The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1890-07-06
A MARRIAGE OF VENGEANCE

From the London Telegraph
Last week was at the Office of discharged
prisoners aid society, when, among other appli-
cants, was one whom will call John Lock. He
was still young man, his age being not more
than thirty three, and he had been convicted Of
the serious offense of attempting to poison his
wife, and condemned to ten years. penal servi-
tude. He was certified as ''well educated"
and in prison he had earned all that was possible
in the way of good-conduct money. He was
willing to undertake any kind of work (which
he might get an honest living, and he was told
to call again on the following Saturday. On
that day chanced to look in at the Office again,
and shortly afterward John Lock appeared. He
was much altered, and looked as though he had
been much frightened. Recognizing the secre-
tary at his desk, he hastily remarked 81 beg
your pardon, sir. 1 can't take a job in London
wish to be sent away, if you please" ITO be
sent where?" "Anywhere," answered John
Lock, desperately, $50 that it is far enough
far away as the bit Of money due to me will pay
passage to. 1 don't want any other clothes, sir;
these have on will do. 1 only want to get
away.' ''To get away from whom ?" "From
my wife, sir. She might have been dead for all
l know to the contrary, but she came to me in
the street sudden as ghost not two hours since,
and she has opened my eyes. | wouldn't have
believed that woman could have so much of
the devil in her. THE fact is" remarked the
secretary, 'you have been looking for your wife
and have found her, and you wish her to live
with you again, and she refuses" "Live with
her again - the man exclaimed with horror.
"What after all she has revealed to me? Good
Lord, no! l shall kill her if | remain where she
put herself in my way. She is mad be-
lieve, though she does not look or speak like it.
She wishes me to kill her. She swears that she
will haunt and harass me until l do it, SO that
I shall end my life on the gallows. And so it
will be, feel sure and certain of it, if am not
able to put the sea wide between u.s. so that we
cannot come together again. For the good
Lords sake, gentlemen" and he clasped his
hands together and spoke as beseechingly as
man begging for his life, ''don't refuse me what
am asking" There were no more prisoners
to be attended to at the Office that morning, and
believe more to crafty me than that he him
self felt particularly curious in the matter, Mr.,
Secretary remarked: ''You will have first to
make out that yours is a case for uneXceptional
treatment. To what do you attribute your wife's
bitter resentfulness?' Il think she must be
mad, gentlemen returned John Lock. Then,
after few moments of pondering whether he
buOulu Spcdh Out anu, IL 81, W NnuJ cAJclI, Ac
promptly resolved to tell the whole story 81
cannot account for it in any other way, but if
you will kindly have patience to listen to me
you will be able to judge for yourselves.
81 will be as brief as l can, but l must go
back to the time when we We're both single, and
when she-my wife, l mean-was sweethearting
with a fellow-cerll of mine in the same office; Il
young fellow named Taplow, and we were much
of an age. Caroline Speed was my wife's
maiden name, and we were all three members of
the - Mechanics Institute, and that is how
we made acquaintance. | was in love with
Carry from the first time | saw her. / am not
of very bold disposition and kept my feel
ings to myself for a long time, and until l
thought that might speak; and when did she
laughed in disdainful sort of way, and said
that she must refer me to Seth Taplow, my
fellow-clerk. Inever for moment dreamt that
there was anything between them, but when l
asked Taplow he informed me otherwise They
had been keeping company in quiet way, he
told me- for six months or more, and it was
settled that they should get married as soon as
he had saved money to make decent home for
her He was getting only $50 year, and my
salary was fl20, and feeling, perhaps, little
spiteful of what he had told me, | remarked: Il
hope you are in no hurry, Seth. How long do
you thlnk IL VIII take you 10 save enough to
buy decent home, when at the outside you
can't put by more than ten shillings week p
sWell,' said he Il have let you into one secret,
Jack, and l will tell you another, but you must
promise to keep it dark, for it would be the
sack at a moments notice if it came to the
governors ears | have been doing a bit of
betting on horse races, and l've been lucky at
it. But you mustn't suppose that am such a
fool as to believe in it as a means of increasing
one's income. l have won few pounds
already, and mean to give them a chance to
win a little more at all events. But "never no
more" after we are married, promise you that,
WE'LL gentlemen" continued Jack Lock,
molstening his dry lips with his tongue-tip, and
with anything but nice look in his eyes,
''knowing me only as what l appear as on your
books, you may not believe what am going to
say. l admit that l felt the disappointment
cruelty, and none the less, you may depend, be-