San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-12-27

tied finally in Colorado. She bought a
small tract of land on the outside of the
town of Littleton and built pretty little
bungalow. There, far away from any
neghbors, the Essicks kept by themselves.
Three children "blessed the union," as the
novelists say. The first and last were
girls, named Martha and Alice, but neither
named after the mother The second
child, a boy, was given the fathers name
one wonders why
For four years Mary lived with and sup
ported Essick, and nobody in New Eng
land heard any complaints. She had
scorned the warnings of her family and
friends and chosen to take the prison re-
formers Judgment of Essick against that
of everyone else. She had thrown away
everything that seemed worth while to a
girl and buried herself with this man.
Was the eXperiemtn success? Occasion
ally 1t was necessary for business rea-
sons to communicate with someone in her
old world, and invariably she said she was
very, very happy.
Then one day she could endure this
Happiness" no longer. She threw away
the last bit of pride left, came into the
court at Littleton, and was obliged to tell
of it to get a divorce.
She asked for her freedom and the Gus
tody of the children on the grounds of
extreme cruelty, and told the court, in a
thin, heartbroken voice, some of the things
Essick had done to her. She related vari-
GUS times when her husband had knocked
her down, choked her and injured her
painfully. Once. in his temper, after
knocking her down, he had pulled her
around by the hair through the hot ashes
of camp fire. He had threatened to
kill her.
Considering Essck'S record and the fact
that he always carried a revolver, this
threat was not to be ignored. She had
warned him to stop mistreatng her or she
would leave him, and his answer had been
that if she did he would kill both.
AS she testified she looked straight in
front of her with fixed gaze. She may
have seen in Imagination the face of her
dead father and of hundreds of others
living and dead, and imagined them saw
ing, 81 told you So"
1t was then brought out that while
Essicks health had been good in all these
four years of married life, ne had never
worked and contributed cent toward the
maintenance of his family, but had been
supported by his wife.
any answer to the charges and the court
found in favor of the wife Then her
lawyer asked that his client be granted
alimony. The judge looked surprised that
they should hope to get blood out of such.
a stone, but Lawyer Sullivan explained
that it was not in hope of getting money.
but because it might act as a physical
protection from him. He said: ~
Il want to say to the court that the
fear Mrs. Essick has is genuine. / am
satisfied that an order of that kind is NOT
only just, but is necessary as means of
keeping him away, because with that or
der facing him he won't be inclined to
come around as he would otherwise"
So the court awarded temporary ali
mony of 800 mdtth, which she does nor
expect to get. Mary has now taken her
three children and disappeared entirely.
She asks and hopes only to keep out Of
sight of the man for whom she gave IN
everything.
Mary Converse is no longer ASSISTING
the prison reform Missionaries in pettinS
convicts. She, at least, has learned some
thing.