Year: 1869

From the st. Louis Times.


1t is seldom that human affection
takes so strong hold upon the heart
that life itself hangs upon the issue
Still more seldom II is that one of the
lsterner sex Is the victim of such
strength of passion. tits their rarity
that renders such instances of attach
ment the more noticeable when they
dooccur. They are refutation of the
frailness and fickleness of the sexes,
which makes oflove something other
than the modern fair ones jest, and
offriendship more than a name. They
are calculated to render the stole for
the time being a scntimentalist, and
find sypathetic response even in the
bosom of the misanthrope.


The death of q Miss Jackson, of
this city, on Thursday of last week,
was followed by that of Mr.. w. l..
Hudgens the Saturday following
The former peacefully breathed her
last after long and painful illness;
the latter in a paroXysm of grief burst
blood vessel and died almost in
lstantly. The deceased leaves wide
circle of mutual friends, among whom
the sad incidents attending the illness
of the one and the death of the other
are doubtless familiar. What we are
about to relate will not, therefore, be
news to them. To those, however,
who merely scanned the death notice
in the Times on Thursday and Satur-
day mornings, and found these two
names among them, there will seem
something sadly romantic in our mar
rative. The deceased were betrothed,
and the, cOnsummation of their
dreams of love had been deferred from
time to time, until, finally, Miss Jack
son was prostrated by sickness.


Unwilling, even then, to be debar-
red her presence, Mr.. II was admitted
to the sick room, where none were
more attentive to the every want of
the sufferer than himself, so far as the
delicacy of his position would per-
NIT. A sister of Miss Jackson was,
for days and nights, the sharer in his
watchfullness. Her more feeble ma
ture, however, sunk under the hurth-
en- of fatigue and sleepless apprehen-
sion, which she vainly struggled to
sustain, and, at last, Mr.. Hudgens
was teft alone, with barely the assis-
tance of a servant. A sister of
Miss Jackson was, for DAYS and
nights, the sharer in his watchful.
ness. Her more feeble nature, how
ever, sunk under the burthen of fa-
tigue and sleepless apprehension,
which she vainly struggled to sus-
tain, and, at last, Mr.. Hudgens was
left alone, with barely the assistance
of servant. The object of his solic-
tude and devotion, day by day, be-
came more feeble. He scarely left
her bedside. Sleep became stranger
to his eyes, and even food was put
away by him. But even such devo-
ton could not turn the penetrating
barb of death, and finally the eyes Of
the sufferer closed forever upon the
fearful face ever above her, and her
hand grew cold and rigid in death
while yet In the warm clasp of his
to whom it was so shortly to be given
in life andlo This was on Thursday.
On Friday the remains of Miss Jack
son were followed to the grave. He
who had been ever present at her bed
was by her bier. His heart went
down into the grave with the sleeper.
"IIe heard the pastor when his prayer he


said.


ne ileHru tiC ciOuS, tlOt 1ell ABOVE the dead.
And when the echo of the last had flown,
He turnedaway into the world alone"


The day following the burial the
fatigue to which Mr.. Hudgens had
had subjected himself began to over
come him. He sank prostrated upon
his bed, and giving way to the poig-
nancy of his feelings burst q blood
vessel, and in less than five minutes
his heart had ceased to suffer, for it
was cold forever. The next day he
too was followed to the tomb and
placed by the side of his betrothcd.