She married her first husband, an infantry officer, for love, and ran away with him from her father's house.

She was exceedingly fond of her husband; but he gave way to cards, got into trouble and with that he died.

He used to beat her at the end: and although she paid him back, of which I have authentic documentary evidence, to this day she speaks of him with tears and she throws him up to me; and I am glad, I am glad that, though only in imagination, she should think of herself as having once been happy....

And she was left at his death with three children in a wild and remote district where I happened to be at the time; and she was left in such hopeless poverty that, although I have seen many ups and downs of all sort, I don't feel equal to describing it even.

Her relations had all thrown her off.