The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-04-05

into the cottage where Mrs. stothard was
busily preparing breakfast. -,
Too bad. isn't it, she said. This Will
! completely unnerve me. / fear. After my
1 long Illness ard Toms behavior. II seem:
too cruel OF these people to kill themselve.
in my yard
Then for the FIRST time / learned of the
letter received from the son. Half laugh
Ing. the mother told me Of the marriage GER
tificate. and how in her first burst of anger
she had consigned It TO the flames. Just
then. in from the yard ran Mrs. stothard's
little niece.
ened. think the dead man IL Tom
ASKED TO explain. the child said: ]
peeptd into the clubhouse and saw the dead
mans shoe. " Is Toms new shoe. l know.
Waiting for no other word. the mother
rushed from the cottage to the clubhouse.
and in an instant was kneeling beside the
silent figure In the dim corner.
GIRL PRETTY IN DEATH.
1T was poor Tom. sure enough. his face
terribly burned by carbclic acid. Under h IN
they found the empty bottle from which he
had drunk the poison.
While Mrs. SSothard lay sobbins beside
her boy. we turned to the young wife's
body. IL lay face downward in the gravel
Of the yard. Despite the terrible disfigure-
ment wrought by the acid and the fall. 1
never looked upon a sweeter. prettier face.
There was no distortion OF the features.
a half smile wreathed her burnt lips. CIose
beled poison Il was perfectly clear that
the two young things-weary OF life on is
very threshold-had come TO that place to
die.
EACH A SEPARATE BOTTLE.
Evidences Of a carefully arranged plan OF
death were easy to nnd. In the outhouse
on a rusty nail hung the poor girls new
Easter hat. bright wit red roses. Beneath
IL. on the floor, lay her gloves. brand new
ones OF black KID a iace-trir1med handker-
chief and two hat pins. That she had placed
Them there just before ink the deadly
acid cannot be doubted.
10 Gwg~TWn ghuH Tho Death a1lnr~ -hRNffn
be absolutely simultaneous. each was pro-
vidcd with a separate bottle Of acid. Doubt
less each drained the deadly draught At the
aame instant"
From the position Of tho bodies. Il IS ap-
parent that the husbands death was quick.
He had fallen where he stood. but the tor
fured woman had staggered into the open
air before the powerful acid conquered her
She was moving toward the hous-.
possibly TO summon help. when she fell 10
her death.
Albert Howarth. a neighbor. Is the only
one who saw young Stothard and his wife
on the night Of their death. HOmeward
bound and at a late hour. he psssed a man
and woman walking slowly. arm - arm,
up the road toward the Stothard cottage.
BY the hickertnE light CT his wagon Ian
tern he recognized young Stothsrd. he
watched them till they stopped in front of
companion 20 enter. He apparently held
back.
MOTHER BLAMES THE GIRL
County Physician Mcbride was unable TO
AT first they professed to be IN total
OF the girls name" said he. hut
later admitted that their dead son had
her for years.
The poor girl WIS a domestic. II Is true. /,
but these people knew her parents before /.
their death and knew her purity and sweet
ness. / pitt that dead girl with al my
heart. and I purpose to get At the causes
led 10 her self-desJruction-
Both NJ. and Mrs. Stothard. while aG- \
opposition to their Syn's love choice.
insist that they employed no harsh methods
to keep the lovers apart. !
1T was the girls fault" said the mother !
IN her bitterness last night. She followed I
boy. called for him at the house, lay In
walt for him in the streets. She would not
give him up
But popular sympathy throughout Pater-
son and Lakeview Is via, tNe dead and
oval lovsrs-sleepinE side by side.