The Trials of the Soldier's Wife: A Tale of the Second American RevolutionAbrams, Alex. St. Clair (Alexander St. Clair)
History
The Trials of the Soldier's Wife: A Tale of the Second American Revolution
Abrams, Alex. St. Clair (Alexander St. Clair)
Confederate States of America -- Fiction; United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Fiction
"There is yet another subject I will speak on. The two men who have
figured so conspicuously in this case as the cause of this lady's
sufferings, cannot be allowed to pass unnoticed. Mr. Elder is a well
known gentleman of this city and has hitherto borne an irreproachable
character. Did he not stand silent when accused of inhuman conduct
towards this lady, I should hesitate to believe him guilty of such an
atrocity. But as his silence is indicative of guilt, the horrible
nature of his act comes before us with great force, and we shudder to
think that any one wearing the form of humanity could so far debase
the mind as to turn a helpless woman and dying child from a shelter
because she had not the means of paying her debt. In so doing, Mr.
Elder has displayed the spirit of the extortioner, and must feel all
the stings of conscience which haunt the mind of a murderer, should
his heart be not too much hardened already. He has acted a worse part
than a murderer, for the assassin kills his victim through revenge, or
at the worst, for pay. Here, Mr. Elder--a possessor of wealth and not
needing the money--turns a tenant from his roof because she is
penniless. I say nothing against him for doing so, for it was an
indisputable right of his, but when we view the brutality of the
act--when we think of the hardness of the heart that could not
commiserate with the situation of Mrs. Wentworth--that was deaf to the
appeals of a mother--blind to the illness of her child--the soul
sickens with horror at the knowledge that a mortal so debased--so
utterly devoid of the instincts of humanity which govern a
brute--should exist on the earth. But the mask of religion is now torn
from his face, and we see his own lineaments. Henceforth the scorn of
all generous, minds will he receive, and turned from the respectable
position he once held, must reflect on the inevitable exposure of the
hypocrite some day, sooner or later. I shall leave him to the scorn
and indignation of all good men. From them he will receive that
punishment which his brutality, caused from his extorting spirit,
deserves.
"And for Mr. Swartz, the accuser of this lady, I can see but little in
extenuation of his conduct. If his business is even illegitimate,
there are so many speculators in the South that it should not cause
surprise that his refusal to aid this woman necessitated her taking
his money. The speculator cannot be expected to have a heart tender
enough to perform a charitable act. The man who will speculate on the
necessities of the people, is not likely to feed the hungry. It is too
true that many good men have been drawn into the vortex of
speculation, but these are few in number and are isolated cases.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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