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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/4667-0.txt b/4667-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a23f3d0 --- /dev/null +++ b/4667-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4276 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Seven Wives and Seven Prisons, by L.A. Abbott + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Seven Wives and Seven Prisons + +Author: L.A. Abbott + +Release Date: November, 2003 [Etext #4667] +Posting Date: January 27, 2010 +Last Updated: October 27, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SEVEN WIVES AND SEVEN PRISONS *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Aldarondo + + + + + +SEVEN WIVES AND SEVEN PRISONS + +Or Experiences In The Life Of A Matrimonial Maniac. A True Story. +Written By Himself. + + +By L.A. Abbott + + +New York: + +Published For The Author. 1870. + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER 1. THE FIRST AND WORST WIFE My Early History. The First +Marriage. Leaving Home to Prospect. Sending for My Wife. Her Mysterious +Journey. Where I Found Her. Ten Dollars for Nothing. A Fascinating Hotel +Clerk. My Wife’s Confession. From Bad to Worse. Final Separation. Trial +for Forgery. A Private Marriage. Summary Separation. + +CHAPTER II. MISERIES FROM MY SECOND MARRIAGE. Love-Making in +Massachusetts. Arrest for Bigamy. Trial at Northampton. A Stunning +Sentence. Sent to State Prison. Learning the Brush Business. Sharpening +Picks. Prison Fare. In the Hospital. Kind Treatment. Successful +Horse-Shoeing. The Warden my Friend. Efforts for my Release. A Full +Pardon. + +CHAPTER III. THE SCHEIMER SENSATION. The Scheimer Family. In Love +With Sarah. Attempt to Elope. How it was Prevented. Second Attempt. A +Midnight Expedition. The Alarm. A Frightful Beating. Escape, Flogging +the Devil out of Sarah. Return to New Jersey. “Boston Yankee.” Plans to +Secure Sarah. + +CHAPTER IV. SUCCESS WITH SARAH. Mary Smith as a Confederate. The Plot. +Waiting in the Woods. The Spy Outwitted. Sarah Secured. The Pursuers +Baffled. Night on the Road. Efforts to Get Married. “The Old Offender.” + Married at Last. A Constable after Sarah. He Gives it Up. An Ale Orgie. +Return to “Boston Yankee’s.” A Home in Goshen. + +CHAPTER V. HOW THE SCHEIMERS MADE ME SUFFER. Return to Scheimer’s. +Peace, and then Pandemonium. Frightful Family Row. Running for Refuge. +The Gang Again. Arrest at Midnight. Struggle with my Captors. In Jail +Once More. Put in Irons. A Horrible Prison. Breaking Out. The Dungeon. +Sarah’s Baby.. Curious Compromises. Old Scheimer my Jailer. Signing a +Bond. Free Again. Last Words from Sarah. + +CHAPTER VI. FREE LIFE AND FISHING. Taking Care of Crazy Men. Carrying +off a Boy. Arrested for Stealing my Own Horse and Buggy. Fishing in Lake +Winnepisiogee. An Odd Landlord. A Woman as Big as a Hogshead. Reducing +the Hogshead to a Barrel. Wonderful Verification of a Dream. Successful +Medical Practice. A Busy Winter in New Hampshire. Blandishments of +Captain Brown. I go to Newark, New Jersey. + +CHAPTER VII. WEDDING A WIDOW AND THE CONSEQUENCES. I Marry a Widow. +Six Weeks of Happiness. Confiding a Secret, and the Consequences. The +Widow’s Brother. Sudden Flight from Newark. In Hartford, Conn. My +Wife’s Sister Betrays Me. Trial for Bigamy. Sentenced to Ten Years’ +Imprisonment. I Become a “Bobbin Boy.” A Good Friend. Governor Price +Visits me in Prison. He Pardons Me. Ten Years’ Sentence Fulfilled in +Seven Months. + +CHAPTER VIII. ON THE KEEN SCENT. Good Resolutions. Enjoying Freedom. +Going After a Crazy Man. The Old Tempter in a New Form. Mary Gordon. +My New “Cousin.” Engaged Again. Visit to the Old Folks at Home. Another +Marriage. Starting for Ohio. Change of Plans. Domestic Quarrels. +Unpleasant Stories about Mary. Bound Over to Keep the Peace. Another +Arrest for Bigamy. A Sudden Flight. Secreted Three Weeks in a Farm +House. Recaptured at Concord. Escaped Once More. Traveling on the +Underground Railroad. In Canada. + +CHAPTER IX. MARRYING TWO MILLINERS. Back in Vermont. Fresh Temptations. +Margaret Bradley. Wine and Women. A Mock Marriage in Troy. The False +Certificate. Medicine and Millinery. Eliza Gurnsey. A Spree at Saratoga. +Marrying Another Milliner. Again Arrested for Bigamy. In Jail Eleven +Months. A Tedious Trial. Found Guilty. Appeal to Supreme Court. Trying +to Break Out of Jail. A Governor’s Promise. Second Trial. Sentenced to +Three Years’ Imprisonment. + +CHAPTER X. PRISON LIFE IN VERMONT. Entering Prison. The Scythe Snath +Business. Blistered Hands. I Learn Nothing. Threaten to Kill the Shop +Keeper. Locksmithing. Open Rebellion. Six Weeks in the Dungeon. Escape +of a Prisoner. In the Dungeon Again. The Mad Man Hall. He Attempts +to Murder the Deputy. I Save Morey’s Life. Howling in the Black Hole. +Taking Off Hall’s Irons. A Ghastly Spectacle. A Prison Funeral. I am Let +Alone. The Full Term of my Imprisonment. + +CHAPTER XI. ON THE TRAMP. The Day of my Deliverance. Out of Clothes. +Sharing with a Beggar. A Good Friend. Tramping Through the Snow. Weary +Walks. Trusting to Luck. Comfort at Concord. At Meredith Bridge. The +Blaisdells. Last of the “Blossom” Business. Making Money at Portsmouth. +Revisiting Windsor. An Astonished Warden. Making Friends of Enemies. +Inspecting the Prison. Going to Port Jervis. + +CHAPTER XII. ATTEMPT TO KIDNAP SARAH SCHEIMER’S BOY. Starting to See +Sarah. The Long Separation. What I Learned About Her. Her Drunken +Husband. Change of Plan. A Suddenly-Formed Scheme. I Find Sarah’s Son. +The First Interview. Resolve to Kidnap the Boy. Remonstrance of my Son +Henry. The Attempt. A Desperate Struggle. The Rescue. Arrest of Henry. +My Flight into Pennsylvania. Sending Assistance to my Son. Return to +Port Jervis. Bailing Henry. His Return to Belvidere. He is Bound Over to +be Tried for Kidnapping. My folly. + +CHAPTER XIII. ANOTHER WIDOW. Waiting for the Verdict. My Son Sent to +State Prison. What Sarah Would Have Done. Interview with my First Wife. +Help for Henry. The Biddeford Widow. Her Effort to Marry Me. Our Visit +to Boston. A Warning. A Generous Gift. Henry Pardoned. Close of the +Scheimer Account. Visit to Ontario County. My Rich Cousins. What Might +Have Been. My Birthplace Revisited. + +CHAPTER XIV. MY SON TRIES TO MURDER ME. Settling Down in Maine. Henry’s +Health. Tour Through the South. Secession Times. December in New +Orleans. Up the Mississippi. Leaving Henry in Massachusetts. Back in +Maine Again. Return to Boston, Profitable Horse-Trading. Plenty of +Money. My First Wife’s Children. How they Have Been Brought Up. A +Barefaced Robbery. Attempt to Blackmail Me. My Son Tries to Rob and Kill +Me. My Rescue Last of the Young Man. + +CHAPTER XV. A TRUE WIFE AND HOME AT LAST. Where Were All my Wives? Sense +of Security. An Imprudent Acquaintance. Moving from Maine. My Property +in Rensselaer County. How I Lived. Selling a Recipe. About Buying a +Carpet. Nineteen Lawsuits. Sudden Departure for the West. A Vagabond +Life for Two Years. Life in California. Return to the East. Divorce from +any First Wife. A Genuine Marriage. My Farm. Home at Last. + + + + +SEVEN WIVES AND SEVEN PRISONS + + + +CHAPTER I. THE FIRST AND WORST WIFE + +My Early History--THE FIRST MARRIAGE--LEAVING HOME TO PROSPECT--SENDING +FOR MY WIFE--HER MYSTERIOUS JOURNEY--WHERE I FOUND HER--TEN DOLLARS FOR +NOTHING--A FASCINATING HOTEL CLERK--MY WIFE’S CONFESSION--FROM BAD TO +WORSE--FINAL SEPARATION--TRIAL FOR FORGERY--A PRIVATE MARRIAGE--SUMMARY +SEPARATION. + + + +SOME one has said that if any man would faithfully write his +autobiography, giving truly his own history and experiences, the ills +and joys, the haps and mishaps that had fallen to his lot, he could not +fail to make an interesting story; and Disraeli makes Sidonia say +that there is romance in every life. How much romance, as well as sad +reality, there is in the life of a man who, among other experiences, +has married seven wives, and has been seven times in prison--solely on +account of the seven wives, may be learned from the pages that follow. + +I was born in the town of Chatham, Columbia County, New York, in +September, 1813. My father was a New Englander, who married three times, +and I was the eldest son of his third wife, a woman of Dutch descent, +or, as she would have boosted if she had been rich, one of the +old Knickerbockers of New York. My parents were simply honest, +hard--working, worthy people, who earned a good livelihood, brought up +their children to work, behaved themselves, and were respected by their +neighbors. They had a homestead and a small farm of thirty acres, and on +the place was a blacksmith shop in which my father worked daily, shoeing +horses and cattle for farmers and others who came to the shop from miles +around. + +There were three young boys of us at home, and we had a chance to go to +school in the winter, while during the summer we worked on the little +farm and did the “chores” about the house and barn. But by the time I +was twelve years old I began to blow and strike in the blacksmith +shop, and when I was sixteen years old I could shoe horses well, and +considered myself master of the trade. At the age of eighteen, I went +into business with my father, and as I was now entitled to a share +of the profits, I married the daughter of a well-to-do neighboring +farmer, and we began our new life in part of my father’s house, setting +up for ourselves, and doing our own house-keeping. + +I ought to have known then that marrying thus early in life, and +especially marrying the woman I did, was about the most foolish thing +I could do. I found it out afterwards, and was frequently and painfully +reminded of it through many long years. But all seemed bright enough +at the start. My wife was a good-looking woman of just my own age; her +family was most respectable; two of her brothers subsequently became +ministers of the gospel; and all the children had been carefully brought +up. I was thought to have made a good match; but a few years developed +that had wedded a most unworthy woman. + +Seventeen months after our marriage, our oldest child, Henry, was born. +Meanwhile we had gone to Sidney, Delaware County, where my father opened +a shop. I still continued in business with him, and during our stay at +Sidney, my daughter, Elizabeth, was born. From Sidney, my father wanted +to go to Bainbridge, Chenango, County, N.Y., and I went with him, +leaving my wife and the children at Sidney, while we prospected. As +usual my father started a blacksmith-shop; but I bought a hundred acres +of timber land, went to lumbering, and made money. We had a house about +four miles from the village, I living with my father, and as soon as +found out that we were doing well in business, I sent to Sidney for +my wife and children. They were to come by stage, and were due, after +passing through Bainbridge, at our house at four o’clock in the morning. +We were up early to meet the stage; but when it arrived, the driver told +us that my wife had stopped at the public house in Bainbridge. + +Wondering what this could mean, I at once set out with my brother and +walked over to the village. It was daylight when we arrived, and knocked +loudly at the public house door. After considerable delay, the clerk +came to the door and let us in. He also asked as to “take something,” + which we did. The clerk knew us well, and I inquired if my wife was in +the house; he said she was, told us what room she was in, and we went up +stairs and found her in bed with her children. Waking her, I asked her +why she did not come home, in the stage? She replied that the clerk down +stairs told her that the stage did not go beyond the house, and that she +expected to walk over, as soon as it was daylight, or that possibly we +might come for her. + +I declare, I was so young and unsophisticated that I suspected nothing, +and blamed only the stupidity, as I supposed, of the clerk in telling +her that the stage did not go beyond Bainbridge. My wife got up and +dressed herself and the children, and then as it was broad daylight, +after endeavoring, ineffectually, to get a conveyance, we started for +home on foot, she leading the little boy, and I carrying the youngest +child. We were not far on our way when she suddenly stopped, stooped +down, and exclaimed: + +“O! see what I have found in the road.” + +And she showed me a ten dollar bill. I was quite surprised, and +verdantly enough, advised looking around for more money, which my wife, +brother and I industriously did for some minutes. It was full four weeks +before I found out where that ten dollar bill came from. Meanwhile, my +wife was received and was living in her new home, being treated with +great kindness by all of us. It was evident, however, that she had +something on her mind which troubled her, and one morning, about a +month after her arrival, I found her in tears. I asked her what was the +matter? She said that she had been deceiving me; that she did not pick +up the ten dollar bill in the road; but that it was given to her by the +clerk in the public house in Bainbridge; only, however, for this: he +had grossly insulted her; she had resented it, and he had given her the +money, partly as a reparation, and partly to prevent her from speaking +of the insult to me or to others. + +But by this time my hitherto blinded eyes were opened, and I charged +her with being false to me. She protested she had not been; but finally +confessed that she had been too intimate with the clerk at the hotel. +I began a suit at law against the clerk; but finally, on account of my +wife’s family and for the sake of my children, I stopped proceedings, +the clerk paying the costs of the suit as far as it had gone, and giving +me what I should probably have got from him in the way of damages. My +wife too, was apparently so penitent, and I was so much infatuated with +her, that I forgave her, and even consented to continue to live with +her. But I removed to Greenville, Greene County, N. Y., where I went +into the black-smithing business, and was very successful. We lived +here long enough to add two children to our little family; but as time +went on, the woman became bad again, and displayed the worst depravity. +I could no longer live with her, and we finally mutually agreed upon +a life-long separation--she insisting upon keeping the children, and +going to Rochester where she subsequently developed the full extent of +her character. + +This, as nearly as I remember, was in the year 1838, and with this came +a new trouble upon me. Just before the separation, I received from my +brother’s wife a note for one hundred dollars, and sold it. It proved to +be a forgery. I was temporarily in Troy, N. Y., when the discovery +was made, and as I made no secret of my whereabouts at any time, I was +followed to Troy, was there arrested, and after lying in jail at Albany +one night, was taken next morning to Coxsackie, Greene County, and front +thence to Catskill. After one day in jail there, I was brought before a +justice and examined on the charge of uttering a forged note. There was +a most exciting trial of four days duration. I had two good lawyers who +did their best to show that I did not know the note to be forged when +I sold it, but the justice seemed determined to bind me over for +trial, and he did so, putting me under five hundred dollars’ bonds. My +half-sister at Sidney was sent for, came to Catskill, and became bail +for me. I was released, and my lawyers advised me to leave, which I did +at once, and went to Pittsfield, and from there to Worthington, +Mass., where I had another half-sister, who was married to Mr. Josiah +Bartlett, and was well off. + +Here I settled down, for all that I knew to the contrary, for life. For +some years past, I had devoted my leisure hours from the forge to +the honest endeavor to make up for the deficiencies in my youthful +education, and had acquired, among other things, a good knowledge +of medicine. I did not however, believe in any of the “schools” + particularly those schools that make use of mineral medicines in +their practice. I favored purely vegetable remedies, and had been very +successful in administering them. So I began life anew, in Worthington, +as a Doctor, and aided by my half-sister and her friends, I soon +secured a remunerative practice. + +I was beginning to be truly happy. I supposed that the final separation, +mutually agreed upon between my wife and myself, was as effectual as all +the courts in the country could make it, and I looked upon myself as +a free man. Accordingly, after I had been in Worthington some months I +began to pay attentions to the daughter of a flourishing farmer. She was +a fine girl; she received my addresses favorably, and we were finally +privately married. This was the beginning of my life-long troubles. In +a few weeks her father found out that I had been previously married, and +was not, so far as he knew, either a divorced man or a widower. And +so it happened, that one day when I was at his house, and with his +daughter, he suddenly came home with a posse of people and a warrant for +my arrest. I was taken before a justice, and while we were waiting for +proceedings to begin, or, possibly for the justice to arrive, I took the +excited father aside and said: + +“You know I have a fine horse and buggy at the door. Get in with me, and +ride down home. I will see your daughter and make everything right with +her, and if you will let me run away, I’ll give her her the horse and +buggy.” + +The offer was too tempting to be refused. The father had the warrant in +his pocket, and he accepted my proposal. We rode to his house, and he +went into the back-room by direction of his daughter while she and I +talked in the hall. I explained matters as well as I could; I promised +to see her again, and that very soon. My horse and buggy were at the +door. Hastily bidding my new and young wife “good-bye,” I sprang into +the buggy and drove rapidly away. The father rushed to the door and +raised a great hue and cry, and what was more, raised the neighbors; I +had not driven five miles before all Worthington was after me. But I had +the start, the best horse, and I led in the race. I drove to Hancock, +N.Y., where my pursuers lost the trail; thence to Bennington, Vt., next +to Brattleboro, Vt., and from there to Templeton, Mass. What befel me at +Templeton, shall be related in the next chapter. + + + +CHAPTER II. MISERIES FROM MY SECOND MARRIAGE. + +LOVE-MAKING IN MASSACHUSETTS--ARREST FOR BIGAMY--TRIAL AT +NORTHAMPTON--A STUNNING SENTENCE--SENT TO STATE PRISON--LEARNING THE +BRUSH BUSINESS--SHARPENING PICKS--PRISON FARE--IN THE HOSPITAL--KIND +TREATMENT--SUCCESSFUL HORSE SHOEING--THE WARDEN MY FRIEND--EFFORTS FOR +MY RELEASE--A FULL PARDON. + + + +At Templeton I speedily made known my profession, and soon had a very +good medical practice which one or two “remarkable cures” materially +increased. I was doing well and making money. I boarded in a respectable +farmer’s family, and after living there about six months there came +another most unhappy occurrence. From the day, almost, when I began +to board with this farmer there sprung up a strong attachment between +myself and his youngest daughter which soon ripened into mutual love. +She rode about with me when I went to see my patients, who were getting +to be numerous, and we were much in each other’s company. + +On one occasion she accompanied me to Worcester where I had some +patients. We went to a public house where she and her family were well +known, and when she was asked by the landlord how she happened to come +there with the doctor, her prompt answer was: + +“Why, we are married; did’nt you know it?” + +She refused even to go to the table without my attendance, and when I +was out visiting some patients, she waited for her meals till I came +back. We stayed there but two days and returned together to Templeton. + +A month afterward her brother was in Worcester, and stopped at this +house. The landlord, after some conversation about general matters, +said: + +“So your sister is married to the Doctor?” + +“I know nothing about it,” was the reply. + +This led to a full and altogether too free disclosure to the astonished +brother about the particulars of our visit to the same house a month +before, and his sister’s representations that we were married. The +brother immediately started for home, and repeated the story, as it was +told to him, to his father and the family. Without seeing his daughter, +the father at once procured a warrant, and had me arrested and brought +before a justice on charge of seduction. The trial was brief; the +daughter herself swore positively, that though she had been imprudent +and indiscreet in going to Worcester with me, no improper communication +had ever, there or elsewhere, taken place between us. + +Of course, there was nothing to do but to let me go and I was +discharged. But out of this affair came the worst that had yet fallen +to my lot in life. The story got into the papers, with particulars and +names of the parties, and in this way the people at Worthington, who had +chased me as far as Hancock and had there lost all trace of me, found +out where I was. If I had been aware of it, they might have looked +elsewhere for me; but while I was felicitating myself upon my escape +from the latest difficulty, down came an officer from Worthington with a +warrant for my arrest. This officer, the sheriff, was connected with the +family into which I had married in Worthington, and with him came two or +three more relatives, all bound, as they boasted, to “put me through.” + They were excessively irate against me and very much angered, especially +that their race after me to Hancock had been fruitless. I had fallen +into the worst possible hands. + +They took me to Northampton and brought me before a Justice, on a +charge of bigamy: The sheriff who arrested me, and the relatives who +accompanied him were willing to swear my life away, if they could, and +the justice was ready enough to bind me over to take my trial in court, +which was not to be in session for full six months to come. Those long, +weary six months I passed in the county jail. Then came my trial. I had +good counsel. There was not a particle of proof that I was guilty of +bigamy; no attempt was made on the part of the prosecution to produce +my first wife, from whom I had separated, or, indeed, to show that there +was such a woman in existence. But, evidence or no evidence, with all +Worthington against me, conviction was inevitable. The jury found me +guilty. The judge promptly sentenced me to three years’ imprisonment in +the State Prison, at Charlestown, with hard labor, the first day to be +passed in solitary confinement. + +This severe sentence fairly stunned me. I was taken back to jail, and +the following day I was conveyed to Charlestown with heavy irons on my +ankles and handcuffed. No murderer would have been more heavily ironed. +We started early in the morning, and by noon I was duly delivered to +the warden at Charlestown prison. I was taken into the office, measured, +asked my name, age, and other particulars, and then if I had a trade. To +this I at once answered, “no.” I wanted my twenty-four hours’ +solitary confinement in which to reflect upon the kind of “hard labor,” + prescribed in my sentence, I was willing to follow for the next three +years; and I also wanted information about the branches of labor pursued +in that prison. The next words of the warden assured me that he was a +kind and compassionate man. + +“Go,” he said to an officer, “and instantly take off those irons when +you take him inside the prison.” + +I was taken in and the irons were taken off. I was then undressed, my +clothes were removed to another room, and I was redressed in the prison +uniform. This was a grotesque uniform indeed. The suit was red and blue, +half and half, like a harlequin’s, and to crown all came a hat or cap, +like a fool’s cap, a foot and a half high and running up to a peak. +Miserable as I was, I could scarcely help smiling at the utterly absurd +appearance I knew I then presented. I even ventured to remark upon it; +but was suddenly and sternly checked with the command: + +“Silence! There’s no talking allowed here.” + +Then began my twenty-four hours’ solitary confinement, and twenty-four +wretched hours they were. I had only bread and water to eat and drink, +and I need not say that my unhappy thoughts would not permit me to +sleep. At noon next day I was taken from my cell, and brought again +before the warden, Mr. Robinson, who kindly said: + +“You have no trade, you say; what do you want to go to work at?” + +“Anything light; I am not used to hard labor,” I replied. + +So the warden directed that I should be put at work in the brush shop, +where all kinds of brushes were made. Mr. Eddy was the officer in charge +of this shop, and Mr. Knowles, the contractor for the labor employed in +the brush business, was present. Both of these gentlemen took pains to +instruct me in the work I was to begin upon, and were very kind in their +manner towards me. I went to work in a bungling way and with a sad and +heavy heart. At 12 o’clock we were marched from the shop to our +cells, each man taking from a trap in the wall, as he went by, his pan +containing his dinner, which consisted, that day, of boiled beef and +potatoes. It was probably the worst dinner I had ever eaten, but I had +yet to learn what prison fare was. From one o’clock to six I was in the +shop again; then came Supper--mush and molasses that evening which was +varied, as I learned afterwards, on different days by rye bread, +or Indian bread and rye coffee. These things were also served for +breakfast, and the dinners were varied on different days in the week. +The fare was very coarse, always, but abundant and wholesome. After +supper prisoners were expected to go to bed, as they were called out at +six o’clock in the morning. + +I stayed in the brush shop three or four months, but I made very little +progress in learning the trade. I was willing enough to learn and did my +best. From the day I entered the prison I made up my mind to behave as +well as I could; to be docile and obedient, and to comply with every +rule and order. Consequently I had no trouble, and the officers all +treated me kindly. Warden Robinson was a model man for his position. He +believed that prisoners could be reformed more easily by mild than by +harsh measures--at least they would be more contented with their lot and +would be subordinate. Every now and then he would ask prisoners if they +were well treated by the officers; how they were getting on; if they had +enough to eat, and so on. The officers seemed imbued with the warden’s +spirit; the chaplain of the prison, who conducted the Sunday, services +and also held a Sunday school, was one of the finest men in the world, +and took a personal interest in every prisoner. Altogether, it was +a model institution. But in spite of good treatment I was intensely +miserable; my mind was morbid; I was nearly, if not quite, insane; and +one day during the dinner hour, I opened a vein in each arm in hopes +that I should bleed to death. Bleed I did, till I fainted away, and as +I did not come out when the other prisoners did, the officer came to +my cell and discovered my condition. He at once sent for the Doctor who +came and stopped the hemorrhage, and then sent me to the hospital where +I remained two weeks. + +After I came out of the hospitals the Warden talked to me about my +situation and feelings. He advised me to go into the blacksmith shop, +of course not dreaming that I knew anything of the work; but he said I +would have more liberty there; that the men moved about freely and could +talk to each other; that the work mainly was sharpening picks and tools, +and that I could at least blow and strike. So I went into the blacksmith +shop, and remained their six weeks. But, debilitated as I was, the work +was too hard for me, and so the warden put me in the yard to do what I +could. I also swept the halls and assisted in the cook-room. One day +when the warden spoke to me, I told him that I knew something about +taking care of the sick, and after some conversation, he transferred me +to the hospital as a nurse. + +Here, if there is such a things as contentment in prison, I was +comparatively happy. I nursed the sick and administered medicines under +direction of the doctor. I had too, with all easy position, more liberty +than any other prisoner. I could go anywhere about the halls and yard, +and in a few weeks I was frequently sent on an errand into the town. +Everyone seemed to have the fullest confidence in me. The Warden talked +to me whenever he saw me, and always had some kind word for me. One day +I ventured to speak to him about his horse, of which he was very proud, +and indeed the horse was a very fine one. + +Mr. Warden, said I “that’s a noble horse of yours; but he interferes +badly, and that is only because he is badly shod. If you will trust me, +I can shoe him so as to prevent all that.” + +“Can you?” exclaimed the Warden in great surprise; “Well, if you can, +I’ll give you a good piece of bread and butter, or, anything else you +want.” + +“I don’t want your bread and butter,” said I “but I will shoe your horse +as he has never been shod before.” + +“Well take the horse to the shop and see what you can do.” + +Of course, I knew that by “bread and butter” the warden meant that if I +could shoe his favorite horse so as to prevent him from interfering, he +would gladly favor me as far as he could; and I knew, too, that I could +make as good a shoe as any horse need wear. I gladly led the horse to +the shop where I had so signally failed in pick and tool sharpening, and +was received with jeers by my old comrades who wanted to know what I was +going to do to that horse. + +“O, simply shoe him,” I said. + +This greatly increased the mirth of my former shopmates; but their +amusement speedily changed to amazement as they saw me make my nails, +turn the shoes and neatly put them on. In due time the horse was shod, +and I led him to the Warden for inspection; and before him and an +officer who stood by him, I led the horse up and down to show that he +did not interfere. The Warden’s delight was unbounded; he never saw such +a set of shoes; he declared that they fitted as if they had grown to the +horse’s hoofs. I need not say that from that day till the day I left the +prison, I had everything I wanted from the Warden’s own table; I fared +as well as he did, and had favors innumerable. + +About once a month I shod that horse, little thinking that he was to +carry me over my three years’ imprisonment in just half that time. Yet +so it was. For talking now almost daily, in the hospital or in the +yard, with the Warden, he became interested in me, and in answer to his +inquiries I told him the whole story of my persecution, as I considered +it, my trial and my unjust and severe sentence. When he had heard all he +said: + +“You ought not to be here another day; you ought to go out.” + +The good chaplain also interested himself in my case, and after hearing +the story, he and the Warden took a lawyer named Bemis, into their +counsel, laid the whole matter before him and asked his opinion. Mr. +Bemis, after hearing all the circumstances, expressed the belief that I +might get a pardon. He entered into the matter with his whole heart. He +sent for my son Henry and my first wife, and they came and corroborated +my statement about the mutual agreement for separation, and told how +long we had been parted. Mr. Bemis and they then went to Governor +Briggs, and told him the story, and that I had served out half of +my severe sentence, and pressed for a pardon. The Governor after due +deliberation consented to their request. They came back to Charlestown +with the joyful intelligence. Warden Robinson advised my son, that +considering my present mental and physical condition, he had better +break the intelligence gradually to me, and so Henry came to me and +said, simply, that he thought he would soon have “good news” for me. The +next day I was told that my pardon was certain. The day following, at 12 +o’clock, I walked out, after eighteen months’ imprisonment, a free man. +I was in the streets of Charlestown with my own clothes on and five +dollars, given to me by the Warden, in my pocket, I was poor, truly, but +I was at liberty, and that for the day was enough. + + + +CHAPTER III. THE SCHEIMER SENSATION. + +THE SCHEIMER FAMILY--IN LOVE WITH SARAH--ATTEMPT TO ELOPE--HOW IT WAS +PREVENTED--THE SECOND ATTEMPT--A MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION--THE ALARM--A +FRIGHTFUL BEATING--ESCAPE--FLOGGING THE DEVIL OUT OF SARAH--WINTER IN +NEW HAMPSHIRE--RETURN TO NEW JERSEY--“BOSTON YANKEE”--PLANS TO SECURE +SARAH. + + + +I went at once to the Prisoners Home, where I was kindly received, and +I stayed there two days. The superintendent then paid my passage to +Pittsfield where I wished to go and meet my son. From Pittsfield I went +to Albany, then New York, and from there to Newtown N. J. Here I went +into practice, meeting with almost immediate success, and staid there +two months. It was my habit to go from town to town to attend to cases +of a certain class and to sell my vegetable preparations; and from +Newtown I went to Belvidere, stopping at intermediate towns on the way, +and from Belvidere I went to Harmony, a short distance below, to attend +a case of white swelling, which I cured. + +Now just across the Delaware river, nine miles above Easton, Penn., +lived a wealthy Dutch farmer, named Scheimer, who heard of the cure +I had effected in Harmony, and as he had a son, sixteen years of age, +afflicted in the same way, he sent for me to come and see him. I crossed +the river, saw the boy, and at Scheimer’s request took up my residence +with him to attend to the case. He was to give me, with my board, five +hundred dollars if I cured the boy; but though the boy recovered under +my treatment, I never received my fee for reasons which will appear +anon. I secured some other practice in the neighborhood, and frequently +visited Easton, Belvidere, Harmony, Oxford, and other near by places, on +either side of the river. + +The Scheimer family consisted of the “old folks” and four sons and four +daughters, the children grown up, for my patient, sixteen years old, was +the youngest. The youngest daughter, Sarah, eighteen years old, was an +accomplished and beautiful girl. Now it would seem as if with my +sad experience I ought by this time, to have turned my back on women +forever. But I think I was a monomaniac on the subject of matrimony. +My first wife had so misused me that it was always in my mind that +some reparation was due me, and that I was fairly entitled to a good +helpmate. The ill-success of my efforts, hitherto, to secure one, +and my consequent sufferings were all lost upon me--experience, bitter +experience, had taught me nothing. + +I had not been in the Scheimer family three months before I fell in love +with the daughter Sarah and she returned my passion. She promised to +marry me, but said there was no use in saying anything to her parents +about it; they would never consent on account of the disparity in +our ages, for I was then forty years old; but she would marry me +nevertheless, if we had to run away together. Meanwhile, the old +folks had seen enough of our intimacy to suspect that it might lead to +something yet closer, and one day Mr. Scheimer invited me to leave his +house and not to return. I asked for one last interview with Sarah, +which was accorded, and we then arranged a plan by which she should meet +me the next afternoon at four o’clock at the Jersey ferry, a mile below +the house, when we proposed to quietly cross over to Belvidere and get +married. I then took leave of her and the family and went away. + +The next day, at the appointed time, I was at the ferry--Sarah, as I +learned afterwards, left the house at a much earlier hour to “take a +walk” and while she was, foolishly I think, making a circuitous route +to reach the ferry, her father, who suspected that she intended to run +away, went to the ferryman and told him his suspicions, directing him +if Sarah came there by no means to permit her to cross the river. +Consequently when Sarah met me at the ferry, the ferryman flatly refused +to let either of us go over. He knew all about it, he said, and it was +“no go.” I had two hundred dollars in my pocket and I offered him any +reasonable sum, if he would only let us cross; but no, he knew the +Scheimers better than he knew me, and their goodwill was worth more +than mine. Here was a block to the game, indeed. I had sent my baggage +forward in the morning to Belvidere; Sarah had nothing but the clothes +she wore, for she was so carefully watched that she could carry or send +nothing away; but she was ready to go if the obstinate ferryman had not +prevented us. + +While we were pressing the ferryman to favor us, down came one of +Sarah’s brothers with a dozen neighbors, and told her she must return +home or he would carry her back by force. I interfered and said she +should not go. Whereupon one fellow took hold of me and I promptly +knocked him down, and notified the crowd that the first who laid hands +on me, or who attempted to take her home violently, would get a dose +from my pistol which I then exhibited: + +“Sarah must go willingly or not at all,” said I. + +The production of my pistol, the only weapon in the crowd, brought about +a new state of affairs, and the brother and others tried persuasion; but +Sarah stoutly insisted that she would not return. “Now hold on,” boys, +said I, “I am going to say something to her.” I then took her aside and +told her that there was no use in trying to run away then; that she had +better go home quietly, and tell the folks that she was sorry for what +she had done, that she had broken off with me, and would have nothing +more to do with me; that I would surely see her to-morrow, and then we +could make a new plan. So she announced her willingness to go quietly +home with her brother and she did so. I went to a public house half a +mile below the ferry. That night the gang came down to this house with +the intention of driving me away from the place, or, possibly, of doing +something worse; but while they were howling outside, the landlord sent +me to my room and then went out and told the crowd I had gone away. + +The next morning I boldly walked up to Scheimer’s house to get a few +books and other things I had left there, and I saw Sarah. I told her +to be ready on the following Thursday night and I would have a ladder +against her window for her to escape by. She promised to be ready. +Meantime, though I had been in the house but a few minutes, some one who +had seen me go in gathered the crowd of the day before, and the first +thing I knew the house was beseiged. Mrs. Scheimer had gone up stairs +for my things. I went out and faced the little mob. I was told to leave +the place or they would kill me. One of Sarah’s brothers ran into the +house, brought out a musket and aimed it at me; but it missed fire. I +drew my pistol the crowd keeping well away then, and told him that if he +did not instantly bring that musket to me I would shoot him. He brought +it, and I threw it over the fence, Sarah crying out from the window, +“good! good!” The mob then turned and abused and blackguarded her. Then +the old lady came out, bringing a carpet bag containing my books and +things, asking me to see if “it was all right.” I had no disposition +to stop and examine just then; I told the mob I had no other business +there; that I was going away, and to my surprise, I confess, I was +permitted to leave the place unmolested. + +It is quite certain the ferryman made no objection to my crossing, and +I went to Belvidere where I remained quietly till the appointed Thursday +night, when I started with a trusty man for Scheimer’s. We timed our +journey so as to arrive there at one o’clock in the morning. Ever since +her attempt to elope, Sarah had been watched night and day, and to +prevent her abduction by me, Mr. Scheimer had two or three men in the +house to stand guard at night. Sarah was locked in her room, which is +precisely what we had provided for, for no one in the house supposed +that she could escape by the window. There was a big dog on the +premises, but he and I were old friends, and he seemed very glad to see +me when I came on the ground on this eventful night. Sarah was watching, +and when I made the signal she opened the window and threw out her ready +prepared bundle. Then my man and I set the ladder and she came safely +to the ground. A moment more and we would have stolen away, when, as ill +luck would have it, the ladder fell with a great crash, and the infernal +dog, that a moment before seemed almost in our confidence, set up a howl +and then barked loud enough to wake the dead. + +Forthwith issued from the house old Scheimer, two of his sons and his +hired guard--a half dozen in all. There was a time then. The girl was +instantly seized and taken into the house. Then all hands fell upon us +two, and though I and my man fought our best they managed to pound us +nearly to death. The dog, too, in revenge no doubt for the scare the +ladder had given him, or perhaps to show his loyalty to his master, +assisted in routing us, and put in a bite where he could. It is a wonder +we were not killed. Sarah, meanwhile, was calling out from the house, +and imploring them not to murder us. How we ever got away I hardly know +now, but presently we found ourselves in the road running for our lives, +and running also for the carriage we had concealed in the woods, half +a mile above. We reached it, and hastily unhitching and getting in we +drove rapidly for the bridge crossing over to Belvidere. That beautiful +August night had very few charms for us. It would have been different +indeed if I had succeeded in securing my Sarah; and to think of having +the prize in my very grasp, and the losing all! + +We reached the hotel in Belvidere at about half-past two o’clock in +the morning, wearied, worn, bruised and disheartened. My man had not +suffered nearly as severely as I had; the bulk of their blows fell upon +me, and I had the sorest body and the worst looking face I had ever +exhibited. I rested one day and then hurried on to New York. Of course, +I had no means of knowing the feelings or condition of the loved girl +from whom I had been so suddenly and so violently parted. I only learned +from an Easton man whom I knew and whom I met in the city, that “Sarah +Scheimer was sick”--that was all; the man said he did’nt know the family +very well, but he had heard that Miss Scheimer had been “out of her +head, if not downright crazy.” + +Crazy indeed! How mad and how miserable that poor girl was made by her +own family, I did not know till months afterward, and then I had the +terrible story from her own lips. It seems that when her father and his +gang returned from pursuing me, as they did a little way up the road +towards Belvidere, they found her almost frantic. They locked her up in +her room that night with no one to say so much as a kind word to her. +How she passed that night, after the scenes she had witnessed, and the +abuse with which her father and brothers had loaded her before they +thrust her into her prison, may be imagined. The next day she was +wrought up to a frenzy. Her parents pronounced her insane, and called in +a Dutch doctor who examined her and said she was “bewitched!” And this +is the remedy he proposed as a cure; he advised that she should be +soundly flogged, and the devil whipped out of her. Her family, intensely +angered at her for the trouble she had made them, or rather had caused +them to make for themselves, were only too glad to accept the advice. +The old man and two sons carried a sore bruise or two apiece they got +from me the night before, and seized the opportunity to pay them off +upon her. So they stripped her bare, and flogged her till her back was a +mass of welts and cuts, and then put her to bed. That bed she never left +for two months, and then came out the shadow of her former self. But the +Dutch doctor declared that the devil was whipped out of her, and that +she was entirely cured. A few months afterward the family had the best +of reasons for believing that they had whipped the devil into her, +instead of out of her. + +After staying in New York a few days, I went to Dover, N.H., where I had +some acquaintances, and where I hoped to get into a medical practice, +which, with the help of my friends, I did very soon. I lived quietly in +that place all winter, earning a good living and laying by some money. +During the whole time I never heard a word from Sarah. I wrote at least +fifty letters to her, but as I learned afterward, and, indeed, surmised +at the time, every one of them was intercepted by her father or +brothers, and she did not know where I was and so could not write to me. +I left Dover in May and went down to New York. I had some business +there which was soon transacted, and early in June I went over to New +Jersey--to Oxford, a small place near Belvidere. + +This place I meant to make my base of operations for the new campaign I +had been planning all winter. I “put up” at a public house kept by a man +who was known in the region round about as the “Boston Yankee,” for he +migrated from Boston to New Jersey and was doing a thriving business +at hotel keeping in Oxford. What a thorough good-fellow he was will +presently appear. I had been in the hotel four days and had become +pretty intimate with the landlord before I ventured to make inquiries +about what I was most anxious to learn; but finally I asked him if he +knew the Scheimers over the river? He looked at me in a very comical +way, and then broke out: + +“Well, I declare, I thought I knew you, you’re the chap that tried to +run away with old Scheimer’s daughter Sarah, last August; and you’re +down here to get her this time, if you can.” + +I owned up to my identity, but warned Boston Yankee that if he told any +one who I was, or that I was about there, I’d blow his brains out. + +“You keep cool,” said he, “don’t you be uneasy; I’m your friend and the +gal’s friend, and I’ll help you both all I can; and if you want to carry +off Sarah Scheimer and marry her, I’ll tell you how to work it. You see +she has been watched as closely as possible all winter, ever since she +got well, for she was crazy-like, awhile. Well, you could’n’t get nearer +to her, first off, than you could to the North Pole; but do you remember +Mary Smith who was servant gal, there when you boarded with Scheimer?” I +remembered the girl well and told him so, and he continued: “Well, I saw +her the other day, and she told me she was living in Easton, and where +she could be found; now, I’ll give you full directions and do you take +my horse and buggy to-morrow morning early and go down and see her, and +get her to go over and let Sarah know that you’re round; meantime I’ll +keep dark; I know my business and you know yours.” + +I need not say how overjoyed I was to find this new and most unexpected +friend, and how gratefully I accepted his offer. He gave me the street, +house and number where Mary Smith lived and during the evening we +planned together exactly how the whole affair was to be managed, from +beginning to end. I went to bed, but could scarcely sleep; and all night +long I was agitated by alternate hopes and fears for the success of the +scheme of to-morrow. + + + +CHAPTER IV. SUCCESS WITH SARAH. + +MARY SMITH AS A CONFEDERATE--THE PLOT--WAITING IN THE WOODS--THE +SPY OUTWITTED--SARAH SECURED--THE PURSUERS BAFFLED--NIGHT ON THE +ROAD--EFFORTS TO GET MARRIED--THE “OLD OFFENDER” MARRIED AT LAST--A +CONSTABLE AFTER SARAH--HE GIVES IT UP--AN ALE ORGIE--RETURN TO “BOSTON +YANKEE’S”--A HOME IN GOSHEN. + + + +It was Saturday morning, and after an early breakfast I was on the road +with Boston Yankee’s fast horse; towards Easton. On my arrival there I +had no difficulty in finding Mary Smith, who recognized me at once, and +was very glad to see me. She knew I had come there to learn something +about Sarah; she had seen her only a week ago; she was well again, and +the girls had talked together about me. This was pleasant to hear, and +I at once proposed to Mary to go to Scheimer’s and tell Sarah that I +was there; I would give her ten dollars if she would go. “O! she would +gladly serve us both for nothing.” + +So she made herself ready, got into the buggy, and we started for +Scheimer’s. When we were well on the road I said to her: + +“Now, Mary, attend carefully to what I say: you will need to be very +cautious in breaking the news to Sarah that I am here; she has already +suffered a great deal on my account, and may be very timid about my +being in the neighborhood; but if she still loves me as you say she +does, she will run any risk to see me, and, if I know her, she will be +glad to go away with me. Now, this is what you must do; you must see her +alone and tell her my plan; here, take this diamond ring; she knows it +well; manage to let her see it on your finger; then tell her that if +she is willing to leave home and marry me, I will be in the woods half a +mile above her house to-morrow afternoon at 5 o’clock, with a horse +and buggy ready to carry her to Belvidere. If she will not, or dare not +come, give her the ring, and tell her we part, good friends, forever.” + +It was a beautiful afternoon as we drove along the road. We talked about +Sarah and old times, and I made her repeat my instructions over and +over again and she promised to convey every word to Sarah. We neared +Scheimer’s house about six o’clock, and when we were a little way from +there I told Mary to get out, so as to excite no suspicions as to who I +was; she did so, and I waited till I saw her go into the house, and then +drove rapidly by towards the Belvidere bridge, and was safely at Oxford +by nightfall. I told my friend, the landlord, what I had done, and he +said that everything was well planned. He also promised to go with me +next day to assist me if necessary, and, said he: + +“If everything is all right, do you carry off the girl and I’ll walk +up to Belvidere; but don’t bring Sarah this way--head toward Water Gap. +When you’re married fast and sure, you can come back here as leisurely +as you’re a mind to, and nobody can lay a hand upon you or her.” + +We arranged some other minor details of our expedition and I went to +bed. + +The next afternoon at four o’clock I was at the appointed place, and +Boston Yankee was with me. I did not look for Sarah before five o’clock, +so we tied our horse and kept a good watch upon the road. An hour went +by and no Sarah appeared. I told Boston Yankee I did not believe she +would come. + +“Don’t be impatient; wait a little longer,” said my friend. + +In twenty minutes we saw emerge, not from Scheimer’s house, but from his +eldest son’s house, which was still nearer to the place where we were +waiting, three women, two of whom I recognized as Sarah and Mary, and +the third I did not know, nor could I imagine why she was with the other +two; but as I saw them, leaving Boston Yankee in the woods, I drove the +horse down into the road. As Sarah drew near she kissed her hand to me +and came up to the wagon. “Are you ready to go with me?” I asked. “I +am, indeed,” was her reply, and I put out my hand to help her into the +buggy. But the third woman caught hold of her dress, tried to prevent +her from getting in, and began to scream so as to attract attention at +Sarah’s brother’s house. I told the woman to let her go, and threatened +her with my whip. “Get away,” shouted Boston Yankee, who had come upon +the scene. “Drive as fast as you can; never mind if you kill the horse.” + +We started; the woman still shouting for help, and I drove on as rapidly +as the horse would go. When we had gone on a mile or two, I asked +Sarah what all this meant? She told me that the woman was her brother’s +servant; that Mary and herself left her father’s house a little after +four o’clock to go over and call at her brother’s; that just before +five, when she was to meet me, she and Mary proposed to go out for a +walk; that the whole family watched her constantly, and so her brother’s +wife told the servant woman to get on her things and go with them. +“You, may be sure,” she, added, “that the woman will arouse the whole +neighborhood, and that they will all be after us.” I needed no further +hint to push on. We were going toward Water Gap, as Boston Yankee had +advised, and when we were about eight miles on the way, I deemed it +prudent to drive into the woods and to wait till night before going on. +We drove in just off the road, and tied our horse. We were effectually +concealed; our pursuers, if there were any, would be sure to go by us, +and meantime we could talk over our plans for the future. Sarah told me +that when Mary came to the house the night before, she was not at all +surprised to see her, as she occasionally came up from Easton to +make them a little visit, and to stay all night; that she went to the +summer-house with Mary to sit down and talk, and almost immediately saw +the ring on Mary’s finger; that when she saw it she at once recognized +it, and asked her: “O! Mary, where did you get that ring?” “Keep +quiet,” said Mary: “don’t talk loud, or some one may hear you; don’t +be agitated; your lover is near, and has sent me to tell you.” It was +joyful news to Sarah, and how readily she had acquiesced in my plan for +an elopement was manifest in the fact that she was then by my side. + +We bad not been in the woods an hour when, as I anticipated, we heard +our pursuers, we did not know how many there were, drive rapidly by. +“Now we can go on, I suppose,” said Sarah. “Oh no, my dear,” I replied, +“now is just the time to wait quietly here;” and wait we did till eight +o’clock, when our pursuers, having gone on a few miles, and having seen +or learned nothing of the fugitives, came by again “on the back track.” + They must have thought we had turned off into some other road. I waited +a while longer to let our friend’s get a little nearer home and further +away from us, and then took the road again toward Water Gap. + +We reached Water Gap at midnight, had some supper and fed the horse. We +rested awhile, and then drove leisurely on nine miles further, where we +waited till daylight and crossed the river. We were in no great hurry +now; we were comparatively safe from pursuit. We soon came to a public +house, where we stopped and put out the horse, intending to take +breakfast. While I was inquiring of the landlord if there was a justice +of the peace in the neighborhood, the landlord’s wife had elicited from +Sarah the fact of our elopement, who she was, who her folks were, and so +on. The well-meaning landlady advised Sarah to go back home and get +her parents consent before she married. Sarah suggested that the very +impossibility of getting such consent was the reason for her running +away; nor did it appear how she was to go back home alone even if she +desired to. We saw that we could get no help there, so I countermanded +my order for breakfast, offering at the same time to pay for it as if we +had eaten it, ordered out my horse and drove on. After riding some +ten miles we arrived at another public house on the road, and as the +landlord come out to the door I immediately asked him where I could +find a justice of the peace? He laughed, for he at once comprehended the +whole situation, and said: + +“Well, well! I am an old offender myself; I ran away with my wife; there +is a justice of the peace two miles from here, and if you’ll come in +I’ll have him here within an hour.” + +We had reached the right place at last, for while the landlady was +getting breakfast for us, and doing her best to make us comfortable and +happy, the Old Offender himself took his horse and carriage and went for +the justice. By the time we had finished our breakfast he was back +with him, and Sarah and I were married in “less than no time,” the Old +Offender and his wife singing the certificate as witnesses. I never +paid a fee more gladly. We were married now, and all the Scheimers in +Pennsylvania were welcome to come and see us if they pleased. + +No Scheimers came that day; but the day following came a deputation from +that family, some half dozen delegates, and with them a constable from +Easton, with a warrant to arrest Sarah for something--I never knew +what--but at any rate he was to take her home if necessary by force. The +Old Offender declined to let these people into his house; Sarah told me +to keep out of the way and she would see what was wanted. Whereupon she +boldly went to the door and greeted those of her acquaintances who were +in the party. The constable knew her, and told her he had come to take +her home. “But what if I refuse to go?” “Well then, I have a warrant +to take you; but if you are married, I have no power over you.” Well +married I am, said Sarah, and she produced the certificate, and the +Old Offender and his wife came out and declared that they witnessed the +ceremony. + +What was to be done? evidently nothing; only the constable ordered a +whole barrel of ale to treat his posse and any one about tire town who +chose to drink, and the barrel was rolled out on the grass, tapped, and +for a half hour there was a great jollification, which was not exactly +in honor of our wedding, but which afforded the greatest gratification +to the constable, his retainers, and those who happened to gather to see +what was going on. This ended, and the bill paid, the Easton delegation +got into their wagons and turned their horses heads towards home. + +We passed three delightful days under the Old Offender’s roof, and +then thanking our host for his kindness to us, and paying our bill, we +started on our return journey for Oxford. We arrived safely, and staid +with Boston Yankee a fortnight. We were close by the Scheimer homestead, +which was but a few miles away across the river; but we feared neither +father nor brothers, nor even the woman who was so unwilling to let +Sarah go with me. The constable, and the rest had carried home the news +of our marriage, and the old folks made the best of it. Indeed, after +they heard we had returned to Oxford, Sarah’s mother sent a man over to +tell her that if she would come home any day she could pack her clothes +and other things, and take them away with her. The day after we received +this invitation, Boston Yankee offered to take Sarah over home, and +promised to bring her safely back. So she went, was treated tolerably +well, at any rate, she secured her clothes and brought them home with +her. + +It was now time to bid farewell to our staunch friend, Boston Yankee. I +had inducements to go to Goshen, Orange County, N. Y., where I had many +acquaintances, and to Goshen we went. We found a good boarding place, +and I began to practice medicine, After we had been there a while, Sarah +wrote home to let her family know where she was, and that she was well +and happy. Her father wrote in reply that we both might come there at +any time, and that if she would come home he would do as well by her as +he would by any of his children. This letter made Sarah uneasy. In spite +of all the ill usage she had received from her parents and family, she +was nevertheless homesick, and longed to get back again. I could see +that this feeling grew upon her daily. We were pleasantly situated +where we were; I had a good and growing practice, and we had made many +friends; but this did not satisfy her; she had some property in her own +right, but her father was trustee of it, and he had hitherto kept it +away from her from spite at her love affair with me. But now she was to +be taken into favor again, and she represented to me that we could go +back and get her money, and that I could establish myself there as well +as anywhere; we could live well and happily among her friends and old +associations. These things were dinged in my ears day after day, till I +was sick of the very sound. I could see that she was bound, or, as the +Dutch doctor would have said, “bewitched” to go back, and at last, after +five happy months in Goshen, in an evil hour I consented to go home with +her. + + + +CHAPTER V. HOW THE SCHEIMERS MADE ME SUFFER. + +RETURN TO SCHEIMER--PEACE AND THEN PANDEMONIUM--FRIGHTFUL FAMILY +ROW--RUNNING FOR REFUGE--THE GANG AGAIN--ARREST AT MIDNIGHT--STRUGGLE +WITH MY CAPTORS--IN JAIL ONCE MORE--PUT IN IRONS--A HORRIBLE PRISON +BREAKING OUT--THE DUNGEON--SARAH’S BABY--CURIOUS COMPROMISES--OLD +SCHEIMER MY JAILER--SIGNING A BOND--FREE AGAIN--LAST WORDS FROM SARAH. + + + +We went back to the Scheimer homestead and were favorably received. +There was no special enthusiasm over our return, no marked +demonstrations of delight; but they seemed glad to see us, and all the +unpleasant things of the past, if not forgotten, were tacitly ignored +on all sides. We passed a pleasant evening together in what seemed a +re-united family circle--one of the brothers only was absent--and next +morning we met cordially around the breakfast table. I really began to +think it was possible that all the old difficulties might be healed, and +that the pleasant picture Sarah painted, at Goshen, about settling down +happily in Pennsylvania, could be fully realized. + +After breakfast I took a conveyance to go three or four miles to see a +man who owed me some money for medical services in his family, and was +away from Scheimer’s three or four hours. During this brief absence I +could not help thinking with genuine satisfaction of the happiness Sarah +was experiencing in the gratification of her longing to return home +again. Surely, I thought, she must be happy now. No more homesickness, +and a full and complete reconciliation with her family; all the anger, +abuse, and blows forgotten or forgiven; she restored to her place in the +family; and even her objectionable husband received with open arms. + +But what an enormous difference there is between fancy and fact. During +this brief absence of mine, had come home the brother who had always +seemed to concentrate the hatred of the whole family towards me for the +wrong they assumed I had done to the youngest daughter who loved me. +On my return I found the peaceful home I left in the morning a perfect +pandemonium. Sarah was fairly frantic. The whole family were abusing +her. The returned brother especially, was calling her all the vile names +he could lay his tongue to. I learned afterwards that he had been doing +it ever since he came into the house that day and found her at home and +heard that I was with her. They had picked, wrenched rather, out of her +the secret I had confided to her that I had another wife from whom I was +“separated,” but not divorced. My sudden presence on this scene was not +exactly oil on troubled waters; it was gunpowder to fire. As soon as +Sarah saw me at the door she cried out: + +“O! husband, let us go away from here.” + +Her mother turned and shouted at me that I had better fly at once or +they would kill me. Meanwhile, that mob, which the Scheimer boys seemed +always to have at hand, was gathering in the dooryard. I managed to get +near enough to Sarah to tell her that I would send a man for her next +day, and then if she was willing to come with me she must get away +from her family if possible. I then made a rush through the crowd, and +reached the road. I think the gang had an indistinct knowledge of the +situation, or they would have mobbed me, and perhaps killed me. They +knew something was “to pay” at Scheimer’s, but did not know exactly +what. Once on the road it was my intention to have gone over to +Belvidere, and then on to Oxford, where I should have found a sure +refuge with my friend Boston Yankee. + +Would that I had done so; but I was a fool; I thought I could be of +service to Sarah by remaining near her; might see her next day; I might +even be able to get her out of the house, and then we could once more +elope together and go back again to Goshen where we had been so happy. +So I went to a public house three miles above Scheimer’s, and remained +there quietly during the rest of the day, revolving plans for the +deliverance of Sarah. I thought only of her. It is strange that I did +not once realize what a perilous position I was in myself--that, firmly +as I believed myself to be wedded to Sarah, I was in fact amenable to +the law, and liable to arrest and punishment. All this never occurred to +me. I saw one or two of the gang who were at Scheimer’s about the hotel, +but they did not offer to molest me, and I paid no particular attention +to them. I did not know then that they were spies and were watching my +movements. At nine o’clock I went to bed. At midnight, or thereabouts, +I was roughly awakened and told to get up. Without waiting for me, +to comply, five men who had entered my room pulled me out of bed, and +almost before I could huddle on my clothes I was handcuffed. Then one of +them, who said he was a constable from Easton, showed a warrant for my +arrest. What the arrest was for I was not informed. I was taken down +stairs, put into a wagon, the men followed, and the horses started in +the direction of Easton. By Scheimer’s on the way, and I could see a +light in Sarah’s window. I remembered how in, all the Bedlam in +the house that morning she still cried out: “I will go with him.” I +remembered how, only a few months before, she had been brutally flogged +in that very chamber, to “get the devil out of her.” I remembered, too, +the many happy, happy hours we had passed together. And here was I, +handcuffed and dragged in a wagon, I knew not whither. + +This for thoughts--in the way of action, was all the while trying to +get my handcuffs off, and at last I succeeded in getting one hand free. +Waiting my opportunity till we came to a piece of woods, I suddenly +jumped up and sprang from the wagon. It was a very dark night, and in +running into the woods I struck against a tree with such force as +to knock me down and nearly stun me. Two of the men were on me in an +instant. After a brief struggle I managed to get away and ran again. I +should have escaped, only a high rail fence brought me to a sudden stop, +and I was too exhausted to climb over it. My pursuers who were hard at +my heels the whole while now laid hold of me. In the subsequent struggle +I got out my pocket knife, and stabbed one of them, cutting his arm +badly. Then they overpowered me. They dragged me to the roadside, +brought a rope out of the wagon, bound my arms and legs, and so at last +carried me to Easton. + +It was nearly daylight when I was thrust into jail. There were no cells, +only large rooms for a dozen or more men, and I was put, into one of +these with several prisoners who were awaiting trial, or who had been +tried and were there till they could be sent to prison. It was a day +or two before I found out what I was there for. Then a Dutch Deputy +Sheriff, who was also keeper of the jail, came and told me that I was +held for bigamy, adding the consoling intelligence that it would be a +very hard job for me, and that I would get five or six years in State +prison sure. I was well acquainted in Easton, and I sent for lawyer +Litgreave for assistance and advice. I sent also to my half-sister in +Delaware County, N. Y., and in a day or two she came and saw me, and +gave Mr. Litgreave one hundred dollars retaining fee. My lawyer went to +see the Scheimers and when he returned he told me that he hoped to save +me from State prison--at all events he would exercise the influence he +had over the family to that end; but I must expect to remain in jail a +long time. Precisely what this meant I did not know then; but I found +out afterwards. + +Soon after this visit from the lawyer, the Deputy Sheriff came in and +said that he was ordered “by the Judge” to iron me, and it was done. +They were heavy leg-irons weighing full twelve pounds, and I may say +here that I wore them during the whole term of my imprisonment in this +jail, or rather they wore me--wearing their way in time almost into +the bone. I had been here a week now, and was well acquainted with the +character of the place. It was indescribably filthy; no pretence was +made of cleansing it. The prisoners were half fed, and, at that, the +food was oftentimes so vile that starving men rejected it. The deputy +who kept the jail was cruel and malignant, and took delight in torturing +his prisoners. He would come in sometimes under pretence of looking at +my irons to see if they were safe, and would twist and turn them about +so that I suffered intolerable pain, and blood flowed from my wounds +made by these cruel irons. Such abuse as he could give with his tongue +he dispensed freely. Of course he was a coward, and he never dared to +come into one of the prisoner’s rooms unless he was armed. This is a +faithful photograph of the interior of the jail at Easton, Penn., as +it was a few years ago; there may have been some improvement since that +time; for the sake of humanity, I hope there has been. + +After I had been in this jail about six weeks, and had become well +acquainted with my room-mates, I communicated to them one day, the +result of my observation: + +“There,” said I, showing them a certain place in the wall, “is a loose +stone that with a little labor can be lifted out, and it will leave a +hole large enough for us to get out of and go where we like.” + +Examination elicited a unanimous verdict in favor of making the attempt. +With no tools but a case knife we dug out the mortar on all sides of the +stone doing the work by turns and covering the stone by hanging up an +old blanket--which excited no suspicion, as it was at the head of one of +the iron bedsteads--whenever the Deputy or any of his men were likely to +visit us. In twelve days we completed the work, and could lift out the +stone. The hole was large enough to let a man through, and there was +nothing for us to do but to crawl out one after the other and drop down +a few feet into the yard. This yard was surrounded by a board fence that +could be easily surmounted. I intended to take the lead, after taking +off my irons (which I had learned to do, and indeed, did every day, +putting them on only when I was liable to be “inspected”) and after +leaving these irons at the Deputy’s door, I intended to put myself on +the Jersey side of the river as speedily as possible. + +Liberty was within reach of every man in that room, and the night was +set for the escape. But one of the crowd turned traitor, and, under +pretence, of speaking to the Deputy about some matter, managed to be +called out of the room and disclosed the whole. The man was waiting +transportation to prison to serve out a sentence of ten years, and, +with the chance of escape before him, it seemed singular that he should +reveal a plan which promised to give him liberty; but probably he +feared a failure; or that he might be recaptured and his prison sentence +increased; while on the other hand by disclosing the plot he could +curry favor enough to get his term reduced, and perhaps he might gain a +pardon. Any how, he betrayed us. The Deputy came in and found the stone +in the condition described, and forthwith we were all removed to the +dungeon, or dark room, and kept there on bread and water for twelve +days. We heard afterwards that our betrayer did get five years less than +his original sentence for subjecting his comrades in misery to twelve +days of almost indescribable suffering. We were not only in a totally +dark and frightfully filthy hole, but we were half starved, and the +Deputy daily took delight in taunting us with our sufferings. + +At the end of the twelve days we were taken back to the old room where +we found the stone securely fastened in with irons. Moreover, we were +now under stricter observation, and at stated hours every day, an +inspector came in and examined the walls. This soon wore off, however, +and when the inspection was finally abandoned, about two months from the +time of our first attempt, we managed to find another place in the old +wall where we could dig out and we went to work. We were a fortnight at +it, and had nearly completed our labor when we were discovered. + +This time we spent fourteen days in the dungeon for our pains. + +And now comes an extraordinary disclosure with regard to my +imprisonment. A few days after my removal from the dungeon to the old +quarters again, the Deputy, in one of his rare periods of what, with +him, passed for good humor, informed me that Sarah had been confined, +and had given birth to a fine boy; that she was crying for my release; +that Lawyer Sitgreave was interceding for me; but that the old man +Scheimer was still obstinate and would not let me out. Passing over +my feelings with regard to the birth of my son, here was a revelation +indeed! It will be remembered that I had only been told that I was under +indictment for bigamy. I had never been brought before a justice for +a preliminary examination; never bound over for trial; and now it +transpired that old Scheimer, a Pennsylvania Dutch farmer, had the +power to put me in jail, put me in irons, and subject me to long months, +perhaps years of imprisonment. I had something to occupy my thoughts +now, and for the remaining period of my jail life. + +Next came a new dodge of the Scheimers, the object of which was to show +that Sarah’s marriage to me was no marriage at all, thus leaving her +free to marry any other man her family might force upon her. When I had +been in jail seven months, one day the Deputy came in and said that he +was going to take off my irons. I told him I wouldn’t trouble him to +do that, for though I had worn them when he and his subordinates were +around till the irons had nearly killed me, yet at other times I had +been in a habit of taking them off at pleasure; and to prove it, I sat +down and in a few minutes handed him the irons. The man was amazed; but +saying nothing about the irons, he approached me on another subject. He +said he thought if I would sign an acknowledgment that I was a married +man when I married Sarah Scheimer, and would leave the State forever, I +could get out of jail; would I do it? I told him I would give no answer +till I had seen my counsel. + +Well, the next day Lawyer Sitgreave came to me and told me I had better +do it, and I consented. Shortly afterwards, I was taken to court, for +the first time in this whole affair, and was informed by the judge that +if I would sign a bond not to go near the Scheimer house or family he +would discharge me. I signed such a bond, and the judge then told me I +was discharged; but that I ought to have gone to State prison for ten +years for destroying the peace and happiness of the Scheimer family. +Truly the Scheimer family were a power, indeed, in that part of the +country! + +My lawyer gave me five dollars and I went to Harmony and staid that +night. The next day I went to an old friend of mine, a Methodist +minister, and persuaded him to go over and see what Sarah Scheimer’s +feelings were towards me, and if she was willing to come to me with our +child. He went over there, but the old Scheimers suspected his errand, +and watched him closely to see that he held no communication with Sarah. +He did, however, have an opportunity to speak to her, and she sent me +word that if she could ever get her money and get away from her parents, +she would certainly join me in any part of the world. I was warned, at +the same time, not to come near the house, for fear that her father or +some of her brothers would kill me. + + + +CHAPTER VI. FREE LIFE AND FISHING. + +TAKING CARE OF CRAZY MEN--CARRYING OFF A BOY--ARRESTED FOR STEALING MY +OWN HORSE AND BUGGY--FISHING IN LAKE WINNIPISEOGEE--AN ODD LANDLORD--A +WOMAN AS BIG AS A HOGSHEAD--REDUCING THE HOGSHEAD TO A BARREL--WONDERFUL +VERIFICATION OF A DREAM--SUCCESSFUL MEDICAL PRACTICE--A BUSY WINTER +IN NEW HAMPSHIRE--BLANDISHMENTS OF CAPTAIN BROWN--I GO TO NEWARK, NEW +JERSEY. + + + +The next day I left Harmony and walked to Port Jarvis, on the Erie +Railroad, N. Y., arriving late at night, and entirely footsore, sick, +and disheartened. I went to the hotel, and the next morning I found +myself seriously sick. Asking advice, I was directed to the house of +a widow, who promised to nurse and take care of me. I was ill for two +weeks, and meantime, my half-sister in Delaware County, to whom I +made known my condition, sent me money for my expenses, and when I +had sufficiently recovered to travel, I went to this sister’s house in +Sidney, and there I remained several days, till I was quite well and +strong again. + +Casting about for something to do, a friend told me that he knew of +an opportunity for a good man at Newbury to take care of a young man, +eighteen years of age, who was insane. I went there and saw his father, +and he put him under my charge. I had the care of him four months, and +during the last two months of the time I traveled about with him, +and returned him, finally, to his friends in a materially improved +condition. The friends of another insane man in Montgomery, near +Newbury, hearing of my success with this young man, sent for me to come +and see them. I went there and found a man who had been insane seven +years, but who was quiet and well-behaved, only he was “out of his +head.” I engaged to do what I could for him. The father of my Newbury +patient had paid me well, and with my medical practice and the sale of +medicines in traveling about, I had accumulated several hundred dollars, +and when I went to Montgomery I had a good horse and buggy which cost me +five hundred dollars. So, when my new patient had been under my care and +control two months, I proposed that he should travel about with me in my +buggy, and visit various parts of the State in the immediate vicinity. +His friends thought well of the suggestion, and we traveled in this way +about four months, stopping a few days here and there, when I practiced +where I could, and sold medicines, making some money. At the end of +this time I went back to Montgomery with my patient, as I think, fully +restored, and his father, besides, paying the actual expenses of our +journey, gave me six hundred dollars. + +Returning to Sidney I learned that my first and worst wife was then +living with the children at Unadilla, a few miles across the river in +Otsego County. I had no desire to see her, but I heard at the same time +that my youngest boy, a lad ten years old, had been sent to work on a +farm three miles beyond, and that he was not well taken care of. I drove +over to see about it, and after some inquiry I was told that the boy +was then in school. Going to the schoolhouse and asking for him, the +school-mistress, who knew me, denied that he was there, but I pushed +in, and found him, and a ragged, miserable looking little wretch he was. +I brought him out, put him into the carriage and took him with me on the +journey which I was then contemplating to Amsterdam, N. Y., stopping +at the first town to get him decently clothed. The boy went with me +willingly, indeed he was glad to go, and in due time we arrived at +Amsterdam, and from there we went to Troy. + +I had not been in Troy two hours before I was arrested for stealing my +own horse and buggy! My turnout was taken from me, and I found myself in +durance vile. I was not long in procuring bail, and I then set myself, +to work to find out what this meant. I was shown a handbill describing +my person, giving my name, giving a description of my horse, and +offering a reward of fifty dollars for my arrest. This was signed by +a certain Benson, of Kingston, Sullivan County, N.Y. I then remembered +that while I was traveling with my insane patient from Montgomery +through Sullivan County, I fell in with a Benson who was a very +plausible fellow, and who scraped acquaintance with me, and while I was +at Kingston he rode about with me on one or two occasions. One day he +told me that he knew a girl just out of the place who was subject to +fits, and wanted to know if I could do anything for her; that her father +was rich and would pay a good price to have her cured. I went to see the +girl and did at least enough to earn a fee of one hundred dollars, +which her father gladly paid me. Benson also introduced me to some other +people whom I found profitable patients. I thought he was a very good +friend to me, but he was a cool, calculating rascal. He meant to rob me +of my horse and buggy, and went deliberately to work about it. First, he +issued the handbill which caused my arrest in Troy, where he knew I was +going. Next, as appeared when he came up to Troy to prosecute the suit +against me, he forged a bill of sale. The case was tried and decided +in my favor. Benson appealed, and again it was decided that the horse +belonged to me. I then had him indicted for perjury and forgery, and he +was put under bonds of fourteen hundred dollars in each case to appear +for trial. Some how or other he never appeared, and whether he forfeited +his bonds, or otherwise slipped through the “meshes of the law,” I never +learned, nor have I ever seen him since he attempted to swindle me. +But these proceedings kept me in Troy more than a month, and to pay +my lawyer and other expenses, I actually sold the horse and buggy the +scoundrel tried to steal from me. + +Taking my boy to Sidney and putting him under the care of my half +sister, I went to Boston, where I met two friends of mine who were +about going to Meredith Bridge, N.H., to fish through the ice on Lake +Winnipiseogee. It was early in January, 1853, and good, clear, cold +weather. They represented the sport to be capital, and said that plenty +of superb lake trout and pickerel could be taken every day, and urged me +to go with them. As I had nothing special to do for a few days, I went. +When we reached Meredith we stopped at a tavern near the lake, kept by +one of the oddest landlords I have ever met. After a good supper, as +we were sitting in the barroom, the landlord came up to me and at once +opened conversation in the following manner: + +“Waal, where do you come from, anyhow?” + +“From Boston,” I replied. + +“Waal, what be you, anyhow?” + +“Well, I practice medicine, and take care of the sick.” + +“Dew ye? Waal, do ye ever cure anybody?” + +“O, sometimes; quite frequently, in fact.” + +“Dew ye! waal, there’s a woman up here to Lake Village, ‘Squire +Blaisdell’s wife, who has had the dropsy more’n twelve years; been +filling’ all the time till they tell me she’s bigger’n a hogshead now, +and she’s had a hundred doctors, and the more doctors she has the bigger +she gets; what d’ ye think of that now?” + +I answered that I thought it was quite likely, and then turned away +from the landlord to talk to my friends about our proposed sport for +to-morrow, mentally making note of ‘Squire Blaisdell’s wife in Lake +Village. + +After breakfast next morning we went out on the lake, cut holes in the +ice, set our lines, and before dinner we had taken several fine trout +and pickerel, the largest and finest of which we put into a box with +ice, and sent as a present to President Pierce, in Washington. We had +agreed, the night before, to fish for him the first day, and to send +him the best specimens we could from his native state. After dinner my +friends started to go out on the ice again, and I told them “I guess’d I +wouldn’t go with them, I had fished enough for that day.” They insisted +I should go, but I told them I preferred to take a walk and explore the +country. So they went to the lake and I walked up to Lake Village. + +I soon found Mr. Blaisdell’s house, and as the servant who came to the +door informed me that Mr. Blaisdell was not at home, I asked to see +Mrs. Blaisdell, And was shown in to that lady. She was not quite the +“hogshead” the landlord declared her to be, but she was one of the worst +cases of dropsy I had ever seen. I introduced myself to her, told her my +profession, and that I had called upon her in the hope of being able to +afford her some relief; that I wanted nothing for my services unless I +could really benefit her. + +“O, Doctor,” said she, “you can do nothing for me; in the past twelve +years I have had at least forty different doctors, and none of them have +helped me.” + +“But there can be no harm in trying the forty-first;” and as I said +it I took from my vest pocket and held out in the palm of my hand some +pills: + +“Here, madame, are some pills made from a simple blossom, which cannot +possibly harm you, and which, I am sure, will do you a great deal of +good.” + +“O, Mary!” she exclaimed to her niece, who was in attendance upon her, +“this is my dream! I dreamed last night that my father appeared to me +and told me that a stranger would come with a blossom in his hand; that +he would offer it to me, and that if I would take it I should recover. +Go and get a glass of water and I will take these pills at once.” + +“Surely,” said Mary, “you are not going to take this stranger’s medicine +without knowing anything about it, or him?” + +“I am indeed; go and get the water.” + +She took the medicine and then told me that her father, who had died two +years ago, was a physician, and had carefully attended to her case as +long as he lived; but that she had a will of her own, and had sent far +and near for other doctors, though with no good result. + +“You have come to me,” she continued, “and although I am not +superstitious, your coming with a blossom in your hand, figuratively +speaking, is so exactly in accordance with my dream, that I am going to +put myself under your care.” + +She then asked me if I lived in the neighborhood, and I told her no; +that I had merely come up from Boston with two friends to try a few +days’ fishing through the ice on the lake. + +“You can fish to better purpose here, I think,” she said; “you can get +plenty of practice in the villages and farm houses about here: at any +rate, stay for the present and undertake my case, and I will pay you +liberally.” + +I went back to Meredith Bridge--I believe it is now called Laconia--and +had another day’s fishing with my friends. When they were ready to pack +up and return to Boston, I astonished them by informing them that I +should stay where I was for the present, perhaps for months, and that I +believed I could find a good practice in Meredith and adjoining places. +So they left me and I went to Lake Village, and made that pleasant place +my headquarters. + +The weeks wore on, and if Mrs. Blaisdell was a hogshead, as the Meredith +landlord said, when I first saw her, she soon became a barrel under my +treatment, and in four months she was entirely cured, and was as sound +as any woman in the State. I had as much other business too as I could +attend to, and was very busy and happy all the time. + +In May I went to Exeter, alternating between there and Portsmouth, and +finding enough to do till the end of July. While I was in Portsmouth +on one of my last visits to that place, I received a call from a +sea-captain by the name of Brown, who told me that he had heard of my +success in dropsical cases, and that I must go to Newark, N. J., and +see his daughter. “Pay,” he said, “was no object; I must go.” I told him +that I had early finished my business in that vicinity, and that when I +went to New York, as I proposed to do shortly, I would go over to +Newark and see his daughter. A few days afterward, when I had settled my +business and collected my bills in Portsmouth and Exeter, I went to New +York, and from there to Newark. + + + +CHAPTER VII. WEDDING A WIDOW, AND THE CONSEQUENCES. + +I MARRY A WIDOW--SIX WEEKS OF HAPPINESS--CONFIDING A SECRET AND THE +CONSEQUENCES--THE WIDOW’S BROTHER--SUDDEN FLIGHT FROM NEWARK--IN +HARTFORD, CONN.--MY WIFE’S SISTER BETRAYS ME--TRIAL FOR +BIGAMY--SENTENCED TO TEN YEARS IMPRISONMENT--I BECOME A “BOBBIN BOY”--A +GOOD FRIEND--GOVERNOR PRICE VISITS ME IN PRISON--HE PARDONS ME--TEN +YEARS’ SENTENCE FULFILLED IN SEVEN MONTHS. + + + +Why in the world did Captain Brown ever tempt me with the prospect of +a profitable patient in Newark? I had no thought of going to that city, +and no business there except to see if I could cure Captain Brown’s +daughter. With my matrimonial monomania it was like putting my hand into +the fire to go to a fresh place, where I should see fresh faces, and +where fresh temptations would beset me. And when I went to Newark, I +went only as I supposed, to see a single patient; but Captain Brown +prevailed upon me to stay to take care of his daughter, and assured me +that he and his friends would secure me a good practice. They did. In +two months I was doing as well in my profession as I had ever done in +any place where I had located. I might have attended strictly to my +business, and in a few years have acquired a handsome competence. But, +as ill luck, which, strangely enough, I then considered good luck, would +have it, when I had been in Newark some two months, I became acquainted +with a buxom, good-looking widow, Mrs. Elizabeth Roberts. I protest +to-day that she courted me--not I her. She was fair, fascinating, and +had a goodly share of property. I fell into the snare. She said she was +lonely; she sighed; she smiled, and I was lost. + +Would that I had observed the elder Weller’s injunction: “Bevare of +vidders;” would that I had never seen the Widow Roberts, or rather that +she had never seen me. Eight weeks after we first met we were married. +We had a great wedding in her own house, and all her friends were +present. I was in good practice with as many patients as I could attend +to; she had a good home and we settled down to be very happy. + +For six weeks, only six weeks, I think we were so. We might have been +so for six weeks, six months, six years longer; but alas! I was a fool I +confided to her the secret of my first marriage, and separation, and she +confided the same secret to her brother, a well-to-do wagon-maker in +Newark. So far as Elizabeth was concerned, she said she didn’t care; +so long as the separation was mutual and final, since so many years +had elapsed, and especially since I hadn’t seen the woman for full six +years, and was not supposed to know whether she was alive or dead, why, +it was as good as a divorce; so reasoned Elizabeth, and it was precisely +my own reasoning, and the reasoning which had got me into numberless +difficulties, to say nothing of jails and prisons. But the brother had +his doubts about it, and came and talked to me on the subject several +times. We quarrelled about it. He threatened to have me arrested for +bigamy. I told him that if he took a step in that direction I would flog +him. Then he had me brought before a justice for threatening him, with a +view to having me put under bonds to keep the peace. I employed a lawyer +who managed my case so well that the justice concluded there was no +cause of action against me. + +But this lawyer informed me that the brother was putting, even then, +another rod in pickle for me, and that I had better clear out. I took +his advice, I went to the widow’s house, packed my trunk, gathered +together what money I could readily lay hands upon, and with about $300 +in my pocket, I started for New York, staying that night at a hotel in +Courtland street. + +The following morning I went over to Jersey City, hired a saddle-horse, +and rode to Newark. The precise object of my journey I do not think I +knew myself; but I must have had some vague idea of persuading Elizabeth +to leave Newark and join me in New York or elsewhere. I confess, too, +that I was more or less under the influence of liquor, and considerably +more than less. However, no one would have noticed this in my appearance +or demeanor. I rode directly to Elizabeth’s door, hitched my horse, and +went into the house. The moment my wife saw me she cried out: + +“For God’s sake get out of this house and out of town as soon as you +can; they have been watching for you ever since yesterday; they’ve got a +warrant for your arrest; don’t stay here one moment.” + +I asked her if she was willing to follow me, and she said she would +do so if she only dared but her brother had made an awful row, and had +sworn he would put me in prison anyhow; I had better go back to New York +and await events. I started for the door, and was unhitching my horse, +when the brother and a half dozen more were upon me. I sprang to the +saddle. They tried to stop me; the over-eager brother even caught me +by the foot; but I dashed through the crowd and rode like mad to Jersey +City, returned the horse to the livery stable, crossed the ferry to New +York, went to my hotel, got my trunk, and started for Hartford, Conn., +where I arrived in the evening. + +This was in the month of June, 1854. I went to the old Exchange Hotel in +State street, and very soon acquired a good practice. Indeed, it seems +as if I was always successful enough in my medical business--my mishaps +have been in the matrimonial line. When I had been in Hartford about +three months, and was well settled, I thought I would go down to New +York and see a married sister of Elizabeth’s, who was living there, and +try to find out how matters were going on over in Newark. That I found +out fully, if not exactly to my satisfaction, will appear anon. + +When I called at the sister’s house, the servant told me she was out, +but would be back in an hour; so I left my name, promising to call +again. I returned again at one o’clock in the afternoon, and the sister +was in, but declined to see me. As I was coming down the steps, a +policeman who seemed to be lounging on the opposite side of the street, +beckoned to me, and suspecting nothing, I crossed over to see what he +wanted. He simply wanted to know my name, and when I gave it to him he +informed me that I was his prisoner. I asked for what? and he said “as a +fugitive from justice in New Jersey.” + +This was for taking the pains to come down from Hartford to inquire +after the welfare of my wife! whose sister, the moment the servant told +her I had been there, and would call again, had gone to the nearest +police station and given information, or made statements, which led to +the setting of this latest trap for me. The policeman took me before a +justice who sent me to the Tombs. On my arrival there I managed to pick +up a lawyer, or rather one of the sharks of the place picked me up, and +said that for twenty-five dollars he would get me clear in three or +four hours. I gave him the money, and from that day till now, I have +never set eyes upon him. I lay in a cell all night, and next morning +Elizabeth’s brother, to whom the sister in New York had sent word that +I was caged, came over from Newark to see me. He said he felt sorry for +me, but that he was “bound to put me through.” He then asked me if I +would go over to Newark without a requisition from the Governor of +New Jersey, and I told him I would not; whereupon he went away without +saying another word, and I waited all day to hear from the lawyer to +whom I had given twenty-five dollars, but he did not come. + +So next day when the brother came over and asked me the same question, +I said I would go; wherein I was a fool; for I ought to have reflected +that he had had twenty-four hours in which to get a requisition, and +that he might in fact have made application for one already, without +getting it, and every delay favored my chances of getting out. But I had +no one to advise me, and so I went quietly with him and an officer to +the ferry, where we crossed and went by cars to Newark. I was at once +taken before a justice, who, after a hearing of the case, bound me over, +under bonds of only one thousand dollars, to take my trial for bigamy. + +If I could have gone into the street I could have procured this +comparatively trifling bail in half an hour; as it was, after I was in +jail I sent for a man whom I knew, and gave him my gold watch and one +hundred dollars, all the money I had, to procure me bail, which he +promised to do; but he never did a thing for me, except to rob me. + +A lawyer came to me and offered to take my case in hand for one hundred +dollars, but I had not the money to give him. I then sent to New York +for a lawyer whom I knew, and when he came to see me he took the same +view of the case that Elizabeth and I did; that is, that the long +separation between my first wife and myself, and my presumed ignorance +as to whether she was alive or dead, gave me full liberty to marry +again. At least, he thought any court would consider it an extenuating +circumstance, and he promised to be present at my trial and aid me all +he could. + +I lay in Newark jail nine months, awaiting my trial. During that time I +had almost daily quarrels with the jailor, who abused me shamefully, and +told me I ought to go to State prison and stay there for life. Once he +took hold of me and I struck him, for which I was put in the dark cell +forty-eight hours. At last came my trial. The court appointed counsel +for me, for I had no money to fee a lawyer, and my New York friend was +on hand to advise and assist. I lad witnesses to show the length of time +that had elapsed since my separation from my first wife, and we also +raised the point as to whether the justice who married me, was really +a legal justice of the peace or not. The trial occupied two days. I +suppose all prisoners think so, but the Judge charged against me in +every point; the jury was out two hours, and then came in for advice on +a doubtful question; the judge gave them another blast against me, and +an hour after they came in with a verdict of “guilty.” I went back to +jail and two days afterwards was brought up for sentence which was--“ten +years at hard labor in the State prison at Trenton.” + +Good heavens! All this for being courted and won by a widow! + +The day following, I was taken in irons to Trenton. The Warden of +the prison, who wanted to console me, said that, for the offence, my +sentence was an awful one, and that he didn’t believe I would be obliged +to serve out half of it. As I felt then, I did not believe I should live +out one-third of it. After I had gone through the routine of questions, +and had been put in the prison uniform, a cap was drawn down over my +face, as if I was about to be hung, and I was led, thus blind-folded, +around and around, evidently to confuse me, with regard to the interior +of the prison--in case I might ever have any idea of breaking out. At +last I was brought to a cell door and the cap was taken off. There were, +properly no “cells” in this prison--at least I never saw any; but good +sized rooms for two prisoners, not only to live in but to work in. I +found myself in a room with a man who was weaving carpets, and I was at +once instructed in the art of winding yarn on bobbins for him--in fact, +I was to be his “bobbin-boy.” + +I pursued this monotonous occupation for two months, when I told the +keeper I did not like that business, and wanted to try something that +had a little more variety in it. Whereupon he put me at the cane chair +bottoming business, which gave me another room and another chum, and I +remained at this work while I was in the prison. In three weeks I could +bottom one chair, while my mate was bottoming nine or ten as his day’s +work; but I told the keeper I did not mean to work hard, or work at all, +if I could help it. He was a very nice fellow and he only laughed and +let me do as I pleased. Indeed, I could not complain of my treatment +in any respect; I had a good clean room, good bed, and the fare was +wholesome and abundant. But then, there was that terrible, terrible +sentence of ten long years of this kind of life, if I should live +through it. + +After I had been in prison nearly seven months, one day a merchant +tailor whom I well knew in Newark, and who made my clothes, including +my wedding suit when I married the Widow Roberts, came to see me. The +legislature was in session and he was a member of the Senate. He knew +all the circumstances of my case, and was present at my trial. After the +first salutation, he laughingly said: + +“Well, Doctor, those are not quite as nice clothes as I used to furnish +you with.” + +“No,” I replied, “but perhaps they are more durable.” + +After some other chaff and chat, he made me tell him all about my first +marriage and subsequent separation, and after talking awhile he went +away, promising to see me soon. I looked upon this only as a friendly +visit, for which I was grateful; and attached no great importance to it. +But he came again in a few days, and after some general conversation, he +told me that there was a movement on foot in my favor, which might bring +the best of news to me; that he had not only talked with his friends in +the legislature, and enlisted their sympathy and assistance, but he had +laid the whole circumstances, from beginning to end, before Governor +Price; that the Governor would visit the prison shortly, and then I must +do my best in pleading my own cause. + +In a day or two the Governor came, and I had an opportunity to relate +my story. I told him all about my first unfortunate marriage, and the +separation. He said that he knew the facts, and also that he had lately +received a letter from my oldest son on the subject, and had read it +with great interest. I then appealed to the Governor for his clemency; +my sentence was an outrageously severe one, and seemed almost prompted +by private malice; I implored him to pardon me; I went down on my knees +before him, and asked his mercy. He told me to be encouraged; that he +would be in the prison again in a few days, and he would see me. He then +went away. + +I at once drew up a petition which my friend in the Senate circulated +in the legislature for signatures, and afterwards sent it to Newark, +securing some of the best names in that city. It was then returned to +me, and two weeks afterwards when the Governor came again to the prison +I presented it to him, and he put it in his pocket. + +In two days’ time, Governor Price sent my pardon into the prison. The +Warden came and told me of it, and said he would let me out in an hour. +Then came a keeper who once more put the cap over my face and led me +around the interior--I was willingly led now--till he brought me to a +room where he gave me my own clothes which I put on, and with a kind +parting word, and five dollars from the Warden, I was soon in the +street, once more a free man. My sentence of ten years had been +fulfilled by an imprisonment of exactly seven months. + +I went and called on Governor Price to thank him for his great goodness +towards me. He received me kindly, talked to me for some time, and gave +me some good advice and a little money. With this and the five dollars I +received from the Warden of the prison I started for New York. + + + +CHAPTER VII. ON THE KEEN SCENT. + +GOOD RESOLUTIONS--ENJOYING FREEDOM--GOING AFTER A CRAZY MAN--THE +OLD TEMPTER IN A NEW FORM--MARY GORDON--MY NEW “COUSIN”--ENGAGED +AGAIN--VISIT TO THE OLD FOLKS AT HOME--ANOTHER MARRIAGE--STARTING FOR +OHIO--CHANGE OF PLANS--DOMESTIC QUARRELS--UNPLEASANT STORIES ABOUT +MARY--BOUND OVER TO KEEP THE PEACE--ANOTHER ARREST FOR BIGAMY--A +SUDDEN FLIGHT--SECRETED THREE WEEKS IN A FARM HOUSE--RECAPTURED AT +CONCORD--ESCAPED ONCE MORE--TRAVELING ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD--IN +CANADA. + + + +It would seem as if, by this time, I had had enough of miscellaneous +marrying and the imprisonment that almost invariably followed. I had +told Governor Price, when I first implored him for pardon, that if he +would release me I would begin a new life, and endeavor to be in all +respects a better man. I honestly meant to make every effort to be so, +and on my stay to New York I made numberless vows for my own future +good behavior. I bound myself over, as it were, to keep the pace--my own +peace and quiet especially--and became my own surety. That I could not +have had a poorer bondsman, subsequent events proved to my sorrow. But I +started fairly, and meant to let liquor alone; to attend strictly to my +medical business, which I always managed to make profitable, and above +all, to have nothing to do with women in the love-making or matrimonial +way. + +With those good resolutions I arrived in New York and went to my old +hotel in Courtland Street, where I was well known and was well received. +My trunk, which I had left there sixteen months before, was safe, and +I had a good suit of clothes on my back--the clothes I took off when +I went to prison in Trenton--and which were returned to me when I came +away. I went to a friend who loaned me some money, and I remained two or +three days in town to try my new-found freedom, going about the city, +visiting places of amusement, enjoying myself very much, and keeping, so +far, the good resolutions I had formed. + +From New York I went to Troy, and at the hotel where I stopped I became +acquainted with a woman who told me that her husband was in the Insane +Asylum at Brattleboro, Vt. She was going to see him, and if he was fit +to be removed, she proposed to take him home, with her. I told her +of the success I had had in taking care of two men at Newbury and +Montgomery; and how I had traveled about the country with them, and with +the most beneficial results to my patients. She was much interested, +inquired into the particulars, and finally thought the plan would be a +favorable one for her husband. She asked me to go with her to see him, +and said that if he was in condition to travel he should go about with +me if he would; at any rate, if he came out of the Asylum she would put +him under my care. We went together to Brattleboro, and the very day we +arrived her husband was taken in an apoplectic fit from which he did not +recover. She carried home his corpse, and I lost my expected patient. + +But I must have something to do for my daily support, and so I went to +work and very soon sold some medicines and recipes, and secured a few +patients. I also visited the adjoining villages, and in a few weeks +I had a very good practice. I might have lived here quietly and made +money. Nobody knew anything of my former history, my marriages or my +misfortunes, and I was doing well, with a daily increasing business. +And so I went on for nearly three months, gaining new acquaintances, and +extending my practice every day. + +Then came the old tempter in a new form, and my matrimonial monomania, +which I hoped was cured forever, broke out afresh. One day, at the +public house where I lived, I saw a fine girl from New Hampshire, with +whom I became acquainted--so easily, so far as she was concerned--that I +ought to have been warned to have nothing to do with her; but, as usual, +in such cases, my common sense left me, and I was infatuated enough to +fancy that I was in love. + +Mary Gordon was the daughter of a farmer living near Keene, N. H., and +was a handsome girl about twenty years of age. She was going, she told +me, to visit some friends in Bennington, and would be there about a +month, during which time, if I was in that vicinity, she hoped I would +come and see her. We parted very lovingly, and when she had been in +Bennington a few days she wrote to me, setting a time for me to visit +her; but in business in Brattleboro was too good to leave, and I so +wrote to her. Whereupon, in another week, she came back to Brattleboro +and proposed to finish the remainder of her visit there, thus blinding +her friends at home who would think she was all the while at Bennington. + +Our brief acquaintance when she was at the house before, attracted no +particular attention, and when she came now I told the landlord that she +was my cousin, and he gave her a room and I paid her bills. The cousin +business was a full cover to our intimacy; she sat next to me at the +table, rode about with me to see my patients, and when I went to places +near by to sell medicine, and we were almost constantly together. Of +course, we were engaged to be married, and that very soon. + +In a fortnight after her arrival I went home with her to her father’s +farm near Keene, and she told her mother that we were “engaged.” The old +folks thought they would like to know me a little better, but she said +we were old friends, she knew me thoroughly, and meant to marry me. +There was no further objection on the part of her parents, and in the +few days following she and her mother were busily engaged in preparing +her clothes and outfit. + +I then announced my intention of returning to Brattleboro to settle up +my business in that place, and she declared she would go with me; I +was sure to be lonesome; she might help me about my bills, and so on. +Strange as it may seem, her parents made no objection to her going, +though I was to be absent a fortnight, and was not to be married till +I came back. So we went together, and I and my “cousin” put up at the +hotel we had lately left. For two weeks I was busy in making my final +visits to my patients acquaintances, she generally going with me every +day. + +At the end of that time we went back to Keene, and in three weeks we +were married in her father’s house, the old folks making a great wedding +for us, which was attended by all the neighbors and friends of the +family. We stayed at home two weeks, and meanwhile arranged our plans +for the future. We proposed to go out to Ohio, where she had some +relatives, and settle down. She had seven hundred dollars in bank in +Keene which she drew, and we started on our journey. We went to Troy, +where we stayed a few days, and during that time we both concluded that +we would not go West, but return to Keene and live in the town instead +of on the farm, so that I could open an office and practice there. + +So we went back to her home again, but before I completed my plans for +settling down in Keene, Mary and I had several quarrels which were worse +than mere ordinary matrimonial squabbles. Two or three young men in +Keene, with whom I had become acquainted, twitted me with marrying Mary, +and told me enough about her to convince me that her former life had not +been altogether what it should have been. I had been too blinded by +her beauty when I first saw her in Brattleboro, to notice how extremely +easily she was won. Her parents, too, were wonderfully willing, if not +eager, to marry her to me. All these things came to me now, and we had +some very lively conversations on the subject, in which the old folks +joined, siding with their daughter of course. By and by the girl went +to Keene and made a complaint that she was afraid of her life, and I was +brought before a magistrate and put under bonds of four hundred dollars +to keep the peace. I gave a man fifty dollars to go bail for me, and +then, instead of going out to the farm with Mary, I went to the hotel in +Keene. + +The well-known character of the girl, my marriage to her, the brief +honeymoon, the quarrels and the cause of the same, were all too tempting +material not to be served up in a paragraph, and as I expected and +feared, out came the whole story in the Keene paper. + +This was copied in other journals, and presently came letters to the +family and to other persons in the place, giving some account of my +former adventures and marriages. Of this however I knew nothing, till +one day, while I was at the hotel, I was suddenly arrested for bigamy. +But I was used to this kind of arrest by this time, and I went before +the magistrate with my mind made up that I must suffer again for my +matrimonial monomania. + +It was just after dinner when I was arrested, and the examination, which +was a long one, continued till evening. Every one in the magistrate’s +office was tired out with it, I especially, and so I took a favorable +opportunity to leave the premises. I bolted for the door, ran down +stairs into the street, and was well out of town before the astonished +magistrate, stunned constable, and amazed spectators realized that I had +gone. + +Whether they than set out in pursuit of me I never knew, I only know +they did not catch me. I ran till I came to the house of a farmer whom +I had been attending for some ailment, and hurriedly narrating the +situation, I offered him one hundred dollars if he would secrete me till +the hue and cry was over and I could safely get away. I think he would +have done it from good will, but the hundred dollar bill I offered him +made the matter sure. He put my money into his pocket, and he put me +into a dark closet, not more than five feet square, and locked me in. + +I stayed in that man’s house, never going out of doors, for more than +three weeks, and did my best to board out my hundred dollars. The day +after my flight the whole neighborhood was searched, that is, the woods, +roads, and adjacent villages. They never thought of looking in a house, +particularly in a house so near the town; and, as I heard from my +protector, they telegraphed and advertised far and near for me. + +I anticipated all this, and for this very reason I remained quietly +where I was, in an unsuspected house, and with my dark closet to retire +to whenever any one came in; and gossiping neighbors coming in almost +every hour, kept me in that hole nearly half the time. I heard my own +story told in that house at least fifty times, and in fifty different +ways. + +At last, when I thought it was safe, one night my host harnessed up his +horses and carried me some miles on my way to Concord. He drove as far +as he dared, for he wanted to get back home by daylight, so that his +expedition might excite no suspicion. Twenty miles away from Keene he +set me down in the road, and, bidding him “good-bye,” I began my march +toward Concord. When I arrived there, almost the first man I saw in the +street was a doctor from Keene. I did not think he saw me, but he did, +as I soon found out, for while I was waiting at the depot to take the +cars to the north, I was arrested. + +The Keene doctor owed me a grudge for interfering, as he deemed it; with +his regular practice, and the moment he saw me he put an officer on my +trail. I thought it was safe here to take the cars, for I was footsore +and weary, nor did I get away from Keene as fast and as far as I wanted +to. I should have succeeded but for that doctor. + +When the officer brought me before a justice, the doctor was a willing +witness to declare that I was a fugitive from justice, and he stated the +circumstances of my escape. So I was sent back to Keene under charge of +the very officer who arrested me at the depot. + +I would not give this officer’s name if I could remember it, but he was +a fine fellow, and was exceedingly impressible. For instance, on our +arrival at Keene, he allowed me to go to the hotel and pack my trunk to +be forwarded to Meredith Bridge by express. He then handed me over to +the authorities, and I was immediately taken before the magistrate from +whom I had previously escaped, the Concord officer accompanying the +Keene officer who had charge of me. + +The examination was short; I was bound over in the sum of one thousand +dollars to take my trial for bigamy. On my way to jail I persuaded the +Concord officer--with a hundred dollar bill which I slipped into his +hand--to induce the other officer to go with me to the hotel under +pretense of looking after my things, and getting what would be necessary +for my comfort in jail. My Concord friend kept the other officer down +stairs--in the bar-room, I presume--while I went to my room. I put a +single shirt in my pocket; the distance from my window to the ground +was not more than twelve or fifteen feet, and I let myself down from the +window sill and then dropped. + +I was out of the yard, into the street, and out of town in less than no +time. It was already evening, and everything favored my escape. I had +no idea of spending months in jail at Keene, and months more, perhaps +years, in the New Hampshire State Prison. All my past bitter experiences +of wretched prison life urged me to flight. + +And fly I did. No stopping at the friendly farmer’s, my former refuge, +this time; that would be too great a risk. No showing of myself in any +town or village where the telegraph might have conveyed a description +of my person. I traveled night and day on foot, and more at night than +during the day, taking by-roads, lying by in the woods, sleeping in +barns, and getting my meals in out-of-the-way farm houses. + +I had plenty of money; but this kind of travelling is inexpensive, and, +paying twenty-five cents for one or two meals a day, as I dared to get +them, and sleeping in barns or under haystacks for nothing, my purse +did not materially diminish. I was a good walker, and in the course of +a week from the night when I left Keene, I found myself in Biddeford, +Maine. + +There was some sense of security in being in another State, and here I +ventured to take the cars for Portland, where I staid two days, sending +in the meantime for my trunk from Meredith Bridge, and getting it by +express. Of course it went to a fictitious address at Meredith, and it +came to me under the same name which I had registered in my hotel at +Portland. + +I did not mean to stay there long. My departure was hastened by the +advice of a man who knew me, and told he also knew my New Hampshire +scrape, and that I had better leave Portland as soon as possible. Half +an hour after this good advice I was on my way by cars to Canada. In +Canada I stayed in different small towns near the border, and “kept +moving,” till I thought the New Hampshire matter had blown over a +little, or at least till they had given me up as a “gone case,” and I +then reappeared in Troy. + + + +CHAPTER IX. MARRYING TWO MILLINERS. + +BACK IN VERMONT--FRESH TEMPTATIONS--MARGARET BRADLEY--WINE AND +WOMEN--A MOCK MARRIAGE IN TROY--THE FALSE CERTIFICATE--MEDICINE +AND MILLINERY--ELIZA GURNSEY--A SPREE AT SARATOGA--MARRYING ANOTHER +MILLINER--AGAIN ARRESTED OR BIGAMY--IN JAIL ELEVEN MONTHS--A TEDIOUS +TRIAL--FOUND GUILTY--APPEAL TO SUPREME COURT--TRYING TO BREAK OUT OF +JAIL--A GOVERNOR’S PROMISE--SECOND TRIAL--SENTENCE TO THREE YEARS’ +IMPRISONMENT. + + + +From Troy I went, first to Newburyport, Mass., where I had some +business, and where I remained a week, and then returned to Troy again. +Next I went to Bennington, Vt., to sell medicines and practice, and I +found enough to occupy me there for full two months. From Bennington to +Rutland, selling medicines on the way, and at Rutland I intended to stay +for some time. My oldest son was there well established in the medical +business, and I thought that both of us together might extend a wide +practice and make a great deal of money. + +No doubt we might have done so, if I had minded my medical business +only, and had let matrimonial matters alone. I had just got rid of a +worthless woman in New Hampshire with a very narrow escape from State +prison. But, as my readers know by this time, all experience, even the +bitterest, was utterly thrown away upon me; I seemed to get out of one +scrape only to walk, with my eyes open, straight into another. + +At the hotel where I went to board, there was temporarily staying a +woman, about thirty-two years old, Margaret Bradly, by name, who kept a +large millinery establishment in town. I became acquainted with her, and +she told me that she owned a house in the place, in which she and her +mother lived; but her mother had gone away on a visit, and as she did +not like to live alone she had come to the hotel to stay for a few days +till her mother returned. Margaret was a fascinating woman; she knew it, +and it was my miserable fate to become intimate, altogether too intimate +with this designing milliner. + +I went to her store every day, sometimes two or three times a day, and +she always had in her backroom, wine or something stronger to treat me +with, and in the evening I saw her at the hotel. When her mother came +back, and Margaret opened her house again, I was a constant visitor. I +was once more caught; I was in love. + +Matters went on in this way for several weeks, when one evening I told +her that I was going next day to Troy on business, and she said she +wanted to go there to buy some goods, and that she would gladly take the +opportunity to go with me, if I would let her. Of course, I was only too +happy; and the next day I and my son, and she and one of the young women +in her employ, who was to assist her in selecting goods, started for +Troy. When I called for her, just as we were leaving the house, the old +lady, her mother, called out: + +“Margaret, don’t you get married before you come back.” + +“I guess I will,” was Margaret’s answer, and we went, a very jovial +party of four, to Troy and put up at the Girard House, where we had +dinner together, and drank a good deal of wine. After dinner my son and +myself went to attend to our business, she and her young woman going to +make their purchases, and arranging to meet us at a restaurant at half +past four o’clock, when we would lunch preparatory to returning to +Rutland. + +We met at the appointed place and hour, and had a very lively lunch +indeed, an orgie in fact, with not only enough to eat, but altogether +too much to drink. I honestly think the two women could have laid me and +my son under the table, and would have done it, if we had not looked out +for ourselves; as it was, we all drank a great deal and were very merry. +We were in a room by ourselves, and when we had been there nearly an +hour, it occurred to Margaret that it would be a good idea to humor the +old lady’s dry joke about the danger of our getting married during this +visit to Troy. + +“Henry,” said she to my son; “Go out and ask the woman who keeps the +saloon where you can get a blank marriage certificate, and then get one +and bring it here, and we’ll have some fun.” + +We were all just drunk enough to see that there was a joke in it, and +we urged the boy to go. He went to the woman, who directed him to a +stationer’s opposite, and presently he came in with a blank marriage +certificate. We called for pen and ink and he sat down and filled out +the blank form putting in my name and Margaret Bradley’s, signing it +with some odd name I have forgotten as that of the clergyman performing +the ceremony. He then signed his own name as a witness to the marriage, +and the young woman who was with us also witnessed it with her +signature. We had a great deal of fun over it, then more wine, and then +it was time for us to hurry to the depot to take the six o’clock train +for Rutland. + +Reaching home at about eleven o’clock at night, we found the old lady +up, and waiting for Margaret. We went in and Margaret’s first words +were: + +“Well, mother! I’m married; I told you, you know, I thought I should be; +and here’s my certificate.” + +The mother expressed no surprise--she knew her daughter better than +I did, then--but quietly congratulated her, while I said not a single +word. My son went to see his companion home, and, as I had not achieved +this latest greatness, but had it thrust upon me, I and my new found +“wife” went to our room. The next day I removed from the hotel to +Margaret’s house and remained there during my residence in Rutland, she +introducing me to her friends as her husband, and seeming to consider it +an established fact. + +Three weeks after this mock marriage, however, I told Margaret that I +was going to travel about the State a while to sell my medicines, and +that I might be absent for some time. She made no objections, and as I +was going with my own team she asked me to take some mantillas and a few +other goods which were a little out of fashion, and see if I could not +sell them for her. To be sure I would, and we parted on the best of +terms. + +Behold rue now, not only a medical man and a marrying man, but also +a man milliner. When I could not dispose of my medicines, I tried +mantillas, and in the course of my tour I sold the whole of Margaret’s +wares, faithfully remitting to her the money for the same. I think she +would have put her whole stock of goods on me to work off in the same +way; but I never gave her the opportunity to do so. + +My journeying brought me at last to Montpelier where I proposed to stay +awhile and see if I could establish a practice. I had disposed of my +millinery goods and had nothing to attend to but my medicines--alas that +my professional acquirements as a marrying man should again have been +called in requisition. But it was to be. It was my fate to fall into the +hands of another milliner. + +“Insatiate monster! would not one suffice?” + +It seems not. There was a milliner at Rutland whose family and, friends +all believed to be my wife, though she knew she was not; and here in +Montpelier, was ready waiting, like a spider for a fly, another milliner +who was about to enmesh me in the matrimonial net. I had not been in +the place a week before I became acquainted with Eliza Gurnsey. I could +hardly help it, for she lived in the hotel where I stopped, and although +she was full thirty-five years old, she was altogether the most +attractive woman in the house. She was agreeable, good-looking, +intelligent, and what the vernacular calls “smart.” At all events, she +was much too smart for me, as I soon found out. + +She had a considerable millinery establishment which she and her younger +sister carried on, employing several women, and she was reputed to +be well off. Strange as it may seem in the light of after events, she +actually belonged to the church and was a regular attendant at the +services. But no woman in town was more talked about, and precisely what +sort of a woman she was may be estimated from the fact that I had known +her but little more than a week, when she proposed that she, her sister +and I should go to Saratoga together, and have a good time for a day or +two. + +I was fairly fascinated with the woman and I consented. The younger +sister was taken with us, I thought at first as a cover, I knew +afterwards as a confederate, and Eliza paid all the bills, which were +by no means small ones, of the entire trip. We stopped in Saratoga at a +hotel, which is now in very different hands, but which was then kept +by proprietors who, in addition to a most excellent table and +accommodations, afforded their guests the opportunity, if they desired +it, of attending prayers every night and morning in one of the parlors. +This may have been the inducement which made Eliza insist upon going to +this house, but I doubt it. + +For our stay at Saratoga, three or four days, was one wild revel. We +rode about, got drunk, went to the Lake, came back to the hotel, and +the second day we were there, Eliza sent her sister for a Presbyterian +minister, whose address she had somehow secured, and this minister came +to the hotel and married us. I presume I consented, I don’t know, for I +was too much under the effect of liquor to know much of anything. I have +an indistinct recollection of some sort of a ceremony, and afterwards +Eliza showed me a certificate--no Troy affair, but a genuine document +signed by a minister residing in Saratoga, and witnessed by her sister +and some one in the hotel who had been called in. But the whole was like +a dream to me; it was the plot of an infamous woman to endeavor to make +herself respectable by means of a marriage, no matter to whom or how +that marriage was effected. + +Meanwhile, the Montpelier papers had the whole story, one of them +publishing a glowing account of my elopement with Miss Gurnsey, and the +facts of our marriage at Saratoga was duly chronicled. This paper fell +into the hands of Miss Bradley, at Rutland, and as she claimed to be my +wife, and had parted with me only a little while before, when I went +out to peddle medicines and millinery, her feelings can be imagined. She +read the story and then aroused all Rutland. I had not been back from +Saratoga half an hour before I was arrested in the public house in +Montpelier and taken before a magistrate, on complaint of Miss Bradley, +of Rutland, that I was guilty of bigamy. + +The examination was a long one, and as the facts which were then shown +appeared afterwards in my trial they need not be noted now. I had two +first-rate lawyers, but for all that, and with the plainest showing +that Margaret Bradley had no claim whatever to be considered my wife, I +was bound over in the sum of three thousand dollars to appear for +trial, and was sent to jail. There was a tremendous excitement about the +matter, and the whole town seemed interested. + +To jail I went, Eliza going with me, and insisting upon staying; but the +jailer would not let her, nor was she permitted to visit me during my +entire stay there, at least she got in to see me but once. I made +every effort to get bail, but was unsuccessful. Eight long weary months +elapsed before my trial came on, and all this while I was in jail. My +trial lasted a week. The Bradley woman knew she was no more married to +me than she was to the man in the moon; but she swore stoutly that we +were actually wedded according to the certificate. On the other hand, +my son swore to all the facts about the Troy spree, and his buying and +filling out the certificate, which showed for itself that, excepting the +signature of the young woman who also witnessed it, it was entirely in +Henry’s handwriting. I should have got along well enough so far as +the Bradley woman was concerned; but the prosecution had been put in +possession of all the facts relative to my first and worst marriage, and +the whole matter came up in this case. The District Attorney had sent +everywhere, as far even as Illinois, for witness with regard to that +marriage. It seemed as if all Vermont was against me. I have heard that +with the cost of witnesses and other expenses, my trial cost the state +more than five thousand dollars. My three lawyers could not save me. +After a week’s trial the case went to the jury, and in four hours they +returned a verdict of “guilty.” + +My counsel instantly appealed the case to the Supreme Court, and, +meanwhile I went back to jail where I remained three months more. A few +days after I returned to jail a friend of mine managed to furnish me +with files and saws, and I went industriously to work at the gratings +of my window to saw my way out. I could work only at night, when the +keepers were away, and I covered the traces of my cuttings by filling in +with tallow. In two months I had everything in readiness for my escape. +An hour’s more sawing at the bars would set me free. But just at that +time the Governor of the State, Fletcher, made a visit to the jail. +I told him all about my case. He assured me, after hearing all the +circumstances, that if I should be convicted and sentenced, he would +surely pardon me in the course of six or eight weeks. Trusting in this +promise, I made no further effort to escape though I could have done +so easily any night; but rather than run the risk of recapture, and a +heavier sentence if I should be convicted, I awaited the chances of the +court, and looked beyond for the clemency of the Governor. + +Well, finally my case came up in the Supreme Court. It only occupied +a day, and the result was that I was sentenced for three years in the +State prison. I was remanded to jail, and five days from that time I was +taken from Montpelier to Windsor. + + + +CHAPTER X. PRISON-LIFE IN VERMONT. + +ENTERING PRISON--THE SCYTHE SNATH BUSINESS--BLISTERED HANDS--I +LEARN NOTHING--THREAT TO KILL THE SHOP--KEEPER--LOCKSMITHING--OPEN +REBELLION--SIX WEEKS IN THE DUNGEON--ESCAPE OF A PRISONER--IN THE +DUNGEON AGAIN--THE MAD MAN, HALL--HE ATTEMPTS TO MURDER THE DEPUTY--I +SAVE MOREY’S LIFE--HOWLING IN THE BLACK HOLE--TAKING OFF HALL’S +IRONS--A GHASTLY SPECTACLE--A PRISON FUNERAL--I AM LET ALONE--BETTER +TREATMENT--THE FULL TERM OF MY IMPRISONMENT. + + + +We arrived at Windsor and I was safely inside of the prison at three +o’clock in the afternoon. Warden Harlow met me with a joke, to the +effect that, had it not been for my handcuffs he should have taken the +officer who brought me, to be the prisoner, I was so much the better +dressed of the two. He then talked very seriously to me for a long time. +He was sorry, and surprised, he said, to see a man of my appearance +brought to such a place for such a crime; he could not understand how a +person of my evident intelligence should get into such a scrape. + +I told him that he understood it as well as I did, at all events; that +I could not conceive why I should get into these difficulties, one +after the other; but that I believed I was a crazy man on this one +subject--matrimonial monomania; that when I had gone through with one +of these scrapes, and had suffered the severe punishment that was almost +certain to follow, the whole was like a dream to me--a nightmare and +nothing more. With regard to what was before me in this prison I +should try and behave myself, and make the best of the situation; but I +notified the Warden that I did not mean to do one bit of work if I could +help it. + +He took me inside, where my fine clothes were taken away, and I. was +dressed in the usual particolored prison uniform. I was told the rules, +and was warned that if I did not observe them it would go hard with +me. Then followed twenty-four hours solitary confinement, and the next +afternoon I was taken from my cell to a shop in which scythe snaths were +made. + +It had transpired during my trial at Montpelier, that when I was a young +man, I was a blacksmith by trade. This information had been transmitted +to prison and I was at once put to work making heel rings. It was some +years since I had worked at a forge and handled a hammer. Consequently, +in three or four days, my hands were terribly blistered, and as the +Warden happened to come into the shop, I showed them to him, and quietly +told him that I would do that work no longer. He told me that I must do +it; he would make me do it. I answered that he might kill me, or punish +me in any way he pleased, but he could not make me do that kind of +labor, and I threw down my hammer and refused to work a moment longer. + +The Warden left me and sent Deputy Warden Morey to try me. He approached +me in a kindly way, and I showed my blistered hands to him. He thought +that was the way to “toughen” me. I thought not, and said so, and, +moreover, told him I would never make another heel ring in that prison, +and I never did. + +He sent me to my cell and I stayed there a week, till my hands were +well. Then the Deputy came to me and asked me if I was willing to learn +to hew out scythe snaths in the rough for the shavers, who finished +them? I said I would try. I went into the shop and was shown how the +work was to be done. Every man was expected to hew out fifty snaths in a +day. In three or four days the shop-keeper came and overlooked me while +I was working in my bungling way, and said if I couldn’t do better than +that I must clear out of his shop and do something else. My reply was +that I did not understand the business, and had no desire or intention +to learn it. He sent for the Deputy Warden, who came and expressed +the opinion that I could not do anything. I said I was willing to do +anything I could understand. + +“Do you understand anything?” asked the Deputy. + +“Well, some things, marrying for instance,” was my answer. + +“I want no joking or blackguardism about this matter,” said the Deputy; +“them simple fact is, you’ve got to work; if you don’t we’ll make you.” + +So I kept on at hewing, making no improvement, and in a day or two +more the shopkeeper undertook to show me how the work should be done. I +protested I never could learn it. + +“You don’t try; and I have a good mind to punish you.” + +The moment the shop-keeper said it I dropped the snath, raised my +axe, and told him that if he came one step nearer to me I would make +mincemeat of him. He thought it was advisable to stay where he was; but +one of the prison-keepers was in the shop, and as he came toward me I +warned him that he had better keep away. + +All the men in the shop were ready to break out in insubordination; when +I threatened the shop keeper and the guard, they cheered; the Deputy +Warden was soon on the ground; he stood in the doorway a moment, and +then, in a kind tone called me to him. I had no immediate quarrel with +him, and so I dropped my axe and went to him. He told me that there +was no use of “making a muss” there, it incited the other prisoners to +insubordination, and was sure to bring severe punishment upon myself. +“Go and get your cap and coat,” said he “and come with me.” + +“But if you are going to put me into that black hole of yours,” I +exclaimed, “I won’t go; you’ll have to draw me there or kill me on the +way.” + +He promised he would not put me in the dungeon, he was only going to +put me in my cell, he said, and to my cell I went, willingly enough, +and stayed there a week, during which time I suppose everyone of my +shopmates thought I was in the dungeon, undergoing severe punishment for +my rebellions conduct. + +I had learned now the worst lesson which a prisoner can learn--that is, +that my keepers were afraid of me. To a limited extent, it is true, I +was now my own master and keeper. In a few days Deputy Morey came to +me and asked me if I was “willing” to come out and work. I was sick +of solitary confinement, and longed to see the faces of men, even +prisoners: so I told him if I could get any work I could do I was +willing to try it, and would do as well as I knew how. He asked me if I +knew anything of locksmithing? I told him I had some taste for it, and +if he would show me his job I would let him see what I could do. + +The fact is, I was a very fair amateur locksmith, and had quite +a fondness for fixing, picking, and fussing generally over locks. +Accordingly, when he gave me a lock to work upon to make it “play +easier,” as he described it, I did the job so satisfactorily that I had +nearly every lock in the prison to take off and operate upon, if it was +nothing more than to clean and oil one. This business occupied my +entire time and attention for nearly three months. Then I repaired iron +bedsteads, did other iron work, and I was the general tinker of the +prison. + +It came into my head, however, one day, that I might as well do nothing. +The prison fare was indescribably bad, almost as bad as the jail fare at +Easton. We lived upon the poorest possible salt beef for dinner, varied +now and then with plucks and such stuff from the slaughter houses, with +nothing but bread and rye coffee for breakfast and supper, and mush and +molasses perhaps twice a week. + +I was daily abused, too, by the Warden, his Deputy, and his keepers. +They looked upon me as an ugly, insubordinate, refractory, rebellious +rascal, who was ready to kill any of them, and, worst of all, who would +not work. I determined to confirm their minds in the latter supposition, +and so one day I threw down my tools and refused to do another thing. + +They dragged me to the dungeon and thrust me in. It was a wretched dark +hole, with a little dirty straw in one corner to lie upon. My entire +food and drink was bread and water. The man who brought it never spoke +to me. His face was the only one I saw during the livelong day. Day and +night were alike to me; I lost the run of time; but at long intervals, +once in eight or ten days, I suppose, the Deputy came to this hole and +asked me if I would come out and work. + +“No, no!” I always answered, “never!” Then I paced the stone floor in +the dark, or lay on my straw. I lay there till my hips were worn raw. +No human being can conceive the agony, the suffering endured in this +dungeon. At last I was nearly blind, and was scarcely able to stand up. +I presume that the attendant who brought my daily dole of bread and my +cup of water, reported my condition. One day the door opened and I was +ordered out. They were obliged to bring me out; I was so reduced that I +was but the shadow of myself. They meant to cure my obstinacy or to kill +me, and had not quite succeeded in doing either. + +There was no use in asking me if I would go to work then; I was just +alive. A few days in my own cell, in the daylight, and with something +beside bread and water to eat, partially restored me. I was then taken +into the shop where the snaths were finished by scraping and varnishing, +the lightest part of the work, but I would not learn, would not do, +would not try to do anything at all. They gave me up. The whole struggle +nearly killed me, but I beat them. I was turned into the halls and told +to do what I could, which, I knew well enough, meant what I would. + +After that I worked about the halls and yard, sometimes sweeping, and +again carrying something, or doing errands for the keepers from one part +of the prison to another. I was what theatrical managers call a general +utility man, and, not at all strangely, for it is human nature, now +that I could do what I pleased, I pleased to do a great deal, and was +tolerably useful, and far more agreeable than I had been in the past. + +There was a young fellow, twenty-two years of age, in one of the cells, +serving out a sentence of six years. When I was sweeping around I used +to stop and talk to him every day. One day he was missing. He had been +supposed to be sick or asleep for several hours, for apparently lie +lay in bed, and was lying very still. But that was only an ingeniously +constructed dummy. The young man himself had made a hole under his bed +into an adjoining vacant cell, the door of which stood open. He had +crawled through his hole, come out of the vacant cell door, and gone up +to the prison garret, where he found some old pieces of rope. These he +tied together, and getting out at the cupola upon the roof, he managed +to let himself down on the outside of the building and got away. He was +never recaptured. The Warden said that some one must have told him about +the adjoining vacant cell, with its always open door, else how would the +young man have known it? + +I was accused of imparting this valuable information, and I suffered +four weeks’ confinement in that horrible dungeon on the mere suspicion. +This made ten weeks in all of my prison-life in a hole in which I +suffered so that I hoped I should die there. + +One of the prisoners was a desperate man, named Hall. He was a convicted +murderer, and was sentenced for life. He too, worked about in the prison +and the yards, dragging or carrying a heavy ball and chain. When bundles +of snaths were to be carried from one shop to the other in the various +processes of finishing, Hall had to do it, and to carry his ball and +chain as well, so that he was loaded like a pack-horse. No pack-horse +was ever so abused. + +Of course he was ugly; the wardens and the keepers knew it, and +generally kept away from him. + +I talked with him more than once, and he told me that with better +treatment he should be a better man. “Look at the loads which are put on +me every day,” he would say; as if this ball and chain were not as much +as I can carry; and this for life, for life! + +One day when Hall and I were working together in the prison, Deputy +Warden Morey came in and said something to him, and in a moment the man +sprung upon him. He had secured somehow, perhaps he had picked it up in +the yard, a pocket knife, and with this he stabbed the Warden, striking +him in the shoulder, arm, and where he could. + +Morey was a man sixty-five years of age, and he made such resistance +as he could, crying out loudly for help. I turned, ran to Hall, and with +one blow of my fist knocked him nearly senseless; then help came and we +secured the mad man. Morey was profuse in protestations of gratitude to +me for saving his life. + +There was a great excitement over this attempt to murder the Deputy, and +for a few hours, with wardens and keepers, I was a hero. I had been in +the prison more than a year, and was generally regarded as one of the +worst prisoners, one of the “hardest cases;” a mere chance had suddenly +made me one of the most commendable men within those dreary walls. As +for Hall, he was taken to the dungeon and securely chained by the feet +to a ring in the center of the stone floor. There is no doubt whatever +that the man was a raving maniac. He howled night and day so that he +could be heard everywhere in the prison--“Murder, murder! they are +murdering me in this black hole; why don’t they take me out and kill +me?” + +The Warden said it could not be helped; that the man must be kept there; +he was dangerous to himself and others; the dark cell was the only place +for him. So Hall stayed there and howled, his cries growing weaker from +day to day; by-and-by we heard him only at intervals, and after that +not at all. + +One morning there was a little knot of men around the open dungeon door, +the Deputy Warden and two or three keepers. Mr. Morey called to me to go +and get the tools and come there and take off Hall’s irons. I went into +the cell and in a few minutes I unfastened his feet from the ring; +then I took the shackles off his limbs. I thought he held his legs very +stiff, but knew he was obstinate, and only wondered he was so quiet. + +Somebody brought in a candle and I looked at Hall’s face. I never saw a +more ghastly sight. The blood from his mouth and nostrils had clotted +on the lower part of his face, and his wild eyes, fixed and glassy, were +staring at the top wall of the dungeon. He must have been dead several +hours. The Deputy and the rest knew he was dead--the man who carried in +the bread and water told them--me it came with a shock from which I did +not soon recover. + +They buried Hall in the little graveyard which was in the yard of the +prison. An Episcopal clergyman, who was chaplain of the prison, read the +burial service over him. The prisoners were brought out to attend the +homely funeral. The ball and chain, all the personal property left by +Hall, were put aside for the next murderer sentenced for life, or for +the next “ugly” prisoner. “If I were only treated better, and not abused +so, I should be a better man.” This is what Hall used to say to me +whenever he had an opportunity. The last and worst and best in that +prison had been done for him now. + +From the day when I rescued Morey from the hands of Hall, his whole +manner changed towards me, and he treated me with great kindness, +frequently bringing me a cup of tea or coffee, and something good to +eat. He also promised to present the circumstances of the Hall affair to +the Governor, and to urge my pardon, but I do not think he ever did so, +at least I heard nothing of it. When I pressed the matter upon Morey’s +attention he said it would do no good till I had served out half my +sentence, and then he would see what could be done. + +I served half my sentence, and then the other half, every day of it. But +during the last two years I had very little to complain of except the +loss of my liberty. I was put into the cook shop where I could get +better food, and I did pretty much what I pleased. By general consent +I was let alone. They had found out that ill usage only made me “ugly,” + while kindness made me at least behave myself. And so the three weary +years of my confinement were on to an end. + + + +CHAPTER XI. ON THE TRAMP. + +THE DAY OF MY DELIVERANCE--OUT OF CLOTHES--SHARING WITH A BEGGAR--A +GOOD FRIEND--TRAMPING THROUGH THE SNOW--WEARY WALKS--TRUSTING TO +LUCK--COMFORT AT CONCORD--AT MEREDITH BRIDGE--THE BLAISDELLS--LAST +OF THE “BLOSSOM” BUSINESS--MAKING MONEY AT PORTSMOUTH--REVISITING +WINDSOR--AN ASTONISHED WARDEN--MAKING FRIENDS OF OLD ENEMIES--INSPECTING +THE PRISON--GOING TO PORT JERVIS. + + + +At last the happy day of my deliverance came. The penalty for pretending +to marry one milliner and for being married by another milliner was +paid. My sentence was fulfilled. I had looked forward to this day for +months. Of all my jail and prison life in different States, this in +Vermont was the hardest, the most severe. My obstinacy, no doubt, did +much at first to enhance my sufferings, and it was the accident only +of my saving Morey’s life that made the last part of my imprisonment +a little more tolerable. When I was preparing to go, it was discovered +that the fine suit of clothes I wore into the prison had been given by +mistake or design to some one else, and my silk hat and calf-skin boots +had gone with the clothes. But never mind! I would have gone out into +the world in rags--my liberty was all I wanted then. The Warden gave me +one of his own old coats, a ragged pair of pantaloons, and a new pair +of brogan shoes. He also gave me three dollars, which was precisely a +dollar a year for my services, and this was more than I ever meant to +earn there. Thus equipped and supplied I was sent out into the streets +of Windsor. + +I had not gone half a mile before I met a poor old woman whom I had +known very well in Rutland. She recognized me at once, though I know I +was sadly changed for the worse. She was on her way to Fall River, where +she had relatives, and where she hoped for help, but had no money to pay +her fare, so I divided my small stock with her, and that left me just +one dollar and a half with which to begin the world again. I went down +to the bridge and the toll--gatherer gave me as much as I could eat, +twenty five cents in money, and a pocket-full of food to carry with me. +I was heading, footing rather, for Meredith Bridge in New Hampshire. +It was in the month of December; and I was poorly clad and without an +overcoat. I must have walked fifteen miles that afternoon, and just at +nightfall I came to a wayside public house and ventured to go in. As +I stood by the fire, the landlord stepped up and slapping me on the +shoulder, said: + +“Friend, you look as if you were in trouble; step up and have something +to drink.” + +I gladly accepted the invitation to partake of the first glass of liquor +I had tasted in three years. It was something, too, everything to be +addressed thus kindly. I told this worthy landlord my whole story; how +I had been trapped by the two milliners, and how I had subsequently +suffered. He had read something about it in the papers; he felt as if +he knew me; he certainly was sorry for me; and he proved his sympathy +by giving me what then seemed to me the best supper I had ever eaten, +a good bed, a good breakfast, a package of provisions to carry with me, +and then sent me on my way with a comparatively light heart. + +It rained, snowed, and drizzled all day long. I tramped through the wet +snow ankle deep, but made nearly forty miles before night, and then came +to a public house which I knew well. When I was in the bar-room drying +myself and warming my wet and half-frozen feet, I could not but think +how, only a few years before, I had put up at that very house, with a +fine horse and buggy of my own in the stable, and plenty of money in my +pocket. The landlord’s face was familiar enough, but he did not know +me, nor, under my changed circumstances, did I desire that he should. +Supper, lodging, and breakfast nearly exhausted my small money capital; +I was worn and weary, too, and the next day was able to walk but twenty +miles, all told. On the way, at noon I went into a farm house to warm +myself. The woman had just baked a short-cake which stood on the +hearth, toward which I must have cast longing eyes, for the farmer said: + +“Have you had your dinner, man?” + +“No, and I have no money to buy any.” + +“Well, you don’t need money here. Wife, put that short-cake and some +butter on the table; now, my man, fall to and eat as much as you like.” + +I was very hungry, and I declare I ate the whole of that short-cake. +I told these people that I had been in better circumstances, and that +I was not always the poor, ragged, hungry wretch I appeared then. They +made we welcome to what I had eaten and when I went away filled my +pockets with food. At night I was about thirty miles above Concord. I +had no money, but trusting to luck, I got on the cars--the conductor +came, and when he found I had no ticket, he said he must put me off. It +was a bitter night and I told him I should be sure to freeze to death. +A gentleman who heard the conversation at once paid my fare, for which I +expressed my grateful thanks, and I went to Concord. + +On my arrival I went to a hotel and told the landlord I wanted to stay +there till the next day, when a conductor whom I knew would be going to +Meredith Bridge; that I was going with him, and that he would probably +pay my bill at the hotel. “All right,” said the landlord, and he gave me +my supper and a room. The next noon my friend, the conductor, came and +when I first spoke to him he did not recognize me; I told him who I +was, but to ask me no questions as to how I came to appear in those old +clothes, and to be so poor; I wanted to borrow five dollars, and to go +with him to Meredith Bridge. He greeted me very cordially, handed me a +ten-dollar Bill--twice as much as I asked for--said he was not going to +the Bridge till next day, and told me meanwhile, to go to the hotel and +make myself comfortable. + +I went back to the hotel, paid my bill, stayed there that day and night, +and the next morning “deadheaded,” with my friend the conductor to +Meredith Bridge. Everybody knew me there. The hotel-keeper made me +welcome to his house, and said I could stay as long as I liked. + +“Say, dew ye ever cure anybody, Doctor?” asked my old friend, the +landlord, and he laughed and nudged me in the ribs, and asked me to take +some of his medicine from the bar, which I immediately did. + +I was at home now. But the object of my visit was to see if I could +not collect some of my old bills in that neighborhood, amounting in the +aggregate to several hundred dollars. They were indeed old bills of five +or six years’ standing, and I had very little hope of collecting much +money. I went first to Lake Village, and called on Mr. John Blaisdell, +the husband of the woman whom I had cured of the dropsy, in accordance, +as she believed at the time, with her prophetic dream. Blaisdell didn’t +know me at first; then he wanted to know what my bill was; I told him +one hundred dollars, to say nothing of six years’ interest; he said he +had no money, though he was regarded as a rich man, and in fact was. + +“But sir,” said I, “you see me and how poor I am. Give me something on +account. I am so poor that I even borrowed this overcoat from the +tailor in the village, that I might present a little more respectable +appearance when I called on my old patients to try to collect some of my +old bills. Please to give me something.” + +But he had no money. He would pay for the overcoat; I might tell the +tailor so; and afterwards he gave me a pair of boots and an old shirt. +This was the fruit which my “blossom” of years before brought at last. +I saw Mrs. Blaisdell, but she said she could do nothing for me. She had +forgotten what I had done for her. + +Of all my bills in that vicinity, with a week’s dunning, I collected +only three dollars; but a good friend of mine, Sheriff Hill, went around +and succeeded in making up a purse of twenty dollars which he put into +my hands just as I was going away. My old landlord wanted nothing for my +week’s board; all he wanted was to know “if I ever cured anybody;” and +when I told him I did, “sometimes” he insisted upon my taking more of +his medicine, and he put up a good bottle of it for me to carry with me +on my journey. + +With my twenty dollars I went to Portsmouth, where I speedily felt that +I was among old and true friends. I had not been there a day before I +was called upon to take care of a young man who was sick, and after a +few weeks charge of him I received in addition to my board and expenses, +three hundred dollars. I was now enabled to clothe myself handsomely, +and I did so and went to Newburyport, where I remained several weeks and +made a great deal of money. + +In the spring I went to White River Junction, and while I was in +the hotel taking a drink with some friends, who should come into the +bar-room but the Lake Village tailor from whom I had borrowed the +overcoat which I had even then on my back. I was about to thank him for +his kindness to me when he took me aside and said reproachfully: + +“Doctor, you wore away my overcoat and this is it, I think.” + +“Good heavens! didn’t John Blaisdell pay you for the coat? He told me he +would; its little enough out of what he owes me.” + +“He never said a word to me about it,” was the reply. I told the tailor +the circumstances; I did not like to let him to know that I had then +about seven hundred dollars in my pocket; I wished to appear poor +as long as there was a chance to collect any of my Meredith and Lake +Village bills; so I offered him three dollars to take back the coat. He +willingly consented and that was the last of the “Blossom” business with +the Blaisdells. + +I was bound not to leave this part of the country without revisiting +Windsor, and I went there, stopping at the best house in the town, and, +I fear, “putting on airs” a little. I had suffered so much in this +place that I wanted to see if there was any enjoyment to be had there. +Satisfaction there was, certainly--the satisfaction one feels in going +back under the most favorable circumstances, to a spot where he has +endured the very depths of misery. After a good dinner I set out to +visit the prison. Here was the very spot in the street where, only a few +months before, I, a ragged beggar, had divided my mere morsel of money +with the poor woman from Rutland. What change in my circumstances those +few months had wrought. I had recovered my health which bad food, ill +usage, and imprisonment had broken down, and was in the best physical +condition. The warden’s old coat and pantaloons had been exchanged for +the finest clothes that money would buy. I had a good gold watch and +several hundred dollars in my pocket. I had seen many of my old friends, +and knew that they were still my friends, and I was fully restored to +my old position. My three years’ imprisonment was only a blank in my +existence; I had begun life again and afresh, precisely where I left off +before I fell into the hands of the two Vermont milliners. + +All this was very pleasant to reflect upon; but do not believe I thought +even then, that the reason for this change in my circumstances, and +changes for the better, was simply because I had minded my business and +had let women alone. + +When I called on Warden Harlow, and courteously asked to be shown about +the prison, he got up and was ready to comply with my request, when he +looked me full in the face and started back in amazement: + +“Well, I declare! Is this you?” + +“Yes, Warden Harlow; but I want you to understand that while I am here +I do not intend to do a bit of work, and you can’t make me. You may as +well give it up first as last; I won’t work anyhow.” + +The Warden laughed heartily, and sent for Deputy Morey who came in to +“see a gentleman,” and was much astonished to find the prisoner, who, +two years before, had saved his life from the hands and knife of the +madman Hall. I spent a very pleasant hour with my old enemies, and +I took occasion to give them a hint or two with regard to the proper +treatment of prisoners. I then made the rounds of the prison, and went +into the dungeon where I had passed so many wretched hours for weeks +at a time. The warden and his deputy congratulated me upon my improved +appearance and prospects, and hoped that my whole future career would be +equally prosperous. + +Nor did I forget to call up my friend in need and friend indeed in +the toll-house at the bridge. I stayed three or four days in Windsor, +finding it really a charming place, and I was almost sorry to leave it. +But my only purpose in going there, that is to revisit the prison, was +accomplished, and I started for New York, and went from there to Port +Jervis, where I met my eldest son. + + + +CHAPTER XII. ATTEMPT TO KIDNAP SARAH SCHEIMER’S BOY. + +STARTING TO SEE SARAH--THE LONG SEPARATION--WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT +HER--HER DRUNKEN HUSBAND--CHANGE OF PLAN--A SUDDENLY--FORMED +SCHEME--I FIND SARAH’S SON--THE FIRST INTERVIEW--RESOLVE TO +KIDNAP THE BOY--REMONSTRANCES OF MY SON HENRY--THE ATTEMPT--A +DESPERATE STRUGGLE--THE RESCUE--ARREST OF HENRY--MY FLIGHT +INTO PENNSYLVANIA--SENDING ASSISTANCE TO MY SON--RETURN TO PORT +JERVIS--BAILING HENRY--HIS RETURN TO BELVIDERE--HE IS BOUND OVER TO BE +TRIED FOR KIDNAPPING--MY FOLLY. + + + +After I had been in Port Jervis three or four days I matured a plan that +had long been forcing in my mind, and that was, to try and see Sarah +Scheimer once more, or at least to find out something about her and +about our son. The boy, if he was living, must be about ten years of +age. I had never seen him; nor, since the night when I was taken out of +bed and carried to the Easton jail had I ever seen Sarah, or even heard +from her, except by the message the Methodist minister brought to me +from her the day after I was released from jail. In the long interval +I had married the Newark widow, and had served a brief term in the New +Jersey State prison for doing it; I had married Mary Gordon, in New +Hampshire, and had run away, not only from her, but from constables and +the prison in that state; the mock marriage with the Rutland woman at +Troy, and the altogether too real marriage with the Montpelier milliner +had followed; I had spent three wretched years in the Vermont prison at +Windsor; and numerous other exciting adventures had checkered my career. +What had happened to Sarah and her son during all this while? There was +not a week in the whole time since our sudden separation when I had +not thought of Sarah; and now I was near her old home, with means at +my command, leisure on my hands, and I was determined to know something +about her and the child. + +So long a time had elapsed and I was so changed in my personal +appearance that I had little fear of being recognized by any one in +Pennsylvania or the adjoining part of New Jersey, who would molest me. +The old matters must have been pretty much forgotten by all but the very +few who were immediately interested in them. It was safe to make the +venture at all events, and, I resolved to make the venture to see and +learn what I could. + +I had the idea in my mind that if Sarah was alive and well, and free, +I should be able to induce her to fulfil her promise to come to me, and +that we might go somewhere and settle down and live happily together. At +any rate, I would try to see her and our child. + +I did not communicate a word of all this to my son Henry. I told him I +was going to New Jersey to visit some friends, to look for business, and +I would like to have him accompany me. He consented; I hired a horse and +carriage, and one bright morning we started. I had no friends to visit, +no business to do, except to see Sarah--the dearest and best--loved of +all my wives. + +When we reached Water Gap I found an old acquaintance in the landlord of +the hotel, and I told him where I was going, and what I hoped to do. He +knew the Scheimers, knew all that had happened eleven years before, and +he told me that Sarah had married again, seven years ago, and was the +mother of two more children. She lived on a farm, half a mile from +Oxford, and her husband who had married her for her money, and had +been urged upon her by her parents, was a shiftless, worthless, drunken +fellow. The boy--my boy--was alive and well, and was with his mother. + +This intelligence changed, or rather made definite my plan. Sarah was +nothing to me now. The boy was everything. I must see him, and if he was +what he was represented to be, a bright little fellow, I determined that +he should no longer remain in the hands and under the control of his +drunken step-father, but I would carry him away with me if I could. It +was nearly noon when we arrived at Oxford, and going to my old quarters, +I found that “Boston Yankee,” had long since left the place. There was +a new landlord, and I saw no familiar faces about the house; all was new +and strange to me. I made inquiries, and soon found out that Sarah’s +boy went to a school in town not far from the hotel, and I went there to +“prospect,” leaving Henry at the public house. + +It was noon now, and fifty or more boys were trooping out of school. I +carefully scanned the throng. The old proverb has it that it is a wise +child who knows its own father; but it is not so difficult for a father +to know his own children. The moment I put my eyes on Sarah’s son, I +knew him; he was the very image of me; I could have picked him out of a +thousand. I beckoned to the boy and he came to me. He was barefoot; and +his very toes betrayed him, for they “overrode” just as mine did; but +his face was enough and would have been evidence of his identity as my +son in any court in Christendom. + +“Do you know me, my little man?” said I. + +“No, sir, I do not.” + +“Do you know what was your mother’s name before she was married?” + +“Yes Sir, it was Sarah Scheimer.” + +“Do you know that the man with whom you live is not your rather?” + +“Oh, yes, Sir, I know that; mother always told me so; but she never told +me who my father was.” + +“My son,” said I taking him in my arms, “I am your father; wait about +here a few minutes till I can go and get my horse and carriage, and I +will take you to ride.” + +I ran over to the hotel; ordered my horse to be brought to the door at +once, got into the wagon with Henry and told him that Sarah Scheimer’s +boy was just across the way, and that I was going to carry him off with +us. Henry implored me not to do it, and said it was dangerous. I never +stopped to think of danger when my will impelled me. I did not know that +at that moment, men who had noticed my excited manner, and who knew I +was “up to something,” were watching me from the hotel piazza. I drove +over where the boy was waiting, called him to me, and Henry held the +reins while I put out my hands to pull the boy into the carriage. Two of +the men who were watching me came at once, one of them taking the horse +by the head, and the other coming to me and demanding: + +“What are you going to do with that boy?” + +“Take him with me; he is my son.” + +“No you don’t,” said the man, and he laid hold of the boy and attempted +to pull him out of the wagon. I also seized the lad who began to scream. +In the struggle for possession, I caught up the whip and struck the man +with the handle, felling him to the ground. All the while the other man +was shouting for assistance. The crowd gathered. The boy was roughly +torn from me, in spite of my efforts to retain him. Henry was thoroughly +alarmed; and while the mob were trying to pull us also out of the +carriage he whipped the horse till he sprang through the crowd and was +well off in a moment. + +“Get out of town as fast as you can drive,” said I to Henry. + +We were not half an hour in reaching Belvidere. There I stopped +to breathe the horse a few minutes, and Henry insisted that he was +starving, and must have something to eat; he would go into the hotel he +said, and get some dinner. I told him it was madness to do it; but he +would not move an inch further on the road till he had some dinner. He +went into the dining room, and I paced up and down the piazza, nervous, +anxious, fearing pursuit, dreading capture, well knowing what would +happen when those Jerseymen should get hold of me and find out who I +was. At that moment I saw the pursuers coming rapidly up the road. I +called to my son: + +“Henry, Henry! for God’s sake come out here, quick!” + +But he thought I was only trying to frighten him so as to hurry him away +from his dinner, and get him on the road, and he paid no attention to my +summons. I knew that I was the man who was wanted, and, without waiting +for Henry, I jumped into my wagon and drove off. I just escaped, that’s +all. The moment I left, my pursuers were at the door. I looked back and +saw them drag my son out of the house, and take him away with them. I +turned my horse’s head towards the Belvidere Bridge. All the country +about there was as familiar to me as the county I was born in. I knew +every road, and I had no fear of being caught. Once across the bridge +and in Pennsylvania, and I was comparatively safe, unless I myself +should be kidnapped as I was at midnight, only a little way from this +very spot, eleven years before. Here was an opportunity now to rest and +reflect. Confound those Scheimers and all their blood! Was I never to +see the end of the scrapes that family would get me into, or which I was +to get myself into, on account of the Scheimers? + +Surely they could not harm Henry. They might have taken him merely in +the hope of drawing me back to try to clear him, or rescue him, and then +they would get hold of the man they wanted. My son had done nothing. He +did not even know of the contemplated abduction till five minutes before +it was attempted, and then he protested against it. He only held the +horse when I pulled the lad into the wagon. + +Nothing showed so completely the consciousness of his own entire +innocence in the matter, as the coolness with which he sat down to his +dinner in Belvidere, and insisted upon remaining when I warned him of +our danger. These facts shown, any magistrate before whom he might be +taken, must let him go at once. I thought, perhaps, if I waited a few +hours where I was, he would be sure to rejoin me, and we could then +return to Port Jervis without Sarah’s son to be sure; but, otherwise, no +worse off than we were when we set out on this ill-starred expedition +in the morning. + +All this seemed so plain to me that I sent over to Belvidere for a +lawyer, who soon came across the bridge to see me, and to him I narrated +the whole circumstances of the case from, beginning to end. I asked him +if I had not a right to carry off the boy whom I knew to be my own? His +reply was that he would not stop to discuss that question; all he knew +was that there was a great hue and cry after me for kidnapping the boy; +that my son was seized and held for aiding and abetting in the attempted +abduction; and he advised me, as a friend, to leave that part of the +country as soon as possible. I gave him fifty dollars to look after +Henry’s case. He thought, considering how little, and that little +involuntarily, my son had to do with the matter, he might be got off; he +would do all he could for him anyhow. He then returned to Belvidere, and +I took the road north. + +When I arrived at Port Jervis I detailed to my landlord the whole +occurrences of the day--what I had tried to do, and how miserably I had +failed, and asked him what was to be done next. He said “nothing;” we +could only wait and see what happened. + +The day following I received a letter from the Belvidere lawyer +informing me that Henry had been examined, had been bound over in +the sum of three hundred dollars to take his trial on a charge of +kidnapping, and he was then in the county jail. I at once showed this +letter to the landlord, and he offered to go down with another man to +Belvidere and see about the bail. I gave him three hundred dollars, +which he took with him and put into the bands of a resident there who +became bail, and in a day or two Henry came back with them to Port +Jervis. + +My son was frantic; he had been roughly treated; and to think, he said, +that he should be thrust into the common jail and kept there two days +with all sorts of scoundrels, when he had done actually nothing! He +would go back there, stand his trial, and prove his innocence, if +he died for it. He reproached me for attempting to carry off the boy +against his advice and warning; he knew we should into trouble; but he +would show them that he had nothing to do with it; that’s what he would +do. + +Now this was precisely what I did not wish to have him do. A trial of +this case, even if Henry should come off scott free, would be certain to +revive the whole of the old Scheimer story, which had nearly died away, +and which I had no desire to have brought before the public again in +any way whatever. The bail bond I was willing, eager even to forfeit, if +that would end the matter. But Henry was sure they couldn’t touch him, +and he meant to have the three hundred dollars returned to me. + +Seeing how sensitive the boy was on the subject, and how bent he was +on proving his innocence, I thought it best to draw him away from the +immediate locality, and so, in the course of a week, I persuaded him to +go to New York with me, and we afterward went to Maine for a few weeks +to sell my medicines. This Maine trip was a most lucrative one, which +was very fortunate, for the money I made there, to the amount of +several hundred dollars, was shortly needed for purposes which I did not +anticipate when I put the money by. + +We returned to New York, and I supposed that Henry had given up all idea +of attempting to “prove his innocence;” indeed we had no conversation +about the kidnapping affair for several weeks. But he slipped away from +me. One day I came back to the hotel, and, inquiring for him, was told +at the office he had left word for me that he had gone to Belvidere. A +letter from him a day or two afterward confirmed this, to me, unhappy +intelligence. The time was near at hand for his trial, and he had gone +and given himself up to the authorities. He wrote to me again that he +had sent word about his situation to his mother--my first and worst +wife--and she and his sister were already with him. + +Of course it was impossible for me to go there, if there were no other +reasons, I was too immediately interested in this affair to be present, +and I had no idea of undergoing a trial and a certain conviction for +myself. But I sent down a New York lawyer with one hundred dollars, +directing him to employ council there, and to advise and assist as much +as he could. Meanwhile, I remained in New York, anxious, it is true, yet +almost certain that it would be impossible, under the circumstances, to +convict Henry of the kidnapping for which he was indicted. He had not +even assisted in the affair, and was sure his counsel would be able to +so convince the court and jury. + +And reviewing the whole matter, now in my cooler moments, this scheme of +trying to carry away Sarah’s son, seemed to be as foolish, useless, and +mad, as any one of my marrying adventures. Till I picked him out from +among his schoolmates, I had never seen the child at all. When I started +from Port Jervis to go down, as I supposed, into Pennsylvania, I had no +more idea of kidnapping the boy than I had of robbing a sheep-fold. +It was only when the landlord at Water Gap told me that Sarah had +remarried, and was wedded to a worthless, drunken husband, that I +conceived the plan of removing the boy from such associations. I was +going to bring him up in a respectable manner. Alas! I did not succeed +even in bringing him away. + + + +CHAPTER XIII. ANOTHER WIDOW. + +WAITING FOR THE VERDICT--MY SON SENT TO STATE PRISON--WHAT SARAH WOULD +HAVE DONE--INTERVIEW WITH MY FIRST WIFE--HELP FOR HENRY--THE BIDDEFORD +WIDOW--HER EFFORT TO MARRY ME--OUR VISIT TO BOSTON--A WARNING--A +GENEROUS GIFT--HENRY PARDONED--CLOSE OF THE SCHEIMER ACCOUNT--VISIT TO +ONTARIO COUNTY--MY RICH COUSINS--WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN--MY BIRTH--PLACE +REVISITED. + + + +I waited with nervous impatience for the close of the trial in New +Jersey, when I hoped to welcome my son Henry to New York. It was +so plain a case, as it seemed to me, and must appear, I thought, to +everybody, that I hardly doubted his instant acquittal. But very shortly +the New York lawyer whom I had sent to Belvidere, came back and brought +terrible news. Henry had been tried, and notwithstanding the fairest +showing in his favor, he was convicted and sentenced to eighteen months +imprisonment at Trenton. + +As it appeared, it was I really, and not Henry, who was on trial. The +circumstances of the desperate struggle, and my knocking down one of +the men with the butt of my whip, were conspicuous in the case. Even +the little boy was put on the stand, and was made to testify against his +older half-brother. Henry himself was astounded at the result of the +trial, and was firmly convinced that instead of “proving his innocence” + to Jersey jurymen, he had better have let his innocence go by default. +We never even got back again the three hundred dollars which had been +put into the hands of the man who went bail for Henry when he was bound +over for trial. For us, it was bad business from beginning to end. + +Henry wrote a letter to me, that just before his trial, before he had +delivered himself up, and while he was still under bail, he had gone to +see Sarah Scheimer on the little farm which was bought with her money, +and was worked, so far as it was worked at all, by her drunken husband. +The family were even poorer than the landlord at Water Gap had reported. +Sarah herself was miserable and unhappy. She told Henry, when he +informed her who he was, that if I had wanted to see her or her son, I +should have been welcome. She would have been very glad to have had me +take the boy and clothe him decently; but she could not part with him, +and would not have let me take him away; still, I could see him at any +time, and as often as I liked, and the boy should grow up to know and to +look upon me as his father. + +And this, really, was all I desired, all I wanted; and it was all easily +within my grasp, ready in fact to be put into my hands, and I had gone +ahead in my usual mad, blundering way, acting, not only without advice, +but against such advice as came from Henry at the last moment, and had +alienated the mother from me, lost the boy, and had sent Henry, who was +wholly innocent, to state prison for eighteen months. + +The poor fellow was take to Trenton and was put into the prison where +I had spent seven months. He was almost crazy when he got there. His +mother and sister went with him, and took lodgings in the place so as to +be near him, to render him any assistance that might be in their power. + +I had been idle now for some weeks in New York, and I went back to +Maine, to Biddeford, where I lad a good practice. I picked up a good +deal of money, and in two months I returned to New York to make a brief +visit, and to see if something could not be done for the release of +Henry from prison. At my solicitation a friend of mine wrote to +Trenton to Henry’s mother to come on to New York, and meet me at the +Metropolitan Hotel on a specified day, to transact some business. She +came, and we met for the first time in several years. We met now simply +on business, and there was no expression of sentiment or feeling on +either side. We cared nothing for each other. I commended her for her +devotion to Henry, and then told her I believed, if the proper efforts +were made, he could be pardoned out of prison. I told her what lawyer +and other persons to see, and how to proceed in the matter. I gave her +the most minute instructions, and then handed her five hundred dollars +with which to fee her lawyer, and to pay her and her daughter’s living +expenses in Trenton. She was grateful for the money, and was only too +glad to go to work for Henry; she would have done it long ago if she had +only known what to do. We then parted, and I have never seen the woman, +since that day. + +This business transacted, I at once returned to my practice at +Biddeford. Among my patients was a wealthy widow, “fat, fair, and +forty,” and I had not attended her long before a warm affection sprung +up between us, and in time, when the widow recovered, we began to think +we were in love with each other. I confess that I agreed to marry +her; but it was to be at some distant day--a very distant day as I +intended--for, strange as it may seem, and as it did seem to me, I had +at last learned the lesson that I had better let matrimony alone. I had +married too many wives, widows, milliners, and what not, already, +and had suffered too severely for so doing. I meant that my Vermont +imprisonment, the worst of all, should be the last. + +So I only “courted” the widow, calling upon her almost every day, and +I was received and presented to her acquaintances as her affianced +husband. Her family and immediate friends were violently opposed to the +match, thereby showing their good sense. I was also informed that they +knew something of my previous history, and I was warned that I had +better not undertake to marry the widow. Bless their innocent hearts! I +had no idea of doing it. I was daily amazed at my own common sense. My +memory was active now; all my matrimonial mishaps of the past, with all +the consequences, were ever present to my mind, and never more present +than when was in the company of the fascinating widow. As for her, +the more her relatives opposed the match, the more she was bent upon +marrying me. Her family, she, said, were afraid they were going to lose +her property, but she would never give them a cent of it, anyhow, and +she would marry when and whom she pleased. + +Not “when,” exactly; because, as she protested she would marry me, I +had something to say about it; I had been run away with by a milliner +in Vermont, and I had no idea of beings forcibly wedded by a widow in +Maine. I pleaded that my business was not sufficiently established; I +was liable to be called away from time to time; I had affairs to arrange +in New York and elsewhere before I could settle down; and so the happy +day was put off to an indefinite future time. + +By-and-by I had business in Boston, and the widow declared that she +would go with me; she wanted to visit her friend’s there and do some +shopping; and without making particular mention of her intention to her +relatives, she went with me, and we were in Boston together more +than two weeks. At the end of that time she returned to Biddeford and +notified her friends treat she was married to the doctor, though she had +no certificate, not even a Troy one, to show for it. + +I deemed it advisable not to go back with her, but went to Worcester for +a while. In a few days I went to Biddeford, keeping somewhat close, for +I did not care to meet any of the relatives, and at night I called upon +the widow. She told me that her family had raised a tremendous fuss +about me, and had learned as much as they, and indeed she, wanted to +know about my adventures in Vermont and New Hampshire. They had not gone +back of that, but that was enough. It was dangerous, she told me, for me +to stay there; I was sure to be arrested; I had better get away from the +place as soon as possible. We might meet again by-and-by, but unless I +wanted to be arrested I must leave, the place that very night. She gave +me seven hundred dollars, pressed the money upon me, and I parted from +her, returning to Worcester, and going from there to Boston. Besides +what the widow bad given me, I had made more than one thousand dollars +in Maine, and was comparatively well off. + +Then came the joyful intelligence that Henry was released. His mother +had worked for him night and day. She bad drawn up a petition, secured +a large number of sterling signatures, had gone with her counsel to see +the Governor, had presented the petition and all the facts in the case, +and the Governor had granted a pardon. Henry served only six months of +the eighteen for which he was sentenced, and very soon after I received +word that he was free, he came to me in Boston, stayed a few days, and +then went home to his mother in Unadilla. + +With the release of my son, I considered the Scheimer account closed, +and I have never made any effort to see Sarah or our boy since that +time. + +From Boston I went to Pittsford, Ontario County, N. Y., where I had many +friends, who knew nothing about any of my marriages or misfortunes, my +arrests or imprisonments. I went visiting merely, and enjoyed myself so +much that I stayed there nearly three months, going about the country, +and practicing a little among my friends. I was never happier than I was +during this time. I was free from prisons, free from my wives, and +free from care. As a matrimonial monomaniac I now looked upon myself as +cured. + +Among the friends whom I visited in Ontario County, and with whom I +passed several pleasant weeks, were two cousins of mine whom I had not +seen for many years, since we were children in fact, but who gave me a +most cordial welcome, and made much of me while I was there. They knew +absolutely nothing of my unhappy history--no unpleasant rumor even +respecting me, had ever penetrated that quiet quarter of the State. I +told them what I pleased of my past career, from boyhood to the present +time, and to them I was only a tolerably successful doctor, who made +money enough to live decently and dress well, and who was then suffering +from overwork and badly in need of recuperation. This, indeed, was the +ostensible reason for my visit to Ontario. I was somewhat shattered; my +old prison trials and troubles began to tell upon me. I used to think +sometimes that I was a little “out of my head;” I certainly was so +whenever I entered upon one of my matrimonial schemes, and I must have +been as mad as a March hare when I attempted to kidnap Sarah Scheimer’s +boy. After all the excitement and suffering of the past few years, I +needed rest, and here I found it. + +My cousins were more than well-to-do farmers; they were enormously +rich in lands and money. Just after the war of 1812, their father, +my uncle, and my own father, had come to this, then wild and almost +uninhabited, section of the State to settle. Soon after they arrived +there my father’s wife died, and this loss, with the general loneliness +of the region, to say nothing of the fever and ague, soon drove my +father back to Delaware County to his forge for a living, and to the +day of his death he was nothing more than a hard-working, +hand-to-mouth-living, common blacksmith. + +But my uncle stayed there, and, as time went on, he bought hundreds of +acres of land for a mere song, which were now immensely valuable, and +had made his children almost the richest people in that region. My +Cousins were great farmers, extensive raisers of stock, wool-growers, +and everything else that could make them prosperous. There seemed to be +no end to their wealth, and their fiat farms, spread out on every side +as far as the eye could see. + +And if my father had only stayed there, I could not help but think what +a different life mine might have been. Instead of being the adventurer +I was, and had been ever since I separated from my first and worst +wife--doing well, perhaps, for a few weeks or a few months, and then +blundering into a mad marriage or other difficulty which got me into +prison; well-to-do to-day and to-morrow a beggar--I, too, might +have been rich and respectable, and should have, saved myself a world of +suffering. This was but a passing thought which did not mar my visit, +or make it less pleasant to me. I went there to be happy, not to be +miserable, and for three months I was happy indeed. + +From there I went to my birthplace in Columbia County, revisiting old +scenes and the very few old friends and acquaintances who survived, or +who had not moved away. I spent a month there and thereabouts, and at +the end of that time I felt full restored to my usual good health, and +was ready to go to work again, not in the matrimonial way, but in my +medical business, that was enough for me now. + + + +CHAPTER XIV. MY OWN SON TRIES TO MURDER ME. + +SETTLING DOWN IN MAINE--HENRY’S HEALTH--TOUR THROUGH THE +SOUTH--SECESSION TIMES--DECEMBER IN NEW ORLEANS--UP THE +MISSISSIPPI--LEAVING HENRY IN MASSACHUSETTS--BACK IN MAINE AGAIN--RETURN +TO BOSTON--PROFITABLE HORSE TRADING--PLENTY OF MONEY--MY FIRST WIFE’S +CHILDREN--HOW THEY HAD BEEN BROUGHT UP--A BAREFACED ROBBERY--ATTEMPT TO +BLACKMAIL ME--MY SON TRIES TO ROB AND KILL ME--MY RESCUE--LAST OF THE +YOUNG MAN. + + + +Where to go, not what to do, was the next question. Wherever I might go +and establish myself, if only for a few days, or a few weeks, I was sure +to have almost immediately plenty of patients and customers enough for +my medicines--this had been my experience always--and unfortunately for +me, I was almost equally sure to get into some difficulty from which +escape was not always easy. Looking over the whole ground for a fresh +start in business, it seemed to me that Maine was the most favorable +place. Whenever I had been there I had done well; it was one of the very +few States I had lived in where I had not been in jail or in prison; nor +had I been married there, though the Biddeford widow did her best to wed +me, and it is not her fault that she did not succeed in doing it. + +To Maine, then, I went, settling down in Augusta, and remaining there +four months, during which time I had as much as I could possibly attend +to, and laid by a very considerable sum of money. While I was there +I heard the most unfavorable reports with regard to the health of my +eldest son Henry. Prison life at Trenton had broken him down in body +as well as in spirit, and he had been ill, some of the time seriously, +nearly all the time since he went to Unadilla. The fact that he was +entirely innocent of the offence for which he was imprisoned, preyed +upon his mind, and with the worst results. As these stories reached me +from week to week, I became anxious and even alarmed about him, and at +last I left my lucrative business in Augusta and went to New York. I +could not well go to Unadilla to visit Henry without seeing his mother, +whom I had no desire to see; so I sent for him to come to me in the +city if was able to do so. I knew that if medicine or medical attendance +would benefit him, I should be able to help him. + +In a few days he came to me in a most deplorable physical condition. He +was a mere wreck of his former self. Almost immediately he began to talk +about the attempt to abduct the boy from Oxford; how innocent he was in +the matter, and how terribly he had suffered merely because he happened +to be with me when I rashly endeavored to kidnap the lad. All this went +through me like a sharp sword. It seemed as if I was the cause, not only +of great unhappiness to myself, but of pain and misery to all who were +associated or brought in contact with me. For this poor boy, who had +endured and suffered so much on my account, I could not do enough. My +means and time must now be devoted to his recovery, if recovery, was +possible. + +He was weak, but was still able to walk about, and he enjoyed riding +very much. I kept him with me in the city a week or two, taking daily +rides to the Park and into the country, and when he felt like going out +in the evening I made him go to some place of amusement with me. I had +no other business, and meant to have none, but to take care of Henry, +and I devoted myself wholly to his comfort and happiness. In a few days +he had much improved in health and spirits, so much so, that I meditated +making a long tour with him to the South, hoping that the journey there +and back again would fully restore him. + +Fortunately, my recent Maine business had put me in possession of +abundant funds, and when I had matured my scheme, and saw that Henry +was in tolerable condition to travel, I proposed the trip to him, and he +joyfully assented to my plan. I wanted to get him far away, for awhile, +from a part of the country which was associated in his mind, more than +in mine, with so much misery, and he seemed quite as eager to go. Change +of air and scene I knew would do wonders for him bodily, and would build +him up again. + +We made our preparations and started for the South, going first to +Baltimore and then on through the Southern States by railroad to New +Orleans. It was late in the fall of 1860, just before the rebellion, +when the south was seceding or talking secession, and was already +preparing for war. Henry’s physical condition compelled us to rest +frequently on the way, and we stopped sometimes for two or three days +at a time, at nearly every large town or city on the entire route. +Everywhere there was a great deal of excitement; meetings were held +nearly every night secession was at fever heat, and there was an +unbounded expression and manifestation of ill-feeling against the north +and against northern men. Nevertheless, I was never in any part of +the Union where I was treated with so much courtesy, consideration and +genuine kindness as I was there and then. I was going south, simply to +benefit the invalid who accompanied me; everybody seemed to know it; +and everybody expressed the tenderest sympathy for my son. Wherever we +stopped, it seemed as if the people at the hotels, from the landlord +to the lowest servant, could not do enough for us. At Atlanta, Augusta, +Mobile, and other places, where we made our stay long enough to get a +little acquainted, my son and myself were daily taken out to ride, and +were shown everything of interest that was to be seen. Henry did not +enjoy this journey more than I did--to me as well as to him, the trip +was one prolonged pleasure, and by the time we reached New Orleans +nearly a month after we left New York, my son had so recuperated that I +had every hope of his speedy and full restoration. + +It was the beginnings of winter when we reached New Orleans; but during +the whole month of December while we remained in that city, winter, +if indeed it was winter, which we could hardly believe, was only a +prolongation of the last beautiful autumn days we had left at the north. +Now Orleans was then at the very height of prosperity; business +was brisk, money was plenty, the ships of all nations and countless +steamboats from St. Louis, Cincinnati, Louisville and all points up the +Mississippi and Ohio rivers lay at the levee. The levee itself, from +end to end, for miles along the river front, was one mass of merchandise +which had come to the city, or was awaiting shipment. I had never seen a +livelier city. Indescribably gay, too, was New Orleans that winter. The +city was full of strangers; the hotels were thronged; there were balls +every night; the theatres were crowded, and everybody seemed bent +on having a good time. With all the rest, there was an extraordinary +military furor, and militia companies and regiments paraded the streets +every day, while secession meetings were held in various halls, or in +the public squares, nearly ever night. + +From the St. Charles hotel where we stopped, St. Charles street seemed +ablaze and alive all night, and densely thronged all day. Sunday brought +no rest, for Sunday, so far as military parades, amusement and general +gaiety were concerned, was the liveliest day in the week; and Sunday +night the theatres were sure to present their best performances and to +draw their largest audiences. And so, from morning till night, and +from night till morning again, all was whirl, stir, bustle, business, +enjoyment, and excitement. To me, unaccustomed as I was to such scenes, +New York even seemed tame and dull, and slow in comparison with New +Orleans. + +This is a picture of the Crescent City as it presented itself to me and +to my son in the early part of the winter before the war. No one knew +or even dreamed of the terrible times that were to come. No one believed +that war was probable, or even possible; it was well enough, perhaps, +to prepare for it; but secession was to be an accomplished fact, and +the North and all the world would quietly acknowledge it. This was the +general sentiment in the city; though secession, and what would, or what +might come of it, was the general topic of talk in the hotels, in the +restaurants, at the theatres, in the streets, everywhere. Now and then +some southerner with whom I had become acquainted would try to draw me +out to ascertain my sentiments on the subject, but I always laughed, and +said good naturedly: + +“My dear sir, I didn’t come down here to talk about secession, but to +see if the southern climate would benefit my sick son.” + +The fact was that I minded my own business, and minded it so well that +while I was in New Orleans I managed to find a few patients and sold +recipes and medicines enough to pay the entire expenses of our journey +thus far, from the North. + +Almost every day my son and I drove somewhere up to Carrolton, down to +the battle-ground, or on the shell road to Lake Ponchartrain. It was a +month of genuine enjoyment to us both; of profit to me pecuniarily; and +of the best possible benefit to Henry’s health. + +Early in January we took passage on one of the finest of the Mississippi +steamboats for St. Louis. The boat was crowded, and among the passengers +were a good many merchants, Northern men long resident in New Orleans, +who thought they saw trouble coming, and accordingly had closed up their +business in the Crescent City, and were now going North to stay there. +We had on board, too, the usual complement of gamblers and amateur or +professional poker-players, who kept the forward saloon near the bar, +and known in the river vernacular as the “Texas” of the boat, lively all +day long and well into the night, or rather the next morning. It was ten +or eleven days before we reached St. Louis. Nothing notable occurred +on the trip; but day after day, as we proceeded northward, and left +the soft, sunny south behind us, with the daily increasing coldness and +wintry weather, Henry seemed to decline by degrees, and gradually to +lose nearly all that he had gained since we left New York. When we +reached St. Louis he was seriously sick. I was very sorry we had come +away so soon in the season, and proposed that we should return and stay +in the south till spring; but Henry would not consent. There was nothing +to be done, then, but to hurry on to the east, and when we arrived in +New York Henry would not go home to his mother in Unadilla, but insisted +upon accompanying me to Boston. I was willing enough that he should go +with me, for then I could have him under my exclusive care; but when we +arrived in Boston he was so overcome by the excitement of travel, and +was so feeble from fatigue as well as disease, that instead of having +him go with me to Augusta, as I intended, by the advice of a friend I +took him into the country where he could be nursed, be quiet, and be +well taken care of till spring. I left him in good hands, promising +to come and see him as soon as I could, and then went back to my old +business in Augusta. + +It required a little time to knot the new end of that business to the +end where I had broken off three months before; but I was soon in full +practice again and was once more making and saving money. I had no +matrimonial affair in hand, no temptation in fact, and none but strictly +professional engagements to fulfil. In Augusta and in several other +towns which I visited, for the whole of the rest of the winter, I was +as busy as I could be. Early in the spring I made up my mind to run away +for a week or two, and arranged my business so that I could go down into +Massachusetts and visit Henry, hoping, if he was better, to bring him +back with me to Maine. + +Two of my patients in Paris, Maine, had each given me a good horse in +payment for my attendance upon them and their families, and for what +medicines I had furnished, and I took these horses with me to sell in +Boston. I drove them down, putting a good supply of medicines in my +wagon to sell in towns on the way, and when I arrived in Boston sold out +the establishment, getting one hundred and twenty-five dollars for the +wagon, three hundred dollars for one horse, and four hundred dollars +for the other--a pretty good profit on my time and medicine for the two +patients--and I brought with me besides about eighteen hundred dollars, +the net result, above my living expenses, of about three months’ +business in Maine, and what I had done on the way down through +Massachusetts. I am thus minute about this money because it now devolves +upon me to show what sort of a family of children my first and worst +wife had brought up. + +Of these children by my first marriage, my eldest son Henry, since he +had grown up, had been with me nearly as much as he had been with his +mother, and I loved him as I did my life. Since he became of age, at +such times when I was not in prison, or otherwise unavoidably separated +from him, we had been associated in business, and had traveled and lived +together. I knew all about him; but of the rest of the children I knew +next to nothing. Shortly after I sold my horses, one day I was in my +room at the hotel, when word was brought to me that some one in the +parlor wanted to see me. + +I went down and found a young man, about twenty-one years of age, who +immediately came to me addressing me as “father,” and he then presented +a young woman, about two years older than he was, as his sister and my +daughter. I had not seen this young gentleman since the time when I had +carried him off from school and from the farmer to whom he was bound, +and had clothed him and taken him with me to Amsterdam and Troy, +subsequently sending him to my half-sister at Sidney. The ragged little +lad, as I found him, had grown up into a stout, good-looking young man; +but I had no difficulty in recognizing him, though I was much at loss to +know the precise object of this visit; so after shaking hands with them, +and asking then how they were, I next inquired what they wanted? + +Well, they had been to see Henry, and he was a great deal better. + +I told them I was very glad to hear it, and that I was then on my way to +visit him, and hoped to see him in a few days, as soon as I could finish +my business in Boston; if Henry was as well as they reported I should +bring him away with me. + +“But if you are busy here,” said my young man, “we can save you both +time and trouble. We will go to Henry again and settle his bills for +board and other expenses, and will bring him with us to you at this +hotel.” + +This, at the time, really seemed to me a kindly offer; it would enable +me to stay in Boston and attend to business I had to do, and Henry +would come there with his brother and sister in a day or two. I at once +assented to the plan, and taking my well-filled pocket-book from the +inside breast pocket of my coat, I counted out two hundred and fifty +dollars and gave them to the young man to pay Henry’s board, doctor’s +and other bills, and the necessary car fares for the party. They then +left me and started, as I supposed, to go after Henry. + +But a few days went on and I saw and heard nothing of Henry. At last +word came to me one day that some one down stairs wanted to see me and I +told the servant to send him to my room, hoping that it might be Henry. +But no; it was my young man, of whom I instantly demanded: + +“Where is your brother, whom you were to bring to me a week ago? What +have you done with the money I gave you for his bills?” + +“I hadn’t been near Henry; sister has gone home; and I’ve spent the +money on a spree, every cent of it, here in Boston, and I want more.” + +“Want more!” I exclaimed in blank amazement: + +“Yes, more; and if you don’t give it to me, I’ll follow you wherever you +go, and tell people all I know about you.” + +“You scoundrel,” said I, “you come here and rob, not me, but your poor, +sick brother, and then return and attempt to blackmail me. Get out of +my sight this instant.” + +He sprung on me, and made a desperate effort to get my money out of my +pocket. We had a terrible struggle. He was younger and stronger than +I was, and as I felt that I was growing weaker I called out loudly for +help and shouted “Murder!” + +The landlord himself came running into the room; I succeeded in tearing +myself away, from the grasp of my assailant, and the landlord felled +him to the floor with a chair. He then ran to the door and called to a +servant to bring a policeman. + +“No, don’t!” I exclaimed; “Don’t arrest the villain, for I can make no +complaint against him--he is my son!” + +But the landlord was bound to have some satisfaction out of the affair; +so he dragged the young man into the hall and kicked him from the top of +the stairs to the bottom, where, as soon as he had picked himself up, a +convenient servant kicked him out into the street. I have never set eyes +on my young man since his somewhat sudden departure from that hotel. + +And when I went to visit my poor Henry a day or two afterwards, I can +hardly say that I was surprised, though I was indignant to learn that +his brother and sister had never been near him at all since he had been +in Massachusetts. They knew where and how he was from his letter’s to +his mother; they knew, too, from the same letters--for I had notified +Henry--at what time I would be in Boston, and with this information they +had come on to swindle me. I have no doubt, when the young man came the +second time to rob me, he would have murdered me, if the landlord had +not come to my assistance. And this was the youngest son of my first and +worst wife!! + +I found Henry in better condition than I expected, and I took him back +with me to Augusta. I did not tell him of his brother’s attempt to rob +and kill. Me--it would have been too great a shock for him. He stayed +with me only a few days and then, complaining of being homesick, he went +to visit his mother again. + + + +CHAPTER XV. A TRUE WIFE AND HOME, AT LAST. + +WHERE WERE ALL MY WIVES?--SENSE OF SECURITY--AN IMPRUDENT +ACQUAINTANCE--MOVING FROM MAINE--MY PROPERTY IN RENSSELAER COUNTY--HOW +I LIVED--SELLING A RECIPE--ABOUT BUYING A CARPET--NINETEEN +LAW--SUITS--SUDDEN DEPARTURE FOR THE WEST--A VAGABOND FOR TWO +YEARS--LIFE IN CALIFORNIA--RETURN TO THE EAST--DIVORCE FROM MY FIRST +WIFE--A GENUINE MARRIAGE--MY FARM--HOME AT LAST. + + + +I remained in Maine nearly two years, hardly ever going out of the +State, except occasionally to Boston on business. Making Augusta my +residence and headquarters, I practiced in Portland and in nearly all +the towns and cities in the eastern part of the State. During all this +time, I behaved myself, in all respects better than I had ever before +done in any period of my life. I began to look upon myself as a reformed +man; I had learned to let liquor alone, and was consequently in far +less, indeed, next to no danger of stepping into the traps in which +my feet had been so often caught. I may as well confess it--it was +intoxicating liquor, and that mainly, which had led me into my various +mad marrying schemes and made me the matrimonial monomaniac and lunatic +lover that I was for years. What my folly, my insanity caused me to +suffer, these pages have attempted to portray. I had grown older, wiser, +and certainly better. I now only devoted myself strictly to my business, +and I found profit as well as pleasure in doing it. + +What had become of all my wives in the meantime, I scarcely knew and +hardly cared. Of course from time to time I had heard more or less about +them--at least, a rumor of some sort now and then reached me. About my +first and worst wife, at intervals I heard something from Henry, who was +still with her, and who frequently wrote to me when he was well enough +to do so. Margaret Bradley and Eliza Gurnsey were still carrying on +the millinery business in Rutland, and in Montpelier, and were no +doubt weaving other and new webs in hopes of catching fresh flies. Mary +Gordon, as I learned soon afterwards, was married almost before I had +fairly escaped from New Hampshire in my flight to Canada, and she had +gone to California with her new husband. Of the Newark widow I knew +nothing; but two years of peace, quiet, and freedom from molestation +in Maine had made me feel quite secure against any present or future +trouble from my past matrimonial misadventures. + +I was living in Maine, prudently I think under an assumed name, and as +the respectable, and, to my patients and customers, well-known Doctor +Blank, I was scarcely liable to be recognized at any time or by any +one as the man who had married so many wives, been in so many jails and +prisons, and whose exploits had been detailed from time to time in the +papers. + +Nor, all this while, did I have the slightest fear of detection. I +looked upon myself as a victim rather than as a criminal, and for what +I had done, and much that I had not done, I had more than paid the +penalty. So far as all my business transactions were concerned, my +course had always been honorable, and in my profession, for my cures and +for my medicines, I enjoyed a good reputation which all my efforts were +directed to deserve. + +Of course, now and then, I met people in Portland, and especially in +Boston, who had known me in former years, and who knew something of my +past life; but these were generally my friends who sympathized with my +sufferings, or who, at least, were willing to blot out the past in my +better behavior of the present. One day in Boston a young man came up to +me and said: + +“How do you do, Doctor?” + +“Quite well,” I replied; “but you have the advantage of me; I am sure I +do not remember you, if I ever knew you.” + +“You don’t remember me! Why, I am the son of the jailer in Montpelier +with whom you spent so many months before you went to Windsor; I knew +you in a minute, and Doctor, I’ve been in Boston a week and have got +‘strapped;’ how to get back to Montpelier I don’t know, unless you will +lend me five or six dollars which I will send back to you the moment I +get home.” + +“I remember you well, now,” said I; “you are the little rascal who +wouldn’t even go and buy me a cigar unless I gave you a dime for doing +it; and then, sometimes, you cheated me out of my money; I wouldn’t lend +you a dollar now if it would save you from six month’s imprisonment in +your father’s filthy jail. Good morning.” + +And that was the last I saw of him. + +I was getting tired of Maine. I had been there longer than I had stayed +in any place, except in the Vermont State Prison, for the past fifteen +years, and I began to long for fresh scenes and a fresh field for +practice. I had accumulated some means, and thought I might take life +a little easier--make a home for myself somewhere, practicing my +profession when I wanted to, and at other times enjoying the leisure +I loved and really needed. So I closed up my business in Augusta and +Portland, put my money in my pocket, and once more went out into the +world on a prospecting tour. My first idea was to go to the far West, +and I went to Troy with the intention of staying there a few days, +and then bidding farewell to the East forever. The New England States +presented no attractions to me; I had exhausted Maine, or rather it had +exhausted me; New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts had too many +unpleasant associations, if indeed they were safe states for me, with my +record to live in, and Connecticut I knew very little about. Certainly I +had no intention of trying to settle in New Jersey or Pennsylvania. The +west was the place; anywhere in the west. + +Here was I in Troy, revolving plans in my own mind for migrating to the +west, just as Mary Gordon and I had done in the very same hotel, only a +few years before; and in the course of a week I came to exactly the same +conclusion that Mary and I did--not to go. I heard of a small farm--it +was a very small one of only twelve acres--which could be bought in +Rensselaer County, not more than sixteen miles from Albany and Troy. +I went to see the place, liked it, and bought it for sixteen hundred +dollars. There was a small but good house and a barn on the place, +and altogether it was a cheap and desirable property. I got a good +housekeeper, hired a man, and began to carry on this little farm, +raising garden vegetables and fruit mainly, and sending them to market +in Albany and Troy. Generally I took my own stuff to market, and sold +medicines and recipes as well, and in Albany I had a first rate practice +which I went to that city to attend to once or twice a week. While +my man was selling vegetables and fruit--I remember I sold a hundred +dollars worth of cherries from my farm the first summer--in the market, +I was Doctor Blank receiving my patients at Stanwix Hall, or calling +upon them at their residences; and when the day’s work was over, my man +and I rode home in the wagon which had brought us and the garden truck +early in the morning. On the whole, this kind of life was exceedingly +satisfactory, and I liked it. + +I made frequent expeditions to Saratoga and to other places not far from +home to attend to cases to which I was called, and to sell medicines; +and considering that the main object I had in settling in Rensselaer +County was rest and more leisure than I had enjoyed for some years, I +had a great deal more to do than I desired. Nevertheless, I might +have continued to live on my little farm, raising vegetables, picking +cherries, and practicing medicine in the neighborhood, had not the fate, +which seemed to insist that I should every little while come before +a court of justice for something or other, followed me even here. A +certain hardware dealer in Albany, with whom I had become acquainted, +proposed to buy one of my recipes, and to go into an extensive +manufacture of the medicine. He had read and heard of the fortunes that +had been made in patent medicines, by those who understand the business, +and he thought he would see if he could not get rich in a year or less +in the same way. + +After some solicitation I sold him the recipe for one thousand dollars, +receiving six hundred dollars down, and a promise of the balance when +the first returns from sales of the medicine came in. I also entered +into a contract to show the man how to make the medicine, and to give +him such advice and assistance in his new business as I could. My +hardware friend understood his legitimate business better than he did +that which he had undertaken, and although be learned how to manufacture +the medicine he did not know how to sell it; and after trying it a few +weeks, and doing next to nothing, he turned upon me as the author of his +misfortunes and sued me for damages. + +Incidental to this, and only incidental, is the following: Shortly after +I purchased my property, as I was very fond of calling my little farm, +in Rensselaer County, I was in Albany one day when it occurred to +me that I wanted a carpet for my parlor. I went to the store of a +well-known carpet-dealer, and asked to be shown some of his goods. +While I was going through the establishment I came across a man who +was industriously sewing together the lengths of a cut carpet, and I +recognized in him one of my fellow convicts at Windsor. He, however, did +not know me, and I doubt if he could have been convinced of my identity +as the wretch who plied the broom in the halls of the prison. To him, +as he glanced at me, I was only a well-dressed gentleman whom the +proprietor was courteously showing through the establishment in the +hope of securing a good customer. It was this little circumstance, I +think--my chance meeting with my old fellow-prisoner, and my changed +circumstances and appearance which put me beyond recognition by +him--that prompted me to the somewhat brazen business that followed: + +“I only came in to look to-day,” I said to the carpet-dealer; “for the +precise sum of money in my pocket at present is eighteen pence, and no +more; but if you will cut me off forty yards of that piece of carpeting, +and trust me for it, I will pay your bill in a few days, as sure as I +live.” + +My frank statement with regard to my finances seemed to attract the +attention of the merchant who laughed and said: + +“Well, who are you, anyhow? Where do you live?” + +I told him that I was Doctor Blank; that I lived in Rensselaer county +on a small place of my own; I raised fruit and vegetables for market; I +cured cancers, dropsy, and other diseases when I could; sold medicines +readily almost where I would; and was in Albany once or twice a week. + +“Measure and cut off the carpet,” said he to the clerk who was following +us, “and put it in the Doctor’s wagon” + +The bill was about a hundred dollars, and I drove home with the carpet. +It was nearly six weeks afterwards when I went into the store again, and +greeted the proprietor. He had seen me but once before and had totally +forgotten me. I told him I was Doctor Blank, small farmer and large +medical practitioner of Rensselaer County. + +“The devil you are! Why, you’re the man that bought a carpet of me a few +weeks ago; I was wondering what had become of you.” + +“I’m the man, and I must tell you that the carpet doesn’t look well; +but never mind--here’s a hundred dollars, and I want you to receipt the +bill.” + +“Now,” said I, when he returned the bill to me receipted, “the carpet +looks firstrate; I never saw a handsomer one in my life.” + +“Well, you are an odd chap, any how,” said the carpet-dealer, laughing, +and shaking me by the hand. Almost from that moment we were more than +mere acquaintances, we were fast friends. In the course of the long +conversation that followed, I told him of my trouble with the hardware +man--how I had sold him the recipe; that he had failed, from ignorance +to conduct the business properly, and had sued me for damages. + +“I know the man,” said my new friend; “let him go ahead and sue and +be benefited, if he can; meanwhile, do you keep easy; I’ll stand by +you.” + +And stand by me he did through thick and thin. The hardware man sued me +no less than nineteen times, and for pretty much everything--damages, +debt, breach of contract, and what not. With the assistance of a +lawyer whom my friend recommended to me, I beat my opponent in eighteen +successive suits; but as fast as one suit was decided he brought +another, almost before I could get out of the court room. At last he +carried the case to the Supreme Court, and from there it went to a +referee. The matter from beginning to end, must have cost him a mint +of money; but he went on regardless of the costs which he hoped and +expected to get out of me at last. + +My long and painful experience, covering many years, had given me a +pretty thorough knowledge of the law’s uncertainty, as well as the law’s +delay, and very early in the course of the present suit, I had quietly +disposed of my property in Rensselaer County. I sold the little farm, +which cost me sixteen hundred dollars, for twenty-one hundred dollars, +and I had had, besides, the profits of nearly two years’ farming and a +good living from and on the place. I also arranged all my money matters +in a manner that I felt assured would be satisfactory to me, if not +to my opponent, and then, following the advice of my friend, the +carpet-dealer, I let the hardware man sue and be “benefited if he +could.” When, however, the case went finally to a referee who was +certain, I felt sure, to decide against me, I took no further personal +interest in the matter, nor have I ever troubled myself to learn the +filial decision. I made up my mind in a moment and decided that the time +had come, at last, when it was advisable for me to go to the West. + +Westward I went, towards sunset almost, and for the two following years +I led, I fear, what would be considered a very vagabond life. I went +to Utah, thinking while I was in Salt Lake City, if they only knew my +history there I was sure to be elected an apostle, or should be, at any +rate, a shining light in Mormondom--only I had taken my wives in regular +succession, and had not assembled the throng together. I pushed across +the plains, and went to California, remaining a long time in San +Francisco. This may have been vagabondism, but it was profitable +vagabondism to me. During this long wandering I held no communication +with my friends in the East; friends and foes alike had an opportunity +to forget me, or if they thought of me they did not know whether I was +dead or alive; they certainly never knew, all the time, where I was; +and while I was journeying I never once met a man or woman who had +been acquainted with me in the past. All the time, too, I had plenty of +money; indeed, when, I returned at last I was richer far than I was when +I left Albany, and left as the common saying graphically expresses it, +“between two days.” I had my old resources of recipes, medicines and my +profession, and these I used, and had plenty of opportunity to use, to +the best advantage. I could have settled in San Francisco for life +with the certainty of securing a handsome annual income. I never feared +coming to want. If I had lost my money and all other resources had +failed, I was not afraid to make a horse-nail or turn a horse-shoe +with the best blacksmith in California, and I could have got my living, +as I did for many a year, at the forge and anvil. + +But I made more money in other and easier ways, and I made friends. In +every conceivable way my two years’ wandering was of far more benefit to +me than I dreamed of when I wildly set out for the West without knowing +exactly where, or for what, I was going. The new country, too, had given +me, not only a fresh fund of ideas, but a new stock of health--morally +and physically I was in better condition than I ever was before in +my life. I had a clear head; a keen sense of my past follies; a vivid +consciousness of the consequences which such follies, crimes they may be +called, are almost certain to bring. I flattered myself that I was not +only a reformed prisoner, but a reformed drunkard, and a thoroughly +restored matrimonial monomaniac. + +And when I returned, at last, to the East, and went once more to visit +my near and dear friends in Ontario County, I was received as one who +had come back from the dead. When I had been here a few weeks, and had +communicated to my cousins so much of the story of my life as I then +thought advisable, I took good counsel and finally did what I ought to +have done long years before. I commenced proper legal proceedings for +a divorce from my first and worst wife. I do not need to dwell upon the +particulars; it is enough to say, that the woman, who was then living, +so far from opposing me, aided me all she could, even making affidavit +to her adultery with the hotel clerk at Bainbridge, long ago, and I +easily secured my full and complete divorce. Now I was, indeed, a free +man--all the other wives whom I had married, or who had married me, +whether I would or no, were as nothing; some were dead and others were +again married. It may be that this new, and to me strange sense of +freedom, legitimate freedom, set me to thinking that I might now secure +a genuine and true wife, who would make a new home happy to me as long +as we both should live. + +Fortune, not fate now, followed me, led me rather and guided my +footsteps. It was not many months before I met a woman who seemed to me +in every way calculated to fill the first place in that home which I had +pictured as a final rest after all my woes and wanderings. From mutual +esteem our acquaintance soon ripened into mutual love. She was all +that my heart could desire. I was tolerably well off; my position was +reputable; my connections were respectable. To us, and to our friends, +the match seemed a most desirable one. It was no hasty courtship; we +knew each other for months and learned to know each other well; and with +true love for each other, we had for each other a genuine respect. I +frankly told her the whole story of my life as I have now written it. +She only pitied my misfortunes, pardoned my errors, and, one bright, +golden, happy autumn day, we were married. + +In the northeastern part of the State of New York on the banks of a +broad and beautiful river, spread out far and near the fertile acres +of one of the finest farms in the country. It is well stocked and well +tilled. The surrounding country is charming--game in the woods, and fish +in the streams afford abundant sport, and the region is far away from +large cities, and remote even from railroads. I do not know of a more +delightful place in the whole world to live in. On the farm I speak +of, a cottage roof covers a peaceful, happy family, where content and +comfort always seem to reign supreme. A noble woman, a most worthy wife +is mistress of that house; joyous children move and play among the trees +that shade the lawns; and the head of the household, the father of the +family, is the happiest of thee group. + +That farm, that family, that cottage, that wife, that happy home are +mine--all mine. I have found a true wife and a real home at last. + +My story is told; and if it should suggest to the reader the moral which +is too obvious to need rehearsal, one object I had in telling the story +will have been accomplished. + +THE END. + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg’s Seven Wives and Seven Prisons, by L.A. Abbott + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SEVEN WIVES AND SEVEN PRISONS *** + +***** This file should be named 4667-0.txt or 4667-0.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/4/6/6/4667/ + +Produced by Charles Aldarondo + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/4667-0.zip b/4667-0.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..ece5a11 --- /dev/null +++ b/4667-0.zip diff --git a/4667-h.zip b/4667-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..46441b4 --- /dev/null +++ b/4667-h.zip diff --git a/4667-h/4667-h.htm b/4667-h/4667-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..89b9352 --- /dev/null +++ b/4667-h/4667-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,4769 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + Seven Wives and Seven Prisons, by L.A. Abbott + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Seven Wives and Seven Prisons, by L.A. Abbott + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Seven Wives and Seven Prisons + +Author: L.A. Abbott + +Release Date: January 27, 2010 [EBook #4667] +Last Updated: October 27, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SEVEN WIVES AND SEVEN PRISONS *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Aldarondo, and David Widger + + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h1> + SEVEN WIVES AND SEVEN PRISONS + </h1> + <h4> + Or Experiences In The Life Of A Matrimonial Maniac. A True Story. Written + By Himself. + </h4> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <h2> + By L.A. Abbott + </h2> + <p> + <br /><br /> + </p> + <h4> + New York: <br /><br /> Published For The Author. 1870. + </h4> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> <a href="#link2H_TOC"> DETAILED CONTENTS </a> <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2H_4_0001"> <b>SEVEN WIVES AND SEVEN PRISONS</b> </a><br /><br /><br /> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I. </a> THE FIRST AND WORST + WIFE <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II. </a> MISERIES + FROM MY SECOND MARRIAGE <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III. + </a> THE SCHEIMER SENSATION <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0004"> + CHAPTER IV. </a> SUCCESS WITH SARAH <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V. </a> HOW THE SCHEIMERS MADE + ME SUFFER <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI. </a> FREE + LIFE AND FISHING <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0007"> CHAPTER VII. </a> WEDDING + A WIDOW, AND THE CONSEQUENCES <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0008"> + CHAPTER VII. </a> ON THE KEEN SCENT <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2HCH0009"> CHAPTER IX. </a> MARRYING TWO MILLINERS + <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0010"> CHAPTER X. </a> PRISON-LIFE + IN VERMONT <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0011"> CHAPTER XI. </a> ON + THE TRAMP <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0012"> CHAPTER XII. </a> ATTEMPT + TO KIDNAP SARAH SCHEIMER’S BOY <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0013"> + CHAPTER XIII. </a> ANOTHER WIDOW <br /><br /> <a + href="#link2HCH0014"> CHAPTER XIV. </a> MY OWN SON TRIES TO + MURDER ME <br /><br /> <a href="#link2HCH0015"> CHAPTER XV. </a> A + TRUE WIFE AND HOME, AT LAST <br /><br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_TOC" id="link2H_TOC"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + DETAILED CONTENTS + </h2> + <blockquote> + <p> + <br />CHAPTER 1. THE FIRST AND WORST WIFE My Early History. The First + <br /> Marriage. Leaving Home to Prospect. Sending for My Wife. Her + Mysterious <br /> Journey. Where I Found Her. Ten Dollars for Nothing. A + Fascinating Hotel <br /> Clerk. My Wife’s Confession. From Bad to Worse. + Final Separation. Trial <br /> for Forgery. A Private Marriage. Summary + Separation. <br /> <br />CHAPTER II. MISERIES FROM MY SECOND MARRIAGE. + Love-Making in <br /> Massachusetts. Arrest for Bigamy. Trial at + Northampton. A Stunning <br /> Sentence. Sent to State Prison. Learning + the Brush Business. Sharpening <br /> Picks. Prison Fare. In the + Hospital. Kind Treatment. Successful <br /> Horse-Shoeing. The Warden my + Friend. Efforts for my Release. A Full <br /> Pardon. <br /> <br />CHAPTER + III. THE SCHEIMER SENSATION. The Scheimer Family. In Love <br /> With + Sarah. Attempt to Elope. How it was Prevented. Second Attempt. A <br /> + Midnight Expedition. The Alarm. A Frightful Beating. Escape, Flogging + <br /> the Devil out of Sarah. Return to New Jersey. “Boston Yankee.” + Plans to <br /> Secure Sarah. <br /> <br />CHAPTER IV. SUCCESS WITH SARAH. + Mary Smith as a Confederate. The Plot. <br /> Waiting in the Woods. The + Spy Outwitted. Sarah Secured. The Pursuers <br /> Baffled. Night on the + Road. Efforts to Get Married. “The Old Offender.” <br /> Married at Last. + A Constable after Sarah. He Gives it Up. An Ale Orgie. <br /> Return to + “Boston Yankee’s.” A Home in Goshen. <br /> <br />CHAPTER V. HOW THE + SCHEIMERS MADE ME SUFFER. Return to Scheimer’s. <br /> Peace, and then + Pandemonium. Frightful Family Row. Running for Refuge. <br /> The Gang + Again. Arrest at Midnight. Struggle with my Captors. In Jail <br /> Once + More. Put in Irons. A Horrible Prison. Breaking Out. The Dungeon. <br /> + Sarah’s Baby.. Curious Compromises. Old Scheimer my Jailer. Signing a + <br /> Bond. Free Again. Last Words from Sarah. <br /> <br />CHAPTER VI. + FREE LIFE AND FISHING. Taking Care of Crazy Men. Carrying <br /> off a + Boy. Arrested for Stealing my Own Horse and Buggy. Fishing in Lake <br /> + Winnepisiogee. An Odd Landlord. A Woman as Big as a Hogshead. Reducing + <br /> the Hogshead to a Barrel. Wonderful Verification of a Dream. + Successful <br /> Medical Practice. A Busy Winter in New Hampshire. + Blandishments of <br /> Captain Brown. I go to Newark, New Jersey. <br /> + <br />CHAPTER VII. WEDDING A WIDOW AND THE CONSEQUENCES. I Marry a Widow. + <br /> Six Weeks of Happiness. Confiding a Secret, and the Consequences. + The <br /> Widow’s Brother. Sudden Flight from Newark. In Hartford, Conn. + My <br /> Wife’s Sister Betrays Me. Trial for Bigamy. Sentenced to Ten + Years’ <br /> Imprisonment. I Become a “Bobbin Boy.” A Good Friend. + Governor Price <br /> Visits me in Prison. He Pardons Me. Ten Years’ + Sentence Fulfilled in <br /> Seven Months. <br /> <br />CHAPTER VIII. ON + THE KEEN SCENT. Good Resolutions. Enjoying Freedom. <br /> Going After a + Crazy Man. The Old Tempter in a New Form. Mary Gordon. <br /> My New + “Cousin.” Engaged Again. Visit to the Old Folks at Home. Another <br /> + Marriage. Starting for Ohio. Change of Plans. Domestic Quarrels. <br /> + Unpleasant Stories about Mary. Bound Over to Keep the Peace. Another + <br /> Arrest for Bigamy. A Sudden Flight. Secreted Three Weeks in a Farm + <br /> House. Recaptured at Concord. Escaped Once More. Traveling on the + <br /> Underground Railroad. In Canada. <br /> <br />CHAPTER IX. MARRYING + TWO MILLINERS. Back in Vermont. Fresh Temptations. <br /> Margaret + Bradley. Wine and Women. A Mock Marriage in Troy. The False <br /> + Certificate. Medicine and Millinery. Eliza Gurnsey. A Spree at Saratoga. + <br /> Marrying Another Milliner. Again Arrested for Bigamy. In Jail + Eleven <br /> Months. A Tedious Trial. Found Guilty. Appeal to Supreme + Court. Trying <br /> to Break Out of Jail. A Governor’s Promise. Second + Trial. Sentenced to <br /> Three Years’ Imprisonment. <br /> <br />CHAPTER + X. PRISON LIFE IN VERMONT. Entering Prison. The Scythe Snath <br /> + Business. Blistered Hands. I Learn Nothing. Threaten to Kill the Shop + <br /> Keeper. Locksmithing. Open Rebellion. Six Weeks in the Dungeon. + Escape <br /> of a Prisoner. In the Dungeon Again. The Mad Man Hall. He + Attempts <br /> to Murder the Deputy. I Save Morey’s Life. Howling in the + Black Hole. <br /> Taking Off Hall’s Irons. A Ghastly Spectacle. A Prison + Funeral. I am Let <br /> Alone. The Full Term of my Imprisonment. <br /> + <br />CHAPTER XI. ON THE TRAMP. The Day of my Deliverance. Out of + Clothes. <br /> Sharing with a Beggar. A Good Friend. Tramping Through + the Snow. Weary <br /> Walks. Trusting to Luck. Comfort at Concord. At + Meredith Bridge. The <br /> Blaisdells. Last of the “Blossom” Business. + Making Money at Portsmouth. <br /> Revisiting Windsor. An Astonished + Warden. Making Friends of Enemies. <br /> Inspecting the Prison. Going to + Port Jervis. <br /> <br />CHAPTER XII. ATTEMPT TO KIDNAP SARAH SCHEIMER’S + BOY. Starting to See <br /> Sarah. The Long Separation. What I Learned + About Her. Her Drunken <br /> Husband. Change of Plan. A Suddenly-Formed + Scheme. I Find Sarah’s Son. <br /> The First Interview. Resolve to Kidnap + the Boy. Remonstrance of my Son <br /> Henry. The Attempt. A Desperate + Struggle. The Rescue. Arrest of Henry. <br /> My Flight into + Pennsylvania. Sending Assistance to my Son. Return to <br /> Port Jervis. + Bailing Henry. His Return to Belvidere. He is Bound Over to <br /> be + Tried for Kidnapping. My folly. <br /> <br />CHAPTER XIII. ANOTHER WIDOW. + Waiting for the Verdict. My Son Sent to <br /> State Prison. What Sarah + Would Have Done. Interview with my First Wife. <br /> Help for Henry. The + Biddeford Widow. Her Effort to Marry Me. Our Visit <br /> to Boston. A + Warning. A Generous Gift. Henry Pardoned. Close of the <br /> Scheimer + Account. Visit to Ontario County. My Rich Cousins. What Might <br /> Have + Been. My Birthplace Revisited. <br /> <br />CHAPTER XIV. MY SON TRIES TO + MURDER ME. Settling Down in Maine. Henry’s <br /> Health. Tour Through + the South. Secession Times. December in New <br /> Orleans. Up the + Mississippi. Leaving Henry in Massachusetts. Back in <br /> Maine Again. + Return to Boston, Profitable Horse-Trading. Plenty of <br /> Money. My + First Wife’s Children. How they Have Been Brought Up. A <br /> Barefaced + Robbery. Attempt to Blackmail Me. My Son Tries to Rob and Kill <br /> Me. + My Rescue Last of the Young Man. <br /> <br />CHAPTER XV. A TRUE WIFE AND + HOME AT LAST. Where Were All my Wives? Sense <br /> of Security. An + Imprudent Acquaintance. Moving from Maine. My Property <br /> in + Rensselaer County. How I Lived. Selling a Recipe. About Buying a <br /> + Carpet. Nineteen Lawsuits. Sudden Departure for the West. A Vagabond + <br /> Life for Two Years. Life in California. Return to the East. + Divorce from <br /> any First Wife. A Genuine Marriage. My Farm. Home at + Last. <br /> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2H_4_0001" id="link2H_4_0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <h1> + SEVEN WIVES AND SEVEN PRISONS + </h1> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I. THE FIRST AND WORST WIFE + </h2> + <p> + MY EARLY HISTORY—THE FIRST MARRIAGE—LEAVING HOME TO PROSPECT—SENDING + FOR MY WIFE—HER MYSTERIOUS JOURNEY—WHERE I FOUND HER—TEN + DOLLARS FOR NOTHING—A FASCINATING HOTEL CLERK—MY WIFE’S + CONFESSION—FROM BAD TO WORSE—FINAL SEPARATION—TRIAL FOR + FORGERY—A PRIVATE MARRIAGE—SUMMARY SEPARATION. + </p> + <p> + SOME one has said that if any man would faithfully write his + autobiography, giving truly his own history and experiences, the ills and + joys, the haps and mishaps that had fallen to his lot, he could not fail + to make an interesting story; and Disraeli makes Sidonia say that there is + romance in every life. How much romance, as well as sad reality, there is + in the life of a man who, among other experiences, has married seven + wives, and has been seven times in prison—solely on account of the + seven wives, may be learned from the pages that follow. + </p> + <p> + I was born in the town of Chatham, Columbia County, New York, in + September, 1813. My father was a New Englander, who married three times, + and I was the eldest son of his third wife, a woman of Dutch descent, or, + as she would have boosted if she had been rich, one of the old + Knickerbockers of New York. My parents were simply honest, hard—working, + worthy people, who earned a good livelihood, brought up their children to + work, behaved themselves, and were respected by their neighbors. They had + a homestead and a small farm of thirty acres, and on the place was a + blacksmith shop in which my father worked daily, shoeing horses and cattle + for farmers and others who came to the shop from miles around. + </p> + <p> + There were three young boys of us at home, and we had a chance to go to + school in the winter, while during the summer we worked on the little farm + and did the “chores” about the house and barn. But by the time I was + twelve years old I began to blow and strike in the blacksmith shop, and + when I was sixteen years old I could shoe horses well, and considered + myself master of the trade. At the age of eighteen, I went into business + with my father, and as I was now entitled to a share of the profits, I + married the daughter of a well-to-do neighboring farmer, and we began our + new life in part of my father’s house, setting up for ourselves, and doing + our own house-keeping. + </p> + <p> + I ought to have known then that marrying thus early in life, and + especially marrying the woman I did, was about the most foolish thing I + could do. I found it out afterwards, and was frequently and painfully + reminded of it through many long years. But all seemed bright enough at + the start. My wife was a good-looking woman of just my own age; her family + was most respectable; two of her brothers subsequently became ministers of + the gospel; and all the children had been carefully brought up. I was + thought to have made a good match; but a few years developed that had + wedded a most unworthy woman. + </p> + <p> + Seventeen months after our marriage, our oldest child, Henry, was born. + Meanwhile we had gone to Sidney, Delaware County, where my father opened a + shop. I still continued in business with him, and during our stay at + Sidney, my daughter, Elizabeth, was born. From Sidney, my father wanted to + go to Bainbridge, Chenango, County, N.Y., and I went with him, leaving my + wife and the children at Sidney, while we prospected. As usual my father + started a blacksmith-shop; but I bought a hundred acres of timber land, + went to lumbering, and made money. We had a house about four miles from + the village, I living with my father, and as soon as found out that we + were doing well in business, I sent to Sidney for my wife and children. + They were to come by stage, and were due, after passing through + Bainbridge, at our house at four o’clock in the morning. We were up early + to meet the stage; but when it arrived, the driver told us that my wife + had stopped at the public house in Bainbridge. + </p> + <p> + Wondering what this could mean, I at once set out with my brother and + walked over to the village. It was daylight when we arrived, and knocked + loudly at the public house door. After considerable delay, the clerk came + to the door and let us in. He also asked as to “take something,” which we + did. The clerk knew us well, and I inquired if my wife was in the house; + he said she was, told us what room she was in, and we went up stairs and + found her in bed with her children. Waking her, I asked her why she did + not come home, in the stage? She replied that the clerk down stairs told + her that the stage did not go beyond the house, and that she expected to + walk over, as soon as it was daylight, or that possibly we might come for + her. + </p> + <p> + I declare, I was so young and unsophisticated that I suspected nothing, + and blamed only the stupidity, as I supposed, of the clerk in telling her + that the stage did not go beyond Bainbridge. My wife got up and dressed + herself and the children, and then as it was broad daylight, after + endeavoring, ineffectually, to get a conveyance, we started for home on + foot, she leading the little boy, and I carrying the youngest child. We + were not far on our way when she suddenly stopped, stooped down, and + exclaimed: + </p> + <p> + “O! see what I have found in the road.” + </p> + <p> + And she showed me a ten dollar bill. I was quite surprised, and verdantly + enough, advised looking around for more money, which my wife, brother and + I industriously did for some minutes. It was full four weeks before I + found out where that ten dollar bill came from. Meanwhile, my wife was + received and was living in her new home, being treated with great kindness + by all of us. It was evident, however, that she had something on her mind + which troubled her, and one morning, about a month after her arrival, I + found her in tears. I asked her what was the matter? She said that she had + been deceiving me; that she did not pick up the ten dollar bill in the + road; but that it was given to her by the clerk in the public house in + Bainbridge; only, however, for this: he had grossly insulted her; she had + resented it, and he had given her the money, partly as a reparation, and + partly to prevent her from speaking of the insult to me or to others. + </p> + <p> + But by this time my hitherto blinded eyes were opened, and I charged her + with being false to me. She protested she had not been; but finally + confessed that she had been too intimate with the clerk at the hotel. I + began a suit at law against the clerk; but finally, on account of my + wife’s family and for the sake of my children, I stopped proceedings, the + clerk paying the costs of the suit as far as it had gone, and giving me + what I should probably have got from him in the way of damages. My wife + too, was apparently so penitent, and I was so much infatuated with her, + that I forgave her, and even consented to continue to live with her. But I + removed to Greenville, Greene County, N. Y., where I went into the + black-smithing business, and was very successful. We lived here long + enough to add two children to our little family; but as time went on, the + woman became bad again, and displayed the worst depravity. I could no + longer live with her, and we finally mutually agreed upon a life-long + separation—she insisting upon keeping the children, and going to + Rochester where she subsequently developed the full extent of her + character. + </p> + <p> + This, as nearly as I remember, was in the year 1838, and with this came a + new trouble upon me. Just before the separation, I received from my + brother’s wife a note for one hundred dollars, and sold it. It proved to + be a forgery. I was temporarily in Troy, N. Y., when the discovery was + made, and as I made no secret of my whereabouts at any time, I was + followed to Troy, was there arrested, and after lying in jail at Albany + one night, was taken next morning to Coxsackie, Greene County, and front + thence to Catskill. After one day in jail there, I was brought before a + justice and examined on the charge of uttering a forged note. There was a + most exciting trial of four days duration. I had two good lawyers who did + their best to show that I did not know the note to be forged when I sold + it, but the justice seemed determined to bind me over for trial, and he + did so, putting me under five hundred dollars’ bonds. My half-sister at + Sidney was sent for, came to Catskill, and became bail for me. I was + released, and my lawyers advised me to leave, which I did at once, and + went to Pittsfield, and from there to Worthington, Mass., where I had + another half-sister, who was married to Mr. Josiah Bartlett, and was well + off. + </p> + <p> + Here I settled down, for all that I knew to the contrary, for life. For + some years past, I had devoted my leisure hours from the forge to the + honest endeavor to make up for the deficiencies in my youthful education, + and had acquired, among other things, a good knowledge of medicine. I did + not however, believe in any of the “schools” particularly those schools + that make use of mineral medicines in their practice. I favored purely + vegetable remedies, and had been very successful in administering them. So + I began life anew, in Worthington, as a Doctor, and aided by my + half-sister and her friends, I soon secured a remunerative practice. + </p> + <p> + I was beginning to be truly happy. I supposed that the final separation, + mutually agreed upon between my wife and myself, was as effectual as all + the courts in the country could make it, and I looked upon myself as a + free man. Accordingly, after I had been in Worthington some months I began + to pay attentions to the daughter of a flourishing farmer. She was a fine + girl; she received my addresses favorably, and we were finally privately + married. This was the beginning of my life-long troubles. In a few weeks + her father found out that I had been previously married, and was not, so + far as he knew, either a divorced man or a widower. And so it happened, + that one day when I was at his house, and with his daughter, he suddenly + came home with a posse of people and a warrant for my arrest. I was taken + before a justice, and while we were waiting for proceedings to begin, or, + possibly for the justice to arrive, I took the excited father aside and + said: + </p> + <p> + “You know I have a fine horse and buggy at the door. Get in with me, and + ride down home. I will see your daughter and make everything right with + her, and if you will let me run away, I’ll give her her the horse and + buggy.” + </p> + <p> + The offer was too tempting to be refused. The father had the warrant in + his pocket, and he accepted my proposal. We rode to his house, and he went + into the back-room by direction of his daughter while she and I talked in + the hall. I explained matters as well as I could; I promised to see her + again, and that very soon. My horse and buggy were at the door. Hastily + bidding my new and young wife “good-bye,” I sprang into the buggy and + drove rapidly away. The father rushed to the door and raised a great hue + and cry, and what was more, raised the neighbors; I had not driven five + miles before all Worthington was after me. But I had the start, the best + horse, and I led in the race. I drove to Hancock, N.Y., where my pursuers + lost the trail; thence to Bennington, Vt., next to Brattleboro, Vt., and + from there to Templeton, Mass. What befel me at Templeton, shall be + related in the next chapter. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II. MISERIES FROM MY SECOND MARRIAGE. + </h2> + <p> + LOVE-MAKING IN MASSACHUSETTS—ARREST FOR BIGAMY—TRIAL AT + NORTHAMPTON—A STUNNING SENTENCE—SENT TO STATE PRISON—LEARNING + THE BRUSH BUSINESS—SHARPENING PICKS—PRISON FARE—IN THE + HOSPITAL—KIND TREATMENT—SUCCESSFUL HORSE SHOEING—THE + WARDEN MY FRIEND—EFFORTS FOR MY RELEASE—A FULL PARDON. + </p> + <p> + At Templeton I speedily made known my profession, and soon had a very good + medical practice which one or two “remarkable cures” materially increased. + I was doing well and making money. I boarded in a respectable farmer’s + family, and after living there about six months there came another most + unhappy occurrence. From the day, almost, when I began to board with this + farmer there sprung up a strong attachment between myself and his youngest + daughter which soon ripened into mutual love. She rode about with me when + I went to see my patients, who were getting to be numerous, and we were + much in each other’s company. + </p> + <p> + On one occasion she accompanied me to Worcester where I had some patients. + We went to a public house where she and her family were well known, and + when she was asked by the landlord how she happened to come there with the + doctor, her prompt answer was: + </p> + <p> + “Why, we are married; did’nt you know it?” + </p> + <p> + She refused even to go to the table without my attendance, and when I was + out visiting some patients, she waited for her meals till I came back. We + stayed there but two days and returned together to Templeton. + </p> + <p> + A month afterward her brother was in Worcester, and stopped at this house. + The landlord, after some conversation about general matters, said: + </p> + <p> + “So your sister is married to the Doctor?” + </p> + <p> + “I know nothing about it,” was the reply. + </p> + <p> + This led to a full and altogether too free disclosure to the astonished + brother about the particulars of our visit to the same house a month + before, and his sister’s representations that we were married. The brother + immediately started for home, and repeated the story, as it was told to + him, to his father and the family. Without seeing his daughter, the father + at once procured a warrant, and had me arrested and brought before a + justice on charge of seduction. The trial was brief; the daughter herself + swore positively, that though she had been imprudent and indiscreet in + going to Worcester with me, no improper communication had ever, there or + elsewhere, taken place between us. + </p> + <p> + Of course, there was nothing to do but to let me go and I was discharged. + But out of this affair came the worst that had yet fallen to my lot in + life. The story got into the papers, with particulars and names of the + parties, and in this way the people at Worthington, who had chased me as + far as Hancock and had there lost all trace of me, found out where I was. + If I had been aware of it, they might have looked elsewhere for me; but + while I was felicitating myself upon my escape from the latest difficulty, + down came an officer from Worthington with a warrant for my arrest. This + officer, the sheriff, was connected with the family into which I had + married in Worthington, and with him came two or three more relatives, all + bound, as they boasted, to “put me through.” They were excessively irate + against me and very much angered, especially that their race after me to + Hancock had been fruitless. I had fallen into the worst possible hands. + </p> + <p> + They took me to Northampton and brought me before a Justice, on a charge + of bigamy: The sheriff who arrested me, and the relatives who accompanied + him were willing to swear my life away, if they could, and the justice was + ready enough to bind me over to take my trial in court, which was not to + be in session for full six months to come. Those long, weary six months I + passed in the county jail. Then came my trial. I had good counsel. There + was not a particle of proof that I was guilty of bigamy; no attempt was + made on the part of the prosecution to produce my first wife, from whom I + had separated, or, indeed, to show that there was such a woman in + existence. But, evidence or no evidence, with all Worthington against me, + conviction was inevitable. The jury found me guilty. The judge promptly + sentenced me to three years’ imprisonment in the State Prison, at + Charlestown, with hard labor, the first day to be passed in solitary + confinement. + </p> + <p> + This severe sentence fairly stunned me. I was taken back to jail, and the + following day I was conveyed to Charlestown with heavy irons on my ankles + and handcuffed. No murderer would have been more heavily ironed. We + started early in the morning, and by noon I was duly delivered to the + warden at Charlestown prison. I was taken into the office, measured, asked + my name, age, and other particulars, and then if I had a trade. To this I + at once answered, “no.” I wanted my twenty-four hours’ solitary + confinement in which to reflect upon the kind of “hard labor,” prescribed + in my sentence, I was willing to follow for the next three years; and I + also wanted information about the branches of labor pursued in that + prison. The next words of the warden assured me that he was a kind and + compassionate man. + </p> + <p> + “Go,” he said to an officer, “and instantly take off those irons when you + take him inside the prison.” + </p> + <p> + I was taken in and the irons were taken off. I was then undressed, my + clothes were removed to another room, and I was redressed in the prison + uniform. This was a grotesque uniform indeed. The suit was red and blue, + half and half, like a harlequin’s, and to crown all came a hat or cap, + like a fool’s cap, a foot and a half high and running up to a peak. + Miserable as I was, I could scarcely help smiling at the utterly absurd + appearance I knew I then presented. I even ventured to remark upon it; but + was suddenly and sternly checked with the command: + </p> + <p> + “Silence! There’s no talking allowed here.” + </p> + <p> + Then began my twenty-four hours’ solitary confinement, and twenty-four + wretched hours they were. I had only bread and water to eat and drink, and + I need not say that my unhappy thoughts would not permit me to sleep. At + noon next day I was taken from my cell, and brought again before the + warden, Mr. Robinson, who kindly said: + </p> + <p> + “You have no trade, you say; what do you want to go to work at?” + </p> + <p> + “Anything light; I am not used to hard labor,” I replied. + </p> + <p> + So the warden directed that I should be put at work in the brush shop, + where all kinds of brushes were made. Mr. Eddy was the officer in charge + of this shop, and Mr. Knowles, the contractor for the labor employed in + the brush business, was present. Both of these gentlemen took pains to + instruct me in the work I was to begin upon, and were very kind in their + manner towards me. I went to work in a bungling way and with a sad and + heavy heart. At 12 o’clock we were marched from the shop to our cells, + each man taking from a trap in the wall, as he went by, his pan containing + his dinner, which consisted, that day, of boiled beef and potatoes. It was + probably the worst dinner I had ever eaten, but I had yet to learn what + prison fare was. From one o’clock to six I was in the shop again; then + came Supper—mush and molasses that evening which was varied, as I + learned afterwards, on different days by rye bread, or Indian bread and + rye coffee. These things were also served for breakfast, and the dinners + were varied on different days in the week. The fare was very coarse, + always, but abundant and wholesome. After supper prisoners were expected + to go to bed, as they were called out at six o’clock in the morning. + </p> + <p> + I stayed in the brush shop three or four months, but I made very little + progress in learning the trade. I was willing enough to learn and did my + best. From the day I entered the prison I made up my mind to behave as + well as I could; to be docile and obedient, and to comply with every rule + and order. Consequently I had no trouble, and the officers all treated me + kindly. Warden Robinson was a model man for his position. He believed that + prisoners could be reformed more easily by mild than by harsh measures—at + least they would be more contented with their lot and would be + subordinate. Every now and then he would ask prisoners if they were well + treated by the officers; how they were getting on; if they had enough to + eat, and so on. The officers seemed imbued with the warden’s spirit; the + chaplain of the prison, who conducted the Sunday, services and also held a + Sunday school, was one of the finest men in the world, and took a personal + interest in every prisoner. Altogether, it was a model institution. But in + spite of good treatment I was intensely miserable; my mind was morbid; I + was nearly, if not quite, insane; and one day during the dinner hour, I + opened a vein in each arm in hopes that I should bleed to death. Bleed I + did, till I fainted away, and as I did not come out when the other + prisoners did, the officer came to my cell and discovered my condition. He + at once sent for the Doctor who came and stopped the hemorrhage, and then + sent me to the hospital where I remained two weeks. + </p> + <p> + After I came out of the hospitals the Warden talked to me about my + situation and feelings. He advised me to go into the blacksmith shop, of + course not dreaming that I knew anything of the work; but he said I would + have more liberty there; that the men moved about freely and could talk to + each other; that the work mainly was sharpening picks and tools, and that + I could at least blow and strike. So I went into the blacksmith shop, and + remained their six weeks. But, debilitated as I was, the work was too hard + for me, and so the warden put me in the yard to do what I could. I also + swept the halls and assisted in the cook-room. One day when the warden + spoke to me, I told him that I knew something about taking care of the + sick, and after some conversation, he transferred me to the hospital as a + nurse. + </p> + <p> + Here, if there is such a things as contentment in prison, I was + comparatively happy. I nursed the sick and administered medicines under + direction of the doctor. I had too, with all easy position, more liberty + than any other prisoner. I could go anywhere about the halls and yard, and + in a few weeks I was frequently sent on an errand into the town. Everyone + seemed to have the fullest confidence in me. The Warden talked to me + whenever he saw me, and always had some kind word for me. One day I + ventured to speak to him about his horse, of which he was very proud, and + indeed the horse was a very fine one. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Warden, said I “that’s a noble horse of yours; but he interferes + badly, and that is only because he is badly shod. If you will trust me, I + can shoe him so as to prevent all that.” + </p> + <p> + “Can you?” exclaimed the Warden in great surprise; “Well, if you can, I’ll + give you a good piece of bread and butter, or, anything else you want.” + </p> + <p> + “I don’t want your bread and butter,” said I “but I will shoe your horse + as he has never been shod before.” + </p> + <p> + “Well take the horse to the shop and see what you can do.” + </p> + <p> + Of course, I knew that by “bread and butter” the warden meant that if I + could shoe his favorite horse so as to prevent him from interfering, he + would gladly favor me as far as he could; and I knew, too, that I could + make as good a shoe as any horse need wear. I gladly led the horse to the + shop where I had so signally failed in pick and tool sharpening, and was + received with jeers by my old comrades who wanted to know what I was going + to do to that horse. + </p> + <p> + “O, simply shoe him,” I said. + </p> + <p> + This greatly increased the mirth of my former shopmates; but their + amusement speedily changed to amazement as they saw me make my nails, turn + the shoes and neatly put them on. In due time the horse was shod, and I + led him to the Warden for inspection; and before him and an officer who + stood by him, I led the horse up and down to show that he did not + interfere. The Warden’s delight was unbounded; he never saw such a set of + shoes; he declared that they fitted as if they had grown to the horse’s + hoofs. I need not say that from that day till the day I left the prison, I + had everything I wanted from the Warden’s own table; I fared as well as he + did, and had favors innumerable. + </p> + <p> + About once a month I shod that horse, little thinking that he was to carry + me over my three years’ imprisonment in just half that time. Yet so it + was. For talking now almost daily, in the hospital or in the yard, with + the Warden, he became interested in me, and in answer to his inquiries I + told him the whole story of my persecution, as I considered it, my trial + and my unjust and severe sentence. When he had heard all he said: + </p> + <p> + “You ought not to be here another day; you ought to go out.” + </p> + <p> + The good chaplain also interested himself in my case, and after hearing + the story, he and the Warden took a lawyer named Bemis, into their + counsel, laid the whole matter before him and asked his opinion. Mr. + Bemis, after hearing all the circumstances, expressed the belief that I + might get a pardon. He entered into the matter with his whole heart. He + sent for my son Henry and my first wife, and they came and corroborated my + statement about the mutual agreement for separation, and told how long we + had been parted. Mr. Bemis and they then went to Governor Briggs, and told + him the story, and that I had served out half of my severe sentence, and + pressed for a pardon. The Governor after due deliberation consented to + their request. They came back to Charlestown with the joyful intelligence. + Warden Robinson advised my son, that considering my present mental and + physical condition, he had better break the intelligence gradually to me, + and so Henry came to me and said, simply, that he thought he would soon + have “good news” for me. The next day I was told that my pardon was + certain. The day following, at 12 o’clock, I walked out, after eighteen + months’ imprisonment, a free man. I was in the streets of Charlestown with + my own clothes on and five dollars, given to me by the Warden, in my + pocket, I was poor, truly, but I was at liberty, and that for the day was + enough. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III. THE SCHEIMER SENSATION. + </h2> + <p> + THE SCHEIMER FAMILY—IN LOVE WITH SARAH—ATTEMPT TO ELOPE—HOW + IT WAS PREVENTED—THE SECOND ATTEMPT—A MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION—THE + ALARM—A FRIGHTFUL BEATING—ESCAPE—FLOGGING THE DEVIL OUT + OF SARAH—WINTER IN NEW HAMPSHIRE—RETURN TO NEW JERSEY—“BOSTON + YANKEE”—PLANS TO SECURE SARAH. + </p> + <p> + I went at once to the Prisoners Home, where I was kindly received, and I + stayed there two days. The superintendent then paid my passage to + Pittsfield where I wished to go and meet my son. From Pittsfield I went to + Albany, then New York, and from there to Newtown N. J. Here I went into + practice, meeting with almost immediate success, and staid there two + months. It was my habit to go from town to town to attend to cases of a + certain class and to sell my vegetable preparations; and from Newtown I + went to Belvidere, stopping at intermediate towns on the way, and from + Belvidere I went to Harmony, a short distance below, to attend a case of + white swelling, which I cured. + </p> + <p> + Now just across the Delaware river, nine miles above Easton, Penn., lived + a wealthy Dutch farmer, named Scheimer, who heard of the cure I had + effected in Harmony, and as he had a son, sixteen years of age, afflicted + in the same way, he sent for me to come and see him. I crossed the river, + saw the boy, and at Scheimer’s request took up my residence with him to + attend to the case. He was to give me, with my board, five hundred dollars + if I cured the boy; but though the boy recovered under my treatment, I + never received my fee for reasons which will appear anon. I secured some + other practice in the neighborhood, and frequently visited Easton, + Belvidere, Harmony, Oxford, and other near by places, on either side of + the river. + </p> + <p> + The Scheimer family consisted of the “old folks” and four sons and four + daughters, the children grown up, for my patient, sixteen years old, was + the youngest. The youngest daughter, Sarah, eighteen years old, was an + accomplished and beautiful girl. Now it would seem as if with my sad + experience I ought by this time, to have turned my back on women forever. + But I think I was a monomaniac on the subject of matrimony. My first wife + had so misused me that it was always in my mind that some reparation was + due me, and that I was fairly entitled to a good helpmate. The ill-success + of my efforts, hitherto, to secure one, and my consequent sufferings were + all lost upon me—experience, bitter experience, had taught me + nothing. + </p> + <p> + I had not been in the Scheimer family three months before I fell in love + with the daughter Sarah and she returned my passion. She promised to marry + me, but said there was no use in saying anything to her parents about it; + they would never consent on account of the disparity in our ages, for I + was then forty years old; but she would marry me nevertheless, if we had + to run away together. Meanwhile, the old folks had seen enough of our + intimacy to suspect that it might lead to something yet closer, and one + day Mr. Scheimer invited me to leave his house and not to return. I asked + for one last interview with Sarah, which was accorded, and we then + arranged a plan by which she should meet me the next afternoon at four + o’clock at the Jersey ferry, a mile below the house, when we proposed to + quietly cross over to Belvidere and get married. I then took leave of her + and the family and went away. + </p> + <p> + The next day, at the appointed time, I was at the ferry—Sarah, as I + learned afterwards, left the house at a much earlier hour to “take a walk” + and while she was, foolishly I think, making a circuitous route to reach + the ferry, her father, who suspected that she intended to run away, went + to the ferryman and told him his suspicions, directing him if Sarah came + there by no means to permit her to cross the river. Consequently when + Sarah met me at the ferry, the ferryman flatly refused to let either of us + go over. He knew all about it, he said, and it was “no go.” I had two + hundred dollars in my pocket and I offered him any reasonable sum, if he + would only let us cross; but no, he knew the Scheimers better than he knew + me, and their goodwill was worth more than mine. Here was a block to the + game, indeed. I had sent my baggage forward in the morning to Belvidere; + Sarah had nothing but the clothes she wore, for she was so carefully + watched that she could carry or send nothing away; but she was ready to go + if the obstinate ferryman had not prevented us. + </p> + <p> + While we were pressing the ferryman to favor us, down came one of Sarah’s + brothers with a dozen neighbors, and told her she must return home or he + would carry her back by force. I interfered and said she should not go. + Whereupon one fellow took hold of me and I promptly knocked him down, and + notified the crowd that the first who laid hands on me, or who attempted + to take her home violently, would get a dose from my pistol which I then + exhibited: + </p> + <p> + “Sarah must go willingly or not at all,” said I. + </p> + <p> + The production of my pistol, the only weapon in the crowd, brought about a + new state of affairs, and the brother and others tried persuasion; but + Sarah stoutly insisted that she would not return. “Now hold on,” boys, + said I, “I am going to say something to her.” I then took her aside and + told her that there was no use in trying to run away then; that she had + better go home quietly, and tell the folks that she was sorry for what she + had done, that she had broken off with me, and would have nothing more to + do with me; that I would surely see her to-morrow, and then we could make + a new plan. So she announced her willingness to go quietly home with her + brother and she did so. I went to a public house half a mile below the + ferry. That night the gang came down to this house with the intention of + driving me away from the place, or, possibly, of doing something worse; + but while they were howling outside, the landlord sent me to my room and + then went out and told the crowd I had gone away. + </p> + <p> + The next morning I boldly walked up to Scheimer’s house to get a few books + and other things I had left there, and I saw Sarah. I told her to be ready + on the following Thursday night and I would have a ladder against her + window for her to escape by. She promised to be ready. Meantime, though I + had been in the house but a few minutes, some one who had seen me go in + gathered the crowd of the day before, and the first thing I knew the house + was beseiged. Mrs. Scheimer had gone up stairs for my things. I went out + and faced the little mob. I was told to leave the place or they would kill + me. One of Sarah’s brothers ran into the house, brought out a musket and + aimed it at me; but it missed fire. I drew my pistol the crowd keeping + well away then, and told him that if he did not instantly bring that + musket to me I would shoot him. He brought it, and I threw it over the + fence, Sarah crying out from the window, “good! good!” The mob then turned + and abused and blackguarded her. Then the old lady came out, bringing a + carpet bag containing my books and things, asking me to see if “it was all + right.” I had no disposition to stop and examine just then; I told the mob + I had no other business there; that I was going away, and to my surprise, + I confess, I was permitted to leave the place unmolested. + </p> + <p> + It is quite certain the ferryman made no objection to my crossing, and I + went to Belvidere where I remained quietly till the appointed Thursday + night, when I started with a trusty man for Scheimer’s. We timed our + journey so as to arrive there at one o’clock in the morning. Ever since + her attempt to elope, Sarah had been watched night and day, and to prevent + her abduction by me, Mr. Scheimer had two or three men in the house to + stand guard at night. Sarah was locked in her room, which is precisely + what we had provided for, for no one in the house supposed that she could + escape by the window. There was a big dog on the premises, but he and I + were old friends, and he seemed very glad to see me when I came on the + ground on this eventful night. Sarah was watching, and when I made the + signal she opened the window and threw out her ready prepared bundle. Then + my man and I set the ladder and she came safely to the ground. A moment + more and we would have stolen away, when, as ill luck would have it, the + ladder fell with a great crash, and the infernal dog, that a moment before + seemed almost in our confidence, set up a howl and then barked loud enough + to wake the dead. + </p> + <p> + Forthwith issued from the house old Scheimer, two of his sons and his + hired guard—a half dozen in all. There was a time then. The girl was + instantly seized and taken into the house. Then all hands fell upon us + two, and though I and my man fought our best they managed to pound us + nearly to death. The dog, too, in revenge no doubt for the scare the + ladder had given him, or perhaps to show his loyalty to his master, + assisted in routing us, and put in a bite where he could. It is a wonder + we were not killed. Sarah, meanwhile, was calling out from the house, and + imploring them not to murder us. How we ever got away I hardly know now, + but presently we found ourselves in the road running for our lives, and + running also for the carriage we had concealed in the woods, half a mile + above. We reached it, and hastily unhitching and getting in we drove + rapidly for the bridge crossing over to Belvidere. That beautiful August + night had very few charms for us. It would have been different indeed if I + had succeeded in securing my Sarah; and to think of having the prize in my + very grasp, and the losing all! + </p> + <p> + We reached the hotel in Belvidere at about half-past two o’clock in the + morning, wearied, worn, bruised and disheartened. My man had not suffered + nearly as severely as I had; the bulk of their blows fell upon me, and I + had the sorest body and the worst looking face I had ever exhibited. I + rested one day and then hurried on to New York. Of course, I had no means + of knowing the feelings or condition of the loved girl from whom I had + been so suddenly and so violently parted. I only learned from an Easton + man whom I knew and whom I met in the city, that “Sarah Scheimer was sick”—that + was all; the man said he did’nt know the family very well, but he had + heard that Miss Scheimer had been “out of her head, if not downright + crazy.” + </p> + <p> + Crazy indeed! How mad and how miserable that poor girl was made by her own + family, I did not know till months afterward, and then I had the terrible + story from her own lips. It seems that when her father and his gang + returned from pursuing me, as they did a little way up the road towards + Belvidere, they found her almost frantic. They locked her up in her room + that night with no one to say so much as a kind word to her. How she + passed that night, after the scenes she had witnessed, and the abuse with + which her father and brothers had loaded her before they thrust her into + her prison, may be imagined. The next day she was wrought up to a frenzy. + Her parents pronounced her insane, and called in a Dutch doctor who + examined her and said she was “bewitched!” And this is the remedy he + proposed as a cure; he advised that she should be soundly flogged, and the + devil whipped out of her. Her family, intensely angered at her for the + trouble she had made them, or rather had caused them to make for + themselves, were only too glad to accept the advice. The old man and two + sons carried a sore bruise or two apiece they got from me the night + before, and seized the opportunity to pay them off upon her. So they + stripped her bare, and flogged her till her back was a mass of welts and + cuts, and then put her to bed. That bed she never left for two months, and + then came out the shadow of her former self. But the Dutch doctor declared + that the devil was whipped out of her, and that she was entirely cured. A + few months afterward the family had the best of reasons for believing that + they had whipped the devil into her, instead of out of her. + </p> + <p> + After staying in New York a few days, I went to Dover, N.H., where I had + some acquaintances, and where I hoped to get into a medical practice, + which, with the help of my friends, I did very soon. I lived quietly in + that place all winter, earning a good living and laying by some money. + During the whole time I never heard a word from Sarah. I wrote at least + fifty letters to her, but as I learned afterward, and, indeed, surmised at + the time, every one of them was intercepted by her father or brothers, and + she did not know where I was and so could not write to me. I left Dover in + May and went down to New York. I had some business there which was soon + transacted, and early in June I went over to New Jersey—to Oxford, a + small place near Belvidere. + </p> + <p> + This place I meant to make my base of operations for the new campaign I + had been planning all winter. I “put up” at a public house kept by a man + who was known in the region round about as the “Boston Yankee,” for he + migrated from Boston to New Jersey and was doing a thriving business at + hotel keeping in Oxford. What a thorough good-fellow he was will presently + appear. I had been in the hotel four days and had become pretty intimate + with the landlord before I ventured to make inquiries about what I was + most anxious to learn; but finally I asked him if he knew the Scheimers + over the river? He looked at me in a very comical way, and then broke out: + </p> + <p> + “Well, I declare, I thought I knew you, you’re the chap that tried to run + away with old Scheimer’s daughter Sarah, last August; and you’re down here + to get her this time, if you can.” + </p> + <p> + I owned up to my identity, but warned Boston Yankee that if he told any + one who I was, or that I was about there, I’d blow his brains out. + </p> + <p> + “You keep cool,” said he, “don’t you be uneasy; I’m your friend and the + gal’s friend, and I’ll help you both all I can; and if you want to carry + off Sarah Scheimer and marry her, I’ll tell you how to work it. You see + she has been watched as closely as possible all winter, ever since she got + well, for she was crazy-like, awhile. Well, you could’n’t get nearer to + her, first off, than you could to the North Pole; but do you remember Mary + Smith who was servant gal, there when you boarded with Scheimer?” I + remembered the girl well and told him so, and he continued: “Well, I saw + her the other day, and she told me she was living in Easton, and where she + could be found; now, I’ll give you full directions and do you take my + horse and buggy to-morrow morning early and go down and see her, and get + her to go over and let Sarah know that you’re round; meantime I’ll keep + dark; I know my business and you know yours.” + </p> + <p> + I need not say how overjoyed I was to find this new and most unexpected + friend, and how gratefully I accepted his offer. He gave me the street, + house and number where Mary Smith lived and during the evening we planned + together exactly how the whole affair was to be managed, from beginning to + end. I went to bed, but could scarcely sleep; and all night long I was + agitated by alternate hopes and fears for the success of the scheme of + to-morrow. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV. SUCCESS WITH SARAH. + </h2> + <p> + MARY SMITH AS A CONFEDERATE—THE PLOT—WAITING IN THE WOODS—THE + SPY OUTWITTED—SARAH SECURED—THE PURSUERS BAFFLED—NIGHT + ON THE ROAD—EFFORTS TO GET MARRIED—THE “OLD OFFENDER” MARRIED + AT LAST—A CONSTABLE AFTER SARAH—HE GIVES IT UP—AN ALE + ORGIE—RETURN TO “BOSTON YANKEE’S”—A HOME IN GOSHEN. + </p> + <p> + It was Saturday morning, and after an early breakfast I was on the road + with Boston Yankee’s fast horse; towards Easton. On my arrival there I had + no difficulty in finding Mary Smith, who recognized me at once, and was + very glad to see me. She knew I had come there to learn something about + Sarah; she had seen her only a week ago; she was well again, and the girls + had talked together about me. This was pleasant to hear, and I at once + proposed to Mary to go to Scheimer’s and tell Sarah that I was there; I + would give her ten dollars if she would go. “O! she would gladly serve us + both for nothing.” + </p> + <p> + So she made herself ready, got into the buggy, and we started for + Scheimer’s. When we were well on the road I said to her: + </p> + <p> + “Now, Mary, attend carefully to what I say: you will need to be very + cautious in breaking the news to Sarah that I am here; she has already + suffered a great deal on my account, and may be very timid about my being + in the neighborhood; but if she still loves me as you say she does, she + will run any risk to see me, and, if I know her, she will be glad to go + away with me. Now, this is what you must do; you must see her alone and + tell her my plan; here, take this diamond ring; she knows it well; manage + to let her see it on your finger; then tell her that if she is willing to + leave home and marry me, I will be in the woods half a mile above her + house to-morrow afternoon at 5 o’clock, with a horse and buggy ready to + carry her to Belvidere. If she will not, or dare not come, give her the + ring, and tell her we part, good friends, forever.” + </p> + <p> + It was a beautiful afternoon as we drove along the road. We talked about + Sarah and old times, and I made her repeat my instructions over and over + again and she promised to convey every word to Sarah. We neared Scheimer’s + house about six o’clock, and when we were a little way from there I told + Mary to get out, so as to excite no suspicions as to who I was; she did + so, and I waited till I saw her go into the house, and then drove rapidly + by towards the Belvidere bridge, and was safely at Oxford by nightfall. I + told my friend, the landlord, what I had done, and he said that everything + was well planned. He also promised to go with me next day to assist me if + necessary, and, said he: + </p> + <p> + “If everything is all right, do you carry off the girl and I’ll walk up to + Belvidere; but don’t bring Sarah this way—head toward Water Gap. + When you’re married fast and sure, you can come back here as leisurely as + you’re a mind to, and nobody can lay a hand upon you or her.” + </p> + <p> + We arranged some other minor details of our expedition and I went to bed. + </p> + <p> + The next afternoon at four o’clock I was at the appointed place, and + Boston Yankee was with me. I did not look for Sarah before five o’clock, + so we tied our horse and kept a good watch upon the road. An hour went by + and no Sarah appeared. I told Boston Yankee I did not believe she would + come. + </p> + <p> + “Don’t be impatient; wait a little longer,” said my friend. + </p> + <p> + In twenty minutes we saw emerge, not from Scheimer’s house, but from his + eldest son’s house, which was still nearer to the place where we were + waiting, three women, two of whom I recognized as Sarah and Mary, and the + third I did not know, nor could I imagine why she was with the other two; + but as I saw them, leaving Boston Yankee in the woods, I drove the horse + down into the road. As Sarah drew near she kissed her hand to me and came + up to the wagon. “Are you ready to go with me?” I asked. “I am, indeed,” + was her reply, and I put out my hand to help her into the buggy. But the + third woman caught hold of her dress, tried to prevent her from getting + in, and began to scream so as to attract attention at Sarah’s brother’s + house. I told the woman to let her go, and threatened her with my whip. + “Get away,” shouted Boston Yankee, who had come upon the scene. “Drive as + fast as you can; never mind if you kill the horse.” + </p> + <p> + We started; the woman still shouting for help, and I drove on as rapidly + as the horse would go. When we had gone on a mile or two, I asked Sarah + what all this meant? She told me that the woman was her brother’s servant; + that Mary and herself left her father’s house a little after four o’clock + to go over and call at her brother’s; that just before five, when she was + to meet me, she and Mary proposed to go out for a walk; that the whole + family watched her constantly, and so her brother’s wife told the servant + woman to get on her things and go with them. “You, may be sure,” she, + added, “that the woman will arouse the whole neighborhood, and that they + will all be after us.” I needed no further hint to push on. We were going + toward Water Gap, as Boston Yankee had advised, and when we were about + eight miles on the way, I deemed it prudent to drive into the woods and to + wait till night before going on. We drove in just off the road, and tied + our horse. We were effectually concealed; our pursuers, if there were any, + would be sure to go by us, and meantime we could talk over our plans for + the future. Sarah told me that when Mary came to the house the night + before, she was not at all surprised to see her, as she occasionally came + up from Easton to make them a little visit, and to stay all night; that + she went to the summer-house with Mary to sit down and talk, and almost + immediately saw the ring on Mary’s finger; that when she saw it she at + once recognized it, and asked her: “O! Mary, where did you get that ring?” + “Keep quiet,” said Mary: “don’t talk loud, or some one may hear you; don’t + be agitated; your lover is near, and has sent me to tell you.” It was + joyful news to Sarah, and how readily she had acquiesced in my plan for an + elopement was manifest in the fact that she was then by my side. + </p> + <p> + We bad not been in the woods an hour when, as I anticipated, we heard our + pursuers, we did not know how many there were, drive rapidly by. “Now we + can go on, I suppose,” said Sarah. “Oh no, my dear,” I replied, “now is + just the time to wait quietly here;” and wait we did till eight o’clock, + when our pursuers, having gone on a few miles, and having seen or learned + nothing of the fugitives, came by again “on the back track.” They must + have thought we had turned off into some other road. I waited a while + longer to let our friend’s get a little nearer home and further away from + us, and then took the road again toward Water Gap. + </p> + <p> + We reached Water Gap at midnight, had some supper and fed the horse. We + rested awhile, and then drove leisurely on nine miles further, where we + waited till daylight and crossed the river. We were in no great hurry now; + we were comparatively safe from pursuit. We soon came to a public house, + where we stopped and put out the horse, intending to take breakfast. While + I was inquiring of the landlord if there was a justice of the peace in the + neighborhood, the landlord’s wife had elicited from Sarah the fact of our + elopement, who she was, who her folks were, and so on. The well-meaning + landlady advised Sarah to go back home and get her parents consent before + she married. Sarah suggested that the very impossibility of getting such + consent was the reason for her running away; nor did it appear how she was + to go back home alone even if she desired to. We saw that we could get no + help there, so I countermanded my order for breakfast, offering at the + same time to pay for it as if we had eaten it, ordered out my horse and + drove on. After riding some ten miles we arrived at another public house + on the road, and as the landlord come out to the door I immediately asked + him where I could find a justice of the peace? He laughed, for he at once + comprehended the whole situation, and said: + </p> + <p> + “Well, well! I am an old offender myself; I ran away with my wife; there + is a justice of the peace two miles from here, and if you’ll come in I’ll + have him here within an hour.” + </p> + <p> + We had reached the right place at last, for while the landlady was getting + breakfast for us, and doing her best to make us comfortable and happy, the + Old Offender himself took his horse and carriage and went for the justice. + By the time we had finished our breakfast he was back with him, and Sarah + and I were married in “less than no time,” the Old Offender and his wife + singing the certificate as witnesses. I never paid a fee more gladly. We + were married now, and all the Scheimers in Pennsylvania were welcome to + come and see us if they pleased. + </p> + <p> + No Scheimers came that day; but the day following came a deputation from + that family, some half dozen delegates, and with them a constable from + Easton, with a warrant to arrest Sarah for something—I never knew + what—but at any rate he was to take her home if necessary by force. + The Old Offender declined to let these people into his house; Sarah told + me to keep out of the way and she would see what was wanted. Whereupon she + boldly went to the door and greeted those of her acquaintances who were in + the party. The constable knew her, and told her he had come to take her + home. “But what if I refuse to go?” “Well then, I have a warrant to take + you; but if you are married, I have no power over you.” Well married I am, + said Sarah, and she produced the certificate, and the Old Offender and his + wife came out and declared that they witnessed the ceremony. + </p> + <p> + What was to be done? evidently nothing; only the constable ordered a whole + barrel of ale to treat his posse and any one about tire town who chose to + drink, and the barrel was rolled out on the grass, tapped, and for a half + hour there was a great jollification, which was not exactly in honor of + our wedding, but which afforded the greatest gratification to the + constable, his retainers, and those who happened to gather to see what was + going on. This ended, and the bill paid, the Easton delegation got into + their wagons and turned their horses heads towards home. + </p> + <p> + We passed three delightful days under the Old Offender’s roof, and then + thanking our host for his kindness to us, and paying our bill, we started + on our return journey for Oxford. We arrived safely, and staid with Boston + Yankee a fortnight. We were close by the Scheimer homestead, which was but + a few miles away across the river; but we feared neither father nor + brothers, nor even the woman who was so unwilling to let Sarah go with me. + The constable, and the rest had carried home the news of our marriage, and + the old folks made the best of it. Indeed, after they heard we had + returned to Oxford, Sarah’s mother sent a man over to tell her that if she + would come home any day she could pack her clothes and other things, and + take them away with her. The day after we received this invitation, Boston + Yankee offered to take Sarah over home, and promised to bring her safely + back. So she went, was treated tolerably well, at any rate, she secured + her clothes and brought them home with her. + </p> + <p> + It was now time to bid farewell to our staunch friend, Boston Yankee. I + had inducements to go to Goshen, Orange County, N. Y., where I had many + acquaintances, and to Goshen we went. We found a good boarding place, and + I began to practice medicine, After we had been there a while, Sarah wrote + home to let her family know where she was, and that she was well and + happy. Her father wrote in reply that we both might come there at any + time, and that if she would come home he would do as well by her as he + would by any of his children. This letter made Sarah uneasy. In spite of + all the ill usage she had received from her parents and family, she was + nevertheless homesick, and longed to get back again. I could see that this + feeling grew upon her daily. We were pleasantly situated where we were; I + had a good and growing practice, and we had made many friends; but this + did not satisfy her; she had some property in her own right, but her + father was trustee of it, and he had hitherto kept it away from her from + spite at her love affair with me. But now she was to be taken into favor + again, and she represented to me that we could go back and get her money, + and that I could establish myself there as well as anywhere; we could live + well and happily among her friends and old associations. These things were + dinged in my ears day after day, till I was sick of the very sound. I + could see that she was bound, or, as the Dutch doctor would have said, + “bewitched” to go back, and at last, after five happy months in Goshen, in + an evil hour I consented to go home with her. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V. HOW THE SCHEIMERS MADE ME SUFFER. + </h2> + <p> + RETURN TO SCHEIMER—PEACE AND THEN PANDEMONIUM—FRIGHTFUL FAMILY + ROW—RUNNING FOR REFUGE—THE GANG AGAIN—ARREST AT MIDNIGHT—STRUGGLE + WITH MY CAPTORS—IN JAIL ONCE MORE—PUT IN IRONS—A + HORRIBLE PRISON BREAKING OUT—THE DUNGEON—SARAH’S BABY—CURIOUS + COMPROMISES—OLD SCHEIMER MY JAILER—SIGNING A BOND—FREE + AGAIN—LAST WORDS FROM SARAH. + </p> + <p> + We went back to the Scheimer homestead and were favorably received. There + was no special enthusiasm over our return, no marked demonstrations of + delight; but they seemed glad to see us, and all the unpleasant things of + the past, if not forgotten, were tacitly ignored on all sides. We passed a + pleasant evening together in what seemed a re-united family circle—one + of the brothers only was absent—and next morning we met cordially + around the breakfast table. I really began to think it was possible that + all the old difficulties might be healed, and that the pleasant picture + Sarah painted, at Goshen, about settling down happily in Pennsylvania, + could be fully realized. + </p> + <p> + After breakfast I took a conveyance to go three or four miles to see a man + who owed me some money for medical services in his family, and was away + from Scheimer’s three or four hours. During this brief absence I could not + help thinking with genuine satisfaction of the happiness Sarah was + experiencing in the gratification of her longing to return home again. + Surely, I thought, she must be happy now. No more homesickness, and a full + and complete reconciliation with her family; all the anger, abuse, and + blows forgotten or forgiven; she restored to her place in the family; and + even her objectionable husband received with open arms. + </p> + <p> + But what an enormous difference there is between fancy and fact. During + this brief absence of mine, had come home the brother who had always + seemed to concentrate the hatred of the whole family towards me for the + wrong they assumed I had done to the youngest daughter who loved me. On my + return I found the peaceful home I left in the morning a perfect + pandemonium. Sarah was fairly frantic. The whole family were abusing her. + The returned brother especially, was calling her all the vile names he + could lay his tongue to. I learned afterwards that he had been doing it + ever since he came into the house that day and found her at home and heard + that I was with her. They had picked, wrenched rather, out of her the + secret I had confided to her that I had another wife from whom I was + “separated,” but not divorced. My sudden presence on this scene was not + exactly oil on troubled waters; it was gunpowder to fire. As soon as Sarah + saw me at the door she cried out: + </p> + <p> + “O! husband, let us go away from here.” + </p> + <p> + Her mother turned and shouted at me that I had better fly at once or they + would kill me. Meanwhile, that mob, which the Scheimer boys seemed always + to have at hand, was gathering in the dooryard. I managed to get near + enough to Sarah to tell her that I would send a man for her next day, and + then if she was willing to come with me she must get away from her family + if possible. I then made a rush through the crowd, and reached the road. I + think the gang had an indistinct knowledge of the situation, or they would + have mobbed me, and perhaps killed me. They knew something was “to pay” at + Scheimer’s, but did not know exactly what. Once on the road it was my + intention to have gone over to Belvidere, and then on to Oxford, where I + should have found a sure refuge with my friend Boston Yankee. + </p> + <p> + Would that I had done so; but I was a fool; I thought I could be of + service to Sarah by remaining near her; might see her next day; I might + even be able to get her out of the house, and then we could once more + elope together and go back again to Goshen where we had been so happy. So + I went to a public house three miles above Scheimer’s, and remained there + quietly during the rest of the day, revolving plans for the deliverance of + Sarah. I thought only of her. It is strange that I did not once realize + what a perilous position I was in myself—that, firmly as I believed + myself to be wedded to Sarah, I was in fact amenable to the law, and + liable to arrest and punishment. All this never occurred to me. I saw one + or two of the gang who were at Scheimer’s about the hotel, but they did + not offer to molest me, and I paid no particular attention to them. I did + not know then that they were spies and were watching my movements. At nine + o’clock I went to bed. At midnight, or thereabouts, I was roughly awakened + and told to get up. Without waiting for me, to comply, five men who had + entered my room pulled me out of bed, and almost before I could huddle on + my clothes I was handcuffed. Then one of them, who said he was a constable + from Easton, showed a warrant for my arrest. What the arrest was for I was + not informed. I was taken down stairs, put into a wagon, the men followed, + and the horses started in the direction of Easton. By Scheimer’s on the + way, and I could see a light in Sarah’s window. I remembered how in, all + the Bedlam in the house that morning she still cried out: “I will go with + him.” I remembered how, only a few months before, she had been brutally + flogged in that very chamber, to “get the devil out of her.” I remembered, + too, the many happy, happy hours we had passed together. And here was I, + handcuffed and dragged in a wagon, I knew not whither. + </p> + <p> + This for thoughts—in the way of action, was all the while trying to + get my handcuffs off, and at last I succeeded in getting one hand free. + Waiting my opportunity till we came to a piece of woods, I suddenly jumped + up and sprang from the wagon. It was a very dark night, and in running + into the woods I struck against a tree with such force as to knock me down + and nearly stun me. Two of the men were on me in an instant. After a brief + struggle I managed to get away and ran again. I should have escaped, only + a high rail fence brought me to a sudden stop, and I was too exhausted to + climb over it. My pursuers who were hard at my heels the whole while now + laid hold of me. In the subsequent struggle I got out my pocket knife, and + stabbed one of them, cutting his arm badly. Then they overpowered me. They + dragged me to the roadside, brought a rope out of the wagon, bound my arms + and legs, and so at last carried me to Easton. + </p> + <p> + It was nearly daylight when I was thrust into jail. There were no cells, + only large rooms for a dozen or more men, and I was put, into one of these + with several prisoners who were awaiting trial, or who had been tried and + were there till they could be sent to prison. It was a day or two before I + found out what I was there for. Then a Dutch Deputy Sheriff, who was also + keeper of the jail, came and told me that I was held for bigamy, adding + the consoling intelligence that it would be a very hard job for me, and + that I would get five or six years in State prison sure. I was well + acquainted in Easton, and I sent for lawyer Litgreave for assistance and + advice. I sent also to my half-sister in Delaware County, N. Y., and in a + day or two she came and saw me, and gave Mr. Litgreave one hundred dollars + retaining fee. My lawyer went to see the Scheimers and when he returned he + told me that he hoped to save me from State prison—at all events he + would exercise the influence he had over the family to that end; but I + must expect to remain in jail a long time. Precisely what this meant I did + not know then; but I found out afterwards. + </p> + <p> + Soon after this visit from the lawyer, the Deputy Sheriff came in and said + that he was ordered “by the Judge” to iron me, and it was done. They were + heavy leg-irons weighing full twelve pounds, and I may say here that I + wore them during the whole term of my imprisonment in this jail, or rather + they wore me—wearing their way in time almost into the bone. I had + been here a week now, and was well acquainted with the character of the + place. It was indescribably filthy; no pretence was made of cleansing it. + The prisoners were half fed, and, at that, the food was oftentimes so vile + that starving men rejected it. The deputy who kept the jail was cruel and + malignant, and took delight in torturing his prisoners. He would come in + sometimes under pretence of looking at my irons to see if they were safe, + and would twist and turn them about so that I suffered intolerable pain, + and blood flowed from my wounds made by these cruel irons. Such abuse as + he could give with his tongue he dispensed freely. Of course he was a + coward, and he never dared to come into one of the prisoner’s rooms unless + he was armed. This is a faithful photograph of the interior of the jail at + Easton, Penn., as it was a few years ago; there may have been some + improvement since that time; for the sake of humanity, I hope there has + been. + </p> + <p> + After I had been in this jail about six weeks, and had become well + acquainted with my room-mates, I communicated to them one day, the result + of my observation: + </p> + <p> + “There,” said I, showing them a certain place in the wall, “is a loose + stone that with a little labor can be lifted out, and it will leave a hole + large enough for us to get out of and go where we like.” + </p> + <p> + Examination elicited a unanimous verdict in favor of making the attempt. + With no tools but a case knife we dug out the mortar on all sides of the + stone doing the work by turns and covering the stone by hanging up an old + blanket—which excited no suspicion, as it was at the head of one of + the iron bedsteads—whenever the Deputy or any of his men were likely + to visit us. In twelve days we completed the work, and could lift out the + stone. The hole was large enough to let a man through, and there was + nothing for us to do but to crawl out one after the other and drop down a + few feet into the yard. This yard was surrounded by a board fence that + could be easily surmounted. I intended to take the lead, after taking off + my irons (which I had learned to do, and indeed, did every day, putting + them on only when I was liable to be “inspected”) and after leaving these + irons at the Deputy’s door, I intended to put myself on the Jersey side of + the river as speedily as possible. + </p> + <p> + Liberty was within reach of every man in that room, and the night was set + for the escape. But one of the crowd turned traitor, and, under pretence, + of speaking to the Deputy about some matter, managed to be called out of + the room and disclosed the whole. The man was waiting transportation to + prison to serve out a sentence of ten years, and, with the chance of + escape before him, it seemed singular that he should reveal a plan which + promised to give him liberty; but probably he feared a failure; or that he + might be recaptured and his prison sentence increased; while on the other + hand by disclosing the plot he could curry favor enough to get his term + reduced, and perhaps he might gain a pardon. Any how, he betrayed us. The + Deputy came in and found the stone in the condition described, and + forthwith we were all removed to the dungeon, or dark room, and kept there + on bread and water for twelve days. We heard afterwards that our betrayer + did get five years less than his original sentence for subjecting his + comrades in misery to twelve days of almost indescribable suffering. We + were not only in a totally dark and frightfully filthy hole, but we were + half starved, and the Deputy daily took delight in taunting us with our + sufferings. + </p> + <p> + At the end of the twelve days we were taken back to the old room where we + found the stone securely fastened in with irons. Moreover, we were now + under stricter observation, and at stated hours every day, an inspector + came in and examined the walls. This soon wore off, however, and when the + inspection was finally abandoned, about two months from the time of our + first attempt, we managed to find another place in the old wall where we + could dig out and we went to work. We were a fortnight at it, and had + nearly completed our labor when we were discovered. + </p> + <p> + This time we spent fourteen days in the dungeon for our pains. + </p> + <p> + And now comes an extraordinary disclosure with regard to my imprisonment. + A few days after my removal from the dungeon to the old quarters again, + the Deputy, in one of his rare periods of what, with him, passed for good + humor, informed me that Sarah had been confined, and had given birth to a + fine boy; that she was crying for my release; that Lawyer Sitgreave was + interceding for me; but that the old man Scheimer was still obstinate and + would not let me out. Passing over my feelings with regard to the birth of + my son, here was a revelation indeed! It will be remembered that I had + only been told that I was under indictment for bigamy. I had never been + brought before a justice for a preliminary examination; never bound over + for trial; and now it transpired that old Scheimer, a Pennsylvania Dutch + farmer, had the power to put me in jail, put me in irons, and subject me + to long months, perhaps years of imprisonment. I had something to occupy + my thoughts now, and for the remaining period of my jail life. + </p> + <p> + Next came a new dodge of the Scheimers, the object of which was to show + that Sarah’s marriage to me was no marriage at all, thus leaving her free + to marry any other man her family might force upon her. When I had been in + jail seven months, one day the Deputy came in and said that he was going + to take off my irons. I told him I wouldn’t trouble him to do that, for + though I had worn them when he and his subordinates were around till the + irons had nearly killed me, yet at other times I had been in a habit of + taking them off at pleasure; and to prove it, I sat down and in a few + minutes handed him the irons. The man was amazed; but saying nothing about + the irons, he approached me on another subject. He said he thought if I + would sign an acknowledgment that I was a married man when I married Sarah + Scheimer, and would leave the State forever, I could get out of jail; + would I do it? I told him I would give no answer till I had seen my + counsel. + </p> + <p> + Well, the next day Lawyer Sitgreave came to me and told me I had better do + it, and I consented. Shortly afterwards, I was taken to court, for the + first time in this whole affair, and was informed by the judge that if I + would sign a bond not to go near the Scheimer house or family he would + discharge me. I signed such a bond, and the judge then told me I was + discharged; but that I ought to have gone to State prison for ten years + for destroying the peace and happiness of the Scheimer family. Truly the + Scheimer family were a power, indeed, in that part of the country! + </p> + <p> + My lawyer gave me five dollars and I went to Harmony and staid that night. + The next day I went to an old friend of mine, a Methodist minister, and + persuaded him to go over and see what Sarah Scheimer’s feelings were + towards me, and if she was willing to come to me with our child. He went + over there, but the old Scheimers suspected his errand, and watched him + closely to see that he held no communication with Sarah. He did, however, + have an opportunity to speak to her, and she sent me word that if she + could ever get her money and get away from her parents, she would + certainly join me in any part of the world. I was warned, at the same + time, not to come near the house, for fear that her father or some of her + brothers would kill me. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI. FREE LIFE AND FISHING. + </h2> + <p> + TAKING CARE OF CRAZY MEN—CARRYING OFF A BOY—ARRESTED FOR + STEALING MY OWN HORSE AND BUGGY—FISHING IN LAKE WINNIPISEOGEE—AN + ODD LANDLORD—A WOMAN AS BIG AS A HOGSHEAD—REDUCING THE + HOGSHEAD TO A BARREL—WONDERFUL VERIFICATION OF A DREAM—SUCCESSFUL + MEDICAL PRACTICE—A BUSY WINTER IN NEW HAMPSHIRE—BLANDISHMENTS + OF CAPTAIN BROWN—I GO TO NEWARK, NEW JERSEY. + </p> + <p> + The next day I left Harmony and walked to Port Jarvis, on the Erie + Railroad, N. Y., arriving late at night, and entirely footsore, sick, and + disheartened. I went to the hotel, and the next morning I found myself + seriously sick. Asking advice, I was directed to the house of a widow, who + promised to nurse and take care of me. I was ill for two weeks, and + meantime, my half-sister in Delaware County, to whom I made known my + condition, sent me money for my expenses, and when I had sufficiently + recovered to travel, I went to this sister’s house in Sidney, and there I + remained several days, till I was quite well and strong again. + </p> + <p> + Casting about for something to do, a friend told me that he knew of an + opportunity for a good man at Newbury to take care of a young man, + eighteen years of age, who was insane. I went there and saw his father, + and he put him under my charge. I had the care of him four months, and + during the last two months of the time I traveled about with him, and + returned him, finally, to his friends in a materially improved condition. + The friends of another insane man in Montgomery, near Newbury, hearing of + my success with this young man, sent for me to come and see them. I went + there and found a man who had been insane seven years, but who was quiet + and well-behaved, only he was “out of his head.” I engaged to do what I + could for him. The father of my Newbury patient had paid me well, and with + my medical practice and the sale of medicines in traveling about, I had + accumulated several hundred dollars, and when I went to Montgomery I had a + good horse and buggy which cost me five hundred dollars. So, when my new + patient had been under my care and control two months, I proposed that he + should travel about with me in my buggy, and visit various parts of the + State in the immediate vicinity. His friends thought well of the + suggestion, and we traveled in this way about four months, stopping a few + days here and there, when I practiced where I could, and sold medicines, + making some money. At the end of this time I went back to Montgomery with + my patient, as I think, fully restored, and his father, besides, paying + the actual expenses of our journey, gave me six hundred dollars. + </p> + <p> + Returning to Sidney I learned that my first and worst wife was then living + with the children at Unadilla, a few miles across the river in Otsego + County. I had no desire to see her, but I heard at the same time that my + youngest boy, a lad ten years old, had been sent to work on a farm three + miles beyond, and that he was not well taken care of. I drove over to see + about it, and after some inquiry I was told that the boy was then in + school. Going to the schoolhouse and asking for him, the school-mistress, + who knew me, denied that he was there, but I pushed in, and found him, and + a ragged, miserable looking little wretch he was. I brought him out, put + him into the carriage and took him with me on the journey which I was then + contemplating to Amsterdam, N. Y., stopping at the first town to get him + decently clothed. The boy went with me willingly, indeed he was glad to + go, and in due time we arrived at Amsterdam, and from there we went to + Troy. + </p> + <p> + I had not been in Troy two hours before I was arrested for stealing my own + horse and buggy! My turnout was taken from me, and I found myself in + durance vile. I was not long in procuring bail, and I then set myself, to + work to find out what this meant. I was shown a handbill describing my + person, giving my name, giving a description of my horse, and offering a + reward of fifty dollars for my arrest. This was signed by a certain + Benson, of Kingston, Sullivan County, N.Y. I then remembered that while I + was traveling with my insane patient from Montgomery through Sullivan + County, I fell in with a Benson who was a very plausible fellow, and who + scraped acquaintance with me, and while I was at Kingston he rode about + with me on one or two occasions. One day he told me that he knew a girl + just out of the place who was subject to fits, and wanted to know if I + could do anything for her; that her father was rich and would pay a good + price to have her cured. I went to see the girl and did at least enough to + earn a fee of one hundred dollars, which her father gladly paid me. Benson + also introduced me to some other people whom I found profitable patients. + I thought he was a very good friend to me, but he was a cool, calculating + rascal. He meant to rob me of my horse and buggy, and went deliberately to + work about it. First, he issued the handbill which caused my arrest in + Troy, where he knew I was going. Next, as appeared when he came up to Troy + to prosecute the suit against me, he forged a bill of sale. The case was + tried and decided in my favor. Benson appealed, and again it was decided + that the horse belonged to me. I then had him indicted for perjury and + forgery, and he was put under bonds of fourteen hundred dollars in each + case to appear for trial. Some how or other he never appeared, and whether + he forfeited his bonds, or otherwise slipped through the “meshes of the + law,” I never learned, nor have I ever seen him since he attempted to + swindle me. But these proceedings kept me in Troy more than a month, and + to pay my lawyer and other expenses, I actually sold the horse and buggy + the scoundrel tried to steal from me. + </p> + <p> + Taking my boy to Sidney and putting him under the care of my half sister, + I went to Boston, where I met two friends of mine who were about going to + Meredith Bridge, N.H., to fish through the ice on Lake Winnipiseogee. It + was early in January, 1853, and good, clear, cold weather. They + represented the sport to be capital, and said that plenty of superb lake + trout and pickerel could be taken every day, and urged me to go with them. + As I had nothing special to do for a few days, I went. When we reached + Meredith we stopped at a tavern near the lake, kept by one of the oddest + landlords I have ever met. After a good supper, as we were sitting in the + barroom, the landlord came up to me and at once opened conversation in the + following manner: + </p> + <p> + “Waal, where do you come from, anyhow?” + </p> + <p> + “From Boston,” I replied. + </p> + <p> + “Waal, what be you, anyhow?” + </p> + <p> + “Well, I practice medicine, and take care of the sick.” + </p> + <p> + “Dew ye? Waal, do ye ever cure anybody?” + </p> + <p> + “O, sometimes; quite frequently, in fact.” + </p> + <p> + “Dew ye! waal, there’s a woman up here to Lake Village, ‘Squire + Blaisdell’s wife, who has had the dropsy more’n twelve years; been + filling’ all the time till they tell me she’s bigger’n a hogshead now, and + she’s had a hundred doctors, and the more doctors she has the bigger she + gets; what d’ ye think of that now?” + </p> + <p> + I answered that I thought it was quite likely, and then turned away from + the landlord to talk to my friends about our proposed sport for to-morrow, + mentally making note of ‘Squire Blaisdell’s wife in Lake Village. + </p> + <p> + After breakfast next morning we went out on the lake, cut holes in the + ice, set our lines, and before dinner we had taken several fine trout and + pickerel, the largest and finest of which we put into a box with ice, and + sent as a present to President Pierce, in Washington. We had agreed, the + night before, to fish for him the first day, and to send him the best + specimens we could from his native state. After dinner my friends started + to go out on the ice again, and I told them “I guess’d I wouldn’t go with + them, I had fished enough for that day.” They insisted I should go, but I + told them I preferred to take a walk and explore the country. So they went + to the lake and I walked up to Lake Village. + </p> + <p> + I soon found Mr. Blaisdell’s house, and as the servant who came to the + door informed me that Mr. Blaisdell was not at home, I asked to see Mrs. + Blaisdell, And was shown in to that lady. She was not quite the “hogshead” + the landlord declared her to be, but she was one of the worst cases of + dropsy I had ever seen. I introduced myself to her, told her my + profession, and that I had called upon her in the hope of being able to + afford her some relief; that I wanted nothing for my services unless I + could really benefit her. + </p> + <p> + “O, Doctor,” said she, “you can do nothing for me; in the past twelve + years I have had at least forty different doctors, and none of them have + helped me.” + </p> + <p> + “But there can be no harm in trying the forty-first;” and as I said it I + took from my vest pocket and held out in the palm of my hand some pills: + </p> + <p> + “Here, madame, are some pills made from a simple blossom, which cannot + possibly harm you, and which, I am sure, will do you a great deal of + good.” + </p> + <p> + “O, Mary!” she exclaimed to her niece, who was in attendance upon her, + “this is my dream! I dreamed last night that my father appeared to me and + told me that a stranger would come with a blossom in his hand; that he + would offer it to me, and that if I would take it I should recover. Go and + get a glass of water and I will take these pills at once.” + </p> + <p> + “Surely,” said Mary, “you are not going to take this stranger’s medicine + without knowing anything about it, or him?” + </p> + <p> + “I am indeed; go and get the water.” + </p> + <p> + She took the medicine and then told me that her father, who had died two + years ago, was a physician, and had carefully attended to her case as long + as he lived; but that she had a will of her own, and had sent far and near + for other doctors, though with no good result. + </p> + <p> + “You have come to me,” she continued, “and although I am not + superstitious, your coming with a blossom in your hand, figuratively + speaking, is so exactly in accordance with my dream, that I am going to + put myself under your care.” + </p> + <p> + She then asked me if I lived in the neighborhood, and I told her no; that + I had merely come up from Boston with two friends to try a few days’ + fishing through the ice on the lake. + </p> + <p> + “You can fish to better purpose here, I think,” she said; “you can get + plenty of practice in the villages and farm houses about here: at any + rate, stay for the present and undertake my case, and I will pay you + liberally.” + </p> + <p> + I went back to Meredith Bridge—I believe it is now called Laconia—and + had another day’s fishing with my friends. When they were ready to pack up + and return to Boston, I astonished them by informing them that I should + stay where I was for the present, perhaps for months, and that I believed + I could find a good practice in Meredith and adjoining places. So they + left me and I went to Lake Village, and made that pleasant place my + headquarters. + </p> + <p> + The weeks wore on, and if Mrs. Blaisdell was a hogshead, as the Meredith + landlord said, when I first saw her, she soon became a barrel under my + treatment, and in four months she was entirely cured, and was as sound as + any woman in the State. I had as much other business too as I could attend + to, and was very busy and happy all the time. + </p> + <p> + In May I went to Exeter, alternating between there and Portsmouth, and + finding enough to do till the end of July. While I was in Portsmouth on + one of my last visits to that place, I received a call from a sea-captain + by the name of Brown, who told me that he had heard of my success in + dropsical cases, and that I must go to Newark, N. J., and see his + daughter. “Pay,” he said, “was no object; I must go.” I told him that I + had early finished my business in that vicinity, and that when I went to + New York, as I proposed to do shortly, I would go over to Newark and see + his daughter. A few days afterward, when I had settled my business and + collected my bills in Portsmouth and Exeter, I went to New York, and from + there to Newark. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0007" id="link2HCH0007"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VII. WEDDING A WIDOW, AND THE CONSEQUENCES. + </h2> + <p> + I MARRY A WIDOW—SIX WEEKS OF HAPPINESS—CONFIDING A SECRET AND + THE CONSEQUENCES—THE WIDOW’S BROTHER—SUDDEN FLIGHT FROM NEWARK—IN + HARTFORD, CONN.—MY WIFE’S SISTER BETRAYS ME—TRIAL FOR BIGAMY—SENTENCED + TO TEN YEARS IMPRISONMENT—I BECOME A “BOBBIN BOY”—A GOOD + FRIEND—GOVERNOR PRICE VISITS ME IN PRISON—HE PARDONS ME—TEN + YEARS’ SENTENCE FULFILLED IN SEVEN MONTHS. + </p> + <p> + Why in the world did Captain Brown ever tempt me with the prospect of a + profitable patient in Newark? I had no thought of going to that city, and + no business there except to see if I could cure Captain Brown’s daughter. + With my matrimonial monomania it was like putting my hand into the fire to + go to a fresh place, where I should see fresh faces, and where fresh + temptations would beset me. And when I went to Newark, I went only as I + supposed, to see a single patient; but Captain Brown prevailed upon me to + stay to take care of his daughter, and assured me that he and his friends + would secure me a good practice. They did. In two months I was doing as + well in my profession as I had ever done in any place where I had located. + I might have attended strictly to my business, and in a few years have + acquired a handsome competence. But, as ill luck, which, strangely enough, + I then considered good luck, would have it, when I had been in Newark some + two months, I became acquainted with a buxom, good-looking widow, Mrs. + Elizabeth Roberts. I protest to-day that she courted me—not I her. + She was fair, fascinating, and had a goodly share of property. I fell into + the snare. She said she was lonely; she sighed; she smiled, and I was + lost. + </p> + <p> + Would that I had observed the elder Weller’s injunction: “Bevare of + vidders;” would that I had never seen the Widow Roberts, or rather that + she had never seen me. Eight weeks after we first met we were married. We + had a great wedding in her own house, and all her friends were present. I + was in good practice with as many patients as I could attend to; she had a + good home and we settled down to be very happy. + </p> + <p> + For six weeks, only six weeks, I think we were so. We might have been so + for six weeks, six months, six years longer; but alas! I was a fool I + confided to her the secret of my first marriage, and separation, and she + confided the same secret to her brother, a well-to-do wagon-maker in + Newark. So far as Elizabeth was concerned, she said she didn’t care; so + long as the separation was mutual and final, since so many years had + elapsed, and especially since I hadn’t seen the woman for full six years, + and was not supposed to know whether she was alive or dead, why, it was as + good as a divorce; so reasoned Elizabeth, and it was precisely my own + reasoning, and the reasoning which had got me into numberless + difficulties, to say nothing of jails and prisons. But the brother had his + doubts about it, and came and talked to me on the subject several times. + We quarrelled about it. He threatened to have me arrested for bigamy. I + told him that if he took a step in that direction I would flog him. Then + he had me brought before a justice for threatening him, with a view to + having me put under bonds to keep the peace. I employed a lawyer who + managed my case so well that the justice concluded there was no cause of + action against me. + </p> + <p> + But this lawyer informed me that the brother was putting, even then, + another rod in pickle for me, and that I had better clear out. I took his + advice, I went to the widow’s house, packed my trunk, gathered together + what money I could readily lay hands upon, and with about $300 in my + pocket, I started for New York, staying that night at a hotel in Courtland + street. + </p> + <p> + The following morning I went over to Jersey City, hired a saddle-horse, + and rode to Newark. The precise object of my journey I do not think I knew + myself; but I must have had some vague idea of persuading Elizabeth to + leave Newark and join me in New York or elsewhere. I confess, too, that I + was more or less under the influence of liquor, and considerably more than + less. However, no one would have noticed this in my appearance or + demeanor. I rode directly to Elizabeth’s door, hitched my horse, and went + into the house. The moment my wife saw me she cried out: + </p> + <p> + “For God’s sake get out of this house and out of town as soon as you can; + they have been watching for you ever since yesterday; they’ve got a + warrant for your arrest; don’t stay here one moment.” + </p> + <p> + I asked her if she was willing to follow me, and she said she would do so + if she only dared but her brother had made an awful row, and had sworn he + would put me in prison anyhow; I had better go back to New York and await + events. I started for the door, and was unhitching my horse, when the + brother and a half dozen more were upon me. I sprang to the saddle. They + tried to stop me; the over-eager brother even caught me by the foot; but I + dashed through the crowd and rode like mad to Jersey City, returned the + horse to the livery stable, crossed the ferry to New York, went to my + hotel, got my trunk, and started for Hartford, Conn., where I arrived in + the evening. + </p> + <p> + This was in the month of June, 1854. I went to the old Exchange Hotel in + State street, and very soon acquired a good practice. Indeed, it seems as + if I was always successful enough in my medical business—my mishaps + have been in the matrimonial line. When I had been in Hartford about three + months, and was well settled, I thought I would go down to New York and + see a married sister of Elizabeth’s, who was living there, and try to find + out how matters were going on over in Newark. That I found out fully, if + not exactly to my satisfaction, will appear anon. + </p> + <p> + When I called at the sister’s house, the servant told me she was out, but + would be back in an hour; so I left my name, promising to call again. I + returned again at one o’clock in the afternoon, and the sister was in, but + declined to see me. As I was coming down the steps, a policeman who seemed + to be lounging on the opposite side of the street, beckoned to me, and + suspecting nothing, I crossed over to see what he wanted. He simply wanted + to know my name, and when I gave it to him he informed me that I was his + prisoner. I asked for what? and he said “as a fugitive from justice in New + Jersey.” + </p> + <p> + This was for taking the pains to come down from Hartford to inquire after + the welfare of my wife! whose sister, the moment the servant told her I + had been there, and would call again, had gone to the nearest police + station and given information, or made statements, which led to the + setting of this latest trap for me. The policeman took me before a justice + who sent me to the Tombs. On my arrival there I managed to pick up a + lawyer, or rather one of the sharks of the place picked me up, and said + that for twenty-five dollars he would get me clear in three or four hours. + I gave him the money, and from that day till now, I have never set eyes + upon him. I lay in a cell all night, and next morning Elizabeth’s brother, + to whom the sister in New York had sent word that I was caged, came over + from Newark to see me. He said he felt sorry for me, but that he was + “bound to put me through.” He then asked me if I would go over to Newark + without a requisition from the Governor of New Jersey, and I told him I + would not; whereupon he went away without saying another word, and I + waited all day to hear from the lawyer to whom I had given twenty-five + dollars, but he did not come. + </p> + <p> + So next day when the brother came over and asked me the same question, I + said I would go; wherein I was a fool; for I ought to have reflected that + he had had twenty-four hours in which to get a requisition, and that he + might in fact have made application for one already, without getting it, + and every delay favored my chances of getting out. But I had no one to + advise me, and so I went quietly with him and an officer to the ferry, + where we crossed and went by cars to Newark. I was at once taken before a + justice, who, after a hearing of the case, bound me over, under bonds of + only one thousand dollars, to take my trial for bigamy. + </p> + <p> + If I could have gone into the street I could have procured this + comparatively trifling bail in half an hour; as it was, after I was in + jail I sent for a man whom I knew, and gave him my gold watch and one + hundred dollars, all the money I had, to procure me bail, which he + promised to do; but he never did a thing for me, except to rob me. + </p> + <p> + A lawyer came to me and offered to take my case in hand for one hundred + dollars, but I had not the money to give him. I then sent to New York for + a lawyer whom I knew, and when he came to see me he took the same view of + the case that Elizabeth and I did; that is, that the long separation + between my first wife and myself, and my presumed ignorance as to whether + she was alive or dead, gave me full liberty to marry again. At least, he + thought any court would consider it an extenuating circumstance, and he + promised to be present at my trial and aid me all he could. + </p> + <p> + I lay in Newark jail nine months, awaiting my trial. During that time I + had almost daily quarrels with the jailor, who abused me shamefully, and + told me I ought to go to State prison and stay there for life. Once he + took hold of me and I struck him, for which I was put in the dark cell + forty-eight hours. At last came my trial. The court appointed counsel for + me, for I had no money to fee a lawyer, and my New York friend was on hand + to advise and assist. I lad witnesses to show the length of time that had + elapsed since my separation from my first wife, and we also raised the + point as to whether the justice who married me, was really a legal justice + of the peace or not. The trial occupied two days. I suppose all prisoners + think so, but the Judge charged against me in every point; the jury was + out two hours, and then came in for advice on a doubtful question; the + judge gave them another blast against me, and an hour after they came in + with a verdict of “guilty.” I went back to jail and two days afterwards + was brought up for sentence which was—“ten years at hard labor in + the State prison at Trenton.” + </p> + <p> + Good heavens! All this for being courted and won by a widow! + </p> + <p> + The day following, I was taken in irons to Trenton. The Warden of the + prison, who wanted to console me, said that, for the offence, my sentence + was an awful one, and that he didn’t believe I would be obliged to serve + out half of it. As I felt then, I did not believe I should live out + one-third of it. After I had gone through the routine of questions, and + had been put in the prison uniform, a cap was drawn down over my face, as + if I was about to be hung, and I was led, thus blind-folded, around and + around, evidently to confuse me, with regard to the interior of the prison—in + case I might ever have any idea of breaking out. At last I was brought to + a cell door and the cap was taken off. There were, properly no “cells” in + this prison—at least I never saw any; but good sized rooms for two + prisoners, not only to live in but to work in. I found myself in a room + with a man who was weaving carpets, and I was at once instructed in the + art of winding yarn on bobbins for him—in fact, I was to be his + “bobbin-boy.” + </p> + <p> + I pursued this monotonous occupation for two months, when I told the + keeper I did not like that business, and wanted to try something that had + a little more variety in it. Whereupon he put me at the cane chair + bottoming business, which gave me another room and another chum, and I + remained at this work while I was in the prison. In three weeks I could + bottom one chair, while my mate was bottoming nine or ten as his day’s + work; but I told the keeper I did not mean to work hard, or work at all, + if I could help it. He was a very nice fellow and he only laughed and let + me do as I pleased. Indeed, I could not complain of my treatment in any + respect; I had a good clean room, good bed, and the fare was wholesome and + abundant. But then, there was that terrible, terrible sentence of ten long + years of this kind of life, if I should live through it. + </p> + <p> + After I had been in prison nearly seven months, one day a merchant tailor + whom I well knew in Newark, and who made my clothes, including my wedding + suit when I married the Widow Roberts, came to see me. The legislature was + in session and he was a member of the Senate. He knew all the + circumstances of my case, and was present at my trial. After the first + salutation, he laughingly said: + </p> + <p> + “Well, Doctor, those are not quite as nice clothes as I used to furnish + you with.” + </p> + <p> + “No,” I replied, “but perhaps they are more durable.” + </p> + <p> + After some other chaff and chat, he made me tell him all about my first + marriage and subsequent separation, and after talking awhile he went away, + promising to see me soon. I looked upon this only as a friendly visit, for + which I was grateful; and attached no great importance to it. But he came + again in a few days, and after some general conversation, he told me that + there was a movement on foot in my favor, which might bring the best of + news to me; that he had not only talked with his friends in the + legislature, and enlisted their sympathy and assistance, but he had laid + the whole circumstances, from beginning to end, before Governor Price; + that the Governor would visit the prison shortly, and then I must do my + best in pleading my own cause. + </p> + <p> + In a day or two the Governor came, and I had an opportunity to relate my + story. I told him all about my first unfortunate marriage, and the + separation. He said that he knew the facts, and also that he had lately + received a letter from my oldest son on the subject, and had read it with + great interest. I then appealed to the Governor for his clemency; my + sentence was an outrageously severe one, and seemed almost prompted by + private malice; I implored him to pardon me; I went down on my knees + before him, and asked his mercy. He told me to be encouraged; that he + would be in the prison again in a few days, and he would see me. He then + went away. + </p> + <p> + I at once drew up a petition which my friend in the Senate circulated in + the legislature for signatures, and afterwards sent it to Newark, securing + some of the best names in that city. It was then returned to me, and two + weeks afterwards when the Governor came again to the prison I presented it + to him, and he put it in his pocket. + </p> + <p> + In two days’ time, Governor Price sent my pardon into the prison. The + Warden came and told me of it, and said he would let me out in an hour. + Then came a keeper who once more put the cap over my face and led me + around the interior—I was willingly led now—till he brought me + to a room where he gave me my own clothes which I put on, and with a kind + parting word, and five dollars from the Warden, I was soon in the street, + once more a free man. My sentence of ten years had been fulfilled by an + imprisonment of exactly seven months. + </p> + <p> + I went and called on Governor Price to thank him for his great goodness + towards me. He received me kindly, talked to me for some time, and gave me + some good advice and a little money. With this and the five dollars I + received from the Warden of the prison I started for New York. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0008" id="link2HCH0008"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VII. ON THE KEEN SCENT. + </h2> + <p> + GOOD RESOLUTIONS—ENJOYING FREEDOM—GOING AFTER A CRAZY MAN—THE + OLD TEMPTER IN A NEW FORM—MARY GORDON—MY NEW “COUSIN”—ENGAGED + AGAIN—VISIT TO THE OLD FOLKS AT HOME—ANOTHER MARRIAGE—STARTING + FOR OHIO—CHANGE OF PLANS—DOMESTIC QUARRELS—UNPLEASANT + STORIES ABOUT MARY—BOUND OVER TO KEEP THE PEACE—ANOTHER ARREST + FOR BIGAMY—A SUDDEN FLIGHT—SECRETED THREE WEEKS IN A FARM + HOUSE—RECAPTURED AT CONCORD—ESCAPED ONCE MORE—TRAVELING + ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD—IN CANADA. + </p> + <p> + It would seem as if, by this time, I had had enough of miscellaneous + marrying and the imprisonment that almost invariably followed. I had told + Governor Price, when I first implored him for pardon, that if he would + release me I would begin a new life, and endeavor to be in all respects a + better man. I honestly meant to make every effort to be so, and on my stay + to New York I made numberless vows for my own future good behavior. I + bound myself over, as it were, to keep the pace—my own peace and + quiet especially—and became my own surety. That I could not have had + a poorer bondsman, subsequent events proved to my sorrow. But I started + fairly, and meant to let liquor alone; to attend strictly to my medical + business, which I always managed to make profitable, and above all, to + have nothing to do with women in the love-making or matrimonial way. + </p> + <p> + With those good resolutions I arrived in New York and went to my old hotel + in Courtland Street, where I was well known and was well received. My + trunk, which I had left there sixteen months before, was safe, and I had a + good suit of clothes on my back—the clothes I took off when I went + to prison in Trenton—and which were returned to me when I came away. + I went to a friend who loaned me some money, and I remained two or three + days in town to try my new-found freedom, going about the city, visiting + places of amusement, enjoying myself very much, and keeping, so far, the + good resolutions I had formed. + </p> + <p> + From New York I went to Troy, and at the hotel where I stopped I became + acquainted with a woman who told me that her husband was in the Insane + Asylum at Brattleboro, Vt. She was going to see him, and if he was fit to + be removed, she proposed to take him home, with her. I told her of the + success I had had in taking care of two men at Newbury and Montgomery; and + how I had traveled about the country with them, and with the most + beneficial results to my patients. She was much interested, inquired into + the particulars, and finally thought the plan would be a favorable one for + her husband. She asked me to go with her to see him, and said that if he + was in condition to travel he should go about with me if he would; at any + rate, if he came out of the Asylum she would put him under my care. We + went together to Brattleboro, and the very day we arrived her husband was + taken in an apoplectic fit from which he did not recover. She carried home + his corpse, and I lost my expected patient. + </p> + <p> + But I must have something to do for my daily support, and so I went to + work and very soon sold some medicines and recipes, and secured a few + patients. I also visited the adjoining villages, and in a few weeks I had + a very good practice. I might have lived here quietly and made money. + Nobody knew anything of my former history, my marriages or my misfortunes, + and I was doing well, with a daily increasing business. And so I went on + for nearly three months, gaining new acquaintances, and extending my + practice every day. + </p> + <p> + Then came the old tempter in a new form, and my matrimonial monomania, + which I hoped was cured forever, broke out afresh. One day, at the public + house where I lived, I saw a fine girl from New Hampshire, with whom I + became acquainted—so easily, so far as she was concerned—that + I ought to have been warned to have nothing to do with her; but, as usual, + in such cases, my common sense left me, and I was infatuated enough to + fancy that I was in love. + </p> + <p> + Mary Gordon was the daughter of a farmer living near Keene, N. H., and was + a handsome girl about twenty years of age. She was going, she told me, to + visit some friends in Bennington, and would be there about a month, during + which time, if I was in that vicinity, she hoped I would come and see her. + We parted very lovingly, and when she had been in Bennington a few days + she wrote to me, setting a time for me to visit her; but in business in + Brattleboro was too good to leave, and I so wrote to her. Whereupon, in + another week, she came back to Brattleboro and proposed to finish the + remainder of her visit there, thus blinding her friends at home who would + think she was all the while at Bennington. + </p> + <p> + Our brief acquaintance when she was at the house before, attracted no + particular attention, and when she came now I told the landlord that she + was my cousin, and he gave her a room and I paid her bills. The cousin + business was a full cover to our intimacy; she sat next to me at the + table, rode about with me to see my patients, and when I went to places + near by to sell medicine, and we were almost constantly together. Of + course, we were engaged to be married, and that very soon. + </p> + <p> + In a fortnight after her arrival I went home with her to her father’s farm + near Keene, and she told her mother that we were “engaged.” The old folks + thought they would like to know me a little better, but she said we were + old friends, she knew me thoroughly, and meant to marry me. There was no + further objection on the part of her parents, and in the few days + following she and her mother were busily engaged in preparing her clothes + and outfit. + </p> + <p> + I then announced my intention of returning to Brattleboro to settle up my + business in that place, and she declared she would go with me; I was sure + to be lonesome; she might help me about my bills, and so on. Strange as it + may seem, her parents made no objection to her going, though I was to be + absent a fortnight, and was not to be married till I came back. So we went + together, and I and my “cousin” put up at the hotel we had lately left. + For two weeks I was busy in making my final visits to my patients + acquaintances, she generally going with me every day. + </p> + <p> + At the end of that time we went back to Keene, and in three weeks we were + married in her father’s house, the old folks making a great wedding for + us, which was attended by all the neighbors and friends of the family. We + stayed at home two weeks, and meanwhile arranged our plans for the future. + We proposed to go out to Ohio, where she had some relatives, and settle + down. She had seven hundred dollars in bank in Keene which she drew, and + we started on our journey. We went to Troy, where we stayed a few days, + and during that time we both concluded that we would not go West, but + return to Keene and live in the town instead of on the farm, so that I + could open an office and practice there. + </p> + <p> + So we went back to her home again, but before I completed my plans for + settling down in Keene, Mary and I had several quarrels which were worse + than mere ordinary matrimonial squabbles. Two or three young men in Keene, + with whom I had become acquainted, twitted me with marrying Mary, and told + me enough about her to convince me that her former life had not been + altogether what it should have been. I had been too blinded by her beauty + when I first saw her in Brattleboro, to notice how extremely easily she + was won. Her parents, too, were wonderfully willing, if not eager, to + marry her to me. All these things came to me now, and we had some very + lively conversations on the subject, in which the old folks joined, siding + with their daughter of course. By and by the girl went to Keene and made a + complaint that she was afraid of her life, and I was brought before a + magistrate and put under bonds of four hundred dollars to keep the peace. + I gave a man fifty dollars to go bail for me, and then, instead of going + out to the farm with Mary, I went to the hotel in Keene. + </p> + <p> + The well-known character of the girl, my marriage to her, the brief + honeymoon, the quarrels and the cause of the same, were all too tempting + material not to be served up in a paragraph, and as I expected and feared, + out came the whole story in the Keene paper. + </p> + <p> + This was copied in other journals, and presently came letters to the + family and to other persons in the place, giving some account of my former + adventures and marriages. Of this however I knew nothing, till one day, + while I was at the hotel, I was suddenly arrested for bigamy. But I was + used to this kind of arrest by this time, and I went before the magistrate + with my mind made up that I must suffer again for my matrimonial + monomania. + </p> + <p> + It was just after dinner when I was arrested, and the examination, which + was a long one, continued till evening. Every one in the magistrate’s + office was tired out with it, I especially, and so I took a favorable + opportunity to leave the premises. I bolted for the door, ran down stairs + into the street, and was well out of town before the astonished + magistrate, stunned constable, and amazed spectators realized that I had + gone. + </p> + <p> + Whether they than set out in pursuit of me I never knew, I only know they + did not catch me. I ran till I came to the house of a farmer whom I had + been attending for some ailment, and hurriedly narrating the situation, I + offered him one hundred dollars if he would secrete me till the hue and + cry was over and I could safely get away. I think he would have done it + from good will, but the hundred dollar bill I offered him made the matter + sure. He put my money into his pocket, and he put me into a dark closet, + not more than five feet square, and locked me in. + </p> + <p> + I stayed in that man’s house, never going out of doors, for more than + three weeks, and did my best to board out my hundred dollars. The day + after my flight the whole neighborhood was searched, that is, the woods, + roads, and adjacent villages. They never thought of looking in a house, + particularly in a house so near the town; and, as I heard from my + protector, they telegraphed and advertised far and near for me. + </p> + <p> + I anticipated all this, and for this very reason I remained quietly where + I was, in an unsuspected house, and with my dark closet to retire to + whenever any one came in; and gossiping neighbors coming in almost every + hour, kept me in that hole nearly half the time. I heard my own story told + in that house at least fifty times, and in fifty different ways. + </p> + <p> + At last, when I thought it was safe, one night my host harnessed up his + horses and carried me some miles on my way to Concord. He drove as far as + he dared, for he wanted to get back home by daylight, so that his + expedition might excite no suspicion. Twenty miles away from Keene he set + me down in the road, and, bidding him “good-bye,” I began my march toward + Concord. When I arrived there, almost the first man I saw in the street + was a doctor from Keene. I did not think he saw me, but he did, as I soon + found out, for while I was waiting at the depot to take the cars to the + north, I was arrested. + </p> + <p> + The Keene doctor owed me a grudge for interfering, as he deemed it; with + his regular practice, and the moment he saw me he put an officer on my + trail. I thought it was safe here to take the cars, for I was footsore and + weary, nor did I get away from Keene as fast and as far as I wanted to. I + should have succeeded but for that doctor. + </p> + <p> + When the officer brought me before a justice, the doctor was a willing + witness to declare that I was a fugitive from justice, and he stated the + circumstances of my escape. So I was sent back to Keene under charge of + the very officer who arrested me at the depot. + </p> + <p> + I would not give this officer’s name if I could remember it, but he was a + fine fellow, and was exceedingly impressible. For instance, on our arrival + at Keene, he allowed me to go to the hotel and pack my trunk to be + forwarded to Meredith Bridge by express. He then handed me over to the + authorities, and I was immediately taken before the magistrate from whom I + had previously escaped, the Concord officer accompanying the Keene officer + who had charge of me. + </p> + <p> + The examination was short; I was bound over in the sum of one thousand + dollars to take my trial for bigamy. On my way to jail I persuaded the + Concord officer—with a hundred dollar bill which I slipped into his + hand—to induce the other officer to go with me to the hotel under + pretense of looking after my things, and getting what would be necessary + for my comfort in jail. My Concord friend kept the other officer down + stairs—in the bar-room, I presume—while I went to my room. I + put a single shirt in my pocket; the distance from my window to the ground + was not more than twelve or fifteen feet, and I let myself down from the + window sill and then dropped. + </p> + <p> + I was out of the yard, into the street, and out of town in less than no + time. It was already evening, and everything favored my escape. I had no + idea of spending months in jail at Keene, and months more, perhaps years, + in the New Hampshire State Prison. All my past bitter experiences of + wretched prison life urged me to flight. + </p> + <p> + And fly I did. No stopping at the friendly farmer’s, my former refuge, + this time; that would be too great a risk. No showing of myself in any + town or village where the telegraph might have conveyed a description of + my person. I traveled night and day on foot, and more at night than during + the day, taking by-roads, lying by in the woods, sleeping in barns, and + getting my meals in out-of-the-way farm houses. + </p> + <p> + I had plenty of money; but this kind of travelling is inexpensive, and, + paying twenty-five cents for one or two meals a day, as I dared to get + them, and sleeping in barns or under haystacks for nothing, my purse did + not materially diminish. I was a good walker, and in the course of a week + from the night when I left Keene, I found myself in Biddeford, Maine. + </p> + <p> + There was some sense of security in being in another State, and here I + ventured to take the cars for Portland, where I staid two days, sending in + the meantime for my trunk from Meredith Bridge, and getting it by express. + Of course it went to a fictitious address at Meredith, and it came to me + under the same name which I had registered in my hotel at Portland. + </p> + <p> + I did not mean to stay there long. My departure was hastened by the advice + of a man who knew me, and told he also knew my New Hampshire scrape, and + that I had better leave Portland as soon as possible. Half an hour after + this good advice I was on my way by cars to Canada. In Canada I stayed in + different small towns near the border, and “kept moving,” till I thought + the New Hampshire matter had blown over a little, or at least till they + had given me up as a “gone case,” and I then reappeared in Troy. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0009" id="link2HCH0009"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IX. MARRYING TWO MILLINERS. + </h2> + <p> + BACK IN VERMONT—FRESH TEMPTATIONS—MARGARET BRADLEY—WINE + AND WOMEN—A MOCK MARRIAGE IN TROY—THE FALSE CERTIFICATE—MEDICINE + AND MILLINERY—ELIZA GURNSEY—A SPREE AT SARATOGA—MARRYING + ANOTHER MILLINER—AGAIN ARRESTED OR BIGAMY—IN JAIL ELEVEN + MONTHS—A TEDIOUS TRIAL—FOUND GUILTY—APPEAL TO SUPREME + COURT—TRYING TO BREAK OUT OF JAIL—A GOVERNOR’S PROMISE—SECOND + TRIAL—SENTENCE TO THREE YEARS’ IMPRISONMENT. + </p> + <p> + From Troy I went, first to Newburyport, Mass., where I had some business, + and where I remained a week, and then returned to Troy again. Next I went + to Bennington, Vt., to sell medicines and practice, and I found enough to + occupy me there for full two months. From Bennington to Rutland, selling + medicines on the way, and at Rutland I intended to stay for some time. My + oldest son was there well established in the medical business, and I + thought that both of us together might extend a wide practice and make a + great deal of money. + </p> + <p> + No doubt we might have done so, if I had minded my medical business only, + and had let matrimonial matters alone. I had just got rid of a worthless + woman in New Hampshire with a very narrow escape from State prison. But, + as my readers know by this time, all experience, even the bitterest, was + utterly thrown away upon me; I seemed to get out of one scrape only to + walk, with my eyes open, straight into another. + </p> + <p> + At the hotel where I went to board, there was temporarily staying a woman, + about thirty-two years old, Margaret Bradly, by name, who kept a large + millinery establishment in town. I became acquainted with her, and she + told me that she owned a house in the place, in which she and her mother + lived; but her mother had gone away on a visit, and as she did not like to + live alone she had come to the hotel to stay for a few days till her + mother returned. Margaret was a fascinating woman; she knew it, and it was + my miserable fate to become intimate, altogether too intimate with this + designing milliner. + </p> + <p> + I went to her store every day, sometimes two or three times a day, and she + always had in her backroom, wine or something stronger to treat me with, + and in the evening I saw her at the hotel. When her mother came back, and + Margaret opened her house again, I was a constant visitor. I was once more + caught; I was in love. + </p> + <p> + Matters went on in this way for several weeks, when one evening I told her + that I was going next day to Troy on business, and she said she wanted to + go there to buy some goods, and that she would gladly take the opportunity + to go with me, if I would let her. Of course, I was only too happy; and + the next day I and my son, and she and one of the young women in her + employ, who was to assist her in selecting goods, started for Troy. When I + called for her, just as we were leaving the house, the old lady, her + mother, called out: + </p> + <p> + “Margaret, don’t you get married before you come back.” + </p> + <p> + “I guess I will,” was Margaret’s answer, and we went, a very jovial party + of four, to Troy and put up at the Girard House, where we had dinner + together, and drank a good deal of wine. After dinner my son and myself + went to attend to our business, she and her young woman going to make + their purchases, and arranging to meet us at a restaurant at half past + four o’clock, when we would lunch preparatory to returning to Rutland. + </p> + <p> + We met at the appointed place and hour, and had a very lively lunch + indeed, an orgie in fact, with not only enough to eat, but altogether too + much to drink. I honestly think the two women could have laid me and my + son under the table, and would have done it, if we had not looked out for + ourselves; as it was, we all drank a great deal and were very merry. We + were in a room by ourselves, and when we had been there nearly an hour, it + occurred to Margaret that it would be a good idea to humor the old lady’s + dry joke about the danger of our getting married during this visit to + Troy. + </p> + <p> + “Henry,” said she to my son; “Go out and ask the woman who keeps the + saloon where you can get a blank marriage certificate, and then get one + and bring it here, and we’ll have some fun.” + </p> + <p> + We were all just drunk enough to see that there was a joke in it, and we + urged the boy to go. He went to the woman, who directed him to a + stationer’s opposite, and presently he came in with a blank marriage + certificate. We called for pen and ink and he sat down and filled out the + blank form putting in my name and Margaret Bradley’s, signing it with some + odd name I have forgotten as that of the clergyman performing the + ceremony. He then signed his own name as a witness to the marriage, and + the young woman who was with us also witnessed it with her signature. We + had a great deal of fun over it, then more wine, and then it was time for + us to hurry to the depot to take the six o’clock train for Rutland. + </p> + <p> + Reaching home at about eleven o’clock at night, we found the old lady up, + and waiting for Margaret. We went in and Margaret’s first words were: + </p> + <p> + “Well, mother! I’m married; I told you, you know, I thought I should be; + and here’s my certificate.” + </p> + <p> + The mother expressed no surprise—she knew her daughter better than I + did, then—but quietly congratulated her, while I said not a single + word. My son went to see his companion home, and, as I had not achieved + this latest greatness, but had it thrust upon me, I and my new found + “wife” went to our room. The next day I removed from the hotel to + Margaret’s house and remained there during my residence in Rutland, she + introducing me to her friends as her husband, and seeming to consider it + an established fact. + </p> + <p> + Three weeks after this mock marriage, however, I told Margaret that I was + going to travel about the State a while to sell my medicines, and that I + might be absent for some time. She made no objections, and as I was going + with my own team she asked me to take some mantillas and a few other goods + which were a little out of fashion, and see if I could not sell them for + her. To be sure I would, and we parted on the best of terms. + </p> + <p> + Behold rue now, not only a medical man and a marrying man, but also a man + milliner. When I could not dispose of my medicines, I tried mantillas, and + in the course of my tour I sold the whole of Margaret’s wares, faithfully + remitting to her the money for the same. I think she would have put her + whole stock of goods on me to work off in the same way; but I never gave + her the opportunity to do so. + </p> + <p> + My journeying brought me at last to Montpelier where I proposed to stay + awhile and see if I could establish a practice. I had disposed of my + millinery goods and had nothing to attend to but my medicines—alas + that my professional acquirements as a marrying man should again have been + called in requisition. But it was to be. It was my fate to fall into the + hands of another milliner. + </p> + <p> + “Insatiate monster! would not one suffice?” + </p> + <p> + It seems not. There was a milliner at Rutland whose family and, friends + all believed to be my wife, though she knew she was not; and here in + Montpelier, was ready waiting, like a spider for a fly, another milliner + who was about to enmesh me in the matrimonial net. I had not been in the + place a week before I became acquainted with Eliza Gurnsey. I could hardly + help it, for she lived in the hotel where I stopped, and although she was + full thirty-five years old, she was altogether the most attractive woman + in the house. She was agreeable, good-looking, intelligent, and what the + vernacular calls “smart.” At all events, she was much too smart for me, as + I soon found out. + </p> + <p> + She had a considerable millinery establishment which she and her younger + sister carried on, employing several women, and she was reputed to be well + off. Strange as it may seem in the light of after events, she actually + belonged to the church and was a regular attendant at the services. But no + woman in town was more talked about, and precisely what sort of a woman + she was may be estimated from the fact that I had known her but little + more than a week, when she proposed that she, her sister and I should go + to Saratoga together, and have a good time for a day or two. + </p> + <p> + I was fairly fascinated with the woman and I consented. The younger sister + was taken with us, I thought at first as a cover, I knew afterwards as a + confederate, and Eliza paid all the bills, which were by no means small + ones, of the entire trip. We stopped in Saratoga at a hotel, which is now + in very different hands, but which was then kept by proprietors who, in + addition to a most excellent table and accommodations, afforded their + guests the opportunity, if they desired it, of attending prayers every + night and morning in one of the parlors. This may have been the inducement + which made Eliza insist upon going to this house, but I doubt it. + </p> + <p> + For our stay at Saratoga, three or four days, was one wild revel. We rode + about, got drunk, went to the Lake, came back to the hotel, and the second + day we were there, Eliza sent her sister for a Presbyterian minister, + whose address she had somehow secured, and this minister came to the hotel + and married us. I presume I consented, I don’t know, for I was too much + under the effect of liquor to know much of anything. I have an indistinct + recollection of some sort of a ceremony, and afterwards Eliza showed me a + certificate—no Troy affair, but a genuine document signed by a + minister residing in Saratoga, and witnessed by her sister and some one in + the hotel who had been called in. But the whole was like a dream to me; it + was the plot of an infamous woman to endeavor to make herself respectable + by means of a marriage, no matter to whom or how that marriage was + effected. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, the Montpelier papers had the whole story, one of them + publishing a glowing account of my elopement with Miss Gurnsey, and the + facts of our marriage at Saratoga was duly chronicled. This paper fell + into the hands of Miss Bradley, at Rutland, and as she claimed to be my + wife, and had parted with me only a little while before, when I went out + to peddle medicines and millinery, her feelings can be imagined. She read + the story and then aroused all Rutland. I had not been back from Saratoga + half an hour before I was arrested in the public house in Montpelier and + taken before a magistrate, on complaint of Miss Bradley, of Rutland, that + I was guilty of bigamy. + </p> + <p> + The examination was a long one, and as the facts which were then shown + appeared afterwards in my trial they need not be noted now. I had two + first-rate lawyers, but for all that, and with the plainest showing that + Margaret Bradley had no claim whatever to be considered my wife, I was + bound over in the sum of three thousand dollars to appear for trial, and + was sent to jail. There was a tremendous excitement about the matter, and + the whole town seemed interested. + </p> + <p> + To jail I went, Eliza going with me, and insisting upon staying; but the + jailer would not let her, nor was she permitted to visit me during my + entire stay there, at least she got in to see me but once. I made every + effort to get bail, but was unsuccessful. Eight long weary months elapsed + before my trial came on, and all this while I was in jail. My trial lasted + a week. The Bradley woman knew she was no more married to me than she was + to the man in the moon; but she swore stoutly that we were actually wedded + according to the certificate. On the other hand, my son swore to all the + facts about the Troy spree, and his buying and filling out the + certificate, which showed for itself that, excepting the signature of the + young woman who also witnessed it, it was entirely in Henry’s handwriting. + I should have got along well enough so far as the Bradley woman was + concerned; but the prosecution had been put in possession of all the facts + relative to my first and worst marriage, and the whole matter came up in + this case. The District Attorney had sent everywhere, as far even as + Illinois, for witness with regard to that marriage. It seemed as if all + Vermont was against me. I have heard that with the cost of witnesses and + other expenses, my trial cost the state more than five thousand dollars. + My three lawyers could not save me. After a week’s trial the case went to + the jury, and in four hours they returned a verdict of “guilty.” + </p> + <p> + My counsel instantly appealed the case to the Supreme Court, and, + meanwhile I went back to jail where I remained three months more. A few + days after I returned to jail a friend of mine managed to furnish me with + files and saws, and I went industriously to work at the gratings of my + window to saw my way out. I could work only at night, when the keepers + were away, and I covered the traces of my cuttings by filling in with + tallow. In two months I had everything in readiness for my escape. An + hour’s more sawing at the bars would set me free. But just at that time + the Governor of the State, Fletcher, made a visit to the jail. I told him + all about my case. He assured me, after hearing all the circumstances, + that if I should be convicted and sentenced, he would surely pardon me in + the course of six or eight weeks. Trusting in this promise, I made no + further effort to escape though I could have done so easily any night; but + rather than run the risk of recapture, and a heavier sentence if I should + be convicted, I awaited the chances of the court, and looked beyond for + the clemency of the Governor. + </p> + <p> + Well, finally my case came up in the Supreme Court. It only occupied a + day, and the result was that I was sentenced for three years in the State + prison. I was remanded to jail, and five days from that time I was taken + from Montpelier to Windsor. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0010" id="link2HCH0010"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER X. PRISON-LIFE IN VERMONT. + </h2> + <p> + ENTERING PRISON—THE SCYTHE SNATH BUSINESS—BLISTERED HANDS—I + LEARN NOTHING—THREAT TO KILL THE SHOP—KEEPER—LOCKSMITHING—OPEN + REBELLION—SIX WEEKS IN THE DUNGEON—ESCAPE OF A PRISONER—IN + THE DUNGEON AGAIN—THE MAD MAN, HALL—HE ATTEMPTS TO MURDER THE + DEPUTY—I SAVE MOREY’S LIFE—HOWLING IN THE BLACK HOLE—TAKING + OFF HALL’S IRONS—A GHASTLY SPECTACLE—A PRISON FUNERAL—I + AM LET ALONE—BETTER TREATMENT—THE FULL TERM OF MY + IMPRISONMENT. + </p> + <p> + We arrived at Windsor and I was safely inside of the prison at three + o’clock in the afternoon. Warden Harlow met me with a joke, to the effect + that, had it not been for my handcuffs he should have taken the officer + who brought me, to be the prisoner, I was so much the better dressed of + the two. He then talked very seriously to me for a long time. He was + sorry, and surprised, he said, to see a man of my appearance brought to + such a place for such a crime; he could not understand how a person of my + evident intelligence should get into such a scrape. + </p> + <p> + I told him that he understood it as well as I did, at all events; that I + could not conceive why I should get into these difficulties, one after the + other; but that I believed I was a crazy man on this one subject—matrimonial + monomania; that when I had gone through with one of these scrapes, and had + suffered the severe punishment that was almost certain to follow, the + whole was like a dream to me—a nightmare and nothing more. With + regard to what was before me in this prison I should try and behave + myself, and make the best of the situation; but I notified the Warden that + I did not mean to do one bit of work if I could help it. + </p> + <p> + He took me inside, where my fine clothes were taken away, and I. was + dressed in the usual particolored prison uniform. I was told the rules, + and was warned that if I did not observe them it would go hard with me. + Then followed twenty-four hours solitary confinement, and the next + afternoon I was taken from my cell to a shop in which scythe snaths were + made. + </p> + <p> + It had transpired during my trial at Montpelier, that when I was a young + man, I was a blacksmith by trade. This information had been transmitted to + prison and I was at once put to work making heel rings. It was some years + since I had worked at a forge and handled a hammer. Consequently, in three + or four days, my hands were terribly blistered, and as the Warden happened + to come into the shop, I showed them to him, and quietly told him that I + would do that work no longer. He told me that I must do it; he would make + me do it. I answered that he might kill me, or punish me in any way he + pleased, but he could not make me do that kind of labor, and I threw down + my hammer and refused to work a moment longer. + </p> + <p> + The Warden left me and sent Deputy Warden Morey to try me. He approached + me in a kindly way, and I showed my blistered hands to him. He thought + that was the way to “toughen” me. I thought not, and said so, and, + moreover, told him I would never make another heel ring in that prison, + and I never did. + </p> + <p> + He sent me to my cell and I stayed there a week, till my hands were well. + Then the Deputy came to me and asked me if I was willing to learn to hew + out scythe snaths in the rough for the shavers, who finished them? I said + I would try. I went into the shop and was shown how the work was to be + done. Every man was expected to hew out fifty snaths in a day. In three or + four days the shop-keeper came and overlooked me while I was working in my + bungling way, and said if I couldn’t do better than that I must clear out + of his shop and do something else. My reply was that I did not understand + the business, and had no desire or intention to learn it. He sent for the + Deputy Warden, who came and expressed the opinion that I could not do + anything. I said I was willing to do anything I could understand. + </p> + <p> + “Do you understand anything?” asked the Deputy. + </p> + <p> + “Well, some things, marrying for instance,” was my answer. + </p> + <p> + “I want no joking or blackguardism about this matter,” said the Deputy; + “them simple fact is, you’ve got to work; if you don’t we’ll make you.” + </p> + <p> + So I kept on at hewing, making no improvement, and in a day or two more + the shopkeeper undertook to show me how the work should be done. I + protested I never could learn it. + </p> + <p> + “You don’t try; and I have a good mind to punish you.” + </p> + <p> + The moment the shop-keeper said it I dropped the snath, raised my axe, and + told him that if he came one step nearer to me I would make mincemeat of + him. He thought it was advisable to stay where he was; but one of the + prison-keepers was in the shop, and as he came toward me I warned him that + he had better keep away. + </p> + <p> + All the men in the shop were ready to break out in insubordination; when I + threatened the shop keeper and the guard, they cheered; the Deputy Warden + was soon on the ground; he stood in the doorway a moment, and then, in a + kind tone called me to him. I had no immediate quarrel with him, and so I + dropped my axe and went to him. He told me that there was no use of + “making a muss” there, it incited the other prisoners to insubordination, + and was sure to bring severe punishment upon myself. “Go and get your cap + and coat,” said he “and come with me.” + </p> + <p> + “But if you are going to put me into that black hole of yours,” I + exclaimed, “I won’t go; you’ll have to draw me there or kill me on the + way.” + </p> + <p> + He promised he would not put me in the dungeon, he was only going to put + me in my cell, he said, and to my cell I went, willingly enough, and + stayed there a week, during which time I suppose everyone of my shopmates + thought I was in the dungeon, undergoing severe punishment for my + rebellions conduct. + </p> + <p> + I had learned now the worst lesson which a prisoner can learn—that + is, that my keepers were afraid of me. To a limited extent, it is true, I + was now my own master and keeper. In a few days Deputy Morey came to me + and asked me if I was “willing” to come out and work. I was sick of + solitary confinement, and longed to see the faces of men, even prisoners: + so I told him if I could get any work I could do I was willing to try it, + and would do as well as I knew how. He asked me if I knew anything of + locksmithing? I told him I had some taste for it, and if he would show me + his job I would let him see what I could do. + </p> + <p> + The fact is, I was a very fair amateur locksmith, and had quite a fondness + for fixing, picking, and fussing generally over locks. Accordingly, when + he gave me a lock to work upon to make it “play easier,” as he described + it, I did the job so satisfactorily that I had nearly every lock in the + prison to take off and operate upon, if it was nothing more than to clean + and oil one. This business occupied my entire time and attention for + nearly three months. Then I repaired iron bedsteads, did other iron work, + and I was the general tinker of the prison. + </p> + <p> + It came into my head, however, one day, that I might as well do nothing. + The prison fare was indescribably bad, almost as bad as the jail fare at + Easton. We lived upon the poorest possible salt beef for dinner, varied + now and then with plucks and such stuff from the slaughter houses, with + nothing but bread and rye coffee for breakfast and supper, and mush and + molasses perhaps twice a week. + </p> + <p> + I was daily abused, too, by the Warden, his Deputy, and his keepers. They + looked upon me as an ugly, insubordinate, refractory, rebellious rascal, + who was ready to kill any of them, and, worst of all, who would not work. + I determined to confirm their minds in the latter supposition, and so one + day I threw down my tools and refused to do another thing. + </p> + <p> + They dragged me to the dungeon and thrust me in. It was a wretched dark + hole, with a little dirty straw in one corner to lie upon. My entire food + and drink was bread and water. The man who brought it never spoke to me. + His face was the only one I saw during the livelong day. Day and night + were alike to me; I lost the run of time; but at long intervals, once in + eight or ten days, I suppose, the Deputy came to this hole and asked me if + I would come out and work. + </p> + <p> + “No, no!” I always answered, “never!” Then I paced the stone floor in the + dark, or lay on my straw. I lay there till my hips were worn raw. No human + being can conceive the agony, the suffering endured in this dungeon. At + last I was nearly blind, and was scarcely able to stand up. I presume that + the attendant who brought my daily dole of bread and my cup of water, + reported my condition. One day the door opened and I was ordered out. They + were obliged to bring me out; I was so reduced that I was but the shadow + of myself. They meant to cure my obstinacy or to kill me, and had not + quite succeeded in doing either. + </p> + <p> + There was no use in asking me if I would go to work then; I was just + alive. A few days in my own cell, in the daylight, and with something + beside bread and water to eat, partially restored me. I was then taken + into the shop where the snaths were finished by scraping and varnishing, + the lightest part of the work, but I would not learn, would not do, would + not try to do anything at all. They gave me up. The whole struggle nearly + killed me, but I beat them. I was turned into the halls and told to do + what I could, which, I knew well enough, meant what I would. + </p> + <p> + After that I worked about the halls and yard, sometimes sweeping, and + again carrying something, or doing errands for the keepers from one part + of the prison to another. I was what theatrical managers call a general + utility man, and, not at all strangely, for it is human nature, now that I + could do what I pleased, I pleased to do a great deal, and was tolerably + useful, and far more agreeable than I had been in the past. + </p> + <p> + There was a young fellow, twenty-two years of age, in one of the cells, + serving out a sentence of six years. When I was sweeping around I used to + stop and talk to him every day. One day he was missing. He had been + supposed to be sick or asleep for several hours, for apparently lie lay in + bed, and was lying very still. But that was only an ingeniously + constructed dummy. The young man himself had made a hole under his bed + into an adjoining vacant cell, the door of which stood open. He had + crawled through his hole, come out of the vacant cell door, and gone up to + the prison garret, where he found some old pieces of rope. These he tied + together, and getting out at the cupola upon the roof, he managed to let + himself down on the outside of the building and got away. He was never + recaptured. The Warden said that some one must have told him about the + adjoining vacant cell, with its always open door, else how would the young + man have known it? + </p> + <p> + I was accused of imparting this valuable information, and I suffered four + weeks’ confinement in that horrible dungeon on the mere suspicion. This + made ten weeks in all of my prison-life in a hole in which I suffered so + that I hoped I should die there. + </p> + <p> + One of the prisoners was a desperate man, named Hall. He was a convicted + murderer, and was sentenced for life. He too, worked about in the prison + and the yards, dragging or carrying a heavy ball and chain. When bundles + of snaths were to be carried from one shop to the other in the various + processes of finishing, Hall had to do it, and to carry his ball and chain + as well, so that he was loaded like a pack-horse. No pack-horse was ever + so abused. + </p> + <p> + Of course he was ugly; the wardens and the keepers knew it, and generally + kept away from him. + </p> + <p> + I talked with him more than once, and he told me that with better + treatment he should be a better man. “Look at the loads which are put on + me every day,” he would say; as if this ball and chain were not as much as + I can carry; and this for life, for life! + </p> + <p> + One day when Hall and I were working together in the prison, Deputy Warden + Morey came in and said something to him, and in a moment the man sprung + upon him. He had secured somehow, perhaps he had picked it up in the yard, + a pocket knife, and with this he stabbed the Warden, striking him in the + shoulder, arm, and where he could. + </p> + <p> + Morey was a man sixty-five years of age, and he made such resistance as he + could, crying out loudly for help. I turned, ran to Hall, and with one + blow of my fist knocked him nearly senseless; then help came and we + secured the mad man. Morey was profuse in protestations of gratitude to me + for saving his life. + </p> + <p> + There was a great excitement over this attempt to murder the Deputy, and + for a few hours, with wardens and keepers, I was a hero. I had been in the + prison more than a year, and was generally regarded as one of the worst + prisoners, one of the “hardest cases;” a mere chance had suddenly made me + one of the most commendable men within those dreary walls. As for Hall, he + was taken to the dungeon and securely chained by the feet to a ring in the + center of the stone floor. There is no doubt whatever that the man was a + raving maniac. He howled night and day so that he could be heard + everywhere in the prison—“Murder, murder! they are murdering me in + this black hole; why don’t they take me out and kill me?” + </p> + <p> + The Warden said it could not be helped; that the man must be kept there; + he was dangerous to himself and others; the dark cell was the only place + for him. So Hall stayed there and howled, his cries growing weaker from + day to day; by-and-by we heard him only at intervals, and after that not + at all. + </p> + <p> + One morning there was a little knot of men around the open dungeon door, + the Deputy Warden and two or three keepers. Mr. Morey called to me to go + and get the tools and come there and take off Hall’s irons. I went into + the cell and in a few minutes I unfastened his feet from the ring; then I + took the shackles off his limbs. I thought he held his legs very stiff, + but knew he was obstinate, and only wondered he was so quiet. + </p> + <p> + Somebody brought in a candle and I looked at Hall’s face. I never saw a + more ghastly sight. The blood from his mouth and nostrils had clotted on + the lower part of his face, and his wild eyes, fixed and glassy, were + staring at the top wall of the dungeon. He must have been dead several + hours. The Deputy and the rest knew he was dead—the man who carried + in the bread and water told them—me it came with a shock from which + I did not soon recover. + </p> + <p> + They buried Hall in the little graveyard which was in the yard of the + prison. An Episcopal clergyman, who was chaplain of the prison, read the + burial service over him. The prisoners were brought out to attend the + homely funeral. The ball and chain, all the personal property left by + Hall, were put aside for the next murderer sentenced for life, or for the + next “ugly” prisoner. “If I were only treated better, and not abused so, I + should be a better man.” This is what Hall used to say to me whenever he + had an opportunity. The last and worst and best in that prison had been + done for him now. + </p> + <p> + From the day when I rescued Morey from the hands of Hall, his whole manner + changed towards me, and he treated me with great kindness, frequently + bringing me a cup of tea or coffee, and something good to eat. He also + promised to present the circumstances of the Hall affair to the Governor, + and to urge my pardon, but I do not think he ever did so, at least I heard + nothing of it. When I pressed the matter upon Morey’s attention he said it + would do no good till I had served out half my sentence, and then he would + see what could be done. + </p> + <p> + I served half my sentence, and then the other half, every day of it. But + during the last two years I had very little to complain of except the loss + of my liberty. I was put into the cook shop where I could get better food, + and I did pretty much what I pleased. By general consent I was let alone. + They had found out that ill usage only made me “ugly,” while kindness made + me at least behave myself. And so the three weary years of my confinement + were on to an end. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0011" id="link2HCH0011"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XI. ON THE TRAMP. + </h2> + <p> + THE DAY OF MY DELIVERANCE—OUT OF CLOTHES—SHARING WITH A BEGGAR—A + GOOD FRIEND—TRAMPING THROUGH THE SNOW—WEARY WALKS—TRUSTING + TO LUCK—COMFORT AT CONCORD—AT MEREDITH BRIDGE—THE + BLAISDELLS—LAST OF THE “BLOSSOM” BUSINESS—MAKING MONEY AT + PORTSMOUTH—REVISITING WINDSOR—AN ASTONISHED WARDEN—MAKING + FRIENDS OF OLD ENEMIES—INSPECTING THE PRISON—GOING TO PORT + JERVIS. + </p> + <p> + At last the happy day of my deliverance came. The penalty for pretending + to marry one milliner and for being married by another milliner was paid. + My sentence was fulfilled. I had looked forward to this day for months. Of + all my jail and prison life in different States, this in Vermont was the + hardest, the most severe. My obstinacy, no doubt, did much at first to + enhance my sufferings, and it was the accident only of my saving Morey’s + life that made the last part of my imprisonment a little more tolerable. + When I was preparing to go, it was discovered that the fine suit of + clothes I wore into the prison had been given by mistake or design to some + one else, and my silk hat and calf-skin boots had gone with the clothes. + But never mind! I would have gone out into the world in rags—my + liberty was all I wanted then. The Warden gave me one of his own old + coats, a ragged pair of pantaloons, and a new pair of brogan shoes. He + also gave me three dollars, which was precisely a dollar a year for my + services, and this was more than I ever meant to earn there. Thus equipped + and supplied I was sent out into the streets of Windsor. + </p> + <p> + I had not gone half a mile before I met a poor old woman whom I had known + very well in Rutland. She recognized me at once, though I know I was sadly + changed for the worse. She was on her way to Fall River, where she had + relatives, and where she hoped for help, but had no money to pay her fare, + so I divided my small stock with her, and that left me just one dollar and + a half with which to begin the world again. I went down to the bridge and + the toll—gatherer gave me as much as I could eat, twenty five cents + in money, and a pocket-full of food to carry with me. I was heading, + footing rather, for Meredith Bridge in New Hampshire. It was in the month + of December; and I was poorly clad and without an overcoat. I must have + walked fifteen miles that afternoon, and just at nightfall I came to a + wayside public house and ventured to go in. As I stood by the fire, the + landlord stepped up and slapping me on the shoulder, said: + </p> + <p> + “Friend, you look as if you were in trouble; step up and have something to + drink.” + </p> + <p> + I gladly accepted the invitation to partake of the first glass of liquor I + had tasted in three years. It was something, too, everything to be + addressed thus kindly. I told this worthy landlord my whole story; how I + had been trapped by the two milliners, and how I had subsequently + suffered. He had read something about it in the papers; he felt as if he + knew me; he certainly was sorry for me; and he proved his sympathy by + giving me what then seemed to me the best supper I had ever eaten, a good + bed, a good breakfast, a package of provisions to carry with me, and then + sent me on my way with a comparatively light heart. + </p> + <p> + It rained, snowed, and drizzled all day long. I tramped through the wet + snow ankle deep, but made nearly forty miles before night, and then came + to a public house which I knew well. When I was in the bar-room drying + myself and warming my wet and half-frozen feet, I could not but think how, + only a few years before, I had put up at that very house, with a fine + horse and buggy of my own in the stable, and plenty of money in my pocket. + The landlord’s face was familiar enough, but he did not know me, nor, + under my changed circumstances, did I desire that he should. Supper, + lodging, and breakfast nearly exhausted my small money capital; I was worn + and weary, too, and the next day was able to walk but twenty miles, all + told. On the way, at noon I went into a farm house to warm myself. The + woman had just baked a short-cake which stood on the hearth, toward which + I must have cast longing eyes, for the farmer said: + </p> + <p> + “Have you had your dinner, man?” + </p> + <p> + “No, and I have no money to buy any.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, you don’t need money here. Wife, put that short-cake and some + butter on the table; now, my man, fall to and eat as much as you like.” + </p> + <p> + I was very hungry, and I declare I ate the whole of that short-cake. I + told these people that I had been in better circumstances, and that I was + not always the poor, ragged, hungry wretch I appeared then. They made we + welcome to what I had eaten and when I went away filled my pockets with + food. At night I was about thirty miles above Concord. I had no money, but + trusting to luck, I got on the cars—the conductor came, and when he + found I had no ticket, he said he must put me off. It was a bitter night + and I told him I should be sure to freeze to death. A gentleman who heard + the conversation at once paid my fare, for which I expressed my grateful + thanks, and I went to Concord. + </p> + <p> + On my arrival I went to a hotel and told the landlord I wanted to stay + there till the next day, when a conductor whom I knew would be going to + Meredith Bridge; that I was going with him, and that he would probably pay + my bill at the hotel. “All right,” said the landlord, and he gave me my + supper and a room. The next noon my friend, the conductor, came and when I + first spoke to him he did not recognize me; I told him who I was, but to + ask me no questions as to how I came to appear in those old clothes, and + to be so poor; I wanted to borrow five dollars, and to go with him to + Meredith Bridge. He greeted me very cordially, handed me a ten-dollar Bill—twice + as much as I asked for—said he was not going to the Bridge till next + day, and told me meanwhile, to go to the hotel and make myself + comfortable. + </p> + <p> + I went back to the hotel, paid my bill, stayed there that day and night, + and the next morning “deadheaded,” with my friend the conductor to + Meredith Bridge. Everybody knew me there. The hotel-keeper made me welcome + to his house, and said I could stay as long as I liked. + </p> + <p> + “Say, dew ye ever cure anybody, Doctor?” asked my old friend, the + landlord, and he laughed and nudged me in the ribs, and asked me to take + some of his medicine from the bar, which I immediately did. + </p> + <p> + I was at home now. But the object of my visit was to see if I could not + collect some of my old bills in that neighborhood, amounting in the + aggregate to several hundred dollars. They were indeed old bills of five + or six years’ standing, and I had very little hope of collecting much + money. I went first to Lake Village, and called on Mr. John Blaisdell, the + husband of the woman whom I had cured of the dropsy, in accordance, as she + believed at the time, with her prophetic dream. Blaisdell didn’t know me + at first; then he wanted to know what my bill was; I told him one hundred + dollars, to say nothing of six years’ interest; he said he had no money, + though he was regarded as a rich man, and in fact was. + </p> + <p> + “But sir,” said I, “you see me and how poor I am. Give me something on + account. I am so poor that I even borrowed this overcoat from the tailor + in the village, that I might present a little more respectable appearance + when I called on my old patients to try to collect some of my old bills. + Please to give me something.” + </p> + <p> + But he had no money. He would pay for the overcoat; I might tell the + tailor so; and afterwards he gave me a pair of boots and an old shirt. + This was the fruit which my “blossom” of years before brought at last. I + saw Mrs. Blaisdell, but she said she could do nothing for me. She had + forgotten what I had done for her. + </p> + <p> + Of all my bills in that vicinity, with a week’s dunning, I collected only + three dollars; but a good friend of mine, Sheriff Hill, went around and + succeeded in making up a purse of twenty dollars which he put into my + hands just as I was going away. My old landlord wanted nothing for my + week’s board; all he wanted was to know “if I ever cured anybody;” and + when I told him I did, “sometimes” he insisted upon my taking more of his + medicine, and he put up a good bottle of it for me to carry with me on my + journey. + </p> + <p> + With my twenty dollars I went to Portsmouth, where I speedily felt that I + was among old and true friends. I had not been there a day before I was + called upon to take care of a young man who was sick, and after a few + weeks charge of him I received in addition to my board and expenses, three + hundred dollars. I was now enabled to clothe myself handsomely, and I did + so and went to Newburyport, where I remained several weeks and made a + great deal of money. + </p> + <p> + In the spring I went to White River Junction, and while I was in the hotel + taking a drink with some friends, who should come into the bar-room but + the Lake Village tailor from whom I had borrowed the overcoat which I had + even then on my back. I was about to thank him for his kindness to me when + he took me aside and said reproachfully: + </p> + <p> + “Doctor, you wore away my overcoat and this is it, I think.” + </p> + <p> + “Good heavens! didn’t John Blaisdell pay you for the coat? He told me he + would; its little enough out of what he owes me.” + </p> + <p> + “He never said a word to me about it,” was the reply. I told the tailor + the circumstances; I did not like to let him to know that I had then about + seven hundred dollars in my pocket; I wished to appear poor as long as + there was a chance to collect any of my Meredith and Lake Village bills; + so I offered him three dollars to take back the coat. He willingly + consented and that was the last of the “Blossom” business with the + Blaisdells. + </p> + <p> + I was bound not to leave this part of the country without revisiting + Windsor, and I went there, stopping at the best house in the town, and, I + fear, “putting on airs” a little. I had suffered so much in this place + that I wanted to see if there was any enjoyment to be had there. + Satisfaction there was, certainly—the satisfaction one feels in + going back under the most favorable circumstances, to a spot where he has + endured the very depths of misery. After a good dinner I set out to visit + the prison. Here was the very spot in the street where, only a few months + before, I, a ragged beggar, had divided my mere morsel of money with the + poor woman from Rutland. What change in my circumstances those few months + had wrought. I had recovered my health which bad food, ill usage, and + imprisonment had broken down, and was in the best physical condition. The + warden’s old coat and pantaloons had been exchanged for the finest clothes + that money would buy. I had a good gold watch and several hundred dollars + in my pocket. I had seen many of my old friends, and knew that they were + still my friends, and I was fully restored to my old position. My three + years’ imprisonment was only a blank in my existence; I had begun life + again and afresh, precisely where I left off before I fell into the hands + of the two Vermont milliners. + </p> + <p> + All this was very pleasant to reflect upon; but do not believe I thought + even then, that the reason for this change in my circumstances, and + changes for the better, was simply because I had minded my business and + had let women alone. + </p> + <p> + When I called on Warden Harlow, and courteously asked to be shown about + the prison, he got up and was ready to comply with my request, when he + looked me full in the face and started back in amazement: + </p> + <p> + “Well, I declare! Is this you?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes, Warden Harlow; but I want you to understand that while I am here I + do not intend to do a bit of work, and you can’t make me. You may as well + give it up first as last; I won’t work anyhow.” + </p> + <p> + The Warden laughed heartily, and sent for Deputy Morey who came in to “see + a gentleman,” and was much astonished to find the prisoner, who, two years + before, had saved his life from the hands and knife of the madman Hall. I + spent a very pleasant hour with my old enemies, and I took occasion to + give them a hint or two with regard to the proper treatment of prisoners. + I then made the rounds of the prison, and went into the dungeon where I + had passed so many wretched hours for weeks at a time. The warden and his + deputy congratulated me upon my improved appearance and prospects, and + hoped that my whole future career would be equally prosperous. + </p> + <p> + Nor did I forget to call up my friend in need and friend indeed in the + toll-house at the bridge. I stayed three or four days in Windsor, finding + it really a charming place, and I was almost sorry to leave it. But my + only purpose in going there, that is to revisit the prison, was + accomplished, and I started for New York, and went from there to Port + Jervis, where I met my eldest son. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0012" id="link2HCH0012"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XII. ATTEMPT TO KIDNAP SARAH SCHEIMER’S BOY. + </h2> + <p> + STARTING TO SEE SARAH—THE LONG SEPARATION—WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT + HER—HER DRUNKEN HUSBAND—CHANGE OF PLAN—A SUDDENLY—FORMED + SCHEME—I FIND SARAH’S SON—THE FIRST INTERVIEW—RESOLVE TO + KIDNAP THE BOY—REMONSTRANCES OF MY SON HENRY—THE ATTEMPT—A + DESPERATE STRUGGLE—THE RESCUE—ARREST OF HENRY—MY FLIGHT + INTO PENNSYLVANIA—SENDING ASSISTANCE TO MY SON—RETURN TO PORT + JERVIS—BAILING HENRY—HIS RETURN TO BELVIDERE—HE IS BOUND + OVER TO BE TRIED FOR KIDNAPPING—MY FOLLY. + </p> + <p> + After I had been in Port Jervis three or four days I matured a plan that + had long been forcing in my mind, and that was, to try and see Sarah + Scheimer once more, or at least to find out something about her and about + our son. The boy, if he was living, must be about ten years of age. I had + never seen him; nor, since the night when I was taken out of bed and + carried to the Easton jail had I ever seen Sarah, or even heard from her, + except by the message the Methodist minister brought to me from her the + day after I was released from jail. In the long interval I had married the + Newark widow, and had served a brief term in the New Jersey State prison + for doing it; I had married Mary Gordon, in New Hampshire, and had run + away, not only from her, but from constables and the prison in that state; + the mock marriage with the Rutland woman at Troy, and the altogether too + real marriage with the Montpelier milliner had followed; I had spent three + wretched years in the Vermont prison at Windsor; and numerous other + exciting adventures had checkered my career. What had happened to Sarah + and her son during all this while? There was not a week in the whole time + since our sudden separation when I had not thought of Sarah; and now I was + near her old home, with means at my command, leisure on my hands, and I + was determined to know something about her and the child. + </p> + <p> + So long a time had elapsed and I was so changed in my personal appearance + that I had little fear of being recognized by any one in Pennsylvania or + the adjoining part of New Jersey, who would molest me. The old matters + must have been pretty much forgotten by all but the very few who were + immediately interested in them. It was safe to make the venture at all + events, and, I resolved to make the venture to see and learn what I could. + </p> + <p> + I had the idea in my mind that if Sarah was alive and well, and free, I + should be able to induce her to fulfil her promise to come to me, and that + we might go somewhere and settle down and live happily together. At any + rate, I would try to see her and our child. + </p> + <p> + I did not communicate a word of all this to my son Henry. I told him I was + going to New Jersey to visit some friends, to look for business, and I + would like to have him accompany me. He consented; I hired a horse and + carriage, and one bright morning we started. I had no friends to visit, no + business to do, except to see Sarah—the dearest and best—loved + of all my wives. + </p> + <p> + When we reached Water Gap I found an old acquaintance in the landlord of + the hotel, and I told him where I was going, and what I hoped to do. He + knew the Scheimers, knew all that had happened eleven years before, and he + told me that Sarah had married again, seven years ago, and was the mother + of two more children. She lived on a farm, half a mile from Oxford, and + her husband who had married her for her money, and had been urged upon her + by her parents, was a shiftless, worthless, drunken fellow. The boy—my + boy—was alive and well, and was with his mother. + </p> + <p> + This intelligence changed, or rather made definite my plan. Sarah was + nothing to me now. The boy was everything. I must see him, and if he was + what he was represented to be, a bright little fellow, I determined that + he should no longer remain in the hands and under the control of his + drunken step-father, but I would carry him away with me if I could. It was + nearly noon when we arrived at Oxford, and going to my old quarters, I + found that “Boston Yankee,” had long since left the place. There was a new + landlord, and I saw no familiar faces about the house; all was new and + strange to me. I made inquiries, and soon found out that Sarah’s boy went + to a school in town not far from the hotel, and I went there to + “prospect,” leaving Henry at the public house. + </p> + <p> + It was noon now, and fifty or more boys were trooping out of school. I + carefully scanned the throng. The old proverb has it that it is a wise + child who knows its own father; but it is not so difficult for a father to + know his own children. The moment I put my eyes on Sarah’s son, I knew + him; he was the very image of me; I could have picked him out of a + thousand. I beckoned to the boy and he came to me. He was barefoot; and + his very toes betrayed him, for they “overrode” just as mine did; but his + face was enough and would have been evidence of his identity as my son in + any court in Christendom. + </p> + <p> + “Do you know me, my little man?” said I. + </p> + <p> + “No, sir, I do not.” + </p> + <p> + “Do you know what was your mother’s name before she was married?” + </p> + <p> + “Yes Sir, it was Sarah Scheimer.” + </p> + <p> + “Do you know that the man with whom you live is not your rather?” + </p> + <p> + “Oh, yes, Sir, I know that; mother always told me so; but she never told + me who my father was.” + </p> + <p> + “My son,” said I taking him in my arms, “I am your father; wait about here + a few minutes till I can go and get my horse and carriage, and I will take + you to ride.” + </p> + <p> + I ran over to the hotel; ordered my horse to be brought to the door at + once, got into the wagon with Henry and told him that Sarah Scheimer’s boy + was just across the way, and that I was going to carry him off with us. + Henry implored me not to do it, and said it was dangerous. I never stopped + to think of danger when my will impelled me. I did not know that at that + moment, men who had noticed my excited manner, and who knew I was “up to + something,” were watching me from the hotel piazza. I drove over where the + boy was waiting, called him to me, and Henry held the reins while I put + out my hands to pull the boy into the carriage. Two of the men who were + watching me came at once, one of them taking the horse by the head, and + the other coming to me and demanding: + </p> + <p> + “What are you going to do with that boy?” + </p> + <p> + “Take him with me; he is my son.” + </p> + <p> + “No you don’t,” said the man, and he laid hold of the boy and attempted to + pull him out of the wagon. I also seized the lad who began to scream. In + the struggle for possession, I caught up the whip and struck the man with + the handle, felling him to the ground. All the while the other man was + shouting for assistance. The crowd gathered. The boy was roughly torn from + me, in spite of my efforts to retain him. Henry was thoroughly alarmed; + and while the mob were trying to pull us also out of the carriage he + whipped the horse till he sprang through the crowd and was well off in a + moment. + </p> + <p> + “Get out of town as fast as you can drive,” said I to Henry. + </p> + <p> + We were not half an hour in reaching Belvidere. There I stopped to breathe + the horse a few minutes, and Henry insisted that he was starving, and must + have something to eat; he would go into the hotel he said, and get some + dinner. I told him it was madness to do it; but he would not move an inch + further on the road till he had some dinner. He went into the dining room, + and I paced up and down the piazza, nervous, anxious, fearing pursuit, + dreading capture, well knowing what would happen when those Jerseymen + should get hold of me and find out who I was. At that moment I saw the + pursuers coming rapidly up the road. I called to my son: + </p> + <p> + “Henry, Henry! for God’s sake come out here, quick!” + </p> + <p> + But he thought I was only trying to frighten him so as to hurry him away + from his dinner, and get him on the road, and he paid no attention to my + summons. I knew that I was the man who was wanted, and, without waiting + for Henry, I jumped into my wagon and drove off. I just escaped, that’s + all. The moment I left, my pursuers were at the door. I looked back and + saw them drag my son out of the house, and take him away with them. I + turned my horse’s head towards the Belvidere Bridge. All the country about + there was as familiar to me as the county I was born in. I knew every + road, and I had no fear of being caught. Once across the bridge and in + Pennsylvania, and I was comparatively safe, unless I myself should be + kidnapped as I was at midnight, only a little way from this very spot, + eleven years before. Here was an opportunity now to rest and reflect. + Confound those Scheimers and all their blood! Was I never to see the end + of the scrapes that family would get me into, or which I was to get myself + into, on account of the Scheimers? + </p> + <p> + Surely they could not harm Henry. They might have taken him merely in the + hope of drawing me back to try to clear him, or rescue him, and then they + would get hold of the man they wanted. My son had done nothing. He did not + even know of the contemplated abduction till five minutes before it was + attempted, and then he protested against it. He only held the horse when I + pulled the lad into the wagon. + </p> + <p> + Nothing showed so completely the consciousness of his own entire innocence + in the matter, as the coolness with which he sat down to his dinner in + Belvidere, and insisted upon remaining when I warned him of our danger. + These facts shown, any magistrate before whom he might be taken, must let + him go at once. I thought, perhaps, if I waited a few hours where I was, + he would be sure to rejoin me, and we could then return to Port Jervis + without Sarah’s son to be sure; but, otherwise, no worse off than we were + when we set out on this ill-starred expedition in the morning. + </p> + <p> + All this seemed so plain to me that I sent over to Belvidere for a lawyer, + who soon came across the bridge to see me, and to him I narrated the whole + circumstances of the case from, beginning to end. I asked him if I had not + a right to carry off the boy whom I knew to be my own? His reply was that + he would not stop to discuss that question; all he knew was that there was + a great hue and cry after me for kidnapping the boy; that my son was + seized and held for aiding and abetting in the attempted abduction; and he + advised me, as a friend, to leave that part of the country as soon as + possible. I gave him fifty dollars to look after Henry’s case. He thought, + considering how little, and that little involuntarily, my son had to do + with the matter, he might be got off; he would do all he could for him + anyhow. He then returned to Belvidere, and I took the road north. + </p> + <p> + When I arrived at Port Jervis I detailed to my landlord the whole + occurrences of the day—what I had tried to do, and how miserably I + had failed, and asked him what was to be done next. He said “nothing;” we + could only wait and see what happened. + </p> + <p> + The day following I received a letter from the Belvidere lawyer informing + me that Henry had been examined, had been bound over in the sum of three + hundred dollars to take his trial on a charge of kidnapping, and he was + then in the county jail. I at once showed this letter to the landlord, and + he offered to go down with another man to Belvidere and see about the + bail. I gave him three hundred dollars, which he took with him and put + into the bands of a resident there who became bail, and in a day or two + Henry came back with them to Port Jervis. + </p> + <p> + My son was frantic; he had been roughly treated; and to think, he said, + that he should be thrust into the common jail and kept there two days with + all sorts of scoundrels, when he had done actually nothing! He would go + back there, stand his trial, and prove his innocence, if he died for it. + He reproached me for attempting to carry off the boy against his advice + and warning; he knew we should into trouble; but he would show them that + he had nothing to do with it; that’s what he would do. + </p> + <p> + Now this was precisely what I did not wish to have him do. A trial of this + case, even if Henry should come off scott free, would be certain to revive + the whole of the old Scheimer story, which had nearly died away, and which + I had no desire to have brought before the public again in any way + whatever. The bail bond I was willing, eager even to forfeit, if that + would end the matter. But Henry was sure they couldn’t touch him, and he + meant to have the three hundred dollars returned to me. + </p> + <p> + Seeing how sensitive the boy was on the subject, and how bent he was on + proving his innocence, I thought it best to draw him away from the + immediate locality, and so, in the course of a week, I persuaded him to go + to New York with me, and we afterward went to Maine for a few weeks to + sell my medicines. This Maine trip was a most lucrative one, which was + very fortunate, for the money I made there, to the amount of several + hundred dollars, was shortly needed for purposes which I did not + anticipate when I put the money by. + </p> + <p> + We returned to New York, and I supposed that Henry had given up all idea + of attempting to “prove his innocence;” indeed we had no conversation + about the kidnapping affair for several weeks. But he slipped away from + me. One day I came back to the hotel, and, inquiring for him, was told at + the office he had left word for me that he had gone to Belvidere. A letter + from him a day or two afterward confirmed this, to me, unhappy + intelligence. The time was near at hand for his trial, and he had gone and + given himself up to the authorities. He wrote to me again that he had sent + word about his situation to his mother—my first and worst wife—and + she and his sister were already with him. + </p> + <p> + Of course it was impossible for me to go there, if there were no other + reasons, I was too immediately interested in this affair to be present, + and I had no idea of undergoing a trial and a certain conviction for + myself. But I sent down a New York lawyer with one hundred dollars, + directing him to employ council there, and to advise and assist as much as + he could. Meanwhile, I remained in New York, anxious, it is true, yet + almost certain that it would be impossible, under the circumstances, to + convict Henry of the kidnapping for which he was indicted. He had not even + assisted in the affair, and was sure his counsel would be able to so + convince the court and jury. + </p> + <p> + And reviewing the whole matter, now in my cooler moments, this scheme of + trying to carry away Sarah’s son, seemed to be as foolish, useless, and + mad, as any one of my marrying adventures. Till I picked him out from + among his schoolmates, I had never seen the child at all. When I started + from Port Jervis to go down, as I supposed, into Pennsylvania, I had no + more idea of kidnapping the boy than I had of robbing a sheep-fold. It was + only when the landlord at Water Gap told me that Sarah had remarried, and + was wedded to a worthless, drunken husband, that I conceived the plan of + removing the boy from such associations. I was going to bring him up in a + respectable manner. Alas! I did not succeed even in bringing him away. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0013" id="link2HCH0013"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIII. ANOTHER WIDOW. + </h2> + <p> + WAITING FOR THE VERDICT—MY SON SENT TO STATE PRISON—WHAT SARAH + WOULD HAVE DONE—INTERVIEW WITH MY FIRST WIFE—HELP FOR HENRY—THE + BIDDEFORD WIDOW—HER EFFORT TO MARRY ME—OUR VISIT TO BOSTON—A + WARNING—A GENEROUS GIFT—HENRY PARDONED—CLOSE OF THE + SCHEIMER ACCOUNT—VISIT TO ONTARIO COUNTY—MY RICH COUSINS—WHAT + MIGHT HAVE BEEN—MY BIRTH—PLACE REVISITED. + </p> + <p> + I waited with nervous impatience for the close of the trial in New Jersey, + when I hoped to welcome my son Henry to New York. It was so plain a case, + as it seemed to me, and must appear, I thought, to everybody, that I + hardly doubted his instant acquittal. But very shortly the New York lawyer + whom I had sent to Belvidere, came back and brought terrible news. Henry + had been tried, and notwithstanding the fairest showing in his favor, he + was convicted and sentenced to eighteen months imprisonment at Trenton. + </p> + <p> + As it appeared, it was I really, and not Henry, who was on trial. The + circumstances of the desperate struggle, and my knocking down one of the + men with the butt of my whip, were conspicuous in the case. Even the + little boy was put on the stand, and was made to testify against his older + half-brother. Henry himself was astounded at the result of the trial, and + was firmly convinced that instead of “proving his innocence” to Jersey + jurymen, he had better have let his innocence go by default. We never even + got back again the three hundred dollars which had been put into the hands + of the man who went bail for Henry when he was bound over for trial. For + us, it was bad business from beginning to end. + </p> + <p> + Henry wrote a letter to me, that just before his trial, before he had + delivered himself up, and while he was still under bail, he had gone to + see Sarah Scheimer on the little farm which was bought with her money, and + was worked, so far as it was worked at all, by her drunken husband. The + family were even poorer than the landlord at Water Gap had reported. Sarah + herself was miserable and unhappy. She told Henry, when he informed her + who he was, that if I had wanted to see her or her son, I should have been + welcome. She would have been very glad to have had me take the boy and + clothe him decently; but she could not part with him, and would not have + let me take him away; still, I could see him at any time, and as often as + I liked, and the boy should grow up to know and to look upon me as his + father. + </p> + <p> + And this, really, was all I desired, all I wanted; and it was all easily + within my grasp, ready in fact to be put into my hands, and I had gone + ahead in my usual mad, blundering way, acting, not only without advice, + but against such advice as came from Henry at the last moment, and had + alienated the mother from me, lost the boy, and had sent Henry, who was + wholly innocent, to state prison for eighteen months. + </p> + <p> + The poor fellow was take to Trenton and was put into the prison where I + had spent seven months. He was almost crazy when he got there. His mother + and sister went with him, and took lodgings in the place so as to be near + him, to render him any assistance that might be in their power. + </p> + <p> + I had been idle now for some weeks in New York, and I went back to Maine, + to Biddeford, where I lad a good practice. I picked up a good deal of + money, and in two months I returned to New York to make a brief visit, and + to see if something could not be done for the release of Henry from + prison. At my solicitation a friend of mine wrote to Trenton to Henry’s + mother to come on to New York, and meet me at the Metropolitan Hotel on a + specified day, to transact some business. She came, and we met for the + first time in several years. We met now simply on business, and there was + no expression of sentiment or feeling on either side. We cared nothing for + each other. I commended her for her devotion to Henry, and then told her I + believed, if the proper efforts were made, he could be pardoned out of + prison. I told her what lawyer and other persons to see, and how to + proceed in the matter. I gave her the most minute instructions, and then + handed her five hundred dollars with which to fee her lawyer, and to pay + her and her daughter’s living expenses in Trenton. She was grateful for + the money, and was only too glad to go to work for Henry; she would have + done it long ago if she had only known what to do. We then parted, and I + have never seen the woman, since that day. + </p> + <p> + This business transacted, I at once returned to my practice at Biddeford. + Among my patients was a wealthy widow, “fat, fair, and forty,” and I had + not attended her long before a warm affection sprung up between us, and in + time, when the widow recovered, we began to think we were in love with + each other. I confess that I agreed to marry her; but it was to be at some + distant day—a very distant day as I intended—for, strange as + it may seem, and as it did seem to me, I had at last learned the lesson + that I had better let matrimony alone. I had married too many wives, + widows, milliners, and what not, already, and had suffered too severely + for so doing. I meant that my Vermont imprisonment, the worst of all, + should be the last. + </p> + <p> + So I only “courted” the widow, calling upon her almost every day, and I + was received and presented to her acquaintances as her affianced husband. + Her family and immediate friends were violently opposed to the match, + thereby showing their good sense. I was also informed that they knew + something of my previous history, and I was warned that I had better not + undertake to marry the widow. Bless their innocent hearts! I had no idea + of doing it. I was daily amazed at my own common sense. My memory was + active now; all my matrimonial mishaps of the past, with all the + consequences, were ever present to my mind, and never more present than + when was in the company of the fascinating widow. As for her, the more her + relatives opposed the match, the more she was bent upon marrying me. Her + family, she, said, were afraid they were going to lose her property, but + she would never give them a cent of it, anyhow, and she would marry when + and whom she pleased. + </p> + <p> + Not “when,” exactly; because, as she protested she would marry me, I had + something to say about it; I had been run away with by a milliner in + Vermont, and I had no idea of beings forcibly wedded by a widow in Maine. + I pleaded that my business was not sufficiently established; I was liable + to be called away from time to time; I had affairs to arrange in New York + and elsewhere before I could settle down; and so the happy day was put off + to an indefinite future time. + </p> + <p> + By-and-by I had business in Boston, and the widow declared that she would + go with me; she wanted to visit her friend’s there and do some shopping; + and without making particular mention of her intention to her relatives, + she went with me, and we were in Boston together more than two weeks. At + the end of that time she returned to Biddeford and notified her friends + treat she was married to the doctor, though she had no certificate, not + even a Troy one, to show for it. + </p> + <p> + I deemed it advisable not to go back with her, but went to Worcester for a + while. In a few days I went to Biddeford, keeping somewhat close, for I + did not care to meet any of the relatives, and at night I called upon the + widow. She told me that her family had raised a tremendous fuss about me, + and had learned as much as they, and indeed she, wanted to know about my + adventures in Vermont and New Hampshire. They had not gone back of that, + but that was enough. It was dangerous, she told me, for me to stay there; + I was sure to be arrested; I had better get away from the place as soon as + possible. We might meet again by-and-by, but unless I wanted to be + arrested I must leave, the place that very night. She gave me seven + hundred dollars, pressed the money upon me, and I parted from her, + returning to Worcester, and going from there to Boston. Besides what the + widow bad given me, I had made more than one thousand dollars in Maine, + and was comparatively well off. + </p> + <p> + Then came the joyful intelligence that Henry was released. His mother had + worked for him night and day. She bad drawn up a petition, secured a large + number of sterling signatures, had gone with her counsel to see the + Governor, had presented the petition and all the facts in the case, and + the Governor had granted a pardon. Henry served only six months of the + eighteen for which he was sentenced, and very soon after I received word + that he was free, he came to me in Boston, stayed a few days, and then + went home to his mother in Unadilla. + </p> + <p> + With the release of my son, I considered the Scheimer account closed, and + I have never made any effort to see Sarah or our boy since that time. + </p> + <p> + From Boston I went to Pittsford, Ontario County, N. Y., where I had many + friends, who knew nothing about any of my marriages or misfortunes, my + arrests or imprisonments. I went visiting merely, and enjoyed myself so + much that I stayed there nearly three months, going about the country, and + practicing a little among my friends. I was never happier than I was + during this time. I was free from prisons, free from my wives, and free + from care. As a matrimonial monomaniac I now looked upon myself as cured. + </p> + <p> + Among the friends whom I visited in Ontario County, and with whom I passed + several pleasant weeks, were two cousins of mine whom I had not seen for + many years, since we were children in fact, but who gave me a most cordial + welcome, and made much of me while I was there. They knew absolutely + nothing of my unhappy history—no unpleasant rumor even respecting + me, had ever penetrated that quiet quarter of the State. I told them what + I pleased of my past career, from boyhood to the present time, and to them + I was only a tolerably successful doctor, who made money enough to live + decently and dress well, and who was then suffering from overwork and + badly in need of recuperation. This, indeed, was the ostensible reason for + my visit to Ontario. I was somewhat shattered; my old prison trials and + troubles began to tell upon me. I used to think sometimes that I was a + little “out of my head;” I certainly was so whenever I entered upon one of + my matrimonial schemes, and I must have been as mad as a March hare when I + attempted to kidnap Sarah Scheimer’s boy. After all the excitement and + suffering of the past few years, I needed rest, and here I found it. + </p> + <p> + My cousins were more than well-to-do farmers; they were enormously rich in + lands and money. Just after the war of 1812, their father, my uncle, and + my own father, had come to this, then wild and almost uninhabited, section + of the State to settle. Soon after they arrived there my father’s wife + died, and this loss, with the general loneliness of the region, to say + nothing of the fever and ague, soon drove my father back to Delaware + County to his forge for a living, and to the day of his death he was + nothing more than a hard-working, hand-to-mouth-living, common blacksmith. + </p> + <p> + But my uncle stayed there, and, as time went on, he bought hundreds of + acres of land for a mere song, which were now immensely valuable, and had + made his children almost the richest people in that region. My Cousins + were great farmers, extensive raisers of stock, wool-growers, and + everything else that could make them prosperous. There seemed to be no end + to their wealth, and their fiat farms, spread out on every side as far as + the eye could see. + </p> + <p> + And if my father had only stayed there, I could not help but think what a + different life mine might have been. Instead of being the adventurer I + was, and had been ever since I separated from my first and worst wife—doing + well, perhaps, for a few weeks or a few months, and then blundering into a + mad marriage or other difficulty which got me into prison; well-to-do + to-day and to-morrow a beggar—I, too, might have been rich and + respectable, and should have, saved myself a world of suffering. This was + but a passing thought which did not mar my visit, or make it less pleasant + to me. I went there to be happy, not to be miserable, and for three months + I was happy indeed. + </p> + <p> + From there I went to my birthplace in Columbia County, revisiting old + scenes and the very few old friends and acquaintances who survived, or who + had not moved away. I spent a month there and thereabouts, and at the end + of that time I felt full restored to my usual good health, and was ready + to go to work again, not in the matrimonial way, but in my medical + business, that was enough for me now. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0014" id="link2HCH0014"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XIV. MY OWN SON TRIES TO MURDER ME. + </h2> + <p> + SETTLING DOWN IN MAINE—HENRY’S HEALTH—TOUR THROUGH THE SOUTH—SECESSION + TIMES—DECEMBER IN NEW ORLEANS—UP THE MISSISSIPPI—LEAVING + HENRY IN MASSACHUSETTS—BACK IN MAINE AGAIN—RETURN TO BOSTON—PROFITABLE + HORSE TRADING—PLENTY OF MONEY—MY FIRST WIFE’S CHILDREN—HOW + THEY HAD BEEN BROUGHT UP—A BAREFACED ROBBERY—ATTEMPT TO + BLACKMAIL ME—MY SON TRIES TO ROB AND KILL ME—MY RESCUE—LAST + OF THE YOUNG MAN. + </p> + <p> + Where to go, not what to do, was the next question. Wherever I might go + and establish myself, if only for a few days, or a few weeks, I was sure + to have almost immediately plenty of patients and customers enough for my + medicines—this had been my experience always—and unfortunately + for me, I was almost equally sure to get into some difficulty from which + escape was not always easy. Looking over the whole ground for a fresh + start in business, it seemed to me that Maine was the most favorable + place. Whenever I had been there I had done well; it was one of the very + few States I had lived in where I had not been in jail or in prison; nor + had I been married there, though the Biddeford widow did her best to wed + me, and it is not her fault that she did not succeed in doing it. + </p> + <p> + To Maine, then, I went, settling down in Augusta, and remaining there four + months, during which time I had as much as I could possibly attend to, and + laid by a very considerable sum of money. While I was there I heard the + most unfavorable reports with regard to the health of my eldest son Henry. + Prison life at Trenton had broken him down in body as well as in spirit, + and he had been ill, some of the time seriously, nearly all the time since + he went to Unadilla. The fact that he was entirely innocent of the offence + for which he was imprisoned, preyed upon his mind, and with the worst + results. As these stories reached me from week to week, I became anxious + and even alarmed about him, and at last I left my lucrative business in + Augusta and went to New York. I could not well go to Unadilla to visit + Henry without seeing his mother, whom I had no desire to see; so I sent + for him to come to me in the city if was able to do so. I knew that if + medicine or medical attendance would benefit him, I should be able to help + him. + </p> + <p> + In a few days he came to me in a most deplorable physical condition. He + was a mere wreck of his former self. Almost immediately he began to talk + about the attempt to abduct the boy from Oxford; how innocent he was in + the matter, and how terribly he had suffered merely because he happened to + be with me when I rashly endeavored to kidnap the lad. All this went + through me like a sharp sword. It seemed as if I was the cause, not only + of great unhappiness to myself, but of pain and misery to all who were + associated or brought in contact with me. For this poor boy, who had + endured and suffered so much on my account, I could not do enough. My + means and time must now be devoted to his recovery, if recovery, was + possible. + </p> + <p> + He was weak, but was still able to walk about, and he enjoyed riding very + much. I kept him with me in the city a week or two, taking daily rides to + the Park and into the country, and when he felt like going out in the + evening I made him go to some place of amusement with me. I had no other + business, and meant to have none, but to take care of Henry, and I devoted + myself wholly to his comfort and happiness. In a few days he had much + improved in health and spirits, so much so, that I meditated making a long + tour with him to the South, hoping that the journey there and back again + would fully restore him. + </p> + <p> + Fortunately, my recent Maine business had put me in possession of abundant + funds, and when I had matured my scheme, and saw that Henry was in + tolerable condition to travel, I proposed the trip to him, and he joyfully + assented to my plan. I wanted to get him far away, for awhile, from a part + of the country which was associated in his mind, more than in mine, with + so much misery, and he seemed quite as eager to go. Change of air and + scene I knew would do wonders for him bodily, and would build him up + again. + </p> + <p> + We made our preparations and started for the South, going first to + Baltimore and then on through the Southern States by railroad to New + Orleans. It was late in the fall of 1860, just before the rebellion, when + the south was seceding or talking secession, and was already preparing for + war. Henry’s physical condition compelled us to rest frequently on the + way, and we stopped sometimes for two or three days at a time, at nearly + every large town or city on the entire route. Everywhere there was a great + deal of excitement; meetings were held nearly every night secession was at + fever heat, and there was an unbounded expression and manifestation of + ill-feeling against the north and against northern men. Nevertheless, I + was never in any part of the Union where I was treated with so much + courtesy, consideration and genuine kindness as I was there and then. I + was going south, simply to benefit the invalid who accompanied me; + everybody seemed to know it; and everybody expressed the tenderest + sympathy for my son. Wherever we stopped, it seemed as if the people at + the hotels, from the landlord to the lowest servant, could not do enough + for us. At Atlanta, Augusta, Mobile, and other places, where we made our + stay long enough to get a little acquainted, my son and myself were daily + taken out to ride, and were shown everything of interest that was to be + seen. Henry did not enjoy this journey more than I did—to me as well + as to him, the trip was one prolonged pleasure, and by the time we reached + New Orleans nearly a month after we left New York, my son had so + recuperated that I had every hope of his speedy and full restoration. + </p> + <p> + It was the beginnings of winter when we reached New Orleans; but during + the whole month of December while we remained in that city, winter, if + indeed it was winter, which we could hardly believe, was only a + prolongation of the last beautiful autumn days we had left at the north. + Now Orleans was then at the very height of prosperity; business was brisk, + money was plenty, the ships of all nations and countless steamboats from + St. Louis, Cincinnati, Louisville and all points up the Mississippi and + Ohio rivers lay at the levee. The levee itself, from end to end, for miles + along the river front, was one mass of merchandise which had come to the + city, or was awaiting shipment. I had never seen a livelier city. + Indescribably gay, too, was New Orleans that winter. The city was full of + strangers; the hotels were thronged; there were balls every night; the + theatres were crowded, and everybody seemed bent on having a good time. + With all the rest, there was an extraordinary military furor, and militia + companies and regiments paraded the streets every day, while secession + meetings were held in various halls, or in the public squares, nearly ever + night. + </p> + <p> + From the St. Charles hotel where we stopped, St. Charles street seemed + ablaze and alive all night, and densely thronged all day. Sunday brought + no rest, for Sunday, so far as military parades, amusement and general + gaiety were concerned, was the liveliest day in the week; and Sunday night + the theatres were sure to present their best performances and to draw + their largest audiences. And so, from morning till night, and from night + till morning again, all was whirl, stir, bustle, business, enjoyment, and + excitement. To me, unaccustomed as I was to such scenes, New York even + seemed tame and dull, and slow in comparison with New Orleans. + </p> + <p> + This is a picture of the Crescent City as it presented itself to me and to + my son in the early part of the winter before the war. No one knew or even + dreamed of the terrible times that were to come. No one believed that war + was probable, or even possible; it was well enough, perhaps, to prepare + for it; but secession was to be an accomplished fact, and the North and + all the world would quietly acknowledge it. This was the general sentiment + in the city; though secession, and what would, or what might come of it, + was the general topic of talk in the hotels, in the restaurants, at the + theatres, in the streets, everywhere. Now and then some southerner with + whom I had become acquainted would try to draw me out to ascertain my + sentiments on the subject, but I always laughed, and said good naturedly: + </p> + <p> + “My dear sir, I didn’t come down here to talk about secession, but to see + if the southern climate would benefit my sick son.” + </p> + <p> + The fact was that I minded my own business, and minded it so well that + while I was in New Orleans I managed to find a few patients and sold + recipes and medicines enough to pay the entire expenses of our journey + thus far, from the North. + </p> + <p> + Almost every day my son and I drove somewhere up to Carrolton, down to the + battle-ground, or on the shell road to Lake Ponchartrain. It was a month + of genuine enjoyment to us both; of profit to me pecuniarily; and of the + best possible benefit to Henry’s health. + </p> + <p> + Early in January we took passage on one of the finest of the Mississippi + steamboats for St. Louis. The boat was crowded, and among the passengers + were a good many merchants, Northern men long resident in New Orleans, who + thought they saw trouble coming, and accordingly had closed up their + business in the Crescent City, and were now going North to stay there. We + had on board, too, the usual complement of gamblers and amateur or + professional poker-players, who kept the forward saloon near the bar, and + known in the river vernacular as the “Texas” of the boat, lively all day + long and well into the night, or rather the next morning. It was ten or + eleven days before we reached St. Louis. Nothing notable occurred on the + trip; but day after day, as we proceeded northward, and left the soft, + sunny south behind us, with the daily increasing coldness and wintry + weather, Henry seemed to decline by degrees, and gradually to lose nearly + all that he had gained since we left New York. When we reached St. Louis + he was seriously sick. I was very sorry we had come away so soon in the + season, and proposed that we should return and stay in the south till + spring; but Henry would not consent. There was nothing to be done, then, + but to hurry on to the east, and when we arrived in New York Henry would + not go home to his mother in Unadilla, but insisted upon accompanying me + to Boston. I was willing enough that he should go with me, for then I + could have him under my exclusive care; but when we arrived in Boston he + was so overcome by the excitement of travel, and was so feeble from + fatigue as well as disease, that instead of having him go with me to + Augusta, as I intended, by the advice of a friend I took him into the + country where he could be nursed, be quiet, and be well taken care of till + spring. I left him in good hands, promising to come and see him as soon as + I could, and then went back to my old business in Augusta. + </p> + <p> + It required a little time to knot the new end of that business to the end + where I had broken off three months before; but I was soon in full + practice again and was once more making and saving money. I had no + matrimonial affair in hand, no temptation in fact, and none but strictly + professional engagements to fulfil. In Augusta and in several other towns + which I visited, for the whole of the rest of the winter, I was as busy as + I could be. Early in the spring I made up my mind to run away for a week + or two, and arranged my business so that I could go down into + Massachusetts and visit Henry, hoping, if he was better, to bring him back + with me to Maine. + </p> + <p> + Two of my patients in Paris, Maine, had each given me a good horse in + payment for my attendance upon them and their families, and for what + medicines I had furnished, and I took these horses with me to sell in + Boston. I drove them down, putting a good supply of medicines in my wagon + to sell in towns on the way, and when I arrived in Boston sold out the + establishment, getting one hundred and twenty-five dollars for the wagon, + three hundred dollars for one horse, and four hundred dollars for the + other—a pretty good profit on my time and medicine for the two + patients—and I brought with me besides about eighteen hundred + dollars, the net result, above my living expenses, of about three months’ + business in Maine, and what I had done on the way down through + Massachusetts. I am thus minute about this money because it now devolves + upon me to show what sort of a family of children my first and worst wife + had brought up. + </p> + <p> + Of these children by my first marriage, my eldest son Henry, since he had + grown up, had been with me nearly as much as he had been with his mother, + and I loved him as I did my life. Since he became of age, at such times + when I was not in prison, or otherwise unavoidably separated from him, we + had been associated in business, and had traveled and lived together. I + knew all about him; but of the rest of the children I knew next to + nothing. Shortly after I sold my horses, one day I was in my room at the + hotel, when word was brought to me that some one in the parlor wanted to + see me. + </p> + <p> + I went down and found a young man, about twenty-one years of age, who + immediately came to me addressing me as “father,” and he then presented a + young woman, about two years older than he was, as his sister and my + daughter. I had not seen this young gentleman since the time when I had + carried him off from school and from the farmer to whom he was bound, and + had clothed him and taken him with me to Amsterdam and Troy, subsequently + sending him to my half-sister at Sidney. The ragged little lad, as I found + him, had grown up into a stout, good-looking young man; but I had no + difficulty in recognizing him, though I was much at loss to know the + precise object of this visit; so after shaking hands with them, and asking + then how they were, I next inquired what they wanted? + </p> + <p> + Well, they had been to see Henry, and he was a great deal better. + </p> + <p> + I told them I was very glad to hear it, and that I was then on my way to + visit him, and hoped to see him in a few days, as soon as I could finish + my business in Boston; if Henry was as well as they reported I should + bring him away with me. + </p> + <p> + “But if you are busy here,” said my young man, “we can save you both time + and trouble. We will go to Henry again and settle his bills for board and + other expenses, and will bring him with us to you at this hotel.” + </p> + <p> + This, at the time, really seemed to me a kindly offer; it would enable me + to stay in Boston and attend to business I had to do, and Henry would come + there with his brother and sister in a day or two. I at once assented to + the plan, and taking my well-filled pocket-book from the inside breast + pocket of my coat, I counted out two hundred and fifty dollars and gave + them to the young man to pay Henry’s board, doctor’s and other bills, and + the necessary car fares for the party. They then left me and started, as I + supposed, to go after Henry. + </p> + <p> + But a few days went on and I saw and heard nothing of Henry. At last word + came to me one day that some one down stairs wanted to see me and I told + the servant to send him to my room, hoping that it might be Henry. But no; + it was my young man, of whom I instantly demanded: + </p> + <p> + “Where is your brother, whom you were to bring to me a week ago? What have + you done with the money I gave you for his bills?” + </p> + <p> + “I hadn’t been near Henry; sister has gone home; and I’ve spent the money + on a spree, every cent of it, here in Boston, and I want more.” + </p> + <p> + “Want more!” I exclaimed in blank amazement: + </p> + <p> + “Yes, more; and if you don’t give it to me, I’ll follow you wherever you + go, and tell people all I know about you.” + </p> + <p> + “You scoundrel,” said I, “you come here and rob, not me, but your poor, + sick brother, and then return and attempt to blackmail me. Get out of my + sight this instant.” + </p> + <p> + He sprung on me, and made a desperate effort to get my money out of my + pocket. We had a terrible struggle. He was younger and stronger than I + was, and as I felt that I was growing weaker I called out loudly for help + and shouted “Murder!” + </p> + <p> + The landlord himself came running into the room; I succeeded in tearing + myself away, from the grasp of my assailant, and the landlord felled him + to the floor with a chair. He then ran to the door and called to a servant + to bring a policeman. + </p> + <p> + “No, don’t!” I exclaimed; “Don’t arrest the villain, for I can make no + complaint against him—he is my son!” + </p> + <p> + But the landlord was bound to have some satisfaction out of the affair; so + he dragged the young man into the hall and kicked him from the top of the + stairs to the bottom, where, as soon as he had picked himself up, a + convenient servant kicked him out into the street. I have never set eyes + on my young man since his somewhat sudden departure from that hotel. + </p> + <p> + And when I went to visit my poor Henry a day or two afterwards, I can + hardly say that I was surprised, though I was indignant to learn that his + brother and sister had never been near him at all since he had been in + Massachusetts. They knew where and how he was from his letter’s to his + mother; they knew, too, from the same letters—for I had notified + Henry—at what time I would be in Boston, and with this information + they had come on to swindle me. I have no doubt, when the young man came + the second time to rob me, he would have murdered me, if the landlord had + not come to my assistance. And this was the youngest son of my first and + worst wife!! + </p> + <p> + I found Henry in better condition than I expected, and I took him back + with me to Augusta. I did not tell him of his brother’s attempt to rob and + kill. Me—it would have been too great a shock for him. He stayed + with me only a few days and then, complaining of being homesick, he went + to visit his mother again. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0015" id="link2HCH0015"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER XV. A TRUE WIFE AND HOME, AT LAST. + </h2> + <p> + WHERE WERE ALL MY WIVES?—SENSE OF SECURITY—AN IMPRUDENT + ACQUAINTANCE—MOVING FROM MAINE—MY PROPERTY IN RENSSELAER + COUNTY—HOW I LIVED—SELLING A RECIPE—ABOUT BUYING A + CARPET—NINETEEN LAW—SUITS—SUDDEN DEPARTURE FOR THE WEST—A + VAGABOND FOR TWO YEARS—LIFE IN CALIFORNIA—RETURN TO THE EAST—DIVORCE + FROM MY FIRST WIFE—A GENUINE MARRIAGE—MY FARM—HOME AT + LAST. + </p> + <p> + I remained in Maine nearly two years, hardly ever going out of the State, + except occasionally to Boston on business. Making Augusta my residence and + headquarters, I practiced in Portland and in nearly all the towns and + cities in the eastern part of the State. During all this time, I behaved + myself, in all respects better than I had ever before done in any period + of my life. I began to look upon myself as a reformed man; I had learned + to let liquor alone, and was consequently in far less, indeed, next to no + danger of stepping into the traps in which my feet had been so often + caught. I may as well confess it—it was intoxicating liquor, and + that mainly, which had led me into my various mad marrying schemes and + made me the matrimonial monomaniac and lunatic lover that I was for years. + What my folly, my insanity caused me to suffer, these pages have attempted + to portray. I had grown older, wiser, and certainly better. I now only + devoted myself strictly to my business, and I found profit as well as + pleasure in doing it. + </p> + <p> + What had become of all my wives in the meantime, I scarcely knew and + hardly cared. Of course from time to time I had heard more or less about + them—at least, a rumor of some sort now and then reached me. About + my first and worst wife, at intervals I heard something from Henry, who + was still with her, and who frequently wrote to me when he was well enough + to do so. Margaret Bradley and Eliza Gurnsey were still carrying on the + millinery business in Rutland, and in Montpelier, and were no doubt + weaving other and new webs in hopes of catching fresh flies. Mary Gordon, + as I learned soon afterwards, was married almost before I had fairly + escaped from New Hampshire in my flight to Canada, and she had gone to + California with her new husband. Of the Newark widow I knew nothing; but + two years of peace, quiet, and freedom from molestation in Maine had made + me feel quite secure against any present or future trouble from my past + matrimonial misadventures. + </p> + <p> + I was living in Maine, prudently I think under an assumed name, and as the + respectable, and, to my patients and customers, well-known Doctor Blank, I + was scarcely liable to be recognized at any time or by any one as the man + who had married so many wives, been in so many jails and prisons, and + whose exploits had been detailed from time to time in the papers. + </p> + <p> + Nor, all this while, did I have the slightest fear of detection. I looked + upon myself as a victim rather than as a criminal, and for what I had + done, and much that I had not done, I had more than paid the penalty. So + far as all my business transactions were concerned, my course had always + been honorable, and in my profession, for my cures and for my medicines, I + enjoyed a good reputation which all my efforts were directed to deserve. + </p> + <p> + Of course, now and then, I met people in Portland, and especially in + Boston, who had known me in former years, and who knew something of my + past life; but these were generally my friends who sympathized with my + sufferings, or who, at least, were willing to blot out the past in my + better behavior of the present. One day in Boston a young man came up to + me and said: + </p> + <p> + “How do you do, Doctor?” + </p> + <p> + “Quite well,” I replied; “but you have the advantage of me; I am sure I do + not remember you, if I ever knew you.” + </p> + <p> + “You don’t remember me! Why, I am the son of the jailer in Montpelier with + whom you spent so many months before you went to Windsor; I knew you in a + minute, and Doctor, I’ve been in Boston a week and have got ‘strapped;’ + how to get back to Montpelier I don’t know, unless you will lend me five + or six dollars which I will send back to you the moment I get home.” + </p> + <p> + “I remember you well, now,” said I; “you are the little rascal who + wouldn’t even go and buy me a cigar unless I gave you a dime for doing it; + and then, sometimes, you cheated me out of my money; I wouldn’t lend you a + dollar now if it would save you from six month’s imprisonment in your + father’s filthy jail. Good morning.” + </p> + <p> + And that was the last I saw of him. + </p> + <p> + I was getting tired of Maine. I had been there longer than I had stayed in + any place, except in the Vermont State Prison, for the past fifteen years, + and I began to long for fresh scenes and a fresh field for practice. I had + accumulated some means, and thought I might take life a little easier—make + a home for myself somewhere, practicing my profession when I wanted to, + and at other times enjoying the leisure I loved and really needed. So I + closed up my business in Augusta and Portland, put my money in my pocket, + and once more went out into the world on a prospecting tour. My first idea + was to go to the far West, and I went to Troy with the intention of + staying there a few days, and then bidding farewell to the East forever. + The New England States presented no attractions to me; I had exhausted + Maine, or rather it had exhausted me; New Hampshire, Vermont, and + Massachusetts had too many unpleasant associations, if indeed they were + safe states for me, with my record to live in, and Connecticut I knew very + little about. Certainly I had no intention of trying to settle in New + Jersey or Pennsylvania. The west was the place; anywhere in the west. + </p> + <p> + Here was I in Troy, revolving plans in my own mind for migrating to the + west, just as Mary Gordon and I had done in the very same hotel, only a + few years before; and in the course of a week I came to exactly the same + conclusion that Mary and I did—not to go. I heard of a small farm—it + was a very small one of only twelve acres—which could be bought in + Rensselaer County, not more than sixteen miles from Albany and Troy. I + went to see the place, liked it, and bought it for sixteen hundred + dollars. There was a small but good house and a barn on the place, and + altogether it was a cheap and desirable property. I got a good + housekeeper, hired a man, and began to carry on this little farm, raising + garden vegetables and fruit mainly, and sending them to market in Albany + and Troy. Generally I took my own stuff to market, and sold medicines and + recipes as well, and in Albany I had a first rate practice which I went to + that city to attend to once or twice a week. While my man was selling + vegetables and fruit—I remember I sold a hundred dollars worth of + cherries from my farm the first summer—in the market, I was Doctor + Blank receiving my patients at Stanwix Hall, or calling upon them at their + residences; and when the day’s work was over, my man and I rode home in + the wagon which had brought us and the garden truck early in the morning. + On the whole, this kind of life was exceedingly satisfactory, and I liked + it. + </p> + <p> + I made frequent expeditions to Saratoga and to other places not far from + home to attend to cases to which I was called, and to sell medicines; and + considering that the main object I had in settling in Rensselaer County + was rest and more leisure than I had enjoyed for some years, I had a great + deal more to do than I desired. Nevertheless, I might have continued to + live on my little farm, raising vegetables, picking cherries, and + practicing medicine in the neighborhood, had not the fate, which seemed to + insist that I should every little while come before a court of justice for + something or other, followed me even here. A certain hardware dealer in + Albany, with whom I had become acquainted, proposed to buy one of my + recipes, and to go into an extensive manufacture of the medicine. He had + read and heard of the fortunes that had been made in patent medicines, by + those who understand the business, and he thought he would see if he could + not get rich in a year or less in the same way. + </p> + <p> + After some solicitation I sold him the recipe for one thousand dollars, + receiving six hundred dollars down, and a promise of the balance when the + first returns from sales of the medicine came in. I also entered into a + contract to show the man how to make the medicine, and to give him such + advice and assistance in his new business as I could. My hardware friend + understood his legitimate business better than he did that which he had + undertaken, and although be learned how to manufacture the medicine he did + not know how to sell it; and after trying it a few weeks, and doing next + to nothing, he turned upon me as the author of his misfortunes and sued me + for damages. + </p> + <p> + Incidental to this, and only incidental, is the following: Shortly after I + purchased my property, as I was very fond of calling my little farm, in + Rensselaer County, I was in Albany one day when it occurred to me that I + wanted a carpet for my parlor. I went to the store of a well-known + carpet-dealer, and asked to be shown some of his goods. While I was going + through the establishment I came across a man who was industriously sewing + together the lengths of a cut carpet, and I recognized in him one of my + fellow convicts at Windsor. He, however, did not know me, and I doubt if + he could have been convinced of my identity as the wretch who plied the + broom in the halls of the prison. To him, as he glanced at me, I was only + a well-dressed gentleman whom the proprietor was courteously showing + through the establishment in the hope of securing a good customer. It was + this little circumstance, I think—my chance meeting with my old + fellow-prisoner, and my changed circumstances and appearance which put me + beyond recognition by him—that prompted me to the somewhat brazen + business that followed: + </p> + <p> + “I only came in to look to-day,” I said to the carpet-dealer; “for the + precise sum of money in my pocket at present is eighteen pence, and no + more; but if you will cut me off forty yards of that piece of carpeting, + and trust me for it, I will pay your bill in a few days, as sure as I + live.” + </p> + <p> + My frank statement with regard to my finances seemed to attract the + attention of the merchant who laughed and said: + </p> + <p> + “Well, who are you, anyhow? Where do you live?” + </p> + <p> + I told him that I was Doctor Blank; that I lived in Rensselaer county on a + small place of my own; I raised fruit and vegetables for market; I cured + cancers, dropsy, and other diseases when I could; sold medicines readily + almost where I would; and was in Albany once or twice a week. + </p> + <p> + “Measure and cut off the carpet,” said he to the clerk who was following + us, “and put it in the Doctor’s wagon” + </p> + <p> + The bill was about a hundred dollars, and I drove home with the carpet. It + was nearly six weeks afterwards when I went into the store again, and + greeted the proprietor. He had seen me but once before and had totally + forgotten me. I told him I was Doctor Blank, small farmer and large + medical practitioner of Rensselaer County. + </p> + <p> + “The devil you are! Why, you’re the man that bought a carpet of me a few + weeks ago; I was wondering what had become of you.” + </p> + <p> + “I’m the man, and I must tell you that the carpet doesn’t look well; but + never mind—here’s a hundred dollars, and I want you to receipt the + bill.” + </p> + <p> + “Now,” said I, when he returned the bill to me receipted, “the carpet + looks firstrate; I never saw a handsomer one in my life.” + </p> + <p> + “Well, you are an odd chap, any how,” said the carpet-dealer, laughing, + and shaking me by the hand. Almost from that moment we were more than mere + acquaintances, we were fast friends. In the course of the long + conversation that followed, I told him of my trouble with the hardware man—how + I had sold him the recipe; that he had failed, from ignorance to conduct + the business properly, and had sued me for damages. + </p> + <p> + “I know the man,” said my new friend; “let him go ahead and sue and be + benefited, if he can; meanwhile, do you keep easy; I’ll stand by you.” + </p> + <p> + And stand by me he did through thick and thin. The hardware man sued me no + less than nineteen times, and for pretty much everything—damages, + debt, breach of contract, and what not. With the assistance of a lawyer + whom my friend recommended to me, I beat my opponent in eighteen + successive suits; but as fast as one suit was decided he brought another, + almost before I could get out of the court room. At last he carried the + case to the Supreme Court, and from there it went to a referee. The matter + from beginning to end, must have cost him a mint of money; but he went on + regardless of the costs which he hoped and expected to get out of me at + last. + </p> + <p> + My long and painful experience, covering many years, had given me a pretty + thorough knowledge of the law’s uncertainty, as well as the law’s delay, + and very early in the course of the present suit, I had quietly disposed + of my property in Rensselaer County. I sold the little farm, which cost me + sixteen hundred dollars, for twenty-one hundred dollars, and I had had, + besides, the profits of nearly two years’ farming and a good living from + and on the place. I also arranged all my money matters in a manner that I + felt assured would be satisfactory to me, if not to my opponent, and then, + following the advice of my friend, the carpet-dealer, I let the hardware + man sue and be “benefited if he could.” When, however, the case went + finally to a referee who was certain, I felt sure, to decide against me, I + took no further personal interest in the matter, nor have I ever troubled + myself to learn the filial decision. I made up my mind in a moment and + decided that the time had come, at last, when it was advisable for me to + go to the West. + </p> + <p> + Westward I went, towards sunset almost, and for the two following years I + led, I fear, what would be considered a very vagabond life. I went to + Utah, thinking while I was in Salt Lake City, if they only knew my history + there I was sure to be elected an apostle, or should be, at any rate, a + shining light in Mormondom—only I had taken my wives in regular + succession, and had not assembled the throng together. I pushed across the + plains, and went to California, remaining a long time in San Francisco. + This may have been vagabondism, but it was profitable vagabondism to me. + During this long wandering I held no communication with my friends in the + East; friends and foes alike had an opportunity to forget me, or if they + thought of me they did not know whether I was dead or alive; they + certainly never knew, all the time, where I was; and while I was + journeying I never once met a man or woman who had been acquainted with me + in the past. All the time, too, I had plenty of money; indeed, when, I + returned at last I was richer far than I was when I left Albany, and left + as the common saying graphically expresses it, “between two days.” I had + my old resources of recipes, medicines and my profession, and these I + used, and had plenty of opportunity to use, to the best advantage. I could + have settled in San Francisco for life with the certainty of securing a + handsome annual income. I never feared coming to want. If I had lost my + money and all other resources had failed, I was not afraid to make a + horse-nail or turn a horse-shoe with the best blacksmith in California, + and I could have got my living, as I did for many a year, at the forge and + anvil. + </p> + <p> + But I made more money in other and easier ways, and I made friends. In + every conceivable way my two years’ wandering was of far more benefit to + me than I dreamed of when I wildly set out for the West without knowing + exactly where, or for what, I was going. The new country, too, had given + me, not only a fresh fund of ideas, but a new stock of health—morally + and physically I was in better condition than I ever was before in my + life. I had a clear head; a keen sense of my past follies; a vivid + consciousness of the consequences which such follies, crimes they may be + called, are almost certain to bring. I flattered myself that I was not + only a reformed prisoner, but a reformed drunkard, and a thoroughly + restored matrimonial monomaniac. + </p> + <p> + And when I returned, at last, to the East, and went once more to visit my + near and dear friends in Ontario County, I was received as one who had + come back from the dead. When I had been here a few weeks, and had + communicated to my cousins so much of the story of my life as I then + thought advisable, I took good counsel and finally did what I ought to + have done long years before. I commenced proper legal proceedings for a + divorce from my first and worst wife. I do not need to dwell upon the + particulars; it is enough to say, that the woman, who was then living, so + far from opposing me, aided me all she could, even making affidavit to her + adultery with the hotel clerk at Bainbridge, long ago, and I easily + secured my full and complete divorce. Now I was, indeed, a free man—all + the other wives whom I had married, or who had married me, whether I would + or no, were as nothing; some were dead and others were again married. It + may be that this new, and to me strange sense of freedom, legitimate + freedom, set me to thinking that I might now secure a genuine and true + wife, who would make a new home happy to me as long as we both should + live. + </p> + <p> + Fortune, not fate now, followed me, led me rather and guided my footsteps. + It was not many months before I met a woman who seemed to me in every way + calculated to fill the first place in that home which I had pictured as a + final rest after all my woes and wanderings. From mutual esteem our + acquaintance soon ripened into mutual love. She was all that my heart + could desire. I was tolerably well off; my position was reputable; my + connections were respectable. To us, and to our friends, the match seemed + a most desirable one. It was no hasty courtship; we knew each other for + months and learned to know each other well; and with true love for each + other, we had for each other a genuine respect. I frankly told her the + whole story of my life as I have now written it. She only pitied my + misfortunes, pardoned my errors, and, one bright, golden, happy autumn + day, we were married. + </p> + <p> + In the northeastern part of the State of New York on the banks of a broad + and beautiful river, spread out far and near the fertile acres of one of + the finest farms in the country. It is well stocked and well tilled. The + surrounding country is charming—game in the woods, and fish in the + streams afford abundant sport, and the region is far away from large + cities, and remote even from railroads. I do not know of a more delightful + place in the whole world to live in. On the farm I speak of, a cottage + roof covers a peaceful, happy family, where content and comfort always + seem to reign supreme. A noble woman, a most worthy wife is mistress of + that house; joyous children move and play among the trees that shade the + lawns; and the head of the household, the father of the family, is the + happiest of thee group. + </p> + <p> + That farm, that family, that cottage, that wife, that happy home are mine—all + mine. I have found a true wife and a real home at last. + </p> + <p> + My story is told; and if it should suggest to the reader the moral which + is too obvious to need rehearsal, one object I had in telling the story + will have been accomplished. + </p> + <p> + THE END. <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg’s Seven Wives and Seven Prisons, by L.A. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Seven Wives and Seven Prisons + +Author: L.A. Abbott + +Release Date: November, 2003 [Etext #4667] +Posting Date: January 27, 2010 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SEVEN WIVES AND SEVEN PRISONS *** + + + + +Produced by Charles Aldarondo + + + + + +SEVEN WIVES AND SEVEN PRISONS + +Or Experiences In The Life Of A Matrimonial Maniac. A True Story. +Written By Himself. + + +By L.A. Abbott + + +New York: + +Published For The Author. 1870. + + + +CONTENTS + + +CHAPTER 1. THE FIRST AND WORST WIFE My Early History. The First +Marriage. Leaving Home to Prospect. Sending for My Wife. Her Mysterious +Journey. Where I Found Her. Ten Dollars for Nothing. A Fascinating Hotel +Clerk. My Wife's Confession. From Bad to Worse. Final Separation. Trial +for Forgery. A Private Marriage. Summary Separation. + +CHAPTER II. MISERIES FROM MY SECOND MARRIAGE. Love-Making in +Massachusetts. Arrest for Bigamy. Trial at Northampton. A Stunning +Sentence. Sent to State Prison. Learning the Brush Business. Sharpening +Picks. Prison Fare. In the Hospital. Kind Treatment. Successful +Horse-Shoeing. The Warden my Friend. Efforts for my Release. A Full +Pardon. + +CHAPTER III. THE SCHEIMER SENSATION. The Scheimer Family. In Love +With Sarah. Attempt to Elope. How it was Prevented. Second Attempt. A +Midnight Expedition. The Alarm. A Frightful Beating. Escape, Flogging +the Devil out of Sarah. Return to New Jersey. "Boston Yankee." Plans to +Secure Sarah. + +CHAPTER IV. SUCCESS WITH SARAH. Mary Smith as a Confederate. The Plot. +Waiting in the Woods. The Spy Outwitted. Sarah Secured. The Pursuers +Baffled. Night on the Road. Efforts to Get Married. "The Old Offender." +Married at Last. A Constable after Sarah. He Gives it Up. An Ale Orgie. +Return to "Boston Yankee's." A Home in Goshen. + +CHAPTER V. HOW THE SCHEIMERS MADE ME SUFFER. Return to Scheimer's. +Peace, and then Pandemonium. Frightful Family Row. Running for Refuge. +The Gang Again. Arrest at Midnight. Struggle with my Captors. In Jail +Once More. Put in Irons. A Horrible Prison. Breaking Out. The Dungeon. +Sarah's Baby.. Curious Compromises. Old Scheimer my Jailer. Signing a +Bond. Free Again. Last Words from Sarah. + +CHAPTER VI. FREE LIFE AND FISHING. Taking Care of Crazy Men. Carrying +off a Boy. Arrested for Stealing my Own Horse and Buggy. Fishing in Lake +Winnepisiogee. An Odd Landlord. A Woman as Big as a Hogshead. Reducing +the Hogshead to a Barrel. Wonderful Verification of a Dream. Successful +Medical Practice. A Busy Winter in New Hampshire. Blandishments of +Captain Brown. I go to Newark, New Jersey. + +CHAPTER VII. WEDDING A WIDOW AND THE CONSEQUENCES. I Marry a Widow. +Six Weeks of Happiness. Confiding a Secret, and the Consequences. The +Widow's Brother. Sudden Flight from Newark. In Hartford, Conn. My +Wife's Sister Betrays Me. Trial for Bigamy. Sentenced to Ten Years' +Imprisonment. I Become a "Bobbin Boy." A Good Friend. Governor Price +Visits me in Prison. He Pardons Me. Ten Years' Sentence Fulfilled in +Seven Months. + +CHAPTER VIII. ON THE KEEN SCENT. Good Resolutions. Enjoying Freedom. +Going After a Crazy Man. The Old Tempter in a New Form. Mary Gordon. +My New "Cousin." Engaged Again. Visit to the Old Folks at Home. Another +Marriage. Starting for Ohio. Change of Plans. Domestic Quarrels. +Unpleasant Stories about Mary. Bound Over to Keep the Peace. Another +Arrest for Bigamy. A Sudden Flight. Secreted Three Weeks in a Farm +House. Recaptured at Concord. Escaped Once More. Traveling on the +Underground Railroad. In Canada. + +CHAPTER IX. MARRYING TWO MILLINERS. Back in Vermont. Fresh Temptations. +Margaret Bradley. Wine and Women. A Mock Marriage in Troy. The False +Certificate. Medicine and Millinery. Eliza Gurnsey. A Spree at Saratoga. +Marrying Another Milliner. Again Arrested for Bigamy. In Jail Eleven +Months. A Tedious Trial. Found Guilty. Appeal to Supreme Court. Trying +to Break Out of Jail. A Governor's Promise. Second Trial. Sentenced to +Three Years' Imprisonment. + +CHAPTER X. PRISON LIFE IN VERMONT. Entering Prison. The Scythe Snath +Business. Blistered Hands. I Learn Nothing. Threaten to Kill the Shop +Keeper. Locksmithing. Open Rebellion. Six Weeks in the Dungeon. Escape +of a Prisoner. In the Dungeon Again. The Mad Man Hall. He Attempts +to Murder the Deputy. I Save Morey's Life. Howling in the Black Hole. +Taking Off Hall's Irons. A Ghastly Spectacle. A Prison Funeral. I am Let +Alone. The Full Term of my Imprisonment. + +CHAPTER XI. ON THE TRAMP. The Day of my Deliverance. Out of Clothes. +Sharing with a Beggar. A Good Friend. Tramping Through the Snow. Weary +Walks. Trusting to Luck. Comfort at Concord. At Meredith Bridge. The +Blaisdells. Last of the "Blossom" Business. Making Money at Portsmouth. +Revisiting Windsor. An Astonished Warden. Making Friends of Enemies. +Inspecting the Prison. Going to Port Jervis. + +CHAPTER XII. ATTEMPT TO KIDNAP SARAH SCHEIMER'S BOY. Starting to See +Sarah. The Long Separation. What I Learned About Her. Her Drunken +Husband. Change of Plan. A Suddenly-Formed Scheme. I Find Sarah's Son. +The First Interview. Resolve to Kidnap the Boy. Remonstrance of my Son +Henry. The Attempt. A Desperate Struggle. The Rescue. Arrest of Henry. +My Flight into Pennsylvania. Sending Assistance to my Son. Return to +Port Jervis. Bailing Henry. His Return to Belvidere. He is Bound Over to +be Tried for Kidnapping. My folly. + +CHAPTER XIII. ANOTHER WIDOW. Waiting for the Verdict. My Son Sent to +State Prison. What Sarah Would Have Done. Interview with my First Wife. +Help for Henry. The Biddeford Widow. Her Effort to Marry Me. Our Visit +to Boston. A Warning. A Generous Gift. Henry Pardoned. Close of the +Scheimer Account. Visit to Ontario County. My Rich Cousins. What Might +Have Been. My Birthplace Revisited. + +CHAPTER XIV. MY SON TRIES TO MURDER ME. Settling Down in Maine. Henry's +Health. Tour Through the South. Secession Times. December in New +Orleans. Up the Mississippi. Leaving Henry in Massachusetts. Back in +Maine Again. Return to Boston, Profitable Horse-Trading. Plenty of +Money. My First Wife's Children. How they Have Been Brought Up. A +Barefaced Robbery. Attempt to Blackmail Me. My Son Tries to Rob and Kill +Me. My Rescue Last of the Young Man. + +CHAPTER XV. A TRUE WIFE AND HOME AT LAST. Where Were All my Wives? Sense +of Security. An Imprudent Acquaintance. Moving from Maine. My Property +in Rensselaer County. How I Lived. Selling a Recipe. About Buying a +Carpet. Nineteen Lawsuits. Sudden Departure for the West. A Vagabond +Life for Two Years. Life in California. Return to the East. Divorce from +any First Wife. A Genuine Marriage. My Farm. Home at Last. + + + + +SEVEN WIVES AND SEVEN PRISONS + + + +CHAPTER I. THE FIRST AND WORST WIFE + +My Early History--THE FIRST MARRIAGE--LEAVING HOME TO PROSPECT--SENDING +FOR MY WIFE--HER MYSTERIOUS JOURNEY--WHERE I FOUND HER--TEN DOLLARS FOR +NOTHING--A FASCINATING HOTEL CLERK--MY WIFE'S CONFESSION--FROM BAD TO +WORSE--FINAL SEPARATION--TRIAL FOR FORGERY--A PRIVATE MARRIAGE--SUMMARY +SEPARATION. + + + +SOME one has said that if any man would faithfully write his +autobiography, giving truly his own history and experiences, the ills +and joys, the haps and mishaps that had fallen to his lot, he could not +fail to make an interesting story; and Disraeli makes Sidonia say +that there is romance in every life. How much romance, as well as sad +reality, there is in the life of a man who, among other experiences, +has married seven wives, and has been seven times in prison--solely on +account of the seven wives, may be learned from the pages that follow. + +I was born in the town of Chatham, Columbia County, New York, in +September, 1813. My father was a New Englander, who married three times, +and I was the eldest son of his third wife, a woman of Dutch descent, +or, as she would have boosted if she had been rich, one of the +old Knickerbockers of New York. My parents were simply honest, +hard--working, worthy people, who earned a good livelihood, brought up +their children to work, behaved themselves, and were respected by their +neighbors. They had a homestead and a small farm of thirty acres, and on +the place was a blacksmith shop in which my father worked daily, shoeing +horses and cattle for farmers and others who came to the shop from miles +around. + +There were three young boys of us at home, and we had a chance to go to +school in the winter, while during the summer we worked on the little +farm and did the "chores" about the house and barn. But by the time I +was twelve years old I began to blow and strike in the blacksmith +shop, and when I was sixteen years old I could shoe horses well, and +considered myself master of the trade. At the age of eighteen, I went +into business with my father, and as I was now entitled to a share +of the profits, I married the daughter of a well-to-do neighboring +farmer, and we began our new life in part of my father's house, setting +up for ourselves, and doing our own house-keeping. + +I ought to have known then that marrying thus early in life, and +especially marrying the woman I did, was about the most foolish thing +I could do. I found it out afterwards, and was frequently and painfully +reminded of it through many long years. But all seemed bright enough +at the start. My wife was a good-looking woman of just my own age; her +family was most respectable; two of her brothers subsequently became +ministers of the gospel; and all the children had been carefully brought +up. I was thought to have made a good match; but a few years developed +that had wedded a most unworthy woman. + +Seventeen months after our marriage, our oldest child, Henry, was born. +Meanwhile we had gone to Sidney, Delaware County, where my father opened +a shop. I still continued in business with him, and during our stay at +Sidney, my daughter, Elizabeth, was born. From Sidney, my father wanted +to go to Bainbridge, Chenango, County, N.Y., and I went with him, +leaving my wife and the children at Sidney, while we prospected. As +usual my father started a blacksmith-shop; but I bought a hundred acres +of timber land, went to lumbering, and made money. We had a house about +four miles from the village, I living with my father, and as soon as +found out that we were doing well in business, I sent to Sidney for +my wife and children. They were to come by stage, and were due, after +passing through Bainbridge, at our house at four o'clock in the morning. +We were up early to meet the stage; but when it arrived, the driver told +us that my wife had stopped at the public house in Bainbridge. + +Wondering what this could mean, I at once set out with my brother and +walked over to the village. It was daylight when we arrived, and knocked +loudly at the public house door. After considerable delay, the clerk +came to the door and let us in. He also asked as to "take something," +which we did. The clerk knew us well, and I inquired if my wife was in +the house; he said she was, told us what room she was in, and we went up +stairs and found her in bed with her children. Waking her, I asked her +why she did not come home, in the stage? She replied that the clerk down +stairs told her that the stage did not go beyond the house, and that she +expected to walk over, as soon as it was daylight, or that possibly we +might come for her. + +I declare, I was so young and unsophisticated that I suspected nothing, +and blamed only the stupidity, as I supposed, of the clerk in telling +her that the stage did not go beyond Bainbridge. My wife got up and +dressed herself and the children, and then as it was broad daylight, +after endeavoring, ineffectually, to get a conveyance, we started for +home on foot, she leading the little boy, and I carrying the youngest +child. We were not far on our way when she suddenly stopped, stooped +down, and exclaimed: + +"O! see what I have found in the road." + +And she showed me a ten dollar bill. I was quite surprised, and +verdantly enough, advised looking around for more money, which my wife, +brother and I industriously did for some minutes. It was full four weeks +before I found out where that ten dollar bill came from. Meanwhile, my +wife was received and was living in her new home, being treated with +great kindness by all of us. It was evident, however, that she had +something on her mind which troubled her, and one morning, about a +month after her arrival, I found her in tears. I asked her what was the +matter? She said that she had been deceiving me; that she did not pick +up the ten dollar bill in the road; but that it was given to her by the +clerk in the public house in Bainbridge; only, however, for this: he +had grossly insulted her; she had resented it, and he had given her the +money, partly as a reparation, and partly to prevent her from speaking +of the insult to me or to others. + +But by this time my hitherto blinded eyes were opened, and I charged +her with being false to me. She protested she had not been; but finally +confessed that she had been too intimate with the clerk at the hotel. +I began a suit at law against the clerk; but finally, on account of my +wife's family and for the sake of my children, I stopped proceedings, +the clerk paying the costs of the suit as far as it had gone, and giving +me what I should probably have got from him in the way of damages. My +wife too, was apparently so penitent, and I was so much infatuated with +her, that I forgave her, and even consented to continue to live with +her. But I removed to Greenville, Greene County, N. Y., where I went +into the black-smithing business, and was very successful. We lived +here long enough to add two children to our little family; but as time +went on, the woman became bad again, and displayed the worst depravity. +I could no longer live with her, and we finally mutually agreed upon +a life-long separation--she insisting upon keeping the children, and +going to Rochester where she subsequently developed the full extent of +her character. + +This, as nearly as I remember, was in the year 1838, and with this came +a new trouble upon me. Just before the separation, I received from my +brother's wife a note for one hundred dollars, and sold it. It proved to +be a forgery. I was temporarily in Troy, N. Y., when the discovery +was made, and as I made no secret of my whereabouts at any time, I was +followed to Troy, was there arrested, and after lying in jail at Albany +one night, was taken next morning to Coxsackie, Greene County, and front +thence to Catskill. After one day in jail there, I was brought before a +justice and examined on the charge of uttering a forged note. There was +a most exciting trial of four days duration. I had two good lawyers who +did their best to show that I did not know the note to be forged when +I sold it, but the justice seemed determined to bind me over for +trial, and he did so, putting me under five hundred dollars' bonds. My +half-sister at Sidney was sent for, came to Catskill, and became bail +for me. I was released, and my lawyers advised me to leave, which I did +at once, and went to Pittsfield, and from there to Worthington, +Mass., where I had another half-sister, who was married to Mr. Josiah +Bartlett, and was well off. + +Here I settled down, for all that I knew to the contrary, for life. For +some years past, I had devoted my leisure hours from the forge to +the honest endeavor to make up for the deficiencies in my youthful +education, and had acquired, among other things, a good knowledge +of medicine. I did not however, believe in any of the "schools" +particularly those schools that make use of mineral medicines in +their practice. I favored purely vegetable remedies, and had been very +successful in administering them. So I began life anew, in Worthington, +as a Doctor, and aided by my half-sister and her friends, I soon +secured a remunerative practice. + +I was beginning to be truly happy. I supposed that the final separation, +mutually agreed upon between my wife and myself, was as effectual as all +the courts in the country could make it, and I looked upon myself as +a free man. Accordingly, after I had been in Worthington some months I +began to pay attentions to the daughter of a flourishing farmer. She was +a fine girl; she received my addresses favorably, and we were finally +privately married. This was the beginning of my life-long troubles. In +a few weeks her father found out that I had been previously married, and +was not, so far as he knew, either a divorced man or a widower. And +so it happened, that one day when I was at his house, and with his +daughter, he suddenly came home with a posse of people and a warrant for +my arrest. I was taken before a justice, and while we were waiting for +proceedings to begin, or, possibly for the justice to arrive, I took the +excited father aside and said: + +"You know I have a fine horse and buggy at the door. Get in with me, and +ride down home. I will see your daughter and make everything right with +her, and if you will let me run away, I'll give her her the horse and +buggy." + +The offer was too tempting to be refused. The father had the warrant in +his pocket, and he accepted my proposal. We rode to his house, and he +went into the back-room by direction of his daughter while she and I +talked in the hall. I explained matters as well as I could; I promised +to see her again, and that very soon. My horse and buggy were at the +door. Hastily bidding my new and young wife "good-bye," I sprang into +the buggy and drove rapidly away. The father rushed to the door and +raised a great hue and cry, and what was more, raised the neighbors; I +had not driven five miles before all Worthington was after me. But I had +the start, the best horse, and I led in the race. I drove to Hancock, +N.Y., where my pursuers lost the trail; thence to Bennington, Vt., next +to Brattleboro, Vt., and from there to Templeton, Mass. What befel me at +Templeton, shall be related in the next chapter. + + + +CHAPTER II. MISERIES FROM MY SECOND MARRIAGE. + +LOVE-MAKING IN MASSACHUSETTS--ARREST FOR BIGAMY--TRIAL AT +NORTHAMPTON--A STUNNING SENTENCE--SENT TO STATE PRISON--LEARNING THE +BRUSH BUSINESS--SHARPENING PICKS--PRISON FARE--IN THE HOSPITAL--KIND +TREATMENT--SUCCESSFUL HORSE SHOEING--THE WARDEN MY FRIEND--EFFORTS FOR +MY RELEASE--A FULL PARDON. + + + +At Templeton I speedily made known my profession, and soon had a very +good medical practice which one or two "remarkable cures" materially +increased. I was doing well and making money. I boarded in a respectable +farmer's family, and after living there about six months there came +another most unhappy occurrence. From the day, almost, when I began +to board with this farmer there sprung up a strong attachment between +myself and his youngest daughter which soon ripened into mutual love. +She rode about with me when I went to see my patients, who were getting +to be numerous, and we were much in each other's company. + +On one occasion she accompanied me to Worcester where I had some +patients. We went to a public house where she and her family were well +known, and when she was asked by the landlord how she happened to come +there with the doctor, her prompt answer was: + +"Why, we are married; did'nt you know it?" + +She refused even to go to the table without my attendance, and when I +was out visiting some patients, she waited for her meals till I came +back. We stayed there but two days and returned together to Templeton. + +A month afterward her brother was in Worcester, and stopped at this +house. The landlord, after some conversation about general matters, +said: + +"So your sister is married to the Doctor?" + +"I know nothing about it," was the reply. + +This led to a full and altogether too free disclosure to the astonished +brother about the particulars of our visit to the same house a month +before, and his sister's representations that we were married. The +brother immediately started for home, and repeated the story, as it was +told to him, to his father and the family. Without seeing his daughter, +the father at once procured a warrant, and had me arrested and brought +before a justice on charge of seduction. The trial was brief; the +daughter herself swore positively, that though she had been imprudent +and indiscreet in going to Worcester with me, no improper communication +had ever, there or elsewhere, taken place between us. + +Of course, there was nothing to do but to let me go and I was +discharged. But out of this affair came the worst that had yet fallen +to my lot in life. The story got into the papers, with particulars and +names of the parties, and in this way the people at Worthington, who had +chased me as far as Hancock and had there lost all trace of me, found +out where I was. If I had been aware of it, they might have looked +elsewhere for me; but while I was felicitating myself upon my escape +from the latest difficulty, down came an officer from Worthington with a +warrant for my arrest. This officer, the sheriff, was connected with the +family into which I had married in Worthington, and with him came two or +three more relatives, all bound, as they boasted, to "put me through." +They were excessively irate against me and very much angered, especially +that their race after me to Hancock had been fruitless. I had fallen +into the worst possible hands. + +They took me to Northampton and brought me before a Justice, on a +charge of bigamy: The sheriff who arrested me, and the relatives who +accompanied him were willing to swear my life away, if they could, and +the justice was ready enough to bind me over to take my trial in court, +which was not to be in session for full six months to come. Those long, +weary six months I passed in the county jail. Then came my trial. I had +good counsel. There was not a particle of proof that I was guilty of +bigamy; no attempt was made on the part of the prosecution to produce +my first wife, from whom I had separated, or, indeed, to show that there +was such a woman in existence. But, evidence or no evidence, with all +Worthington against me, conviction was inevitable. The jury found me +guilty. The judge promptly sentenced me to three years' imprisonment in +the State Prison, at Charlestown, with hard labor, the first day to be +passed in solitary confinement. + +This severe sentence fairly stunned me. I was taken back to jail, and +the following day I was conveyed to Charlestown with heavy irons on my +ankles and handcuffed. No murderer would have been more heavily ironed. +We started early in the morning, and by noon I was duly delivered to +the warden at Charlestown prison. I was taken into the office, measured, +asked my name, age, and other particulars, and then if I had a trade. To +this I at once answered, "no." I wanted my twenty-four hours' +solitary confinement in which to reflect upon the kind of "hard labor," +prescribed in my sentence, I was willing to follow for the next three +years; and I also wanted information about the branches of labor pursued +in that prison. The next words of the warden assured me that he was a +kind and compassionate man. + +"Go," he said to an officer, "and instantly take off those irons when +you take him inside the prison." + +I was taken in and the irons were taken off. I was then undressed, my +clothes were removed to another room, and I was redressed in the prison +uniform. This was a grotesque uniform indeed. The suit was red and blue, +half and half, like a harlequin's, and to crown all came a hat or cap, +like a fool's cap, a foot and a half high and running up to a peak. +Miserable as I was, I could scarcely help smiling at the utterly absurd +appearance I knew I then presented. I even ventured to remark upon it; +but was suddenly and sternly checked with the command: + +"Silence! There's no talking allowed here." + +Then began my twenty-four hours' solitary confinement, and twenty-four +wretched hours they were. I had only bread and water to eat and drink, +and I need not say that my unhappy thoughts would not permit me to +sleep. At noon next day I was taken from my cell, and brought again +before the warden, Mr. Robinson, who kindly said: + +"You have no trade, you say; what do you want to go to work at?" + +"Anything light; I am not used to hard labor," I replied. + +So the warden directed that I should be put at work in the brush shop, +where all kinds of brushes were made. Mr. Eddy was the officer in charge +of this shop, and Mr. Knowles, the contractor for the labor employed in +the brush business, was present. Both of these gentlemen took pains to +instruct me in the work I was to begin upon, and were very kind in their +manner towards me. I went to work in a bungling way and with a sad and +heavy heart. At 12 o'clock we were marched from the shop to our +cells, each man taking from a trap in the wall, as he went by, his pan +containing his dinner, which consisted, that day, of boiled beef and +potatoes. It was probably the worst dinner I had ever eaten, but I had +yet to learn what prison fare was. From one o'clock to six I was in the +shop again; then came Supper--mush and molasses that evening which was +varied, as I learned afterwards, on different days by rye bread, +or Indian bread and rye coffee. These things were also served for +breakfast, and the dinners were varied on different days in the week. +The fare was very coarse, always, but abundant and wholesome. After +supper prisoners were expected to go to bed, as they were called out at +six o'clock in the morning. + +I stayed in the brush shop three or four months, but I made very little +progress in learning the trade. I was willing enough to learn and did my +best. From the day I entered the prison I made up my mind to behave as +well as I could; to be docile and obedient, and to comply with every +rule and order. Consequently I had no trouble, and the officers all +treated me kindly. Warden Robinson was a model man for his position. He +believed that prisoners could be reformed more easily by mild than by +harsh measures--at least they would be more contented with their lot and +would be subordinate. Every now and then he would ask prisoners if they +were well treated by the officers; how they were getting on; if they had +enough to eat, and so on. The officers seemed imbued with the warden's +spirit; the chaplain of the prison, who conducted the Sunday, services +and also held a Sunday school, was one of the finest men in the world, +and took a personal interest in every prisoner. Altogether, it was +a model institution. But in spite of good treatment I was intensely +miserable; my mind was morbid; I was nearly, if not quite, insane; and +one day during the dinner hour, I opened a vein in each arm in hopes +that I should bleed to death. Bleed I did, till I fainted away, and as +I did not come out when the other prisoners did, the officer came to +my cell and discovered my condition. He at once sent for the Doctor who +came and stopped the hemorrhage, and then sent me to the hospital where +I remained two weeks. + +After I came out of the hospitals the Warden talked to me about my +situation and feelings. He advised me to go into the blacksmith shop, +of course not dreaming that I knew anything of the work; but he said I +would have more liberty there; that the men moved about freely and could +talk to each other; that the work mainly was sharpening picks and tools, +and that I could at least blow and strike. So I went into the blacksmith +shop, and remained their six weeks. But, debilitated as I was, the work +was too hard for me, and so the warden put me in the yard to do what I +could. I also swept the halls and assisted in the cook-room. One day +when the warden spoke to me, I told him that I knew something about +taking care of the sick, and after some conversation, he transferred me +to the hospital as a nurse. + +Here, if there is such a things as contentment in prison, I was +comparatively happy. I nursed the sick and administered medicines under +direction of the doctor. I had too, with all easy position, more liberty +than any other prisoner. I could go anywhere about the halls and yard, +and in a few weeks I was frequently sent on an errand into the town. +Everyone seemed to have the fullest confidence in me. The Warden talked +to me whenever he saw me, and always had some kind word for me. One day +I ventured to speak to him about his horse, of which he was very proud, +and indeed the horse was a very fine one. + +Mr. Warden, said I "that's a noble horse of yours; but he interferes +badly, and that is only because he is badly shod. If you will trust me, +I can shoe him so as to prevent all that." + +"Can you?" exclaimed the Warden in great surprise; "Well, if you can, +I'll give you a good piece of bread and butter, or, anything else you +want." + +"I don't want your bread and butter," said I "but I will shoe your horse +as he has never been shod before." + +"Well take the horse to the shop and see what you can do." + +Of course, I knew that by "bread and butter" the warden meant that if I +could shoe his favorite horse so as to prevent him from interfering, he +would gladly favor me as far as he could; and I knew, too, that I could +make as good a shoe as any horse need wear. I gladly led the horse to +the shop where I had so signally failed in pick and tool sharpening, and +was received with jeers by my old comrades who wanted to know what I was +going to do to that horse. + +"O, simply shoe him," I said. + +This greatly increased the mirth of my former shopmates; but their +amusement speedily changed to amazement as they saw me make my nails, +turn the shoes and neatly put them on. In due time the horse was shod, +and I led him to the Warden for inspection; and before him and an +officer who stood by him, I led the horse up and down to show that he +did not interfere. The Warden's delight was unbounded; he never saw such +a set of shoes; he declared that they fitted as if they had grown to the +horse's hoofs. I need not say that from that day till the day I left the +prison, I had everything I wanted from the Warden's own table; I fared +as well as he did, and had favors innumerable. + +About once a month I shod that horse, little thinking that he was to +carry me over my three years' imprisonment in just half that time. Yet +so it was. For talking now almost daily, in the hospital or in the +yard, with the Warden, he became interested in me, and in answer to his +inquiries I told him the whole story of my persecution, as I considered +it, my trial and my unjust and severe sentence. When he had heard all he +said: + +"You ought not to be here another day; you ought to go out." + +The good chaplain also interested himself in my case, and after hearing +the story, he and the Warden took a lawyer named Bemis, into their +counsel, laid the whole matter before him and asked his opinion. Mr. +Bemis, after hearing all the circumstances, expressed the belief that I +might get a pardon. He entered into the matter with his whole heart. He +sent for my son Henry and my first wife, and they came and corroborated +my statement about the mutual agreement for separation, and told how +long we had been parted. Mr. Bemis and they then went to Governor +Briggs, and told him the story, and that I had served out half of +my severe sentence, and pressed for a pardon. The Governor after due +deliberation consented to their request. They came back to Charlestown +with the joyful intelligence. Warden Robinson advised my son, that +considering my present mental and physical condition, he had better +break the intelligence gradually to me, and so Henry came to me and +said, simply, that he thought he would soon have "good news" for me. The +next day I was told that my pardon was certain. The day following, at 12 +o'clock, I walked out, after eighteen months' imprisonment, a free man. +I was in the streets of Charlestown with my own clothes on and five +dollars, given to me by the Warden, in my pocket, I was poor, truly, but +I was at liberty, and that for the day was enough. + + + +CHAPTER III. THE SCHEIMER SENSATION. + +THE SCHEIMER FAMILY--IN LOVE WITH SARAH--ATTEMPT TO ELOPE--HOW IT WAS +PREVENTED--THE SECOND ATTEMPT--A MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION--THE ALARM--A +FRIGHTFUL BEATING--ESCAPE--FLOGGING THE DEVIL OUT OF SARAH--WINTER IN +NEW HAMPSHIRE--RETURN TO NEW JERSEY--"BOSTON YANKEE"--PLANS TO SECURE +SARAH. + + + +I went at once to the Prisoners Home, where I was kindly received, and +I stayed there two days. The superintendent then paid my passage to +Pittsfield where I wished to go and meet my son. From Pittsfield I went +to Albany, then New York, and from there to Newtown N. J. Here I went +into practice, meeting with almost immediate success, and staid there +two months. It was my habit to go from town to town to attend to cases +of a certain class and to sell my vegetable preparations; and from +Newtown I went to Belvidere, stopping at intermediate towns on the way, +and from Belvidere I went to Harmony, a short distance below, to attend +a case of white swelling, which I cured. + +Now just across the Delaware river, nine miles above Easton, Penn., +lived a wealthy Dutch farmer, named Scheimer, who heard of the cure +I had effected in Harmony, and as he had a son, sixteen years of age, +afflicted in the same way, he sent for me to come and see him. I crossed +the river, saw the boy, and at Scheimer's request took up my residence +with him to attend to the case. He was to give me, with my board, five +hundred dollars if I cured the boy; but though the boy recovered under +my treatment, I never received my fee for reasons which will appear +anon. I secured some other practice in the neighborhood, and frequently +visited Easton, Belvidere, Harmony, Oxford, and other near by places, on +either side of the river. + +The Scheimer family consisted of the "old folks" and four sons and four +daughters, the children grown up, for my patient, sixteen years old, was +the youngest. The youngest daughter, Sarah, eighteen years old, was an +accomplished and beautiful girl. Now it would seem as if with my +sad experience I ought by this time, to have turned my back on women +forever. But I think I was a monomaniac on the subject of matrimony. +My first wife had so misused me that it was always in my mind that +some reparation was due me, and that I was fairly entitled to a good +helpmate. The ill-success of my efforts, hitherto, to secure one, +and my consequent sufferings were all lost upon me--experience, bitter +experience, had taught me nothing. + +I had not been in the Scheimer family three months before I fell in love +with the daughter Sarah and she returned my passion. She promised to +marry me, but said there was no use in saying anything to her parents +about it; they would never consent on account of the disparity in +our ages, for I was then forty years old; but she would marry me +nevertheless, if we had to run away together. Meanwhile, the old +folks had seen enough of our intimacy to suspect that it might lead to +something yet closer, and one day Mr. Scheimer invited me to leave his +house and not to return. I asked for one last interview with Sarah, +which was accorded, and we then arranged a plan by which she should meet +me the next afternoon at four o'clock at the Jersey ferry, a mile below +the house, when we proposed to quietly cross over to Belvidere and get +married. I then took leave of her and the family and went away. + +The next day, at the appointed time, I was at the ferry--Sarah, as I +learned afterwards, left the house at a much earlier hour to "take a +walk" and while she was, foolishly I think, making a circuitous route +to reach the ferry, her father, who suspected that she intended to run +away, went to the ferryman and told him his suspicions, directing him +if Sarah came there by no means to permit her to cross the river. +Consequently when Sarah met me at the ferry, the ferryman flatly refused +to let either of us go over. He knew all about it, he said, and it was +"no go." I had two hundred dollars in my pocket and I offered him any +reasonable sum, if he would only let us cross; but no, he knew the +Scheimers better than he knew me, and their goodwill was worth more +than mine. Here was a block to the game, indeed. I had sent my baggage +forward in the morning to Belvidere; Sarah had nothing but the clothes +she wore, for she was so carefully watched that she could carry or send +nothing away; but she was ready to go if the obstinate ferryman had not +prevented us. + +While we were pressing the ferryman to favor us, down came one of +Sarah's brothers with a dozen neighbors, and told her she must return +home or he would carry her back by force. I interfered and said she +should not go. Whereupon one fellow took hold of me and I promptly +knocked him down, and notified the crowd that the first who laid hands +on me, or who attempted to take her home violently, would get a dose +from my pistol which I then exhibited: + +"Sarah must go willingly or not at all," said I. + +The production of my pistol, the only weapon in the crowd, brought about +a new state of affairs, and the brother and others tried persuasion; but +Sarah stoutly insisted that she would not return. "Now hold on," boys, +said I, "I am going to say something to her." I then took her aside and +told her that there was no use in trying to run away then; that she had +better go home quietly, and tell the folks that she was sorry for what +she had done, that she had broken off with me, and would have nothing +more to do with me; that I would surely see her to-morrow, and then we +could make a new plan. So she announced her willingness to go quietly +home with her brother and she did so. I went to a public house half a +mile below the ferry. That night the gang came down to this house with +the intention of driving me away from the place, or, possibly, of doing +something worse; but while they were howling outside, the landlord sent +me to my room and then went out and told the crowd I had gone away. + +The next morning I boldly walked up to Scheimer's house to get a few +books and other things I had left there, and I saw Sarah. I told her +to be ready on the following Thursday night and I would have a ladder +against her window for her to escape by. She promised to be ready. +Meantime, though I had been in the house but a few minutes, some one who +had seen me go in gathered the crowd of the day before, and the first +thing I knew the house was beseiged. Mrs. Scheimer had gone up stairs +for my things. I went out and faced the little mob. I was told to leave +the place or they would kill me. One of Sarah's brothers ran into the +house, brought out a musket and aimed it at me; but it missed fire. I +drew my pistol the crowd keeping well away then, and told him that if he +did not instantly bring that musket to me I would shoot him. He brought +it, and I threw it over the fence, Sarah crying out from the window, +"good! good!" The mob then turned and abused and blackguarded her. Then +the old lady came out, bringing a carpet bag containing my books and +things, asking me to see if "it was all right." I had no disposition +to stop and examine just then; I told the mob I had no other business +there; that I was going away, and to my surprise, I confess, I was +permitted to leave the place unmolested. + +It is quite certain the ferryman made no objection to my crossing, and +I went to Belvidere where I remained quietly till the appointed Thursday +night, when I started with a trusty man for Scheimer's. We timed our +journey so as to arrive there at one o'clock in the morning. Ever since +her attempt to elope, Sarah had been watched night and day, and to +prevent her abduction by me, Mr. Scheimer had two or three men in the +house to stand guard at night. Sarah was locked in her room, which is +precisely what we had provided for, for no one in the house supposed +that she could escape by the window. There was a big dog on the +premises, but he and I were old friends, and he seemed very glad to see +me when I came on the ground on this eventful night. Sarah was watching, +and when I made the signal she opened the window and threw out her ready +prepared bundle. Then my man and I set the ladder and she came safely +to the ground. A moment more and we would have stolen away, when, as ill +luck would have it, the ladder fell with a great crash, and the infernal +dog, that a moment before seemed almost in our confidence, set up a howl +and then barked loud enough to wake the dead. + +Forthwith issued from the house old Scheimer, two of his sons and his +hired guard--a half dozen in all. There was a time then. The girl was +instantly seized and taken into the house. Then all hands fell upon us +two, and though I and my man fought our best they managed to pound us +nearly to death. The dog, too, in revenge no doubt for the scare the +ladder had given him, or perhaps to show his loyalty to his master, +assisted in routing us, and put in a bite where he could. It is a wonder +we were not killed. Sarah, meanwhile, was calling out from the house, +and imploring them not to murder us. How we ever got away I hardly know +now, but presently we found ourselves in the road running for our lives, +and running also for the carriage we had concealed in the woods, half +a mile above. We reached it, and hastily unhitching and getting in we +drove rapidly for the bridge crossing over to Belvidere. That beautiful +August night had very few charms for us. It would have been different +indeed if I had succeeded in securing my Sarah; and to think of having +the prize in my very grasp, and the losing all! + +We reached the hotel in Belvidere at about half-past two o'clock in +the morning, wearied, worn, bruised and disheartened. My man had not +suffered nearly as severely as I had; the bulk of their blows fell upon +me, and I had the sorest body and the worst looking face I had ever +exhibited. I rested one day and then hurried on to New York. Of course, +I had no means of knowing the feelings or condition of the loved girl +from whom I had been so suddenly and so violently parted. I only learned +from an Easton man whom I knew and whom I met in the city, that "Sarah +Scheimer was sick"--that was all; the man said he did'nt know the family +very well, but he had heard that Miss Scheimer had been "out of her +head, if not downright crazy." + +Crazy indeed! How mad and how miserable that poor girl was made by her +own family, I did not know till months afterward, and then I had the +terrible story from her own lips. It seems that when her father and his +gang returned from pursuing me, as they did a little way up the road +towards Belvidere, they found her almost frantic. They locked her up in +her room that night with no one to say so much as a kind word to her. +How she passed that night, after the scenes she had witnessed, and the +abuse with which her father and brothers had loaded her before they +thrust her into her prison, may be imagined. The next day she was +wrought up to a frenzy. Her parents pronounced her insane, and called in +a Dutch doctor who examined her and said she was "bewitched!" And this +is the remedy he proposed as a cure; he advised that she should be +soundly flogged, and the devil whipped out of her. Her family, intensely +angered at her for the trouble she had made them, or rather had caused +them to make for themselves, were only too glad to accept the advice. +The old man and two sons carried a sore bruise or two apiece they got +from me the night before, and seized the opportunity to pay them off +upon her. So they stripped her bare, and flogged her till her back was a +mass of welts and cuts, and then put her to bed. That bed she never left +for two months, and then came out the shadow of her former self. But the +Dutch doctor declared that the devil was whipped out of her, and that +she was entirely cured. A few months afterward the family had the best +of reasons for believing that they had whipped the devil into her, +instead of out of her. + +After staying in New York a few days, I went to Dover, N.H., where I had +some acquaintances, and where I hoped to get into a medical practice, +which, with the help of my friends, I did very soon. I lived quietly in +that place all winter, earning a good living and laying by some money. +During the whole time I never heard a word from Sarah. I wrote at least +fifty letters to her, but as I learned afterward, and, indeed, surmised +at the time, every one of them was intercepted by her father or +brothers, and she did not know where I was and so could not write to me. +I left Dover in May and went down to New York. I had some business +there which was soon transacted, and early in June I went over to New +Jersey--to Oxford, a small place near Belvidere. + +This place I meant to make my base of operations for the new campaign I +had been planning all winter. I "put up" at a public house kept by a man +who was known in the region round about as the "Boston Yankee," for he +migrated from Boston to New Jersey and was doing a thriving business +at hotel keeping in Oxford. What a thorough good-fellow he was will +presently appear. I had been in the hotel four days and had become +pretty intimate with the landlord before I ventured to make inquiries +about what I was most anxious to learn; but finally I asked him if he +knew the Scheimers over the river? He looked at me in a very comical +way, and then broke out: + +"Well, I declare, I thought I knew you, you're the chap that tried to +run away with old Scheimer's daughter Sarah, last August; and you're +down here to get her this time, if you can." + +I owned up to my identity, but warned Boston Yankee that if he told any +one who I was, or that I was about there, I'd blow his brains out. + +"You keep cool," said he, "don't you be uneasy; I'm your friend and the +gal's friend, and I'll help you both all I can; and if you want to carry +off Sarah Scheimer and marry her, I'll tell you how to work it. You see +she has been watched as closely as possible all winter, ever since she +got well, for she was crazy-like, awhile. Well, you could'n't get nearer +to her, first off, than you could to the North Pole; but do you remember +Mary Smith who was servant gal, there when you boarded with Scheimer?" I +remembered the girl well and told him so, and he continued: "Well, I saw +her the other day, and she told me she was living in Easton, and where +she could be found; now, I'll give you full directions and do you take +my horse and buggy to-morrow morning early and go down and see her, and +get her to go over and let Sarah know that you're round; meantime I'll +keep dark; I know my business and you know yours." + +I need not say how overjoyed I was to find this new and most unexpected +friend, and how gratefully I accepted his offer. He gave me the street, +house and number where Mary Smith lived and during the evening we +planned together exactly how the whole affair was to be managed, from +beginning to end. I went to bed, but could scarcely sleep; and all night +long I was agitated by alternate hopes and fears for the success of the +scheme of to-morrow. + + + +CHAPTER IV. SUCCESS WITH SARAH. + +MARY SMITH AS A CONFEDERATE--THE PLOT--WAITING IN THE WOODS--THE +SPY OUTWITTED--SARAH SECURED--THE PURSUERS BAFFLED--NIGHT ON THE +ROAD--EFFORTS TO GET MARRIED--THE "OLD OFFENDER" MARRIED AT LAST--A +CONSTABLE AFTER SARAH--HE GIVES IT UP--AN ALE ORGIE--RETURN TO "BOSTON +YANKEE'S"--A HOME IN GOSHEN. + + + +It was Saturday morning, and after an early breakfast I was on the road +with Boston Yankee's fast horse; towards Easton. On my arrival there I +had no difficulty in finding Mary Smith, who recognized me at once, and +was very glad to see me. She knew I had come there to learn something +about Sarah; she had seen her only a week ago; she was well again, and +the girls had talked together about me. This was pleasant to hear, and +I at once proposed to Mary to go to Scheimer's and tell Sarah that I +was there; I would give her ten dollars if she would go. "O! she would +gladly serve us both for nothing." + +So she made herself ready, got into the buggy, and we started for +Scheimer's. When we were well on the road I said to her: + +"Now, Mary, attend carefully to what I say: you will need to be very +cautious in breaking the news to Sarah that I am here; she has already +suffered a great deal on my account, and may be very timid about my +being in the neighborhood; but if she still loves me as you say she +does, she will run any risk to see me, and, if I know her, she will be +glad to go away with me. Now, this is what you must do; you must see her +alone and tell her my plan; here, take this diamond ring; she knows it +well; manage to let her see it on your finger; then tell her that if +she is willing to leave home and marry me, I will be in the woods half a +mile above her house to-morrow afternoon at 5 o'clock, with a horse +and buggy ready to carry her to Belvidere. If she will not, or dare not +come, give her the ring, and tell her we part, good friends, forever." + +It was a beautiful afternoon as we drove along the road. We talked about +Sarah and old times, and I made her repeat my instructions over and +over again and she promised to convey every word to Sarah. We neared +Scheimer's house about six o'clock, and when we were a little way from +there I told Mary to get out, so as to excite no suspicions as to who I +was; she did so, and I waited till I saw her go into the house, and then +drove rapidly by towards the Belvidere bridge, and was safely at Oxford +by nightfall. I told my friend, the landlord, what I had done, and he +said that everything was well planned. He also promised to go with me +next day to assist me if necessary, and, said he: + +"If everything is all right, do you carry off the girl and I'll walk +up to Belvidere; but don't bring Sarah this way--head toward Water Gap. +When you're married fast and sure, you can come back here as leisurely +as you're a mind to, and nobody can lay a hand upon you or her." + +We arranged some other minor details of our expedition and I went to +bed. + +The next afternoon at four o'clock I was at the appointed place, and +Boston Yankee was with me. I did not look for Sarah before five o'clock, +so we tied our horse and kept a good watch upon the road. An hour went +by and no Sarah appeared. I told Boston Yankee I did not believe she +would come. + +"Don't be impatient; wait a little longer," said my friend. + +In twenty minutes we saw emerge, not from Scheimer's house, but from his +eldest son's house, which was still nearer to the place where we were +waiting, three women, two of whom I recognized as Sarah and Mary, and +the third I did not know, nor could I imagine why she was with the other +two; but as I saw them, leaving Boston Yankee in the woods, I drove the +horse down into the road. As Sarah drew near she kissed her hand to me +and came up to the wagon. "Are you ready to go with me?" I asked. "I +am, indeed," was her reply, and I put out my hand to help her into the +buggy. But the third woman caught hold of her dress, tried to prevent +her from getting in, and began to scream so as to attract attention at +Sarah's brother's house. I told the woman to let her go, and threatened +her with my whip. "Get away," shouted Boston Yankee, who had come upon +the scene. "Drive as fast as you can; never mind if you kill the horse." + +We started; the woman still shouting for help, and I drove on as rapidly +as the horse would go. When we had gone on a mile or two, I asked +Sarah what all this meant? She told me that the woman was her brother's +servant; that Mary and herself left her father's house a little after +four o'clock to go over and call at her brother's; that just before +five, when she was to meet me, she and Mary proposed to go out for a +walk; that the whole family watched her constantly, and so her brother's +wife told the servant woman to get on her things and go with them. +"You, may be sure," she, added, "that the woman will arouse the whole +neighborhood, and that they will all be after us." I needed no further +hint to push on. We were going toward Water Gap, as Boston Yankee had +advised, and when we were about eight miles on the way, I deemed it +prudent to drive into the woods and to wait till night before going on. +We drove in just off the road, and tied our horse. We were effectually +concealed; our pursuers, if there were any, would be sure to go by us, +and meantime we could talk over our plans for the future. Sarah told me +that when Mary came to the house the night before, she was not at all +surprised to see her, as she occasionally came up from Easton to +make them a little visit, and to stay all night; that she went to the +summer-house with Mary to sit down and talk, and almost immediately saw +the ring on Mary's finger; that when she saw it she at once recognized +it, and asked her: "O! Mary, where did you get that ring?" "Keep +quiet," said Mary: "don't talk loud, or some one may hear you; don't +be agitated; your lover is near, and has sent me to tell you." It was +joyful news to Sarah, and how readily she had acquiesced in my plan for +an elopement was manifest in the fact that she was then by my side. + +We bad not been in the woods an hour when, as I anticipated, we heard +our pursuers, we did not know how many there were, drive rapidly by. +"Now we can go on, I suppose," said Sarah. "Oh no, my dear," I replied, +"now is just the time to wait quietly here;" and wait we did till eight +o'clock, when our pursuers, having gone on a few miles, and having seen +or learned nothing of the fugitives, came by again "on the back track." +They must have thought we had turned off into some other road. I waited +a while longer to let our friend's get a little nearer home and further +away from us, and then took the road again toward Water Gap. + +We reached Water Gap at midnight, had some supper and fed the horse. We +rested awhile, and then drove leisurely on nine miles further, where we +waited till daylight and crossed the river. We were in no great hurry +now; we were comparatively safe from pursuit. We soon came to a public +house, where we stopped and put out the horse, intending to take +breakfast. While I was inquiring of the landlord if there was a justice +of the peace in the neighborhood, the landlord's wife had elicited from +Sarah the fact of our elopement, who she was, who her folks were, and so +on. The well-meaning landlady advised Sarah to go back home and get +her parents consent before she married. Sarah suggested that the very +impossibility of getting such consent was the reason for her running +away; nor did it appear how she was to go back home alone even if she +desired to. We saw that we could get no help there, so I countermanded +my order for breakfast, offering at the same time to pay for it as if we +had eaten it, ordered out my horse and drove on. After riding some +ten miles we arrived at another public house on the road, and as the +landlord come out to the door I immediately asked him where I could +find a justice of the peace? He laughed, for he at once comprehended the +whole situation, and said: + +"Well, well! I am an old offender myself; I ran away with my wife; there +is a justice of the peace two miles from here, and if you'll come in +I'll have him here within an hour." + +We had reached the right place at last, for while the landlady was +getting breakfast for us, and doing her best to make us comfortable and +happy, the Old Offender himself took his horse and carriage and went for +the justice. By the time we had finished our breakfast he was back +with him, and Sarah and I were married in "less than no time," the Old +Offender and his wife singing the certificate as witnesses. I never +paid a fee more gladly. We were married now, and all the Scheimers in +Pennsylvania were welcome to come and see us if they pleased. + +No Scheimers came that day; but the day following came a deputation from +that family, some half dozen delegates, and with them a constable from +Easton, with a warrant to arrest Sarah for something--I never knew +what--but at any rate he was to take her home if necessary by force. The +Old Offender declined to let these people into his house; Sarah told me +to keep out of the way and she would see what was wanted. Whereupon she +boldly went to the door and greeted those of her acquaintances who were +in the party. The constable knew her, and told her he had come to take +her home. "But what if I refuse to go?" "Well then, I have a warrant +to take you; but if you are married, I have no power over you." Well +married I am, said Sarah, and she produced the certificate, and the +Old Offender and his wife came out and declared that they witnessed the +ceremony. + +What was to be done? evidently nothing; only the constable ordered a +whole barrel of ale to treat his posse and any one about tire town who +chose to drink, and the barrel was rolled out on the grass, tapped, and +for a half hour there was a great jollification, which was not exactly +in honor of our wedding, but which afforded the greatest gratification +to the constable, his retainers, and those who happened to gather to see +what was going on. This ended, and the bill paid, the Easton delegation +got into their wagons and turned their horses heads towards home. + +We passed three delightful days under the Old Offender's roof, and +then thanking our host for his kindness to us, and paying our bill, we +started on our return journey for Oxford. We arrived safely, and staid +with Boston Yankee a fortnight. We were close by the Scheimer homestead, +which was but a few miles away across the river; but we feared neither +father nor brothers, nor even the woman who was so unwilling to let +Sarah go with me. The constable, and the rest had carried home the news +of our marriage, and the old folks made the best of it. Indeed, after +they heard we had returned to Oxford, Sarah's mother sent a man over to +tell her that if she would come home any day she could pack her clothes +and other things, and take them away with her. The day after we received +this invitation, Boston Yankee offered to take Sarah over home, and +promised to bring her safely back. So she went, was treated tolerably +well, at any rate, she secured her clothes and brought them home with +her. + +It was now time to bid farewell to our staunch friend, Boston Yankee. I +had inducements to go to Goshen, Orange County, N. Y., where I had many +acquaintances, and to Goshen we went. We found a good boarding place, +and I began to practice medicine, After we had been there a while, Sarah +wrote home to let her family know where she was, and that she was well +and happy. Her father wrote in reply that we both might come there at +any time, and that if she would come home he would do as well by her as +he would by any of his children. This letter made Sarah uneasy. In spite +of all the ill usage she had received from her parents and family, she +was nevertheless homesick, and longed to get back again. I could see +that this feeling grew upon her daily. We were pleasantly situated +where we were; I had a good and growing practice, and we had made many +friends; but this did not satisfy her; she had some property in her own +right, but her father was trustee of it, and he had hitherto kept it +away from her from spite at her love affair with me. But now she was to +be taken into favor again, and she represented to me that we could go +back and get her money, and that I could establish myself there as well +as anywhere; we could live well and happily among her friends and old +associations. These things were dinged in my ears day after day, till I +was sick of the very sound. I could see that she was bound, or, as the +Dutch doctor would have said, "bewitched" to go back, and at last, after +five happy months in Goshen, in an evil hour I consented to go home with +her. + + + +CHAPTER V. HOW THE SCHEIMERS MADE ME SUFFER. + +RETURN TO SCHEIMER--PEACE AND THEN PANDEMONIUM--FRIGHTFUL FAMILY +ROW--RUNNING FOR REFUGE--THE GANG AGAIN--ARREST AT MIDNIGHT--STRUGGLE +WITH MY CAPTORS--IN JAIL ONCE MORE--PUT IN IRONS--A HORRIBLE PRISON +BREAKING OUT--THE DUNGEON--SARAH'S BABY--CURIOUS COMPROMISES--OLD +SCHEIMER MY JAILER--SIGNING A BOND--FREE AGAIN--LAST WORDS FROM SARAH. + + + +We went back to the Scheimer homestead and were favorably received. +There was no special enthusiasm over our return, no marked +demonstrations of delight; but they seemed glad to see us, and all the +unpleasant things of the past, if not forgotten, were tacitly ignored +on all sides. We passed a pleasant evening together in what seemed a +re-united family circle--one of the brothers only was absent--and next +morning we met cordially around the breakfast table. I really began to +think it was possible that all the old difficulties might be healed, and +that the pleasant picture Sarah painted, at Goshen, about settling down +happily in Pennsylvania, could be fully realized. + +After breakfast I took a conveyance to go three or four miles to see a +man who owed me some money for medical services in his family, and was +away from Scheimer's three or four hours. During this brief absence I +could not help thinking with genuine satisfaction of the happiness Sarah +was experiencing in the gratification of her longing to return home +again. Surely, I thought, she must be happy now. No more homesickness, +and a full and complete reconciliation with her family; all the anger, +abuse, and blows forgotten or forgiven; she restored to her place in the +family; and even her objectionable husband received with open arms. + +But what an enormous difference there is between fancy and fact. During +this brief absence of mine, had come home the brother who had always +seemed to concentrate the hatred of the whole family towards me for the +wrong they assumed I had done to the youngest daughter who loved me. +On my return I found the peaceful home I left in the morning a perfect +pandemonium. Sarah was fairly frantic. The whole family were abusing +her. The returned brother especially, was calling her all the vile names +he could lay his tongue to. I learned afterwards that he had been doing +it ever since he came into the house that day and found her at home and +heard that I was with her. They had picked, wrenched rather, out of her +the secret I had confided to her that I had another wife from whom I was +"separated," but not divorced. My sudden presence on this scene was not +exactly oil on troubled waters; it was gunpowder to fire. As soon as +Sarah saw me at the door she cried out: + +"O! husband, let us go away from here." + +Her mother turned and shouted at me that I had better fly at once or +they would kill me. Meanwhile, that mob, which the Scheimer boys seemed +always to have at hand, was gathering in the dooryard. I managed to get +near enough to Sarah to tell her that I would send a man for her next +day, and then if she was willing to come with me she must get away +from her family if possible. I then made a rush through the crowd, and +reached the road. I think the gang had an indistinct knowledge of the +situation, or they would have mobbed me, and perhaps killed me. They +knew something was "to pay" at Scheimer's, but did not know exactly +what. Once on the road it was my intention to have gone over to +Belvidere, and then on to Oxford, where I should have found a sure +refuge with my friend Boston Yankee. + +Would that I had done so; but I was a fool; I thought I could be of +service to Sarah by remaining near her; might see her next day; I might +even be able to get her out of the house, and then we could once more +elope together and go back again to Goshen where we had been so happy. +So I went to a public house three miles above Scheimer's, and remained +there quietly during the rest of the day, revolving plans for the +deliverance of Sarah. I thought only of her. It is strange that I did +not once realize what a perilous position I was in myself--that, firmly +as I believed myself to be wedded to Sarah, I was in fact amenable to +the law, and liable to arrest and punishment. All this never occurred to +me. I saw one or two of the gang who were at Scheimer's about the hotel, +but they did not offer to molest me, and I paid no particular attention +to them. I did not know then that they were spies and were watching my +movements. At nine o'clock I went to bed. At midnight, or thereabouts, +I was roughly awakened and told to get up. Without waiting for me, +to comply, five men who had entered my room pulled me out of bed, and +almost before I could huddle on my clothes I was handcuffed. Then one of +them, who said he was a constable from Easton, showed a warrant for my +arrest. What the arrest was for I was not informed. I was taken down +stairs, put into a wagon, the men followed, and the horses started in +the direction of Easton. By Scheimer's on the way, and I could see a +light in Sarah's window. I remembered how in, all the Bedlam in +the house that morning she still cried out: "I will go with him." I +remembered how, only a few months before, she had been brutally flogged +in that very chamber, to "get the devil out of her." I remembered, too, +the many happy, happy hours we had passed together. And here was I, +handcuffed and dragged in a wagon, I knew not whither. + +This for thoughts--in the way of action, was all the while trying to +get my handcuffs off, and at last I succeeded in getting one hand free. +Waiting my opportunity till we came to a piece of woods, I suddenly +jumped up and sprang from the wagon. It was a very dark night, and in +running into the woods I struck against a tree with such force as +to knock me down and nearly stun me. Two of the men were on me in an +instant. After a brief struggle I managed to get away and ran again. I +should have escaped, only a high rail fence brought me to a sudden stop, +and I was too exhausted to climb over it. My pursuers who were hard at +my heels the whole while now laid hold of me. In the subsequent struggle +I got out my pocket knife, and stabbed one of them, cutting his arm +badly. Then they overpowered me. They dragged me to the roadside, +brought a rope out of the wagon, bound my arms and legs, and so at last +carried me to Easton. + +It was nearly daylight when I was thrust into jail. There were no cells, +only large rooms for a dozen or more men, and I was put, into one of +these with several prisoners who were awaiting trial, or who had been +tried and were there till they could be sent to prison. It was a day +or two before I found out what I was there for. Then a Dutch Deputy +Sheriff, who was also keeper of the jail, came and told me that I was +held for bigamy, adding the consoling intelligence that it would be a +very hard job for me, and that I would get five or six years in State +prison sure. I was well acquainted in Easton, and I sent for lawyer +Litgreave for assistance and advice. I sent also to my half-sister in +Delaware County, N. Y., and in a day or two she came and saw me, and +gave Mr. Litgreave one hundred dollars retaining fee. My lawyer went to +see the Scheimers and when he returned he told me that he hoped to save +me from State prison--at all events he would exercise the influence he +had over the family to that end; but I must expect to remain in jail a +long time. Precisely what this meant I did not know then; but I found +out afterwards. + +Soon after this visit from the lawyer, the Deputy Sheriff came in and +said that he was ordered "by the Judge" to iron me, and it was done. +They were heavy leg-irons weighing full twelve pounds, and I may say +here that I wore them during the whole term of my imprisonment in this +jail, or rather they wore me--wearing their way in time almost into +the bone. I had been here a week now, and was well acquainted with the +character of the place. It was indescribably filthy; no pretence was +made of cleansing it. The prisoners were half fed, and, at that, the +food was oftentimes so vile that starving men rejected it. The deputy +who kept the jail was cruel and malignant, and took delight in torturing +his prisoners. He would come in sometimes under pretence of looking at +my irons to see if they were safe, and would twist and turn them about +so that I suffered intolerable pain, and blood flowed from my wounds +made by these cruel irons. Such abuse as he could give with his tongue +he dispensed freely. Of course he was a coward, and he never dared to +come into one of the prisoner's rooms unless he was armed. This is a +faithful photograph of the interior of the jail at Easton, Penn., as +it was a few years ago; there may have been some improvement since that +time; for the sake of humanity, I hope there has been. + +After I had been in this jail about six weeks, and had become well +acquainted with my room-mates, I communicated to them one day, the +result of my observation: + +"There," said I, showing them a certain place in the wall, "is a loose +stone that with a little labor can be lifted out, and it will leave a +hole large enough for us to get out of and go where we like." + +Examination elicited a unanimous verdict in favor of making the attempt. +With no tools but a case knife we dug out the mortar on all sides of the +stone doing the work by turns and covering the stone by hanging up an +old blanket--which excited no suspicion, as it was at the head of one of +the iron bedsteads--whenever the Deputy or any of his men were likely to +visit us. In twelve days we completed the work, and could lift out the +stone. The hole was large enough to let a man through, and there was +nothing for us to do but to crawl out one after the other and drop down +a few feet into the yard. This yard was surrounded by a board fence that +could be easily surmounted. I intended to take the lead, after taking +off my irons (which I had learned to do, and indeed, did every day, +putting them on only when I was liable to be "inspected") and after +leaving these irons at the Deputy's door, I intended to put myself on +the Jersey side of the river as speedily as possible. + +Liberty was within reach of every man in that room, and the night was +set for the escape. But one of the crowd turned traitor, and, under +pretence, of speaking to the Deputy about some matter, managed to be +called out of the room and disclosed the whole. The man was waiting +transportation to prison to serve out a sentence of ten years, and, +with the chance of escape before him, it seemed singular that he should +reveal a plan which promised to give him liberty; but probably he +feared a failure; or that he might be recaptured and his prison sentence +increased; while on the other hand by disclosing the plot he could +curry favor enough to get his term reduced, and perhaps he might gain a +pardon. Any how, he betrayed us. The Deputy came in and found the stone +in the condition described, and forthwith we were all removed to the +dungeon, or dark room, and kept there on bread and water for twelve +days. We heard afterwards that our betrayer did get five years less than +his original sentence for subjecting his comrades in misery to twelve +days of almost indescribable suffering. We were not only in a totally +dark and frightfully filthy hole, but we were half starved, and the +Deputy daily took delight in taunting us with our sufferings. + +At the end of the twelve days we were taken back to the old room where +we found the stone securely fastened in with irons. Moreover, we were +now under stricter observation, and at stated hours every day, an +inspector came in and examined the walls. This soon wore off, however, +and when the inspection was finally abandoned, about two months from the +time of our first attempt, we managed to find another place in the old +wall where we could dig out and we went to work. We were a fortnight at +it, and had nearly completed our labor when we were discovered. + +This time we spent fourteen days in the dungeon for our pains. + +And now comes an extraordinary disclosure with regard to my +imprisonment. A few days after my removal from the dungeon to the old +quarters again, the Deputy, in one of his rare periods of what, with +him, passed for good humor, informed me that Sarah had been confined, +and had given birth to a fine boy; that she was crying for my release; +that Lawyer Sitgreave was interceding for me; but that the old man +Scheimer was still obstinate and would not let me out. Passing over +my feelings with regard to the birth of my son, here was a revelation +indeed! It will be remembered that I had only been told that I was under +indictment for bigamy. I had never been brought before a justice for +a preliminary examination; never bound over for trial; and now it +transpired that old Scheimer, a Pennsylvania Dutch farmer, had the +power to put me in jail, put me in irons, and subject me to long months, +perhaps years of imprisonment. I had something to occupy my thoughts +now, and for the remaining period of my jail life. + +Next came a new dodge of the Scheimers, the object of which was to show +that Sarah's marriage to me was no marriage at all, thus leaving her +free to marry any other man her family might force upon her. When I had +been in jail seven months, one day the Deputy came in and said that he +was going to take off my irons. I told him I wouldn't trouble him to +do that, for though I had worn them when he and his subordinates were +around till the irons had nearly killed me, yet at other times I had +been in a habit of taking them off at pleasure; and to prove it, I sat +down and in a few minutes handed him the irons. The man was amazed; but +saying nothing about the irons, he approached me on another subject. He +said he thought if I would sign an acknowledgment that I was a married +man when I married Sarah Scheimer, and would leave the State forever, I +could get out of jail; would I do it? I told him I would give no answer +till I had seen my counsel. + +Well, the next day Lawyer Sitgreave came to me and told me I had better +do it, and I consented. Shortly afterwards, I was taken to court, for +the first time in this whole affair, and was informed by the judge that +if I would sign a bond not to go near the Scheimer house or family he +would discharge me. I signed such a bond, and the judge then told me I +was discharged; but that I ought to have gone to State prison for ten +years for destroying the peace and happiness of the Scheimer family. +Truly the Scheimer family were a power, indeed, in that part of the +country! + +My lawyer gave me five dollars and I went to Harmony and staid that +night. The next day I went to an old friend of mine, a Methodist +minister, and persuaded him to go over and see what Sarah Scheimer's +feelings were towards me, and if she was willing to come to me with our +child. He went over there, but the old Scheimers suspected his errand, +and watched him closely to see that he held no communication with Sarah. +He did, however, have an opportunity to speak to her, and she sent me +word that if she could ever get her money and get away from her parents, +she would certainly join me in any part of the world. I was warned, at +the same time, not to come near the house, for fear that her father or +some of her brothers would kill me. + + + +CHAPTER VI. FREE LIFE AND FISHING. + +TAKING CARE OF CRAZY MEN--CARRYING OFF A BOY--ARRESTED FOR STEALING MY +OWN HORSE AND BUGGY--FISHING IN LAKE WINNIPISEOGEE--AN ODD LANDLORD--A +WOMAN AS BIG AS A HOGSHEAD--REDUCING THE HOGSHEAD TO A BARREL--WONDERFUL +VERIFICATION OF A DREAM--SUCCESSFUL MEDICAL PRACTICE--A BUSY WINTER +IN NEW HAMPSHIRE--BLANDISHMENTS OF CAPTAIN BROWN--I GO TO NEWARK, NEW +JERSEY. + + + +The next day I left Harmony and walked to Port Jarvis, on the Erie +Railroad, N. Y., arriving late at night, and entirely footsore, sick, +and disheartened. I went to the hotel, and the next morning I found +myself seriously sick. Asking advice, I was directed to the house of +a widow, who promised to nurse and take care of me. I was ill for two +weeks, and meantime, my half-sister in Delaware County, to whom I +made known my condition, sent me money for my expenses, and when I +had sufficiently recovered to travel, I went to this sister's house in +Sidney, and there I remained several days, till I was quite well and +strong again. + +Casting about for something to do, a friend told me that he knew of +an opportunity for a good man at Newbury to take care of a young man, +eighteen years of age, who was insane. I went there and saw his father, +and he put him under my charge. I had the care of him four months, and +during the last two months of the time I traveled about with him, +and returned him, finally, to his friends in a materially improved +condition. The friends of another insane man in Montgomery, near +Newbury, hearing of my success with this young man, sent for me to come +and see them. I went there and found a man who had been insane seven +years, but who was quiet and well-behaved, only he was "out of his +head." I engaged to do what I could for him. The father of my Newbury +patient had paid me well, and with my medical practice and the sale of +medicines in traveling about, I had accumulated several hundred dollars, +and when I went to Montgomery I had a good horse and buggy which cost me +five hundred dollars. So, when my new patient had been under my care and +control two months, I proposed that he should travel about with me in my +buggy, and visit various parts of the State in the immediate vicinity. +His friends thought well of the suggestion, and we traveled in this way +about four months, stopping a few days here and there, when I practiced +where I could, and sold medicines, making some money. At the end of +this time I went back to Montgomery with my patient, as I think, fully +restored, and his father, besides, paying the actual expenses of our +journey, gave me six hundred dollars. + +Returning to Sidney I learned that my first and worst wife was then +living with the children at Unadilla, a few miles across the river in +Otsego County. I had no desire to see her, but I heard at the same time +that my youngest boy, a lad ten years old, had been sent to work on a +farm three miles beyond, and that he was not well taken care of. I drove +over to see about it, and after some inquiry I was told that the boy +was then in school. Going to the schoolhouse and asking for him, the +school-mistress, who knew me, denied that he was there, but I pushed +in, and found him, and a ragged, miserable looking little wretch he was. +I brought him out, put him into the carriage and took him with me on the +journey which I was then contemplating to Amsterdam, N. Y., stopping +at the first town to get him decently clothed. The boy went with me +willingly, indeed he was glad to go, and in due time we arrived at +Amsterdam, and from there we went to Troy. + +I had not been in Troy two hours before I was arrested for stealing my +own horse and buggy! My turnout was taken from me, and I found myself in +durance vile. I was not long in procuring bail, and I then set myself, +to work to find out what this meant. I was shown a handbill describing +my person, giving my name, giving a description of my horse, and +offering a reward of fifty dollars for my arrest. This was signed by +a certain Benson, of Kingston, Sullivan County, N.Y. I then remembered +that while I was traveling with my insane patient from Montgomery +through Sullivan County, I fell in with a Benson who was a very +plausible fellow, and who scraped acquaintance with me, and while I was +at Kingston he rode about with me on one or two occasions. One day he +told me that he knew a girl just out of the place who was subject to +fits, and wanted to know if I could do anything for her; that her father +was rich and would pay a good price to have her cured. I went to see the +girl and did at least enough to earn a fee of one hundred dollars, +which her father gladly paid me. Benson also introduced me to some other +people whom I found profitable patients. I thought he was a very good +friend to me, but he was a cool, calculating rascal. He meant to rob me +of my horse and buggy, and went deliberately to work about it. First, he +issued the handbill which caused my arrest in Troy, where he knew I was +going. Next, as appeared when he came up to Troy to prosecute the suit +against me, he forged a bill of sale. The case was tried and decided +in my favor. Benson appealed, and again it was decided that the horse +belonged to me. I then had him indicted for perjury and forgery, and he +was put under bonds of fourteen hundred dollars in each case to appear +for trial. Some how or other he never appeared, and whether he forfeited +his bonds, or otherwise slipped through the "meshes of the law," I never +learned, nor have I ever seen him since he attempted to swindle me. +But these proceedings kept me in Troy more than a month, and to pay +my lawyer and other expenses, I actually sold the horse and buggy the +scoundrel tried to steal from me. + +Taking my boy to Sidney and putting him under the care of my half +sister, I went to Boston, where I met two friends of mine who were +about going to Meredith Bridge, N.H., to fish through the ice on Lake +Winnipiseogee. It was early in January, 1853, and good, clear, cold +weather. They represented the sport to be capital, and said that plenty +of superb lake trout and pickerel could be taken every day, and urged me +to go with them. As I had nothing special to do for a few days, I went. +When we reached Meredith we stopped at a tavern near the lake, kept by +one of the oddest landlords I have ever met. After a good supper, as +we were sitting in the barroom, the landlord came up to me and at once +opened conversation in the following manner: + +"Waal, where do you come from, anyhow?" + +"From Boston," I replied. + +"Waal, what be you, anyhow?" + +"Well, I practice medicine, and take care of the sick." + +"Dew ye? Waal, do ye ever cure anybody?" + +"O, sometimes; quite frequently, in fact." + +"Dew ye! waal, there's a woman up here to Lake Village, 'Squire +Blaisdell's wife, who has had the dropsy more'n twelve years; been +filling' all the time till they tell me she's bigger'n a hogshead now, +and she's had a hundred doctors, and the more doctors she has the bigger +she gets; what d' ye think of that now?" + +I answered that I thought it was quite likely, and then turned away +from the landlord to talk to my friends about our proposed sport for +to-morrow, mentally making note of 'Squire Blaisdell's wife in Lake +Village. + +After breakfast next morning we went out on the lake, cut holes in the +ice, set our lines, and before dinner we had taken several fine trout +and pickerel, the largest and finest of which we put into a box with +ice, and sent as a present to President Pierce, in Washington. We had +agreed, the night before, to fish for him the first day, and to send +him the best specimens we could from his native state. After dinner my +friends started to go out on the ice again, and I told them "I guess'd I +wouldn't go with them, I had fished enough for that day." They insisted +I should go, but I told them I preferred to take a walk and explore the +country. So they went to the lake and I walked up to Lake Village. + +I soon found Mr. Blaisdell's house, and as the servant who came to the +door informed me that Mr. Blaisdell was not at home, I asked to see +Mrs. Blaisdell, And was shown in to that lady. She was not quite the +"hogshead" the landlord declared her to be, but she was one of the worst +cases of dropsy I had ever seen. I introduced myself to her, told her my +profession, and that I had called upon her in the hope of being able to +afford her some relief; that I wanted nothing for my services unless I +could really benefit her. + +"O, Doctor," said she, "you can do nothing for me; in the past twelve +years I have had at least forty different doctors, and none of them have +helped me." + +"But there can be no harm in trying the forty-first;" and as I said +it I took from my vest pocket and held out in the palm of my hand some +pills: + +"Here, madame, are some pills made from a simple blossom, which cannot +possibly harm you, and which, I am sure, will do you a great deal of +good." + +"O, Mary!" she exclaimed to her niece, who was in attendance upon her, +"this is my dream! I dreamed last night that my father appeared to me +and told me that a stranger would come with a blossom in his hand; that +he would offer it to me, and that if I would take it I should recover. +Go and get a glass of water and I will take these pills at once." + +"Surely," said Mary, "you are not going to take this stranger's medicine +without knowing anything about it, or him?" + +"I am indeed; go and get the water." + +She took the medicine and then told me that her father, who had died two +years ago, was a physician, and had carefully attended to her case as +long as he lived; but that she had a will of her own, and had sent far +and near for other doctors, though with no good result. + +"You have come to me," she continued, "and although I am not +superstitious, your coming with a blossom in your hand, figuratively +speaking, is so exactly in accordance with my dream, that I am going to +put myself under your care." + +She then asked me if I lived in the neighborhood, and I told her no; +that I had merely come up from Boston with two friends to try a few +days' fishing through the ice on the lake. + +"You can fish to better purpose here, I think," she said; "you can get +plenty of practice in the villages and farm houses about here: at any +rate, stay for the present and undertake my case, and I will pay you +liberally." + +I went back to Meredith Bridge--I believe it is now called Laconia--and +had another day's fishing with my friends. When they were ready to pack +up and return to Boston, I astonished them by informing them that I +should stay where I was for the present, perhaps for months, and that I +believed I could find a good practice in Meredith and adjoining places. +So they left me and I went to Lake Village, and made that pleasant place +my headquarters. + +The weeks wore on, and if Mrs. Blaisdell was a hogshead, as the Meredith +landlord said, when I first saw her, she soon became a barrel under my +treatment, and in four months she was entirely cured, and was as sound +as any woman in the State. I had as much other business too as I could +attend to, and was very busy and happy all the time. + +In May I went to Exeter, alternating between there and Portsmouth, and +finding enough to do till the end of July. While I was in Portsmouth +on one of my last visits to that place, I received a call from a +sea-captain by the name of Brown, who told me that he had heard of my +success in dropsical cases, and that I must go to Newark, N. J., and +see his daughter. "Pay," he said, "was no object; I must go." I told him +that I had early finished my business in that vicinity, and that when I +went to New York, as I proposed to do shortly, I would go over to +Newark and see his daughter. A few days afterward, when I had settled my +business and collected my bills in Portsmouth and Exeter, I went to New +York, and from there to Newark. + + + +CHAPTER VII. WEDDING A WIDOW, AND THE CONSEQUENCES. + +I MARRY A WIDOW--SIX WEEKS OF HAPPINESS--CONFIDING A SECRET AND THE +CONSEQUENCES--THE WIDOW'S BROTHER--SUDDEN FLIGHT FROM NEWARK--IN +HARTFORD, CONN.--MY WIFE'S SISTER BETRAYS ME--TRIAL FOR +BIGAMY--SENTENCED TO TEN YEARS IMPRISONMENT--I BECOME A "BOBBIN BOY"--A +GOOD FRIEND--GOVERNOR PRICE VISITS ME IN PRISON--HE PARDONS ME--TEN +YEARS' SENTENCE FULFILLED IN SEVEN MONTHS. + + + +Why in the world did Captain Brown ever tempt me with the prospect of +a profitable patient in Newark? I had no thought of going to that city, +and no business there except to see if I could cure Captain Brown's +daughter. With my matrimonial monomania it was like putting my hand into +the fire to go to a fresh place, where I should see fresh faces, and +where fresh temptations would beset me. And when I went to Newark, I +went only as I supposed, to see a single patient; but Captain Brown +prevailed upon me to stay to take care of his daughter, and assured me +that he and his friends would secure me a good practice. They did. In +two months I was doing as well in my profession as I had ever done in +any place where I had located. I might have attended strictly to my +business, and in a few years have acquired a handsome competence. But, +as ill luck, which, strangely enough, I then considered good luck, would +have it, when I had been in Newark some two months, I became acquainted +with a buxom, good-looking widow, Mrs. Elizabeth Roberts. I protest +to-day that she courted me--not I her. She was fair, fascinating, and +had a goodly share of property. I fell into the snare. She said she was +lonely; she sighed; she smiled, and I was lost. + +Would that I had observed the elder Weller's injunction: "Bevare of +vidders;" would that I had never seen the Widow Roberts, or rather that +she had never seen me. Eight weeks after we first met we were married. +We had a great wedding in her own house, and all her friends were +present. I was in good practice with as many patients as I could attend +to; she had a good home and we settled down to be very happy. + +For six weeks, only six weeks, I think we were so. We might have been +so for six weeks, six months, six years longer; but alas! I was a fool I +confided to her the secret of my first marriage, and separation, and she +confided the same secret to her brother, a well-to-do wagon-maker in +Newark. So far as Elizabeth was concerned, she said she didn't care; +so long as the separation was mutual and final, since so many years +had elapsed, and especially since I hadn't seen the woman for full six +years, and was not supposed to know whether she was alive or dead, why, +it was as good as a divorce; so reasoned Elizabeth, and it was precisely +my own reasoning, and the reasoning which had got me into numberless +difficulties, to say nothing of jails and prisons. But the brother had +his doubts about it, and came and talked to me on the subject several +times. We quarrelled about it. He threatened to have me arrested for +bigamy. I told him that if he took a step in that direction I would flog +him. Then he had me brought before a justice for threatening him, with a +view to having me put under bonds to keep the peace. I employed a lawyer +who managed my case so well that the justice concluded there was no +cause of action against me. + +But this lawyer informed me that the brother was putting, even then, +another rod in pickle for me, and that I had better clear out. I took +his advice, I went to the widow's house, packed my trunk, gathered +together what money I could readily lay hands upon, and with about $300 +in my pocket, I started for New York, staying that night at a hotel in +Courtland street. + +The following morning I went over to Jersey City, hired a saddle-horse, +and rode to Newark. The precise object of my journey I do not think I +knew myself; but I must have had some vague idea of persuading Elizabeth +to leave Newark and join me in New York or elsewhere. I confess, too, +that I was more or less under the influence of liquor, and considerably +more than less. However, no one would have noticed this in my appearance +or demeanor. I rode directly to Elizabeth's door, hitched my horse, and +went into the house. The moment my wife saw me she cried out: + +"For God's sake get out of this house and out of town as soon as you +can; they have been watching for you ever since yesterday; they've got a +warrant for your arrest; don't stay here one moment." + +I asked her if she was willing to follow me, and she said she would +do so if she only dared but her brother had made an awful row, and had +sworn he would put me in prison anyhow; I had better go back to New York +and await events. I started for the door, and was unhitching my horse, +when the brother and a half dozen more were upon me. I sprang to the +saddle. They tried to stop me; the over-eager brother even caught me +by the foot; but I dashed through the crowd and rode like mad to Jersey +City, returned the horse to the livery stable, crossed the ferry to New +York, went to my hotel, got my trunk, and started for Hartford, Conn., +where I arrived in the evening. + +This was in the month of June, 1854. I went to the old Exchange Hotel in +State street, and very soon acquired a good practice. Indeed, it seems +as if I was always successful enough in my medical business--my mishaps +have been in the matrimonial line. When I had been in Hartford about +three months, and was well settled, I thought I would go down to New +York and see a married sister of Elizabeth's, who was living there, and +try to find out how matters were going on over in Newark. That I found +out fully, if not exactly to my satisfaction, will appear anon. + +When I called at the sister's house, the servant told me she was out, +but would be back in an hour; so I left my name, promising to call +again. I returned again at one o'clock in the afternoon, and the sister +was in, but declined to see me. As I was coming down the steps, a +policeman who seemed to be lounging on the opposite side of the street, +beckoned to me, and suspecting nothing, I crossed over to see what he +wanted. He simply wanted to know my name, and when I gave it to him he +informed me that I was his prisoner. I asked for what? and he said "as a +fugitive from justice in New Jersey." + +This was for taking the pains to come down from Hartford to inquire +after the welfare of my wife! whose sister, the moment the servant told +her I had been there, and would call again, had gone to the nearest +police station and given information, or made statements, which led to +the setting of this latest trap for me. The policeman took me before a +justice who sent me to the Tombs. On my arrival there I managed to pick +up a lawyer, or rather one of the sharks of the place picked me up, and +said that for twenty-five dollars he would get me clear in three or +four hours. I gave him the money, and from that day till now, I have +never set eyes upon him. I lay in a cell all night, and next morning +Elizabeth's brother, to whom the sister in New York had sent word that +I was caged, came over from Newark to see me. He said he felt sorry for +me, but that he was "bound to put me through." He then asked me if I +would go over to Newark without a requisition from the Governor of +New Jersey, and I told him I would not; whereupon he went away without +saying another word, and I waited all day to hear from the lawyer to +whom I had given twenty-five dollars, but he did not come. + +So next day when the brother came over and asked me the same question, +I said I would go; wherein I was a fool; for I ought to have reflected +that he had had twenty-four hours in which to get a requisition, and +that he might in fact have made application for one already, without +getting it, and every delay favored my chances of getting out. But I had +no one to advise me, and so I went quietly with him and an officer to +the ferry, where we crossed and went by cars to Newark. I was at once +taken before a justice, who, after a hearing of the case, bound me over, +under bonds of only one thousand dollars, to take my trial for bigamy. + +If I could have gone into the street I could have procured this +comparatively trifling bail in half an hour; as it was, after I was in +jail I sent for a man whom I knew, and gave him my gold watch and one +hundred dollars, all the money I had, to procure me bail, which he +promised to do; but he never did a thing for me, except to rob me. + +A lawyer came to me and offered to take my case in hand for one hundred +dollars, but I had not the money to give him. I then sent to New York +for a lawyer whom I knew, and when he came to see me he took the same +view of the case that Elizabeth and I did; that is, that the long +separation between my first wife and myself, and my presumed ignorance +as to whether she was alive or dead, gave me full liberty to marry +again. At least, he thought any court would consider it an extenuating +circumstance, and he promised to be present at my trial and aid me all +he could. + +I lay in Newark jail nine months, awaiting my trial. During that time I +had almost daily quarrels with the jailor, who abused me shamefully, and +told me I ought to go to State prison and stay there for life. Once he +took hold of me and I struck him, for which I was put in the dark cell +forty-eight hours. At last came my trial. The court appointed counsel +for me, for I had no money to fee a lawyer, and my New York friend was +on hand to advise and assist. I lad witnesses to show the length of time +that had elapsed since my separation from my first wife, and we also +raised the point as to whether the justice who married me, was really +a legal justice of the peace or not. The trial occupied two days. I +suppose all prisoners think so, but the Judge charged against me in +every point; the jury was out two hours, and then came in for advice on +a doubtful question; the judge gave them another blast against me, and +an hour after they came in with a verdict of "guilty." I went back to +jail and two days afterwards was brought up for sentence which was--"ten +years at hard labor in the State prison at Trenton." + +Good heavens! All this for being courted and won by a widow! + +The day following, I was taken in irons to Trenton. The Warden of +the prison, who wanted to console me, said that, for the offence, my +sentence was an awful one, and that he didn't believe I would be obliged +to serve out half of it. As I felt then, I did not believe I should live +out one-third of it. After I had gone through the routine of questions, +and had been put in the prison uniform, a cap was drawn down over my +face, as if I was about to be hung, and I was led, thus blind-folded, +around and around, evidently to confuse me, with regard to the interior +of the prison--in case I might ever have any idea of breaking out. At +last I was brought to a cell door and the cap was taken off. There were, +properly no "cells" in this prison--at least I never saw any; but good +sized rooms for two prisoners, not only to live in but to work in. I +found myself in a room with a man who was weaving carpets, and I was at +once instructed in the art of winding yarn on bobbins for him--in fact, +I was to be his "bobbin-boy." + +I pursued this monotonous occupation for two months, when I told the +keeper I did not like that business, and wanted to try something that +had a little more variety in it. Whereupon he put me at the cane chair +bottoming business, which gave me another room and another chum, and I +remained at this work while I was in the prison. In three weeks I could +bottom one chair, while my mate was bottoming nine or ten as his day's +work; but I told the keeper I did not mean to work hard, or work at all, +if I could help it. He was a very nice fellow and he only laughed and +let me do as I pleased. Indeed, I could not complain of my treatment +in any respect; I had a good clean room, good bed, and the fare was +wholesome and abundant. But then, there was that terrible, terrible +sentence of ten long years of this kind of life, if I should live +through it. + +After I had been in prison nearly seven months, one day a merchant +tailor whom I well knew in Newark, and who made my clothes, including +my wedding suit when I married the Widow Roberts, came to see me. The +legislature was in session and he was a member of the Senate. He knew +all the circumstances of my case, and was present at my trial. After the +first salutation, he laughingly said: + +"Well, Doctor, those are not quite as nice clothes as I used to furnish +you with." + +"No," I replied, "but perhaps they are more durable." + +After some other chaff and chat, he made me tell him all about my first +marriage and subsequent separation, and after talking awhile he went +away, promising to see me soon. I looked upon this only as a friendly +visit, for which I was grateful; and attached no great importance to it. +But he came again in a few days, and after some general conversation, he +told me that there was a movement on foot in my favor, which might bring +the best of news to me; that he had not only talked with his friends in +the legislature, and enlisted their sympathy and assistance, but he had +laid the whole circumstances, from beginning to end, before Governor +Price; that the Governor would visit the prison shortly, and then I must +do my best in pleading my own cause. + +In a day or two the Governor came, and I had an opportunity to relate +my story. I told him all about my first unfortunate marriage, and the +separation. He said that he knew the facts, and also that he had lately +received a letter from my oldest son on the subject, and had read it +with great interest. I then appealed to the Governor for his clemency; +my sentence was an outrageously severe one, and seemed almost prompted +by private malice; I implored him to pardon me; I went down on my knees +before him, and asked his mercy. He told me to be encouraged; that he +would be in the prison again in a few days, and he would see me. He then +went away. + +I at once drew up a petition which my friend in the Senate circulated +in the legislature for signatures, and afterwards sent it to Newark, +securing some of the best names in that city. It was then returned to +me, and two weeks afterwards when the Governor came again to the prison +I presented it to him, and he put it in his pocket. + +In two days' time, Governor Price sent my pardon into the prison. The +Warden came and told me of it, and said he would let me out in an hour. +Then came a keeper who once more put the cap over my face and led me +around the interior--I was willingly led now--till he brought me to a +room where he gave me my own clothes which I put on, and with a kind +parting word, and five dollars from the Warden, I was soon in the +street, once more a free man. My sentence of ten years had been +fulfilled by an imprisonment of exactly seven months. + +I went and called on Governor Price to thank him for his great goodness +towards me. He received me kindly, talked to me for some time, and gave +me some good advice and a little money. With this and the five dollars I +received from the Warden of the prison I started for New York. + + + +CHAPTER VII. ON THE KEEN SCENT. + +GOOD RESOLUTIONS--ENJOYING FREEDOM--GOING AFTER A CRAZY MAN--THE +OLD TEMPTER IN A NEW FORM--MARY GORDON--MY NEW "COUSIN"--ENGAGED +AGAIN--VISIT TO THE OLD FOLKS AT HOME--ANOTHER MARRIAGE--STARTING FOR +OHIO--CHANGE OF PLANS--DOMESTIC QUARRELS--UNPLEASANT STORIES ABOUT +MARY--BOUND OVER TO KEEP THE PEACE--ANOTHER ARREST FOR BIGAMY--A +SUDDEN FLIGHT--SECRETED THREE WEEKS IN A FARM HOUSE--RECAPTURED AT +CONCORD--ESCAPED ONCE MORE--TRAVELING ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD--IN +CANADA. + + + +It would seem as if, by this time, I had had enough of miscellaneous +marrying and the imprisonment that almost invariably followed. I had +told Governor Price, when I first implored him for pardon, that if he +would release me I would begin a new life, and endeavor to be in all +respects a better man. I honestly meant to make every effort to be so, +and on my stay to New York I made numberless vows for my own future +good behavior. I bound myself over, as it were, to keep the pace--my own +peace and quiet especially--and became my own surety. That I could not +have had a poorer bondsman, subsequent events proved to my sorrow. But I +started fairly, and meant to let liquor alone; to attend strictly to my +medical business, which I always managed to make profitable, and above +all, to have nothing to do with women in the love-making or matrimonial +way. + +With those good resolutions I arrived in New York and went to my old +hotel in Courtland Street, where I was well known and was well received. +My trunk, which I had left there sixteen months before, was safe, and +I had a good suit of clothes on my back--the clothes I took off when +I went to prison in Trenton--and which were returned to me when I came +away. I went to a friend who loaned me some money, and I remained two or +three days in town to try my new-found freedom, going about the city, +visiting places of amusement, enjoying myself very much, and keeping, so +far, the good resolutions I had formed. + +From New York I went to Troy, and at the hotel where I stopped I became +acquainted with a woman who told me that her husband was in the Insane +Asylum at Brattleboro, Vt. She was going to see him, and if he was fit +to be removed, she proposed to take him home, with her. I told her +of the success I had had in taking care of two men at Newbury and +Montgomery; and how I had traveled about the country with them, and with +the most beneficial results to my patients. She was much interested, +inquired into the particulars, and finally thought the plan would be a +favorable one for her husband. She asked me to go with her to see him, +and said that if he was in condition to travel he should go about with +me if he would; at any rate, if he came out of the Asylum she would put +him under my care. We went together to Brattleboro, and the very day we +arrived her husband was taken in an apoplectic fit from which he did not +recover. She carried home his corpse, and I lost my expected patient. + +But I must have something to do for my daily support, and so I went to +work and very soon sold some medicines and recipes, and secured a few +patients. I also visited the adjoining villages, and in a few weeks +I had a very good practice. I might have lived here quietly and made +money. Nobody knew anything of my former history, my marriages or my +misfortunes, and I was doing well, with a daily increasing business. +And so I went on for nearly three months, gaining new acquaintances, and +extending my practice every day. + +Then came the old tempter in a new form, and my matrimonial monomania, +which I hoped was cured forever, broke out afresh. One day, at the +public house where I lived, I saw a fine girl from New Hampshire, with +whom I became acquainted--so easily, so far as she was concerned--that I +ought to have been warned to have nothing to do with her; but, as usual, +in such cases, my common sense left me, and I was infatuated enough to +fancy that I was in love. + +Mary Gordon was the daughter of a farmer living near Keene, N. H., and +was a handsome girl about twenty years of age. She was going, she told +me, to visit some friends in Bennington, and would be there about a +month, during which time, if I was in that vicinity, she hoped I would +come and see her. We parted very lovingly, and when she had been in +Bennington a few days she wrote to me, setting a time for me to visit +her; but in business in Brattleboro was too good to leave, and I so +wrote to her. Whereupon, in another week, she came back to Brattleboro +and proposed to finish the remainder of her visit there, thus blinding +her friends at home who would think she was all the while at Bennington. + +Our brief acquaintance when she was at the house before, attracted no +particular attention, and when she came now I told the landlord that she +was my cousin, and he gave her a room and I paid her bills. The cousin +business was a full cover to our intimacy; she sat next to me at the +table, rode about with me to see my patients, and when I went to places +near by to sell medicine, and we were almost constantly together. Of +course, we were engaged to be married, and that very soon. + +In a fortnight after her arrival I went home with her to her father's +farm near Keene, and she told her mother that we were "engaged." The old +folks thought they would like to know me a little better, but she said +we were old friends, she knew me thoroughly, and meant to marry me. +There was no further objection on the part of her parents, and in the +few days following she and her mother were busily engaged in preparing +her clothes and outfit. + +I then announced my intention of returning to Brattleboro to settle up +my business in that place, and she declared she would go with me; I +was sure to be lonesome; she might help me about my bills, and so on. +Strange as it may seem, her parents made no objection to her going, +though I was to be absent a fortnight, and was not to be married till +I came back. So we went together, and I and my "cousin" put up at the +hotel we had lately left. For two weeks I was busy in making my final +visits to my patients acquaintances, she generally going with me every +day. + +At the end of that time we went back to Keene, and in three weeks we +were married in her father's house, the old folks making a great wedding +for us, which was attended by all the neighbors and friends of the +family. We stayed at home two weeks, and meanwhile arranged our plans +for the future. We proposed to go out to Ohio, where she had some +relatives, and settle down. She had seven hundred dollars in bank in +Keene which she drew, and we started on our journey. We went to Troy, +where we stayed a few days, and during that time we both concluded that +we would not go West, but return to Keene and live in the town instead +of on the farm, so that I could open an office and practice there. + +So we went back to her home again, but before I completed my plans for +settling down in Keene, Mary and I had several quarrels which were worse +than mere ordinary matrimonial squabbles. Two or three young men in +Keene, with whom I had become acquainted, twitted me with marrying Mary, +and told me enough about her to convince me that her former life had not +been altogether what it should have been. I had been too blinded by +her beauty when I first saw her in Brattleboro, to notice how extremely +easily she was won. Her parents, too, were wonderfully willing, if not +eager, to marry her to me. All these things came to me now, and we had +some very lively conversations on the subject, in which the old folks +joined, siding with their daughter of course. By and by the girl went +to Keene and made a complaint that she was afraid of her life, and I was +brought before a magistrate and put under bonds of four hundred dollars +to keep the peace. I gave a man fifty dollars to go bail for me, and +then, instead of going out to the farm with Mary, I went to the hotel in +Keene. + +The well-known character of the girl, my marriage to her, the brief +honeymoon, the quarrels and the cause of the same, were all too tempting +material not to be served up in a paragraph, and as I expected and +feared, out came the whole story in the Keene paper. + +This was copied in other journals, and presently came letters to the +family and to other persons in the place, giving some account of my +former adventures and marriages. Of this however I knew nothing, till +one day, while I was at the hotel, I was suddenly arrested for bigamy. +But I was used to this kind of arrest by this time, and I went before +the magistrate with my mind made up that I must suffer again for my +matrimonial monomania. + +It was just after dinner when I was arrested, and the examination, which +was a long one, continued till evening. Every one in the magistrate's +office was tired out with it, I especially, and so I took a favorable +opportunity to leave the premises. I bolted for the door, ran down +stairs into the street, and was well out of town before the astonished +magistrate, stunned constable, and amazed spectators realized that I had +gone. + +Whether they than set out in pursuit of me I never knew, I only know +they did not catch me. I ran till I came to the house of a farmer whom +I had been attending for some ailment, and hurriedly narrating the +situation, I offered him one hundred dollars if he would secrete me till +the hue and cry was over and I could safely get away. I think he would +have done it from good will, but the hundred dollar bill I offered him +made the matter sure. He put my money into his pocket, and he put me +into a dark closet, not more than five feet square, and locked me in. + +I stayed in that man's house, never going out of doors, for more than +three weeks, and did my best to board out my hundred dollars. The day +after my flight the whole neighborhood was searched, that is, the woods, +roads, and adjacent villages. They never thought of looking in a house, +particularly in a house so near the town; and, as I heard from my +protector, they telegraphed and advertised far and near for me. + +I anticipated all this, and for this very reason I remained quietly +where I was, in an unsuspected house, and with my dark closet to retire +to whenever any one came in; and gossiping neighbors coming in almost +every hour, kept me in that hole nearly half the time. I heard my own +story told in that house at least fifty times, and in fifty different +ways. + +At last, when I thought it was safe, one night my host harnessed up his +horses and carried me some miles on my way to Concord. He drove as far +as he dared, for he wanted to get back home by daylight, so that his +expedition might excite no suspicion. Twenty miles away from Keene he +set me down in the road, and, bidding him "good-bye," I began my march +toward Concord. When I arrived there, almost the first man I saw in the +street was a doctor from Keene. I did not think he saw me, but he did, +as I soon found out, for while I was waiting at the depot to take the +cars to the north, I was arrested. + +The Keene doctor owed me a grudge for interfering, as he deemed it; with +his regular practice, and the moment he saw me he put an officer on my +trail. I thought it was safe here to take the cars, for I was footsore +and weary, nor did I get away from Keene as fast and as far as I wanted +to. I should have succeeded but for that doctor. + +When the officer brought me before a justice, the doctor was a willing +witness to declare that I was a fugitive from justice, and he stated the +circumstances of my escape. So I was sent back to Keene under charge of +the very officer who arrested me at the depot. + +I would not give this officer's name if I could remember it, but he was +a fine fellow, and was exceedingly impressible. For instance, on our +arrival at Keene, he allowed me to go to the hotel and pack my trunk to +be forwarded to Meredith Bridge by express. He then handed me over to +the authorities, and I was immediately taken before the magistrate from +whom I had previously escaped, the Concord officer accompanying the +Keene officer who had charge of me. + +The examination was short; I was bound over in the sum of one thousand +dollars to take my trial for bigamy. On my way to jail I persuaded the +Concord officer--with a hundred dollar bill which I slipped into his +hand--to induce the other officer to go with me to the hotel under +pretense of looking after my things, and getting what would be necessary +for my comfort in jail. My Concord friend kept the other officer down +stairs--in the bar-room, I presume--while I went to my room. I put a +single shirt in my pocket; the distance from my window to the ground +was not more than twelve or fifteen feet, and I let myself down from the +window sill and then dropped. + +I was out of the yard, into the street, and out of town in less than no +time. It was already evening, and everything favored my escape. I had +no idea of spending months in jail at Keene, and months more, perhaps +years, in the New Hampshire State Prison. All my past bitter experiences +of wretched prison life urged me to flight. + +And fly I did. No stopping at the friendly farmer's, my former refuge, +this time; that would be too great a risk. No showing of myself in any +town or village where the telegraph might have conveyed a description +of my person. I traveled night and day on foot, and more at night than +during the day, taking by-roads, lying by in the woods, sleeping in +barns, and getting my meals in out-of-the-way farm houses. + +I had plenty of money; but this kind of travelling is inexpensive, and, +paying twenty-five cents for one or two meals a day, as I dared to get +them, and sleeping in barns or under haystacks for nothing, my purse +did not materially diminish. I was a good walker, and in the course of +a week from the night when I left Keene, I found myself in Biddeford, +Maine. + +There was some sense of security in being in another State, and here I +ventured to take the cars for Portland, where I staid two days, sending +in the meantime for my trunk from Meredith Bridge, and getting it by +express. Of course it went to a fictitious address at Meredith, and it +came to me under the same name which I had registered in my hotel at +Portland. + +I did not mean to stay there long. My departure was hastened by the +advice of a man who knew me, and told he also knew my New Hampshire +scrape, and that I had better leave Portland as soon as possible. Half +an hour after this good advice I was on my way by cars to Canada. In +Canada I stayed in different small towns near the border, and "kept +moving," till I thought the New Hampshire matter had blown over a +little, or at least till they had given me up as a "gone case," and I +then reappeared in Troy. + + + +CHAPTER IX. MARRYING TWO MILLINERS. + +BACK IN VERMONT--FRESH TEMPTATIONS--MARGARET BRADLEY--WINE AND +WOMEN--A MOCK MARRIAGE IN TROY--THE FALSE CERTIFICATE--MEDICINE +AND MILLINERY--ELIZA GURNSEY--A SPREE AT SARATOGA--MARRYING ANOTHER +MILLINER--AGAIN ARRESTED OR BIGAMY--IN JAIL ELEVEN MONTHS--A TEDIOUS +TRIAL--FOUND GUILTY--APPEAL TO SUPREME COURT--TRYING TO BREAK OUT OF +JAIL--A GOVERNOR'S PROMISE--SECOND TRIAL--SENTENCE TO THREE YEARS' +IMPRISONMENT. + + + +From Troy I went, first to Newburyport, Mass., where I had some +business, and where I remained a week, and then returned to Troy again. +Next I went to Bennington, Vt., to sell medicines and practice, and I +found enough to occupy me there for full two months. From Bennington to +Rutland, selling medicines on the way, and at Rutland I intended to stay +for some time. My oldest son was there well established in the medical +business, and I thought that both of us together might extend a wide +practice and make a great deal of money. + +No doubt we might have done so, if I had minded my medical business +only, and had let matrimonial matters alone. I had just got rid of a +worthless woman in New Hampshire with a very narrow escape from State +prison. But, as my readers know by this time, all experience, even the +bitterest, was utterly thrown away upon me; I seemed to get out of one +scrape only to walk, with my eyes open, straight into another. + +At the hotel where I went to board, there was temporarily staying a +woman, about thirty-two years old, Margaret Bradly, by name, who kept a +large millinery establishment in town. I became acquainted with her, and +she told me that she owned a house in the place, in which she and her +mother lived; but her mother had gone away on a visit, and as she did +not like to live alone she had come to the hotel to stay for a few days +till her mother returned. Margaret was a fascinating woman; she knew it, +and it was my miserable fate to become intimate, altogether too intimate +with this designing milliner. + +I went to her store every day, sometimes two or three times a day, and +she always had in her backroom, wine or something stronger to treat me +with, and in the evening I saw her at the hotel. When her mother came +back, and Margaret opened her house again, I was a constant visitor. I +was once more caught; I was in love. + +Matters went on in this way for several weeks, when one evening I told +her that I was going next day to Troy on business, and she said she +wanted to go there to buy some goods, and that she would gladly take the +opportunity to go with me, if I would let her. Of course, I was only too +happy; and the next day I and my son, and she and one of the young women +in her employ, who was to assist her in selecting goods, started for +Troy. When I called for her, just as we were leaving the house, the old +lady, her mother, called out: + +"Margaret, don't you get married before you come back." + +"I guess I will," was Margaret's answer, and we went, a very jovial +party of four, to Troy and put up at the Girard House, where we had +dinner together, and drank a good deal of wine. After dinner my son and +myself went to attend to our business, she and her young woman going to +make their purchases, and arranging to meet us at a restaurant at half +past four o'clock, when we would lunch preparatory to returning to +Rutland. + +We met at the appointed place and hour, and had a very lively lunch +indeed, an orgie in fact, with not only enough to eat, but altogether +too much to drink. I honestly think the two women could have laid me and +my son under the table, and would have done it, if we had not looked out +for ourselves; as it was, we all drank a great deal and were very merry. +We were in a room by ourselves, and when we had been there nearly an +hour, it occurred to Margaret that it would be a good idea to humor the +old lady's dry joke about the danger of our getting married during this +visit to Troy. + +"Henry," said she to my son; "Go out and ask the woman who keeps the +saloon where you can get a blank marriage certificate, and then get one +and bring it here, and we'll have some fun." + +We were all just drunk enough to see that there was a joke in it, and +we urged the boy to go. He went to the woman, who directed him to a +stationer's opposite, and presently he came in with a blank marriage +certificate. We called for pen and ink and he sat down and filled out +the blank form putting in my name and Margaret Bradley's, signing it +with some odd name I have forgotten as that of the clergyman performing +the ceremony. He then signed his own name as a witness to the marriage, +and the young woman who was with us also witnessed it with her +signature. We had a great deal of fun over it, then more wine, and then +it was time for us to hurry to the depot to take the six o'clock train +for Rutland. + +Reaching home at about eleven o'clock at night, we found the old lady +up, and waiting for Margaret. We went in and Margaret's first words +were: + +"Well, mother! I'm married; I told you, you know, I thought I should be; +and here's my certificate." + +The mother expressed no surprise--she knew her daughter better than +I did, then--but quietly congratulated her, while I said not a single +word. My son went to see his companion home, and, as I had not achieved +this latest greatness, but had it thrust upon me, I and my new found +"wife" went to our room. The next day I removed from the hotel to +Margaret's house and remained there during my residence in Rutland, she +introducing me to her friends as her husband, and seeming to consider it +an established fact. + +Three weeks after this mock marriage, however, I told Margaret that I +was going to travel about the State a while to sell my medicines, and +that I might be absent for some time. She made no objections, and as I +was going with my own team she asked me to take some mantillas and a few +other goods which were a little out of fashion, and see if I could not +sell them for her. To be sure I would, and we parted on the best of +terms. + +Behold rue now, not only a medical man and a marrying man, but also +a man milliner. When I could not dispose of my medicines, I tried +mantillas, and in the course of my tour I sold the whole of Margaret's +wares, faithfully remitting to her the money for the same. I think she +would have put her whole stock of goods on me to work off in the same +way; but I never gave her the opportunity to do so. + +My journeying brought me at last to Montpelier where I proposed to stay +awhile and see if I could establish a practice. I had disposed of my +millinery goods and had nothing to attend to but my medicines--alas that +my professional acquirements as a marrying man should again have been +called in requisition. But it was to be. It was my fate to fall into the +hands of another milliner. + +"Insatiate monster! would not one suffice?" + +It seems not. There was a milliner at Rutland whose family and, friends +all believed to be my wife, though she knew she was not; and here in +Montpelier, was ready waiting, like a spider for a fly, another milliner +who was about to enmesh me in the matrimonial net. I had not been in +the place a week before I became acquainted with Eliza Gurnsey. I could +hardly help it, for she lived in the hotel where I stopped, and although +she was full thirty-five years old, she was altogether the most +attractive woman in the house. She was agreeable, good-looking, +intelligent, and what the vernacular calls "smart." At all events, she +was much too smart for me, as I soon found out. + +She had a considerable millinery establishment which she and her younger +sister carried on, employing several women, and she was reputed to +be well off. Strange as it may seem in the light of after events, she +actually belonged to the church and was a regular attendant at the +services. But no woman in town was more talked about, and precisely what +sort of a woman she was may be estimated from the fact that I had known +her but little more than a week, when she proposed that she, her sister +and I should go to Saratoga together, and have a good time for a day or +two. + +I was fairly fascinated with the woman and I consented. The younger +sister was taken with us, I thought at first as a cover, I knew +afterwards as a confederate, and Eliza paid all the bills, which were +by no means small ones, of the entire trip. We stopped in Saratoga at a +hotel, which is now in very different hands, but which was then kept +by proprietors who, in addition to a most excellent table and +accommodations, afforded their guests the opportunity, if they desired +it, of attending prayers every night and morning in one of the parlors. +This may have been the inducement which made Eliza insist upon going to +this house, but I doubt it. + +For our stay at Saratoga, three or four days, was one wild revel. We +rode about, got drunk, went to the Lake, came back to the hotel, and +the second day we were there, Eliza sent her sister for a Presbyterian +minister, whose address she had somehow secured, and this minister came +to the hotel and married us. I presume I consented, I don't know, for I +was too much under the effect of liquor to know much of anything. I have +an indistinct recollection of some sort of a ceremony, and afterwards +Eliza showed me a certificate--no Troy affair, but a genuine document +signed by a minister residing in Saratoga, and witnessed by her sister +and some one in the hotel who had been called in. But the whole was like +a dream to me; it was the plot of an infamous woman to endeavor to make +herself respectable by means of a marriage, no matter to whom or how +that marriage was effected. + +Meanwhile, the Montpelier papers had the whole story, one of them +publishing a glowing account of my elopement with Miss Gurnsey, and the +facts of our marriage at Saratoga was duly chronicled. This paper fell +into the hands of Miss Bradley, at Rutland, and as she claimed to be my +wife, and had parted with me only a little while before, when I went +out to peddle medicines and millinery, her feelings can be imagined. She +read the story and then aroused all Rutland. I had not been back from +Saratoga half an hour before I was arrested in the public house in +Montpelier and taken before a magistrate, on complaint of Miss Bradley, +of Rutland, that I was guilty of bigamy. + +The examination was a long one, and as the facts which were then shown +appeared afterwards in my trial they need not be noted now. I had two +first-rate lawyers, but for all that, and with the plainest showing +that Margaret Bradley had no claim whatever to be considered my wife, I +was bound over in the sum of three thousand dollars to appear for +trial, and was sent to jail. There was a tremendous excitement about the +matter, and the whole town seemed interested. + +To jail I went, Eliza going with me, and insisting upon staying; but the +jailer would not let her, nor was she permitted to visit me during my +entire stay there, at least she got in to see me but once. I made +every effort to get bail, but was unsuccessful. Eight long weary months +elapsed before my trial came on, and all this while I was in jail. My +trial lasted a week. The Bradley woman knew she was no more married to +me than she was to the man in the moon; but she swore stoutly that we +were actually wedded according to the certificate. On the other hand, +my son swore to all the facts about the Troy spree, and his buying and +filling out the certificate, which showed for itself that, excepting the +signature of the young woman who also witnessed it, it was entirely in +Henry's handwriting. I should have got along well enough so far as +the Bradley woman was concerned; but the prosecution had been put in +possession of all the facts relative to my first and worst marriage, and +the whole matter came up in this case. The District Attorney had sent +everywhere, as far even as Illinois, for witness with regard to that +marriage. It seemed as if all Vermont was against me. I have heard that +with the cost of witnesses and other expenses, my trial cost the state +more than five thousand dollars. My three lawyers could not save me. +After a week's trial the case went to the jury, and in four hours they +returned a verdict of "guilty." + +My counsel instantly appealed the case to the Supreme Court, and, +meanwhile I went back to jail where I remained three months more. A few +days after I returned to jail a friend of mine managed to furnish me +with files and saws, and I went industriously to work at the gratings +of my window to saw my way out. I could work only at night, when the +keepers were away, and I covered the traces of my cuttings by filling in +with tallow. In two months I had everything in readiness for my escape. +An hour's more sawing at the bars would set me free. But just at that +time the Governor of the State, Fletcher, made a visit to the jail. +I told him all about my case. He assured me, after hearing all the +circumstances, that if I should be convicted and sentenced, he would +surely pardon me in the course of six or eight weeks. Trusting in this +promise, I made no further effort to escape though I could have done +so easily any night; but rather than run the risk of recapture, and a +heavier sentence if I should be convicted, I awaited the chances of the +court, and looked beyond for the clemency of the Governor. + +Well, finally my case came up in the Supreme Court. It only occupied +a day, and the result was that I was sentenced for three years in the +State prison. I was remanded to jail, and five days from that time I was +taken from Montpelier to Windsor. + + + +CHAPTER X. PRISON-LIFE IN VERMONT. + +ENTERING PRISON--THE SCYTHE SNATH BUSINESS--BLISTERED HANDS--I +LEARN NOTHING--THREAT TO KILL THE SHOP--KEEPER--LOCKSMITHING--OPEN +REBELLION--SIX WEEKS IN THE DUNGEON--ESCAPE OF A PRISONER--IN THE +DUNGEON AGAIN--THE MAD MAN, HALL--HE ATTEMPTS TO MURDER THE DEPUTY--I +SAVE MOREY'S LIFE--HOWLING IN THE BLACK HOLE--TAKING OFF HALL'S +IRONS--A GHASTLY SPECTACLE--A PRISON FUNERAL--I AM LET ALONE--BETTER +TREATMENT--THE FULL TERM OF MY IMPRISONMENT. + + + +We arrived at Windsor and I was safely inside of the prison at three +o'clock in the afternoon. Warden Harlow met me with a joke, to the +effect that, had it not been for my handcuffs he should have taken the +officer who brought me, to be the prisoner, I was so much the better +dressed of the two. He then talked very seriously to me for a long time. +He was sorry, and surprised, he said, to see a man of my appearance +brought to such a place for such a crime; he could not understand how a +person of my evident intelligence should get into such a scrape. + +I told him that he understood it as well as I did, at all events; that +I could not conceive why I should get into these difficulties, one +after the other; but that I believed I was a crazy man on this one +subject--matrimonial monomania; that when I had gone through with one +of these scrapes, and had suffered the severe punishment that was almost +certain to follow, the whole was like a dream to me--a nightmare and +nothing more. With regard to what was before me in this prison I +should try and behave myself, and make the best of the situation; but I +notified the Warden that I did not mean to do one bit of work if I could +help it. + +He took me inside, where my fine clothes were taken away, and I. was +dressed in the usual particolored prison uniform. I was told the rules, +and was warned that if I did not observe them it would go hard with +me. Then followed twenty-four hours solitary confinement, and the next +afternoon I was taken from my cell to a shop in which scythe snaths were +made. + +It had transpired during my trial at Montpelier, that when I was a young +man, I was a blacksmith by trade. This information had been transmitted +to prison and I was at once put to work making heel rings. It was some +years since I had worked at a forge and handled a hammer. Consequently, +in three or four days, my hands were terribly blistered, and as the +Warden happened to come into the shop, I showed them to him, and quietly +told him that I would do that work no longer. He told me that I must do +it; he would make me do it. I answered that he might kill me, or punish +me in any way he pleased, but he could not make me do that kind of +labor, and I threw down my hammer and refused to work a moment longer. + +The Warden left me and sent Deputy Warden Morey to try me. He approached +me in a kindly way, and I showed my blistered hands to him. He thought +that was the way to "toughen" me. I thought not, and said so, and, +moreover, told him I would never make another heel ring in that prison, +and I never did. + +He sent me to my cell and I stayed there a week, till my hands were +well. Then the Deputy came to me and asked me if I was willing to learn +to hew out scythe snaths in the rough for the shavers, who finished +them? I said I would try. I went into the shop and was shown how the +work was to be done. Every man was expected to hew out fifty snaths in a +day. In three or four days the shop-keeper came and overlooked me while +I was working in my bungling way, and said if I couldn't do better than +that I must clear out of his shop and do something else. My reply was +that I did not understand the business, and had no desire or intention +to learn it. He sent for the Deputy Warden, who came and expressed +the opinion that I could not do anything. I said I was willing to do +anything I could understand. + +"Do you understand anything?" asked the Deputy. + +"Well, some things, marrying for instance," was my answer. + +"I want no joking or blackguardism about this matter," said the Deputy; +"them simple fact is, you've got to work; if you don't we'll make you." + +So I kept on at hewing, making no improvement, and in a day or two +more the shopkeeper undertook to show me how the work should be done. I +protested I never could learn it. + +"You don't try; and I have a good mind to punish you." + +The moment the shop-keeper said it I dropped the snath, raised my +axe, and told him that if he came one step nearer to me I would make +mincemeat of him. He thought it was advisable to stay where he was; but +one of the prison-keepers was in the shop, and as he came toward me I +warned him that he had better keep away. + +All the men in the shop were ready to break out in insubordination; when +I threatened the shop keeper and the guard, they cheered; the Deputy +Warden was soon on the ground; he stood in the doorway a moment, and +then, in a kind tone called me to him. I had no immediate quarrel with +him, and so I dropped my axe and went to him. He told me that there +was no use of "making a muss" there, it incited the other prisoners to +insubordination, and was sure to bring severe punishment upon myself. +"Go and get your cap and coat," said he "and come with me." + +"But if you are going to put me into that black hole of yours," I +exclaimed, "I won't go; you'll have to draw me there or kill me on the +way." + +He promised he would not put me in the dungeon, he was only going to +put me in my cell, he said, and to my cell I went, willingly enough, +and stayed there a week, during which time I suppose everyone of my +shopmates thought I was in the dungeon, undergoing severe punishment for +my rebellions conduct. + +I had learned now the worst lesson which a prisoner can learn--that is, +that my keepers were afraid of me. To a limited extent, it is true, I +was now my own master and keeper. In a few days Deputy Morey came to +me and asked me if I was "willing" to come out and work. I was sick +of solitary confinement, and longed to see the faces of men, even +prisoners: so I told him if I could get any work I could do I was +willing to try it, and would do as well as I knew how. He asked me if I +knew anything of locksmithing? I told him I had some taste for it, and +if he would show me his job I would let him see what I could do. + +The fact is, I was a very fair amateur locksmith, and had quite +a fondness for fixing, picking, and fussing generally over locks. +Accordingly, when he gave me a lock to work upon to make it "play +easier," as he described it, I did the job so satisfactorily that I had +nearly every lock in the prison to take off and operate upon, if it was +nothing more than to clean and oil one. This business occupied my +entire time and attention for nearly three months. Then I repaired iron +bedsteads, did other iron work, and I was the general tinker of the +prison. + +It came into my head, however, one day, that I might as well do nothing. +The prison fare was indescribably bad, almost as bad as the jail fare at +Easton. We lived upon the poorest possible salt beef for dinner, varied +now and then with plucks and such stuff from the slaughter houses, with +nothing but bread and rye coffee for breakfast and supper, and mush and +molasses perhaps twice a week. + +I was daily abused, too, by the Warden, his Deputy, and his keepers. +They looked upon me as an ugly, insubordinate, refractory, rebellious +rascal, who was ready to kill any of them, and, worst of all, who would +not work. I determined to confirm their minds in the latter supposition, +and so one day I threw down my tools and refused to do another thing. + +They dragged me to the dungeon and thrust me in. It was a wretched dark +hole, with a little dirty straw in one corner to lie upon. My entire +food and drink was bread and water. The man who brought it never spoke +to me. His face was the only one I saw during the livelong day. Day and +night were alike to me; I lost the run of time; but at long intervals, +once in eight or ten days, I suppose, the Deputy came to this hole and +asked me if I would come out and work. + +"No, no!" I always answered, "never!" Then I paced the stone floor in +the dark, or lay on my straw. I lay there till my hips were worn raw. +No human being can conceive the agony, the suffering endured in this +dungeon. At last I was nearly blind, and was scarcely able to stand up. +I presume that the attendant who brought my daily dole of bread and my +cup of water, reported my condition. One day the door opened and I was +ordered out. They were obliged to bring me out; I was so reduced that I +was but the shadow of myself. They meant to cure my obstinacy or to kill +me, and had not quite succeeded in doing either. + +There was no use in asking me if I would go to work then; I was just +alive. A few days in my own cell, in the daylight, and with something +beside bread and water to eat, partially restored me. I was then taken +into the shop where the snaths were finished by scraping and varnishing, +the lightest part of the work, but I would not learn, would not do, +would not try to do anything at all. They gave me up. The whole struggle +nearly killed me, but I beat them. I was turned into the halls and told +to do what I could, which, I knew well enough, meant what I would. + +After that I worked about the halls and yard, sometimes sweeping, and +again carrying something, or doing errands for the keepers from one part +of the prison to another. I was what theatrical managers call a general +utility man, and, not at all strangely, for it is human nature, now +that I could do what I pleased, I pleased to do a great deal, and was +tolerably useful, and far more agreeable than I had been in the past. + +There was a young fellow, twenty-two years of age, in one of the cells, +serving out a sentence of six years. When I was sweeping around I used +to stop and talk to him every day. One day he was missing. He had been +supposed to be sick or asleep for several hours, for apparently lie +lay in bed, and was lying very still. But that was only an ingeniously +constructed dummy. The young man himself had made a hole under his bed +into an adjoining vacant cell, the door of which stood open. He had +crawled through his hole, come out of the vacant cell door, and gone up +to the prison garret, where he found some old pieces of rope. These he +tied together, and getting out at the cupola upon the roof, he managed +to let himself down on the outside of the building and got away. He was +never recaptured. The Warden said that some one must have told him about +the adjoining vacant cell, with its always open door, else how would the +young man have known it? + +I was accused of imparting this valuable information, and I suffered +four weeks' confinement in that horrible dungeon on the mere suspicion. +This made ten weeks in all of my prison-life in a hole in which I +suffered so that I hoped I should die there. + +One of the prisoners was a desperate man, named Hall. He was a convicted +murderer, and was sentenced for life. He too, worked about in the prison +and the yards, dragging or carrying a heavy ball and chain. When bundles +of snaths were to be carried from one shop to the other in the various +processes of finishing, Hall had to do it, and to carry his ball and +chain as well, so that he was loaded like a pack-horse. No pack-horse +was ever so abused. + +Of course he was ugly; the wardens and the keepers knew it, and +generally kept away from him. + +I talked with him more than once, and he told me that with better +treatment he should be a better man. "Look at the loads which are put on +me every day," he would say; as if this ball and chain were not as much +as I can carry; and this for life, for life! + +One day when Hall and I were working together in the prison, Deputy +Warden Morey came in and said something to him, and in a moment the man +sprung upon him. He had secured somehow, perhaps he had picked it up in +the yard, a pocket knife, and with this he stabbed the Warden, striking +him in the shoulder, arm, and where he could. + +Morey was a man sixty-five years of age, and he made such resistance +as he could, crying out loudly for help. I turned, ran to Hall, and with +one blow of my fist knocked him nearly senseless; then help came and we +secured the mad man. Morey was profuse in protestations of gratitude to +me for saving his life. + +There was a great excitement over this attempt to murder the Deputy, and +for a few hours, with wardens and keepers, I was a hero. I had been in +the prison more than a year, and was generally regarded as one of the +worst prisoners, one of the "hardest cases;" a mere chance had suddenly +made me one of the most commendable men within those dreary walls. As +for Hall, he was taken to the dungeon and securely chained by the feet +to a ring in the center of the stone floor. There is no doubt whatever +that the man was a raving maniac. He howled night and day so that he +could be heard everywhere in the prison--"Murder, murder! they are +murdering me in this black hole; why don't they take me out and kill +me?" + +The Warden said it could not be helped; that the man must be kept there; +he was dangerous to himself and others; the dark cell was the only place +for him. So Hall stayed there and howled, his cries growing weaker from +day to day; by-and-by we heard him only at intervals, and after that +not at all. + +One morning there was a little knot of men around the open dungeon door, +the Deputy Warden and two or three keepers. Mr. Morey called to me to go +and get the tools and come there and take off Hall's irons. I went into +the cell and in a few minutes I unfastened his feet from the ring; +then I took the shackles off his limbs. I thought he held his legs very +stiff, but knew he was obstinate, and only wondered he was so quiet. + +Somebody brought in a candle and I looked at Hall's face. I never saw a +more ghastly sight. The blood from his mouth and nostrils had clotted +on the lower part of his face, and his wild eyes, fixed and glassy, were +staring at the top wall of the dungeon. He must have been dead several +hours. The Deputy and the rest knew he was dead--the man who carried in +the bread and water told them--me it came with a shock from which I did +not soon recover. + +They buried Hall in the little graveyard which was in the yard of the +prison. An Episcopal clergyman, who was chaplain of the prison, read the +burial service over him. The prisoners were brought out to attend the +homely funeral. The ball and chain, all the personal property left by +Hall, were put aside for the next murderer sentenced for life, or for +the next "ugly" prisoner. "If I were only treated better, and not abused +so, I should be a better man." This is what Hall used to say to me +whenever he had an opportunity. The last and worst and best in that +prison had been done for him now. + +From the day when I rescued Morey from the hands of Hall, his whole +manner changed towards me, and he treated me with great kindness, +frequently bringing me a cup of tea or coffee, and something good to +eat. He also promised to present the circumstances of the Hall affair to +the Governor, and to urge my pardon, but I do not think he ever did so, +at least I heard nothing of it. When I pressed the matter upon Morey's +attention he said it would do no good till I had served out half my +sentence, and then he would see what could be done. + +I served half my sentence, and then the other half, every day of it. But +during the last two years I had very little to complain of except the +loss of my liberty. I was put into the cook shop where I could get +better food, and I did pretty much what I pleased. By general consent +I was let alone. They had found out that ill usage only made me "ugly," +while kindness made me at least behave myself. And so the three weary +years of my confinement were on to an end. + + + +CHAPTER XI. ON THE TRAMP. + +THE DAY OF MY DELIVERANCE--OUT OF CLOTHES--SHARING WITH A BEGGAR--A +GOOD FRIEND--TRAMPING THROUGH THE SNOW--WEARY WALKS--TRUSTING TO +LUCK--COMFORT AT CONCORD--AT MEREDITH BRIDGE--THE BLAISDELLS--LAST +OF THE "BLOSSOM" BUSINESS--MAKING MONEY AT PORTSMOUTH--REVISITING +WINDSOR--AN ASTONISHED WARDEN--MAKING FRIENDS OF OLD ENEMIES--INSPECTING +THE PRISON--GOING TO PORT JERVIS. + + + +At last the happy day of my deliverance came. The penalty for pretending +to marry one milliner and for being married by another milliner was +paid. My sentence was fulfilled. I had looked forward to this day for +months. Of all my jail and prison life in different States, this in +Vermont was the hardest, the most severe. My obstinacy, no doubt, did +much at first to enhance my sufferings, and it was the accident only +of my saving Morey's life that made the last part of my imprisonment +a little more tolerable. When I was preparing to go, it was discovered +that the fine suit of clothes I wore into the prison had been given by +mistake or design to some one else, and my silk hat and calf-skin boots +had gone with the clothes. But never mind! I would have gone out into +the world in rags--my liberty was all I wanted then. The Warden gave me +one of his own old coats, a ragged pair of pantaloons, and a new pair +of brogan shoes. He also gave me three dollars, which was precisely a +dollar a year for my services, and this was more than I ever meant to +earn there. Thus equipped and supplied I was sent out into the streets +of Windsor. + +I had not gone half a mile before I met a poor old woman whom I had +known very well in Rutland. She recognized me at once, though I know I +was sadly changed for the worse. She was on her way to Fall River, where +she had relatives, and where she hoped for help, but had no money to pay +her fare, so I divided my small stock with her, and that left me just +one dollar and a half with which to begin the world again. I went down +to the bridge and the toll--gatherer gave me as much as I could eat, +twenty five cents in money, and a pocket-full of food to carry with me. +I was heading, footing rather, for Meredith Bridge in New Hampshire. +It was in the month of December; and I was poorly clad and without an +overcoat. I must have walked fifteen miles that afternoon, and just at +nightfall I came to a wayside public house and ventured to go in. As +I stood by the fire, the landlord stepped up and slapping me on the +shoulder, said: + +"Friend, you look as if you were in trouble; step up and have something +to drink." + +I gladly accepted the invitation to partake of the first glass of liquor +I had tasted in three years. It was something, too, everything to be +addressed thus kindly. I told this worthy landlord my whole story; how +I had been trapped by the two milliners, and how I had subsequently +suffered. He had read something about it in the papers; he felt as if +he knew me; he certainly was sorry for me; and he proved his sympathy +by giving me what then seemed to me the best supper I had ever eaten, +a good bed, a good breakfast, a package of provisions to carry with me, +and then sent me on my way with a comparatively light heart. + +It rained, snowed, and drizzled all day long. I tramped through the wet +snow ankle deep, but made nearly forty miles before night, and then came +to a public house which I knew well. When I was in the bar-room drying +myself and warming my wet and half-frozen feet, I could not but think +how, only a few years before, I had put up at that very house, with a +fine horse and buggy of my own in the stable, and plenty of money in my +pocket. The landlord's face was familiar enough, but he did not know +me, nor, under my changed circumstances, did I desire that he should. +Supper, lodging, and breakfast nearly exhausted my small money capital; +I was worn and weary, too, and the next day was able to walk but twenty +miles, all told. On the way, at noon I went into a farm house to warm +myself. The woman had just baked a short-cake which stood on the +hearth, toward which I must have cast longing eyes, for the farmer said: + +"Have you had your dinner, man?" + +"No, and I have no money to buy any." + +"Well, you don't need money here. Wife, put that short-cake and some +butter on the table; now, my man, fall to and eat as much as you like." + +I was very hungry, and I declare I ate the whole of that short-cake. +I told these people that I had been in better circumstances, and that +I was not always the poor, ragged, hungry wretch I appeared then. They +made we welcome to what I had eaten and when I went away filled my +pockets with food. At night I was about thirty miles above Concord. I +had no money, but trusting to luck, I got on the cars--the conductor +came, and when he found I had no ticket, he said he must put me off. It +was a bitter night and I told him I should be sure to freeze to death. +A gentleman who heard the conversation at once paid my fare, for which I +expressed my grateful thanks, and I went to Concord. + +On my arrival I went to a hotel and told the landlord I wanted to stay +there till the next day, when a conductor whom I knew would be going to +Meredith Bridge; that I was going with him, and that he would probably +pay my bill at the hotel. "All right," said the landlord, and he gave me +my supper and a room. The next noon my friend, the conductor, came and +when I first spoke to him he did not recognize me; I told him who I +was, but to ask me no questions as to how I came to appear in those old +clothes, and to be so poor; I wanted to borrow five dollars, and to go +with him to Meredith Bridge. He greeted me very cordially, handed me a +ten-dollar Bill--twice as much as I asked for--said he was not going to +the Bridge till next day, and told me meanwhile, to go to the hotel and +make myself comfortable. + +I went back to the hotel, paid my bill, stayed there that day and night, +and the next morning "deadheaded," with my friend the conductor to +Meredith Bridge. Everybody knew me there. The hotel-keeper made me +welcome to his house, and said I could stay as long as I liked. + +"Say, dew ye ever cure anybody, Doctor?" asked my old friend, the +landlord, and he laughed and nudged me in the ribs, and asked me to take +some of his medicine from the bar, which I immediately did. + +I was at home now. But the object of my visit was to see if I could +not collect some of my old bills in that neighborhood, amounting in the +aggregate to several hundred dollars. They were indeed old bills of five +or six years' standing, and I had very little hope of collecting much +money. I went first to Lake Village, and called on Mr. John Blaisdell, +the husband of the woman whom I had cured of the dropsy, in accordance, +as she believed at the time, with her prophetic dream. Blaisdell didn't +know me at first; then he wanted to know what my bill was; I told him +one hundred dollars, to say nothing of six years' interest; he said he +had no money, though he was regarded as a rich man, and in fact was. + +"But sir," said I, "you see me and how poor I am. Give me something on +account. I am so poor that I even borrowed this overcoat from the +tailor in the village, that I might present a little more respectable +appearance when I called on my old patients to try to collect some of my +old bills. Please to give me something." + +But he had no money. He would pay for the overcoat; I might tell the +tailor so; and afterwards he gave me a pair of boots and an old shirt. +This was the fruit which my "blossom" of years before brought at last. +I saw Mrs. Blaisdell, but she said she could do nothing for me. She had +forgotten what I had done for her. + +Of all my bills in that vicinity, with a week's dunning, I collected +only three dollars; but a good friend of mine, Sheriff Hill, went around +and succeeded in making up a purse of twenty dollars which he put into +my hands just as I was going away. My old landlord wanted nothing for my +week's board; all he wanted was to know "if I ever cured anybody;" and +when I told him I did, "sometimes" he insisted upon my taking more of +his medicine, and he put up a good bottle of it for me to carry with me +on my journey. + +With my twenty dollars I went to Portsmouth, where I speedily felt that +I was among old and true friends. I had not been there a day before I +was called upon to take care of a young man who was sick, and after a +few weeks charge of him I received in addition to my board and expenses, +three hundred dollars. I was now enabled to clothe myself handsomely, +and I did so and went to Newburyport, where I remained several weeks and +made a great deal of money. + +In the spring I went to White River Junction, and while I was in +the hotel taking a drink with some friends, who should come into the +bar-room but the Lake Village tailor from whom I had borrowed the +overcoat which I had even then on my back. I was about to thank him for +his kindness to me when he took me aside and said reproachfully: + +"Doctor, you wore away my overcoat and this is it, I think." + +"Good heavens! didn't John Blaisdell pay you for the coat? He told me he +would; its little enough out of what he owes me." + +"He never said a word to me about it," was the reply. I told the tailor +the circumstances; I did not like to let him to know that I had then +about seven hundred dollars in my pocket; I wished to appear poor +as long as there was a chance to collect any of my Meredith and Lake +Village bills; so I offered him three dollars to take back the coat. He +willingly consented and that was the last of the "Blossom" business with +the Blaisdells. + +I was bound not to leave this part of the country without revisiting +Windsor, and I went there, stopping at the best house in the town, and, +I fear, "putting on airs" a little. I had suffered so much in this +place that I wanted to see if there was any enjoyment to be had there. +Satisfaction there was, certainly--the satisfaction one feels in going +back under the most favorable circumstances, to a spot where he has +endured the very depths of misery. After a good dinner I set out to +visit the prison. Here was the very spot in the street where, only a few +months before, I, a ragged beggar, had divided my mere morsel of money +with the poor woman from Rutland. What change in my circumstances those +few months had wrought. I had recovered my health which bad food, ill +usage, and imprisonment had broken down, and was in the best physical +condition. The warden's old coat and pantaloons had been exchanged for +the finest clothes that money would buy. I had a good gold watch and +several hundred dollars in my pocket. I had seen many of my old friends, +and knew that they were still my friends, and I was fully restored to +my old position. My three years' imprisonment was only a blank in my +existence; I had begun life again and afresh, precisely where I left off +before I fell into the hands of the two Vermont milliners. + +All this was very pleasant to reflect upon; but do not believe I thought +even then, that the reason for this change in my circumstances, and +changes for the better, was simply because I had minded my business and +had let women alone. + +When I called on Warden Harlow, and courteously asked to be shown about +the prison, he got up and was ready to comply with my request, when he +looked me full in the face and started back in amazement: + +"Well, I declare! Is this you?" + +"Yes, Warden Harlow; but I want you to understand that while I am here +I do not intend to do a bit of work, and you can't make me. You may as +well give it up first as last; I won't work anyhow." + +The Warden laughed heartily, and sent for Deputy Morey who came in to +"see a gentleman," and was much astonished to find the prisoner, who, +two years before, had saved his life from the hands and knife of the +madman Hall. I spent a very pleasant hour with my old enemies, and +I took occasion to give them a hint or two with regard to the proper +treatment of prisoners. I then made the rounds of the prison, and went +into the dungeon where I had passed so many wretched hours for weeks +at a time. The warden and his deputy congratulated me upon my improved +appearance and prospects, and hoped that my whole future career would be +equally prosperous. + +Nor did I forget to call up my friend in need and friend indeed in +the toll-house at the bridge. I stayed three or four days in Windsor, +finding it really a charming place, and I was almost sorry to leave it. +But my only purpose in going there, that is to revisit the prison, was +accomplished, and I started for New York, and went from there to Port +Jervis, where I met my eldest son. + + + +CHAPTER XII. ATTEMPT TO KIDNAP SARAH SCHEIMER'S BOY. + +STARTING TO SEE SARAH--THE LONG SEPARATION--WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT +HER--HER DRUNKEN HUSBAND--CHANGE OF PLAN--A SUDDENLY--FORMED +SCHEME--I FIND SARAH'S SON--THE FIRST INTERVIEW--RESOLVE TO +KIDNAP THE BOY--REMONSTRANCES OF MY SON HENRY--THE ATTEMPT--A +DESPERATE STRUGGLE--THE RESCUE--ARREST OF HENRY--MY FLIGHT +INTO PENNSYLVANIA--SENDING ASSISTANCE TO MY SON--RETURN TO PORT +JERVIS--BAILING HENRY--HIS RETURN TO BELVIDERE--HE IS BOUND OVER TO BE +TRIED FOR KIDNAPPING--MY FOLLY. + + + +After I had been in Port Jervis three or four days I matured a plan that +had long been forcing in my mind, and that was, to try and see Sarah +Scheimer once more, or at least to find out something about her and +about our son. The boy, if he was living, must be about ten years of +age. I had never seen him; nor, since the night when I was taken out of +bed and carried to the Easton jail had I ever seen Sarah, or even heard +from her, except by the message the Methodist minister brought to me +from her the day after I was released from jail. In the long interval +I had married the Newark widow, and had served a brief term in the New +Jersey State prison for doing it; I had married Mary Gordon, in New +Hampshire, and had run away, not only from her, but from constables and +the prison in that state; the mock marriage with the Rutland woman at +Troy, and the altogether too real marriage with the Montpelier milliner +had followed; I had spent three wretched years in the Vermont prison at +Windsor; and numerous other exciting adventures had checkered my career. +What had happened to Sarah and her son during all this while? There was +not a week in the whole time since our sudden separation when I had +not thought of Sarah; and now I was near her old home, with means at +my command, leisure on my hands, and I was determined to know something +about her and the child. + +So long a time had elapsed and I was so changed in my personal +appearance that I had little fear of being recognized by any one in +Pennsylvania or the adjoining part of New Jersey, who would molest me. +The old matters must have been pretty much forgotten by all but the very +few who were immediately interested in them. It was safe to make the +venture at all events, and, I resolved to make the venture to see and +learn what I could. + +I had the idea in my mind that if Sarah was alive and well, and free, +I should be able to induce her to fulfil her promise to come to me, and +that we might go somewhere and settle down and live happily together. At +any rate, I would try to see her and our child. + +I did not communicate a word of all this to my son Henry. I told him I +was going to New Jersey to visit some friends, to look for business, and +I would like to have him accompany me. He consented; I hired a horse and +carriage, and one bright morning we started. I had no friends to visit, +no business to do, except to see Sarah--the dearest and best--loved of +all my wives. + +When we reached Water Gap I found an old acquaintance in the landlord of +the hotel, and I told him where I was going, and what I hoped to do. He +knew the Scheimers, knew all that had happened eleven years before, and +he told me that Sarah had married again, seven years ago, and was the +mother of two more children. She lived on a farm, half a mile from +Oxford, and her husband who had married her for her money, and had +been urged upon her by her parents, was a shiftless, worthless, drunken +fellow. The boy--my boy--was alive and well, and was with his mother. + +This intelligence changed, or rather made definite my plan. Sarah was +nothing to me now. The boy was everything. I must see him, and if he was +what he was represented to be, a bright little fellow, I determined that +he should no longer remain in the hands and under the control of his +drunken step-father, but I would carry him away with me if I could. It +was nearly noon when we arrived at Oxford, and going to my old quarters, +I found that "Boston Yankee," had long since left the place. There was +a new landlord, and I saw no familiar faces about the house; all was new +and strange to me. I made inquiries, and soon found out that Sarah's +boy went to a school in town not far from the hotel, and I went there to +"prospect," leaving Henry at the public house. + +It was noon now, and fifty or more boys were trooping out of school. I +carefully scanned the throng. The old proverb has it that it is a wise +child who knows its own father; but it is not so difficult for a father +to know his own children. The moment I put my eyes on Sarah's son, I +knew him; he was the very image of me; I could have picked him out of a +thousand. I beckoned to the boy and he came to me. He was barefoot; and +his very toes betrayed him, for they "overrode" just as mine did; but +his face was enough and would have been evidence of his identity as my +son in any court in Christendom. + +"Do you know me, my little man?" said I. + +"No, sir, I do not." + +"Do you know what was your mother's name before she was married?" + +"Yes Sir, it was Sarah Scheimer." + +"Do you know that the man with whom you live is not your rather?" + +"Oh, yes, Sir, I know that; mother always told me so; but she never told +me who my father was." + +"My son," said I taking him in my arms, "I am your father; wait about +here a few minutes till I can go and get my horse and carriage, and I +will take you to ride." + +I ran over to the hotel; ordered my horse to be brought to the door at +once, got into the wagon with Henry and told him that Sarah Scheimer's +boy was just across the way, and that I was going to carry him off with +us. Henry implored me not to do it, and said it was dangerous. I never +stopped to think of danger when my will impelled me. I did not know that +at that moment, men who had noticed my excited manner, and who knew I +was "up to something," were watching me from the hotel piazza. I drove +over where the boy was waiting, called him to me, and Henry held the +reins while I put out my hands to pull the boy into the carriage. Two of +the men who were watching me came at once, one of them taking the horse +by the head, and the other coming to me and demanding: + +"What are you going to do with that boy?" + +"Take him with me; he is my son." + +"No you don't," said the man, and he laid hold of the boy and attempted +to pull him out of the wagon. I also seized the lad who began to scream. +In the struggle for possession, I caught up the whip and struck the man +with the handle, felling him to the ground. All the while the other man +was shouting for assistance. The crowd gathered. The boy was roughly +torn from me, in spite of my efforts to retain him. Henry was thoroughly +alarmed; and while the mob were trying to pull us also out of the +carriage he whipped the horse till he sprang through the crowd and was +well off in a moment. + +"Get out of town as fast as you can drive," said I to Henry. + +We were not half an hour in reaching Belvidere. There I stopped +to breathe the horse a few minutes, and Henry insisted that he was +starving, and must have something to eat; he would go into the hotel he +said, and get some dinner. I told him it was madness to do it; but he +would not move an inch further on the road till he had some dinner. He +went into the dining room, and I paced up and down the piazza, nervous, +anxious, fearing pursuit, dreading capture, well knowing what would +happen when those Jerseymen should get hold of me and find out who I +was. At that moment I saw the pursuers coming rapidly up the road. I +called to my son: + +"Henry, Henry! for God's sake come out here, quick!" + +But he thought I was only trying to frighten him so as to hurry him away +from his dinner, and get him on the road, and he paid no attention to my +summons. I knew that I was the man who was wanted, and, without waiting +for Henry, I jumped into my wagon and drove off. I just escaped, that's +all. The moment I left, my pursuers were at the door. I looked back and +saw them drag my son out of the house, and take him away with them. I +turned my horse's head towards the Belvidere Bridge. All the country +about there was as familiar to me as the county I was born in. I knew +every road, and I had no fear of being caught. Once across the bridge +and in Pennsylvania, and I was comparatively safe, unless I myself +should be kidnapped as I was at midnight, only a little way from this +very spot, eleven years before. Here was an opportunity now to rest and +reflect. Confound those Scheimers and all their blood! Was I never to +see the end of the scrapes that family would get me into, or which I was +to get myself into, on account of the Scheimers? + +Surely they could not harm Henry. They might have taken him merely in +the hope of drawing me back to try to clear him, or rescue him, and then +they would get hold of the man they wanted. My son had done nothing. He +did not even know of the contemplated abduction till five minutes before +it was attempted, and then he protested against it. He only held the +horse when I pulled the lad into the wagon. + +Nothing showed so completely the consciousness of his own entire +innocence in the matter, as the coolness with which he sat down to his +dinner in Belvidere, and insisted upon remaining when I warned him of +our danger. These facts shown, any magistrate before whom he might be +taken, must let him go at once. I thought, perhaps, if I waited a few +hours where I was, he would be sure to rejoin me, and we could then +return to Port Jervis without Sarah's son to be sure; but, otherwise, no +worse off than we were when we set out on this ill-starred expedition +in the morning. + +All this seemed so plain to me that I sent over to Belvidere for a +lawyer, who soon came across the bridge to see me, and to him I narrated +the whole circumstances of the case from, beginning to end. I asked him +if I had not a right to carry off the boy whom I knew to be my own? His +reply was that he would not stop to discuss that question; all he knew +was that there was a great hue and cry after me for kidnapping the boy; +that my son was seized and held for aiding and abetting in the attempted +abduction; and he advised me, as a friend, to leave that part of the +country as soon as possible. I gave him fifty dollars to look after +Henry's case. He thought, considering how little, and that little +involuntarily, my son had to do with the matter, he might be got off; he +would do all he could for him anyhow. He then returned to Belvidere, and +I took the road north. + +When I arrived at Port Jervis I detailed to my landlord the whole +occurrences of the day--what I had tried to do, and how miserably I had +failed, and asked him what was to be done next. He said "nothing;" we +could only wait and see what happened. + +The day following I received a letter from the Belvidere lawyer +informing me that Henry had been examined, had been bound over in +the sum of three hundred dollars to take his trial on a charge of +kidnapping, and he was then in the county jail. I at once showed this +letter to the landlord, and he offered to go down with another man to +Belvidere and see about the bail. I gave him three hundred dollars, +which he took with him and put into the bands of a resident there who +became bail, and in a day or two Henry came back with them to Port +Jervis. + +My son was frantic; he had been roughly treated; and to think, he said, +that he should be thrust into the common jail and kept there two days +with all sorts of scoundrels, when he had done actually nothing! He +would go back there, stand his trial, and prove his innocence, if +he died for it. He reproached me for attempting to carry off the boy +against his advice and warning; he knew we should into trouble; but he +would show them that he had nothing to do with it; that's what he would +do. + +Now this was precisely what I did not wish to have him do. A trial of +this case, even if Henry should come off scott free, would be certain to +revive the whole of the old Scheimer story, which had nearly died away, +and which I had no desire to have brought before the public again in +any way whatever. The bail bond I was willing, eager even to forfeit, if +that would end the matter. But Henry was sure they couldn't touch him, +and he meant to have the three hundred dollars returned to me. + +Seeing how sensitive the boy was on the subject, and how bent he was +on proving his innocence, I thought it best to draw him away from the +immediate locality, and so, in the course of a week, I persuaded him to +go to New York with me, and we afterward went to Maine for a few weeks +to sell my medicines. This Maine trip was a most lucrative one, which +was very fortunate, for the money I made there, to the amount of +several hundred dollars, was shortly needed for purposes which I did not +anticipate when I put the money by. + +We returned to New York, and I supposed that Henry had given up all idea +of attempting to "prove his innocence;" indeed we had no conversation +about the kidnapping affair for several weeks. But he slipped away from +me. One day I came back to the hotel, and, inquiring for him, was told +at the office he had left word for me that he had gone to Belvidere. A +letter from him a day or two afterward confirmed this, to me, unhappy +intelligence. The time was near at hand for his trial, and he had gone +and given himself up to the authorities. He wrote to me again that he +had sent word about his situation to his mother--my first and worst +wife--and she and his sister were already with him. + +Of course it was impossible for me to go there, if there were no other +reasons, I was too immediately interested in this affair to be present, +and I had no idea of undergoing a trial and a certain conviction for +myself. But I sent down a New York lawyer with one hundred dollars, +directing him to employ council there, and to advise and assist as much +as he could. Meanwhile, I remained in New York, anxious, it is true, yet +almost certain that it would be impossible, under the circumstances, to +convict Henry of the kidnapping for which he was indicted. He had not +even assisted in the affair, and was sure his counsel would be able to +so convince the court and jury. + +And reviewing the whole matter, now in my cooler moments, this scheme of +trying to carry away Sarah's son, seemed to be as foolish, useless, and +mad, as any one of my marrying adventures. Till I picked him out from +among his schoolmates, I had never seen the child at all. When I started +from Port Jervis to go down, as I supposed, into Pennsylvania, I had no +more idea of kidnapping the boy than I had of robbing a sheep-fold. +It was only when the landlord at Water Gap told me that Sarah had +remarried, and was wedded to a worthless, drunken husband, that I +conceived the plan of removing the boy from such associations. I was +going to bring him up in a respectable manner. Alas! I did not succeed +even in bringing him away. + + + +CHAPTER XIII. ANOTHER WIDOW. + +WAITING FOR THE VERDICT--MY SON SENT TO STATE PRISON--WHAT SARAH WOULD +HAVE DONE--INTERVIEW WITH MY FIRST WIFE--HELP FOR HENRY--THE BIDDEFORD +WIDOW--HER EFFORT TO MARRY ME--OUR VISIT TO BOSTON--A WARNING--A +GENEROUS GIFT--HENRY PARDONED--CLOSE OF THE SCHEIMER ACCOUNT--VISIT TO +ONTARIO COUNTY--MY RICH COUSINS--WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN--MY BIRTH--PLACE +REVISITED. + + + +I waited with nervous impatience for the close of the trial in New +Jersey, when I hoped to welcome my son Henry to New York. It was +so plain a case, as it seemed to me, and must appear, I thought, to +everybody, that I hardly doubted his instant acquittal. But very shortly +the New York lawyer whom I had sent to Belvidere, came back and brought +terrible news. Henry had been tried, and notwithstanding the fairest +showing in his favor, he was convicted and sentenced to eighteen months +imprisonment at Trenton. + +As it appeared, it was I really, and not Henry, who was on trial. The +circumstances of the desperate struggle, and my knocking down one of +the men with the butt of my whip, were conspicuous in the case. Even +the little boy was put on the stand, and was made to testify against his +older half-brother. Henry himself was astounded at the result of the +trial, and was firmly convinced that instead of "proving his innocence" +to Jersey jurymen, he had better have let his innocence go by default. +We never even got back again the three hundred dollars which had been +put into the hands of the man who went bail for Henry when he was bound +over for trial. For us, it was bad business from beginning to end. + +Henry wrote a letter to me, that just before his trial, before he had +delivered himself up, and while he was still under bail, he had gone to +see Sarah Scheimer on the little farm which was bought with her money, +and was worked, so far as it was worked at all, by her drunken husband. +The family were even poorer than the landlord at Water Gap had reported. +Sarah herself was miserable and unhappy. She told Henry, when he +informed her who he was, that if I had wanted to see her or her son, I +should have been welcome. She would have been very glad to have had me +take the boy and clothe him decently; but she could not part with him, +and would not have let me take him away; still, I could see him at any +time, and as often as I liked, and the boy should grow up to know and to +look upon me as his father. + +And this, really, was all I desired, all I wanted; and it was all easily +within my grasp, ready in fact to be put into my hands, and I had gone +ahead in my usual mad, blundering way, acting, not only without advice, +but against such advice as came from Henry at the last moment, and had +alienated the mother from me, lost the boy, and had sent Henry, who was +wholly innocent, to state prison for eighteen months. + +The poor fellow was take to Trenton and was put into the prison where +I had spent seven months. He was almost crazy when he got there. His +mother and sister went with him, and took lodgings in the place so as to +be near him, to render him any assistance that might be in their power. + +I had been idle now for some weeks in New York, and I went back to +Maine, to Biddeford, where I lad a good practice. I picked up a good +deal of money, and in two months I returned to New York to make a brief +visit, and to see if something could not be done for the release of +Henry from prison. At my solicitation a friend of mine wrote to +Trenton to Henry's mother to come on to New York, and meet me at the +Metropolitan Hotel on a specified day, to transact some business. She +came, and we met for the first time in several years. We met now simply +on business, and there was no expression of sentiment or feeling on +either side. We cared nothing for each other. I commended her for her +devotion to Henry, and then told her I believed, if the proper efforts +were made, he could be pardoned out of prison. I told her what lawyer +and other persons to see, and how to proceed in the matter. I gave her +the most minute instructions, and then handed her five hundred dollars +with which to fee her lawyer, and to pay her and her daughter's living +expenses in Trenton. She was grateful for the money, and was only too +glad to go to work for Henry; she would have done it long ago if she had +only known what to do. We then parted, and I have never seen the woman, +since that day. + +This business transacted, I at once returned to my practice at +Biddeford. Among my patients was a wealthy widow, "fat, fair, and +forty," and I had not attended her long before a warm affection sprung +up between us, and in time, when the widow recovered, we began to think +we were in love with each other. I confess that I agreed to marry +her; but it was to be at some distant day--a very distant day as I +intended--for, strange as it may seem, and as it did seem to me, I had +at last learned the lesson that I had better let matrimony alone. I had +married too many wives, widows, milliners, and what not, already, +and had suffered too severely for so doing. I meant that my Vermont +imprisonment, the worst of all, should be the last. + +So I only "courted" the widow, calling upon her almost every day, and +I was received and presented to her acquaintances as her affianced +husband. Her family and immediate friends were violently opposed to the +match, thereby showing their good sense. I was also informed that they +knew something of my previous history, and I was warned that I had +better not undertake to marry the widow. Bless their innocent hearts! I +had no idea of doing it. I was daily amazed at my own common sense. My +memory was active now; all my matrimonial mishaps of the past, with all +the consequences, were ever present to my mind, and never more present +than when was in the company of the fascinating widow. As for her, +the more her relatives opposed the match, the more she was bent upon +marrying me. Her family, she, said, were afraid they were going to lose +her property, but she would never give them a cent of it, anyhow, and +she would marry when and whom she pleased. + +Not "when," exactly; because, as she protested she would marry me, I +had something to say about it; I had been run away with by a milliner +in Vermont, and I had no idea of beings forcibly wedded by a widow in +Maine. I pleaded that my business was not sufficiently established; I +was liable to be called away from time to time; I had affairs to arrange +in New York and elsewhere before I could settle down; and so the happy +day was put off to an indefinite future time. + +By-and-by I had business in Boston, and the widow declared that she +would go with me; she wanted to visit her friend's there and do some +shopping; and without making particular mention of her intention to her +relatives, she went with me, and we were in Boston together more +than two weeks. At the end of that time she returned to Biddeford and +notified her friends treat she was married to the doctor, though she had +no certificate, not even a Troy one, to show for it. + +I deemed it advisable not to go back with her, but went to Worcester for +a while. In a few days I went to Biddeford, keeping somewhat close, for +I did not care to meet any of the relatives, and at night I called upon +the widow. She told me that her family had raised a tremendous fuss +about me, and had learned as much as they, and indeed she, wanted to +know about my adventures in Vermont and New Hampshire. They had not gone +back of that, but that was enough. It was dangerous, she told me, for me +to stay there; I was sure to be arrested; I had better get away from the +place as soon as possible. We might meet again by-and-by, but unless I +wanted to be arrested I must leave, the place that very night. She gave +me seven hundred dollars, pressed the money upon me, and I parted from +her, returning to Worcester, and going from there to Boston. Besides +what the widow bad given me, I had made more than one thousand dollars +in Maine, and was comparatively well off. + +Then came the joyful intelligence that Henry was released. His mother +had worked for him night and day. She bad drawn up a petition, secured +a large number of sterling signatures, had gone with her counsel to see +the Governor, had presented the petition and all the facts in the case, +and the Governor had granted a pardon. Henry served only six months of +the eighteen for which he was sentenced, and very soon after I received +word that he was free, he came to me in Boston, stayed a few days, and +then went home to his mother in Unadilla. + +With the release of my son, I considered the Scheimer account closed, +and I have never made any effort to see Sarah or our boy since that +time. + +From Boston I went to Pittsford, Ontario County, N. Y., where I had many +friends, who knew nothing about any of my marriages or misfortunes, my +arrests or imprisonments. I went visiting merely, and enjoyed myself so +much that I stayed there nearly three months, going about the country, +and practicing a little among my friends. I was never happier than I was +during this time. I was free from prisons, free from my wives, and +free from care. As a matrimonial monomaniac I now looked upon myself as +cured. + +Among the friends whom I visited in Ontario County, and with whom I +passed several pleasant weeks, were two cousins of mine whom I had not +seen for many years, since we were children in fact, but who gave me a +most cordial welcome, and made much of me while I was there. They knew +absolutely nothing of my unhappy history--no unpleasant rumor even +respecting me, had ever penetrated that quiet quarter of the State. I +told them what I pleased of my past career, from boyhood to the present +time, and to them I was only a tolerably successful doctor, who made +money enough to live decently and dress well, and who was then suffering +from overwork and badly in need of recuperation. This, indeed, was the +ostensible reason for my visit to Ontario. I was somewhat shattered; my +old prison trials and troubles began to tell upon me. I used to think +sometimes that I was a little "out of my head;" I certainly was so +whenever I entered upon one of my matrimonial schemes, and I must have +been as mad as a March hare when I attempted to kidnap Sarah Scheimer's +boy. After all the excitement and suffering of the past few years, I +needed rest, and here I found it. + +My cousins were more than well-to-do farmers; they were enormously +rich in lands and money. Just after the war of 1812, their father, +my uncle, and my own father, had come to this, then wild and almost +uninhabited, section of the State to settle. Soon after they arrived +there my father's wife died, and this loss, with the general loneliness +of the region, to say nothing of the fever and ague, soon drove my +father back to Delaware County to his forge for a living, and to the +day of his death he was nothing more than a hard-working, +hand-to-mouth-living, common blacksmith. + +But my uncle stayed there, and, as time went on, he bought hundreds of +acres of land for a mere song, which were now immensely valuable, and +had made his children almost the richest people in that region. My +Cousins were great farmers, extensive raisers of stock, wool-growers, +and everything else that could make them prosperous. There seemed to be +no end to their wealth, and their fiat farms, spread out on every side +as far as the eye could see. + +And if my father had only stayed there, I could not help but think what +a different life mine might have been. Instead of being the adventurer +I was, and had been ever since I separated from my first and worst +wife--doing well, perhaps, for a few weeks or a few months, and then +blundering into a mad marriage or other difficulty which got me into +prison; well-to-do to-day and to-morrow a beggar--I, too, might +have been rich and respectable, and should have, saved myself a world of +suffering. This was but a passing thought which did not mar my visit, +or make it less pleasant to me. I went there to be happy, not to be +miserable, and for three months I was happy indeed. + +From there I went to my birthplace in Columbia County, revisiting old +scenes and the very few old friends and acquaintances who survived, or +who had not moved away. I spent a month there and thereabouts, and at +the end of that time I felt full restored to my usual good health, and +was ready to go to work again, not in the matrimonial way, but in my +medical business, that was enough for me now. + + + +CHAPTER XIV. MY OWN SON TRIES TO MURDER ME. + +SETTLING DOWN IN MAINE--HENRY'S HEALTH--TOUR THROUGH THE +SOUTH--SECESSION TIMES--DECEMBER IN NEW ORLEANS--UP THE +MISSISSIPPI--LEAVING HENRY IN MASSACHUSETTS--BACK IN MAINE AGAIN--RETURN +TO BOSTON--PROFITABLE HORSE TRADING--PLENTY OF MONEY--MY FIRST WIFE'S +CHILDREN--HOW THEY HAD BEEN BROUGHT UP--A BAREFACED ROBBERY--ATTEMPT TO +BLACKMAIL ME--MY SON TRIES TO ROB AND KILL ME--MY RESCUE--LAST OF THE +YOUNG MAN. + + + +Where to go, not what to do, was the next question. Wherever I might go +and establish myself, if only for a few days, or a few weeks, I was sure +to have almost immediately plenty of patients and customers enough for +my medicines--this had been my experience always--and unfortunately for +me, I was almost equally sure to get into some difficulty from which +escape was not always easy. Looking over the whole ground for a fresh +start in business, it seemed to me that Maine was the most favorable +place. Whenever I had been there I had done well; it was one of the very +few States I had lived in where I had not been in jail or in prison; nor +had I been married there, though the Biddeford widow did her best to wed +me, and it is not her fault that she did not succeed in doing it. + +To Maine, then, I went, settling down in Augusta, and remaining there +four months, during which time I had as much as I could possibly attend +to, and laid by a very considerable sum of money. While I was there +I heard the most unfavorable reports with regard to the health of my +eldest son Henry. Prison life at Trenton had broken him down in body +as well as in spirit, and he had been ill, some of the time seriously, +nearly all the time since he went to Unadilla. The fact that he was +entirely innocent of the offence for which he was imprisoned, preyed +upon his mind, and with the worst results. As these stories reached me +from week to week, I became anxious and even alarmed about him, and at +last I left my lucrative business in Augusta and went to New York. I +could not well go to Unadilla to visit Henry without seeing his mother, +whom I had no desire to see; so I sent for him to come to me in the +city if was able to do so. I knew that if medicine or medical attendance +would benefit him, I should be able to help him. + +In a few days he came to me in a most deplorable physical condition. He +was a mere wreck of his former self. Almost immediately he began to talk +about the attempt to abduct the boy from Oxford; how innocent he was in +the matter, and how terribly he had suffered merely because he happened +to be with me when I rashly endeavored to kidnap the lad. All this went +through me like a sharp sword. It seemed as if I was the cause, not only +of great unhappiness to myself, but of pain and misery to all who were +associated or brought in contact with me. For this poor boy, who had +endured and suffered so much on my account, I could not do enough. My +means and time must now be devoted to his recovery, if recovery, was +possible. + +He was weak, but was still able to walk about, and he enjoyed riding +very much. I kept him with me in the city a week or two, taking daily +rides to the Park and into the country, and when he felt like going out +in the evening I made him go to some place of amusement with me. I had +no other business, and meant to have none, but to take care of Henry, +and I devoted myself wholly to his comfort and happiness. In a few days +he had much improved in health and spirits, so much so, that I meditated +making a long tour with him to the South, hoping that the journey there +and back again would fully restore him. + +Fortunately, my recent Maine business had put me in possession of +abundant funds, and when I had matured my scheme, and saw that Henry +was in tolerable condition to travel, I proposed the trip to him, and he +joyfully assented to my plan. I wanted to get him far away, for awhile, +from a part of the country which was associated in his mind, more than +in mine, with so much misery, and he seemed quite as eager to go. Change +of air and scene I knew would do wonders for him bodily, and would build +him up again. + +We made our preparations and started for the South, going first to +Baltimore and then on through the Southern States by railroad to New +Orleans. It was late in the fall of 1860, just before the rebellion, +when the south was seceding or talking secession, and was already +preparing for war. Henry's physical condition compelled us to rest +frequently on the way, and we stopped sometimes for two or three days +at a time, at nearly every large town or city on the entire route. +Everywhere there was a great deal of excitement; meetings were held +nearly every night secession was at fever heat, and there was an +unbounded expression and manifestation of ill-feeling against the north +and against northern men. Nevertheless, I was never in any part of +the Union where I was treated with so much courtesy, consideration and +genuine kindness as I was there and then. I was going south, simply to +benefit the invalid who accompanied me; everybody seemed to know it; +and everybody expressed the tenderest sympathy for my son. Wherever we +stopped, it seemed as if the people at the hotels, from the landlord +to the lowest servant, could not do enough for us. At Atlanta, Augusta, +Mobile, and other places, where we made our stay long enough to get a +little acquainted, my son and myself were daily taken out to ride, and +were shown everything of interest that was to be seen. Henry did not +enjoy this journey more than I did--to me as well as to him, the trip +was one prolonged pleasure, and by the time we reached New Orleans +nearly a month after we left New York, my son had so recuperated that I +had every hope of his speedy and full restoration. + +It was the beginnings of winter when we reached New Orleans; but during +the whole month of December while we remained in that city, winter, +if indeed it was winter, which we could hardly believe, was only a +prolongation of the last beautiful autumn days we had left at the north. +Now Orleans was then at the very height of prosperity; business +was brisk, money was plenty, the ships of all nations and countless +steamboats from St. Louis, Cincinnati, Louisville and all points up the +Mississippi and Ohio rivers lay at the levee. The levee itself, from +end to end, for miles along the river front, was one mass of merchandise +which had come to the city, or was awaiting shipment. I had never seen a +livelier city. Indescribably gay, too, was New Orleans that winter. The +city was full of strangers; the hotels were thronged; there were balls +every night; the theatres were crowded, and everybody seemed bent +on having a good time. With all the rest, there was an extraordinary +military furor, and militia companies and regiments paraded the streets +every day, while secession meetings were held in various halls, or in +the public squares, nearly ever night. + +From the St. Charles hotel where we stopped, St. Charles street seemed +ablaze and alive all night, and densely thronged all day. Sunday brought +no rest, for Sunday, so far as military parades, amusement and general +gaiety were concerned, was the liveliest day in the week; and Sunday +night the theatres were sure to present their best performances and to +draw their largest audiences. And so, from morning till night, and +from night till morning again, all was whirl, stir, bustle, business, +enjoyment, and excitement. To me, unaccustomed as I was to such scenes, +New York even seemed tame and dull, and slow in comparison with New +Orleans. + +This is a picture of the Crescent City as it presented itself to me and +to my son in the early part of the winter before the war. No one knew +or even dreamed of the terrible times that were to come. No one believed +that war was probable, or even possible; it was well enough, perhaps, +to prepare for it; but secession was to be an accomplished fact, and +the North and all the world would quietly acknowledge it. This was the +general sentiment in the city; though secession, and what would, or what +might come of it, was the general topic of talk in the hotels, in the +restaurants, at the theatres, in the streets, everywhere. Now and then +some southerner with whom I had become acquainted would try to draw me +out to ascertain my sentiments on the subject, but I always laughed, and +said good naturedly: + +"My dear sir, I didn't come down here to talk about secession, but to +see if the southern climate would benefit my sick son." + +The fact was that I minded my own business, and minded it so well that +while I was in New Orleans I managed to find a few patients and sold +recipes and medicines enough to pay the entire expenses of our journey +thus far, from the North. + +Almost every day my son and I drove somewhere up to Carrolton, down to +the battle-ground, or on the shell road to Lake Ponchartrain. It was a +month of genuine enjoyment to us both; of profit to me pecuniarily; and +of the best possible benefit to Henry's health. + +Early in January we took passage on one of the finest of the Mississippi +steamboats for St. Louis. The boat was crowded, and among the passengers +were a good many merchants, Northern men long resident in New Orleans, +who thought they saw trouble coming, and accordingly had closed up their +business in the Crescent City, and were now going North to stay there. +We had on board, too, the usual complement of gamblers and amateur or +professional poker-players, who kept the forward saloon near the bar, +and known in the river vernacular as the "Texas" of the boat, lively all +day long and well into the night, or rather the next morning. It was ten +or eleven days before we reached St. Louis. Nothing notable occurred +on the trip; but day after day, as we proceeded northward, and left +the soft, sunny south behind us, with the daily increasing coldness and +wintry weather, Henry seemed to decline by degrees, and gradually to +lose nearly all that he had gained since we left New York. When we +reached St. Louis he was seriously sick. I was very sorry we had come +away so soon in the season, and proposed that we should return and stay +in the south till spring; but Henry would not consent. There was nothing +to be done, then, but to hurry on to the east, and when we arrived in +New York Henry would not go home to his mother in Unadilla, but insisted +upon accompanying me to Boston. I was willing enough that he should go +with me, for then I could have him under my exclusive care; but when we +arrived in Boston he was so overcome by the excitement of travel, and +was so feeble from fatigue as well as disease, that instead of having +him go with me to Augusta, as I intended, by the advice of a friend I +took him into the country where he could be nursed, be quiet, and be +well taken care of till spring. I left him in good hands, promising +to come and see him as soon as I could, and then went back to my old +business in Augusta. + +It required a little time to knot the new end of that business to the +end where I had broken off three months before; but I was soon in full +practice again and was once more making and saving money. I had no +matrimonial affair in hand, no temptation in fact, and none but strictly +professional engagements to fulfil. In Augusta and in several other +towns which I visited, for the whole of the rest of the winter, I was +as busy as I could be. Early in the spring I made up my mind to run away +for a week or two, and arranged my business so that I could go down into +Massachusetts and visit Henry, hoping, if he was better, to bring him +back with me to Maine. + +Two of my patients in Paris, Maine, had each given me a good horse in +payment for my attendance upon them and their families, and for what +medicines I had furnished, and I took these horses with me to sell in +Boston. I drove them down, putting a good supply of medicines in my +wagon to sell in towns on the way, and when I arrived in Boston sold out +the establishment, getting one hundred and twenty-five dollars for the +wagon, three hundred dollars for one horse, and four hundred dollars +for the other--a pretty good profit on my time and medicine for the two +patients--and I brought with me besides about eighteen hundred dollars, +the net result, above my living expenses, of about three months' +business in Maine, and what I had done on the way down through +Massachusetts. I am thus minute about this money because it now devolves +upon me to show what sort of a family of children my first and worst +wife had brought up. + +Of these children by my first marriage, my eldest son Henry, since he +had grown up, had been with me nearly as much as he had been with his +mother, and I loved him as I did my life. Since he became of age, at +such times when I was not in prison, or otherwise unavoidably separated +from him, we had been associated in business, and had traveled and lived +together. I knew all about him; but of the rest of the children I knew +next to nothing. Shortly after I sold my horses, one day I was in my +room at the hotel, when word was brought to me that some one in the +parlor wanted to see me. + +I went down and found a young man, about twenty-one years of age, who +immediately came to me addressing me as "father," and he then presented +a young woman, about two years older than he was, as his sister and my +daughter. I had not seen this young gentleman since the time when I had +carried him off from school and from the farmer to whom he was bound, +and had clothed him and taken him with me to Amsterdam and Troy, +subsequently sending him to my half-sister at Sidney. The ragged little +lad, as I found him, had grown up into a stout, good-looking young man; +but I had no difficulty in recognizing him, though I was much at loss to +know the precise object of this visit; so after shaking hands with them, +and asking then how they were, I next inquired what they wanted? + +Well, they had been to see Henry, and he was a great deal better. + +I told them I was very glad to hear it, and that I was then on my way to +visit him, and hoped to see him in a few days, as soon as I could finish +my business in Boston; if Henry was as well as they reported I should +bring him away with me. + +"But if you are busy here," said my young man, "we can save you both +time and trouble. We will go to Henry again and settle his bills for +board and other expenses, and will bring him with us to you at this +hotel." + +This, at the time, really seemed to me a kindly offer; it would enable +me to stay in Boston and attend to business I had to do, and Henry +would come there with his brother and sister in a day or two. I at once +assented to the plan, and taking my well-filled pocket-book from the +inside breast pocket of my coat, I counted out two hundred and fifty +dollars and gave them to the young man to pay Henry's board, doctor's +and other bills, and the necessary car fares for the party. They then +left me and started, as I supposed, to go after Henry. + +But a few days went on and I saw and heard nothing of Henry. At last +word came to me one day that some one down stairs wanted to see me and I +told the servant to send him to my room, hoping that it might be Henry. +But no; it was my young man, of whom I instantly demanded: + +"Where is your brother, whom you were to bring to me a week ago? What +have you done with the money I gave you for his bills?" + +"I hadn't been near Henry; sister has gone home; and I've spent the +money on a spree, every cent of it, here in Boston, and I want more." + +"Want more!" I exclaimed in blank amazement: + +"Yes, more; and if you don't give it to me, I'll follow you wherever you +go, and tell people all I know about you." + +"You scoundrel," said I, "you come here and rob, not me, but your poor, +sick brother, and then return and attempt to blackmail me. Get out of +my sight this instant." + +He sprung on me, and made a desperate effort to get my money out of my +pocket. We had a terrible struggle. He was younger and stronger than +I was, and as I felt that I was growing weaker I called out loudly for +help and shouted "Murder!" + +The landlord himself came running into the room; I succeeded in tearing +myself away, from the grasp of my assailant, and the landlord felled +him to the floor with a chair. He then ran to the door and called to a +servant to bring a policeman. + +"No, don't!" I exclaimed; "Don't arrest the villain, for I can make no +complaint against him--he is my son!" + +But the landlord was bound to have some satisfaction out of the affair; +so he dragged the young man into the hall and kicked him from the top of +the stairs to the bottom, where, as soon as he had picked himself up, a +convenient servant kicked him out into the street. I have never set eyes +on my young man since his somewhat sudden departure from that hotel. + +And when I went to visit my poor Henry a day or two afterwards, I can +hardly say that I was surprised, though I was indignant to learn that +his brother and sister had never been near him at all since he had been +in Massachusetts. They knew where and how he was from his letter's to +his mother; they knew, too, from the same letters--for I had notified +Henry--at what time I would be in Boston, and with this information they +had come on to swindle me. I have no doubt, when the young man came the +second time to rob me, he would have murdered me, if the landlord had +not come to my assistance. And this was the youngest son of my first and +worst wife!! + +I found Henry in better condition than I expected, and I took him back +with me to Augusta. I did not tell him of his brother's attempt to rob +and kill. Me--it would have been too great a shock for him. He stayed +with me only a few days and then, complaining of being homesick, he went +to visit his mother again. + + + +CHAPTER XV. A TRUE WIFE AND HOME, AT LAST. + +WHERE WERE ALL MY WIVES?--SENSE OF SECURITY--AN IMPRUDENT +ACQUAINTANCE--MOVING FROM MAINE--MY PROPERTY IN RENSSELAER COUNTY--HOW +I LIVED--SELLING A RECIPE--ABOUT BUYING A CARPET--NINETEEN +LAW--SUITS--SUDDEN DEPARTURE FOR THE WEST--A VAGABOND FOR TWO +YEARS--LIFE IN CALIFORNIA--RETURN TO THE EAST--DIVORCE FROM MY FIRST +WIFE--A GENUINE MARRIAGE--MY FARM--HOME AT LAST. + + + +I remained in Maine nearly two years, hardly ever going out of the +State, except occasionally to Boston on business. Making Augusta my +residence and headquarters, I practiced in Portland and in nearly all +the towns and cities in the eastern part of the State. During all this +time, I behaved myself, in all respects better than I had ever before +done in any period of my life. I began to look upon myself as a reformed +man; I had learned to let liquor alone, and was consequently in far +less, indeed, next to no danger of stepping into the traps in which +my feet had been so often caught. I may as well confess it--it was +intoxicating liquor, and that mainly, which had led me into my various +mad marrying schemes and made me the matrimonial monomaniac and lunatic +lover that I was for years. What my folly, my insanity caused me to +suffer, these pages have attempted to portray. I had grown older, wiser, +and certainly better. I now only devoted myself strictly to my business, +and I found profit as well as pleasure in doing it. + +What had become of all my wives in the meantime, I scarcely knew and +hardly cared. Of course from time to time I had heard more or less about +them--at least, a rumor of some sort now and then reached me. About my +first and worst wife, at intervals I heard something from Henry, who was +still with her, and who frequently wrote to me when he was well enough +to do so. Margaret Bradley and Eliza Gurnsey were still carrying on +the millinery business in Rutland, and in Montpelier, and were no +doubt weaving other and new webs in hopes of catching fresh flies. Mary +Gordon, as I learned soon afterwards, was married almost before I had +fairly escaped from New Hampshire in my flight to Canada, and she had +gone to California with her new husband. Of the Newark widow I knew +nothing; but two years of peace, quiet, and freedom from molestation +in Maine had made me feel quite secure against any present or future +trouble from my past matrimonial misadventures. + +I was living in Maine, prudently I think under an assumed name, and as +the respectable, and, to my patients and customers, well-known Doctor +Blank, I was scarcely liable to be recognized at any time or by any +one as the man who had married so many wives, been in so many jails and +prisons, and whose exploits had been detailed from time to time in the +papers. + +Nor, all this while, did I have the slightest fear of detection. I +looked upon myself as a victim rather than as a criminal, and for what +I had done, and much that I had not done, I had more than paid the +penalty. So far as all my business transactions were concerned, my +course had always been honorable, and in my profession, for my cures and +for my medicines, I enjoyed a good reputation which all my efforts were +directed to deserve. + +Of course, now and then, I met people in Portland, and especially in +Boston, who had known me in former years, and who knew something of my +past life; but these were generally my friends who sympathized with my +sufferings, or who, at least, were willing to blot out the past in my +better behavior of the present. One day in Boston a young man came up to +me and said: + +"How do you do, Doctor?" + +"Quite well," I replied; "but you have the advantage of me; I am sure I +do not remember you, if I ever knew you." + +"You don't remember me! Why, I am the son of the jailer in Montpelier +with whom you spent so many months before you went to Windsor; I knew +you in a minute, and Doctor, I've been in Boston a week and have got +'strapped;' how to get back to Montpelier I don't know, unless you will +lend me five or six dollars which I will send back to you the moment I +get home." + +"I remember you well, now," said I; "you are the little rascal who +wouldn't even go and buy me a cigar unless I gave you a dime for doing +it; and then, sometimes, you cheated me out of my money; I wouldn't lend +you a dollar now if it would save you from six month's imprisonment in +your father's filthy jail. Good morning." + +And that was the last I saw of him. + +I was getting tired of Maine. I had been there longer than I had stayed +in any place, except in the Vermont State Prison, for the past fifteen +years, and I began to long for fresh scenes and a fresh field for +practice. I had accumulated some means, and thought I might take life +a little easier--make a home for myself somewhere, practicing my +profession when I wanted to, and at other times enjoying the leisure +I loved and really needed. So I closed up my business in Augusta and +Portland, put my money in my pocket, and once more went out into the +world on a prospecting tour. My first idea was to go to the far West, +and I went to Troy with the intention of staying there a few days, +and then bidding farewell to the East forever. The New England States +presented no attractions to me; I had exhausted Maine, or rather it had +exhausted me; New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts had too many +unpleasant associations, if indeed they were safe states for me, with my +record to live in, and Connecticut I knew very little about. Certainly I +had no intention of trying to settle in New Jersey or Pennsylvania. The +west was the place; anywhere in the west. + +Here was I in Troy, revolving plans in my own mind for migrating to the +west, just as Mary Gordon and I had done in the very same hotel, only a +few years before; and in the course of a week I came to exactly the same +conclusion that Mary and I did--not to go. I heard of a small farm--it +was a very small one of only twelve acres--which could be bought in +Rensselaer County, not more than sixteen miles from Albany and Troy. +I went to see the place, liked it, and bought it for sixteen hundred +dollars. There was a small but good house and a barn on the place, +and altogether it was a cheap and desirable property. I got a good +housekeeper, hired a man, and began to carry on this little farm, +raising garden vegetables and fruit mainly, and sending them to market +in Albany and Troy. Generally I took my own stuff to market, and sold +medicines and recipes as well, and in Albany I had a first rate practice +which I went to that city to attend to once or twice a week. While +my man was selling vegetables and fruit--I remember I sold a hundred +dollars worth of cherries from my farm the first summer--in the market, +I was Doctor Blank receiving my patients at Stanwix Hall, or calling +upon them at their residences; and when the day's work was over, my man +and I rode home in the wagon which had brought us and the garden truck +early in the morning. On the whole, this kind of life was exceedingly +satisfactory, and I liked it. + +I made frequent expeditions to Saratoga and to other places not far from +home to attend to cases to which I was called, and to sell medicines; +and considering that the main object I had in settling in Rensselaer +County was rest and more leisure than I had enjoyed for some years, I +had a great deal more to do than I desired. Nevertheless, I might +have continued to live on my little farm, raising vegetables, picking +cherries, and practicing medicine in the neighborhood, had not the fate, +which seemed to insist that I should every little while come before +a court of justice for something or other, followed me even here. A +certain hardware dealer in Albany, with whom I had become acquainted, +proposed to buy one of my recipes, and to go into an extensive +manufacture of the medicine. He had read and heard of the fortunes that +had been made in patent medicines, by those who understand the business, +and he thought he would see if he could not get rich in a year or less +in the same way. + +After some solicitation I sold him the recipe for one thousand dollars, +receiving six hundred dollars down, and a promise of the balance when +the first returns from sales of the medicine came in. I also entered +into a contract to show the man how to make the medicine, and to give +him such advice and assistance in his new business as I could. My +hardware friend understood his legitimate business better than he did +that which he had undertaken, and although be learned how to manufacture +the medicine he did not know how to sell it; and after trying it a few +weeks, and doing next to nothing, he turned upon me as the author of his +misfortunes and sued me for damages. + +Incidental to this, and only incidental, is the following: Shortly after +I purchased my property, as I was very fond of calling my little farm, +in Rensselaer County, I was in Albany one day when it occurred to +me that I wanted a carpet for my parlor. I went to the store of a +well-known carpet-dealer, and asked to be shown some of his goods. +While I was going through the establishment I came across a man who +was industriously sewing together the lengths of a cut carpet, and I +recognized in him one of my fellow convicts at Windsor. He, however, did +not know me, and I doubt if he could have been convinced of my identity +as the wretch who plied the broom in the halls of the prison. To him, +as he glanced at me, I was only a well-dressed gentleman whom the +proprietor was courteously showing through the establishment in the +hope of securing a good customer. It was this little circumstance, I +think--my chance meeting with my old fellow-prisoner, and my changed +circumstances and appearance which put me beyond recognition by +him--that prompted me to the somewhat brazen business that followed: + +"I only came in to look to-day," I said to the carpet-dealer; "for the +precise sum of money in my pocket at present is eighteen pence, and no +more; but if you will cut me off forty yards of that piece of carpeting, +and trust me for it, I will pay your bill in a few days, as sure as I +live." + +My frank statement with regard to my finances seemed to attract the +attention of the merchant who laughed and said: + +"Well, who are you, anyhow? Where do you live?" + +I told him that I was Doctor Blank; that I lived in Rensselaer county +on a small place of my own; I raised fruit and vegetables for market; I +cured cancers, dropsy, and other diseases when I could; sold medicines +readily almost where I would; and was in Albany once or twice a week. + +"Measure and cut off the carpet," said he to the clerk who was following +us, "and put it in the Doctor's wagon" + +The bill was about a hundred dollars, and I drove home with the carpet. +It was nearly six weeks afterwards when I went into the store again, and +greeted the proprietor. He had seen me but once before and had totally +forgotten me. I told him I was Doctor Blank, small farmer and large +medical practitioner of Rensselaer County. + +"The devil you are! Why, you're the man that bought a carpet of me a few +weeks ago; I was wondering what had become of you." + +"I'm the man, and I must tell you that the carpet doesn't look well; +but never mind--here's a hundred dollars, and I want you to receipt the +bill." + +"Now," said I, when he returned the bill to me receipted, "the carpet +looks firstrate; I never saw a handsomer one in my life." + +"Well, you are an odd chap, any how," said the carpet-dealer, laughing, +and shaking me by the hand. Almost from that moment we were more than +mere acquaintances, we were fast friends. In the course of the long +conversation that followed, I told him of my trouble with the hardware +man--how I had sold him the recipe; that he had failed, from ignorance +to conduct the business properly, and had sued me for damages. + +"I know the man," said my new friend; "let him go ahead and sue and +be benefited, if he can; meanwhile, do you keep easy; I'll stand by +you." + +And stand by me he did through thick and thin. The hardware man sued me +no less than nineteen times, and for pretty much everything--damages, +debt, breach of contract, and what not. With the assistance of a +lawyer whom my friend recommended to me, I beat my opponent in eighteen +successive suits; but as fast as one suit was decided he brought +another, almost before I could get out of the court room. At last he +carried the case to the Supreme Court, and from there it went to a +referee. The matter from beginning to end, must have cost him a mint +of money; but he went on regardless of the costs which he hoped and +expected to get out of me at last. + +My long and painful experience, covering many years, had given me a +pretty thorough knowledge of the law's uncertainty, as well as the law's +delay, and very early in the course of the present suit, I had quietly +disposed of my property in Rensselaer County. I sold the little farm, +which cost me sixteen hundred dollars, for twenty-one hundred dollars, +and I had had, besides, the profits of nearly two years' farming and a +good living from and on the place. I also arranged all my money matters +in a manner that I felt assured would be satisfactory to me, if not +to my opponent, and then, following the advice of my friend, the +carpet-dealer, I let the hardware man sue and be "benefited if he +could." When, however, the case went finally to a referee who was +certain, I felt sure, to decide against me, I took no further personal +interest in the matter, nor have I ever troubled myself to learn the +filial decision. I made up my mind in a moment and decided that the time +had come, at last, when it was advisable for me to go to the West. + +Westward I went, towards sunset almost, and for the two following years +I led, I fear, what would be considered a very vagabond life. I went +to Utah, thinking while I was in Salt Lake City, if they only knew my +history there I was sure to be elected an apostle, or should be, at any +rate, a shining light in Mormondom--only I had taken my wives in regular +succession, and had not assembled the throng together. I pushed across +the plains, and went to California, remaining a long time in San +Francisco. This may have been vagabondism, but it was profitable +vagabondism to me. During this long wandering I held no communication +with my friends in the East; friends and foes alike had an opportunity +to forget me, or if they thought of me they did not know whether I was +dead or alive; they certainly never knew, all the time, where I was; +and while I was journeying I never once met a man or woman who had +been acquainted with me in the past. All the time, too, I had plenty of +money; indeed, when, I returned at last I was richer far than I was when +I left Albany, and left as the common saying graphically expresses it, +"between two days." I had my old resources of recipes, medicines and my +profession, and these I used, and had plenty of opportunity to use, to +the best advantage. I could have settled in San Francisco for life +with the certainty of securing a handsome annual income. I never feared +coming to want. If I had lost my money and all other resources had +failed, I was not afraid to make a horse-nail or turn a horse-shoe +with the best blacksmith in California, and I could have got my living, +as I did for many a year, at the forge and anvil. + +But I made more money in other and easier ways, and I made friends. In +every conceivable way my two years' wandering was of far more benefit to +me than I dreamed of when I wildly set out for the West without knowing +exactly where, or for what, I was going. The new country, too, had given +me, not only a fresh fund of ideas, but a new stock of health--morally +and physically I was in better condition than I ever was before in +my life. I had a clear head; a keen sense of my past follies; a vivid +consciousness of the consequences which such follies, crimes they may be +called, are almost certain to bring. I flattered myself that I was not +only a reformed prisoner, but a reformed drunkard, and a thoroughly +restored matrimonial monomaniac. + +And when I returned, at last, to the East, and went once more to visit +my near and dear friends in Ontario County, I was received as one who +had come back from the dead. When I had been here a few weeks, and had +communicated to my cousins so much of the story of my life as I then +thought advisable, I took good counsel and finally did what I ought to +have done long years before. I commenced proper legal proceedings for +a divorce from my first and worst wife. I do not need to dwell upon the +particulars; it is enough to say, that the woman, who was then living, +so far from opposing me, aided me all she could, even making affidavit +to her adultery with the hotel clerk at Bainbridge, long ago, and I +easily secured my full and complete divorce. Now I was, indeed, a free +man--all the other wives whom I had married, or who had married me, +whether I would or no, were as nothing; some were dead and others were +again married. It may be that this new, and to me strange sense of +freedom, legitimate freedom, set me to thinking that I might now secure +a genuine and true wife, who would make a new home happy to me as long +as we both should live. + +Fortune, not fate now, followed me, led me rather and guided my +footsteps. It was not many months before I met a woman who seemed to me +in every way calculated to fill the first place in that home which I had +pictured as a final rest after all my woes and wanderings. From mutual +esteem our acquaintance soon ripened into mutual love. She was all +that my heart could desire. I was tolerably well off; my position was +reputable; my connections were respectable. To us, and to our friends, +the match seemed a most desirable one. It was no hasty courtship; we +knew each other for months and learned to know each other well; and with +true love for each other, we had for each other a genuine respect. I +frankly told her the whole story of my life as I have now written it. +She only pitied my misfortunes, pardoned my errors, and, one bright, +golden, happy autumn day, we were married. + +In the northeastern part of the State of New York on the banks of a +broad and beautiful river, spread out far and near the fertile acres +of one of the finest farms in the country. It is well stocked and well +tilled. The surrounding country is charming--game in the woods, and fish +in the streams afford abundant sport, and the region is far away from +large cities, and remote even from railroads. I do not know of a more +delightful place in the whole world to live in. On the farm I speak +of, a cottage roof covers a peaceful, happy family, where content and +comfort always seem to reign supreme. A noble woman, a most worthy wife +is mistress of that house; joyous children move and play among the trees +that shade the lawns; and the head of the household, the father of the +family, is the happiest of thee group. + +That farm, that family, that cottage, that wife, that happy home are +mine--all mine. I have found a true wife and a real home at last. + +My story is told; and if it should suggest to the reader the moral which +is too obvious to need rehearsal, one object I had in telling the story +will have been accomplished. + +THE END. + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's Seven Wives and Seven Prisons, by L.A. 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Abbott + +Release Date: November, 2003 [Etext #4667] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on February 26, 2002] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +The Project Gutenberg Etext of Seven Wives and Seven Prisons +by L.A. Abbott +******This file should be named svnwv10.txt or svnwv10.zip****** + +Corrected EDITIONS of our etexts get a new NUMBER, svnwv11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, svnwv10a.txt + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we usually do not +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +The "legal small print" and other information about this book +may now be found at the end of this file. Please read this +important information, as it gives you specific rights and +tells you about restrictions in how the file may be used. + +*** +This etext was created by Charles Aldarondo (Aldarondo@yahoo.com). + + + +SEVEN WIVES AND SEVEN PRISONS: + +OR EXPERIENCES IN THE LIFE OF A +MATRIMONIAL MANIAC. A TRUE STORY. + +WRITTEN BY HIMSELF. + +NEW YORK: + +PUBLISHED FOR THE AUTHOR. 1870. + + + + + + +CONTENTS + + + + + +CHAPTER 1. THE FIRST AND WORST WIFE My Early History. The First +Marriage. Leaving Home to Prospect. Sending for My Wife. Her +Mysterious Journey. Where I Found Her. Ten Dollars for Nothing. A +Fascinating Hotel Clerk. My Wife's Confession. From Bad to Worse. +Final Separation. Trial for Forgery. A Private Marriage. Summary +Separation. + +CHAPTER II. MISERIES FROM MY SECOND MARRIAGE. Love-Making in +Massachusetts. Arrest for Bigamy. Trial at Northampton. A Stunning +Sentence. Sent to State Prison. Learning the Brush Business. +Sharpening Picks. Prison Fare. In the Hospital. Kind Treatment. +Successful Horse-Shoeing. The Warden my Friend. Efforts for my +Release. A Full Pardon. + +CHAPTER III. THE SCHEIMER SENSATION. The Scheimer Family. In Love +With Sarah. Attempt to Elope. How it was Prevented. Second Attempt. +A Midnight Expedition. The Alarm. A Frightful Beating. Escape, +Flogging the Devil out of Sarah. Return to New Jersey. "Boston +Yankee." Plans to Secure Sarah. + +CHAPTER IV. SUCCESS WITH SARAH. Mary Smith as a Confederate. The +Plot. Waiting in the Woods. The Spy Outwitted. Sarah Secured. The +Pursuers Baffled. Night on the Road. Efforts to Get Married. "The +Old Offender." Married at Last. A Constable after Sarah. He Gives it +Up. An Ale Orgie. Return to "Boston Yankee's." A Home in Goshen. + +CHAPTER V. HOW THE SCHEIMERS MADE ME SUFFER. Return to Scheimer's. +Peace, and then Pandemonium. Frightful Family Row. Running for +Refuge. The Gang Again. Arrest at Midnight. Struggle with my +Captors. In Jail Once More. Put in Irons. A Horrible Prison. +Breaking Out. The Dungeon. Sarah's Baby. . Curious Compromises. Old +Scheimer my Jailer. Signing a Bond. Free Again. Last Words from +Sarah. + +CHAPTER VI. FREE LIFE AND FISHING. Taking Care of Crazy Men. +Carrying off a Boy. Arrested for Stealing my Own Horse and Buggy. +Fishing in Lake Winnepisiogee. An Odd Landlord. A Woman as Big as a +Hogshead. Reducing the Hogshead to a Barrel. Wonderful Verification +of a Dream. Successful Medical Practice. A Busy Winter in New +Hampshire. Blandishments of Captain Brown. I go to Newark, New +Jersey. + +CHAPTER VII. WEDDING A WIDOW AND THE CONSEQUENCES. I Marry a Widow. +Six Weeks of Happiness. Confiding a Secret, and the Consequences. +The Widow's Brother. Sudden Flight from Newark. In Hartford, Conn. +My Wife's Sister Betrays Me. Trial for Bigamy. Sentenced to Ten +Years' Imprisonment. I Become a "Bobbin Boy." A Good Friend. +Governor Price Visits me in Prison. He Pardons Me. Ten Years' +Sentence Fulfilled in Seven Months. + +CHAPTER VIII. ON THE KEEN SCENT. Good Resolutions. Enjoying Freedom. +Going After a Crazy Man. The Old Tempter in a New Form. Mary Gordon. +My New "Cousin." Engaged Again. Visit to the Old Folks at Home. +Another Marriage. Starting for Ohio. Change of Plans. Domestic +Quarrels. Unpleasant Stories about Mary. Bound Over to Keep the +Peace. Another Arrest for Bigamy. A Sudden Flight. Secreted Three +Weeks in a Farm House. Recaptured at Concord. Escaped Once More. +Traveling on the Underground Railroad. In Canada. + +CHAPTER IX. MARRYING TWO MILLINERS. Back in Vermont. Fresh +Temptations. Margaret Bradley. Wine and Women. A Mock Marriage in +Troy. The False Certificate. Medicine and Millinery. Eliza Gurnsey. +A Spree at Saratoga. Marrying Another Milliner. Again Arrested for +Bigamy. In Jail Eleven Months. A Tedious Trial. Found Guilty. Appeal +to Supreme Court. Trying to Break Out of Jail. A Governor's Promise. +Second Trial. Sentenced to Three Years' Imprisonment. + +CHAPTER X. PRISON LIFE IN VERMONT. Entering Prison. The Scythe Snath +Business. Blistered Hands. I Learn Nothing. Threaten to Kill the +Shop Keeper. Locksmithing. Open Rebellion. Six Weeks in the Dungeon. +Escape of a Prisoner. In the Dungeon Again. The Mad Man Hall. He +Attempts to Murder the Deputy. I Save Morey's Life. Howling in the +Black Hole. Taking Off Hall's Irons. A Ghastly Spectacle. A Prison +Funeral. I am Let Alone. The Full Term of my Imprisonment. + +CHAPTER XI. ON THE TRAMP. The Day of my Deliverance. Out of Clothes. +Sharing with a Beggar. A Good Friend. Tramping Through the Snow. +Weary Walks. Trusting to Luck. Comfort at Concord. At Meredith +Bridge. The Blaisdells. Last of the "Blossom" Business. Making Money +at Portsmouth. Revisiting Windsor. An Astonished Warden. Making +Friends of Enemies. Inspecting the Prison. Going to Port Jervis. + +CHAPTER XII. ATTEMPT TO KIDNAP SARAH SCHEIMER'S BOY. Starting to See +Sarah. The Long Separation. What I Learned About Her. Her Drunken +Husband. Change of Plan. A Suddenly-Formed Scheme. I Find Sarah's +Son. The First Interview. Resolve to Kidnap the Boy. Remonstrance of +my Son Henry. The Attempt. A Desperate Struggle. The Rescue. Arrest +of Henry. My Flight into Pennsylvania. Sending Assistance to my Son. +Return to Port Jervis. Bailing Henry. His Return to Belvidere. He is +Bound Over to be Tried for Kidnapping. My folly. + +CHAPTER XIII. ANOTHER WIDOW. Waiting for the Verdict. My Son Sent to +State Prison. What Sarah Would Have Done. Interview with my First +Wife. Help for Henry. The Biddeford Widow. Her Effort to Marry Me. +Our Visit to Boston. A Warning. A Generous Gift. Henry Pardoned. +Close of the Scheimer Account. Visit to Ontario County. My Rich +Cousins. What Might Have Been. My Birthplace Revisited. + +CHAPTER XIV. MY SON TRIES TO MURDER ME. Settling Down in Maine. +Henry's Health. Tour Through the South. Secession Times. December in +New Orleans. Up the Mississippi. Leaving Henry in Massachusetts. +Back in Maine Again. Return to Boston, Profitable Horse-Trading. +Plenty of Money. My First Wife's Children. How they Have Been +Brought Up. A Barefaced Robbery. Attempt to Blackmail Me. My Son +Tries to Rob and Kill Me. My Rescue Last of the Young Man. + +CHAPTER XV. A TRUE WIFE AND HOME AT LAST. Where Were All my Wives? +Sense of Security. An Imprudent Acquaintance. Moving from Maine. My +Property in Rensselaer County. How I Lived. Selling a Recipe. About +Buying a Carpet. Nineteen Lawsuits. Sudden Departure for the West. A +Vagabond Life for Two Years. Life in California. Return to the East. +Divorce from any First Wife. A Genuine Marriage. My Farm. Home at +Last. + + + + + + +SEVEN WIVES AND SEVEN PRISONS + +CHAPTER I. + +THE FIRST AND WORST WIFE + +My Early History-THE FIRST MARRIAGE-LEAVING HOME TO PROSPECT-SENDING +FOR MY WIFE-HER MYSTERIOUS JOURNEY-WHERE I FOUND HER-TEN DOLLARS FOR +NOTHING-A FASCINATING HOTEL CLERK-MY WIFE'S CONFESSION-FROM BAD TO +WORSE-FINAL SEPARATION-TRIAL FOR FORGERY-A PRIVATE MARRIAGE-SUMMARY +SEPARATION. + + + + + +SOME one has said that if any man would faithfully write his +autobiography, giving truly his own history and experiences, the +ills and joys, the haps and mishaps that had fallen to his lot, he +could not fail to make an interesting story; and Disraeli makes +Sidonia say that there is romance in every life. How much romance, +as well as sad reality, there is in the life of a man who, among +other experiences, has married seven wives, and has been seven times +in prison-solely on account of the seven wives, may be learned from +the pages that follow. + +I was born in the town of Chatham, Columbia County, New York, in +September, 1813. My father was a New Englander, who married three +times, and I was the eldest son of his third wife, a woman of Dutch +descent, or, as she would have boosted if she had been rich, one of +the old Knickerbockers of New York. My parents were simply honest, +hard-working, worthy people, who earned a good livelihood, brought +up their children to work, behaved themselves, and were respected by +their neighbors. They had a homestead and a small farm of thirty +acres, and on the place was a blacksmith shop in which my father +worked daily, shoeing horses and cattle for farmers and others who +came to the shop from miles around. + +There were three young boys of us at home, and we had a chance to go +to school in the winter, while during the summer we worked on the +little farm and did the "chores" about the house and barn. But by +the time I was twelve years old I began to blow and strike in the +blacksmith shop, and when I was sixteen years old I could shoe +horses well, and considered myself master of the trade. At the age +of eighteen, I went into business with my father, and as I was now +entitled to a share of the profits, I married the daughter of a +well-to-do neighboring farmer, and we began our new life in part of +my father's house, setting up for ourselves, and doing our own +house-keeping. + +I ought to have known then that marrying thus early in life, and +especially marrying the woman I did, was about the most foolish +thing I could do. I found it out afterwards, and was frequently and +painfully reminded of it through many long years. But all seemed +bright enough at the start. My wife was a good-looking woman of just +my own age; her family was most respectable; two of her brothers +subsequently became ministers of the gospel; and all the children +had been carefully brought up. I was thought to have made a good +match; but a few years developed that had wedded a most unworthy +woman. + +Seventeen months after our marriage, our oldest child, Henry, was +born. Meanwhile we had gone to Sidney, Delaware County, where my +father opened a shop. I still continued in business with him, and +during our stay at Sidney, my daughter, Elizabeth, was born. From +Sidney, my father wanted to go to Bainbridge, Chenango, County, N.Y., +and I went with him, leaving my wife and the children at Sidney, +while we prospected. As usual my father started a blacksmith-shop; +but I bought a hundred acres of timber land, went to lumbering, and +made money. We had a house about four miles from the village, I +living with my father, and as soon as found out that we were doing +well in business, I sent to Sidney for my wife and children. They +were to come by stage, and were due, after passing through +Bainbridge, at our house at four o'clock in the morning. We were up +early to meet the stage; but when it arrived, the driver told us +that my wife had stopped at the public house in Bainbridge. + +Wondering what this could mean, I at once set out with my brother +and walked over to the village. It was daylight when we arrived, and +knocked loudly at the public house door. After considerable delay, +the clerk came to the door and let us in. He also asked as to "take +something," which we did. The clerk knew us well, and I inquired if +my wife was in the house; he said she was, told us what room she was +in, and we went up stairs and found her in bed with her children. +Waking her, I asked her why she did not come home, in the stage? She +replied that the clerk down stairs told her that the stage did not +go beyond the house, and that she expected to walk over, as soon as +it was daylight, or that possibly we might come for her. + +I declare, I was so young and unsophisticated that I suspected +nothing, and blamed only the stupidity, as I supposed, of the clerk +in telling her that the stage did not go beyond Bainbridge. My wife +got up and dressed herself and the children, and then as it was +broad daylight, after endeavoring, ineffectually, to get a +conveyance, we started for home on foot, she leading the little boy, +and I carrying the youngest child. We were not far on our way when +she suddenly stopped, stooped down, and exclaimed: + +"O! see what I have found in the road." + +And she showed me a ten dollar bill. I was quite surprised, and +verdantly enough, advised looking around for more money, which my +wife, brother and I industriously did for some minutes. It was full +four weeks before I found out where that ten dollar bill came from. +Meanwhile, my wife was received and was living in her new home, +being treated with great kindness by all of us. It was evident, +however, that she had something on her mind which troubled her, and +one morning, about a month after her arrival, I found her in tears. +I asked her what was the matter? She said that she had been +deceiving me; that she did not pick up the ten dollar bill in the +road; but that it was given to her by the clerk in the public house +in Bainbridge; only, however, for this: he had grossly insulted her; +she had resented it, and he had given her the money, partly as a +reparation, and partly to prevent her from speaking of the insult to +me or to others. + +But by this time my hitherto blinded eyes were opened, and I charged +her with being false to me. She protested she had not been; but +finally confessed that she had been too intimate with the clerk at +the hotel. I began a suit at law against the clerk; but finally, on +account of my wife's family and for the sake of my children, I +stopped proceedings, the clerk paying the costs of the suit as far +as it had gone, and giving me what I should probably have got from +him in the way of damages. My wife too, was apparently so penitent, +and I was so much infatuated with her, that I forgave her, and even +consented to continue to live with her. But I removed to Greenville, +Greene County, N. Y., where I went into the black-smithing business, +and was very successful. We lived here long enough to add two +children to our little family; but as time went on, the woman became +bad again, and displayed the worst depravity. I could no longer live +with her, and we finally mutually agreed upon a life-long +separation--she insisting upon keeping the children, and going to +Rochester where she subsequently developed the full extent of her +character. + +This, as nearly as I remember, was in the year 1838, and with this +came a new trouble upon me. Just before the separation, I received +from my brother's wife a note for one hundred dollars, and sold it. +It proved to be a forgery. I was temporarily in Troy, N. Y., when +the discovery was made, and as I made no secret of my whereabouts at +any time, I was followed to Troy, was there arrested, and after +lying in jail at Albany one night, was taken next morning to +Coxsackie, Greene County, and front thence to Catskill. After one +day in jail there, I was brought before a justice and examined on +the charge of uttering a forged note. There was a most exciting +trial of four days duration. I had two good lawyers who did their +best to show that I did not know the note to be forged when I sold +it, but the justice seemed determined to bind me over for trial, and +he did so, putting me under five hundred dollars' bonds. My +half-sister at Sidney was sent for, came to Catskill, and became +bail for me. I was released, and my lawyers advised me to leave, +which I did at once, and went to Pittsfield, and from there to +Worthington, Mass., where I had another half-sister, who was married +to Mr. Josiah Bartlett, and was well off. + +Here I settled down, for all that I knew to the contrary, for life. +For some years past, I had devoted my leisure hours from the forge +to the honest endeavor to make up for the deficiencies in my +youthful education, and had acquired, among other things, a good +knowledge of medicine. I did not however, believe in any of the +"schools" particularly those schools that make use of mineral +medicines in their practice. I favored purely vegetable remedies, +and had been very successful in administering them. So I began life +anew, in Worthington, as a Doctor, and aided by my half-sister and +her friends, I soon secured a remunerative practice. + +I was beginning to be truly happy. I supposed that the final +separation, mutually agreed upon between my wife and myself, was as +effectual as all the courts in the country could make it, and I +looked upon myself as a free man. Accordingly, after I had been in +Worthington some months I began to pay attentions to the daughter of +a flourishing farmer. She was a fine girl; she received my addresses +favorably, and we were finally privately married. This was the +beginning of my life-long troubles. In a few weeks her father found +out that I had been previously married, and was not, so far as he +knew, either a divorced man or a widower. And so it happened, that +one day when I was at his house, and with his daughter, he suddenly +came home with a posse of people and a warrant for my arrest. I was +taken before a justice, and while we were waiting for proceedings to +begin, or, possibly for the justice to arrive, I took the excited +father aside and said: + +"You know I have a fine horse and buggy at the door. Get in with me, +and ride down home. I will see your daughter and make everything +right with her, and if you will let me run away, I'll give her her +the horse and buggy." + +The offer was too tempting to be refused. The father had the warrant +in his pocket, and he accepted my proposal. We rode to his house, +and he went into the back-room by direction of his daughter while +she and I talked in the hall. I explained matters as well as I +could; I promised to see her again, and that very soon. My horse and +buggy were at the door. Hastily bidding my new and young wife +"good-bye," I sprang into the buggy and drove rapidly away. The +father rushed to the door and raised a great hue and cry, and what +was more, raised the neighbors; I had not driven five miles before +all Worthington was after me. But I had the start, the best horse, +and I led in the race. I drove to Hancock, N.Y., where my pursuers +lost the trail; thence to Bennington, Vt., next to Brattleboro, Vt., +and from there to Templeton, Mass. What befel me at Templeton, shall +be related in the next chapter. + + + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +MISERIES FROM MY SECOND MARRIAGE. + +LOVE-MAKING IN MASSACHUSETTS-ARREST FOR BIGAMY-TRIAL AT +NORTHAMPTON-A STUNNING SENTENCE-SENT TO STATE PRISON-LEARNING THE +BRUSH BUSINESS-SHARPENING PICKS-PRISON FARE-IN THE HOSPITAL-KIND +TREATMENT-SUCCESSFUL HORSE SHOEING-THE WARDEN MY FRIEND-EFFORTS FOR +MY RELEASE-A FULL PARDON. + + + + + +At Templeton I speedily made known my profession, and soon had a +very good medical practice which one or two "remarkable cures" +materially increased. I was doing well and making money. I boarded +in a respectable farmer's family, and after living there about six +months there came another most unhappy occurrence. From the day, +almost, when I began to board with this farmer there sprung up a +strong attachment between myself and his youngest daughter which +soon ripened into mutual love. She rode about with me when I went to +see my patients, who were getting to be numerous, and we were much +in each other's company. + +On one occasion she accompanied me to Worcester where I had some +patients. We went to a public house where she and her family were +well known, and when she was asked by the landlord how she happened +to come there with the doctor, her prompt answer was: + +"Why, we are married; did'nt you know it?" + +She refused even to go to the table without my attendance, and when +I was out visiting some patients, she waited for her meals till I +came back. We stayed there but two days and returned together to +Templeton. + +A month afterward her brother was in Worcester, and stopped at this +house. The landlord, after some conversation about general matters, +said: + +"So your sister is married to the Doctor?" + +"I know nothing about it," was the reply. + +This led to a full and altogether too free disclosure to the +astonished brother about the particulars of our visit to the same +house a month before, and his sister's representations that we were +married. The brother immediately started for home, and repeated the +story, as it was told to him, to his father and the family. Without +seeing his daughter, the father at once procured a warrant, and had +me arrested and brought before a justice on charge of seduction. +The trial was brief; the daughter herself swore positively, that +though she had been imprudent and indiscreet in going to Worcester +with me, no improper communication had ever, there or elsewhere, +taken place between us. + +Of course, there was nothing to do but to let me go and I was +discharged. But out of this affair came the worst that had yet +fallen to my lot in life. The story got into the papers, with +particulars and names of the parties, and in this way the people at +Worthington, who had chased me as far as Hancock and had there lost +all trace of me, found out where I was. If I had been aware of it, +they might have looked elsewhere for me; but while I was +felicitating myself upon my escape from the latest difficulty, down +came an officer from Worthington with a warrant for my arrest. This +officer, the sheriff, was connected with the family into which I had +married in Worthington, and with him came two or three more +relatives, all bound, as they boasted, to "put me through." They +were excessively irate against me and very much angered, especially +that their race after me to Hancock had been fruitless. I had fallen +into the worst possible hands. + +They took me to Northampton and brought me before a Justice, on a +charge of bigamy: The sheriff who arrested me, and the relatives who +accompanied him were willing to swear my life away, if they could, +and the justice was ready enough to bind me over to take my trial in +court, which was not to be in session for full six months to come. +Those long, weary six months I passed in the county jail. Then came +my trial. I had good counsel. There was not a particle of proof that +I was guilty of bigamy; no attempt was made on the part of the +prosecution to produce my first wife, from whom I had separated, or, +indeed, to show that there was such a woman in existence. But, +evidence or no evidence, with all Worthington against me, conviction +was inevitable. The jury found me guilty. The judge promptly +sentenced me to three years' imprisonment in the State Prison, at +Charlestown, with hard labor, the first day to be passed in solitary +confinement. + +This severe sentence fairly stunned me. I was taken back to jail, +and the following day I was conveyed to Charlestown with heavy irons +on my ankles and handcuffed. No murderer would have been more +heavily ironed. We started early in the morning, and by noon I was +duly delivered to the warden at Charlestown prison. I was taken into +the office, measured, asked my name, age, and other particulars, and +then if I had a trade. To this I at once answered, "no." I wanted my +twenty-four hours' solitary confinement in which to reflect upon the +kind of "hard labor," prescribed in my sentence, I was willing to +follow for the next three years; and I also wanted information about +the branches of labor pursued in that prison. The next words of the +warden assured me that he was a kind and compassionate man. + +"Go," he said to an officer, "and instantly take off those irons +when you take him inside the prison." + +I was taken in and the irons were taken off. I was then undressed, +my clothes were removed to another room, and I was redressed in the +prison uniform. This was a grotesque uniform indeed. The suit was +red and blue, half and half, like a harlequin's, and to crown all +came a hat or cap, like a fool's cap, a foot and a half high and +running up to a peak. Miserable as I was, I could scarcely help +smiling at the utterly absurd appearance I knew I then presented. I +even ventured to remark upon it; but was suddenly and sternly +checked with the command: + +"Silence! There's no talking allowed here." + +Then began my twenty-four hours' solitary confinement, and +twenty-four wretched hours they were. I had only bread and water to +eat and drink, and I need not say that my unhappy thoughts would not +permit me to sleep. At noon next day I was taken from my cell, and +brought again before the warden, Mr. Robinson, who kindly said: + +"You have no trade, you say; what do you want to go to work at?" + +"Anything light; I am not used to hard labor," I replied. + +So the warden directed that I should be put at work in the brush +shop, where all kinds of brushes were made. Mr. Eddy was the officer +in charge of this shop, and Mr. Knowles, the contractor for the +labor employed in the brush business, was present. Both of these +gentlemen took pains to instruct me in the work I was to begin upon, +and were very kind in their manner towards me. I went to work in a +bungling way and with a sad and heavy heart. At 12 o'clock we were +marched from the shop to our cells, each man taking from a trap in +the wall, as he went by, his pan containing his dinner, which +consisted, that day, of boiled beef and potatoes. It was probably +the worst dinner I had ever eaten, but I had yet to learn what +prison fare was. From one o'clock to six I was in the shop again; +then came Supper-mush and molasses that evening which was varied, as +I learned afterwards, on different days by rye bread, or Indian +bread and rye coffee. These things were also served for breakfast, +and the dinners were varied on different days in the week. The fare +was very coarse, always, but abundant and wholesome. After supper +prisoners were expected to go to bed, as they were called out at six +o'clock in the morning. + +I stayed in the brush shop three or four months, but I made very +little progress in learning the trade. I was willing enough to learn +and did my best. From the day I entered the prison I made up my mind +to behave as well as I could; to be docile and obedient, and to +comply with every rule and order. Consequently I had no trouble, and +the officers all treated me kindly. Warden Robinson was a model man +for his position. He believed that prisoners could be reformed more +easily by mild than by harsh measures--at least they would be more +contented with their lot and would be subordinate. Every now and +then he would ask prisoners if they were well treated by the +officers; how they were getting on; if they had enough to eat, and +so on. The officers seemed imbued with the warden's spirit; the +chaplain of the prison, who conducted the Sunday, services and also +held a Sunday school, was one of the finest men in the world, and +took a personal interest in every prisoner. Altogether, it was a +model institution. But in spite of good treatment I was intensely +miserable; my mind was morbid; I was nearly, if not quite, insane; +and one day during the dinner hour, I opened a vein in each arm in +hopes that I should bleed to death. Bleed I did, till I fainted +away, and as I did not come out when the other prisoners did, the +officer came to my cell and discovered my condition. He at once sent +for the Doctor who came and stopped the hemorrhage, and then sent me +to the hospital where I remained two weeks. + +After I came out of the hospitals the Warden talked to me about my +situation and feelings. He advised me to go into the blacksmith +shop, of course not dreaming that I knew anything of the work; but +he said I would have more liberty there; that the men moved about +freely and could talk to each other; that the work mainly was +sharpening picks and tools, and that I could at least blow and +strike. So I went into the blacksmith shop, and remained their six +weeks. But, debilitated as I was, the work was too hard for me, and +so the warden put me in the yard to do what I could. I also swept +the halls and assisted in the cook-room. One day when the warden +spoke to me, I told him that I knew something about taking care of +the sick, and after some conversation, he transferred me to the +hospital as a nurse. + +Here, if there is such a things as contentment in prison, I was +comparatively happy. I nursed the sick and administered medicines +under direction of the doctor. I had too, with all easy position, +more liberty than any other prisoner. I could go anywhere about the +halls and yard, and in a few weeks I was frequently sent on an +errand into the town. Everyone seemed to have the fullest confidence +in me. The Warden talked to me whenever he saw me, and always had +some kind word for me. One day I ventured to speak to him about his +horse, of which he was very proud, and indeed the horse was a very +fine one. + +Mr. Warden, said I "that's a noble horse of yours; but he interferes +badly, and that is only because he is badly shod. If you will +trust me, I can shoe him so as to prevent all that." + +"Can you?" exclaimed the Warden in great surprise; "Well, if you +can, I'll give you a good piece of bread and butter, or, anything +else you want." + +"I don't want your bread and butter," said I "but I will shoe your +horse as he has never been shod before." + +"Well take the horse to the shop and see what you can do." + +Of course, I knew that by "bread and butter" the warden meant that +if I could shoe his favorite horse so as to prevent him from +interfering, he would gladly favor me as far as he could; and I +knew, too, that I could make as good a shoe as any horse need wear. +I gladly led the horse to the shop where I had so signally failed in +pick and tool sharpening, and was received with jeers by my old +comrades who wanted to know what I was going to do to that horse. + +"O, simply shoe him," I said. + +This greatly increased the mirth of my former shopmates; but their +amusement speedily changed to amazement as they saw me make my +nails, turn the shoes and neatly put them on. In due time the horse +was shod, and I led him to the Warden for inspection; and before him +and an officer who stood by him, I led the horse up and down to show +that he did not interfere. The Warden's delight was unbounded; he +never saw such a set of shoes; he declared that they fitted as if +they had grown to the horse's hoofs. I need not say that from that +day till the day I left the prison, I had everything I wanted from +the Warden's own table; I fared as well as he did, and had favors +innumerable. + +About once a month I shod that horse, little thinking that he was to +carry me over my three years' imprisonment in just half that time. +Yet so it was. For talking now almost daily, in the hospital or in +the yard, with the Warden, he became interested in me, and in answer +to his inquiries I told him the whole story of my persecution, as I +considered it, my trial and my unjust and severe sentence. When he +had heard all he said: + +"You ought not to be here another day; you ought to go out." + +The good chaplain also interested himself in my case, and after +hearing the story, he and the Warden took a lawyer named Bemis, into +their counsel, laid the whole matter before him and asked his +opinion. Mr. Bemis, after hearing all the circumstances, expressed +the belief that I might get a pardon. He entered into the matter +with his whole heart. He sent for my son Henry and my first wife, +and they came and corroborated my statement about the mutual +agreement for separation, and told how long we had been parted. Mr. +Bemis and they then went to Governor Briggs, and told him the story, +and that I had served out half of my severe sentence, and pressed +for a pardon. The Governor after due deliberation consented to their +request. They came back to Charlestown with the joyful intelligence. +Warden Robinson advised my son, that considering my present mental +and physical condition, he had better break the intelligence +gradually to me, and so Henry came to me and said, simply, that he +thought he would soon have "good news" for me. The next day I was +told that my pardon was certain. The day following, at 12 o'clock, I +walked out, after eighteen months' imprisonment, a free man. I was +in the streets of Charlestown with my own clothes on and five +dollars, given to me by the Warden, in my pocket, I was poor, truly, +but I was at liberty, and that for the day was enough. + + + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE SCHEIMER SENSATION. + +THE SCHEIMER FAMILY-IN LOVE WITH SARAH-ATTEMPT TO ELOPE-HOW IT WAS +PREVENTED-THE SECOND ATTEMPT-A MIDNIGHT EXPEDITION-THE ALARM-A +FRIGHTFUL BEATING-ESCAPE-FLOGGING THE DEVIL OUT OF SARAH-WINTER IN +NEW HAMPSHIRE-RETURN TO NEW JERSEY-"BOSTON YANKEE"-PLANS TO SECURE +SARAH. + + + + + +I went at once to the Prisoners Home, where I was kindly received, +and I stayed there two days. The superintendent then paid my passage +to Pittsfield where I wished to go and meet my son. From Pittsfield +I went to Albany, then New York, and from there to Newtown N. J. +Here I went into practice, meeting with almost immediate success, +and staid there two months. It was my habit to go from town to town +to attend to cases of a certain class and to sell my vegetable +preparations; and from Newtown I went to Belvidere, stopping at +intermediate towns on the way, and from Belvidere I went to Harmony, +a short distance below, to attend a case of white swelling, which I +cured. + +Now just across the Delaware river, nine miles above Easton, +Penn., lived a wealthy Dutch farmer, named Scheimer, who heard of +the cure I had effected in Harmony, and as he had a son, sixteen +years of age, afflicted in the same way, he sent for me to come and +see him. I crossed the river, saw the boy, and at Scheimer's request +took up my residence with him to attend to the case. He was to give +me, with my board, five hundred dollars if I cured the boy; but +though the boy recovered under my treatment, I never received my fee +for reasons which will appear anon. I secured some other practice in +the neighborhood, and frequently visited Easton, Belvidere, Harmony, +Oxford, and other near by places, on either side of the river. + +The Scheimer family consisted of the "old folks" and four sons and +four daughters, the children grown up, for my patient, sixteen years +old, was the youngest. The youngest daughter, Sarah, eighteen years +old, was an accomplished and beautiful girl. Now it would seem as if +with my sad experience I ought by this time, to have turned my back +on women forever. But I think I was a monomaniac on the subject of +matrimony. My first wife had so misused me that it was always in my +mind that some reparation was due me, and that I was fairly entitled +to a good helpmate. The ill-success of my efforts, hitherto, to +secure one, and my consequent sufferings were all lost upon +me--experience, bitter experience, had taught me nothing. + +I had not been in the Scheimer family three months before I fell in +love with the daughter Sarah and she returned my passion. She +promised to marry me, but said there was no use in saying anything +to her parents about it; they would never consent on account of the +disparity in our ages, for I was then forty years old; but she would +marry me nevertheless, if we had to run away together. Meanwhile, +the old folks had seen enough of our intimacy to suspect that it +might lead to something yet closer, and one day Mr. Scheimer invited +me to leave his house and not to return. I asked for one last +interview with Sarah, which was accorded, and we then arranged a +plan by which she should meet me the next afternoon at four o'clock +at the Jersey ferry, a mile below the house, when we proposed to +quietly cross over to Belvidere and get married. I then took leave +of her and the family and went away. + +The next day, at the appointed time, I was at the ferry--Sarah, as I +learned afterwards, left the house at a much earlier hour to "take a +walk" and while she was, foolishly I think, making a circuitous +route to reach the ferry, her father, who suspected that she +intended to run away, went to the ferryman and told him his +suspicions, directing him if Sarah came there by no means to permit +her to cross the river. Consequently when Sarah met me at the ferry, +the ferryman flatly refused to let either of us go over. He knew all +about it, he said, and it was "no go." I had two hundred dollars in +my pocket and I offered him any reasonable sum, if he would only let +us cross; but no, he knew the Scheimers better than he knew me, and +their goodwill was worth more than mine. Here was a block to the +game, indeed. I had sent my baggage forward in the morning to +Belvidere; Sarah had nothing but the clothes she wore, for she was +so carefully watched that she could carry or send nothing away; but +she was ready to go if the obstinate ferryman had not prevented us. + +While we were pressing the ferryman to favor us, down came one of +Sarah's brothers with a dozen neighbors, and told her she must +return home or he would carry her back by force. I interfered and +said she should not go. Whereupon one fellow took hold of me and I +promptly knocked him down, and notified the crowd that the first who +laid hands on me, or who attempted to take her home violently, would +get a dose from my pistol which I then exhibited: + +"Sarah must go willingly or not at all," said I. + +The production of my pistol, the only weapon in the crowd, brought +about a new state of affairs, and the brother and others tried +persuasion; but Sarah stoutly insisted that she would not return. +"Now hold on," boys, said I, "I am going to say something to her." I +then took her aside and told her that there was no use in trying to +run away then; that she had better go home quietly, and tell the +folks that she was sorry for what she had done, that she had broken +off with me, and would have nothing more to do with me; that I would +surely see her to-morrow, and then we could make a new plan. So she +announced her willingness to go quietly home with her brother and +she did so. I went to a public house half a mile below the ferry. +That night the gang came down to this house with the intention of +driving me away from the place, or, possibly, of doing something +worse; but while they were howling outside, the landlord sent me to +my room and then went out and told the crowd I had gone away. + +The next morning I boldly walked up to Scheimer's house to get a few +books and other things I had left there, and I saw Sarah. I told her +to be ready on the following Thursday night and I would have a +ladder against her window for her to escape by. She promised to be +ready. Meantime, though I had been in the house but a few minutes, +some one who had seen me go in gathered the crowd of the day before, +and the first thing I knew the house was beseiged. Mrs. Scheimer had +gone up stairs for my things. I went out and faced the little mob. I +was told to leave the place or they would kill me. One of Sarah's +brothers ran into the house, brought out a musket and aimed it at +me; but it missed fire. I drew my pistol the crowd keeping well away +then, and told him that if he did not instantly bring that musket to +me I would shoot him. He brought it, and I threw it over the fence, +Sarah crying out from the window, "good! good!" The mob then turned +and abused and blackguarded her. Then the old lady came out, +bringing a carpet bag containing my books and things, asking me to +see if "it was all right." I had no disposition to stop and examine +just then; I told the mob I had no other business there; that I was +going away, and to my surprise, I confess, I was permitted to leave +the place unmolested. + +It is quite certain the ferryman made no objection to my crossing, +and I went to Belvidere where I remained quietly till the appointed +Thursday night, when I started with a trusty man for Scheimer's. We +timed our journey so as to arrive there at one o'clock in the +morning. Ever since her attempt to elope, Sarah had been watched +night and day, and to prevent her abduction by me, Mr. Scheimer had +two or three men in the house to stand guard at night. Sarah was +locked in her room, which is precisely what we had provided for, for +no one in the house supposed that she could escape by the window. +There was a big dog on the premises, but he and I were old friends, +and he seemed very glad to see me when I came on the ground on this +eventful night. Sarah was watching, and when I made the signal she +opened the window and threw out her ready prepared bundle. Then my +man and I set the ladder and she came safely to the ground. A moment +more and we would have stolen away, when, as ill luck would have it, +the ladder fell with a great crash, and the infernal dog, that a +moment before seemed almost in our confidence, set up a howl and +then barked loud enough to wake the dead. + +Forthwith issued from the house old Scheimer, two of his sons and +his hired guard-a half dozen in all. There was a time then. The girl +was instantly seized and taken into the house. Then all hands fell +upon us two, and though I and my man fought our best they managed to +pound us nearly to death. The dog, too, in revenge no doubt for the +scare the ladder had given him, or perhaps to show his loyalty to +his master, assisted in routing us, and put in a bite where he +could. It is a wonder we were not killed. Sarah, meanwhile, was +calling out from the house, and imploring them not to murder us. How +we ever got away I hardly know now, but presently we found ourselves +in the road running for our lives, and running also for the carriage +we had concealed in the woods, half a mile above. We reached it, and +hastily unhitching and getting in we drove rapidly for the bridge +crossing over to Belvidere. That beautiful August night had very few +charms for us. It would have been different indeed if I had +succeeded in securing my Sarah; and to think of having the prize in +my very grasp, and the losing all! + +We reached the hotel in Belvidere at about half-past two o'clock in +the morning, wearied, worn, bruised and disheartened. My man had not +suffered nearly as severely as I had; the bulk of their blows fell +upon me, and I had the sorest body and the worst looking face I had +ever exhibited. I rested one day and then hurried on to New York. Of +course, I had no means of knowing the feelings or condition of the +loved girl from whom I had been so suddenly and so violently parted. +I only learned from an Easton man whom I knew and whom I met in the +city, that "Sarah Scheimer was sick"-that was all; the man said he +did'nt know the family very well, but he had heard that Miss +Scheimer had been "out of her head, if not downright crazy." + +Crazy indeed! How mad and how miserable that poor girl was made by +her own family, I did not know till months afterward, and then I had +the terrible story from her own lips. It seems that when her father +and his gang returned from pursuing me, as they did a little way up +the road towards Belvidere, they found her almost frantic. They +locked her up in her room that night with no one to say so much as a +kind word to her. How she passed that night, after the scenes she +had witnessed, and the abuse with which her father and brothers had +loaded her before they thrust her into her prison, may be imagined. +The next day she was wrought up to a frenzy. Her parents pronounced +her insane, and called in a Dutch doctor who examined her and said +she was "bewitched!" And this is the remedy he proposed as a cure; +he advised that she should be soundly flogged, and the devil whipped +out of her. Her family, intensely angered at her for the trouble she +had made them, or rather had caused them to make for themselves, +were only too glad to accept the advice. The old man and two sons +carried a sore bruise or two apiece they got from me the night +before, and seized the opportunity to pay them off upon her. So they +stripped her bare, and flogged her till her back was a mass of welts +and cuts, and then put her to bed. That bed she never left for two +months, and then came out the shadow of her former self. But the +Dutch doctor declared that the devil was whipped out of her, and +that she was entirely cured. A few months afterward the family had +the best of reasons for believing that they had whipped the devil +into her, instead of out of her. + +After staying in New York a few days, I went to Dover, N.H., where I +had some acquaintances, and where I hoped to get into a medical +practice, which, with the help of my friends, I did very soon. I +lived quietly in that place all winter, earning a good living and +laying by some money. During the whole time I never heard a word +from Sarah. I wrote at least fifty letters to her, but as I learned +afterward, and, indeed, surmised at the time, every one of them was +intercepted by her father or brothers, and she did not know where I +was and so could not write to me. I left Dover in May and went down +to New York. I had some business there which was soon transacted, +and early in June I went over to New Jersey-to Oxford, a small place +near Belvidere. + +This place I meant to make my base of operations for the new +campaign I had been planning all winter. I "put up" at a public +house kept by a man who was known in the region round about as the +"Boston Yankee," for he migrated from Boston to New Jersey and was +doing a thriving business at hotel keeping in Oxford. What a +thorough good-fellow he was will presently appear. I had been in the +hotel four days and had become pretty intimate with the landlord +before I ventured to make inquiries about what I was most anxious to +learn; but finally I asked him if he knew the Scheimers over the +river? He looked at me in a very comical way, and then broke out: + +"Well, I declare, I thought I knew you, you're the chap that tried +to run away with old Scheimer's daughter Sarah, last August; and +you're down here to get her this time, if you can." + +I owned up to my identity, but warned Boston Yankee that if he told +any one who I was, or that I was about there, I'd blow his brains +out. + +"You keep cool," said he, "don't you be uneasy; I'm your friend and +the gal's friend, and I'll help you both all I can; and if you want +to carry off Sarah Scheimer and marry her, I'll tell you how to work +it. You see she has been watched as closely as possible all winter, +ever since she got well, for she was crazy-like, awhile. Well, you +could'nt get nearer to her, first off, than you could to the North +Pole; but do you remember Mary Smith who was servant gal, there when +you boarded with Scheimer?" I remembered the girl well and told him +so, and he continued: "Well, I saw her the other day, and she told +me she was living in Easton, and where she could be found; now, I'll +give you full directions and do you take my horse and buggy to-morrow +morning early and go down and see her, and get her to go over and +let Sarah know that you're round; meantime I'll keep dark; I know +my business and you know yours." + +I need not say how overjoyed I was to find this new and most +unexpected friend, and how gratefully I accepted his offer. He gave +me the street, house and number where Mary Smith lived and during +the evening we planned together exactly how the whole affair was to +be managed, from beginning to end. I went to bed, but could scarcely +sleep; and all night long I was agitated by alternate hopes and +fears for the success of the scheme of to-morrow. + + + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +SUCCESS WITH SARAH. + +MARY SMITH AS A CONFEDERATE-THE PLOT-WAITING IN THE WOODS-THE SPY +OUTWITTED-SARAH SECURED-THE PURSUERS BAFFLED-NIGHT ON THE +ROAD-EFFORTS TO GET MARRIED-THE "OLD OFFENDER" MARRIED AT LAST-A +CONSTABLE AFTER SARAH-HE GIVES IT UP-AN ALE ORGIE-RETURN TO "BOSTON +YANKEE'S"-A HOME IN GOSHEN. + + + + + +It was Saturday morning, and after an early breakfast I was on the +road with Boston Yankee's fast horse; towards Easton. On my arrival +there I had no difficulty in finding Mary Smith, who recognized me +at once, and was very glad to see me. She knew I had come there to +learn something about Sarah; she had seen her only a week ago; she +was well again, and the girls had talked together about me. This was +pleasant to hear, and I at once proposed to Mary to go to Scheimer's +and tell Sarah that I was there; I would give her ten dollars if she +would go. "O! she would gladly serve us both for nothing." + +So she made herself ready, got into the buggy, and we started for +Scheimer's. When we were well on the road I said to her: + +"Now, Mary, attend carefully to what I say: you will need to be very +cautious in breaking the news to Sarah that I am here; she has +already suffered a great deal on my account, and may be very timid +about my being in the neighborhood; but if she still loves me as you +say she does, she will run any risk to see me, and, if I know her, +she will be glad to go away with me. Now, this is what you must do; +you must see her alone and tell her my plan; here, take this diamond +ring; she knows it well; manage to let her see it on your finger; +then tell her that if she is willing to leave home and marry me, I +will be in the woods half a mile above her house to-morrow afternoon +at 5 o'clock, with a horse and buggy ready to carry her to +Belvidere. If she will not, or dare not come, give her the ring, and +tell her we part, good friends, forever." + +It was a beautiful afternoon as we drove along the road. We talked +about Sarah and old times, and I made her repeat my instructions +over and over again and she promised to convey every word to Sarah. +We neared Scheimer's house about six o'clock, and when we were a +little way from there I told Mary to get out, so as to excite no +suspicions as to who I was; she did so, and I waited till I saw her +go into the house, and then drove rapidly by towards the Belvidere +bridge, and was safely at Oxford by nightfall. I told my friend, the +landlord, what I had done, and he said that everything was well +planned. He also promised to go with me next day to assist me if +necessary, and, said he: + +"If everything is all right, do you carry off the girl and I'll walk +up to Belvidere; but don't bring Sarah this way-head toward Water +Gap. When you're married fast and sure, you can come back here as +leisurely as you're a mind to, and nobody can lay a hand upon you or +her." + +We arranged some other minor details of our expedition and I went to +bed. + +The next afternoon at four o'clock I was at the appointed place, and +Boston Yankee was with me. I did not look for Sarah before five +o'clock, so we tied our horse and kept a good watch upon the road. +An hour went by and no Sarah appeared. I told Boston Yankee I did +not believe she would come. + +"Don't be impatient; wait a little longer," said my friend. + +In twenty minutes we saw emerge, not from Scheimer's house, but from +his eldest son's house, which was still nearer to the place where we +were waiting, three women, two of whom I recognized as Sarah and +Mary, and the third I did not know, nor could I imagine why she was +with the other two; but as I saw them, leaving Boston Yankee in the +woods, I drove the horse down into the road. As Sarah drew near she +kissed her hand to me and came up to the wagon. "Are you ready to go +with me?" I asked. "I am, indeed," was her reply, and I put out my +hand to help her into the buggy. But the third woman caught hold of +her dress, tried to prevent her from getting in, and began to scream +so as to attract attention at Sarah's brother's house. I told the +woman to let her go, and threatened her with my whip. "Get away," +shouted Boston Yankee, who had come upon the scene. "Drive as fast +as you can; never mind if you kill the horse." + +We started; the woman still shouting for help, and I drove on as +rapidly as the horse would go. When we had gone on a mile or two, I +asked Sarah what all this meant? She told me that the woman was her +brother's servant; that Mary and herself left her father's house a +little after four o'clock to go over and call at her brother's; that +just before five, when she was to meet me, she and Mary proposed to +go out for a walk; that the whole family watched her constantly, and +so her brother's wife told the servant woman to get on her things +and go with them. "You, may be sure," she, added, "that the woman +will arouse the whole neighborhood, and that they will all be after +us." I needed no further hint to push on. We were going toward Water +Gap, as Boston Yankee had advised, and when we were about eight +miles on the way, I deemed it prudent to drive into the woods and to +wait till night before going on. We drove in just off the road, and +tied our horse. We were effectually concealed; our pursuers, if +there were any, would be sure to go by us, and meantime we could +talk over our plans for the future. Sarah told me that when Mary +came to the house the night before, she was not at all surprised to +see her, as she occasionally came up from Easton to make them a +little visit, and to stay all night; that she went to the +summer-house with Mary to sit down and talk, and almost immediately +saw the ring on Mary's finger; that when she saw it she at once +recognized it, and asked her: "O! Mary, where did you get that +ring?" "Keep quiet," said Mary: "don't talk loud, or some one may +hear you; don't be agitated; your lover is near, and has sent me to +tell you." It was joyful news to Sarah, and how readily she had +acquiesced in my plan for an elopement was manifest in the fact that +she was then by my side. + +We bad not been in the woods an hour when, as I anticipated, we +heard our pursuers, we did not know how many there were, drive +rapidly by. "Now we can go on, I suppose," said Sarah. "Oh no, my +dear," I replied, "now is just the time to wait quietly here;" and +wait we did till eight o'clock, when our pursuers, having gone on a +few miles, and having seen or learned nothing of the fugitives, came +by again "on the back track." They must have thought we had turned +off into some other road. I waited a while longer to let our +friend's get a little nearer home and further away from us, and then +took the road again toward Water Gap. + +We reached Water Gap at midnight, had some supper and fed the horse. +We rested awhile, and then drove leisurely on nine miles further, +where we waited till daylight and crossed the river. We were in no +great hurry now; we were comparatively safe from pursuit. We soon +came to a public house, where we stopped and put out the horse, +intending to take breakfast. While I was inquiring of the landlord +if there was a justice of the peace in the neighborhood, the +landlord's wife had elicited from Sarah the fact of our elopement, +who she was, who her folks were, and so on. The well-meaning +landlady advised Sarah to go back home and get her parents consent +before she married. Sarah suggested that the very impossibility of +getting such consent was the reason for her running away; nor did it +appear how she was to go back home alone even if she desired to. We +saw that we could get no help there, so I countermanded my order for +breakfast, offering at the same time to pay for it as if we had +eaten it, ordered out my horse and drove on. After riding some ten +miles we arrived at another public house on the road, and as the +landlord come out to the door I immediately asked him where I could +find a justice of the peace? He laughed, for he at once comprehended +the whole situation, and said: + +"Well, well! I am an old offender myself; I ran away with my wife; +there is a justice of the peace two miles from here, and if you'll +come in I'll have him here within an hour." + +We had reached the right place at last, for while the landlady was +getting breakfast for us, and doing her best to make us comfortable +and happy, the Old Offender himself took his horse and carriage and +went for the justice. By the time we had finished our breakfast he +was back with him, and Sarah and I were married in "less than no +time," the Old Offender and his wife singing the certificate as +witnesses. I never paid a fee more gladly. We were married now, and +all the Scheimers in Pennsylvania were welcome to come and see us if +they pleased. + +No Scheimers came that day; but the day following came a deputation +from that family, some half dozen delegates, and with them a +constable from Easton, with a warrant to arrest Sarah for +something-I never knew what-but at any rate he was to take her home +if necessary by force. The Old Offender declined to let these people +into his house; Sarah told me to keep out of the way and she would +see what was wanted. Whereupon she boldly went to the door and +greeted those of her acquaintances who were in the party. The +constable knew her, and told her he had come to take her home. "But +what if I refuse to go?" "Well then, I have a warrant to take you; +but if you are married, I have no power over you." Well married I +am, said Sarah, and she produced the certificate, and the Old +Offender and his wife came out and declared that they witnessed the +ceremony. + +What was to be done? evidently nothing; only the constable ordered a +whole barrel of ale to treat his posse and any one about tire town +who chose to drink, and the barrel was rolled out on the grass, +tapped, and for a half hour there was a great jollification, which +was not exactly in honor of our wedding, but which afforded the +greatest gratification to the constable, his retainers, and those +who happened to gather to see what was going on. This ended, and the +bill paid, the Easton delegation got into their wagons and turned +their horses heads towards home. + +We passed three delightful days under the Old Offender's roof, and +then thanking our host for his kindness to us, and paying our bill, +we started on our return journey for Oxford. We arrived safely, and +staid with Boston Yankee a fortnight. We were close by the Scheimer +homestead, which was but a few miles away across the river; but we +feared neither father nor brothers, nor even the woman who was so +unwilling to let Sarah go with me. The constable, and the rest had +carried home the news of our marriage, and the old folks made the +best of it. Indeed, after they heard we had returned to Oxford, +Sarah's mother sent a man over to tell her that if she would come +home any day she could pack her clothes and other things, and take +them away with her. The day after we received this invitation, +Boston Yankee offered to take Sarah over home, and promised to bring +her safely back. So she went, was treated tolerably well, at any +rate, she secured her clothes and brought them home with her. + +It was now time to bid farewell to our staunch friend, Boston +Yankee. I had inducements to go to Goshen, Orange County, N. Y., +where I had many acquaintances, and to Goshen we went. We found a +good boarding place, and I began to practice medicine, After we had +been there a while, Sarah wrote home to let her family know where +she was, and that she was well and happy. Her father wrote in reply +that we both might come there at any time, and that if she would +come home he would do as well by her as he would by any of his +children. This letter made Sarah uneasy. In spite of all the ill +usage she had received from her parents and family, she was +nevertheless homesick, and longed to get back again. I could see +that this feeling grew upon her daily. We were pleasantly situated +where we were; I had a good and growing practice, and we had made +many friends; but this did not satisfy her; she had some property in +her own right, but her father was trustee of it, and he had hitherto +kept it away from her from spite at her love affair with me. But now +she was to be taken into favor again, and she represented to me that +we could go back and get her money, and that I could establish +myself there as well as anywhere; we could live well and happily +among her friends and old associations. These things were dinged in +my ears day after day, till I was sick of the very sound. I could +see that she was bound, or, as the Dutch doctor would have said, +"bewitched" to go back, and at last, after five happy months in +Goshen, in an evil hour I consented to go home with her. + + + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +HOW THE SCHEIMERS MADE ME SUFFER. + +RETURN TO SCHEIMER-PEACE AND THEN PANDEMONIUM-FRIGHTFUL FAMILY +ROW-RUNNING FOR REFUGE-THE GANG AGAIN-ARREST AT MIDNIGHT-STRUGGLE +WITH MY CAPTORS-IN JAIL ONCE MORE-PUT IN IRONS-A HORRIBLE PRISON +BREAKING OUT-THE DUNGEON-SARAH'S BABY-CURIOUS COMPROMISES-OLD +SCHEIMER MY JAILER-SIGNING A BOND-FREE AGAIN-LAST WORDS FROM SARAH. + + + + + +We went back to the Scheimer homestead and were favorably received. +There was no special enthusiasm over our return, no marked +demonstrations of delight; but they seemed glad to see us, and all +the unpleasant things of the past, if not forgotten, were tacitly +ignored on all sides. We passed a pleasant evening together in what +seemed a re-united family circle-one of the brothers only was +absent-and next morning we met cordially around the breakfast table. +I really began to think it was possible that all the old +difficulties might be healed, and that the pleasant picture Sarah +painted, at Goshen, about settling down happily in Pennsylvania, +could be fully realized. + +After breakfast I took a conveyance to go three or four miles to see +a man who owed me some money for medical services in his family, and +was away from Scheimer's three or four hours. During this brief +absence I could not help thinking with genuine satisfaction of the +happiness Sarah was experiencing in the gratification of her longing +to return home again. Surely, I thought, she must be happy now. No +more homesickness, and a full and complete reconciliation with her +family; all the anger, abuse, and blows forgotten or forgiven; she +restored to her place in the family; and even her objectionable +husband received with open arms. + +But what an enormous difference there is between fancy and fact. +During this brief absence of mine, had come home the brother who had +always seemed to concentrate the hatred of the whole family towards +me for the wrong they assumed I had done to the youngest daughter +who loved me. On my return I found the peaceful home I left in the +morning a perfect pandemonium. Sarah was fairly frantic. The whole +family were abusing her. The returned brother especially, was +calling her all the vile names he could lay his tongue to. I learned +afterwards that he had been doing it ever since he came into the +house that day and found her at home and heard that I was with her. +They had picked, wrenched rather, out of her the secret I had +confided to her that I had another wife from whom I was "separated," +but not divorced. My sudden presence on this scene was not exactly +oil on troubled waters; it was gunpowder to fire. As soon as Sarah +saw me at the door she cried out: + +"O! husband, let us go away from here." + +Her mother turned and shouted at me that I had better fly at once or +they would kill me. Meanwhile, that mob, which the Scheimer boys +seemed always to have at hand, was gathering in the dooryard. I +managed to get near enough to Sarah to tell her that I would send a +man for her next day, and then if she was willing to come with me +she must get away from her family if possible. I then made a rush +through the crowd, and reached the road. I think the gang had an +indistinct knowledge of the situation, or they would have mobbed me, +and perhaps killed me. They knew something was "to pay" at +Scheimer's, but did not know exactly what. Once on the road it was +my intention to have gone over to Belvidere, and then on to Oxford, +where I should have found a sure refuge with my friend Boston +Yankee. + +Would that I had done so; but I was a fool; I thought I could be of +service to Sarah by remaining near her; might see her next day; I +might even be able to get her out of the house, and then we could +once more elope together and go back again to Goshen where we had +been so happy. So I went to a public house three miles above +Scheimer's, and remained there quietly during the rest of the day, +revolving plans for the deliverance of Sarah. I thought only of her. +It is strange that I did not once realize what a perilous position I +was in myself--that, firmly as I believed myself to be wedded to +Sarah, I was in fact amenable to the law, and liable to arrest and +punishment. All this never occurred to me. I saw one or two of the +gang who were at Scheimer's about the hotel, but they did not offer +to molest me, and I paid no particular attention to them. I did not +know then that they were spies and were watching my movements. At +nine o'clock I went to bed. At midnight, or thereabouts, I was +roughly awakened and told to get up. Without waiting for me, to +comply, five men who had entered my room pulled me out of bed, and +almost before I could huddle on my clothes I was handcuffed. Then +one of them, who said he was a constable from Easton, showed a +warrant for my arrest. What the arrest was for I was not informed. I +was taken down stairs, put into a wagon, the men followed, and the +horses started in the direction of Easton. By Scheimer's on the way, +and I could see a light in Sarah's window. I remembered how in, all +the Bedlam in the house that morning she still cried out: "I will go +with him." I remembered how, only a few months before, she had been +brutally flogged in that very chamber, to "get the devil out of +her." I remembered, too, the many happy, happy hours we had passed +together. And here was I, handcuffed and dragged in a wagon, I knew +not whither. + +This for thoughts-in the way of action, was all the while trying to +get my handcuffs off, and at last I succeeded in getting one hand +free. Waiting my opportunity till we came to a piece of woods, I +suddenly jumped up and sprang from the wagon. It was a very dark +night, and in running into the woods I struck against a tree with +such force as to knock me down and nearly stun me. Two of the men +were on me in an instant. After a brief struggle I managed to get +away and ran again. I should have escaped, only a high rail fence +brought me to a sudden stop, and I was too exhausted to climb over +it. My pursuers who were hard at my heels the whole while now laid +hold of me. In the subsequent struggle I got out my pocket knife, +and stabbed one of them, cutting his arm badly. Then they +overpowered me. They dragged me to the roadside, brought a rope out +of the wagon, bound my arms and legs, and so at last carried me to +Easton. + +It was nearly daylight when I was thrust into jail. There were no +cells, only large rooms for a dozen or more men, and I was put, into +one of these with several prisoners who were awaiting trial, or who +had been tried and were there till they could be sent to prison. It +was a day or two before I found out what I was there for. Then a +Dutch Deputy Sheriff, who was also keeper of the jail, came and told +me that I was held for bigamy, adding the consoling intelligence +that it would be a very hard job for me, and that I would get five +or six years in State prison sure. I was well acquainted in Easton, +and I sent for lawyer Litgreave for assistance and advice. I sent +also to my half-sister in Delaware County, N. Y., and in a day or +two she came and saw me, and gave Mr. Litgreave one hundred dollars +retaining fee. My lawyer went to see the Scheimers and when he +returned he told me that he hoped to save me from State prison-at +all events he would exercise the influence he had over the family to +that end; but I must expect to remain in jail a long time. Precisely +what this meant I did not know then; but I found out afterwards. + +Soon after this visit from the lawyer, the Deputy Sheriff came in +and said that he was ordered "by the Judge" to iron me, and it was +done. They were heavy leg-irons weighing full twelve pounds, and I +may say here that I wore them during the whole term of my +imprisonment in this jail, or rather they wore me--wearing their way +in time almost into the bone. I had been here a week now, and was +well acquainted with the character of the place. It was +indescribably filthy; no pretence was made of cleansing it. The +prisoners were half fed, and, at that, the food was oftentimes so +vile that starving men rejected it. The deputy who kept the jail was +cruel and malignant, and took delight in torturing his prisoners. He +would come in sometimes under pretence of looking at my irons to see +if they were safe, and would twist and turn them about so that I +suffered intolerable pain, and blood flowed from my wounds made by +these cruel irons. Such abuse as he could give with his tongue he +dispensed freely. Of course he was a coward, and he never dared to +come into one of the prisoner's rooms unless he was armed. This is a +faithful photograph of the interior of the jail at Easton, Penn., as +it was a few years ago; there may have been some improvement since +that time; for the sake of humanity, I hope there has been. + +After I had been in this jail about six weeks, and had become well +acquainted with my room-mates, I communicated to them one day, the +result of my observation: + +"There," said I, showing them a certain place in the wall, "is a +loose stone that with a little labor can be lifted out, and it will +leave a hole large enough for us to get out of and go where we +like." + +Examination elicited a unanimous verdict in favor of making the +attempt. With no tools but a case knife we dug out the mortar on all +sides of the stone doing the work by turns and covering the stone by +hanging up an old blanket-which excited no suspicion, as it was at +the head of one of the iron bedsteads--whenever the Deputy or any of +his men were likely to visit us. In twelve days we completed the +work, and could lift out the stone. The hole was large enough to let +a man through, and there was nothing for us to do but to crawl out +one after the other and drop down a few feet into the yard. This +yard was surrounded by a board fence that could be easily +surmounted. I intended to take the lead, after taking off my irons +(which I had learned to do, and indeed, did every day, putting them +on only when I was liable to be "inspected") and after leaving these +irons at the Deputy's door, I intended to put myself on the Jersey +side of the river as speedily as possible. + +Liberty was within reach of every man in that room, and the night +was set for the escape. But one of the crowd turned traitor, and, +under pretence, of speaking to the Deputy about some matter, managed +to be called out of the room and disclosed the whole. The man was +waiting transportation to prison to serve out a sentence of ten +years, and, with the chance of escape before him, it seemed singular +that he should reveal a plan which promised to give him liberty; but +probably he feared a failure; or that he might be recaptured and his +prison sentence increased; while on the other hand by disclosing the +plot he could curry favor enough to get his term reduced, and +perhaps he might gain a pardon. Any how, he betrayed us. The Deputy +came in and found the stone in the condition described, and +forthwith we were all removed to the dungeon, or dark room, and kept +there on bread and water for twelve days. We heard afterwards that +our betrayer did get five years less than his original sentence for +subjecting his comrades in misery to twelve days of almost +indescribable suffering. We were not only in a totally dark and +frightfully filthy hole, but we were half starved, and the Deputy +daily took delight in taunting us with our sufferings. + +At the end of the twelve days we were taken back to the old room +where we found the stone securely fastened in with irons. Moreover, +we were now under stricter observation, and at stated hours every +day, an inspector came in and examined the walls. This soon wore +off, however, and when the inspection was finally abandoned, about +two months from the time of our first attempt, we managed to find +another place in the old wall where we could dig out and we went to +work. We were a fortnight at it, and had nearly completed our labor +when we were discovered. + +This time we spent fourteen days in the dungeon for our pains. + +And now comes an extraordinary disclosure with regard to my +imprisonment. A few days after my removal from the dungeon to the +old quarters again, the Deputy, in one of his rare periods of what, +with him, passed for good humor, informed me that Sarah had been +confined, and had given birth to a fine boy; that she was crying for +my release; that Lawyer Sitgreave was interceding for me; but that +the old man Scheimer was still obstinate and would not let me out. +Passing over my feelings with regard to the birth of my son, here +was a revelation indeed! It will be remembered that I had only been +told that I was under indictment for bigamy. I had never been +brought before a justice for a preliminary examination; never bound +over for trial; and now it transpired that old Scheimer, a +Pennsylvania Dutch farmer, had the power to put me in jail, put me +in irons, and subject me to long months, perhaps years of +imprisonment. I had something to occupy my thoughts now, and for +the remaining period of my jail life. + +Next came a new dodge of the Scheimers, the object of which was to +show that Sarah's marriage to me was no marriage at all, thus +leaving her free to marry any other man her family might force upon +her. When I had been in jail seven months, one day the Deputy came +in and said that he was going to take off my irons. I told him I +wouldn't trouble him to do that, for though I had worn them when he +and his subordinates were around till the irons had nearly killed +me, yet at other times I had been in a habit of taking them off at +pleasure; and to prove it, I sat down and in a few minutes handed +him the irons. The man was amazed; but saying nothing about the +irons, he approached me on another subject. He said he thought if I +would sign an acknowledgment that I was a married man when I married +Sarah Scheimer, and would leave the State forever, I could get out +of jail; would I do it? I told him I would give no answer till I had +seen my counsel. + +Well, the next day Lawyer Sitgreave came to me and told me I had +better do it, and I consented. Shortly afterwards, I was taken to +court, for the first time in this whole affair, and was informed by +the judge that if I would sign a bond not to go near the Scheimer +house or family he would discharge me. I signed such a bond, and the +judge then told me I was discharged; but that I ought to have gone +to State prison for ten years for destroying the peace and happiness +of the Scheimer family. Truly the Scheimer family were a power, +indeed, in that part of the country! + +My lawyer gave me five dollars and I went to Harmony and staid that +night. The next day I went to an old friend of mine, a Methodist +minister, and persuaded him to go over and see what Sarah Scheimer's +feelings were towards me, and if she was willing to come to me with +our child. He went over there, but the old Scheimers suspected his +errand, and watched him closely to see that he held no communication +with Sarah. He did, however, have an opportunity to speak to her, +and she sent me word that if she could ever get her money and get +away from her parents, she would certainly join me in any part of +the world. I was warned, at the same time, not to come near the +house, for fear that her father or some of her brothers would kill +me. + + + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +FREE LIFE AND FISHING. + +TAKING CARE OF CRAZY MEN-CARRYING OFF A BOY-ARRESTED FOR STEALING +MY OWN HORSE AND BUGGY-FISHING IN LAKE WINNIPISEOGEE-AN ODD +LANDLORD-A WOMAN AS BIG AS A HOGSHEAD-REDUCING THE HOGSHEAD TO A +BARREL-WONDERFUL VERIFICATION OF A DREAM-SUCCESSFUL MEDICAL +PRACTICE-A BUSY WINTER IN NEW HAMPSHIRE-BLANDISHMENTS OF CAPTAIN +BROWN-I GO TO NEWARK, NEW JERSEY. + + + + + +The next day I left Harmony and walked to Port Jarvis, on the Erie +Railroad, N. Y., arriving late at night, and entirely footsore, +sick, and disheartened. I went to the hotel, and the next morning I +found myself seriously sick. Asking advice, I was directed to the +house of a widow, who promised to nurse and take care of me. I was +ill for two weeks, and meantime, my half-sister in Delaware County, +to whom I made known my condition, sent me money for my expenses, +and when I had sufficiently recovered to travel, I went to this +sister's house in Sidney, and there I remained several days, till I +was quite well and strong again. + +Casting about for something to do, a friend told me that he knew of +an opportunity for a good man at Newbury to take care of a young +man, eighteen years of age, who was insane. I went there and saw his +father, and he put him under my charge. I had the care of him four +months, and during the last two months of the time I traveled about +with him, and returned him, finally, to his friends in a materially +improved condition. The friends of another insane man in Montgomery, +near Newbury, hearing of my success with this young man, sent for me +to come and see them. I went there and found a man who had been +insane seven years, but who was quiet and well-behaved, only he was +"out of his head." I engaged to do what I could for him. The father +of my Newbury patient had paid me well, and with my medical practice +and the sale of medicines in traveling about, I had accumulated +several hundred dollars, and when I went to Montgomery I had a good +horse and buggy which cost me five hundred dollars. So, when my new +patient had been under my care and control two months, I proposed +that he should travel about with me in my buggy, and visit various +parts of the State in the immediate vicinity. His friends thought +well of the suggestion, and we traveled in this way about four +months, stopping a few days here and there, when I practiced where I +could, and sold medicines, making some money. At the end of this +time I went back to Montgomery with my patient, as I think, fully +restored, and his father, besides, paying the actual expenses of our +journey, gave me six hundred dollars. + +Returning to Sidney I learned that my first and worst wife was then +living with the children at Unadilla, a few miles across the river +in Otsego County. I had no desire to see her, but I heard at the +same time that my youngest boy, a lad ten years old, had been sent +to work on a farm three miles beyond, and that he was not well taken +care of. I drove over to see about it, and after some inquiry I was +told that the boy was then in school. Going to the schoolhouse and +asking for him, the school-mistress, who knew me, denied that he was +there, but I pushed in, and found him, and a ragged, miserable +looking little wretch he was. I brought him out, put him into the +carriage and took him with me on the journey which I was then +contemplating to Amsterdam, N. Y., stopping at the first town to get +him decently clothed. The boy went with me willingly, indeed he was +glad to go, and in due time we arrived at Amsterdam, and from there +we went to Troy. + +I had not been in Troy two hours before I was arrested for stealing +my own horse and buggy! My turnout was taken from me, and I found +myself in durance vile. I was not long in procuring bail, and I then +set myself, to work to find out what this meant. I was shown a +handbill describing my person, giving my name, giving a description +of my horse, and offering a reward of fifty dollars for my arrest. +This was signed by a certain Benson, of Kingston, Sullivan County, +N.Y. I then remembered that while I was traveling with my insane +patient from Montgomery through Sullivan County, I fell in with a +Benson who was a very plausible fellow, and who scraped acquaintance +with me, and while I was at Kingston he rode about with me on one or +two occasions. One day he told me that he knew a girl just out of +the place who was subject to fits, and wanted to know if I could do +anything for her; that her father was rich and would pay a good +price to have her cured. I went to see the girl and did at least +enough to earn a fee of one hundred dollars, which her father gladly +paid me. Benson also introduced me to some other people whom I found +profitable patients. I thought he was a very good friend to me, but +he was a cool, calculating rascal. He meant to rob me of my horse +and buggy, and went deliberately to work about it. First, he issued +the handbill which caused my arrest in Troy, where he knew I was +going. Next, as appeared when he came up to Troy to prosecute the +suit against me, he forged a bill of sale. The case was tried and +decided in my favor. Benson appealed, and again it was decided that +the horse belonged to me. I then had him indicted for perjury and +forgery, and he was put under bonds of fourteen hundred dollars in +each case to appear for trial. Some how or other he never appeared, +and whether he forfeited his bonds, or otherwise slipped through the +"meshes of the law," I never learned, nor have I ever seen him since +he attempted to swindle me. But these proceedings kept me in Troy +more than a month, and to pay my lawyer and other expenses, I +actually sold the horse and buggy the scoundrel tried to steal from +me. + +Taking my boy to Sidney and putting him under the care of my half +sister, I went to Boston, where I met two friends of mine who were +about going to Meredith Bridge, N.H., to fish through the ice on +Lake Winnipiseogee. It was early in January, 1853, and good, clear, +cold weather. They represented the sport to be capital, and said +that plenty of superb lake trout and pickerel could be taken every +day, and urged me to go with them. As I had nothing special to do +for a few days, I went. When we reached Meredith we stopped at a +tavern near the lake, kept by one of the oddest landlords I have +ever met. After a good supper, as we were sitting in the barroom, +the landlord came up to me and at once opened conversation in the +following manner: + +"Waal, where do you come from, anyhow?" + +"From Boston," I replied. + +"Waal, what be you, anyhow?" + +"Well, I practice medicine, and take care of the sick." + +"Dew ye? Waal, do ye ever cure anybody?" + +"O, sometimes; quite frequently, in fact." + +"Dew ye! waal, there's a woman up here to Lake Village, 'Squire +Blaisdell's wife, who has had the dropsy more'n twelve years; been +filling' all the time till they tell me she's bigger'n a hogshead +now, and she's had a hundred doctors, and the more doctors she has +the bigger she gets; what d' ye think of that now?" + +I answered that I thought it was quite likely, and then turned away +from the landlord to talk to my friends about our proposed sport for +to-morrow, mentally making note of 'Squire Blaisdell's wife in Lake +Village. + +After breakfast next morning we went out on the lake, cut holes in +the ice, set our lines, and before dinner we had taken several fine +trout and pickerel, the largest and finest of which we put into a +box with ice, and sent as a present to President Pierce, in +Washington. We had agreed, the night before, to fish for him the +first day, and to send him the best specimens we could from his +native state. After dinner my friends started to go out on the ice +again, and I told them "I guess'd I wouldn't go with them, I had +fished enough for that day." They insisted I should go, but I told +them I preferred to take a walk and explore the country. So they +went to the lake and I walked up to Lake Village. + +I soon found Mr. Blaisdell's house, and as the servant who came to +the door informed me that Mr. Blaisdell was not at home, I asked to +see Mrs. Blaisdell, And was shown in to that lady. She was not quite +the "hogshead" the landlord declared her to be, but she was one of +the worst cases of dropsy I had ever seen. I introduced myself to +her, told her my profession, and that I had called upon her in the +hope of being able to afford her some relief; that I wanted nothing +for my services unless I could really benefit her. + +"O, Doctor," said she, "you can do nothing for me; in the past +twelve years I have had at least forty different doctors, and none +of them have helped me." + +"But there can be no harm in trying the forty-first;" and as I said +it I took from my vest pocket and held out in the palm of my hand +some pills: + +"Here, madame, are some pills made from a simple blossom, which +cannot possibly harm you, and which, I am sure, will do you a great +deal of good." + +"O, Mary!" she exclaimed to her niece, who was in attendance upon +her, "this is my dream! I dreamed last night that my father appeared +to me and told me that a stranger would come with a blossom in his +hand; that he would offer it to me, and that if I would take it I +should recover. Go and get a glass of water and I will take these +pills at once." + +"Surely," said Mary, "you are not going to take this stranger's +medicine without knowing anything about it, or him?" + +"I am indeed; go and get the water." + +She took the medicine and then told me that her father, who had died +two years ago, was a physician, and had carefully attended to her +case as long as he lived; but that she had a will of her own, and +had sent far and near for other doctors, though with no good result. + +"You have come to me," she continued, "and although I am not +superstitious, your coming with a blossom in your hand, figuratively +speaking, is so exactly in accordance with my dream, that I am going +to put myself under your care." + +She then asked me if I lived in the neighborhood, and I told her no; +that I had merely come up from Boston with two friends to try a few +days' fishing through the ice on the lake. + +"You can fish to better purpose here, I think," she said; "you can +get plenty of practice in the villages and farm houses about here: +at any rate, stay for the present and undertake my case, and I will +pay you liberally." + +I went back to Meredith Bridge-I believe it is now called +Laconia-and had another day's fishing with my friends. When they +were ready to pack up and return to Boston, I astonished them by +informing them that I should stay where I was for the present, +perhaps for months, and that I believed I could find a good practice +in Meredith and adjoining places. So they left me and I went to Lake +Village, and made that pleasant place my headquarters. + +The weeks wore on, and if Mrs. Blaisdell was a hogshead, as the +Meredith landlord said, when I first saw her, she soon became a +barrel under my treatment, and in four months she was entirely +cured, and was as sound as any woman in the State. I had as much +other business too as I could attend to, and was very busy and happy +all the time. + +In May I went to Exeter, alternating between there and Portsmouth, +and finding enough to do till the end of July. While I was in +Portsmouth on one of my last visits to that place, I received a call +from a sea-captain by the name of Brown, who told me that he had +heard of my success in dropsical cases, and that I must go to +Newark, N. J., and see his daughter. "Pay," he said, "was no object; +I must go." I told him that I had early finished my business in that +vicinity, and that when I went to New York, as I proposed to do +shortly, I would go over to Newark and see his daughter. A few days +afterward, when I had settled my business and collected my bills in +Portsmouth and Exeter, I went to New York, and from there to Newark. + + + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +WEDDING A WIDOW, AND THE CONSEQUENCES. + +I MARRY A WIDOW-SIX WEEKS OF HAPPINESS-CONFIDING A SECRET AND THE +CONSEQUENCES-THE WIDOW'S BROTHER-SUDDEN FLIGHT FROM NEWARK-IN +HARTFORD, CONN.-MY WIFE'S SISTER BETRAYS ME-TRIAL FOR BIGAMY- +SENTENCED TO TEN YEARS IMPRISONMENT-I BECOME A "BOBBIN BOY"-A GOOD +FRIEND-GOVERNOR PRICE VISITS ME IN PRISON-HE PARDONS ME-TEN YEARS' +SENTENCE FULFILLED IN SEVEN MONTHS. + + + + + +Why in the world did Captain Brown ever tempt me with the prospect +of a profitable patient in Newark? I had no thought of going to that +city, and no business there except to see if I could cure Captain +Brown's daughter. With my matrimonial monomania it was like putting +my hand into the fire to go to a fresh place, where I should see +fresh faces, and where fresh temptations would beset me. And when I +went to Newark, I went only as I supposed, to see a single patient; +but Captain Brown prevailed upon me to stay to take care of his +daughter, and assured me that he and his friends would secure me a +good practice. They did. In two months I was doing as well in my +profession as I had ever done in any place where I had located. I +might have attended strictly to my business, and in a few years have +acquired a handsome competence. But, as ill luck, which, strangely +enough, I then considered good luck, would have it, when I had been +in Newark some two months, I became acquainted with a buxom, +good-looking widow, Mrs. Elizabeth Roberts. I protest to-day that +she courted me-not I her. She was fair, fascinating, and had a +goodly share of property. I fell into the snare. She said she was +lonely; she sighed; she smiled, and I was lost. + +Would that I had observed the elder Weller's injunction: "Bevare of +vidders;" would that I had never seen the Widow Roberts, or rather +that she had never seen me. Eight weeks after we first met we were +married. We had a great wedding in her own house, and all her +friends were present. I was in good practice with as many patients +as I could attend to; she had a good home and we settled down to be +very happy. + +For six weeks, only six weeks, I think we were so. We might have +been so for six weeks, six months, six years longer; but alas! I was +a fool I confided to her the secret of my first marriage, and +separation, and she confided the same secret to her brother, a +well-to-do wagon-maker in Newark. So far as Elizabeth was concerned, +she said she didn't care; so long as the separation was mutual and +final, since so many years had elapsed, and especially since I +hadn't seen the woman for full six years, and was not supposed to +know whether she was alive or dead, why, it was as good as a +divorce; so reasoned Elizabeth, and it was precisely my own +reasoning, and the reasoning which had got me into numberless +difficulties, to say nothing of jails and prisons. But the brother +had his doubts about it, and came and talked to me on the subject +several times. We quarrelled about it. He threatened to have me +arrested for bigamy. I told him that if he took a step in that +direction I would flog him. Then he had me brought before a justice +for threatening him, with a view to having me put under bonds to +keep the peace. I employed a lawyer who managed my case so well that +the justice concluded there was no cause of action against me. + +But this lawyer informed me that the brother was putting, even then, +another rod in pickle for me, and that I had better clear out. I +took his advice, I went to the widow's house, packed my trunk, +gathered together what money I could readily lay hands upon, and +with about $300 in my pocket, I started for New York, staying that +night at a hotel in Courtland street. + +The following morning I went over to Jersey City, hired a +saddle-horse, and rode to Newark. The precise object of my journey I +do not think I knew myself; but I must have had some vague idea of +persuading Elizabeth to leave Newark and join me in New York or +elsewhere. I confess, too, that I was more or less under the +influence of liquor, and considerably more than less. However, no +one would have noticed this in my appearance or demeanor. I rode +directly to Elizabeth's door, hitched my horse, and went into the +house. The moment my wife saw me she cried out: + +"For God's sake get out of this house and out of town as soon as you +can; they have been watching for you ever since yesterday; they've +got a warrant for your arrest; don't stay here one moment." + +I asked her if she was willing to follow me, and she said she would +do so if she only dared but her brother had made an awful row, and +had sworn he would put me in prison anyhow; I had better go back to +New York and await events. I started for the door, and was +unhitching my horse, when the brother and a half dozen more were +upon me. I sprang to the saddle. They tried to stop me; the +over-eager brother even caught me by the foot; but I dashed through +the crowd and rode like mad to Jersey City, returned the horse to +the livery stable, crossed the ferry to New York, went to my hotel, +got my trunk, and started for Hartford, Conn., where I arrived in +the evening. + +This was in the month of June, 1854. I went to the old Exchange +Hotel in State street, and very soon acquired a good practice. +Indeed, it seems as if I was always successful enough in my medical +business-my mishaps have been in the matrimonial line. When I had +been in Hartford about three months, and was well settled, I thought +I would go down to New York and see a married sister of Elizabeth's, +who was living there, and try to find out how matters were going on +over in Newark. That I found out fully, if not exactly to my +satisfaction, will appear anon. + +When I called at the sister's house, the servant told me she was +out, but would be back in an hour; so I left my name, promising to +call again. I returned again at one o'clock in the afternoon, and +the sister was in, but declined to see me. As I was coming down the +steps, a policeman who seemed to be lounging on the opposite side of +the street, beckoned to me, and suspecting nothing, I crossed over +to see what he wanted. He simply wanted to know my name, and when I +gave it to him he informed me that I was his prisoner. I asked for +what? and he said "as a fugitive from justice in New Jersey." + +This was for taking the pains to come down from Hartford to inquire +after the welfare of my wife! whose sister, the moment the servant +told her I had been there, and would call again, had gone to the +nearest police station and given information, or made statements, +which led to the setting of this latest trap for me. The policeman +took me before a justice who sent me to the Tombs. On my arrival +there I managed to pick up a lawyer, or rather one of the sharks of +the place picked me up, and said that for twenty-five dollars he +would get me clear in three or four hours. I gave him the money, and +from that day till now, I have never set eyes upon him. I lay in a +cell all night, and next morning Elizabeth's brother, to whom the +sister in New York had sent word that I was caged, came over from +Newark to see me. He said he felt sorry for me, but that he was +"bound to put me through." He then asked me if I would go over to +Newark without a requisition from the Governor of New Jersey, and I +told him I would not; whereupon he went away without saying another +word, and I waited all day to hear from the lawyer to whom I had +given twenty-five dollars, but he did not come. + +So next day when the brother came over and asked me the same +question, I said I would go; wherein I was a fool; for I ought to +have reflected that he had had twenty-four hours in which to get a +requisition, and that he might in fact have made application for one +already, without getting it, and every delay favored my chances of +getting out. But I had no one to advise me, and so I went quietly +with him and an officer to the ferry, where we crossed and went by +cars to Newark. I was at once taken before a justice, who, after a +hearing of the case, bound me over, under bonds of only one thousand +dollars, to take my trial for bigamy. + +If I could have gone into the street I could have procured this +comparatively trifling bail in half an hour; as it was, after I was +in jail I sent for a man whom I knew, and gave him my gold watch and +one hundred dollars, all the money I had, to procure me bail, which +he promised to do; but he never did a thing for me, except to rob +me. + +A lawyer came to me and offered to take my case in hand for one +hundred dollars, but I had not the money to give him. I then sent to +New York for a lawyer whom I knew, and when he came to see me he +took the same view of the case that Elizabeth and I did; that is, +that the long separation between my first wife and myself, and my +presumed ignorance as to whether she was alive or dead, gave me full +liberty to marry again. At least, he thought any court would +consider it an extenuating circumstance, and he promised to be +present at my trial and aid me all he could. + +I lay in Newark jail nine months, awaiting my trial. During that +time I had almost daily quarrels with the jailor, who abused me +shamefully, and told me I ought to go to State prison and stay there +for life. Once he took hold of me and I struck him, for which I was +put in the dark cell forty-eight hours. At last came my trial. The +court appointed counsel for me, for I had no money to fee a lawyer, +and my New York friend was on hand to advise and assist. I lad +witnesses to show the length of time that had elapsed since my +separation from my first wife, and we also raised the point as to +whether the justice who married me, was really a legal justice of +the peace or not. The trial occupied two days. I suppose all +prisoners think so, but the Judge charged against me in every point; +the jury was out two hours, and then came in for advice on a +doubtful question; the judge gave them another blast against me, and +an hour after they came in with a verdict of "guilty." I went back +to jail and two days afterwards was brought up for sentence which +was--"ten years at hard labor in the State prison at Trenton." + +Good heavens! All this for being courted and won by a widow! + +The day following, I was taken in irons to Trenton. The Warden of +the prison, who wanted to console me, said that, for the offence, my +sentence was an awful one, and that he didn't believe I would be +obliged to serve out half of it. As I felt then, I did not believe I +should live out one-third of it. After I had gone through the +routine of questions, and had been put in the prison uniform, a cap +was drawn down over my face, as if I was about to be hung, and I was +led, thus blind-folded, around and around, evidently to confuse me, +with regard to the interior of the prison-in case I might ever have +any idea of breaking out. At last I was brought to a cell door and +the cap was taken off. There were, properly no "cells" in this +prison-at least I never saw any; but good sized rooms for two +prisoners, not only to live in but to work in. I found myself in a +room with a man who was weaving carpets, and I was at once +instructed in the art of winding yarn on bobbins for him-in fact, I +was to be his "bobbin-boy." + +I pursued this monotonous occupation for two months, when I told the +keeper I did not like that business, and wanted to try something +that had a little more variety in it. Whereupon he put me at the +cane chair bottoming business, which gave me another room and +another chum, and I remained at this work while I was in the prison. +In three weeks I could bottom one chair, while my mate was bottoming +nine or ten as his day's work; but I told the keeper I did not mean +to work hard, or work at all, if I could help it. He was a very nice +fellow and he only laughed and let me do as I pleased. Indeed, I +could not complain of my treatment in any respect; I had a good +clean room, good bed, and the fare was wholesome and abundant. But +then, there was that terrible, terrible sentence of ten long years +of this kind of life, if I should live through it. + +After I had been in prison nearly seven months, one day a merchant +tailor whom I well knew in Newark, and who made my clothes, +including my wedding suit when I married the Widow Roberts, came to +see me. The legislature was in session and he was a member of the +Senate. He knew all the circumstances of my case, and was present at +my trial. After the first salutation, he laughingly said: + +"Well, Doctor, those are not quite as nice clothes as I used to +furnish you with." + +"No," I replied, "but perhaps they are more durable." + +After some other chaff and chat, he made me tell him all about my +first marriage and subsequent separation, and after talking awhile +he went away, promising to see me soon. I looked upon this only as a +friendly visit, for which I was grateful; and attached no great +importance to it. But he came again in a few days, and after some +general conversation, he told me that there was a movement on foot +in my favor, which might bring the best of news to me; that he had +not only talked with his friends in the legislature, and enlisted +their sympathy and assistance, but he had laid the whole +circumstances, from beginning to end, before Governor Price; that +the Governor would visit the prison shortly, and then I must do my +best in pleading my own cause. + +In a day or two the Governor came, and I had an opportunity to +relate my story. I told him all about my first unfortunate marriage, +and the separation. He said that he knew the facts, and also that he +had lately received a letter from my oldest son on the subject, and +had read it with great interest. I then appealed to the Governor for +his clemency; my sentence was an outrageously severe one, and seemed +almost prompted by private malice; I implored him to pardon me; I +went down on my knees before him, and asked his mercy. He told me to +be encouraged; that he would be in the prison again in a few days, +and he would see me. He then went away. + +I at once drew up a petition which my friend in the Senate +circulated in the legislature for signatures, and afterwards sent it +to Newark, securing some of the best names in that city. It was then +returned to me, and two weeks afterwards when the Governor came +again to the prison I presented it to him, and he put it in his +pocket. + +In two days' time, Governor Price sent my pardon into the prison. +The Warden came and told me of it, and said he would let me out in +an hour. Then came a keeper who once more put the cap over my face +and led me around the interior-I was willingly led now-till he +brought me to a room where he gave me my own clothes which I put on, +and with a kind parting word, and five dollars from the Warden, I +was soon in the street, once more a free man. My sentence of ten +years had been fulfilled by an imprisonment of exactly seven months. + +I went and called on Governor Price to thank him for his great +goodness towards me. He received me kindly, talked to me for some +time, and gave me some good advice and a little money. With this and +the five dollars I received from the Warden of the prison I started +for New York. + + + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +ON THE KEEN SCENT. + +GOOD RESOLUTIONS-ENJOYING FREEDOM-GOING AFTER A CRAZY MAN-THE OLD +TEMPTER IN A NEW FORM-MARY GORDON-MY NEW "COUSIN"-ENGAGED +AGAIN-VISIT TO THE OLD FOLKS AT HOME-ANOTHER MARRIAGE-STARTING FOR +OHIO-CHANGE OF PLANS-DOMESTIC QUARRELS-UNPLEASANT STORIES ABOUT +MARY-BOUND OVER TO KEEP THE PEACE-ANOTHER ARREST FOR BIGAMY-A SUDDEN +FLIGHT-SECRETED THREE WEEKS IN A FARM HOUSE-RECAPTURED AT CONCORD +-ESCAPED ONCE MORE-TRAVELING ON THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD-IN CANADA. + + + + + +It would seem as if, by this time, I had had enough of miscellaneous +marrying and the imprisonment that almost invariably followed. I had +told Governor Price, when I first implored him for pardon, that if +he would release me I would begin a new life, and endeavor to be in +all respects a better man. I honestly meant to make every effort to +be so, and on my stay to New York I made numberless vows for my own +future good behavior. I bound myself over, as it were, to keep the +pace-my own peace and quiet especially-and became my own surety. +That I could not have had a poorer bondsman, subsequent events +proved to my sorrow. But I started fairly, and meant to let liquor +alone; to attend strictly to my medical business, which I always +managed to make profitable, and above all, to have nothing to do +with women in the love-making or matrimonial way. + +With those good resolutions I arrived in New York and went to my old +hotel in Courtland Street, where I was well known and was well +received. My trunk, which I had left there sixteen months before, +was safe, and I had a good suit of clothes on my back--the clothes I +took off when I went to prison in Trenton--and which were returned +to me when I came away. I went to a friend who loaned me some money, +and I remained two or three days in town to try my new-found +freedom, going about the city, visiting places of amusement, +enjoying myself very much, and keeping, so far, the good resolutions +I had formed. + +From New York I went to Troy, and at the hotel where I stopped I +became acquainted with a woman who told me that her husband was in +the Insane Asylum at Brattleboro, Vt. She was going to see him, and +if he was fit to be removed, she proposed to take him home, with +her. I told her of the success I had had in taking care of two men +at Newbury and Montgomery; and how I had traveled about the country +with them, and with the most beneficial results to my patients. She +was much interested, inquired into the particulars, and finally +thought the plan would be a favorable one for her husband. She asked +me to go with her to see him, and said that if he was in condition +to travel he should go about with me if he would; at any rate, if he +came out of the Asylum she would put him under my care. We went +together to Brattleboro, and the very day we arrived her husband was +taken in an apoplectic fit from which he did not recover. She +carried home his corpse, and I lost my expected patient. + +But I must have something to do for my daily support, and so I went +to work and very soon sold some medicines and recipes, and secured a +few patients. I also visited the adjoining villages, and in a few +weeks I had a very good practice. I might have lived here quietly +and made money. Nobody knew anything of my former history, my +marriages or my misfortunes, and I was doing well, with a daily +increasing business. And so I went on for nearly three months, +gaining new acquaintances, and extending my practice every day. + +Then came the old tempter in a new form, and my matrimonial +monomania, which I hoped was cured forever, broke out afresh. One +day, at the public house where I lived, I saw a fine girl from New +Hampshire, with whom I became acquainted--so easily, so far as she +was concerned--that I ought to have been warned to have nothing to +do with her; but, as usual, in such cases, my common sense left me, +and I was infatuated enough to fancy that I was in love. + +Mary Gordon was the daughter of a farmer living near Keene, N. H., +and was a handsome girl about twenty years of age. She was going, +she told me, to visit some friends in Bennington, and would be there +about a month, during which time, if I was in that vicinity, she +hoped I would come and see her. We parted very lovingly, and when +she had been in Bennington a few days she wrote to me, setting a +time for me to visit her; but in business in Brattleboro was too +good to leave, and I so wrote to her. Whereupon, in another week, +she came back to Brattleboro and proposed to finish the remainder of +her visit there, thus blinding her friends at home who would think +she was all the while at Bennington. + +Our brief acquaintance when she was at the house before, attracted +no particular attention, and when she came now I told the landlord +that she was my cousin, and he gave her a room and I paid her bills. +The cousin business was a full cover to our intimacy; she sat next +to me at the table, rode about with me to see my patients, and when +I went to places near by to sell medicine, and we were almost +constantly together. Of course, we were engaged to be married, and +that very soon. + +In a fortnight after her arrival I went home with her to her +father's farm near Keene, and she told her mother that we were +"engaged." The old folks thought they would like to know me a little +better, but she said we were old friends, she knew me thoroughly, +and meant to marry me. There was no further objection on the part of +her parents, and in the few days following she and her mother were +busily engaged in preparing her clothes and outfit. + +I then announced my intention of returning to Brattleboro to settle +up my business in that place, and she declared she would go with me; +I was sure to be lonesome; she might help me about my bills, and so +on. Strange as it may seem, her parents made no objection to her +going, though I was to be absent a fortnight, and was not to be +married till I came back. So we went together, and I and my "cousin" +put up at the hotel we had lately left. For two weeks I was busy in +making my final visits to my patients acquaintances, she generally +going with me every day. + +At the end of that time we went back to Keene, and in three weeks we +were married in her father's house, the old folks making a great +wedding for us, which was attended by all the neighbors and friends +of the family. We stayed at home two weeks, and meanwhile arranged +our plans for the future. We proposed to go out to Ohio, where she +had some relatives, and settle down. She had seven hundred dollars +in bank in Keene which she drew, and we started on our journey. We +went to Troy, where we stayed a few days, and during that time we +both concluded that we would not go West, but return to Keene and +live in the town instead of on the farm, so that I could open an +office and practice there. + +So we went back to her home again, but before I completed my plans +for settling down in Keene, Mary and I had several quarrels which +were worse than mere ordinary matrimonial squabbles. Two or three +young men in Keene, with whom I had become acquainted, twitted me +with marrying Mary, and told me enough about her to convince me that +her former life had not been altogether what it should have been. I +had been too blinded by her beauty when I first saw her in +Brattleboro, to notice how extremely easily she was won. Her +parents, too, were wonderfully willing, if not eager, to marry her +to me. All these things came to me now, and we had some very lively +conversations on the subject, in which the old folks joined, siding +with their daughter of course. By and by the girl went to Keene and +made a complaint that she was afraid of her life, and I was brought +before a magistrate and put under bonds of four hundred dollars to +keep the peace. I gave a man fifty dollars to go bail for me, and +then, instead of going out to the farm with Mary, I went to the +hotel in Keene. + +The well-known character of the girl, my marriage to her, the brief +honeymoon, the quarrels and the cause of the same, were all too +tempting material not to be served up in a paragraph, and as I +expected and feared, out came the whole story in the Keene paper. + +This was copied in other journals, and presently came letters to the +family and to other persons in the place, giving some account of my +former adventures and marriages. Of this however I knew nothing, +till one day, while I was at the hotel, I was suddenly arrested for +bigamy. But I was used to this kind of arrest by this time, and I +went before the magistrate with my mind made up that I must suffer +again for my matrimonial monomania. + +It was just after dinner when I was arrested, and the examination, +which was a long one, continued till evening. Every one in the +magistrate's office was tired out with it, I especially, and so I +took a favorable opportunity to leave the premises. I bolted for the +door, ran down stairs into the street, and was well out of town +before the astonished magistrate, stunned constable, and amazed +spectators realized that I had gone. + +Whether they than set out in pursuit of me I never knew, I only know +they did not catch me. I ran till I came to the house of a farmer +whom I had been attending for some ailment, and hurriedly narrating +the situation, I offered him one hundred dollars if he would secrete +me till the hue and cry was over and I could safely get away. I +think he would have done it from good will, but the hundred dollar +bill I offered him made the matter sure. He put my money into his +pocket, and he put me into a dark closet, not more than five feet +square, and locked me in. + +I stayed in that man's house, never going out of doors, for more +than three weeks, and did my best to board out my hundred dollars. +The day after my flight the whole neighborhood was searched, that +is, the woods, roads, and adjacent villages. They never thought of +looking in a house, particularly in a house so near the town; and, +as I heard from my protector, they telegraphed and advertised far +and near for me. + +I anticipated all this, and for this very reason I remained quietly +where I was, in an unsuspected house, and with my dark closet to +retire to whenever any one came in; and gossiping neighbors coming +in almost every hour, kept me in that hole nearly half the time. I +heard my own story told in that house at least fifty times, and in +fifty different ways. + +At last, when I thought it was safe, one night my host harnessed up +his horses and carried me some miles on my way to Concord. He drove +as far as he dared, for he wanted to get back home by daylight, so +that his expedition might excite no suspicion. Twenty miles away +from Keene he set me down in the road, and, bidding him "good-bye," +I began my march toward Concord. When I arrived there, almost the +first man I saw in the street was a doctor from Keene. I did not +think he saw me, but he did, as I soon found out, for while I was +waiting at the depot to take the cars to the north, I was arrested. + +The Keene doctor owed me a grudge for interfering, as he deemed it; +with his regular practice, and the moment he saw me he put an +officer on my trail. I thought it was safe here to take the cars, +for I was footsore and weary, nor did I get away from Keene as fast +and as far as I wanted to. I should have succeeded but for that +doctor. + +When the officer brought me before a justice, the doctor was a +willing witness to declare that I was a fugitive from justice, and +he stated the circumstances of my escape. So I was sent back to +Keene under charge of the very officer who arrested me at the depot. + +I would not give this officer's name if I could remember it, but he +was a fine fellow, and was exceedingly impressible. For instance, on +our arrival at Keene, he allowed me to go to the hotel and pack my +trunk to be forwarded to Meredith Bridge by express. He then handed +me over to the authorities, and I was immediately taken before the +magistrate from whom I had previously escaped, the Concord officer +accompanying the Keene officer who had charge of me. + +The examination was short; I was bound over in the sum of one +thousand dollars to take my trial for bigamy. On my way to jail I +persuaded the Concord officer-with a hundred dollar bill which I +slipped into his hand-to induce the other officer to go with me to +the hotel under pretense of looking after my things, and getting +what would be necessary for my comfort in jail. My Concord friend +kept the other officer down stairs--in the bar-room, I presume--while +I went to my room. I put a single shirt in my pocket; the distance +from my window to the ground was not more than twelve or fifteen +feet, and I let myself down from the window sill and then dropped. + +I was out of the yard, into the street, and out of town in less than +no time. It was already evening, and everything favored my escape. I +had no idea of spending months in jail at Keene, and months more, +perhaps years, in the New Hampshire State Prison. All my past bitter +experiences of wretched prison life urged me to flight. + +And fly I did. No stopping at the friendly farmer's, my former +refuge, this time; that would be too great a risk. No showing of +myself in any town or villege where the telegraph might have +conveyed a description of my person. I traveled night and day on +foot, and more at night than during the day, taking by-roads, lying +by in the woods, sleeping in barns, and getting my meals in +out-of-the-way farm houses. + +I had plenty of money; but this kind of travelling is inexpensive, +and, paying twenty-five cents for one or two meals a day, as I dared +to get them, and sleeping in barns or under haystacks for nothing, +my purse did not materially diminish. I was a good walker, and in +the course of a week from the night when I left Keene, I found +myself in Biddeford, Maine. + +There was some sense of security in being in another State, and here +I ventured to take the cars for Portland, where I staid two days, +sending in the meantime for my trunk from Meredith Bridge, and +getting it by express. Of course it went to a fictitious address at +Meredith, and it came to me under the same name which I had +registered in my hotel at Portland. + +I did not mean to stay there long. My departure was hastened by the +advice of a man who knew me, and told he also knew my New Hampshire +scrape, and that I had better leave Portland as soon as possible. +Half an hour after this good advice I was on my way by cars to +Canada. In Canada I stayed in different small towns near the border, +and "kept moving," till I thought the New Hampshire matter had blown +over a little, or at least till they had given me up as a "gone +case," and I then reappeared in Troy. + + + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +MARRYING TWO MILLINERS. + +BACK IN VERMONT-FRESH TEMPTATIONS-MARGARET BRADLEY-WINE AND WOMEN-A +MOCK MARRIAGE IN TROY-THE FALSE CERTIFICATE-MEDICINE AND +MILLINERY-ELIZA GURNSEY-A SPREE AT SARATOGA-MARRYING ANOTHER +MILLINER-AGAIN ARRESTED OR BIGAMY-IN JAIL ELEVEN MONTHS-A TEDIOUS +TRIAL-FOUND GUILTY-APPEAL TO SUPREME COURT-TRYING TO BREAK OUT OF +JAIL-A GOVERNOR'S PROMISE-SECOND TRIAL-SENTENCE TO THREE YEARS' +IMPRISONMENT. + + + + + +From Troy I went, first to Newburyport, Mass., where I had some +business, and where I remained a week, and then returned to Troy +again. Next I went to Bennington, Vt., to sell medicines and +practice, and I found enough to occupy me there for full two months. +From Bennington to Rutland, selling medicines on the way, and at +Rutland I intended to stay for some time. My oldest son was there +well established in the medical business, and I thought that both of +us together might extend a wide practice and make a great deal of +money. + +No doubt we might have done so, if I had minded my medical business +only, and had let matrimonial matters alone. I had just got rid of a +worthless woman in New Hampshire with a very narrow escape from +State prison. But, as my readers know by this time, all experience, +even the bitterest, was utterly thrown away upon me; I seemed to get +out of one scrape only to walk, with my eyes open, straight into +another. + +At the hotel where I went to board, there was temporarily staying a +woman, about thirty-two years old, Margaret Bradly, by name, who +kept a large millinery establishment in town. I became acquainted +with her, and she told me that she owned a house in the place, in +which she and her mother lived; but her mother had gone away on a +visit, and as she did not like to live alone she had come to the +hotel to stay for a few days till her mother returned. Margaret was +a fascinating woman; she knew it, and it was my miserable fate to +become intimate, altogether too intimate with this designing +milliner. + +I went to her store every day, sometimes two or three times a day, +and she always had in her backroom, wine or something stronger to +treat me with, and in the evening I saw her at the hotel. When her +mother came back, and Margaret opened her house again, I was a +constant visitor. I was once more caught; I was in love. + +Matters went on in this way for several weeks, when one evening I +told her that I was going next day to Troy on business, and she said +she wanted to go there to buy some goods, and that she would gladly +take the opportunity to go with me, if I would let her. Of course, I +was only too happy; and the next day I and my son, and she and one +of the young women in her employ, who was to assist her in selecting +goods, started for Troy. When I called for her, just as we were +leaving the house, the old lady, her mother, called out: + +"Margaret, don't you get married before you come back." + +"I guess I will," was Margaret's answer, and we went, a very jovial +party of four, to Troy and put up at the Girard House, where we had +dinner together, and drank a good deal of wine. After dinner my son +and myself went to attend to our business, she and her young woman +going to make their purchases, and arranging to meet us at a +restaurant at half past four o'clock, when we would lunch +preparatory to returning to Rutland. + +We met at the appointed place and hour, and had a very lively lunch +indeed, an orgie in fact, with not only enough to eat, but +altogether too much to drink. I honestly think the two women could +have laid me and my son under the table, and would have done it, if +we had not looked out for ourselves; as it was, we all drank a great +deal and were very merry. We were in a room by ourselves, and when +we had been there nearly an hour, it occurred to Margaret that it +would be a good idea to humor the old lady's dry joke about the +danger of our getting married during this visit to Troy. + +"Henry," said she to my son; "Go out and ask the woman who keeps the +saloon where you can get a blank marriage certificate, and then get +one and bring it here, and we'll have some fun." + +We were all just drunk enough to see that there was a joke in it, +and we urged the boy to go. He went to the woman, who directed him +to a stationer's opposite, and presently he came in with a blank +marriage certificate. We called for pen and ink and he sat down and +filled out the blank form putting in my name and Margaret Bradley's, +signing it with some odd name I have forgotten as that of the +clergyman performing the ceremony. He then signed his own name as a +witness to the marriage, and the young woman who was with us also +witnessed it with her signature. We had a great deal of fun over it, +then more wine, and then it was time for us to hurry to the depot to +take the six o'clock train for Rutland. + +Reaching home at about eleven o'clock at night, we found the old +lady up, and waiting for Margaret. We went in and Margaret's first +words were: + +"Well, mother! I'm married; I told you, you know, I thought I should +be; and here's my certificate." + +The mother expressed no surprise-she knew her daughter better than I +did, then-but quietly congratulated her, while I said not a single +word. My son went to see his companion home, and, as I had not +achieved this latest greatness, but had it thrust upon me, I and my +new found "wife" went to our room. The next day I removed from the +hotel to Margaret's house and remained there during my residence in +Rutland, she introducing me to her friends as her husband, and +seeming to consider it an established fact. + +Three weeks after this mock marriage, however, I told Margaret that +I was going to travel about the State a while to sell my medicines, +and that I might be absent for some time. She made no objections, +and as I was going with my own team she asked me to take some +mantillas and a few other goods which were a little out of fashion, +and see if I could not sell them for her. To be sure I would, and we +parted on the best of terms. + +Behold rue now, not only a medical man and a marrying man, but also +a man milliner. When I could not dispose of my medicines, I tried +mantillas, and in the course of my tour I sold the whole of +Margaret's wares, faithfully remitting to her the money for the +same. I think she would have put her whole stock of goods on me to +work off in the same way; but I never gave her the opportunity to do +so. + +My journeying brought me at last to Montpelier where I proposed to +stay awhile and see if I could establish a practice. I had disposed +of my millinery goods and had nothing to attend to but my medicines +-alas that my professional acquirements as a marrying man should +again have been called in requisition. But it was to be. It was my +fate to fall into the hands of another milliner. + +"Insatiate monster! would not one suffice?" + +It seems not. There was a milliner at Rutland whose family and, +friends all believed to be my wife, though she knew she was not; and +here in Montpelier, was ready waiting, like a spider for a fly, +another milliner who was about to enmesh me in the matrimonial net. +I had not been in the place a week before I became acquainted with +Eliza Gurnsey. I could hardly help it, for she lived in the hotel +where I stopped, and although she was full thirty-five years old, +she was altogether the most attractive woman in the house. She was +agreeable, good-looking, intelligent, and what the vernacular calls +"smart." At all events, she was much too smart for me, as I soon +found out. + +She had a considerable millinery establishment which she and her +younger sister carried on, employing several women, and she was +reputed to be well off. Strange as it may seem in the light of after +events, she actually belonged to the church and was a regular +attendant at the services. But no woman in town was more talked +about, and precisely what sort of a woman she was may be estimated +from the fact that I had known her but little more than a week, when +she proposed that she, her sister and I should go to Saratoga +together, and have a good time for a day or two. + +I was fairly fascinated with the woman and I consented. The younger +sister was taken with us, I thought at first as a cover, I knew +afterwards as a confederate, and Eliza paid all the bills, which +were by no means small ones, of the entire trip. We stopped in +Saratoga at a hotel, which is now in very different hands, but which +was then kept by proprietors who, in addition to a most excellent +table and accommodations, afforded their guests the opportunity, if +they desired it, of attending prayers every night and morning in one +of the parlors. This may have been the inducement which made Eliza +insist upon going to this house, but I doubt it. + +For our stay at Saratoga, three or four days, was one wild revel. We +rode about, got drunk, went to the Lake, came back to the hotel, and +the second day we were there, Eliza sent her sister for a +Presbyterian minister, whose address she had somehow secured, and +this minister came to the hotel and married us. I presume I +consented, I don't know, for I was too much under the effect of +liquor to know much of anything. I have an indistinct recollection +of some sort of a ceremony, and afterwards Eliza showed me a +certificate-no Troy affair, but a genuine document signed by a +minister residing in Saratoga, and witnessed by her sister and some +one in the hotel who had been called in. But the whole was like a +dream to me; it was the plot of an infamous woman to endeavor to +make herself respectable by means of a marriage, no matter to whom +or how that marriage was effected. + +Meanwhile, the Montpelier papers had the whole story, one of them +publishing a glowing account of my elopement with Miss Gurnsey, and +the facts of our marriage at Saratoga was duly chronicled. This +paper fell into the hands of Miss Bradley, at Rutland, and as she +claimed to be my wife, and had parted with me only a little while +before, when I went out to peddle medicines and millinery, her +feelings can be imagined. She read the story and then aroused all +Rutland. I had not been back from Saratoga half an hour before I was +arrested in the public house in Montpelier and taken before a +magistrate, on complaint of Miss Bradley, of Rutland, that I was +guilty of bigamy. + +The examination was a long one, and as the facts which were then +shown appeared afterwards in my trial they need not be noted now. I +had two first-rate lawyers, but for all that, and with the plainest +showing that Margaret Bradley had no claim whatever to be considered +my wife, I was bound over in the sum of three thousand dollars to +appear for trial, and was sent to jail. There was a tremendous +excitement about the matter, and the whole town seemed interested. + +To jail I went, Eliza going with me, and insisting upon staying; but +the jailer would not let her, nor was she permitted to visit me +during my entire stay there, at least she got in to see me but once. +I made every effort to get bail, but was unsuccessful. Eight long +weary months elapsed before my trial came on, and all this while I +was in jail. My trial lasted a week. The Bradley woman knew she was +no more married to me than she was to the man in the moon; but she +swore stoutly that we were actually wedded according to the +certificate. On the other hand, my son swore to all the facts about +the Troy spree, and his buying and filling out the certificate, +which showed for itself that, excepting the signature of the young +woman who also witnessed it, it was entirely in Henry's handwriting. +I should have got along well enough so far as the Bradley woman was +concerned; but the prosecution had been put in possession of all the +facts relative to my first and worst marriage, and the whole matter +came up in this case. The District Attorney had sent everywhere, as +far even as Illinois, for witness with regard to that marriage. It +seemed as if all Vermont was against me. I have heard that with the +cost of witnesses and other expenses, my trial cost the state more +than five thousand dollars. My three lawyers could not save me. +After a week's trial the case went to the jury, and in four hours +they returned a verdict of "guilty." + +My counsel instantly appealed the case to the Supreme Court, and, +meanwhile I went back to jail where I remained three months more. A +few days after I returned to jail a friend of mine managed to +furnish me with files and saws, and I went industriously to work at +the gratings of my window to saw my way out. I could work only at +night, when the keepers were away, and I covered the traces of my +cuttings by filling in with tallow. In two months I had everything +in readiness for my escape. An hour's more sawing at the bars would +set me free. But just at that time the Governor of the State, +Fletcher, made a visit to the jail. I told him all about my case. He +assured me, after hearing all the circumstances, that if I should be +convicted and sentenced, he would surely pardon me in the course of +six or eight weeks. Trusting in this promise, I made no further +effort to escape though I could have done so easily any night; but +rather than run the risk of recapture, and a heavier sentence if I +should be convicted, I awaited the chances of the court, and looked +beyond for the clemency of the Governor. + +Well, finally my case came up in the Supreme Court. It only occupied +a day, and the result was that I was sentenced for three years in +the State prison. I was remanded to jail, and five days from that +time I was taken from Montpelier to Windsor. + + + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +PRISON-LIFE IN VERMONT. + +ENTERING PRISON-THE SCYTHE SNATH BUSINESS-BLISTERED HANDS-I LEARN +NOTHING-THREAT TO KILL THE SHOP-KEEPER-LOCKSMITHING-OPEN +REBELLION-SIX WEEKS IN THE DUNGEON-ESCAPE OF A PRISONER-IN THE +DUNGEON AGAIN-THE MAD MAN, HALL-HE ATTEMPTS TO MURDER THE DEPUTY-I +SAVE MOREY'S LIFE-HOWLING IN THE BLACK HOLE-TAKING OFF HALL'S +IRONS-A GHASTLY SPECTACLE-A PRISON FUNERAL-I AM LET ALONE-BETTER +TREATMENT-THE FULL TERM OF MY IMPRISONMENT. + + + + + +We arrived at Windsor and I was safely inside of the prison at three +o'clock in the afternoon. Warden Harlow met me with a joke, to the +effect that, had it not been for my handcuffs he should have taken +the officer who brought me, to be the prisoner, I was so much the +better dressed of the two. He then talked very seriously to me for a +long time. He was sorry, and surprised, he said, to see a man of my +appearance brought to such a place for such a crime; he could not +understand how a person of my evident intelligence should get into +such a scrape. + +I told him that he understood it as well as I did, at all events; +that I could not conceive why I should get into these difficulties, +one after the other; but that I believed I was a crazy man on this +one subject-matrimonial monomania; that when I had gone through with +one of these scrapes, and had suffered the severe punishment that +was almost certain to follow, the whole was like a dream to me-a +nightmare and nothing more. With regard to what was before me in +this prison I should try and behave myself, and make the best of the +situation; but I notified the Warden that I did not mean to do one +bit of work if I could help it. + +He took me inside, where my fine clothes were taken away, and I. was +dressed in the usual particolored prison uniform. I was told the +rules, and was warned that if I did not observe them it would go +hard with me. Then followed twenty-four hours solitary confinement, +and the next afternoon I was taken from my cell to a shop in which +scythe snaths were made. + +It had transpired during my trial at Montpelier, that when I was a +young man, I was a blacksmith by trade. This information had been +transmitted to prison and I was at once put to work making heel +rings. It was some years since I had worked at a forge and handled a +hammer. Consequently, in three or four days, my hands were terribly +blistered, and as the Warden happened to come into the shop, I +showed them to him, and quietly told him that I would do that work +no longer. He told me that I must do it; he would make me do it. I +answered that he might kill me, or punish me in any way he pleased, +but he could not make me do that kind of labor, and I threw down my +hammer and refused to work a moment longer. + +The Warden left me and sent Deputy Warden Morey to try me. He +approached me in a kindly way, and I showed my blistered hands to +him. He thought that was the way to "toughen" me. I thought not, and +said so, and, moreover, told him I would never make another heel +ring in that prison, and I never did. + +He sent me to my cell and I stayed there a week, till my hands were +well. Then the Deputy came to me and asked me if I was willing to +learn to hew out scythe snaths in the rough for the shavers, who +finished them? I said I would try. I went into the shop and was +shown how the work was to be done. Every man was expected to hew out +fifty snaths in a day. In three or four days the shop-keeper came +and overlooked me while I was working in my bungling way, and said +if I couldn't do better than that I must clear out of his shop and +do something else. My reply was that I did not understand the +business, and had no desire or intention to learn it. He sent for +the Deputy Warden, who came and expressed the opinion that I could +not do anything. I said I was willing to do anything I could +understand. + +"Do you understand anything?" asked the Deputy. + +"Well, some things, marrying for instance," was my answer. + +"I want no joking or blackguardism about this matter," said the +Deputy; "them simple fact is, you've got to work; if you don't we'll +make you." + +So I kept on at hewing, making no improvement, and in a day or two +more the shopkeeper undertook to show me how the work should be +done. I protested I never could learn it. + +"You don't try; and I have a good mind to punish you." + +The moment the shop-keeper said it I dropped the snath, raised my +axe, and told him that if he came one step nearer to me I would make +mincemeat of him. He thought it was advisable to stay where he was; +but one of the prison-keepers was in the shop, and as he came toward +me I warned him that he had better keep away. + +All the men in the shop were ready to break out in insubordination; +when I threatened the shop keeper and the guard, they cheered; the +Deputy Warden was soon on the ground; he stood in the doorway a +moment, and then, in a kind tone called me to him. I had no +immediate quarrel with him, and so I dropped my axe and went to him. +He told me that there was no use of "making a muss" there, it +incited the other prisoners to insubordination, and was sure to +bring severe punishment upon myself. "Go and get your cap and coat," +said he "and come with me." + +"But if you are going to put me into that black hole of yours," I +exclaimed, "I won't go; you'll have to draw me there or kill me on +the way." + +He promised he would not put me in the dungeon, he was only going to +put me in my cell, he said, and to my cell I went, willingly enough, +and stayed there a week, during which time I suppose everyone of my +shopmates thought I was in the dungeon, undergoing severe punishment +for my rebellions conduct. + +I had learned now the worst lesson which a prisoner can learn-that +is, that my keepers were afraid of me. To a limited extent, it is +true, I was now my own master and keeper. In a few days Deputy Morey +came to me and asked me if I was "willing" to come out and work. I +was sick of solitary confinement, and longed to see the faces of +men, even prisoners: so I told him if I could get any work I could +do I was willing to try it, and would do as well as I knew how. He +asked me if I knew anything of locksmithing? I told him I had some +taste for it, and if he would show me his job I would let him see +what I could do. + +The fact is, I was a very fair amateur locksmith, and had quite a +fondness for fixing, picking, and fussing generally over locks. +Accordingly, when he gave me a lock to work upon to make it "play +easier," as he described it, I did the job so satisfactorily that I +had nearly every lock in the prison to take off and operate upon, if +it was nothing more than to clean and oil one. This business +occupied my entire time and attention for nearly three months. Then +I repaired iron bedsteads, did other iron work, and I was the +general tinker of the prison. + +It came into my head, however, one day, that I might as well do +nothing. The prison fare was indescribably bad, almost as bad as the +jail fare at Easton. We lived upon the poorest possible salt beef +for dinner, varied now and then with plucks and such stuff from the +slaughter houses, with nothing but bread and rye coffee for +breakfast and supper, and mush and molasses perhaps twice a week. + +I was daily abused, too, by the Warden, his Deputy, and his keepers. +They looked upon me as an ugly, insubordinate, refractory, +rebellious rascal, who was ready to kill any of them, and, worst of +all, who would not work. I determined to confirm their minds in the +latter supposition, and so one day I threw down my tools and refused +to do another thing. + +They dragged me to the dungeon and thrust me in. It was a wretched +dark hole, with a little dirty straw in one corner to lie upon. My +entire food and drink was bread and water. The man who brought it +never spoke to me. His face was the only one I saw during the +livelong day. Day and night were alike to me; I lost the run of +time; but at long intervals, once in eight or ten days, I suppose, +the Deputy came to this hole and asked me if I would come out and +work. + +"No, no!" I always answered, "never!" Then I paced the stone floor +in the dark, or lay on my straw. I lay there till my hips were worn +raw. No human being can conceive the agony, the suffering endured in +this dungeon. At last I was nearly blind, and was scarcely able to +stand up. I presume that the attendant who brought my daily dole of +bread and my cup of water, reported my condition. One day the door +opened and I was ordered out. They were obliged to bring me out; I +was so reduced that I was but the shadow of myself. They meant to +cure my obstinacy or to kill me, and had not quite succeeded in +doing either. + +There was no use in asking me if I would go to work then; I was just +alive. A few days in my own cell, in the daylight, and with +something beside bread and water to eat, partially restored me. I +was then taken into the shop where the snaths were finished by +scraping and varnishing, the lightest part of the work, but I would +not learn, would not do, would not try to do anything at all. They +gave me up. The whole struggle nearly killed me, but I beat them. I +was turned into the halls and told to do what I could, which, I knew +well enough, meant what I would. + +After that I worked about the halls and yard, sometimes sweeping, +and again carrying something, or doing errands for the keepers from +one part of the prison to another. I was what theatrical managers +call a general utility man, and, not at all strangely, for it is +human nature, now that I could do what I pleased, I pleased to do a +great deal, and was tolerably useful, and far more agreeable than I +had been in the past. + +There was a young fellow, twenty-two years of age, in one of the +cells, serving out a sentence of six years. When I was sweeping +around I used to stop and talk to him every day. One day he was +missing. He had been supposed to be sick or asleep for several +hours, for apparently lie lay in bed, and was lying very still. But +that was only an ingeniously constructed dummy. The young man +himself had made a hole under his bed into an adjoining vacant cell, +the door of which stood open. He had crawled through his hole, come +out of the vacant cell door, and gone up to the prison garret, where +he found some old pieces of rope. These he tied together, and +getting out at the cupola upon the roof, he managed to let himself +down on the outside of the building and got away. He was never +recaptured. The Warden said that some one must have told him about +the adjoining vacant cell, with its always open door, else how would +the young man have known it? + +I was accused of imparting this valuable information, and I suffered +four weeks' confinement in that horrible dungeon on the mere +suspicion. This made ten weeks in all of my prison-life in a hole in +which I suffered so that I hoped I should die there. + +One of the prisoners was a desperate man, named Hall. He was a +convicted murderer, and was sentenced for life. He too, worked about +in the prison and the yards, dragging or carrying a heavy ball and +chain. When bundles of snaths were to be carried from one shop to +the other in the various processes of finishing, Hall had to do it, +and to carry his ball and chain as well, so that he was loaded like +a pack-horse. No pack-horse was ever so abused. + +Of course he was ugly; the wardens and the keepers knew it, and +generally kept away from him. + +I talked with him more than once, and he told me that with better +treatment he should be a better man. "Look at the loads which are +put on me every day," he would say; as if this ball and chain were +not as much as I can carry; and this for life, for life! + +One day when Hall and I were working together in the prison, Deputy +Warden Morey came in and said something to him, and in a moment the +man sprung upon him. He had secured somehow, perhaps he had picked +it up in the yard, a pocket knife, and with this he stabbed the +Warden, striking him in the shoulder, arm, and where he could. + +Morey was a man sixty-five years of age, and he made such resistance +as he could, crying out loudly for help. I turned, ran to Hall, and +with one blow of my fist knocked him nearly senseless; then help +came and we secured the mad man. Morey was profuse in protestations +of gratitude to me for saving his life. + +There was a great excitement over this attempt to murder the Deputy, +and for a few hours, with wardens and keepers, I was a hero. I had +been in the prison more than a year, and was generally regarded as +one of the worst prisoners, one of the "hardest cases;" a mere +chance had suddenly made me one of the most commendable men within +those dreary walls. As for Hall, he was taken to the dungeon and +securely chained by the feet to a ring in the center of the stone +floor. There is no doubt whatever that the man was a raving maniac. +He howled night and day so that he could be heard everywhere in the +prison-"Murder, murder! they are murdering me in this black hole; +why don't they take me out and kill me?" + +The Warden said it could not be helped; that the man must be kept +there; he was dangerous to himself and others; the dark cell was the +only place for him. So Hall stayed there and howled, his cries +growing weaker from day to day; by-and-by we heard him only at +intervals, and after that not at all. + +One morning there was a little knot of men around the open dungeon +door, the Deputy Warden and two or three keepers. Mr. Morey called +to me to go and get the tools and come there and take off Hall's +irons. I went into the cell and in a few minutes I unfastened his +feet from the ring; then I took the shackles off his limbs. I +thought he held his legs very stiff, but knew he was obstinate, and +only wondered he was so quiet. + +Somebody brought in a candle and I looked at Hall's face. I never +saw a more ghastly sight. The blood from his mouth and nostrils had +clotted on the lower part of his face, and his wild eyes, fixed and +glassy, were staring at the top wall of the dungeon. He must have +been dead several hours. The Depu ty and the rest knew he was +dead-the man who carried in the bread and water told them-me it came +with a shock from which I did not soon recover. + +They buried Hall in the little graveyard which was in the yard of +the prison. An Episcopal clergyman, who was chaplain of the prison, +read the burial service over him. The prisoners were brought out to +attend the homely funeral. The ball and chain, all the personal +property left by Hall, were put aside for the next murderer +sentenced for life, or for the next "ugly" prisoner. "If I were only +treated better, and not abused so, I should be a better man." This +is what Hall used to say to me whenever he had an opportunity. The +last and worst and best in that prison had been done for him now. + +From the day when I rescued Morey from the hands of Hall, his whole +manner changed towards me, and he treated me with great kindness, +frequently bringing me a cup of tea or coffee, and something good to +eat. He also promised to present the circumstances of the Hall +affair to the Governor, and to urge my pardon, but I do not think he +ever did so, at least I heard nothing of it. When I pressed the +matter upon Morey's attention he said it would do no good till I had +served out half my sentence, and then he would see what could be +done. + +I served half my sentence, and then the other half, every day of it. +But during the last two years I had very little to complain of +except the loss of my liberty. I was put into the cook shop where I +could get better food, and I did pretty much what I pleased. By +general consent I was let alone. They had found out that ill usage +only made me "ugly," while kindness made me at least behave myself. +And so the three weary years of my confinement were on to an end. + + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +ON THE TRAMP. + +THE DAY OF MY DELIVERANCE-OUT OF CLOTHES-SHARING WITH A BEGGAR-A +GOOD FRIEND-TRAMPING THROUGH THE SNOW-WEARY WALKS-TRUSTING TO LUCK- +COMFORT AT CONCORD-AT MEREDITH BRIDGE-THE BLAISDELLS-LAST OF THE +"BLOSSOM" BUSINESS-MAKING MONEY AT PORTSMOUTH-REVISITING WINDSOR-AN +ASTONISHED WARDEN-MAKING FRIENDS OF OLD ENEMIES-INSPECTING THE +PRISON-GOING TO PORT JERVIS. + + + + + +At last the happy day of my deliverance came. The penalty for +pretending to marry one milliner and for being married by another +milliner was paid. My sentence was fulfilled. I had looked forward +to this day for months. Of all my jail and prison life in different +States, this in Vermont was the hardest, the most severe. My +obstinacy, no doubt, did much at first to enhance my sufferings, and +it was the accident only of my saving Morey's life that made the +last part of my imprisonment a little more tolerable. When I was +preparing to go, it was discovered that the fine suit of clothes I +wore into the prison had been given by mistake or design to some one +else, and my silk hat and calf-skin boots had gone with the clothes. +But never mind! I would have gone out into the world in rags-my +liberty was all I wanted then. The Warden gave me one of his own old +coats, a ragged pair of pantaloons, and a new pair of brogan shoes. +He also gave me three dollars, which was precisely a dollar a year +for my services, and this was more than I ever meant to earn there. +Thus equipped and supplied I was sent out into the streets of +Windsor. + +I had not gone half a mile before I met a poor old woman whom I had +known very well in Rutland. She recognized me at once, though I know +I was sadly changed for the worse. She was on her way to Fall River, +where she had relatives, and where she hoped for help, but had no +money to pay her fare, so I divided my small stock with her, and +that left me just one dollar and a half with which to begin the +world again. I went down to the bridge and the toll-gatherer gave me +as much as I could eat, twenty five cents in money, and a +pocket-full of food to carry with me. I was heading, footing rather, +for Meredith Bridge in New Hampshire. It was in the month of +December; and I was poorly clad and without an overcoat. I must +have walked fifteen miles that afternoon, and just at nightfall I +came to a wayside public house and ventured to go in. As I stood by +the fire, the landlord stepped up and slapping me on the shoulder, +said: + +"Friend, you look as if you were in trouble; step up and have +something to drink." + +I gladly accepted the invitation to partake of the first glass of +liquor I had tasted in three years. It was something, too, +everything to be addressed thus kindly. I told this worthy landlord +my whole story; how I had been trapped by the two milliners, and how +I had subsequently suffered. He had read something about it in the +papers; he felt as if he knew me; he certainly was sorry for me; and +he proved his sympathy by giving me what then seemed to me the best +supper I had ever eaten, a good bed, a good breakfast, a package of +provisions to carry with me, and then sent me on my way with a +comparatively light heart. + +It rained, snowed, and drizzled all day long. I tramped through the +wet snow ankle deep, but made nearly forty miles before night, and +then came to a public house which I knew well. When I was in the +bar-room drying myself and warming my wet and half-frozen feet, I +could not but think how, only a few years before, I had put up at +that very house, with a fine horse and buggy of my own in the +stable, and plenty of money in my pocket. The landlord's face was +familiar enough, but he did not know me, nor, under my changed +circumstances, did I desire that he should. Supper, lodging, and +breakfast nearly exhausted my small money capital; I was worn and +weary, too, and the next day was able to walk but twenty miles, all +told. On the way, at noon I went into a farm house to warm myself. +The woman had just baked a short-cake which stood on the hearth, +toward which I must have cast longing eyes, for the farmer said: + +"Have you had your dinner, man?" + +"No, and I have no money to buy any." + +"Well, you don't need money here. Wife, put that short-cake and some +butter on the table; now, my man, fall to and eat as much as you +like." + +I was very hungry, and I declare I ate the whole of that short-cake. +I told these people that I had been in better circumstances, and +that I was not always the poor, ragged, hungry wretch I appeared +then. They made we welcome to what I had eaten and when I went away +filled my pockets with food. At night I was about thirty miles above +Concord. I had no money, but trusting to luck, I got on the cars +-the conductor came, and when he found I had no ticket, he said he +must put me off. It was a bitter night and I told him I should be +sure to freeze to death. A gentleman who heard the conversation at +once paid my fare, for which I expressed my grateful thanks, and I +went to Concord. + +On my arrival I went to a hotel and told the landlord I wanted to +stay there till the next day, when a conductor whom I knew would be +going to Meredith Bridge; that I was going with him, and that he +would probably pay my bill at the hotel. "All right," said the +landlord, and he gave me my supper and a room. The next noon my +friend, the conductor, came and when I first spoke to him he did not +recognize me; I told him who I was, but to ask me no questions as to +how I came to appear in those old clothes, and to be so poor; I +wanted to borrow five dollars, and to go with him to Meredith +Bridge. He greeted me very cordially, handed me a ten-dollar +Bill--twice as much as I asked for--said he was not going to the +Bridge till next day, and told me meanwhile, to go to the hotel and +make myself comfortable. + +I went back to the hotel, paid my bill, stayed there that day and +night, and the next morning "deadheaded," with my friend the +conductor to Meredith Bridge. Everybody knew me there. The +hotel-keeper made me welcome to his house, and said I could stay as +long as I liked. + +"Say, dew ye ever cure anybody, Doctor?" asked my old friend, the +landlord, and he laughed and nudged me in the ribs, and asked me to +take some of his medicine from the bar, which I immediately did. + +I was at home now. But the object of my visit was to see if I could +not collect some of my old bills in that neighborhood, amounting in +the aggregate to several hundred dollars. They were indeed old bills +of five or six years' standing, and I had very little hope of +collecting much money. I went first to Lake Village, and called on +Mr. John Blaisdell, the husband of the woman whom I had cured of the +dropsy, in accordance, as she believed at the time, with her +prophetic dream. Blaisdell didn't know me at first; then he wanted +to know what my bill was; I told him one hundred dollars, to say +nothing of six years' interest; he said he had no money, though he +was regarded as a rich man, and in fact was. + +"But sir," said I, "you see me and how poor I am. Give me something +on account. I am so poor that I even borrowed this overcoat from the +tailor in the village, that I might present a little more +respectable appearance when I called on my old patients to try to +collect some of my old bills. Please to give me something." + +But he had no money. He would pay for the overcoat; I might tell the +tailor so; and afterwards he gave me a pair of boots and an old +shirt. This was the fruit which my "blossom" of years before brought +at last. I saw Mrs. Blaisdell, but she said she could do nothing for +me. She had forgotten what I had done for her. + +Of all my bills in that vicinity, with a week's dunning, I collected +only three dollars; but a good friend of mine, Sheriff Hill, went +around and succeeded in making up a purse of twenty dollars which he +put into my hands just as I was going away. My old landlord wanted +nothing for my week's board; all he wanted was to know "if I ever +cured anybody;" and when I told him I did, "sometimes" he insisted +upon my taking more of his medicine, and he put up a good bottle of +it for me to carry with me on my journey. + +With my twenty dollars I went to Portsmouth, where I speedily felt +that I was among old and true friends. I had not been there a day +before I was called upon to take care of a young man who was sick, +and after a few weeks charge of him I received in addition to my +board and expenses, three hundred dollars. I was now enabled to +clothe myself handsomely, and I did so and went to Newburyport, +where I remained several weeks and made a great deal of money. + +In the spring I went to White River Junction, and while I was in the +hotel taking a drink with some friends, who should come into the +bar-room but the Lake Village tailor from whom I had borrowed the +overcoat which I had even then on my back. I was about to thank him +for his kindness to me when he took me aside and said reproachfully: + +"Doctor, you wore away my overcoat and this is it, I think." + +"Good heavens! didn't John Blaisdell pay you for the coat? He told +me he would; its little enough out of what he owes me." + +"He never said a word to me about it," was the reply. I told the +tailor the circumstances; I did not like to let him to know that I +had then about seven hundred dollars in my pocket; I wished to +appear poor as long as there was a chance to collect any of my +Meredith and Lake Village bills; so I offered him three dollars to +take back the coat. He willingly consented and that was the last of +the "Blossom" business with the Blaisdells. + +I was bound not to leave this part of the country without revisiting +Windsor, and I went there, stopping at the best house in the town, +and, I fear, "putting on airs" a little. I had suffered so much in +this place that I wanted to see if there was any enjoyment to be had +there. Satisfaction there was, certainly-the satisfaction one feels +in going back under the most favorable circumstances, to a spot +where he has endured the very depths of misery. After a good dinner +I set out to visit the prison. Here was the very spot in the street +where, only a few months before, I, a ragged beggar, had divided my +mere morsel of money with the poor woman from Rutland. What change +in my circumstances those few months had wrought. I had recovered my +health which bad food, ill usage, and imprisonment had broken down, +and was in the best physical condition. The warden's old coat and +pantaloons had been exchanged for the finest clothes that money +would buy. I had a good gold watch and several hundred dollars in my +pocket. I had seen many of my old friends, and knew that they were +still my friends, and I was fully restored to my old position. My +three years' imprisonment was only a blank in my existence; I had +begun life again and afresh, precisely where I left off before I +fell into the hands of the two Vermont milliners. + +All this was very pleasant to reflect upon; but do not believe I +thought even then, that the reason for this change in my +circumstances, and changes for the better, was simply because I had +minded my business and had let women alone. + +When I called on Warden Harlow, and courteously asked to be shown +about the prison, he got up and was ready to comply with my request, +when he looked me full in the face and started back in amazement: + +"Well, I declare! Is this you?" + +"Yes, Warden Harlow; but I want you to understand that while I am +here I do not intend to do a bit of work, and you can't make me. You +may as well give it up first as last; I won't work anyhow." + +The Warden laughed heartily, and sent for Deputy Morey who came in +to "see a gentleman," and was much astonished to find the prisoner, +who, two years before, had saved his life from the hands and knife +of the madman Hall. I spent a very pleasant hour with my old +enemies, and I took occasion to give them a hint or two with regard +to the proper treatment of prisoners. I then made the rounds of the +prison, and went into the dungeon where I had passed so many +wretched hours for weeks at a time. The warden and his deputy +congratulated me upon my improved appearance and prospects, and +hoped that my whole future career would be equally prosperous. + +Nor did I forget to call up my friend in need and friend indeed in +the toll-house at the bridge. I stayed three or four days in +Windsor, finding it really a charming place, and I was almost sorry +to leave it. But my only purpose in going there, that is to revisit +the prison, was accomplished, and I started for New York, and went +from there to Port Jervis, where I met my eldest son. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +ATTEMPT TO KIDNAP SARAH SCHEIMER'S BOY. + +STARTING TO SEE SARAH-THE LONG SEPARATION-WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT +HER-HER DRUNKEN HUSBAND-CHANGE OF PLAN-A SUDDENLY-FORMED SCHEME-I +FIND SARAH'S SON-THE FIRST INTERVIEW-RESOLVE TO KIDNAP THE BOY- +REMONSTRANCES OF MY SON HENRY-THE ATTEMPT-A DESPERATE STRUGGLE-THE +RESCUE-ARREST OF HENRY-MY FLIGHT INTO PENNSYLVANIA-SENDING +ASSISTANCE TO MY SON-RETURN TO PORT JERVIS-BAILING HENRY-HIS RETURN +TO BELVIDERE-HE IS BOUND OVER TO BE TRIED FOR KIDNAPPING-MY FOLLY. + + + + + +After I had been in Port Jervis three or four days I matured a plan +that had long been forcing in my mind, and that was, to try and see +Sarah Scheimer once more, or at least to find out something about +her and about our son. The boy, if he was living, must be about ten +years of age. I had never seen him; nor, since the night when I was +taken out of bed and carried to the Easton jail had I ever seen +Sarah, or even heard from her, except by the message the Methodist +minister brought to me from her the day after I was released from +jail. In the long interval I had married the Newark widow, and had +served a brief term in the New Jersey State prison for doing it; I +had married Mary Gordon, in New Hampshire, and had run away, not +only from her, but from constables and the prison in that state; the +mock marriage with the Rutland woman at Troy, and the altogether too +real marriage with the Montpelier milliner had followed; I had spent +three wretched years in the Vermont prison at Windsor; and numerous +other exciting adventures had checkered my career. What had happened +to Sarah and her son during all this while? There was not a week in +the whole time since our sudden separation when I had not thought of +Sarah; and now I was near her old home, with means at my command, +leisure on my hands, and I was determined to know something about +her and the child. + +So long a time had elapsed and I was so changed in my personal +appearance that I had little fear of being recognized by any one in +Pennsylvania or the adjoining part of New Jersey, who would molest +me. The old matters must have been pretty much forgotten by all but +the very few who were immediately interested in them. It was safe to +make the venture at all events, and, I resolved to make the venture +to see and learn what I could. + +I had the idea in my mind that if Sarah was alive and well, and +free, I should be able to induce her to fulfil her promise to come +to me, and that we might go somewhere and settle down and live +happily together. At any rate, I would try to see her and our child. + +I did not communicate a word of all this to my son Henry. I told him +I was going to New Jersey to visit some friends, to look for +business, and I would like to have him accompany me. He consented; +I hired a horse and carriage, and one bright morning we started. I +had no friends to visit, no business to do, except to see Sarah-the +dearest and best-loved of all my wives. + +When we reached Water Gap I found an old acquaintance in the +landlord of the hotel, and I told him where I was going, and what I +hoped to do. He knew the Scheimers, knew all that had happened +eleven years before, and he told me that Sarah had married again, +seven years ago, and was the mother of two more children. She lived +on a farm, half a mile from Oxford, and her husband who had married +her for her money, and had been urged upon her by her parents, was a +shiftless, worthless, drunken fellow. The boy-my boy-was alive and +well, and was with his mother. + +This intelligence changed, or rather made definite my plan. Sarah +was nothing to me now. The boy was everything. I must see him, and +if he was what he was represented to be, a bright little fellow, I +determined that he should no longer remain in the hands and under +the control of his drunken step-father, but I would carry him away +with me if I could. It was nearly noon when we arrived at Oxford, +and going to my old quarters, I found that "Boston Yankee," had long +since left the place. There was a new landlord, and I saw no +familiar faces about the house; all was new and strange to me. I +made inquiries, and soon found out that Sarah's boy went to a school +in town not far from the hotel, and I went there to "prospect," +leaving Henry at the public house. + +It was noon now, and fifty or more boys were trooping out of school. +I carefully scanned the throng. The old proverb has it that it is a +wise child who knows its own father; but it is not so difficult for +a father to know his own children. The moment I put my eyes on +Sarah's son, I knew him; he was the very image of me; I could have +picked him out of a thousand. I beckoned to the boy and he came to +me. He was barefoot; and his very toes betrayed him, for they +"overrode" just as mine did; but his face was enough and would have +been evidence of his identity as my son in any court in Christendom. + +"Do you know me, my little man?" said I. + +"No, sir, I do not." + +"Do you know what was your mother's name before she was married?" + +"Yes Sir, it was Sarah Scheimer." + +"Do you know that the man with whom you live is not your rather?" + +"Oh, yes, Sir, I know that; mother always told me so; but she never +told me who my father was." + +"My son," said I taking him in my arms, "I am your father; wait +about here a few minutes till I can go and get my horse and +carriage, and I will take you to ride." + +I ran over to the hotel; ordered my horse to be brought to the door +at once, got into the wagon with Henry and told him that Sarah +Scheimer's boy was just across the way, and that I was going to +carry him off with us. Henry implored me not to do it, and said it +was dangerous. I never stopped to think of danger when my will +impelled me. I did not know that at that moment, men who had noticed +my excited manner, and who knew I was "up to something," were +watching me from the hotel piazza. I drove over where the boy was +waiting, called him to me, and Henry held the reins while I put out +my hands to pull the boy into the carriage. Two of the men who were +watching me came at once, one of them taking the horse by the head, +and the other coming to me and demanding: + +"What are you going to do with that boy?" + +"Take him with me; he is my son." + +"No you don't," said the man, and he laid hold of the boy and +attempted to pull him out of the wagon. I also seized the lad who +began to scream. In the struggle for possession, I caught up the +whip and struck the man with the handle, felling him to the ground. +All the while the other man was shouting for assistance. The crowd +gathered. The boy was roughly torn from me, in spite of my efforts +to retain him. Henry was thoroughly alarmed; and while the mob were +trying to pull us also out of the carriage he whipped the horse till +he sprang through the crowd and was well off in a moment. + +"Get out of town as fast as you can drive," said I to Henry. + +We were not half an hour in reaching Belvidere. There I stopped to +breathe the horse a few minutes, and Henry insisted that he was +starving, and must have something to eat; he would go into the hotel +he said, and get some dinner. I told him it was madness to do it; +but he would not move an inch further on the road till he had some +dinner. He went into the dining room, and I paced up and down the +piazza, nervous, anxious, fearing pursuit, dreading capture, well +knowing what would happen when those Jerseymen should get hold of me +and find out who I was. At that moment I saw the pursuers coming +rapidly up the road. I called to my son: + +"Henry, Henry! for God's sake come out here, quick!" + +But he thought I was only trying to frighten him so as to hurry him +away from his dinner, and get him on the road, and he paid no +attention to my summons. I knew that I was the man who was wanted, +and, without waiting for Henry, I jumped into my wagon and drove +off. I just escaped, that's all. The moment I left, my pursuers were +at the door. I looked back and saw them drag my son out of the +house, and take him away with them. I turned my horse's head towards +the Belvidere Bridge. All the country about there was as familiar to +me as the county I was born in. I knew every road, and I had no fear +of being caught. Once across the bridge and in Pennsylvania, and I +was comparatively safe, unless I myself should be kidnapped as I was +at midnight, only a little way from this very spot, eleven years +before. Here was an opportunity now to rest and reflect. Confound +those Scheimers and all their blood! Was I never to see the end of +the scrapes that family would get me into, or which I was to get +myself into, on account of the Scheimers? + +Surely they could not harm Henry. They might have taken him merely +in the hope of drawing me back to try to clear him, or rescue him, +and then they would get hold of the man they wanted. My son had done +nothing. He did not even know of the contemplated abduction till +five minutes before it was attempted, and then he protested against +it. He only held the horse when I pulled the lad into the wagon. + +Nothing showed so completely the consciousness of his own entire +innocence in the matter, as the coolness with which he sat down to +his dinner in Belvidere, and insisted upon remaining when I warned +him of our danger. These facts shown, any magistrate before whom +he might be taken, must let him go at once. I thought, perhaps, if I +waited a few hours where I was, he would be sure to rejoin me, and +we could then return to Port Jervis without Sarah's son to be sure; +but, otherwise, no worse off than we were when we set out on this +ill-starred expedition in the morning. + +All this seemed so plain to me that I sent over to Belvidere for a +lawyer, who soon came across the bridge to see me, and to him I +narrated the whole circumstances of the case from, beginning to end. +I asked him if I had not a right to carry off the boy whom I knew to +be my own? His reply was that he would not stop to discuss that +question; all he knew was that there was a great hue and cry after +me for kidnapping the boy; that my son was seized and held for +aiding and abetting in the attempted abduction; and he advised me, +as a friend, to leave that part of the country as soon as possible. +I gave him fifty dollars to look after Henry's case. He thought, +considering how little, and that little involuntarily, my son had to +do with the matter, be might be got off; he would do all he could +for him anyhow. He then returned to Belvidere, and I took the road +north. + +When I arrived at Port Jervis I detailed to my landlord the whole +occurrences of the day--what I had tried to do, and how miserably I +had failed, and asked him what was to be done next. He said +"nothing;" we could only wait and see what happened. + +The day following I received a letter from the Belvidere lawyer +informing me that Henry had been examined, had been bound over in +the sum of three hundred dollars to take his trial on a charge of +kidnapping, and he was then in the county jail. I at once showed +this letter to the landlord, and he offered to go down with another +man to Belvidere and see about the bail. I gave him three hundred +dollars, which he took with him and put into the bands of a resident +there who became bail, and in a day or two Henry came back with them +to Port Jervis. + +My son was frantic; he had been roughly treated; and to think, he +said, that he should be thrust into the common jail and kept there +two days with all sorts of scoundrels, when he had done actually +nothing! He would go back there, stand his trial, and prove his +innocence, if he died for it. He reproached me for attempting to +carry off the boy against his advice and warning; he knew we should +into trouble; but he would show them that he had nothing to do with +it; that's what he would do. + +Now this was precisely what I did not wish to have him do. A trial +of this case, even if Henry should come off scott free, would be +certain to revive the whole of the old Scheimer story, which had +nearly died away, and which I had no desire to have brought before +the public again in any way whatever. The bail bond I was willing, +eager even to forfeit, if that would end the matter. But Henry was +sure they couldn't touch him, and he meant to have the three hundred +dollars returned to me. + +Seeing how sensitive the boy was on the subject, and how bent he was +on proving his innocence, I thought it best to draw him away from +the immediate locality, and so, in the course of a week, I persuaded +him to go to New York with me, and we afterward went to Maine for a +few weeks to sell my medicines. This Maine trip was a most lucrative +one, which was very fortunate, for the money I made there, to the +amount of several hundred dollars, was shortly needed for purposes +which I did not anticipate when I put the money by. + +We returned to New York, and I supposed that Henry had given up all +idea of attempting to "prove his innocence;" indeed we had no +conversation about the kidnapping affair for several weeks. But he +slipped away from me. One day I came back to the hotel, and, +inquiring for him, was told at the office he had left word for me +that he had gone to Belvidere. A letter from him a day or two +afterward confirmed this, to me, unhappy intelligence. The time was +near at hand for his trial, and he had gone and given himself up to +the authorities. He wrote to me again that he had sent word about +his situation to his mother-my first and worst wife-and she and his +sister were already with him. + +Of course it was impossible for me to go there, if there were no +other reasons, I was too immediately interested in this affair to be +present, and I had no idea of undergoing a trial and a certain +conviction for myself. But I sent down a New York lawyer with one +hundred dollars, directing him to employ council there, and to +advise and assist as much as he could. Meanwhile, I remained in New +York, anxious, it is true, yet almost certain that it would be +impossible, under the circumstances, to convict Henry of the +kidnapping for which he was indicted. He had not even assisted in +the affair, and was sure his counsel would be able to so convince +the court and jury. + +And reviewing the whole matter, now in my cooler moments, this +scheme of trying to carry away Sarah's son, seemed to be as foolish, +useless, and mad, as any one of my marrying adventures. Till I +picked him out from among his schoolmates, I had never seen the +child at all. When I started from Port Jervis to go down, as I +supposed, into Pennsylvania, I had no more idea of kidnapping the +boy than I had of robbing a sheep-fold. It was only when the +landlord at Water Gap told me that Sarah had remarried, and was +wedded to a worthless, drunken husband, that I conceived the plan of +removing the boy from such associations. I was going to bring him up +in a respectable manner. Alas! I did not succeed even in bringing +him away. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +ANOTHER WIDOW. + +WAITING FOR THE VERDICT-MY SON SENT TO STATE PRISON-WHAT SARAH WOULD +HAVE DONE-INTERVIEW WITH MY FIRST WIFE-HELP FOR HENRY-THE BIDDEFORD +WIDOW-HER EFFORT TO MARRY ME-OUR VISIT TO BOSTON-A WARNING-A +GENEROUS GIFT-HENRY PARDONED-CLOSE OF THE SCHEIMER ACCOUNT-VISIT TO +ONTARIO COUNTY-MY RICH COUSINS-WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN-MY BIRTH-PLACE +REVISITED. + + + + + +I waited with nervous impatience for the close of the trial in New +Jersey, when I hoped to welcome my son Henry to New York. It was so +plain a case, as it seemed to me, and must appear, I thought, to +everybody, that I hardly doubted his instant acquittal. But very +shortly the New York lawyer whom I had sent to Belvidere, came back +and brought terrible news. Henry had been tried, and notwithstanding +the fairest showing in his favor, he was convicted and sentenced to +eighteen months imprisonment at Trenton. + +As it appeared, it was I really, and not Henry, who was on trial. +The circumstances of the desperate struggle, and my knocking down +one of the men with the butt of my whip, were conspicuous in the +case. Even the little boy was put on the stand, and was made to +testify against his older half-brother. Henry himself was astounded +at the result of the trial, and was firmly convinced that instead of +"proving his innocence" to Jersey jurymen, he had better have let +his innocence go by default. We never even got back again the three +hundred dollars which had been put into the hands of the man who +went bail for Henry when he was bound over for trial. For us, it was +bad business from beginning to end. + +Henry wrote a letter to me, that just before his trial, before he +had delivered himself up, and while he was still under bail, he had +gone to see Sarah Scheimer on the little farm which was bought with +her money, and was worked, so far as it was worked at all, by her +drunken husband. The family were even poorer than the landlord at +Water Gap had reported. Sarah herself was miserable and unhappy. She +told Henry, when he informed her who he was, that if I had wanted to +see her or her son, I should have been welcome. She would have been +very glad to have had me take the boy and clothe him decently; but +she could not part with him, and would not have let me take him +away; still, I could see him at any time, and as often as I liked, +and the boy should grow up to know and to look upon me as his +father. + +And this, really, was all I desired, all I wanted; and it was all +easily within my grasp, ready in fact to be put into my hands, and I +had gone ahead in my usual mad, blundering way, acting, not only +without advice, but against such advice as came from Henry at the +last moment, and had alienated the mother from me, lost the boy, and +had sent Henry, who was wholly innocent, to state prison for +eighteen months. + +The poor fellow was take to Trenton and was put into the prison +where I had spent seven months. He was almost crazy when he got +there. His mother and sister went with him, and took lodgings in the +place so as to be near him, to render him any assistance that might +be in their power. + +I had been idle now for some weeks in New York, and I went back to +Maine, to Biddeford, where I lad a good practice. I picked up a good +deal of money, and in two months I returned to New York to make a +brief visit, and to see if something could not be done for the +release of Henry from prison. At my solicitation a friend of mine +wrote to Trenton to Henry's mother to come on to New York, and meet +me at the Metropolitan Hotel on a specified day, to transact some +business. She came, and we met for the first time in several years. +We met now simply on business, and there was no expression of +sentiment or feeling on either side. We cared nothing for each +other. I commended her for her devotion to Henry, and then told her +I believed, if the proper efforts were made, he could be pardoned +out of prison. I told her what lawyer and other persons to see, and +how to proceed in the matter. I gave her the most minute +instructions, and then handed her five hundred dollars with which to +fee her lawyer, and to pay her and her daughter's living expenses in +Trenton. She was grateful for the money, and was only too glad to go +to work for Henry; she would have done it long ago if she had only +known what to do. We then parted, and I have never seen the woman, +since that day. + +This business transacted, I at once returned to my practice at +Biddeford. Among my patients was a wealthy widow, "fat, fair, and +forty," and I had not attended her long before a warm affection +sprung up between us, and in time, when the widow recovered, we +began to think we were in love with each other. I confess that I +agreed to marry her; but it was to be at some distant day-a very +distant day as I intended--for, strange as it may seem, and as it +did seem to me, I had at last learned the lesson that I had better +let matrimony alone. I had married too many wives, widows, +milliners, and what not, already, and had suffered too severely for +so doing. I meant that my Vermont imprisonment, the worst of all, +should be the last. + +So I only "courted" the widow, calling upon her almost every day, +and I was received and presented to her acquaintances as her +affianced husband. Her family and immediate friends were violently +opposed to the match, thereby showing their good sense. I was also +informed that they knew something of my previous history, and I was +warned that I had better not undertake to marry the widow. Bless +their innocent hearts! I had no idea of doing it. I was daily amazed +at my own common sense. My memory was active now; all my matrimonial +mishaps of the past, with all the consequences, were ever present to +my mind, and never more present than when was in the company of the +fascinating widow. As for her, the more her relatives opposed the +match, the more she was bent upon marrying me. Her family, she, +said, were afraid they were going to lose her property, but she +would never give them a cent of it, anyhow, and she would marry when +and whom she pleased. + +Not "when," exactly; because, as she protested she would marry me, I +had something to say about it; I had been run away with by a +milliner in Vermont, and I had no idea of beings forcibly wedded by +a widow in Maine. I pleaded that my business was not sufficiently +established; I was liable to be called away from time to time; I +had affairs to arrange in New York and elsewhere before I could +settle down; and so the happy day was put off to an indefinite +future time. + +By-and-by I had business in Boston, and the widow declared that she +would go with me; she wanted to visit her friend's there and do some +shopping; and without making particular mention of her intention to +her relatives, she went with me, and we were in Boston together more +than two weeks. At the end of that time she returned to Biddeford +and notified her friends treat she was married to the doctor, though +she had no certificate, not even a Troy one, to show for it. + +I deemed it advisable not to go back with her, but went to Worcester +for a while. In a few days I went to Biddeford, keeping somewhat +close, for I did not care to meet any of the relatives, and at night +I called upon the widow. She told me that her family had raised a +tremendous fuss about me, and had learned as much as they, and +indeed she, wanted to know about my adventures in Vermont and New +Hampshire. They had not gone back of that, but that was enough. It +was dangerous, she told me, for me to stay there; I was sure to be +arrested; I had better get away from the place as soon as possible. +We might meet again by-and-by, but unless I wanted to be arrested I +must leave, the place that very night. She gave me seven hundred +dollars, pressed the money upon me, and I parted from her, returning +to Worcester, and going from there to Boston. Besides what the widow +bad given me, I had made more than one thousand dollars in Maine, +and was comparatively well off. + +Then came the joyful intelligence that Henry was released. His +mother had worked for him night and day. She bad drawn up a +petition, secured a large number of sterling signatures, had gone +with her counsel to see the Governor, had presented the petition and +all the facts in the case, and the Governor had granted a pardon. +Henry served only six months of the eighteen for which he was +sentenced, and very soon after I received word that he was free, he +came to me in Boston, stayed a few days, and then went home to his +mother in Unadilla. + +With the release of my son, I considered the Scheimer account +closed, and I have never made any effort to see Sarah or our boy +since that time. + +From Boston I went to Pittsford, Ontario County, N. Y., where I had +many friends, who knew nothing about any of my marriages or +misfortunes, my arrests or imprisonments. I went visiting merely, +and enjoyed myself so much that I stayed there nearly three months, +going about the country, and practicing a little among my friends. I +was never happier than I was during this time. I was free from +prisons, free from my wives, and free from care. As a matrimonial +monomaniac I now looked upon myself as cured. + +Among the friends whom I visited in Ontario County, and with whom I +passed several pleasant weeks, were two cousins of mine whom I had +not seen for many years, since we were children in fact, but who +gave me a most cordial welcome, and made much of me while I was +there. They knew absolutely nothing of my unhappy history-no +unpleasant rumor even respecting me, had ever penetrated that quiet +quarter of the State. I told them what I pleased of my past career, +from boyhood to the present time, and to them I was only a tolerably +successful doctor, who made money enough to live decently and dress +well, and who was then suffering from overwork and badly in need of +recuperation. This, indeed, was the ostensible reason for my visit +to Ontario. I was somewhat shattered; my old prison trials and +troubles began to tell upon me. I used to think sometimes that I was +a little "out of my head;" I certainly was so whenever I entered +upon one of my matrimonial schemes, and I must have been as mad as a +March hare when I attempted to kidnap Sarah Scheimer's boy. After +all the excitement and suffering of the past few years, I needed +rest, and here I found it. + +My cousins were more than well-to-do farmers; they were enormously +rich in lands and money. Just after the war of 1812, their father, +my uncle, and my own father, had come to this, then wild and almost +uninhabited, section of the State to settle. Soon after they arrived +there my father's wife died, and this loss, with the general +loneliness of the region, to say nothing of the fever and ague, soon +drove my father back to Delaware County to his forge for a living, +and to the day of his death he was nothing more than a hard-working, +hand-to-mouth-living, common blacksmith. + +But my uncle stayed there, and, as time went on, he bought hundreds +of acres of land for a mere song, which were now immensely valuable, +and had made his children almost the richest people in that region. +My Cousins were great farmers, extensive raisers of stock, +wool-growers, and everything else that could make them prosperous. +There seemed to be no end to their wealth, and their fiat farms, +spread out on every side as far as the eye could see. + +And if my father had only stayed there, I could not help but think +what a different life mine might have been. Instead of being the +adventurer I was, and had been ever since I separated from my first +and worst wife-doing well, perhaps, for a few weeks or a few months, +and then blundering into a mad marriage or other difficulty which +got me into prison; well-to-do to-day and to-morrow a beggar--I, +too, might have been rich and respectable, and should have, saved +myself a world of suffering. This was but a passing thought which +did not mar my visit, or make it less pleasant to me. I went there +to be happy, not to be miserable, and for three months I was happy +indeed. + +From there I went to my birthplace in Columbia County, revisiting +old scenes and the very few old friends and acquaintances who +survived, or who had not moved away. I spent a month there and +thereabouts, and at the end of that time I felt full restored to my +usual good health, and was ready to go to work again, not in the +matrimonial way, but in my medical business, that was enough for me +now. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +MY OWN SON TRIES TO MURDER ME. + +SETTLING DOWN IN MAINE-HENRY'S HEALTH-TOUR THROUGH THE +SOUTH-SECESSION TIMES-DECEMBER IN NEW ORLEANS-UP THE +MISSISSIPPI-LEAVING HENRY IN MASSACHUSETTS-BACK IN MAINE +AGAIN-RETURN TO BOSTON-PROFITABLE HORSE TRADING-PLENTY OF MONEY-MY +FIRST WIFE'S CHILDREN-HOW THEY HAD BEEN BROUGHT UP-A BAREFACED +ROBBERY-ATTEMPT TO BLACKMAIL ME-MY SON TRIES TO ROB AND KILL ME-MY +RESCUE-LAST OF THE YOUNG MAN. + + + + + +Where to go, not what to do, was the next question. Wherever I might +go and establish myself, if only for a few days, or a few weeks, I +was sure to have almost immediately plenty of patients and customers +enough for my medicines-this had been my experience always-and +unfortunately for me, I was almost equally sure to get into some +difficulty from which escape was not always easy. Looking over the +whole ground for a fresh start in business, it seemed to me that +Maine was the most favorable place. Whenever I had been there I had +done well; it was one of the very few States I had lived in where I +had not been in jail or in prison; nor had I been married there, +though the Biddeford widow did her best to wed me, and it is not her +fault that she did not succeed in doing it. + +To Maine, then, I went, settling down in Augusta, and remaining +there four months, during which time I had as much as I could +possibly attend to, and laid by a very considerable sum of money. +While I was there I heard the most unfavorable reports with regard +to the health of my eldest son Henry. Prison life at Trenton had +broken him down in body as well as in spirit, and he had been ill, +some of the time seriously, nearly all the time since he went to +Unadilla. The fact that he was entirely innocent of the offence for +which he was imprisoned, preyed upon his mind, and with the worst +results. As these stories reached me from week to week, I became +anxious and even alarmed about him, and at last I left my lucrative +business in Augusta and went to New York. I could not well go to +Unadilla to visit Henry without seeing his mother, whom I had no +desire to see; so I sent for him to come to me in the city if was +able to do so. I knew that if medicine or medical attendance would +benefit him, I should be able to help him. + +In a few days he came to me in a most deplorable physical condition. +He was a mere wreck of his former self. Almost immediately he began +to talk about the attempt to abduct the boy from Oxford; how +innocent he was in the matter, and how terribly he had suffered +merely because he happened to be with me when I rashly endeavored to +kidnap the lad. All this went through me like a sharp sword. It +seemed as if I was the cause, not only of great unhappiness to +myself, but of pain and misery to all who were associated or brought +in contact with me. For this poor boy, who had endured and suffered +so much on my account, I could not do enough. My means and time must +now be devoted to his recovery, if recovery, was possible. + +He was weak, but was still able to walk about, and he enjoyed riding +very much. I kept him with me in the city a week or two, taking +daily rides to the Park and into the country, and when he felt like +going out in the evening I made him go to some place of amusement +with me. I had no other business, and meant to have none, but to +take care of Henry, and I devoted myself wholly to his comfort and +happiness. In a few days he had much improved in health and spirits, +so much so, that I meditated making a long tour with him to the +South, hoping that the journey there and back again would fully +restore him. + +Fortunately, my recent Maine business had put me in possession of +abundant funds, and when I had matured my scheme, and saw that Henry +was in tolerable condition to travel, I proposed the trip to him, +and he joyfully assented to my plan. I wanted to get him far away, +for awhile, from a part of the country which was associated in his +mind, more than in mine, with so much misery, and he seemed quite as +eager to go. Change of air and scene I knew would do wonders for him +bodily, and would build him up again. + +We made our preparations and started for the South, going first to +Baltimore and then on through the Southern States by railroad to New +Orleans. It was late in the fall of 1860, just before the rebellion, +when the south was seceding or talking secession, and was already +preparing for war. Henry's physical condition compelled us to rest +frequently on the way, and we stopped sometimes for two or three +days at a time, at nearly every large town or city on the entire +route. Everywhere there was a great deal of excitement; meetings +were held nearly every night secession was at fever heat, and there +was an unbounded expression and manifestation of ill-feeling against +the north and against northern men. Nevertheless, I was never in any +part of the Union where I was treated with so much courtesy, +consideration and genuine kindness as I was there and then. I was +going south, simply to benefit the invalid who accompanied me; +everybody seemed to know it; and everybody expressed the tenderest +sympathy for my son. Wherever we stopped, it seemed as if the people +at the hotels, from the landlord to the lowest servant, could not do +enough for us. At Atlanta, Augusta, Mobile, and other places, where +we made our stay long enough to get a little acquainted, my son and +myself were daily taken out to ride, and were shown everything of +interest that was to be seen. Henry did not enjoy this journey more +than I did-to me as well as to him, the trip was one prolonged +pleasure, and by the time we reached New Orleans nearly a month +after we left New York, my son had so recuperated that I had every +hope of his speedy and full restoration. + +It was the beginnings of winter when we reached New Orleans; but +during the whole month of December while we remained in that city, +winter, if indeed it was winter, which we could hardly believe, was +only a prolongation of the last beautiful autumn days we had left at +the north. Now Orleans was then at the very height of prosperity; +business was brisk, money was plenty, the ships of all nations and +countless steamboats from St. Louis, Cincinnati, Louisville and all +points up the Mississippi and Ohio rivers lay at the levee. The +levee itself, from end to end, for miles along the river front, was +one mass of merchandise which had come to the city, or was awaiting +shipment. I had never seen a livelier city. Indescribably gay, too, +was New Orleans that winter. The city was full of strangers; the +hotels were thronged; there were balls every night; the theatres +were crowded, and everybody seemed bent on having a good time. With +all the rest, there was an extraordinary military furor, and militia +companies and regiments paraded the streets every day, while +secession meetings were held in various halls, or in the public +squares, nearly ever night. + +From the St. Charles hotel where we stopped, St. Charles street +seemed ablaze and alive all night, and densely thronged all day. +Sunday brought no rest, for Sunday, so far as military parades, +amusement and general gaiety were concerned, was the liveliest day +in the week; and Sunday night the theatres were sure to present +their best performances and to draw their largest audiences. And so, +from morning till night, and from night till morning again, all was +whirl, stir, bustle, business, enjoyment, and excitement. To me, +unaccustomed as I was to such scenes, New York even seemed tame and +dull, and slow in comparison with New Orleans. + +This is a picture of the Crescent City as it presented itself to me +and to my son in the early part of the winter before the war. No one +knew or even dreamed of the terrible times that were to come. No one +believed that war was probable, or even possible; it was well +enough, perhaps, to prepare for it; but secession was to be an +accomplished fact, and the North and all the world would quietly +acknowledge it. This was the general sentiment in the city; though +secession, and what would, or what might come of it, was the general +topic of talk in the hotels, in the restaurants, at the theatres, in +the streets, everywhere. Now and then some southerner with whom I +had become acquainted would try to draw me out to ascertain my +sentiments on the subject, but I always laughed, and said good +naturedly: + +"My dear sir, I didn't come down here to talk about secession, but +to see if the southern climate would benefit my sick son." + +The fact was that I minded my own business, and minded it so well +that while I was in New Orleans I managed to find a few patients and +sold recipes and medicines enough to pay the entire expenses of our +journey thus far, from the North. + +Almost every day my son and I drove somewhere up to Carrolton, down +to the battle-ground, or on the shell road to Lake Ponchartrain. It +was a month of genuine enjoyment to us both; of profit to me +pecuniarily; and of the best possible benefit to Henry's health. + +Early in January we took passage on one of the finest of the +Mississippi steamboats for St. Louis. The boat was crowded, and +among the passengers were a good many merchants, Northern men long +resident in New Orleans, who thought they saw trouble coming, and +accordingly had closed up their business in the Crescent City, and +were now going North to stay there. We had on board, too, the usual +complement of gamblers and amateur or professional poker-players, +who kept the forward saloon near the bar, and known in the river +vernacular as the "Texas" of the boat, lively all day long and well +into the night, or rather the next morning. It was ten or eleven +days before we reached St. Louis. Nothing notable occurred on the +trip; but day after day, as we proceeded northward, and left the +soft, sunny south behind us, with the daily increasing coldness and +wintry weather, Henry seemed to decline by degrees, and gradually to +lose nearly all that he had gained since we left New York. When we +reached St. Louis he was seriously sick. I was very sorry we had +come away so soon in the season, and proposed that we should return +and stay in the south till spring; but Henry would not consent. +There was nothing to be done, then, but to hurry on to the east, and +when we arrived in New York Henry would not go home to his mother in +Unadilla, but insisted upon accompanying me to Boston. I was willing +enough that he should go with me, for then I could have him under my +exclusive care; but when we arrived in Boston he was so overcome by +the excitement of travel, and was so feeble from fatigue as well as +disease, that instead of having him go with me to Augusta, as I +intended, by the advice of a friend I took him into the country +where he could be nursed, be quiet, and be well taken care of till +spring. I left him in good hands, promising to come and see him as +soon as I could, and then went back to my old business in Augusta. + +It required a little time to knot the new end of that business to +the end where I had broken off three months before; but I was soon +in full practice again and was once more making and saving money. I +had no matrimonial affair in hand, no temptation in fact, and none +but strictly professional engagements to fulfil. In Augusta and in +several other towns which I visited, for the whole of the rest of +the winter, I was as busy as I could be. Early in the spring I made +up my mind to run away for a week or two, and arranged my business +so that I could go down into Massachusetts and visit Henry, hoping, +if he was better, to bring him back with me to Maine. + +Two of my patients in Paris, Maine, had each given me a good horse +in payment for my attendance upon them and their families, and for +what medicines I had furnished, and I took these horses with me to +sell in Boston. I drove them down, putting a good supply of +medicines in my wagon to sell in towns on the way, and when I +arrived in Boston sold out the establishment, getting one hundred +and twenty-five dollars for the wagon, three hundred dollars for one +horse, and four hundred dollars for the other-a pretty good profit +on my time and medicine for the two patients-and I brought with me +besides about eighteen hundred dollars, the net result, above my +living expenses, of about three months' business in Maine, and what +I had done on the way down through Massachusetts. I am thus minute +about this money because it now devolves upon me to show what sort +of a family of children my first and worst wife had brought up. + +Of these children by my first marriage, my eldest son Henry, since +he had grown up, had been with me nearly as much as he had been with +his mother, and I loved him as I did my life. Since he became of +age, at such times when I was not in prison, or otherwise +unavoidably separated from him, we had been associated in business, +and had traveled and lived together. I knew all about him; but of +the rest of the children I knew next to nothing. Shortly after I +sold my horses, one day I was in my room at the hotel, when word was +brought to me that some one in the parlor wanted to see me. + +I went down and found a young man, about twenty-one years of age, +who immediately came to me addressing me as "father," and he then +presented a young woman, about two years older than he was, as his +sister and my daughter. I had not seen this young gentleman since +the time when I had carried him off from school and from the farmer +to whom he was bound, and had clothed him and taken him with me to +Amsterdam and Troy, subsequently sending him to my half-sister at +Sidney. The ragged little lad, as I found him, had grown up into a +stout, good-looking young man; but I had no difficulty in +recognizing him, though I was much at loss to know the precise +object of this visit; so after shaking hands with them, and asking +then how they were, I next inquired what they wanted? + +Well, they had been to see Henry, and he was a great deal better. + +I told them I was very glad to hear it, and that I was then on my +way to visit him, and hoped to see him in a few days, as soon as I +could finish my business in Boston; if Henry was as well as they +reported I should bring him away with me. + +"But if you are busy here," said my young man, "we can save you both +time and trouble. We will go to Henry again and settle his bills for +board and other expenses, and will bring him with us to you at this +hotel." + +This, at the time, really seemed to me a kindly offer; it would +enable me to stay in Boston and attend to business I had to do, and +Henry would come there with his brother and sister in a day or two. +I at once assented to the plan, and taking my well-filled +pocket-book from the inside breast pocket of my coat, I counted out +two hundred and fifty dollars and gave them to the young man to pay +Henry's board, doctor's and other bills, and the necessary car fares +for the party. They then left me and started, as I supposed, to go +after Henry. + +But a few days went on and I saw and heard nothing of Henry. At last +word came to me one day that some one down stairs wanted to see me +and I told the servant to send him to my room, hoping that it might +be Henry. But no; it was my young man, of whom I instantly demanded: + +"Where is your brother, whom you were to bring to me a week ago? +What have you done with the money I gave you for his bills?" + +"I hadn't been near Henry; sister has gone home; and I've spent the +money on a spree, every cent of it, here in Boston, and I want +more." + +"Want more!" I exclaimed in blank amazement: + +"Yes, more; and if you don't give it to me, I'll follow you wherever +you go, and tell people all I know about you." + +"You scoundrel," said I, "you come here and rob, not me, but your +poor, sick brother, and then return and attempt to black-mail me. +Get out of my sight this instant." + +He sprung on me, and made a desperate effort to get my money out of +my pocket. We had a terrible struggle. He was younger and stronger +than I was, and as I felt that I was growing weaker I called out +loudly for help and shouted "Murder!" + +The landlord himself came running into the room; I succeeded in +tearing myself away, from the grasp of my assailant, and the +landlord felled him to the floor with a chair. He then ran to the +door and called to a servant to bring a policeman. + +"No, don't!" I exclaimed; "Don't arrest the villain, for I can make +no complaint against him--he is my son!" + +But the landlord was bound to have some satisfaction out of the +affair; so he dragged the young man into the hall and kicked him +from the top of the stairs to the bottom, where, as soon as he had +picked himself up, a convenient servant kicked him out into the +street. I have never set eyes on my young man since his somewhat +sudden departure from that hotel. + +And when I went to visit my poor Henry a day or two afterwards, I +can hardly say that I was surprised, though I was indignant to learn +that his brother and sister had never been near him at all since he +had been in Massachusetts. They knew where and how he was from his +letter's to his mother; they knew, too, from the same letters-for I +had notified Henry-at what time I would be in Boston, and with this +information they had come on to swindle me. I have no doubt, when +the young man came the second time to rob me, he would have murdered +me, if the landlord had not come to my assistance. And this was the +youngest son of my first and worst wife!! + +I found Henry in better condition than I expected, and I took him +back with me to Augusta. I did not tell him of his brother's attempt +to rob and kill. Me-it would have been too great a shock for him. He +stayed with me only a few days and then, complaining of being +homesick, he went to visit his mother again. + + + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +A TRUE WIFE AND HOME, AT LAST. + +WHERE WERE ALL MY WIVES?-SENSE OF SECURITY-AN IMPRUDENT +ACQUAINTANCE-MOVING FROM MAINE-MY PROPERTY IN RENSSELAER COUNTY-HOW +I LIVED-SELLING A RECIPE-ABOUT BUYING A CARPET-NINETEEN LAW-SUITS- +SUDDEN DEPARTURE FOR THE WEST-A VAGABOND FOR TWO YEARS-LIFE IN +CALIFORNIA-RETURN TO THE EAST-DIVORCE FROM MY FIRST WIFE-A GENUINE +MARRIAGE-MY FARM-HOME AT LAST. + + + + + +I remained in Maine nearly two years, hardly ever going out of the +State, except occasionally to Boston on business. Making Augusta my +residence and headquarters, I practiced in Portland and in nearly +all the towns and cities in the eastern part of the State. During +all this time, I behaved myself, in all respects better than I had +ever before done in any period of my life. I began to look upon +myself as a reformed man; I had learned to let liquor alone, and was +consequently in far less, indeed, next to no danger of stepping into +the traps in which my feet had been so often caught. I may as well +confess it--it was intoxicating liquor, and that mainly, which had +led me into my various mad marrying schemes and made me the +matrimonial monomaniac and lunatic lover that I was for years. What +my folly, my insanity caused me to suffer, these pages have +attempted to portray. I had grown older, wiser, and certainly +better. I now only devoted myself strictly to my business, and I +found profit as well as pleasure in doing it. + +What had become of all my wives in the meantime, I scarcely knew and +hardly cared. Of course from time to time I had heard more or less +about them-at least, a rumor of some sort now and then reached me. +About my first and worst wife, at intervals I heard something from +Henry, who was still with her, and who frequently wrote to me when +he was well enough to do so. Margaret Bradley and Eliza Gurnsey were +still carrying on the millinery business in Rutland, and in +Montpelier, and were no doubt weaving other and new webs in hopes of +catching fresh flies. Mary Gordon, as I learned soon afterwards, was +married almost before I had fairly escaped from New Hampshire in my +flight to Canada, and she had gone to California with her new +husband. Of the Newark widow I knew nothing; but two years of peace, +quiet, and freedom from molestation in Maine had made me feel quite +secure against any present or future trouble from my past +matrimonial misadventures. + +I was living in Maine, prudently I think under an assumed name, and +as the respectable, and, to my patients and customers, well-known +Doctor Blank, I was scarcely liable to be recognized at any time or +by any one as the man who had married so many wives, been in so many +jails and prisons, and whose exploits had been detailed from time to +time in the papers. + +Nor, all this while, did I have the slightest fear of detection. I +looked upon myself as a victim rather than as a criminal, and for +what I had done, and much that I had not done, I had more than paid +the penalty. So far as all my business transactions were concerned, +my course had always been honorable, and in my profession, for my +cures and for my medicines, I enjoyed a good reputation which all my +efforts were directed to deserve. + +Of course, now and then, I met people in Portland, and especially in +Boston, who had known me in former years, and who knew something of +my past life; but these were generally my friends who sympathized +with my sufferings, or who, at least, were willing to blot out the +past in my better behavior of the present. One day in Boston a young +man came up to me and said: + +"How do you do, Doctor?" + +"Quite well," I replied; "but you have the advantage of me; I am +sure I do not remember you, if I ever knew you." + +"You don't remember me! Why, I am the son of the jailer in Montpelier +with whom you spent so many months before you went to Windsor; I +knew you in a minute, and Doctor, I've been in Boston a week and +have got 'strapped;' how to get back to Montpelier I don't know, +unless you will lend me five or six dollars which I will send back +to you the moment I get home." + +"I remember you well, now," said I; "you are the little rascal who +wouldn't even go and buy me a cigar unless I gave you a dime for +doing it; and then, sometimes, you cheated me out of my money; I +wouldn't lend you a dollar now if it would save you from six month's +imprisonment in your father's filthy jail. Good morning." + +And that was the last I saw of him. + +I was getting tired of Maine. I had been there longer than I had +stayed in any place, except in the Vermont State Prison, for the +past fifteen years, and I began to long for fresh scenes and a fresh +field for practice. I had accumulated some means, and thought I +might take life a little easier-make a home for myself somewhere, +practicing my profession when I wanted to, and at other times +enjoying the leisure I loved and really needed. So I closed up my +business in Augusta and Portland, put my money in my pocket, and +once more went out into the world on a prospecting tour. My first +idea was to go to the far West, and I went to Troy with the +intention of staying there a few days, and then bidding farewell to +the East forever. The New England States presented no attractions to +me; I had exhausted Maine, or rather it had exhausted me; New +Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts had too many unpleasant +associations, if indeed they were safe states for me, with my record +to live in, and Connecticut I knew very little about. Certainly I +had no intention of trying to settle in New Jersey or Pennsylvania. +The west was the place; anywhere in the west. + +Here was I in Troy, revolving plans in my own mind for migrating to +the west, just as Mary Gordon and I had done in the very same hotel, +only a few years before; and in the course of a week I came to +exactly the same conclusion that Mary and I did--not to go. I heard +of a small farm--it was a very small one of only twelve acres-which +could be bought in Rensselaer County, not more than sixteen miles +from Albany and Troy. I went to see the place, liked it, and bought +it for sixteen hundred dollars. There was a small but good house and +a barn on the place, and altogether it was a cheap and desirable +property. I got a good housekeeper, hired a man, and began to carry +on this little farm, raising garden vegetables and fruit mainly, and +sending them to market in Albany and Troy. Generally I took my own +stuff to market, and sold medicines and recipes as well, and in +Albany I had a first rate practice which I went to that city to +attend to once or twice a week. While my man was selling vegetables +and fruit--I remember I sold a hundred dollars worth of cherries from +my farm the first summer--in the market, I was Doctor Blank +receiving my patients at Stanwix Hall, or calling upon them at their +residences; and when the day's work was over, my man and I rode home +in the wagon which had brought us and the garden truck early in the +morning. On the whole, this kind of life was exceedingly +satisfactory, and I liked it. + +I made frequent expeditions to Saratoga and to other places not far +from home to attend to cases to which I was called, and to sell +medicines; and considering that the main object I had in settling in +Rensselaer County was rest and more leisure than I had enjoyed for +some years, I had a great deal more to do than I desired. +Nevertheless, I might have continued to live on my little farm, +raising vegetables, picking cherries, and practicing medicine in the +neighborhood, had not the fate, which seemed to insist that I should +every little while come before a court of justice for something or +other, followed me even here. A certain hardware dealer in Albany, +with whom I had become acquainted, proposed to buy one of my +recipes, and to go into an extensive manufacture of the medicine. He +had read and heard of the fortunes that had been made in patent +medicines, by those who understand the business, and he thought he +would see if he could not get rich in a year or less in the same +way. + +After some solicitation I sold him the recipe for one thousand +dollars, receiving six hundred dollars down, and a promise of the +balance when the first returns from sales of the medicine came in. I +also entered into a contract to show the man how to make the +medicine, and to give him such advice and assistance in his new +business as I could. My hardware friend understood his legitimate +business better than he did that which he had undertaken, and +although be learned how to manufacture the medicine he did not know +how to sell it; and after trying it a few weeks, and doing next to +nothing, he turned upon me as the author of his misfortunes and sued +me for damages. + +Incidental to this, and only incidental, is the following: Shortly +after I purchased my property, as I was very fond of calling my +little farm, in Rensselaer County, I was in Albany one day when it +occurred to me that I wanted a carpet for my parlor. I went to the +store of a well-known carpet-dealer, and asked to be shown some of +his goods. While I was going through the establishment I came across +a man who was industriously sewing together the lengths of a cut +carpet, and I recognized in him one of my fellow convicts at +Windsor. He, however, did not know me, and I doubt if he could have +been convinced of my identity as the wretch who plied the broom in +the halls of the prison. To him, as he glanced at me, I was only a +well-dressed gentleman whom the proprietor was courteously showing +through the establishment in the hope of securing a good customer. +It was this little circumstance, I think-my chance meeting with my +old fellow-prisoner, and my changed circumstances and appearance +which put me beyond recognition by him-that prompted me to the +somewhat brazen business that followed: + +"I only came in to look to-day," I said to the carpet-dealer; "for +the precise sum of money in my pocket at present is eighteen pence, +and no more; but if you will cut me off forty yards of that piece of +carpeting, and trust me for it, I will pay your bill in a few days, +as sure as I live." + +My frank statement with regard to my finances seemed to attract the +attention of the merchant who laughed and said: + +"Well, who are you, anyhow? Where do you live?" + +I told him that I was Doctor Blank; that I lived in Rensselaer +county on a small place of my own; I raised fruit and vegetables for +market; I cured cancers, dropsy, and other diseases when I could; +sold medicines readily almost where I would; and was in Albany once +or twice a week. + +"Measure and cut off the carpet," said he to the clerk who was +following us, "and put it in the Doctor's wagon" + +The bill was about a hundred dollars, and I drove home with the +carpet. It was nearly six weeks afterwards when I went into the +store again, and greeted the proprietor. He had seen me but once +before and had totally forgotten me. I told him I was Doctor Blank, +small farmer and large medical practitioner of Rensselaer County. + +"The devil you are! Why, you're the man that bought a carpet of me a +few weeks ago; I was wondering what had become of you." + +"I'm the man, and I must tell you that the carpet doesn't look well; +but never mind-here's a hundred dollars, and I want you to receipt +the bill." + +"Now," said I, when he returned the bill to me receipted, "the +carpet looks firstrate; I never saw a handsomer one in my life." + +"Well, you are an odd chap, any how," said the carpet-dealer, +laughing, and shaking me by the hand. Almost from that moment we +were more than mere acquaintances, we were fast friends. In the +course of the long conversation that followed, I told him of my +trouble with the hardware man-how I had sold him the recipe; that he +had failed, from ignorance to conduct the business properly, and had +sued me for damages. + +"I know the man," said my new friend; "let him go ahead and sue and +be-benefited, if he can; meanwhile, do you keep easy; I'll stand by +you." + +And stand by me he did through thick and thin. The hardware man sued +me no less than nineteen times, and for pretty much +everything-damages, debt, breach of contract, and what not. With the +assistance of a lawyer whom my friend recommended to me, I beat my +opponent in eighteen successive suits; but as fast as one suit was +decided he brought another, almost before I could get out of the +court room. At last he carried the case to the Supreme Court, and +from there it went to a referee. The matter from beginning to end, +must have cost him a mint of money; but he went on regardless of the +costs which he hoped and expected to get out of me at last. + +My long and painful experience, covering many years, had given me a +pretty thorough knowledge of the law's uncertainty, as well as the +law's delay, and very early in the course of the present suit, I had +quietly disposed of my property in Rensselaer County. I sold the +little farm, which cost me sixteen hundred dollars, for twenty-one +hundred dollars, and I had had, besides, the profits of nearly two +years' farming and a good living from and on the place. I also +arranged all my money matters in a manner that I felt assured would +be satisfactory to me, if not to my opponent, and then, following +the advice of my friend, the carpet-dealer, I let the hardware man +sue and be-"benefited if he could." When, however, the case went +finally to a referee who was certain, I felt sure, to decide against +me, I took no further personal interest in the matter, nor have I +ever troubled myself to learn the filial decision. I made up my mind +in a moment and decided that the time had come, at last, when it was +advisable for me to go to the West. + +Westward I went, towards sunset almost, and for the two following +years I led, I fear, what would be considered a very vagabond life. +I went to Utah, thinking while I was in Salt Lake City, if they only +knew my history there I was sure to be elected an apostle, or should +be, at any rate, a shining light in Mormondom-only I had taken my +wives in regular succession, and had not assembled the throng +together. I pushed across the plains, and went to California, +remaining a long time in San Francisco. This may have been +vagabondism, but it was profitable vagabondism to me. During this +long wandering I held no communication with my friends in the East; +friends and foes alike had an opportunity to forget me, or if they +thought of me they did not know whether I was dead or alive; they +certainly never knew, all the time, where I was; and while I was +journeying I never once met a man or woman who had been acquainted +with me in the past. All the time, too, I had plenty of money; +indeed, when, I returned at last I was richer far than I was when I +left Albany, and left as the common saying graphically expresses it, +"between two days." I had my old resources of recipes, medicines and +my profession, and these I used, and had plenty of opportunity to +use, to the best advantage. I could have settled in San Francisco +for life with the certainty of securing a handsome annual income. I +never feared coming to want. If I had lost my money and all other +resources had failed, I was not afraid to make a horse-nail or turn +a horse-shoe with the best blacksmith in California, and I could +have got my living, as I did for many a year, at the forge and +anvil. + +But I made more money in other and easier ways, and I made friends. +In every conceivable way my two years' wandering was of far more +benefit to me than I dreamed of when I wildly set out for the West +without knowing exactly where, or for what, I was going. The new +country, too, had given me, not only a fresh fund of ideas, but a +new stock of health--morally and physically I was in better +condition than I ever was before in my life. I had a clear head; a +keen sense of my past follies; a vivid consciousness of the +consequences which such follies, crimes they may be called, are +almost certain to bring. I flattered myself that I was not only a +reformed prisoner, but a reformed drunkard, and a thoroughly +restored matrimonial monomaniac. + +And when I returned, at last, to the East, and went once more to +visit my near and dear friends in Ontario County, I was received as +one who had come back from the dead. When I had been here a few +weeks, and had communicated to my cousins so much of the story of my +life as I then thought advisable, I took good counsel and finally +did what I ought to have done long years before. I commenced proper +legal proceedings for a divorce from my first and worst wife. I do +not need to dwell upon the particulars; it is enough to say, that +the woman, who was then living, so far from opposing me, aided me +all she could, even making affidavit to her adultery with the hotel +clerk at Bainbridge, long ago, and I easily secured my full and +complete divorce. Now I was, indeed, a free man-all the other wives +whom I had married, or who had married me, whether I would or no, +were as nothing; some were dead and others were again married. It +may be that this new, and to me strange sense of freedom, legitimate +freedom, set me to thinking that I might now secure a genuine and +true wife, who would make a new home happy to me as long as we both +should live. + +Fortune, not fate now, followed me, led me rather and guided my +footsteps. It was not many months before I met a woman who seemed to +me in every way calculated to fill the first place in that home +which I had pictured as a final rest after all my woes and +wanderings. From mutual esteem our acquaintance soon ripened into +mutual love. She was all that my heart could desire. I was tolerably +well off; my position was reputable; my connections were +respectable. To us, and to our friends, the match seemed a most +desirable one. It was no hasty courtship; we knew each other for +months and learned to know each other well; and with true love for +each other, we had for each other a genuine respect. I frankly told +her the whole story of my life as I have now written it. She only +pitied my misfortunes, pardoned my errors, and, one bright, golden, +happy autumn day, we were married. + +In the northeastern part of the State of New York on the banks of a +broad and beautiful river, spread out far and near the fertile acres +of one of the finest farms in the country. It is well stocked and +well tilled. The surrounding country is charming--game in the woods, +and fish in the streams afford abundant sport, and the region is far +away from large cities, and remote even from railroads. I do not +know of a more delightful place in the whole world to live in. On +the farm I speak of, a cottage roof covers a peaceful, happy family, +where content and comfort always seem to reign supreme. A noble +woman, a most worthy wife is mistress of that house; joyous children +move and play among the trees that shade the lawns; and the head +of the household, the father of the family, is the happiest of thee +group. + +That farm, that family, that cottage, that wife, that happy home are +mine-all mine. I have found a true wife and a real home at last. + +My story is told; and if it should suggest to the reader the moral +which is too obvious to need rehearsal, one object I had in telling +the story will have been accomplished. + +THE END. +The Project Gutenberg Etext of Seven Wives and Seven Prisons +by L.A. Abbott + + +******This file should be named svnwv10.txt or svnwv10.zip****** + +Corrected EDITIONS of our etexts get a new NUMBER, svnwv11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, svnwv10a.txt + +This etext was created by Charles Aldarondo (Aldarondo@yahoo.com). + +*** + +More information about this book is at the top of this file. + + +We are now trying to release all our eBooks one year in advance +of the official release dates, leaving time for better editing. +Please be encouraged to tell us about any error or corrections, +even years after the official publication date. + +Please note neither this listing nor its contents are final til +midnight of the last day of the month of any such announcement. +The official release date of all Project Gutenberg eBooks is at +Midnight, Central Time, of the last day of the stated month. 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