Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1882-02-01

my look, for her own darkened and
deepened into perfect agony OF doubt
and fear.
Ashamed, I Withdrew my gaze at
once, and drawing out my notebook, was
about to make a memorandum, when,
with a sudden forward movement she
fell at my feet, arresting my hand by the
agonized grasp of her own, it's burning
contact sending through me a painful
thrill.
"Don't betray me !! Don't give me
up to him ! Oh don't. I'm so fright
ened -
It was but whisper, breathed out
rather than spoken, yet it shuddered
through me like cry.
''I can not always hide it can not
always bear it about with me; it breaks
my heart, and, I am SO tired
And letting the hand which still held,
pressed closely to her, the mysterious
burden that had so raised my curiosity
drop heavily to her side, there lay at her
feet and mine a little dead badly, tiny
creature, evidently not many weeks old.
Then the woman threw up her veil, and
withdrawing her eyes for the first time
from mine, clasped her hands before her,
her figure thrown slightly back, and
looked down upon it. A pretty picture;
the poor young mother, with her pale
child's face and deep mourning dress;
the wee baby, cleaning SO white In its
death and baby robe against the heavy
Grape skirt on which it lay-a pretty
picture certainly for railway carriage,
and lighted by it's dim midnight lamp.
"Dead - was my involuntary excla-
nation.
She stretched her clasped hands down
ward toward it with despairing GEES
ture, speaking with low, wild, rapid
utterance.
cit was not his look that killed it,
but my love. He hated it, my baby, my
first born; for all the love [ gave him, he
hated it, and that his look might not
kill it, I held it in my arms, so close, so
close, till it was dead. Oh, my baby,
my baby =
The outstretched hands had reached it
now, and raised it from the floor TO the
seat, folding it around until the inclos-
ing arms and down-bent face hid it once
more out of sight.
Was ever luckless traveller more awk-
wardly placed ?-the dead child; the
PROSTATE woman, the scene, a public
railway carriage; the hour, midnight. /
am of blunt nature. Mrs. Merton
often scolds me for my blunt, straight
forward speeches; but then she has such
a pretty way of beating about the bush,
which it would be as absurd for me to
initiate as it was for the ass to mimic the
tricks of his masters lapdog. [ must go
to the point as soon as ever [
see it. I did SO now.
Chow came you to be travelling alone,
and with dead child? Are you going
home?" tE
The question seemed to rouse her once
more to a perfect frenzy of fear. She
turned to be as before, clinging to my
hand with small hot fingers, and the old
heartbroken cry:
"Don't betray me; don't give me up
to him His look would have killed my
baby; it would kill me if [ had to meet
it. She is safe, for I killed her, and she
is dead; and he hates me, and [ have no
home p
[ was in a perfect maze OF doubt.
Could the pretty soft young creature at
my feet be indeed murderess and
could it be her husband of whom she
seemed to be in such abject terror? My
blood boiled; I felt ready to defend her
against dozen husbands, but how?
1t was midnight now; we could not be
far from London; the guard might be
popping his head in at any moment. [
jumped to q sudden conclusion.
"Were you going to any friend in
London 2"
CT know nobody In London"
"1he poor little thing is either mad
or her husband is brute, was my men
tai exclamation.