The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-06-02
What Drove Mildred Brew
Ster Away To Work.
Her Father Talks Freely About
Erring Daughter.
Insanity Was Frequent In Both
Branches Of the Family.

Montpelier, June 2.-Mildred Brew
ster continues TO improve at Heaton Hos
pital. and unless unforeseen complications
arise the probabilities are that shc will
recover.
reporter visited the hospital yesterday
and obtained an interview with Wesley
q. Brewster, father OF tho young woman.
The purpose was To obtain, If possible u
statement from Miss Brewster. No one
but her father and the physicians and
nurses is allowed to SEQ her. MIR Brew
ster talked very freely. He said
u have lived In Huntington all my
life. My wife a daughter of Arnold Sher-
man of Huntington, died five years ago
and never have married again. Since
she died my sons wives have kept my
house. / have had two sons and two
daughters. One of my daughters was
scaded to death, the other one is here at
tho hospital. Her real name is Leha
Morrill, though she calls herself Mildred.
she Will be 20 years Old next Saturday.
My daughter was always Of u bright.
lively, cheerful temperament whom she
was at home, hut since her mothers
death she has said she had no home. l
made things as pleasant as I could for
her. but she did not get along very well
with her sisters-in-law. She was in the
Burlington high school for two years and
want to say that paid for every day of
her schooling there and what the Bur
lington paper said about some persons
there taking an interest in her and send
ing her to school is not true.
"She said she did not want to be a
teacher and would not graduate, but she
did teach ton weeks in Huntington, l
think it was year ago last fall. Lena
then came TO Montpelier, and / think
she worked in the family Of :. c. Shurt-
left oil that winter. She went from Mont
pelier 10 Northfield, and worked I'm the
hotel there for snort time. From there
she wrote me about young man from
Montpelier who visited her. and this
young man, / am pretty sure, is John
Wheeler. -
"Since that time she has worked in
different places In Montpelier have
not seen Lena since last Christmas. She
was az home then for few days. and we
all noticed something was wrong. She
was very gloomy and despondent. Her
eyes looked wild and she was not herself
at ell.
1.-The last letter received from my
daughter was written three weeks ago
In this place she said everything had gone
wrong since she came to Montpelier, but
she thought IL would be better when the
birds flew over her grave. think my
daughters mind was crazed and be-
wildered with love- l feel sure John
Wheeler had paid her more or less atten-
tion. and l think he had promised to
marry her.
''She to.x me this morning that she
was engaged to John Wheeler and that
sho had letters from him III her trunk,
but have not felt like looking at them
vet. While wo were speaking Of these
things she said. % John, dear John,
what shall do?' and burst into tears
MY daughter has never begged me to
bi ing her revolver that she might shoot
herself, though she did ask where her re-
volver was, and said they had taken it
away from her. My wife's father, Lena's
grandfather, while In an insane frenzy,
committed suicide by cutting his throat
His brother was insane. Iena's mother
died with heart disease. Two Of my aunts
ere insane, and Peter Crane. who lately
died in the insane asylum-at Waterbury,
was my cousin.
81 think IL very strange Lena was not
instantly killed, rs the doctor tells me
the bullet entered her ear and is now
lod ged in her brain. He says IL may be
two or three weeks before be will be able
Ia say whether she will recover or not
He fears.a abscess will form. 4 shall
stay with her as long as she needs me. -
Mr.. Brewster seems kindly Old gen
tlcman, and the tears flowed freely as he
talked of his daughter. He said she was
the first TO disgrace the name of Brewster
He repeated his belief that sne had been
driven insane, and was, perhaps, as much
sinned againt as SHINING.