The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1886-04-16

scarcely believe, William Fairfield
were it not for my assurance. that thi:
exquisite baby be Observation-Disclosures,
bright-eyed, rosy-cheeked-and my
daughter Alice are one. But for me
she might have been the flower Of
Devonshire. 1t is l, her father. who
made her what she is, who have de-
prived her of life's best seasons, and
who, if loves light does not shine upon
her, have condemned her through all
her DAYS to q cold and cherries winter.
Let me recall the fatal day which led
to my act of madness. I had left my
home on . matter of business. and was
to be absent only twenty-four hours. II
was the first night had passed out Of
my house since my marriage. Why
did not my horse fall down with me
and kill me, instead of bringing me
safely back to the home i had left hon.
ored and happy? But what some men
call fate, others chance. others destiny,
ordained that l should live and grapple
with my misery. For when my journey
was over, and 1 reached my house,
with my heart pulsing with tender an
ticipation, / found that my wife had
fled-had fed with him / called nv
friend. l learned that she whom I
loved faithfully and truly had betrayed
me; that he whom l trusted with my
whole soul had played the Judas. No
letter was written to guide me to this
conclusion. My wife was gone, and
that was enough. My friend was gone.
and that was enough. l had not been
in my home five minutes before the
truth flashed upon me, as might pict-
ure suddenly revealed. For a moment
1 was dazed and stunned; then came
the despairing reality. The past years
spread out before me like a map, and
every glance and word that had passed
between us came to me with a new sig-
MITIGATION. Her love had been a simu-
latiOn, a cheat; her heart had never
been mine. She had been to me liv-
ing lie. and all woman's artifice had
been employed to conceal the truth.
Too well had she succeeded. What
would you have done, William Fair
field, had you been stricken with such
a blow? What would you have done
had You found your life's happiness
thus suddenly burnt to ashes upon your
household hearth?'
He did not wait for reply, but went
on:
1.-The thoughts and memories which
chung about me those few moments
would make an epic. Amidst them all,
one picture struggled to the FORE
ground. l saw in my fancy the face of
my wife lying upon the pillow in the
early morning. face of chiid-like. an
gelic beauty-a face which. could an
artist paint, and call it Innocence,
would immortalize his name through
all ages. She had fallen asleep in my
arms but a few hours before. with
words of love upon her lips. gazed
upon her with heart full of worship.
saw her face. and it was Heaven to
me. But her inner life was hidden
from me: and now that it was laid bare
in all its naked deformity. faith, love,
religion, belief in human goodness,
fled from me aifrighted. l was as one
suddenly and unnaturally maddened.
Infatuated. looked around and saw
her child living in her cot-her child!
She opened her eyes and smiled upon
me. and as in that innocent smile
caught the reflex Of her false mothers
beauty. l raised her in my arms, and
dashed her to the ground"'
The memory of that terrible act
raised thick beads of perspiration upon
his face: and again, in wild. reckless
he scooped up a handful of
show. and scattered it over his head.
scarcely remember what followed;
| do not know whether ate. TOR drank,
or slept: l only know that | fled from
the house, with the intention If pursu-
ing them day and night. From that
my life was comprised by but
one intense, maddening desire-to
Overtake and kill them. was soon
upon their track. and / flung money
about like a mailman, but still with an
instructive method in my mainess.
followed them from place TO place.
England. out of England into
foreign countries. and back again.
Hearing that l was in pursuit. they
schemed and bafiied me. Twas always
4 day too late: l reached every spot in
which they tarried in time to hear Of
their departure from it. But they could
not forever escape me: l knew it,
felt it; Fate was on my side. and would
bring me to them as sure as there was
a Heaven above Us. Every sign that
made itself visible to me-in human
face, in clouds, in trees-bid me pur-
sue and kill them, and never faltered,
never wavered in my resolve. Pictures
formed themselves for me in the clouds
in the plains as l dashed past them
in train or carriage; in the full sun
light rs it cleaned in clear waters; in
the night, with shadows and darkness
around me-pictures which imaged
false wife and friend crouching before
\ desperate and dishonored man.
Blood was in the air, and in the fields
it swan before my eyes, and made
me Oblivious to all else"
William Fairfield shuddered at the
rehemence of the mans speech, and
almost ina gined he saw flying through
The air the dark shadows of the picture
1rawn by Stephen.
lat length l came upon them.
When l had lost trace of them, and
was standing in doubt AS to which way
% turn, their faces flashed upon me
,ne night at railway station. Despite
Ill warning cries. jumped with tri-
lmphant laugh upon the step of car
.iage as the train was moving away. I
lid not think of my own danger as
vas whi-led along-I only thought
hat they were there, and that l must
get to them, if l had to fight my way
through hundred deaths. The wild
low through which had caught sight
If their faces was far in front Of me.
md with frantic Impotence l worked
ny way along the side of the train.
How 1 escaped being dashed to pieces