The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1888-01-07

blighted lives and domestic misery; and as
Mrs. Ockdynes story contains nothing
| novel or entertaining, we will pass it over
| lightly-as the world did for a wonder
without imputing blame to any one
John Ockdyne, however, neither forgot
nor forgave. His brother William, wheth-
er from basely selfish motives, or from
real suspicion bred of the proneness Of
some contemplate minds to disbelieve in
| innocence, helped to keep alive this resent.
Dieut He did not separate from his wife !;
| indeed, he had no evidence to justify an
| extreme course. But he gave rein to his
| harsh, overbearing, suspicious nature; he
crushed and huIabled to the earth the un-
happy woman whom he had sworn to love
and cherish. He thought himself justified,
| perhaps in making her repent bitterly of
her indiscretion, and, perhaps, it may in
charity be doubted whether his vulgar,
!, coarse-grained temperament enabled him
| to realize the full extent of the suffering he
inflicted. He kept Allan Graham's letters,
and in savage moments produced them and
tainted her with them. He held them
| in terrorism over Notwithstanding to show
them, even; though his Vs., cowed as she
was, could never believe him capable OF
this baseness. Still, the very fact OF these
compromising documents continuing in
\ existence had always haunted Mrs. Ock.
| dyne with an uneasy feeling Of insecurity,
and she had appealed over and over again
| in vain to her husband to destroy them
John Ockdyne's sudden illness had been
| totally unexpected, and little as his wife
| mad cause to love him, she did not hear
without emotion the DOCTORS startling YER
dict. But in the midst of her distress the
recollection OF those dreadful letters came
upon her with painful shock, for her hus-
band had more than once told her with sig
| nificance that he had appointed mis- brother
William executor Of his will Mortified at
the prospect that her brother-in-law, whom
she could not but regard as her enemy,
knowing his hostile influence upon her hus-
band, would obtain possession of the let
| ters, she had yielded to an irrepressble i'm
pulse which urged her to secure them
while vet there was time.
Having accomplished her object, the poor
lady was considerably frightened at what
she had done, for her terror Of her husband
overshadowed her, even though he lay
| helpless at deaths door before her ewes.
| The possibility Of his recovery suggested
startling reflections to her agitated mind :;
while she dreaded. scarcely less her action
being found out byher brother-in.law. The
demeanor Of the latter, which, to her ex-
cited imagination, seemed plainly to indi-
cate some suspicion of what she had been
doing, increased her uneasy apprehension,
and she was grateful ind eed to avail her
self of the DOCTORS interference and to fee
from William Ockdyne's hatred presence.
When she found herself alone, however,
in her own boudoir, she plucked up her
spirit, and determined to destroy the let
fprQ a raCoiltplyr Il ,bot
might happen in case her husband should
recover. Without more ado she stirred the
fire into a blaze and thrust the packet of
letters into it. Words would fail to de-
scribe the blessed sensation CT unspeaka-
BILE relief with which she beheld the fatal
papers ignite and slowly burn and smoul-
der away into a shapeless mass of cinder.
But she was not allowed time to completely
recover her composure. for barely had the
Hame died down when she was startled by
knock at the door. Instantly apprehend-
ing message relating to her husband, she
rose at once and turned the key back in the
lock; but before she could grasp the handle
the door was opened from without, and her
brother-in-law stepped nimbly into the
room.
"What is the matter1" inquired Mrs.
Ockdyne, in alarm and confusion
''Your husband is worse" said William
Ochdyne, with a comprehensive glance
round the room as ne spoke.
"Worsew exclaimed Mrs. Ockdyne
Eyes; another seizure"
Mrs. OcKdyne rushed past without giving
another thought to her own affairs. Had
she done so, she would have waited to al
low him to precede her, for in the single
instant that he fingered on the threshold of
her room, he unhappily caught sight of the
charred embers in the fireplace. Not a
word did he utter, however, but followed
silently to his brothers bedside.
The seizure which William Ockdvne came
| TO report turned out to be the last flicker of
John Ockdyne's life. A few minutes later
he had expired.
Mrs. Ockdyne left the chamber of death
with that awe striclen and chastened feel
ing which the last earthly scene never
fails to inspire, and when, later in the day,
she went down stairs to give some orders
to her servants she learned that William
Ockdyne had just left, after taking pos
session of the dead mans keys, and thor
oughly overhauled all the dead mans pa
pers. Seals had been placed upon her hus.
bands desk and escritoire, upon the plate
chest, and even, as she was informed, upon
the door of the wine-cellar. Mrs. Ockdyne
experienced some natural ind gnation at
these proceedings, considering that her
husband had ceased to breathe but a few
hours previously. The news, however, af-
fected her chiefly as proving what a wise
precaution she had taken in securing those
fatal letters--now, happily, no more; fact
which rendered her completely Indifferent
to William Ockdyne's proceedings.
There was curious Difference in the
tone of the servants when they mentioned
the name and stated the orders given by
her brother-in-law, and marked mystery
in their manner toward herself, which puz-
zled Mrs. Ockdyne, though she forbore to
make any remark on the subject. But she
concluded from these ST gins that it'll had gone
forth that William was his brothers. heir,
and that she herself was, so to speak, de-
posed. Her brother in-law's bearing toward
her, however, during the interval before
the funeral did not entirely bear out this
idea 1t was true that he took possession
OF his brothers valuables, aud assumed
control over the household which Mrs.
Ockdyne did not care to dispute. But
while treating the poor lady with the
scantest courtesy, he seemed to regard her
with sort Of jealous suspicion, which APP
peared quite unaccountable. The result
was, that although Mrs. Ockdyne strove to
take comfort from the reflection that he
was powerless to harm her in any way, she
was seized with vague and mfortab le