Year: 1871

names as wife and man, While l stOO'


looking on Ln such trepldation tina


tho clerk would have been inclined Il


question such a youthful couple hat


my lover not stood there so bland an!


composed in her bridal attire, whicl


she had donned at hehalf,way town
She having told me she had received


IN answer from the clergywomal


stating that she would be at the hote


at 8 O'clock with the necessary docu


ments. / went with to the apart


ments selected, without suspicion


But o'clock come, and no minister.


At 0:20 my loyer went out and pre-


tended to despatch u messenger to he
friend. But she came not. l now
knew she had not been communicates


with. My charmer seemed not at al


disconnected, but was half-distracted
What should l do? Our names wert
registered as married. There could bt


no move made at that house without


creating hub-bub, which now saw


she would not hesitate to raise. Shl


protested that she should go with me


to q minister on the morrow. TO cut


q long story short, she by her bold.


hess and protestations and promises,


accomplished my ruin. Who shall


depict my anguish on the morrow,


when she coolly informed me that her


talk about the clergyman was only


ruse, and that she had no intention OF


marrying me. But she soon found


that she had gone too far. / became


so violent that she feared l would


commit suicide, and promised to mar


ry me in few days If l would keep
quiet. This would not do. She had


deceived me once, and though l loved


her as madly as ever, l would not


trust her. Towards evening | rushed


out Of the hotel and went hurriedly


towards the docks, intending to drown
myself. She ran after me, and just as
1 was about to take the fatal leap laid
her hand upon my shoulders and eX-
claimed, as she jerked me backwards,


"Whata a fool you are to take on So.


II you are as bad as that | will marry
you. saw my friend Judge Blank
in her Office rs came by. Come to
her; she will marry us quick enough" !"
l.. consented to go. AS we entered
the Office, sawa look Of intelligence
pass between the "Judge" and my
lady that would have seemed to me
to mean more than their common
place greeting had / not been so in
fatuated. A witness was called, and
the ceremony MAS gone through with
decently enough. | kissed the bride
rapturously when it was over, and she
said, smilingly, "Now, you feel better
l suppose" | was very happy for q
while then. My wife appeared to be
very fond OF me, and, like so many Of
my sex, i seemed to forget all her
treachery and cruelty, now that she
was really mine. wrote my parents
that was married and happy. What
she wrote to her parents do not
know, as she would not show me her
letters, while insisting on reading all
Of mine. Towards the end OF our
honeymoon, however, she seemed to
weary of me. When wanted to stay
at home, in a continual routine Of
sweet talk and caresses, she wanted to
be out shopping, or riding, or gossip
ing with her acquaintances. One day
an old friend of mine took me aside
and asked me if was sure that my
marriage certificate was genuine. He
told me, moreover, that it was n cur.
rent talk in the town that there was n
year old child at q founding hospital
in Boston, that bore striking resent
blance to my wife. This maddened
me with suspicion again. HUNTED up
the supposed judge who performed the
ceremony, and found she was u petit
Jogging lawyer, who had been bribed
to he in readiness, in case OF emergen-
cy, to perform mock ceremony.
Close enquiry also convinced me that
the child referred to was really my
"wife's," and that we might thus 40
count for long visit she paid to Bos-
ton the previous year. Such cold
blooded villany, in n girl ofseventeen,
me. | rushed home and con-
frOnted her with the facts had learn
ed. Dependent rs | was upon her
for support, and with my reputation,
as | found, already blasted, l was pa.
ralyzed, l seemed to lapse into state
Of dumb despair, with no inclination
to try suicide again. We fell into
routine life. She had got control of
q legacy left by a rich relative, and
so had plenty Of money; whereas l
having neverreally learned to do any
thing well, having always relied upon
my beauty as means OF making a
living and marrying well, found my
selfquite at her mercy. She hired a
comfortable little house in the suburbs
for us, and when j was resigned and
did not upbraid her, seemed to be still
quite fond OF me. One day | wrote
to her mother complaining Of how 1
had been treated. She wrete an in
sulting reply, telling me that / was
rightly served for daring to think OF
a marriage alliance with her family
and informing me she hal 10 dOub
her daughter would desert me as she
had a similar foola year ago. For her
part she did not care what the young
woman did in such ways SO that she
did not run in debt. She knew that
all girls must SOW their wild oats be-
fore they SOW any worth keeping, and
she admired herspirit.


AS the months wore on | had the
satisfaction oflearning that my CONF
panion would again become n mother,
and / hoped this new tie would bind
us so closely that she would consent
to a real marriage. l spent many
happy hours bruoding over this, and
Of possible future happiness
in store for us. But she seemed to
regard the matter very lightly, and
was more than ever in company. l
was often grieved to see how familiar
she was with other men. At length,
in due course of time, my eyes were
blessed with the sight Of my beauti-
iul boy. For while it really seemed
that it would prove tie to bind us
more closely. She even talked much
in those days OF marriage. But in u
few days she became quite Indifferent
to both the child-and myself; in fact
left him entirely to my care. At last
things came to q crisis. One day as
1 sat bewailing my fate, and feeding
the baby with arrowroot, she came in
accompanied by q middle-aged, finely
dressed lady, who seemed to devour
me with her eyes. ] shrank back in
from her gaze; at which they
both smiled and I haard NV prptpnd-