THE LETTISH OF MY DEAD WIFE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 1479, 23 November 1872, Page 3

THE LETTISH OF MY DEAD WIFE.

(Coatiqued^j , When I recovered consciousness. I foand J myself in a recliniag:,position, and surrounded by a number of strange faces. 1 could not realise the situatfcj»>fqr some mrments; and when nt length my jeasoa : begisn to asseab itself the wholes ttuth. flatbed upon me. I endeavoured to- ?ise, but found, so much pain in moving that. J desisted. "Do not stk, sir," said.'. an» elderly mora,, who was engage! in bribing, my tcmjl^a; " we've sent £qt v dpctc*,.^nd; ye expect Mm every moimat." As he was speakie& the doctor arrived. He made a careful examiaation, andl pronounced t£at, as fat> as his judgment went, the boiif severe un^rok^n,. that a contused cut on tfcis tempje laigbt prove troublesome, and tiat, immediate and careful removal and test .would b& essential. I listened, to all this, and mose, as the doc*o* ; g&ve his. directions to tb* man who w:^ .engaged it* bathing my haanV and whomj \ subsequent)^ leasosd was fswemsn of a, ging of ,plate layers engaged ia rep airing the il\ne.at the Tplwe where I alig.ls.ted. He described mess-booßding along: the. line likft.a huge ball, and that my escape was nothing short, of ; a miracle. '". Here,, sir,, is his watcl^ -and keys,; apd' pocket-book," added the foreman, handing the articles mentioned ta thp. doctor^ I sat up, and fervently returned fcfoanke to Hica whose name was *fae last on cjy.' lips ere« Bpjirjging from the caxris.ge. : '•Five pounds to any man wfc^.will bring me a letter written on pink, paper. It I dropped from the carriage right, hapd window from London, about half a ruinate before I fell out." The workmen looked at each, other, then at me, and lastly at the : doctor, evidently under the impression thai. Ij was raving. " Five pounds, men 1 "Vtfhat are you staring at ? Now the a, vien t si(iK yourselves ! Don't you want to earn a five-pound note handy ?*' cried the foreman. In an instant «.ffi they started, tearing along the Hue in iho direc ion indicated. " Do not excite yourself, sir; it is sure to be found," said the doctor, his finger ou my wrist. '• llao; y; v fl-.e weather in town ?'* This was to distract my attention; but the good ma,!?! little kuew that my whole of life was concentrated on the discovery of^ that tiuy piece of pink paper. ,: Do not stir, sir ; pray do not, I insist on it,"' cried the doc'or, endeavouring to restrain me from rising. I olmok him off, and stood upon my feet, v. ry sick, very giddy, but still able to stand It appeared au age. 1 felt agtmised with apprehension lest it should not be found. " How long have I been unconscious ?" I asked of the foreman, who stood Tc?pectf oily by. " About twenty minutes, sir." "Did nny traius pass? up the line, either i way, since ?" " No, sir." "Then the letter must be safe. I feared that the wheels of the up-train might have caught aud annihilated it." At this moment there was a shout, and one of the men came running towards us waving something in his hands. " lie has it, sir," said the foreman. The man approached nearer -nearer; my head began to swim, nearer — nearer; that for j which I ha I ventured my life, aye, and would again, was mine. I held out my hands mechanically; with a last effort I clutched the letter which the breathless navvy tendered to me, thrust it into my bosom, and fainted away. " At what hour does the train start for Canterbury ?" " Four o'clock, sir." " What delay shall I have in Canterbury, so as to be able, if necessary, to catch the tidal train ?" " Thirty-two minutes, sir." "Can I telegraph?" "No, sir; Lord bless you, sir, it's enough for us to see the wires. . A telegram here would set us crazy." These questions were addressed by me to the station-master at the B— — station, to which I had been carried by the navvies on an improvised litter during my second period of unconsciousness. My head had been dressed, brandy and water administered ; and, although against the strongest remonstrances of Dr Flethurst, tbe kind and accomplished physician who attended me, I resolved to push on — to track and follow, if necessary, to the uttermost limits of the earth, my companion of the morning, and compel him, with a sword at his throat, or a revolver at his breast, to

jfeapkamfcite purpcsi of the lafciejvof 1 any dead Ijwife. Ut was andated. These are the r swords*.— ; _ " Thursday. : "Dearest,— Why have you.-, not written g dJcannafc understand it. -Yon. have no idea jhow perplexed I have been by your silence. I iam. compelled, as you a*3 aweiro, to be veiv .careful, lest our letters should- bo discovered"; but 2 have taken every precaution. Come atisnee. I think our lucky, star is in the iiscsadant. ■i mt . "FANNIE." ; l&is Was the letter. The paper was fresh iaad? glossy,, but it wore the uamislakeafele . sfgas of maeh folding: and- unfolding. The :aianufactS3er's name was. stamped on one corner. Ia vain I turned it.over and over in itine hope of a faint clue as to date; not a j scratch— not a blot. Would it have been , j Fanuie's letter were it blotted ? No ! How .came ray wife to write to other than her husband in such endearing terms? Could she bare deceived J .caught myself by tl c throat to choke back the vile- thought word Could! it possibly be some old letter written , to myself in the*o..days when we were surroaaded by enemies to our true loves, whiih baa by some remote, chance fallen into this pesfswa's hands?: No I I could repeat, line for line, word for word, her letters to me, from her first,, a simple, fluttering invitation taadinner-purf}\at her father's to the la«=t fond " Take gare bf yourself, Freddy, darling, for the sake of your wife and baby," written ; daring Christmas week, when I was compelled to psoceed to York to look after my ; uncle's legacy. Could Ibe mistaken in the writing ? Nol Tbe letters clear, well ; defined, large as; her bouutiful heart. The signatura-thesame. The same odd habit of leaving a. margin on the left hand of the P"ge, as. ia the practice of Government ofheiala. The- move I, thought over it, the greater my perplexity, the sierner my resolve, cost what it might, to uniravel thread by thread the mystery, which, surrounded the letter of my dcadiwife, like- unto a ehroud And here I ' repaat, for.-Ij write the occurrence according to the,.order oi the event, that never, oh, not ; for,ihe one thousandth part of a second, did Ljcast, the shadow of a doubt as to the motive* of \my, deatl wife in writing this letter. To .here, would have been to rend the of the Angel of Purity. i %\lh burning eagerness I scrambled out of 1 a train, at Canterbury, for I was in an agony of pais* and nothing but tbe intense pressure of my mind could have enabled me to move. ;Of tho porter, who assisted me to alight, I ■•■ lasked — ,'■ "Did you attend the mail train from Lon- - doa this morning ?" "Yes, sir." " Did you see a tall gentleman in a grey jsuit, pointed moustaches, and yellow gloves?" ;|; " I'm sure I cannot say, sir;" then turning ; to a brother official, he shouted— "l say, Awkins, did you see a mail gentleman, yellow gloves, J. 40 up ?" " The mail always wears yellow gloves," responded the other; "yes, I see a tall gentleman a talking to the station-master." " Where ia the station-master ? I must see him direclry." " This way, sir. Beg pardon, you're werry lame; le^non me, sir," said the first porter, good-naturedly, as" I limped in the direction of the slation-master's office. station-master was absent, but a person, acting for him was seated engaged in writing. • " Did a tall gentleman, wearing a grey ; suit, yellow gloves, pointed moustache, alight l&ere?" lasked. " Yes," without looking up. " Did he go on by the train ?" "Yes." . • • "Did he ruction anything about a gentleman falling fropi the. carriage ?" "He did;" ; then looking up— "l beg your pardon, tir» aije you the accident ?" ••'lam/*' " Pray he seated."I sat down. " Yes, si,r, he alighted, and gave those," pointing to my vag, umbrella, and travelling case, which I had in the carriage with me at the time of the occurrence. " Did he give you no particulars ?" "He did." Here he referred to some written memoranda, and read rapidly. "He said your manner was very strange, that you objected to his smoking, and were very insolent. He said he was reading a letterthat you asked him for it — that you made a grab at it— that it fell out of the window — that you jumped out after it— that he tried to prevent you, and that he considers you are insane. Good God, sir, it was a frightful thing to jump from a mail train. How you are alive to tell theta'e is miraculous, and"— here the official broke forth — "and remember, sir, that f any injury you may have received, the company is not in any way liable." " What is the gentleman's name ?" " I do not know, sir." I lost all patience. " And how in the name of heaven could you allow him to go without ascertaining bis name ? You shall be held accountable for this gross stupidity and neglect of duty. By heavens you shall 1" So brutally rude was I, that I have since stopped at Canterbury to. apologise. "Be that as it may, he dashed out of this office to jump into the train." " Then he went on ?" "Yes, sir." " Can you tell me where he was going ?" " I cannot. Perhaps the examiner of tickets might." " Can I see him ?" " You can." The functionary in question having been summoned and interrogated : — . •' He did remember the party, who gained his carriage as he was locking 'the door. , He examined his ticket while the train was a. moving, was a ' through ' to Paris." '{$$ >fee cwtianedi)