The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1891-09-06
A TRAGEDY OF ERRORS.
The Story of Mr.. Jeffries' jealousy
and the Trouble Ii Caused.

1t was after Mrs. Jeffries still young and
pretty woman, was dressed for dinner, and
sitting at the window with her embroidery,
that she saw messenger boy crawl up the
street, stop to throw stone at another boy,
and finally rung her door-bell.
A moment after this, Bella, the "upstairs
girl,n brought her q note. 1t was from her
friend, Edwina Jones, familiarly Ned, who
had come from afar to pay her visit, and
being timorous, had decided to wait at the
depot until she came to meet her. There was
no time to lose. Mrs. Jeffries gave few
directions to her cook and hurried away.
Half an hour after she had gone Mr.. Jefflies
returned home and let himself in with his
latch key wondering that his wife did not
come to meet him.
Mr.. Jeffries had been very jealous man be-
fore be married. He confessed it, He would
not permit any one to pay the least atten-
tion to his Emma Jane. Even cousins of the
first degree made him suffer pangs of grief I'M
known when they called on Sunday after
moons, and an uncle, who was unusually
young for that relationship, while as yet un-
known had driven him to the most serious
thoughts Of suicide, for Emma Jane had kissed
him in the front hall.
s'Do you really think, Jefferson Jeffries,
that can endure such conduct ?'' his Emma
Jane had remarked els it possible that any
like that, and stared at like that? Do
you think l will ?' and then she had given
him back his ring, and he had ground 1t under
foot.
However, he bought her another in month
or so, and they made it up and married; and
Mr.. Jeffries warned by the past, had behaved
himself very well indeed, and he had never
yet been jealous of his wife, when one after
noon In August he came home early to dinner
and found her 'gone out"
''Bella, did she say where she was going %
asked Mr.. Jetfries.
''No, sir,'' said Bella. ''She gave out the
things for dessert and went out in hurry
loike, in her best things, just after she got
note loike, brought by boy dressed like
tallygraph.n
''Ah p said Mr.. Jeffries, ~ trust her mother
is not III. 1t really seems as though some
thing must have happened"
He went upstairs when he had said this and
looked about him for the message which,
doubtless, she had left lying somewhere. He
could see none. He opened the drawer in
which Emma Jane kept her trifies of lace and
ribbon and quilted muslin, and still saw moth
ing. But, glanciug into the waste-paper
basket, he discovered twisted paper and, as
it was the lust of the little heap, picked it
out and unfolded it.
Spreading out the wrinkles he put his
glasses on his nose and read. And as he read
"DEAREsT EMMA JANE: Meet me on the
New York side of Twenty-third street ferry.
long to see you after our long parting.
Yours very, very fondly. NED"
"Ned ~ calculated Mr. Jeffries; "Ned ~
He ground his teeth and clenched his fists. He
could have howled with rage, but for the pro-
prieties which We generally observe in our
greatest agones This was the end of it all,
then; Emma Jane had gone to meet her old
beau. Old or new who could tell? A lover
hnxr ltnt trtaI 6n naI,r Itat1 1,n Ny111
not believe himself mistaken He knew her
brothers and cousins well. They were Peter,
Paul, William, Elias, Samuel, and James.
Even her father, who would not have signed
his first name, was Adoniram There was no
way out of it.
''No end but one," thought Mr.. Jeffries, as
he sought for the pistol generally kept on
hand for possible burglars. 81 must follow
them, find them, shoot him first, her next, and
myself last. No one shall know why; but the
traitoress will know as she dies ~
He put the pistol in his pocket, crowded his
hat over his eyes, and rushed out Of the door.
Twenty-third street car was passing; he
jumped into 1t and retired into corner, fold
ing his arms
Fare % cried the driver Mr. Jeffries me-
chanically deposited something in the box and
sank into his seat and black study again.
voley OF shocking reproaches from the driver
aroused him. He found the passengers glar-
ing at him.
'Iye had this trick played on me BEFORE"
cried the driver through the door. ''You're
nice one, amt you, at your age, to put
coat button into the box?"
Mr.. Jeffres received the remark without an
answer and repaired his error by putting
quarter into the same aperture into which he
had dropped the button.
"My belief is you are crazy" remarked the
driver.
Mr.. Jeffries only groaned. What was silver
to him He rode on, the object of much COM
ment
Shortly after friend entered the car He
was man of joYial disposition and, as he
said, fond of his joke. After nodding and
smiling in vain, he bethought himself to poke
Mr.. Jeffries in the ribs with the immense knob
of the handle of his umbrella. Taking the
passengers into his confidence by knowing
wink, he stole forward and perpetrated his
joke.
The ''punch" was hard one; the result an
explosion. II any one had tried to fire the
pistol in that manner he would have failed.
Accidentally Mr. Joblings had done it.
Mr. Jeffries gave a groan, started up and
fell forward on his face, blood trickling over
his stocking, The car was stopped and po-
licemen carried Mr.. Jeffries into drug store.
The penitent Joblings was in custody, having
voluntarily delivered himself over to justice.
The wound was not perhaps q dangerous
one, but Jetiries remained unconscious. Job
Iings accompanied him to his home in Q cab
and, having told the tale in 9 court OF justice,
Tod 70 hail