St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-01-23
confess it even to himself. The Office

confess it even to himself. The Office
seemed to grow
MORE OF BORE THAN EVER,
and he counted the minutes from the
time he left the sitting room until he
was back again. His mother noticed
this and remarked to him that he
seemed to liked home much bet
ter than he used to. In the even
ings he played cards with Loretta.
He had learned to be quite expert at
this while at college, and prided
himself on the accO nplisnment a
good deal. But the little Span
lard" as he had playfully named the
girl, won at least as often as he did, If,
indeed, the odds were not in her favor
Then he thought of her nearly all the
time when he was awake, and dreamed
OF her when he was asleep. An unac-
cOuntable timidity seemed to come over
him whenever the other members of
the family were in the room with them.
Luz short, he was in love with her, and
afraid that he might betray himself to
his mother and sister. He knew the
views of both well enough to under
stand that their anger would be some
thing dreadful should they discover the
real state of affairs.
In the fall of 1868, late in September
or early in October, Loretta said an
aunt Of hers in Georgia was very i'll and
she would like to go ard see her. Mrs.
Chalice at once consented. telling her
to stay as lang as she liked, and when
she returned her place would be ready
for her. She left, and returned about
the middle of the November following.
A few days after she was gone, Dick
said he wanted to pay a visit to one of
his college chumS in Ohio, got the nee
esSary funds from his mother and left.
lie returned about the LIST of December.
About two weeks after his arrival his
sister came into the sitting room one
day and found Loretta sitting Oh his
lap.
She demanded an explanation. Dick
got very red i'll the face and Stammered
out something about ''my wife,
This is my husband" said Loretta,
calmly putting her arm around his neck.
''YOur husband?' said Mrs. Chaice.
contemptuously; when were you mar
rIed?''
when / went to see my aunt" re-
piled the girl with touch of irony in
her voice.
When Dicks mother was informed of
the marriage she was completely pros
trated. But her love for her son. deep
as it was, temporarily gave way to in
dlgnatlon az the thought that, as she eX-
pressed it, he had thrown himself away
on Gypsy waif," and she agreed with
her daughter that they should be or
dered from the house at once. The doc
tor was hardly less shocked than his
wife and mOther-in-law at Dicks esca-
pade, but looked at the matter philoSo-
phlcally and tried to persuade Mrs Har-
ris and his wife to accept the situation
and make the best of it. To recognize
the erstwlile SeamStresS as member
OF the family was humiliating, but he
argued that the publicity which would
be given to the affair by turning them
out
WOULD BE FAR WORSE.
But as Dick said he would go in any
event and his mother and sister were
Obdurate, the young couple left the eie-
CANT residence of the ChaIices and went
to live in modest little cottage in
Cherry street.
For year and half after his mar
riage Dick quit his fast companions and
fast habits and devoted himself faith
fully to the practice of his profession.
DIR. Chalice found an Office for him, paid
the rent until Dick got enough money
ahead to pay it himself, gave him the
Tree use of his library, and helped him
in various other ways. When his first
child was born Dick seemed perfectly
happy, and seemed to have no ambition
outside of his wife, his little daughter
and his home.
Gradually, however. he began to fall
into his evil ways again. Atchison So
ciety mad, from the first, accepted the
verdict of his mother and sister, and
the ariStOcratic circles in which he once
moved now knew him no more. He was
always very fond of society. and this
treatment preyed on him. Although he
probably never directly referred to the
matter III his wife'S presence, as it is
SAID he always seemed to stand in awe
of her. she understood that she was the
cause of it, and an estrangement grew
up between them which soon developed
into Indifference on his part and hate on
hers. Dicks mother, after the first
angry impulse, felt the same deep affec-
ton for him, and he used to spend
whole days with her at the ChaIice
house. Sometimes he brought his two
children with him, but never his wife.
The more Dick drank the more his
practice fell away, and the more bust
ness he lost the more he drank. DR..
Chalice used to expoStulate with him,
but to little purpose, and he was soon
complete wreck. His wife would not
allow him to come home, and supported
herself and the children by sewing. DR..
Chalice furnished him with food and
clothing, and finally. when he was
taken sick, brought him to his house,
where he died one bitter winter night,
Shrleklng that the devils were carrying
him away and that his wife was setting
them on. Mrs. Chalice and her mother
agreed that what property Dick had
left should be given to his widow and
children. The widow, however, said she
would accept only enough to get mon
ument for him-She could take care of
herself and the children.
When she bought and set up the shaft
with the snake and the inscription on
1t, all AtchiSon was shocked, and Dicks
mother and the Chalices were wild with
shame and indignation. Her friends
tried to persuade her to remove it, but
but refused to listen to them. 1t was saiG
for time that legal proceedings would
be instituted to have it taken away as
being libel on the dead, but nothing
was ever done, and it stands there still
For long time other people were care
full to bury their dead where its hOrri-
bic shadow could not fall upon their
graves, and for many years there was a
vacant space for several yards around
it, but gradually this feeling wore
away. Now there are graves in most
of the adjacent lots, and evergreenS
and willows hide from sight the last
resting place of poor Dick Harris and
his grim memorial stone.
~MD