Nothing was now left W---- but to withdraw, with his friend. A challenge to mortal combat followed immediately. A meeting was the result, in which Westfield was severely wounded. This made public property of the whole matter; and as public feeling is generally on the side of whoever is sufferer, quite a favourable impression of the case began to prevail, grounded upon the denial of Westfield to the charge of improper intimacy with Mrs. Miller. But this feeling soon changed. The moment Mrs. Miller heard that Westfield had been seriously wounded by her brother, she flew to his bedside, and nursed him with unwearying devotion for three weeks; when he died of inflammation arising from his wound.
This act sealed her fate: it destroyed all sympathy for her; it was, in the mind of every one, proof positive of her guilt. When she returned home, the house was closed against her. An application for a divorce had already been laid before the legislature; then in session at Annapolis, and, as the inferential proofs of defection were strongly corroborated by Mrs. Miller"s conduct after the hostile meeting between Westfield and her brother, the application was promptly granted, with the provision of five hundred dollars a year for her support. The decision of the legislature, with information of the annual amount settled upon her, were communicated through the attorney of her husband. Her only answer was a prompt and indignant refusal to accept the support the law had awarded her.
From that moment she sank into obscurity with her child, and with her own hands earned the bread that sustained both their lives. From that moment until the day of her death, all intercourse with her family and friends was cut off. How great were her sufferings, no one can know. They must have been nearly up to the level of human endurance.
I learned this much from one who had been intimate with all the circ.u.mstances. He remembered the duel very well, but had never before understood the true cause. My informant had no knowledge whatever of Mrs. Miller from the time of her divorce up to the period of my inquiries. Miller himself still lived. I had some slight acquaintance with him.
Under this aspect of things, I hardly knew what course to pursue in order to raise the lad at Maxwell"s above his present unhappy condition. I entertained, for some time, the idea of communicating with his father and uncle on the subject; but I could not make up my mind to do this. The indignation with which they had thrown off his erring mother, and the total oblivion that had been permitted to fall upon her memory, made me fearful that to approach them on the subject would accomplish no good for the boy, and might place me in a very unpleasant position toward them. Thus far I had kept my own counsel, although the nature of my inquiries about Mrs. Miller had created some curiosity in the minds of one or two, who asked me a good many questions that I did not see proper to answer directly.
"The child is innocent, even if the mother were guilty." This I said to myself very frequently, as a reason why I should make every effort in my power to create an interest in favour of little Bill, and get him out of the hands of his master, who, in my view, treated him With great cruelty. In thinking about the matter, it occurred to me that in case Mrs. Miller were innocent of the derelictions charged upon her, she would leave some evidence of the fact, for the sake of her child at least. So strongly did this idea take hold of my mind, that I determined to question Bill closely about his mother as early as I could get an opportunity. This did not occur for several weeks. I then met the boy in the street, hobbling along with difficulty. I stopped him and asked him what ailed his feet. He said they were sore, and all cracked open, and hurt him so that he could hardly walk.
"Come round to my office and let me see them," said I.
"I am going to take these shoes to the binder"s,"--he had a package of "uppers" in his hand--"and must be back in twenty minutes, or Mr.
Maxwell says he will give me the strap." The boy made this reply, and then hobbled on as fast as he could.
"Stop, stop, my lad," I called after him. "I want you for a little while, and will see that Mr. Maxwell does not give you the strap.
You must come to my office and get something done for your feet."
"They are very bad," he said, turning round, and looking down at them with a pitiable expression on his young face.
"I know they are, and you must have something done for them immediately."
"Let me go to the binder"s first."
"Very well. Go to the binder"s. But be sure to come to my office as you return; I want to see you particularly."
My words made the blood rush to the child"s pale face. Hope again was springing up in his bosom.
In about ten minutes he entered my office. His step was lighter, but I could see that each footfall gave him pain. The first thing I did was to examine his feet. They were in a shocking condition. One of them had cracked open in several places, and the wounds had become running sores; other parts were red and shining, and much swollen, I dressed them carefully. When I came to replace his shoes, I found them so dilapidated and out of shape, as to be no protection to his feet whatever, but rather tending to fret them, and liable to rub off the bandages I had put on. To remedy this, I sent my man out for a new pair, of soft leather. When these were put on, and he stood upon, his feet, he said that they did not hurt him at all. I needed not his declaration of the fact to convince me of this, for the whole expression of his face had changed. His eyes were no longer fixed and sad; nor were his brows drawn down, nor his lips compressed.
"I think you told me that your name was Miller?" I said to him, as he stood looking earnestly in my face after the dressing of his feet was completed.
"Yes, sir," he replied.
"And that your mother was dead?"
"Yes, sir."
"I think you said that W---- was your uncle?"
"Yes, sir. Mother told me that he was my uncle."
"Is your father living?"
"I don"t know, sir."
"Did your mother ever speak to you about him?"
"No, sir."
"Then you can"t tell whether he is living or not?"
"No, sir; but I suppose he is dead."
"Why do you think so?"
"Because I never saw him, nor heard mother speak of him."
"You are sure your name is Miller?"
"Oh yes, sir."
"And that Mr. W---- is your uncle?"
"My mother said he was."
"Did you ever see him?"
"No, sir."
"Why don"t you go, to see him, and tell him who you are?"
"I asked mother, one day, to let me do so, but she said I must never think of such a thing."
"Why not?"
"I don"t know."
"And so you never went to see him?"
"No, indeed; mother said I must not." This was said with great artlessness.
"What became of your mother"s things after she died?"
"The woman we rented from took them all. Mother owed her, she said."
"Indeed! Where did you live?"
"In Commerce street, three or four doors from Mr. Maxwell"s. Mother rented a room up-stairs."
"Does the woman live there still?"
"Yes, sir."
"Do you ever go to see her?"
"No, sir; she won"t let me come into the house."
"Why not?"