The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1902-06-28

brave little girl | will stand by you
and SO will others, know Rise up in the
strength of your own innocence and sur
mount this thing You are young, it vii
blow over and be forgotten in less time
than you think. Rouse yourself and live
your sweet life out bravely. will dc
anything I can to help. Suppose | give
you party or take you away with me on
trip somewhere. Just tell me what you
would prefer me to do, and L Il do it,
will not sit by and see your young life
ruined.
You are so good, said Violet in dull
spiritless tones, s'but | dom t want any
party and l don't want to go away.
shall go home and stay there and never
show my face to the world again. 1 must
be going. Good bye. You have been SC
kind; | shall never forget it.
Mrs Goodheart kissed the pale face, and
heI heart ached over the girls miserable,
changed looks s'Wait, dear, and let me
have the carriage brought around. You
are in no condition to walk home or 20 or
the car.
'Thank you, will walk. could not
bear to sit still any longer, and she was
gone.
That afternoon bulletin appeared ii
front of the newspaper Offices that created
a great sensation 1t read
"Miss Violet Montgomery Accidently
shot,
CA fatal accident happened this after
noon at the residence of Judge Montgome
ry He had left his pistol lying on the
dresser in his bed room, and his beautiful
daughter, Miss Violet, picked it up to put
it in place of safety out of the reach Of
her small brother To moving it, she
dropped it and ii exploded, the ball enter
ing her heart and killing her instantly
Much sympathy is felt for the bereavec
family.
One of the first persons to hear of the
accident was Mrs. Pomposity, and, like al
evil bird, she went flying over to hel
neighbor, Mrs. Goodheart, with the news
She entered excitedly and painted: ''Have
YOU HcdIu tue lolcb
cry has committed suicide They are try
ing to make people believe it was an acci-
dent, that she dropped the weapon and ii
exploded, but no one credits the story
Now, guess you Il believe what told you
about her She killed herself because she
couldn' face the consequences of her er-
ror What do you think about it p
Il think it most deplorable event. -
said the friend of the dead girl, 'and, if
you Il excuse me, I'll 90 get on my things
and go to her poor mother.
As the door closed upon her visitor,
Mrs Goodheart burst into tears and said
"Poor, martyred child She has been
murdered by slanderous tongues.
The Sunday after Violet was buried, the
rector of the parish preached sermon,
using the Ninth Commandment as text,
and those who heard it said that he looked
like an avenging deity and spoke like one
inspired. He told the story of the Roman
Catholic maiden who went to confession
and told the priest, among other things,
that she had repeated scandal she had
heard. He gave her no prayers to say,
no usual penance to perform, but told her
to 90 home across the fields, instead of by
the road, and as she went, to pluck the
down from twenty thistles, and blow it as
far as she could, and then to retnrn to him
on the morrow She did so, thinking it a
very funny and very easy penance in
deed. The next day she returned to the
good old priest at the appointed time, and
said "Father, l did as you bade me
about the thistle down, now what is your
wish p
every, good, my child,'' he answered,
''now go over the same walk and gather
the down all up again.
The girls eyes opened wide, and she
said "But, father, that is impossible
[ could not find it.
$50 it is impossible for you to undo the
mischief you did by repeating that SANDER
Gus story. You cannot gather up nor stop
the flight of such things. Let this be a
lesson to you, said the good old priest
And in his sermon the rector further
said sPersons who would rather die
than steal penny's worth of chewing gum,
will, without thought of i'll doing rob a
sister or brother of the immediate jewel OF
their souls They turn sick at the men
ton of murder and slay regulations with
smile They blush over the mere thought
of the Seventh Commandment, and yet
freely prostitute their ears, brains, and
tongues by listening to, meditating on, and
repeating slanderous things concerning theil
neighbors and fellow citizens; Verify
say unto you, | would rather trust the
keys of my strong box to professional
crook, or invite a murderer to sleep in my
guest chamber, or give known libertine
the entree to my home than to take into
close companionship and association sean
dal -monger and blaster of regulations.
You can lock up from thief and defend
yourself against personal assault, but
there is no safety, no protection wherever
these vultures nest There is no escaping
their clutch, even at God's altar. They
are no respecters of persons, neither is any
time nor occasion sacred from their attacks.
There are some lying in unmarked graves
whose monuments would be mountain high
if every scandal they have hoped to circu-
late could be petriied and piled above their
resting places. There are others walking
about among us whose victims are more
numerous than those Of the deadliest epi
demic But I say unto them that with
what measure they mete, it shall be meas
ured unto them, and upon them OF those
near to them dire vengeance will be Wis
ited F"
Poor, crushed, sweet Violet Montgom
ery The worst of this sad story of her
martyred innocence is that it is true, and
it was told me as | stood by her grave in
beautiful cemetery not thousand miles
from here
Some Statistics.