ring, which he re-
turned. My husband knows I love
the doctor, Lut his entreaties for me
to remain at home are in vain. l !
have plenty Of money, and as long
as it lasts / must be near the idol of
my affection. l always got along
well with my husband, but hear
that he is now about to apply for a
divorce. / do not blame him. 1
sometimes imagine the doctor ad-
mires and loves me, but is afraid of
my power. He wants to be true to
his wife, and for that l respect and
love him more and more
At this juncture of the recital, a
certain house on - street in East
Joplin was reached. The woman
bade the reporter good night, passed
in the door and was seen no more. r
"This is rich find,'' mused the
reporter as he wended his way slowly
nomeward. In less than an hour the
scribe was admitted to the cozy room
of Prof. Houser at the Joplin hotel.
"Where did she go?" were the
doctors first words, as he pushed
forward a chair. After answering
his question, the reporter said:
professor, you will pardon me
for being inquisitlve, but 1 would
like to know something about this
affair at the Opera House. Do you
know this woman?'
Prof. Yes, and no. BY that /
mean that l know her and don't know
her. | have seen her often, received
many letters from her, also kilograms,
but have never spoken one word to
her in my life. / have been annoyed
by her great deal, and yet it seems
that she is bound to follow me and
shadow my life. At Chillicothe,
Ohio, she gained admittance to the
stage by rear door, as she did at
the Opera House tonight, and came
near running my lectare-but as a
favor / ask You not to publish any
thing until / am nearly through with
my course of lectures here. 1t might
iniure my business, and besides, it
places me in a very embarrassing po-
sition before the public.
| Rep.-Does she write you love let
| ters?
Prof.-Yes, a great mahv, and
some Of them made me feel sorry fol
the unfortunate woman.
Rep.-Do you ever answer any of
| them?
Prof.-Never. I only wrote hel
one letter, and that was one Of kind
advice.
Rcp.-Why will you not speak to
her?
Prof.-For two reasons. First,
met her husband in the northern par
of this state not long ago, and talked
the matter over with him. | tolt
him | had never spoken to his wife
and | promised him | never would
The second reason is, she is young
beautiful, smart. and it would b,
dangerous for me to be in her socie
ty. | am human, and might forge
myself rs much as she has. | am NJ
angel. and yet have my reputation
at stake, and it would be fatal to IN,
business to form any such alliances
If | would talk to her | might sool
be following her. An ounce Of pre-
ventiye IS worth pound of cure.
Rep. Perhaps she is insane.
Prof.-I fear not.
Rep.-Did any other woman eve
follow you:
Prof.-No, sir. Women do nc
seem to like me as general thing
| do not impress them as som
men do.
Rep.-What did this woman
husband say?
! Prof. He told me she had alway
been a good wife, and had nevt
=, given him a cross word in her lie.
= Rep.-Is lie angry at you?
Profile was at first, and threa
ened to shoot me, but he does nc
blame me now in the least. He hc
no cause to. He never knew unit
recently that his wife had been 70
lowing me. Thought she had alwa.
= been visiting friends. The discover
was made by finding something h
p, wife had written in the fly leaf of or
of my pamphlets, "Sparking in Il
Dark"
Rep.-What dld she write?
Prof.-Her husband would not te
= me-said it was an unpleasant sui
: ject.
:. Rcp.-Does your wife know abo'
y this woman?
. Prof.-Yes, but not all. 81
\ once got possession Of letter wri
- ten to me by this lady, and it di
= tresscd her great deal. She thinl
" The woman means to blackmail me.
y. Rep.-Do you refuse to see h
- " because you doubt your strength?
:, Prof.-No; but because l dor
y doubt hers. A man should nev
a get in pretty woman's power.
. Rep.-Where will this end, docto
Is fror.-Indeed l cannot say, b
= hope it may end here. l feel sor
70 for the woman, but can do nothil
!. for her. She claims, in letter wri
|, = ten to me at Sedalia, that she h
" relatives living here in Joplin, but
do not know who they are. Did "
'e n accompany her to her stopping plac
'e Rep.-Yes, but do not know WI
lives in the house where she stoppe
- She told me she was visiting h
. cousin but do not know how tr
she spoke. And now, doctor, {
= you care if publish this singul
= episode?
u Prof.-I have no particular obje
- tions, providing you shield the W
l. man all you can. l will tell you \
o. name and where she lives, but this
,, ,, in confidence. am only afraid til
:" she will cali to see me here at t
y hotel.
1 '1 The reporter bade the profess
=, n good night and took his leave, met
III fotinr nm tho panulIar phaseS of h