Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1880-05-20

silver cornet projects into the silent night
the melancholy strains of the Sweet Bye.
and. Bye, than you may introduce into
the picture. if you like, the burly formsof
Rudolph returning to his cottage laden
with sure ptitious steaks, welsh rabbit
and ale, and receiving his reward in the
smile Of the fair widow, the
smile which pays for all. This is, you
know the imaginary, or more strictly
speaking, the imagined part of the story,
tor il Is safe guess that it is all true
but that smile Is real. have seen it.
1t killed John tho Woodman, it subdued
the mighty Rudolph and made him =
willing slave; and what spell it may have
wrought upon the chronicler of these
events had he been unarmed, or less
callous in the cardiac region, may also
he lett to the imagination. But to return
to the facts. The month of September
brought the bold Rudolph and the dan
gerous widow b back to this city,
where they took poorer lodgings, too
poor fear for love TO thrive in, for they
were not long occupied" either by the lit
tie God or his two victims. Whether
kudolph's zeal relaxed and he provided
tougher steaks and thinner negus, the
writer hereof cannot affirm but more than
suspects, but, however that may be, it 10
q fact that lnfelecity crept in and love few
out, and the widow and the painter d.
vided. Mrs. Bias sent her little boy to a
relative, has hidden herself away from her
family and friends, and how she how lives
let us charitably not inquire.
But someone will say: why drag these
unwholesome facts to the surface! only
because it may BIZ profitable to inquire
how it can be that woman like this, Of
good family, highly educated, acquainted
with the English, German, French, Span
ish and Latin languages, and able to
teach them,, who is we'll informed on
most every subject and fine converse.
tionalist,-to ask why 1t is that such a
woman could so far forget what Is due to
her position, to her family, to herself and
to womanhood, as to form an alliance
with greasy cook not so much because
Of his position, for it is possible for =
cook to be gentleman, but because this
one is coarse, ignorant, brutal, and with.
out an aspiration above beer bottle. 1t
is one of those social anomalies which
seem almost unaccountable. Allowing
something for q recklessness born of
changed fortunes and other dissapoint-
ments, I think it is mostly due to mistake
en-, over-indulgent training which result
ed in ingrained, incurable laziness. This
woman was reared in luxury and idleness
having every opportunity to acquire the
ornamental and useful accomplishment
of polite society, which she had talen,
enough to profit by: but at the same time
learned by precept, example aad habi,
that anything like work was only fol-
servants and the inferior classea. Idle
ness was inherited, uselessness cultivated
I'LL her life, and the idea Of doing any
thing in the way of getting her own liv
ing in the world was hardly comprehend
bic, and too repulsive to be thought of
So when reverses came and those or
whom she was accuatomed to lean could
not or would not longer support her, sh.
naturally accepted the first support offer
led. Like Esau she sold her birth .righ
for mess of pottage, or a little longer
lease of the ease and Incidence which
seemed her natural prerogative. Away.
accustomed to receive benefits wlthou
any sense of obligation, but as a right
she knew not the betteH pride which pre-
fers toll and selfdenlal with independ
ence and sclfrespect, to any life of ease
without them.
| Some day from some hospital, perhaps
the same in which John the Woodmar
ended his life, the wreck of q woman
will be carried out to an unknown grave
and some sympathetic stranger may look
on what was once the accomplished Mrs
Band say" One more unfortunater
yes unfortunate in one sense; unfortu
nate in being, from whatever cause, sc
constituted that when the time came
when she must choose between an effor
at self support and dishonorable ALI
ance she could choose the latter
That is all. The degradation was not
compulsory, was not made necessary o.
excusable by force of circumstances; il
was chosen. The Choice is astound
ing; society is shocked; but let society
ask itself whether it is not in some de
gree responsible. G..
New YORK, May 9Th, 1880.