Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1883-02-15

never occur again, and he did as she
wished. But, as may be imagined, she
did not keep her earnest promises
She still continued taking the drug
Matters went from bad to worse. 1t
began to be noised about among their
numerous mutual friends that she did
as she did. One night, when she was
out on the street, she became so much
affected by the now larger doses Of
morphine which she had taken that
day, that she was actually arrested by
an officer under the mistaken supposi-
ton that she was intoxicated. She
spent that night within the dirty and
gloomy confines of the station-house
cell. Her behavior and appearance
next morning before the police magis-
trate was such that she attracted the
attention of the city reporters, and the
details of the whole sad case were
sped in glowing English rhetoric and
chaste significant adjectives in the
local papers.
This sad blow almost broke the low
ing husbands heart. A year after this
sad event, and five years after their
marriage, more terrible calamity oc-
CURED, which was the final drop that
filed the poor fellows cup of woe to
oyerfowing. Their only child, bright
little girl aged two years, was scslded
so badly that she died in a few hours.
After this sad event, and finding that
it was utterly impossible to free his
wife from the terrible malady which
was the bane of her life, the husband
lost all hope, and to queneh his do
nestle anguish sought the aid of King
Alcohol. The usual results followed
with speedy and destructive steps. He
soon lost his wealth, and his business
became so involved that he made a
heavy mercantile failure. This once
blessed and happy couple sank lower
and lower in the scale of degradation.
In September, 1881, the poor fellow
one day blew his brains out, leaving
the following pathetic note:
"Opium has directly ruined my
wife. have done everything that
mortal man could do to save her, but
all in vain. Opium has indirectly
ruined me- Had it not been for the
fatal appetite, could have saved her.
1 would never have tasted whisky,
and had never drank would not be
where am, nor fill nameless suicides
grave. l love her vet, devotedly and
passionately. May God in His infinite
love bless her. and may we meet where
there are no tears, where there is no
sorrow. For without her there would
be no Heaven for me in whatever will
come to me in that life into which in a
few minutes l shall usher my soul"
The young widow made another at
tempt to slay the terrible appetite after
the tragic death of her husband. Kind
friends rallied around her and assisted
her, and for time it really seemed as
if she had actually conquered the fiend
However, six months after his funeral
she was discovered one day in her
poorly furnished rooms almost uncon-
scious from the effects of opium, and
several large pie9s Of the crude article
were found upon table beside her.
When this became known among
the kind friends who were help
ing her, they without exception at
once deserted her, and in few days
she stood upon the threshold of ex-
treme penury-upon the brink of
actual starvation. At this particular
crisis in her life a wealthy young mar
ried lady of Baltimore heard of her
pitiable condition. This lady had been
a school companion of the morphine
eater when both were young misses at
a fashionable boarding school for
young ladies at Burlington, N. J. She
had lost sight of her for number of
years, but when she found her in her
utter destitute and sad plight she re-
membered the many happy hours they
had spent together during the joyous
days of their girlhood, and at once
took the poor sufferer to her own lux
uriously furnished home in her car
riage. Here she was surrounded by
every comfort imaginable, and nothing
she desired was denied her except the
one fatal curse. This kind-hearted,
wealthy young lady, kept the victim Of
opium fastened in handsomely furn-
ished room in her house for three
months, and had strong hopes of eff
tecting a permanent cure when, one
day, the young widow was found in
helpless condition on the
floor of the apartment. The
family physician pronounced the cause
of the mysterious illness to be solely
morphine. How she succeeded in OBJ
tanning the drug will never be known
as she refused to tell, but it is supposed
some Of the colored servants, to whom
she was very kind, moved to compass
sion by her earnest entreaties, secretly
procured the opium in one of its many
forms for her. After several exhibi-
tions of this kind, and many broken
reformation promises on the part of