Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1886-07-14

Shaw"
"Michael, what hath DR.. Shaw U say
about his son!"
"Ask me if he knows that he is married
Then, relentng under the twitch of pain ir
his wife's mild face, he cried out in quiver
ing voice: "Oh, Jane. this man swears thai
his son is no. married-that neither by word
nor look has he given him cause to suspec
such thing And lie asked me: Would my
son, il your daughter was his wife, leave heI
mys eriously. and without message or rea
soni Such words he said. And he limited al
dn and conscience hurf5ing the scoundrr
from the town"
Michael" said his wife in a hoarse whis
per, going UP to him and putting her hant
on his arm, "dost thee mean to say that
that"
He looked down upon her with stony eyes
whereupon she half shrieked, mo, no
Michael, Michael, our girl is honest. Grea
Lord, did the vile schoolmaster charge my
pure child with such sin before her father
and no denial made him! Michael, didst thee
let the foul old man say that of her9 Oh
my pretty one Oh, my Jenny! how car
they think it of thee! how can they think 1t !
do you call her pure2-she who, by hel
own confession, has deceived those who love
her?" he exclaimed, in a slow, bitter voice
"Sinceshe has confessed to one sin, why shall
not you believe in her deeper guilt, until She
shall prove that she hath wronged us by de
cei fulness only! 1t is good reasoning to de
clare that, if this man were her husband, he
woull rot have left her without token of hi:
going, and truthful conclusion to come at
that having wronged her, and dreading my
wrath and his fathers. he has fed from the
place, and, like sneaking coward, left her tc
bear her sin alone"
Dumbfounded, the mother listened; then
plrcking up heart, replied, "Why do you
doubt that she has spoken the truth9 II
she be married, she has not sinned as you say
and yet, though you know not for sure
whether she be married or not. you condemn
her as if she were a single woman that had
fallen. Oh, Michael! thy heart is too hard
Though she be not married, yet why do you
say that she hath sinned9 Poor little one
must her heart be broken by her fatherl"
ut is her fathers heart that will be broker
by her!" he cried. ooh, fie! that you should
excuse her."
He walked hastily to the door, and, seizing
hold of the staircase banister, stopped and
looked back.
"Come with me to her bedroom" he said
"Ycu shall bear witness"
"What to do!" replied Mrs. Strangield, not
offering to move.
"To get what truth is to be found in he1
letters, if she has any," he exclaimed. ~
will sift this matter to the bottom"
His wife turned her back upon him, and he
went upstairs alone.
A little chest of drawers was soon ran.
sacked and pockets of dresses; and the rose
wood desk, forced with jack knife for q
lever, was promptly explored, and here was
more than he wanted. A pile of letters, in
deed, which no carrier had ever delivered
either; some Of them illegible almost with
stains of wet, which, in good truth, they
could hardly fail to contract, seeing that the
lovers post box was always the grass under
the evergreens hard in the corner of the
front garden, and close to the railing for ac
cessibility from the roadway.
Drawing from his pocket the wooden case
that contained his spectacles, and perchine
the glasses on his nose, Strangfeld went to the
window and began to read the letters. Nc
tradesman guards his receipted bills more re-
ligiously than Jenny had preserved these
precious missives. Folded most carefully
were they, with sweet smelling dry flowers
among them, and held together with ribbon
and the dates in such accurate sequence as
only love (after trade) would have patience
to order.
All these letters, with one exception, Eore
dates prior to Jenny's visit to Sy denham 1r
them be called her sweetheart and mistress
and the signature was always "Bertie." Many
of them were hurriedly scribbled Appeals fol
interviews. The one letter written after the
visit to Sydenham was passionate protesta
ton of love, with a tender reference TO deer
endearments, and bit of SLY humor at the
end, where pious Aunt Rachel and "the puri
tanical deacon of George street" We're spoken
of as "people easy to hoodwink, because they
imagined themselves so very keen-sighted.
So from beginning to end of these letters was
Jenny Cuthbert's darling, his pretty heart
his sweet girl, and the like; never once did he
call her his wife, and there was no mention
of marriage. Such are the trumpery acci
dents which produce tragedies.
Mr. Strangfeld flung them upon tho fcor
and went down stairs.
His wife had finished her dinner and was
coming away from the house door, where she
had been standing q while on the lookout fol-
Jenny, whose absence troubled her, though
for the girls sake, she would not complain
Something like disdain was in her face whel
she looked at her husband. He could not
have been guilty of more humbling meanness
in her sight than to ransack his daughter
bedroom.
"The dinner is cold," said she, sand l have
dined. If"
81 have no appetite" he interrupted. "Let
the wench clear the table"
He went to his armchair and seated him
self in q sullen, rapt attitude, and never
stirred all the while his wife helped the gir
to remove the cloth. Then the poor woman
hardly knowing what she ought to do. wa:
about to leave him alone and was closing the
door. when he called to her, She came tc
the table.
"If you are taking her part" said he, il
harsh, concentrated tones, "and justifyine
her conduct to yourself, tell ME that l may
know how to address YOU"
"I do not take her part, neither am
against her, until l know the truth" an
swered the mother firmly.
"The truth is in the letters you will tind
lying on her bedroom floor. Her sin is there
written by the hand of the villain who ha:
brought shame upon us"
Ct,,,rGn1J f,,,pa6 Iybitn md uroSnpl
the table, while she stared at her husband.
"Why do you say that, Michael. Is 1t Sc
plan9 Is it so plain.'
"Plain!" he cried hoarscly. "What brain:
do YOU allow me, that should not know th'
language of the parnmour: Get up stairs
and Judge for thyself!'
NO. no. Not if died for refusing Oh
Michae', art thou not hcadstrong i'll thy fears
If he be her husband, and loves her"
But she faltcred and stopped here; for wha
was to be done with that hard question:
he loved her, why had he left her to bear bel
trouble alone. And, stammering little, sht
went on:
"But you will not believe that she is hi
wife, and It's easy, therefore, for their pool
letters to make thee think they have
Sim nd.
leave me-" he cried sternly, for he feared
the anger which his wifes obstinate advo
cacy was kindling in him.
She went away quickly, smothering bel
sobs until the door was closed. Then, at hel
bedroom window. she planted herself tt
watch for Jenny's return.
rlT ApTER XIV