Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1902-08-07

not keep it in death"
How am / to know this story is
true? asked. These things you
show me are no proof.
"A soul on the brink of eternity
does not lie, sir. Lady GILMORE paid
me well to keep the secret, but | have
very often been on the point of telling
you
Al do not believe you even now
cried.
Look behind you, sir she said.
You will read the truth there
81 glanced in the direction in which
she pointed, and there / saw my wife
standing with CHASTITY terror on her
! face and desperate fear in her eyes.
held the bottle up to her.
els it true?' asked.
And she fell upon her knees, cover
ing. as she cried out
Yes, it is truel'
Il cannot describe" continued Sir
Rudolph, my feelings of horror.
Since the shock have never been the
same man. An hour later, | stood with
my unfortunate wife in her boudoir,
resolved that we should part that
hour. never to meet again had loved
her very dearly; but, when ! knew
that she had taken the life OK that fair
little child, loathing took the place of
love.
II told her, in grave, measured
words, that we must part that night,
never more to meet told her that
the struggle in my heart was a hard
one. that felt inclined to deliver her
up to justice and to the fate she de-
served. But she was a woman, and
my wife--I could not see her hanged
hesitated, as it seemed to me, be-
tween two sins-screening a muir
dere5s, and giving up to justice the
wife who had sinned for me.
IF | talked to you forever, Uric
Kate. could not tell you all the de-
tails of that horrible scene. Poor,
beautiful Nest! Her grief was terri
BILE to witness. She chung to me, she
knelt at my feet, she prayed and
pleaded with such passionate despair
that it might almost have moved a
heart of stone. What she had done
had been done for love of me. What
did that little fragile life matter?
What was 1t in comparison with my
fortune. my love and hers? saw that
what the old nurse had said was true
she did not regard the deed she had
committed as murder.
"Ah, you cannot tell what it was to
me to have the woman had loved the
best in the world crouching In tears
at my feet! This woman weeping,
praying, was my darling Nest; the
face had loved, the white hands /
had kissed and caressed, were those
OF a Jiccderess, and that murderess
was my wife! Hour after hour passed
on that terrible Christmas Eve We
were still together, and l was unable
to decide what to do. l could not give
her up to Justice She was my wife,
and she he'd sinned for me; yet the
murder was none the less terrible
one. No man was ever more wretched
or more bewildered. Poor Nest, how
she loved me! She crouched at my
/ feet in an agony of tears, and | could
not raise her to comfort her-I could
not soothe her. She was worn and
exhausted with the passion of her
grief.
Do not send me from you, Lowell"
she cried, in voice like that OF dy-
ing woman. Kill me, If you will. l
should bless even death from your
hands
What was | to do? She had COM
mitted cruel crime, she deserved
punishment: yet, as she chung to my
feet in tears, how could / decide?
" II. was all for YOU she moaned.
4 could not bear that you should so
across the sea. have loved you so
dearly and so long. it seemed as though
we should never be happy
Happy! AS thousl sin could ever
lead to happyness!'
81 would have killed myself. Ru.
dolph,' she said. to make you happy j..
And l knew ii was true. | could
not give her up to justice. and I Ger.
tainly could not take her to my heart
oSeAh, SluuSu iOI NE
We had been three hours together
when sudden idea occurred to me
We could be husband and wife nc
more. | could never kiss the face oil
a murderess: could never touch the
hands that had taken the life OF that
fair little child. All was over between
my once beloved Nest and me-ovel
forever. But could shield her in
some measure. She should never. If
could help Il, mix with the worlt
again, The idea occurred to me t.
bring her 10 ullamere--no place coult
be more out of the world-and to live
out here the remainder of our sorrow
full lives apart. would keep he
secret on those conditions. She mus
be content TO live alone without friend,
Tor visitors.
"For myself. so hot was my indig
nation that | swore would neye
touch her hands again: and she prom
ised that she would never even lay
finger on me. Poor Nest, She hrok
that promise only once. We were 4
live together--that is under one roo
! but were TO be further apart thai