, and so I yielded to her
wishes in the matter. Enfield was an expert in such matters, and, in a
short time, he brought Annie through in safety. She was recovering fast,
when one day, on entering her room, I found Pattmore there. I went out
instantly, as I was afraid to trust myself in the same room with him;
but, when he had gone away, I besought Annie never again to admit him to
her presence. She would make no promises, and finally, she fell back in
a swoon. On recovering, she said that she would die if she could not see
Pattmore, and I was obliged to drop the subject until she should become
stronger. Pattmore remained in town two days, and she insisted on having
him with her a great deal of the time.

"I fear that you will consider me very weak and foolish for permitting
this; but I have never been able to refuse Annie anything. I knew,
moreover, that, in such a case, harsh measures would only add fuel to
the flame, and so I continued to humor her, trusting, that in time, she
would gradually recover her normal condition, and see the folly of her
conduct.

"Pattmore told her, during his visit, that he was in great hopes of
receiving the democratic nomination to Congress; and, as the democratic
party had a large majority in that district, the nomination would be
equivalent to an election. He also said that his wife was in failing
health, and that she seemed to grow weaker every day. I could see by
Annie's manner, when she told me this, that she hoped to be Pattmore's
partner in enjoying the gay life of the National Capital, though she
did not say so directly.

"One day, she brought up the subject of wills, and said that she thought
every one owning property, ought to make a will. She said that otherwise
a man's property, in case of sudden death, might be eaten up by the
lawyers and court officials. I admitted the justness of her remarks, and
told her that I should follow her suggestion. I was obliged to go East
on business for a few days at this time, and, on the way, I left a
letter and package with Pattmore, which Annie had asked me to deliver.
While in New Haven, I employed Mr. Chapman to draw up my will. Lucy had
asked me to leave all my property to Annie, as she had enough for
herself and children, while Annie had no one to look to for an honest
support, except myself; accordingly, I made my will in that way.

"On my return to Chicago, I hurried to our boarding house to see Annie,
and, to my intense disgust, I