Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1858-06-17
A Mystery UnfoIded.

gjt from uUcunlcntSs lOulu upon luHi, anu
1 from facts furnished. by his friends, of DR.
( John Pococke Holmes, the celebrated Eng
lish physician, whose wretchcd death al
Evansville, in this State, asexeited very
general interest, has. left a mystery about
the man, that will make the following eX-
planation of his sudden fall from celebrity
and aillucncc to poverty anlobscurity, inn
4 pressivc ani interesting. 1t is a sad tale,
one of the sadtiestswc have encountered
The Evansville Journal publishes the let
ter Of lady explaining the mystery:
DEAR SiR:-Your favor came duly
to hand. for which allow me to tender my
thanks, on behalf Of my friend, Mrs. Esther
Holmes 1t is well TO think kindly of our
! fellow beings; and it is also sometimes
well known that the Good Father does
not punish the innocent and good, by rem
dering themsolitary outcasts. 80.
- My knowledge of the poor fallen man,
cor4menced in the winter Of 1851 aud
1852 At the house of the mother of the
| present Countess of Harrington, [ frequent
ly met, among other agreeable guests, a
Mrs Holmes, whose intelligence and lib
erality Of sentiment soon won my high
esteem. Our acquaintance soon ripened
into intimacy. | supposed She was wild
ow, as L heard no mention made of her
husband. But one evening when at her
house l noticed a very fine bust, and on in
quiry. learned that it was her husbands,
DIR. John Pocock Holmes. She inquired
| If had ever met any one in America, who
reselnbled it, and then went on to inform
me that, if living, he was in America. In
confidence, she related to me a history of
her life, and especially of her connection
with DIR. Holmes. She could not bear to
tarnsll his reputation, for he had stood SO
high with the public, and she had herself
so venerated him that she had suffered
much in silence, rather than to expose him
to the just rigor of the law.
Ills open handed generosity, and pos
sibly profigaiei habits not SO well known,
had embarrassed him to eonsiderablee ex :
tent, and his wife had freely given him two
thousand pounds to relieve, as he said, a
temporary pressure, in his affairs She
had four thousand more in bank, SO secur-
ell that he could not draw it without her
signature He wished her to give him this,
but she told him, if Ire was really SO much
embarrassed, he had better let his creditors
settle his affairs (as he was notorious for
not collecting for himself and she had
better retain the small sum she had, for any
other emergency.
He was angry and in the hearing Of a
servant of her mothers. male some threats,
which were afterwards remembered. She
was taken with sick headache, and he adj
ministcrcd a potion, which he said would
soon relieve her, and went out She MOTTO
ell the plial from which he took it, anl OBJ
served that ittasted strangely She beg
cd him TO send her maid to her. But in
stead of doing SO, he went down and or
lercd her not to go into her mistress
room until she had slept an hour or two.
She became dcalthly sick and voinited
freely. The maid, q woman of a good
deal Of experience, came into the room,
perceived an odor, and inquired what she
had taken. She told her she did not know,
but pointed out the phial. She put it in
her bosom. an,l as soon as she could leave
her mistress, went to a chemists shop
and learned that it was a poison. Mrs
Holmes was, naturally a good deal alarm
ed, and as soon as she was able to ride,
went to her mothers The doctor did not
return till after She had left She felt
afraid to return, and her friend thought it
not best that he should do SO, until he
should make soma explanations. think
I,,- L., l..k 4 I
all the particulars. She was i'll for some
time, and when able to go out. went to the
bank to draw some money To her utter
astonishment. she learned that the Doctor
had been there with lady. .pcrsonating
herself, and had drawn the whole amount.
This money was property left her BY
a deceased friend, and the Doctor had new
Ier any claim to it. lie had promised her
a marriage settlement of f20, 900, which
he had never arranged. When she made
inquiry for him he had left, and was not
to be found; subsequently she traced him
to America through the aid Of, think, a
brother in-law of the distinguished Cheva-
lier Bunscn, whose family treated her with
great kindness. So the $4,000 he
brought with him was stolen from his wife,
and who could wendcr that his specula-
tions did not prosper. Beyond the State
of New York she had not been able to trace
him distinctly, though she believed he was
in the West. His motives she could new
er fanthom- His position was so high,
his pride ofeharacter so great, it was to
her maccountable. | should have before
stated that she was his second wife, and
the daughter Of a Danish gentleman, who
had married an English lady In his
youth he had been an intimate friend of the
Crown Prince of Denmark
Such is brief outline of the tragic tale
that | heard and ipromscd, if ever heard
of hinl, to communicate the same to her.
1 have done so, and given her your ad
dress, so that she may communicate with
Won, If desired. Yours truly,Is ~ =
ssl easi iia tsadxs "a a5fvsII. Af.sTses 4
sasassThe Future of Abe GsiisPe. tev
: Awritersinstlse New Osleaass Delfas thus
speakssd theo anissipns, [ af ssteam snusic.-
s Believing nansie to 4c a.ssvi lixer as well
as a joy, iztvef the.esfhiapess Ehe inven-
tlena.although new rudes and inchsete oau-