The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-09-03
A DIVORCE CASE.

There was man called Bronokhorst-a
three oornered, middle aged man In the
army, gray as a badger, and, some people
said, with q touch OF country blood In
him. That, however, cannot be proved.
Mrs. Bronckhorst was NOT exactly young,
though 10 years younger than her husband.
She was q large, pale, quiet woman, with
heavy eyelids, overweak eyes and hair
that turned'red or yellow as the lights fell
on Il.
aBronckhorst was not, nice In any way.
| He had no respect for the petty public and
| private lies that make life a little less
nasty than it Is. His manner toward his
| wife was coarse. There are many things,
| including aotual assault with the clinched
| nst, that wife will endure, but seldom
| wife oan bear, las Mrs. Bronckhorst bore,
| with q long course of brutal, hard chaff,
making light Of her weaknesses her head
! aches, her small fits Of gayety, her dresses,
| her queer little attempts TO make herself
| attractive TO her husband when she knows
| that she u not what she hos been, and,
| WORST Of All, the love that she spends, on
| hor children. That particular sort OF
heavy handed jest was specially dear to
| BronOkhorst.
suppose that he had first. slipped into
| it, meaning no harm, In the honeymoon,
| when folk find their ordinary stock OF en-
dearments run short, and so go to the
| other extreme to express their feelings. A
| similar impulse makes man say, "Hutt,
you old beast" when a.favorite horse noz-
xles his coat front. Unluckily. when the
reaction Of marriage sets In, the form OF
/ speech remains, and, the tenderness having
| died out, hurts the wife more than she
cares to say. But Mrs. Bronckhorst was
devoted to her Teddy, as she called him.
Perhaps that was why he Objected TO her.
Perhaps this Is only a theory to account
for his Infamous behavior later op-he
gave away to the queer, savage feeling that
sometimes takes by the throat husband
30 years married, when he sees, across the
table, the same, same face of his welded
wife and knows that, as he has sat facing
1t, so must no continue to sit until the day
| of It's death or his own. Most men and
ali women know the spasm. 1t only lasts
for three breaths, as n rule, must be
throw back" to times when men and
women were rather worse than they are
now and Is too unpleasant to be discussed.
| Dinner at the Bronokhorsts was an In
Fiction few men cared to undergo.
Bronckhorst took q pleasure In saying
things that made his wife Vince. When
their little boy came In at dessert, Bronck-
horst used to give him half glass OF wine'
and, naturally enough, the poor little mite
got first riotous, next miserable and was
removed, screaming. Bronckhorst asked
| II that was the way Teddy usually behaved,
| and whether Mrs. BroDckhorst could not
| spare some of her time to teach the little
| beggar deoency." Mrs. Bronokhorst, who
| loved the boy more than her own life, tried
| not to cry-her spirit seemed to have been
| broken by her marriage. Lastly Bronok-
| horst used to say: There! ThatM do
| that'll do. For Gods sake try to behave
| like a rational woman Gointo the draw
ing room" Mrs Bronokhorst would go,
trying to carry 1t all of with smile, and
the guest Of the evening would feel angry
| and uncomfortable.
After three years Of this cheerful life
for Mrs. Bronckhorst had no woman
friends to talk to--the station was startled
| by the news that Bronokhorst had instf
tuted proceedings on the criminal count
against man called Bel, who certainly
had been rather attentive TO Mrs. Bronck
I horst whenever she appeared I'm public
\ The utter want Of reserve with which
ii Bronckhorst treated his own dishonol
, helped us to know that the evidence
, | against Bel would be entirely oircumstan'
I tial and native There were no letters,
| but Bronck horst said openly that he would
Z rack heaven and earth until he saw Bic
superintending the manufacture Of carpets
In the Central jail. Mrs. Bronokhors'
I kept entirely to her house and let charita
BILE folks say what they pleased.
n Opinions were divided. Some two-thirds
, of the station jumped mt once to the con
, clusion that Biel was guilty, but dozer
. men who knew and liked him held by
) him. Biol was furious and surprised. He
: denied the whole thing and vowed that hs
! would thrash Bronckhorst within an inch
> of his life. No Jury, we knew, could con
. yict a man on the, criminal count on ma
, tive evidence In o land where you can buy
a a murder charge, including the corpse, al
. complete, for 81 rupees, but Bel did moi
= care to scrape through by the benefit OF q
4 doubt. He wanted the whole thing clear
ed but, as he said one night, HE car
. prove anything with servants evidence
and I've only my bare word" This wa
about a month before the case came on
and, beyond agreeing with Bel, we oouls
: | do ilittle All that we could be sure OF wa
q that the native evidence would be bae
q | enough to blast Biel's character for thu
I. | rest of his service, for when a native begins
perjury he perfumes himself thoroughly
He does not boggle over details.
Some genius at the end Of the tabl'
3 | whereat the AFFAIR was being talked owe
said: Look herel don't believe lawyer
are any rood Get man 70 wire to Strick
= land and beg him to come down and pull
| us through"
. Strickland was about $50 miles up tn
line. He had nos long been married .
| Miss Youghal, bdt be scented in the tele
y cram = chance Of return tot the old detectiv
y work that his soul lusted after, and mex
nisht he osms IN and heard oov story. II
: nnfshsd his pge and said orscuiarly 90 w
q ! m nat ret q the evidence Oorya bearer
= Nussuiman khil and rne<hrani-Ayah, I sur
= pcs, are The pillars Of the charge. On
on In this piece, but I'm afraid I'm GET
ting rusty IN my talk.
He rose and went into Biel's bedroom
where his trunk had been put, and shu
= ! the door. An hour later We heard hir
10 | say: "I hadn't the heart to part with 10
ID old make ups when married. VIII TIL
There was ioathly fakir salaamins 4
the doorway.
"Now lend me 80 rupees" said Stricl
se land, land give me your words of homo
IN | that you won't tell my wife"
re He eoe al that no asked for and left Oh
:. house white the table, drank his heaitf
:, what he did only no hiinself knows.
:. >, fakir hung about Bronckhorst's CON
"A pound for Ia days. Then mehter AZ
10 peared. and when .Biel heard Of him
a said that Strickland was an angel fu
OF fiedaed. Whether the ,nehter made Low
10 Janki, Mrs. Bronokhorst's ayah, is
y. question which concerns Strickland Q,