The Illegal Marriage — page 41: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE ILLEGAL MARRIAGE. 33 anger had died away, or had settled into an intense hatred for the whole race of preachers. Two or three times Guerry tried to make friends with Morgan, and each time came near a personal collision with him. But though hating him, Morgan still cherished his love for Mattie Allen. (Guerry came to live in the Echaconnee settlement, where he preached every other Sunday, and where a large family grew up. But they were very poor. From several persons Morgan learned the struggles of his old love, and more than once he secretly sent her large sums of money. It was not until many years later that she found out the anonymous donor. Until upward of forty, Morgan lived in his castle entirely alone, but finally married a pretty-faced country girl, the daughter of a poor farmer in the neighborhood. It was no small thing for this humble girl to marry so wealthy a planter as Morgan, and she felt that the dower of heauty which she brought him was but a poor return for the honor he had done her. What- ever her husband might be to others, he was kind to her for the first few months of their wedded life, and had provided liberally for all her family. But her happiness was of short duration. In less than a year Morgan had taken to drink again, and all the wild passions of his youth returned. With hopeful resignation the meek woman bore with him, but despair grew upon her as his cruelty increased. ‘Time and time again he had struck her in his drunken fits, and as often had she forgiven him for it. She made no confidantes in her sorrow, but buried all in the depths of her heavy heart. Even when about to become a mother Morgan had struck her a cruel blow across her still hand- Eomichboo “S (Elo)