The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-11-16

On the night or the Sth or october, or
probably after midnight, which would
make it the 9th in the early morning,
while great calm and stiffness lay upon
the town and over the two armies watch
ing each other as if with bated breath,
Rose Fenwicke accompanied by trusty
old negro man servant, quietly took
leave of her home and stole away, tread
ing the obscure alleys and streets in the
direction of her fathers plantation, some
miles distant
/ 1t was a desperate step, but it had
! been well considered. Viewed in the
light of the present day it can scarcely
be distinguished from what we call
wild escapade and for which unstintad
censure would be meted out to the young
girl who should attempt it. But as
things were then, the act was separated
from any mere recklessness or adventure
some holiness.
: | have before me as | write the diary
of Rose Fenwicke, kept at the time and
written in the c7ainped hand and stilted
style then in vogue, also the yellow old
letter which she left on her little table
for her mother, and in which she at
tempted to explain and justify her
course.
81 know full well, my dear mother"
so runs part of the epistle. THAT you
will not attribute to your daughter what
you are aware is not in her nature; nor
will you ever cease to trust her word
who has never broken faith with any one
l have thought and prayed touching my
duty to you, my duty to my country
and my duty to my lover. Never
once have | suffered selfish desires to
hold place in my heart while searching
after the true line of action. have at
last become convinced that Savannah
will never be retaken by the patriot
army. | shall never again see Wayne
Prescott unless | go to him. which am
now fully set upon doing, even at the
peril of my life. If reach aim shall
wed him at once and follow him whittier
soever he may go. 1t is hard,
almost unbearable, to leave you thus
to desert you by stealth, but there is IA
call over yonder which l dare not close
my ears to, and there is terror here
which | cannot longer endure | feel
that you will be quite safe here. The
British commander will protect you and
your estates so that you shall not want
for anything. depart this night with
good old Grampus, who will be able,
think, with Gods help, to lead me forth
from this more than prison into the free
air of the country, where shall at least
be rid Of my enemies and prosecutors. '
| have searched in vain through the
diary, the letter and all the documents
bearing upon the matter to find out why
she spoke of prosecutors. Possibly the
word was used with no directness of ap-
plication. She may have been antici
pating a sort of negative persecution
from Maynard, whose persistent kind
ness must have amounted to something
of the sort, at least to girl of her tenn
permanent, and situated as she must have
been had she remained in Savannah
There may have been, however, Other
and deeper reasons, of which she did moi
care to make record, and | am inclined
to believe there were. 1t appears on the
face of it, at least at this distance, sc
improbable that she should have under
taken task SO hazardous in every way
so likely to end in unspeakable disaster
and SO trying to young girls nerves, i
she had not been impelled by some abso
lutely irresistible circumstances, that
eappgfpth help feeslnge that she must hay
hidden the deeper and real cause Of hel
act. AT all events some powerful slim
illus bore her through trial the like o
!, which rarely comes to a woman. and tn,