The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1883-02-23
LOVES SACRIFICE.

William Henry Cranstoun was the
needy Younger son of an ancient Scotch
family which had made great alliances,
by inter marriages, with the nobility of
Scotland. His uncle, Lord Mark Ker,
procured him commission in the army.
Cranstoun married q Miss Murray, in
Scotland, in the year 1745, and received
q handsome fortune with her, but soon
ran through with it, after which they
led q shifty existence on his pay, eked
out by loans and his winnings at the
gaming-table.
In TAG, shortly after his wife had
been delivered of a son, Cranstoun (who
held the title of Captain), was ordered
to join his regiment in England. He
was sent with a recruiting party to
Henley, and there met an old friend of
his uncle's, Mr.. Blandy
Mr.. Blandy was a man of independ-
ent means, and he extended a cordial
hospitality to the Captain The latter
was not backward in accepting it, and
soon made himself at home in his new
acquaintance's house, setting up his
headquarters there.
Blandy had daughter MARY by
name), pretty and unsophisticated
young woman of 26 OF course the
trooper could not but pay attentions to
her. The Captain was little, ugly,
pock-marked, squirting fellow of 46,
but he had golden tongue for small
talk, which would have imposed on
wiser woman than the one he had made
a victim of.
For he did make her victim-not
L. I II. I. 4
The needy soldier saw golden future
for him, and determined to win it.
The fact that he was already married
did not trouble him in the least His
wife was far enough away in those days
of slow coaching and no newspapers not
TO be terror to him. To avoid the
chance of any complaint, however, he
Informed Miss Blandy that he was in
volved in q disagreeable lawsuit in
Scotland with lady who claimed him
as a husband, and asked her if she loved
him we'll enough to wait the issue of the
affair. She told him that she did, and
with this understanding their courtship
continued.
In time, however, Lord Ker heard
from one of his nephews brother officers
of the little game of bigamy the gay
Captain was playing, and wrote to
Blandy, informing him that the Captain
bad a wife and children in Scotland,
and conjuring him to preserve his
daughter from ruin.
Alarmed by this intelligence, Mr..
Blandy informed his daughter of it, but
Cranstouns declaration had prepared
her to expect some such news; and
when the old gentleman taxed Grams
toun with it he declared it was only an
affair of gallantry, of which he should
have no difficulty to free himself. Mrs.
Blandy seems to have been under as
great a degree of infatuation as her
daughter, for she forbore all further in
-quiry on the Captains bare assurance
that the report of his marriage was
false,
Cranstoun, however, could not be
equally easy. He saw the necessity of
devising some scheme to get his first
marriage annulled, and he wrote at
length to his wife, requesting her TO dis
own him for n husband. The substance
of this letter was that, having no other
way of rising to preferment but in the
army, he had but little ground TO ex-
known that he was encountered with o
wife and family; but could he once pass
for q single man he had not the least
doubt of being quickly preferred, which
would procure him sufficiency to
maintain her as we'll as himself in a
,genteeler manner than he was able to do.
"All, therefore" added he, II have to
request of you Is, that You will tran
scribe the inclosed copy of letter,
wherein you disown me for husband
put your maiden name to it and send it
b the post. All the use / shall make
of it shall be TO procure the advance
ment, which will necessarily include
your own benefit In further assurance
that you will comply with my request,
remain your most affectionate hus-
band,
"W. II. CRANsToUN."
Mrs. Cranstoun, i'll as she had been
treated by her husband, and little hope
as she had Of more generous usage,
was, after repeated efforts had passed,
induced TO give up her claim, and ut
length sent him the requested paper,
signed Murray, which was her maiden
name.
The Captain made some copies of
this letter, which he sent to his wife's
relations and his own, the consequence
of which was that they withdrew the
assistance they had afforded the lady,
which reduced her to an extremity she
had never before known. Exclusive of
this, he had instituted suit for the dis
solution of his marriage, but when Mrs
Cranstoun was heard and the letters
read, the continuance was seen through,
the marriage was confirmed, and Grams
toun was adjudged to pay the expenses
of the trial. At the next session the
marriage was again confirmed, and
Cranstoun was obliged to allow his wife
separate maintenance. Still, however,
he paid his addresses to Miss Blandy
with the same fervency as before, which,