Year: 1879

The two Trowbridge sisters who com mitted suicide by hanging, leaving their dwarf sister Mona, to tell the story of if not to wealth. They were well edu- cated. They made good social connec- tions. They had more than the average l of personal attractions. Certainly few girls had better prospects than they. 1 When one was eighteen and the other | fifteen their mother died, and three years | later their father married again.

 The stepmother was a most amiable woman, but the girls looked on their fathers remarriage not simply as an act of disrespect to their dead mother, but as robbery of them. From this time the mental peculiarities of the two ladies began to be conspicuous. They were intelligent and Well-bred, and their society was esteemed by many. yet they were capable of making the most un- kind and untrue accusations against their father, and of making miserable their stepmother. =...s@e

 The young ladies visited Europe at their fathers expense. For their con- venience after their return he kept a carriage. Their surroundings seemed abundantly satisfactory. But the sore ness developed by their fathers re- marriage was increased as time slipped by, and the prospect of their marrying milliOnaires and shining in society be- came more faint. Advancing age led their father, twelve years ago, to retire from business and dispose of his interest to his son-in-law. This the two daugh- ters bitterly opposed. It was in their minds one more act of robbery perpe- trated at their expense. If their father remained in business his increasing for tune would add to their means sooner or later. If he went out of business it would put an extinguisher on their hopes of being rich, and, more than that, it opened the gates of wealth to their married sister. A very moderate amount of breeding over this new dis appointment was enough to make them see in their fathers retirement nothing but an act of hostility to them and of partiality for the married daughter.

 The father retired with an income of SlO,OOO a year, but the panic of 1873 re- duced his means, and he had to dispense with his carriage. Heres was another disappointment. The one object of their existence was to lead the social world, and the loss of the carriage put an end apparently to this.

 In the meantime the constant con- plaints and bickerings of these two daughters had made their stepmother's life burden to her, and at last they in- duced their father to refuse to provide longer for his wife, and she left her home and returned to Eastern friends. The father was very fond of his daugh- ters. and sought by all means in his power to placate them and preserve peace in the family. In 1875 he began proceedings for divorce from his wife, on a charge of desertion; but the desertion was not very clearly made out. How ever, by agreement, @ decree of divorce was entered, the husband agreeing to pay $2,O00 as alimony. The wife died broken-hcarted two years ago.

 About two years ago the two discon- tented daughters, who had been joined by their sister Mona, demanded of their father that he divide his property with them then instead of leaving the matter to be done after his death. He com piled, and gave the two older daughters real estate worth $l6,00O, being two stores numbered 147 and 149 Halsted street, and 9 cottage on Forty-ifth street, and on the youngest of the three he fettled $50 a month. The three had an income of S1,900 year or more. They refused to see any of their friends. They took a house on the west side, moved to another one, returned to the south side, moving frequently, and had lived at l26 Langley avenue only since the lst of last May. e~z .....s .~.. s-

 A man with a grievance may keep himself in tolerable mental health by keeping himself constantly occupied. But these three women had nothing to do. They were not even obliged to do their own housework, for they kept a servant. They had no work to do-no real anxiety about their support, though they created an imaginary anxiety on that point. Things had not turned out as they had hoped. They were single in moderate circumstances, and compar- atively unknown, whereas they had hoped to be married, rich, and the ob- served of all observers. To make things worse, their sister was married and rich, and rode in her carriage. They had lit tie to do all day but to contrast their condition with hers, or with some imag- mary condition which might have been theirs. They grew into the idea that all the world was against them, and, having injured their mental vision in one re- spect, it speedily became untrustworthy in all others. Not content with breaking up their fathers house, they charged him with crimnality, and undoubtedly they believed that he was guilty, just as they doubtless fully believed that all the