The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1892-02-10

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have made an exception in your case,
dear" and she gave me one OF her sweet
smiles. so full of chastened sorrow and
victory over trial.
"As 1 have said" she continued,
''Horace made friends with so little effort,
he was naturally so gracious and genial In
manner, and soon became largely &C
quainted in our new home. But he was
frequently called out OF the city now by
business of importance-he always told
me-ano would sometimes be gone several
days. This last time he had been away
three weeks-never before so long-but
he was faithful correspondent, and his
frequent letters breGthed the old-time
devotion and tenderness. Edgar and
were often at the studio where
the portrait was being painted,
and the dear child was such
com2anionable little fellow, that l was
not very lonesome after all. On the fore
noon of our last sitting at this studio we
were on our way home, and l was dream
ing over the delightful surprise Twas soon
to give Horace, for it was not very long
before his birthday. l was busy planning
in my mind Just where and how the pOr-
trait should first greet him, and | was an
tclpatlng his enthusiastic eX-
pressions of delight and pleasure
over such a Gift, when ] was
suddenly started at hearing my husbands
name spoken. Two gentlemen were sit
tins near me in the horse car, and were
talking quite earnestly, and evidently of
something they had been reading in a
paper which one of them held. They
mentioned not only my husbands name
but referred to the position he filed so |
could not be mistaken. Then l caught
the word scandalous, disEraceful and
unaccountable. ] noticed the paper
from that CITY where my husband then
was, and leaving the car, called at a news
stand and bought a copy. [ dared not
open it however until we had reached
home, when | rushed to my room and be-
gan searching the paper for the article,
which was confident had been the sub
iect of the conversation, part OF which |
had overheard, and which had so terribly
alarmed me. While looking for the arti-
Gle IIthought-'It cannot be, there must be a
mistake, Horace cannot have been dishon-
orable. Surely he has not been guilty
of forgery or embezzlement. Oh, no;
Horace is too noble. There may be an
appearance of evil, but Pm sure he'll be
able to prove his innocence But the
headlines that just then caught my eve
and burned themselves into my brain
were: Horace Hammerton, Promi-
nent Railroad Official, Bigamist' The
choking sensation in my throat was terri
BILE and my brain reeled. But no.. thought
/, there must be a mistake, I'll read on.
Why only yesterday L had a letter from
him full of loving interest l did
read on. but [ cannot tell you all the arti-
Gle said, dear. But it told of how he had
L. q ! n
character for the past two or three
months; how lie had represented himself
as q widower, even going so far as to take
her driving to a cemetery and showing her
his wife's grave, saying she was buried
there at her own request, as her home
when a girl had been in that city. He
had made this woman some handsome
presents, and finally married
her. A few days after the
marriage he was suddenly summoned
by business telegram to attend TO mat
tiers of Importance, and thoughtlessly left
some letters in their room, among them
one addressed In lady's handwriting,
which the supposedly new-made wife
took the liberty to unfold. She found it
of recent date and addressed to My
dear husband | knew no more. l had
no need of further proof; my own name
was signed to that letter.
''Of the scenes that followed / have no
recollection. My heart was broken and
reason dethroned. / have been told, how
ever that l was found deiirious by my
servant; that my only sister and her hus-
band were telegraphed for; that | was
supposed to have brain fever, but the
fever left me, and | was still wildly deirI-
GUS. Finally l became an inmate OF an
insane asylum; and there l spent five
long years. Shut in from all the actual
scenes of life that transpired around
me, | lived in a world apart, peopled
with hideous creatures OF my own imag-
lining. They would sometimes torture
me for days and nights no sleep would
come 10 my eyes aud in response to my
screams and shrieks for deliverance from
the monsters that haunted me no relief
ever came. Following these attacks of
indescribable torture, which | yet wildly
remember, were weeks of such depressing
agony that my soul dwelt in a perfect
midnight of gloom, through which not a
ray OF light ever penetrated. 1
would think and weep and moan,
and was bewildered and perplexed
as l vainly tried to find way out of the
labyrinth OF confusing conditions which
were ever arising. You think it strange |
remember, do you? / cannot recall all
the Authorizations that thronged my brain,
but the general character of my mental
suderings has never been effaced. After l
had been .ormented in this way about
three years a few glimmerings of light be-
gan to penetrate the horrible darkness
which had enshrouded me. But they were
like the first faint streaks of light
which presage the day dawn, and came
and went like meteoric flashes, leaving
me cropping and grieving my life apart.
As time dragged on the glimmerings were
more frequent and of longer duration, and
gradually 1 became calm and passive, and
at times cheerful. At the end of five years
my sister was informed that all that medi-
cal skill could do had been done, and that
my recovery would doubtless be fastened
if | was taken away from present sur
roundings and given the tender sympa-
thetic care and companionship of those to
whom was dear.
''My sisters home at once became mine,
as it had been my darling little boys dur
ing my long illness. 1t was. however.
fully year later before my mind COM
pletely emerged into the sunlight of a nat
ural, rational existence. And now do
you wonder, dear, that many incidents of
my life previous to that terrible affliction
were entirely etfaced from my memory?
''For while after entering my sisters
home thought it so strange Horace did
not come. My friends hoped would think