Year: 1872

nderdo the thing, as women of feeling
are likely to do.


DR.. Spencer came at once to his wife, $
chamber. He thought she looked ill,
and prescribed cordial at once, saying
that he would go and fetch it.
You are always ordering cordials for
her," said Mrs. Hurd, musingly. "Why
hot take something yourself? You
look like ghost


He eyed her very keenly, but replied
composediy


81 think l will take some of the cor
dial myself, for I do not feel quite we'll.
Alice dear, shall I bring it here and
drink your health ?'


Mrs. Spencer smiled sadly in assent
she never disputed her husband and
he went out. Presently he returned
with two glasses. Both contained
liquid, colorless and inodorless. Mrs.
Hurd was watching him with her heart
in her throat, for as she told me, she
felt that the decisive moment had come.
There was something in the gray pallor
in the doctors rigid face that told her of
a desperate purpose in the mans soul.


He lifted the glass on the right of the
tray and gave it to his wife.


Drink it, DEAR" he said, it is PAN
acea for all evils. 1 also am going to
take glass of !" and he pointed to a
glass still on the tray.


Mrs. Spencer accepted it, and was
putting it to her lips, when Mrs. Hrrd
interrupted.


IF you will bring her a tumbler of
water doctor; Mrs. Spencer complains
that the cordial leaves bad taste in her
mouth, and my old bones are SO full of
rheumatism that it nearly kills me to 90
down STAIRS


The doctor turned, aud bent on her a
look as if he would read her through.
But she kept her face passive. If he
had any suspicious her manner quieted
them, and, putting down the glass he
left the room. Then Mrs. Hurd chang
ed the position Of the glasses


When he came bacl-and he was gone
but moment-the nurse Stood Just ex-
actly where he had left her, and Mrs.
Spencer was lying back in her chair
with her eyes closed.


Again he lifted the glass ibis time it
was one intended for himself-and placed
it at the lips of his wife. She drank
the contents, swallowed a little of the
water he had brought her and thanked
him in her sad. sweet way.


NOW for my own cordial" said he
with affected gayety. 81 indulge my
self in something little stronger, and
as he spoke he tossed off the mixture


"It made me stone cold to my fingers
ends to see him do it, said Mrs. Hurd.
relating the circumstances to me, "but
Heaven is my witness, l felt not single
twinge of conscience. I argued like
this: if it was simple cordial, as he
he had said, it would do him no ham.
If it was poison his blood would be on
his own sinful head


He went to bed half an hour after
ward, complaining of fatigue. In the
morning they found him dead
I was called to the post-mortem exam
ination, and we discovered in the stom-
ach of the deceased sufficient quantity
of the deadliest poison known to mod
ern science to kill half dozen men.


My brother physicians agreed that the
man was insane, and had probably taken
the dose in one of his unsettled fits of
mind. l did not dispute them, but even
before Mrs. Hurd told her story, had
my own theory in regard to his death.


There was no public exposure, how
ever, Mrs. Hurd and I agreed that it
would profit no one to make the wretch
ed affair public, and so we kept our own
counsel.


Miss Melrose, in spite of my convic-
ton that she had been an active party
in the conspiracy against Mrs. Spencer's
life, could not help plying. Such a
miserable, worn and haggard face as
hers have never seen and when they
buried DR.. Spencer she was confined to
her chamber with brain fever.
I attended her in her illness, but al
though she recovered her health, she
never was herself again. She was a
harmless maniac whose delight was in
gathering flowers and decorating the
Doctors grave with them.


She is living still, and she still gath
ers flowers and lays them on that grave,
singing to herself meanwhile a sort of
low incantation, which no one ever pre-.
tends to understand.


Not until Mrs. Spencer had been
many days my wife; and the faithful
Mrs. Hurd slept under the violets, did
Alice ever know the perfdy of her for
mer husband.


And when I told her, after the first
shock was over, she crept into my arms
and whispered:


"But if it had not been for James
crime should not have found you, Her