Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1886-09-08
COL. BILLS ROMANCE.
An Officer of the Mexican War and His
Pretty Wife--Rumors That Disturbed
the Community In Which He Lived-A
Tragedy.

the Community In Which He Lived-A
Tragedy.
The talk about q war with Mexico,
writes an Atlanta Constitution corfe-
spondent, recalls romantic tragedy
which grew out of our struggle with
that country forty years ago.
When volunteers came marching
home hundreds of handsome fellows
among them brought Mexican wives
with them. Among the fortunate
ones was Col. Bill. never got at the
straight of it, but it was said there
was mystery about the colonels mar
riage. Some of mis- soldiers said that
IN one of his forays be had captured
Mexican village. He looted the place,
picked out the prettiest senorita in it,
the daughter Of old Don Juan Gomez,
g. wealthy Castilian, and married her
by farce of arms, as it were. There
was another story even worse than
this. 1t was that the dashing colonel
had carried off the beautiful wife of
Mexican general, and despite her tears
and protestatiOns had made her sub
nit to the farce of q marriage ceremony
performed by an army chaplain.
These rumOrs, in various shapes,
sometimes modified and sometimes
embellished, were whispered in the
society circles of the city of M for
years after the return of Col. Bill. l
heard something of the story when my
boyish curiosity was excited by the
somber gloom of a tall, dark man
sion in g. quiet quarter of the city.
At the time I was not old enough to
understand the full import Of what
heard, but [ understood enough to
make me shudder.
Col. Bill was seldom seen on the
streets of NJ. He passed much of
his time on his plantation, few miles
out, and during the winter he spent
weeks and months in distant cities.
At first it was said that he took his
wife with him on his travels, but as the
years rolled on he gradually began to
neglect her; and he would leave her six
months at q time locked up in the old
mansion. The mystery OF the place
took g. strong hold upon my youthful
imagination, and I never passed the
house without scanning it closely.
But it was impossible to make any
discoveries. The house stood in the
II
up with trees and tropical shrubbery
and flowers that it was difficult to see
much from the street. In the rear was
a garden surrounded by a high brick
wall with grated openings, and
! through these one could see what was
going on inside the Enclosure.
One day in passing I heard voices.
| looked through an opening in the
wall and saw the most beautiful wom-
an that my eyes had ever beheld. 1
knew at once that it was the colonel's
wife. She was q young woman, tail
and graceful, and her dark face was IL
lumined by a pair Of glorious eyes that
seemed to be shining through mist of
tears. This regal creature was not
alone. She was accompanied by a
young girl who appeared to be her
maid or companion. The two were
conversing in a foreign tongue, and 1
could not understand word. The
music of their voices impressed me,
and gazed at them SO steadily that
their attention was attracted. The
| lady of the mansion looked at me with
sad smile, and made some remark
to her companion. Then they walked
over to the other side of the garden,
out of my sight.
Naturally I told what / had seen,
and people badgered me to death with
questions. I was asked to describe
the beautiful Mexican lady.
did she wear any diamonds ?"
asked an old gossip.
| I answered that [ thought [ saw
diamonds glittering on her throat, in
her hair, and on her hands.
"No doubt Of it, said my question
er. "but the poor thing has very few of
them left"
| Chow is that?" asked.
I "Why, don't you know? But o.
course you don't. Well, when she first
came here she had peck of diamonds.
Even on her morning wrappers, every
| button was diamond"
"And where are they now," I queried
III opened-mouthed wonder.
''That horrid old Col. Bill has taken
them. The colonel is a very bad man.
can't tell q little boy like you how
bad he is. Now, the colonel is always
needing money for gambling and racing
and his other pleasures, and whenever
he is in tight place for few hun
dreds he just takes q handful of his
wife's diamonds and that is the last of
them"
Such brutal meanness enraged me
not q little, and | secretly resolved
when I got big enough to give Col. Bill
a genteel thrashing.
In the course of time I caught more
than one glimpse of the colonel when
he was going to his plantation or re-
turning. He rode a, fine horse, and
generally dashed along without looking
either to the right or to the left. He
was a. very handsome mar of about
so, but his face was stern and
repellant. Selfshness, cruelty and
even murder lurked in that face. Al
though [ had fully made up my mind
to call Col. Bill to bloody account
sometime in the distant future, the
sight of him was so hateful to me that
made it a point to get out of the way
when I saw him coming. In the mean