The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1891-09-02
ROMANTIC STORY

ofthe Life of Chicago wu,nan-IIow She
Docame Wealthy.
Chicago rfno.
"Sec that woman there? mean the
beauty in white in the Victoria"
"Ycs; why? Who'll is she?"
ANT she a corkcr for looks? Get on
TO the general get-up. Pretty stylish,
eh? Looks like Il thoroughbred, doesn't
she?"
"She certainly looks like an educated,
wealthy woman, and she is very beauti.
full"
well you've hit it on one point.
She's got more money than she knows
what to do with. As to her education
l can't say. | know that she went to
school for little while after she was
eighteen years old, but before that time
she couldn't read or write. She's mar
ried now, and they tell me that the fel.
low that married her made her 90 TO
school for couple OF years before the
wedding. She was SO crnzy-gone on him
that he wouldn't have had much truu-
bic inducing her to do anything. They
have separated very recently, ! believe,
after all. He was spending her coin in
manner that madame didn't like, and
as marriage had probably considerably
damaged her youths idol, why she
shook him with Il handsome allowance.
81 first met that beauty in Arkansas.
She was little Bette Magruder then.
She's Mrs. Beatrice Somebody Else now
and tho somebody's name she bears was
ut time = smooth youth who was selling
goods through that country for n Mem
phis firm. lie is now, believe, q hot
sport in New York, and the marriage
with Betty made the change possible to
him. The days i speak of are about ten
years buck, remember. Betty Magru-
der ut that period was sixteen, as igno-
rant as II clam, us wild as an Indian, and
us irresponsible rs n fish. She was, in
fact, to tho manner born-the daughter
Of an old Irishman who had come out to
wilds OF Arkansas as railroad con.
struction laborer, had married pretty,
ignorant, lazy Arkansas woman OF the
hog and lIominy strata OF southern so.
ciety, and had thence gone into the
business of keeping movable boarding
house to feed the construction gang on
n new railroad We were building through
that benighted State.
~ say We were building, for / was n
Junior partner in the contracting firm
which had tine tunneland cut work, and
was on the ground in charge OF our end
Of it. We were about fifty miles from
Little Rock, out in the wilderness,
when joined the camp to relieve an
ntl,a, ttsI,n hal hFu,n ts,St I,
malarial fever, and from necessity, not
desire, took my meals from the Alagru-
der outfit goolly portion OF the time
though myself and the engineers had
arranged Tor u little better cuisine than
the 20J men, black anil white, whom we
had OH the works required.
"Bettie was pretty even then, awfully
pretty, and old Magrutler gave it out
cold that he didn't propose TO have any
fuolishness from his boarders i'll that
direction. She was harum-scarum,
badly dressed, slip-shod slip OF girl,
who could stand more hard work than
her mother or any Of the negro women
about the camp, and as she was saucy,
bright, aud waited on table with good
deal Of celebrity, she was liked by the
men. I've said she couldn't read or
write; well, she spoke English like an
Irish-negro; besides, could ride horse,
split wood, aud do a good many other
things that 1 don't think she'd like
mentioned to-day. Along in the spring
young fellow came down there who
wis u partner in the firm, who had the
contract for the rails. lie was bright,
had money, and, seeing the chances Of
investment, bought lot Of property on
the outskirts OF Little Rock. where it
suon became apparent to anybody the
shops were to be located, and lot Of
timber land along the line besides.
lie did something else that wasn't
so bright. Fell head over ears in love
with Betty. Magrtnler knew it and ell
Outraged it, smooth man that lie was
But Betty didn't, however; she had
long since given her heart to the hashy
young man from Memphis who sold her
dad groceries and supplies and came to
the camp once Il month.
"Nell, il was none OF my business,
but did try to speak 10 the young fell
low who was not favored. He'd been
hanging around the camp q month
longer than lie had any business to, and
he requested me to attend to my own
affairs. Subsequently he took the
malurial fever aud died. We shipped
the remains north, and it wasn't week
later that the Memphis chap and Betty
skipped out together. They were mar
ried in Little Rock, and while old Ma
gruder was yet cursing. and swearing
aud raising Ned about The affair the in
formation came TO light that
the foolish youth who died had
lett all his possessions to
Magruder's pretty daughter. Then We
learned the inside OF the affair. lie
had been doing business with firm of
Memphis lawyers, one OF whom was the
travelling salCsman's brother, and had
drawn up n will bequeatling all his
property to Betty. It's barely possible,
you know, that the salesman knew OF
this. Anyhow he showed pretty clear
head. He fought the matter in the
courts againstthe youngman's northern
relatives and won, aud the property,
which turned out to be very valuable on
the completion Of the line, something
over 81, 60O,O0l went to his wife. AS |
say, he put her in school, travelled with
her awhile. got tired, neglected her, and
then when she raised row settled with
her on II separation giving him an an-
nual income OF about $4,000. Not a
very romantic story, but story for all
that, isn't it, around that statuesque