The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1902-10-31

ness. ! swung into q fine position OF
trust IN a big concern.
II would seem that here, 90 least, one
would Doe satisfied / was still unmar-
ried. well-to-do and respected IN my
district. / entered politics on a dead
straight blun won out, aud after serv-
Ing several terms IN the Assembly and
IN various political positions found my
self Governor, In the seat Of honor at
the State capital Monumental blun
had secured for me what many men
more worthy could not attain. was
the pride of my district, and was point
ed out as a model man. fine charac-
ter, stalwart and strong, a man Of
knowledge and refinement
Only 1 knew the taruth; I held the
secret I'm my shallow soul. l knew
l had won on bluff, nothing else
! AS Governor / awed into silence
those who were onto my blum, and
I those who believed IN me were equally
awed by my assumed greatness. This
pleased and fattered me- There were,
however nights of hard labor, when
the oil burned until daylight in my
apartment. No one knew what efforts
were required to keep pace with my
advancement Was any one ever so
fortunate as 1? l only skinned over
the surface, acquired few Of the
main facts and in a clever manner
wove them into. any conversation that
was needed. AS l was considered an
astute politician few attempted to
differ with me.
The strange fact Is that through all
this life Of pretence and humbug no
true realization of my own depravity
dawned upon me until late in life, and
then it came with such suddeness and
overwhelming power, almost too much
for a human mind.
AS all my ambitions of a selfish ma
ture had been satisfied by gentle fate,
I had grown to feel that there was lit
tie danger for the rest of my days
She had lifted me from many foolish
pitfalls, and it seemed to me that l
should slip out of life with my secret,
which had come to dread.
But this same gentle fate material
lied in the shape Of an accomplished
woman of social position. She came
into my life so suddenly that l fell a
: victim to the shafts of that youthful
one with the tiny wings.
Here again l used my monstrous
: bluff and we were married. The honey
moon was a happy one. had bluffed
the public pulled wool over the eyes Of
hundreds of my fellow politicians had
played the charity and philanthropic
? bluff.
But woman was a quantity 1 had
not reckoned with. AS our married
life heightened out I was daily con-
sciOus that there was a GOODNESS grow
ing between us. This worried me.
Could it be possible that she had seen
through my shallow nature? Day by
day l grew more wretched more sus.
! picious of the real truth; day by day
i we drifted apart, until her GOODNESS
frOze my very soul.
Never a word Of reprOach, never q
: complaint-just calm, stately dignity
a living in her own pure, honest atmOs
> phere.
| No criminal condemned to die in the
t chair could have suffered more an
{ guish and torture of mind than / die
/ at that time. My experience in life
4 had taught me something. l realized
u that here had found my master. Hel
u radiant, honest soul shone only for he
{ children. AS for me l paid the bills
: was kind and even gentle in my famil!
> life, but all to no purpose; bluff would
u not work with her Yet as l know j
{ now, she patiently waited the turn o
the tide. 1t came one day sooner THAI
! even 1 had suspected.
" An acquaintance of mine, during m.
stay at the State House, called t.
{ learn something about a matter o
Il which he was sure I had some knowl
i edge. 1 knew nothing whatsoever o
u the matter, and on ordinary occasion
! would have bluffed it out,
, My wife was sitting in the room
!, calm, dignifed, silent as the sphinx
IL A chill ran through me followed by
flush like a fever. l grew cold the
Sc pale then red. 1t seemed as thong
Is my head would burst with the intens
I" internal raging. There were those tw
se human beings sitting before me, on
10 a buffer, the other an honest woman
( They were waiting for a reply.
u seemed as though I lived a whole lif,
50 time in those few seconds Finally
:. blurted out: