Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1890-06-25
A GREAT DIVORCE CASE

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There was u man called Brohckhorst
"a three cornered. middle aged man In
the xrmy-gray rs = badger. and some
people said with = touch Of country
blood in him. That. however. cannot be
proved. Mrs. Bronckhorst was not sx-
actly young. though fifteen years young
er than her husband. She was large.
pale, quiet woman. with heavy syeids
over weak eyes. and hair that turned
red or yellow AS the lights fell on 1t.
Bronckhorst was not nice in any way.
He had no respect for the pretty public
and private lies that make life q little
less nasty than it is His manner tow
ard his wife was coarse. There are
many things. including actual assault
with the clinched fist. that = wife will
endure: but seldom q wife can bear. ~
Mrs. Bronckhorst bore. with q long
course Of brutal. hard chat, making
light of her weaknesses. her headaches.
her small fits Of gayety. her dresses. her
queer little attempts to make herself at
tractive to her husband when she knows
that she is not what she has been. and.
worst of all. the love that she spends
on her children. That particular sort Of
heavy handed jest was specially dear to
Bronckhorst. ! suppose that he had hrst
slipped into it, meaning no harm. In the
honeymoon. when folk find their ordi-
nary stock Of endearments run short.
and so go to the other extreme to express
their feelings A similar impulse makes
a man say. .'Hntt. you old BEAST" when
"A favorite horse nuzzles his coat front.
Unluckily. when the reaction Of mar
rage sets in. the form Of speech remains,
and. the tenderness having died ont.
hurts the wife more than she cares to
say. But Mrs. Bronckhorst was de-
voted to her Teddy" as she called him.
Perhaps that was why he objected to
her Perhaps-this is only IA theory to
account for his infamous behavior later
on-he gave away to the queer, savage
feeling that sometimes takes by the
throat husband twenty years married
when he sees across the table the same
face of his welded wife. and knows
that. ms he has sat facing it. so must he
continue to sit until the day Of its death
or his own. Most men and all women
know the spasm. 1t only lasts for three
breaths as Il rule. must be throw
back" to times when men and women
were rather worse than they are now. and
is too unpleasant to be discussed.
Dinner Mt the Bronckhorsts' was an
infection few men cared to undergo
Bronckhorst took pleasure in saying
things that made his wife vince. When
their little boy came in at dessert
Bronckhorst used to give him half glass
of wine, and naturally enough the poor
little mite got first riotous. next miser.
able and was removed screaming
Bronckhorst asked il that was the way
Teddy usually behaved. and whether
Mrs. Bronckhorst could not spare some
Of her time to teach the little beggar
dccency" Mrs Bronckhorst. who loved
the boy more than her own life. tried
not to cry-her spirit seemed to have
been broken by her marriage. Lastly,
Bronckhorst used to say: There! that'll
do, thatll do For Gods sake try to
behave like rational woman. Go in
to the drawing room" Mrs. Bronck-
horst would go. trying to carry it all of
with a smile. and the guest Of the even
ing would feel angry and uncomfortable
After three years of this cheerful life
for Mrs. Bronckhorst had no women
friends to talk to-the station was start
tied by the news that Bronckhorst had
instituted proceedings on the criminal
court against man named Biel, who
certainly had been rather attentive TIC
Mrs. Bronckhorst whenever she had ap-
peared in public. The utter want Of re.
serve with which Bronckhorst treated
his own dishonor helped us to know that
the evidence against Biel would be en-.
tirely circumstantial and native. There
were no letters. but Bronckhorst said
openly that he would rack heaven and
earth until he saw Biel experimenting
the manufacture of carpets in the Cen
trail Jail Mrs. Bronckhorst kept entire
ly to her house. and let charitable folks
say what they pleased. Opinions were
divided. Some two-thirds Of the sta.
ton jumped at once to the conclusion
that Bel was guilty. but dozen men
who knew and liked him held by him
Bel was furious and surprised. He de-
MED the whole thing. and vowed that
he would thrash Bronckhorst within m
inch Of his life.
No jury. we knew, could convict man
on the criminal count on native evidence
in a land where you can buy murder
charge. including the corpse. all com
plete for fifty-four rupees: but Bel did
not care to scrape through by the benefit
Of doubt. He wanted the whole thing
cleared: but AS he said one night: ''Hf
can prove anything with servants evi.
dence and I've only my bare word" Thif
was about a month before the case CANT
on. and beyond agreeing with Bel W.
could do little All that we could bs
sure Of was that the native evidence
would be bad enough to blast Biel's char
acter for the rest Of his service: for when
native begins perjury he perjures him
salt thoroughly. He does not boggls
over details.
Some genius at the end Of the table
whereat the affair was being talked over,
said: Look here! don't believe law
yers are any good. Get man to wire
to Strickland. and beg him to como down
and pull US through"
Strickland was about hundred and
eighty miles up the line He had not
long been married to Miss Youghal. but
he scented in the telegram a chance of
return TO the old detective work that his
soul lusted after. and next night he came
in and heard our story. He finished his
pipe and said oracularly: I'VE must get
ut the evidence. Oorya bearer, Muasal-
man knit and methraniayah. suppose,
are the pillars Of the charge. am on in
this piece, but I'm afraid I'm getting
rusty in my talk"
He rose and went into Biels bedroom.
where his trunk had been put. and shut
the door. An hour later we heard him
say; II hadn't the heart to part with nv
old makeups when married. Win this
doT There was a lothelv faouir salasm-