Lewiston teller. [volume] (Lewiston, North Idaho) 1878-1900, 1890-06-12

that no thought could Danish; and
yet Edith's love was to the fullest ex-
tent cOnfiding: not q tremOr of sus-
piciOn, not a shadow of doubt dis
turbed her. She had believed that
his honor was as immovable as the
north star. The wonderful wealth
OF pure woman's affection, tender
ness and confidence had been lavish
ed upon this man until it could al
most be said that in him she lived.
moved and had her being. And now
this innocent life, this lovely and low
able personality, feeling for the first
time the thrill ofa great and pure
passion, WAS suddenly overspread by
a threatening cloud that robbedit of
the sunshine which had warmed and
nourished it. Why should one so
good, SO charming, and so capable
Of experiencing loves highest joys, be
visited by trouble at the very mo-
ment when her happiness was great
est, and when it was adorned by such
q rainbow of promise?
While our gentle heroine was in
this condition of love and forebod-
ing, she received a letter directed in
n, to her, strange writing and evil
IDENTIFY that of an illiterate person.
Fortunately she opened the letter
when alone in her room, and she
found the contents as follows:
Windsor Locks c.
July 10 1885
Edieth hlachenuns
wnt to tell yu tibet Joe Williams az WI ia
1. =. I. \
and yu orter not hav nothin more to do
withe him for nv sake and yuern allsoe,
friend kin relic on haz tolt me nbut his
doins and doenot blame yu for i here yu
sopus him to he a sngall man, it yuer the
rite sort yull Civ him his walkin ticcut
and if amt up to tibet i'll com doune to new
Ravens mesef and Sc abut this ere bzness
Mrs. JOE WILLIAMS
Edith, first startled and then
stunned, nearly tainted. The reason
for the strange conduct of her lover
was apparent, and the poor girl felt
overwhelmed with grief and indigna.
ton. Then came the sustaining
thought in the hope that the letter
had been written by some malicious
enemy. Nevertheless, she was
haunted by a feeling that she
was about to be terribly disap-
pointed. During the remainder
of the day she suffered untold agony,
and, as evening approached, at which
time she expected her lover, her dis
traction of mind was so great that,
on the plea ofheadache, she remained
in her room.
At last well-known footsteps, heard
by her through an open window.
caused her to hasten to the door; and
scarcely had the bell ceased to ring
before she greeted her lover.
Her demeanor was so strange that
he was Immediately filed with an in
definable dread. She appeared to be
calm, but was deathly pale, and her
hand was cold as ice and trembled
when he touched it.
AS soon as he entered she handed
him the letter and simply said, in
cold faraway tones:
"Do you know what this means?"
He unfolded the letter with hands
that shook in spite of all his efforts
at selfcontrol. He rapidly caught
the drift fits contents, and staggered
as if stricken with n blow. His eyes
were cast down, great drops of per-
spiration stood on his brow, and the
agony and helplessness of the man
were absolutely pitiable.
at is true!'' she almost shrieked.
"Great God, yes!' he answered in
thick accents, as he smote his brow
with the palm of his right hand.
"But have mercy; let me explain!"
"Never; you're monster
edith, entreat YOU
ut is too late, Joe; how could you
be so cruel? My heart is breaking!"
She few by him with a moan, and,
flying up the stairway, sought to
hide her agony. With outstretch
arms, Williams ran into the hall aft
err her. He believed that he would
find her fainting, and he expected to
catch her falling form.
When she reached the head of the
stairs she turned and cried:
go, go; cannot bear it longer!"
He hurried from the house and
wandered likeeone insane through the
streets. He passed Il sleepless night,
and rose in the morning, haggard
and desperate. He did not care
what became of him, and almost
hoped Co death to end his misery.
Mechanically. at II a. M. he took
charge or train bound for New York.
He was now comparatively calm, al
though it seemed us if there were no
future for him except one of misery;
but from long habit, he attended to
his duties well. At the edge ofthe eve-
ming he stated from New York in
charge of another train. During the
day he had resolved to end his life.
His plan was to ascend to the top of
one OF the cars, shortly before the
train arrived at a covered bridge,
about 80 miles out from the metro
polls, and allow himself to strike the
roof of the structure as the train
passed under it. He would be killed
at once and his body would fall to the
ground. The verdict would be that