Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1885-08-06
liha tr.x and rape il TO his wife.


the tray and gave it to his wife.
"Drink it, DEAR" be said. ats q
panacea for all evils. l am also going
to take glass Of it" and he pointed
to the glass'still on the tray.
Mr.. Spencer accepted it and was put
tinglt to her lips, when Mrs Hurd
interrupted. tfI
"If you will bring her tumbler ot
water, doctor. Mrs. Spencer CON-
plains that the cordial leaves a bad
taste in her mouth, and my old bones
are so full of rheumatism that it near
" kills me to 60 down stairs"
The doctor turned and bent on her
a look as though he meant to read her
through. But size kept her face pas
sive If he had any suspicious her
manner quieted them, and putting
down the glass he left the room. Then
Mrs. Hurd changed the position OF
the glasses.
When he came back-and he was
gone but moment-the nurse stood
exactly where he had left her, and
Mrs. Spencer was lying back in her
chair with her eyes closed.
Again he lifted the glass, this time
it was the one intended for himself,
and placed it to the lips Of his wife.
She swallowed the contents, drank a
little of the water he brought her, and
thanked him in her sad, sweet way.
Now for my own cordial, he said,
with affected gayety. Il indulge in
something a little stronger as he
spoke he tossed off the mixture.
1T made me stone cold to my fin
gers end to see him do it., said Mrs.
Hurd, relating the circumstances to
me, sbut as heaven is my witness |
felt no conscience. l argued like this:
If it is simply cordial, it would do no
harm; if it was poison, his blood
would be OH his oW sinful head.
He went to bed half an hour afrer-
wards, complaining of fatigue. In the
morning they found him dead.
l was called so the post-mortem ex-
animation, and we discovered in the
stomach of the deceased a sufficient
quantity Of the deadly poison known to
modern science to kill half a-d oxen
men.
My brother physicians agreed that
the man was insane, and had probably
taken the dose in. one o. his unsettled
fits of mind. [ did not dispute them,
but even before Mrs. Hurd told her
story, had my own theory as to the
cause of his death.
There was no public exposure, how
ever, Mrs. Hurd and l agreed that it
would profit no one to make the
wretched affair public, and so we kept
our own counsel.
Miss Melrose, N spite of my con-
viction that she had an active part IN
the conspiracy against Mrs. Spencer's
life, I could not help pitying. Such a
miserable, worn and haggard face as
hers have never seen, and when they
buried DR.. Spencer she was confined to
her bed with brain fever
l attended her in her illness, but
though she recovered In health. she
was never herself again. She was a
harmless maniac, whose delight was in
gathering flowers and decorating the
doctors grave with them.
She is living still, and still gathers
flowers and lays them on that grave,
singing to herself low incantion,
which no one ever pretends to under
stand
Not until Mrs. Spencer had many
years been my wife, and the faithful
Mrs. Hurd slept under the violets, did
Alice ever know the perfdy of her
former husband.
And when l told, after the first
shock was over, she crept into my arms
and whispered,
But if it had not been for James
crime I should not have found you,
Herbert So good does sometimes
come out OF evil.