Year: 1874

In 1869 the honeymoon of a young
married pair named Randall, of Aurora,
in Dearborn county, Ind, was suddenly
robbed of all its sunshine by the rancor-
Gus tongue of an elderly and acrimoni-
ous spinster of the place, who. from a
constitutional tendency to malevolent
gossip. saw fit to insinuate that the bride
had carried into marriage rather less than
half of the heart once given to an earlier
and still surviving suitor. Bridegrooms
are always jealously sensitive to an idea
like this, and brides do not invariably
receive the involved accusation with a
protest purely playful. In the present
case Mr.. Randall sulked and the lady be-
came Indignantly silent under the spite
fll insinaation, and very soon the two
scarcely spoke to each other at all. Then
their respective families made matters
worse by entering into war between
themselves on the subject. Indeed, no
one seemed to practice the plain good
sense of endeavoring to smooth
the troubled waters by ascertaing
what the facts of the affair real
ly were. The now unhappy pair
would do nothing to conciliate one
another, their rival homes were equally
rreconcilable, the delighted mischief
maker persisted in her mischief, and the
catastrophe approached. In scarcely a
year after the wedding day iIr. Randall
was foriorn exile in Chicago, obtaining
there divorce for himself, while his
wife, equally wretched, procured the
same legal freedom for herself in In
diana. Two years and more passed on
without a word or letter between the
two who had once loved 80 well and been
separated by u mere breath. But of
course there came a time at last when
the elderly spinsters story was found to
be wholly without foundation The
bride had once spoken derisively of the
old maids youthful affection in dress,
and the baseless insinuation about the
earlier suitor was the angered woman S
revenge. 1t was only about two months
ago that the divorced husband in Chi
cago knew by what trihing means his
welded happinessh had been destroyed, and
then profoundly penitential letter to his
divorced wife in Aurora brought the most
forgiving of replies. One night last
week the rejoicing man was III Detroit
according to the Free Press of the latter
cty-on his way to second marriage
with bride from whom he need never
have been separated had either been as
implicitly trustful Of the other as he and
she are likely henceforth to be.


The second story is different in detail,
and much more curious. In 1859 the in
dulged son of rich widow, at Anamosa,
in Iowa, made q marriage of love at.tirst-
sight with the pretty schoolmistress Of
the district, who had recently gone west
ward from her home in Monson, Mass,
to improve her worldly condition. The
young husbands wealthy mother gave
her son fine farm, the brides father
< <journeyed from the East to build his
daughter cosy cottage, and the lite
matrimonial seemed to open with almost
ideal felicity. But the widows son had
no ability for business. He lost money
by his farming; speculated, and los,
more; became involved in debt. and grew
desperate. The beginning of the South.
ern war found him thus embarrassed and
miserable; and in a fit of mortified pride
and despair he enlisted IN marching
regiment, leaving his wife and infant to
mourn him as lost. For lost he was. A
lew letters came from Southern fields al
first, to tell Of deadly perils and longings
for home; and then all was silence
After writing to him and 10 the officers o.
his regiment without eliciting further in
telligence of his existence, the wife wen
back. with her child, to the old HON,
in Massachusetts,. Four or five year
later she once more visited Anamosa ant
her mother-in- law. and was again wooe,
by an Iowan. Believing herself widow
abe yet went through the legal form of


divorce before accepting this second hus
band, who, however, died in the frs
year Of the marriage. And after all this
after FIVE years of supposed widowhoo
and divorce for forms sake, and th
second assured widowhood-the forme
schoomistriss was to look again upo
her first husband. She had gone bac
in her weeds to Massachusetts,, and wa
working as mlliner in an establishmer
at Springfield, when, rs the local Unio
describes, letter from that first lon
missing one wrote that his first purpos
in leaving her, their child, and his HON
had been to repair his shattered fortunes
He was determined to return rich ma
or never. Hence his settlement as


ranchman in Texas under an assume
name, after his term of military enlis
ment, where through many adversitit
he had at last become wealthy. The en-
of the story is already anticipated by tt
sagaclous reader. A brief series of lie
ters back and forth explained away a
difficulties. Husband and wife met agal
in Springfield q few days ago, and


second wedding, with their child for


witness, concluded the remarkable r.


nance.