The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1913-04-03
ORMSBY
VERSUS
ORMSBY
B. MARY BLo0WElDER

018 O0oOs OuO W0o SuAt SOuoSA0SJ
meant want Of novelty. For instance.
be said suppose a woman 10 living hap
ply with her husband: IL a man more
suited to her taste should come along
and have access to her. her love for
the former would fall before the At
fractions Of the latter. Al to her leav-
ing the man she has married for tho
one she hadn't married, that was 4
matter Of principle. Her love she
could not control. but she could act
% she pleased.
He went further than this. He be-
lleved that q woman might be drawn
away from her husband by an ideal or
Imaginary lover. Ormsby had married
q wife who seemed to love him a. we'll
% he could desire. Instead OF letting
well enough alone he concluded 70
experiment upon her. Disgusting bis
hand. be wrote her love letter pur.
porting to be from one whom she did
not know. He told her that he had
loved her from the time when she was
q little girl, though all the while from
Q distance. He would not for the
world make himself known, for such
course after having written her Of
his love would be inexcusable. He
admitted that he bad no right to even
inform her anonymously Of bis pas.
sion. He simply couldn't help It.
Ormsby mailed the letter to his wife
10 that she would get it when he was
not at home. He argued that Il she
were not captlvated by this unknown
lover-a woman dotes on a mystery
she would at once turn the letter over
to him to read. II she yielded to the
siren song she would keep It to her
SELF All depended on this drst i'm
pulse. He hoped that she would show
him the letter 40 soon a. be arrived
at home, after she had received It. IL
she did not she could gradually b
brought under the spell
When ormsby went home that even.
ing from business his wife met him at
the door, 40 usual, for the accustomed
marital kiss. But she said nothing
about the letter. He felt q sudden
chill about the heart. It 10 singular
that we should wish to know what will
give % pain when In ignorance We
would be happy. Here was q man try.
ing to win bis wife away from him.
self BY means Of an imaginary lover.
and when won he would DO miserable.
Nrs. Ormsby did not appear embar.
raised or elated or depressed or mys-
titled. She was simply the woman hs
had left in the morning.
Ormsby wrote another letter to his
wife from her unknown lover, pretend.
ing to be much cast down at having
addressed her. and begged that she
would forgive him. He signed q fcti.
tious name and gave an address where
q reply could b sent But IL she did
not think Il proper to send q reply hs
would b obliged to b content trust.
ing to her forgiving natura
Mrs. Ormsby did not reply to this
note. She simply ignored t. Her hus.
band did not notice any change in her.
She did not seem dreamy or lackadai.
steal or depressed or elevated. But she
said nothing to him about the letters.
He concluded to try her once more, and
II she did not yield to hts persuasive
epistles he would abandon the attempt,
confess what he had done and tell her
how pleased he was that she had die.
proved bis theory.
One day not long after the sending Of
this third letter he received a letter
from an attorney stating that hs (ths
Attorney was about to bring suit
against him on behalf Of q client for
alternating the affections Of said clients
wife. IL he chose to compromise the
suit $4,000 damages would be accept
ed. and much domestic bitterness would
be avoided. The name Of the complain.
ant was not given.
Ormsby was thunderstruck. There
was Just one person in the world who
might have cause to bring such suit.
and this affair had occurred before
Ormsby had been married. Could It
be possible that the woman, having
quarreled with her husband. had said
things to him to make houble1 When
0rmsby went homo that afternoon the
shoe was on the other foot He and
not his wife was under ira He was
taciturn ana that night slept but little.
Ono thing he Unframed from doine-hs
said nothing to his wife about the
threatened suit
The next day hs telephoned the at.
torney from whom hs had 1oceived tho
note asking what Il meant He found
tho plainti6,s counsel very rsticent the
man simply stating that the AFFAIR
would b better hushed up BY q com.
promise OF damages. Ormsby asked
the name Of the complainant. but the
latter would only give It in his ONCE, 20
an appointment was made for II
o'clock the next morning.
When Ormsby met the attorney hs
was surprised to meet an old friend
"What's the name?'' asked the da.
fendant.
"Ormsby."
"Ormsby! What 0rmsbyf"
"Frederick D."
At that moment Mn. Ormsby stepped
into the room. laughing. and continued
the Information.
sFrsderick D. Ormsby sues FREDERICK