The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1866-07-03
Strange Revelations-A City Onleial


! America.
Various and exaggerated reports are in
circulation concerning Colonel J. II. Blood,
City Auditor, to correct which and inform
the public Of the truth we give the follow.
ing statement Of facts, derived from au-
thentic sources:
Colonel Blood was a gallant officer, and
commanded the Sixth Missouri Infantry in
the late war. Retiring from the army at
the close Of his three years enlistment, he
found many friends to take him by. the
hand and assist him in every way:s4His
character was without reproach, and he
was elected City Auditor, and also re-
ceived the lucrative appointment Of presi-
dent Of the st. Louis Railroad Company,
with salary Of three thousand dollars o
year. He had saved money in the army,
and was regarded as an excellent business
man. He had acquired fortune Of some
thirty thousand dollars and in time might
have become one Of our wealthiest citi-
zens.
| But the spell Of the enchantress was laid
upon him, and he fell from the path Of recti-
tude, as falls bright star in the evening
and disappears behind the horizon. When
the spiritualists began to inculcate their
strange and fascinating doctrines in the
city, Colonel Blood early became con-
vert, and at this time is president of the
society of spiritualists in the city. Let
it be understood that his late erratic con-
duct was not the result of the teachings
of the spiritual philosophy for that phi
losophy is founded on morality and honesty.
1t is only the pretended spiritualist-the
travelling female "mediums and doc
| tresses-who practice immortality and lead
others to the commission Of sin; the char
latans who humbug the public by pre-
tended manifestations, like those fChurch,
Foster, and others. The true spiritualist
dsdans these scnseless exhibitions.
Some two years ago, Colonel Blood, in
his intercourse with the spiritualists, be-
came acquainted with certain Madam
Holland, who had an office on Washington
asc1i,lc, and advertised that she could
effect wonderful cures of female COM
plants by means of clairvoyance, sc. Colo
mel Blood's wife, an estimable lady, whom
he married in Massachusetts,, was an inva-
lid, and he took her to this Madam Holland
for medical treatment. Some time after
this visit to the Witch of Washington ave-
nue., Colonel Blood's friends became uneasy
on account of his frequent visits to the
siren, and demonstrated with him about
his extravagant gifts of money to her.
They represented that the woman was of
bad character, whose only object was to
draw money from him; but he insisted that
she was good woman, and promised to re-
trench his lavish expenditures. He readily
admitted that his conduct as a husband
was very wrong, and frequently promised
to reform, but the moment he came into
the presence of the cnchantress he seemed
to have no will of his own, and yielded to
her command like q slave or child. His
wife returned from visit to the east last
summer, and hearing Of the conduct of her
, husband, called on Madam Holland to per-
suade her to break Off her connection with
her husband. The shameless woman in
formed the yrtuous wife that she had a
claim upon her husband as his wife, and
satisfied her that she was actually married
| to him.
Upon making this discovery, Mrs. Blood
refused to live with her husband, and pre-
pared to take the necessary steps for OBJ
tanning a divorce. Her friends dissuaded
her, hoping that matters might be recon-
| cied. They succeeded in inducing the
| Madam to leave the city, but not until she
had bankrupted her victim and blasted
! the happiness of virtuous wife forever.
She was a very cormorant, and continually
demanded money. She sometimes received
as much as five thousand dollars at time,
and was still unsatisfied.
During these two eventful years Colonel
Blood became fascinated with another
blood.sucker, frail woman from Brooklyn,
NY. She received portion ofhis fortune
as the pay of hired prostitute, although
she too claims that she is married to him.
This woman pretcnds to be respectfully
connected; and no doubt her people are
honest, but for herself she has no excuse.
On account of these irregularities Colo
mel Blood lost his position as president OF
the railroad company, and his confidential
friends felt it to be their duty to advise
those who were doing business with him to
be on their guard. The clairvoyant held
the marriage certificate in terrOrem over
his head, and the fate Of bigamist stared
him in the face. There was no hope for
him TO redeem his squandered fortune, for
if he escaped the Scylla of Brooklyn he
would be sure to be wrecked upon the
Charybdis of Washington avenue. He
therefore concluded that the only course
left for him was to leave the country, and
start life anew in South America. Ac-
cordingly he procured from the Mayor a
leave Of absence for twenty days, and on
Monday last left the city. He left his re-
signation in the hands of a friend, to be
handed in after a certain time. We are
assured that he took no woman with him,
and ifMadam Holland is with him now, she
met him at some other place.
In regard to the debts of Colonel Blood,
we are informed that his account as audi
tor is all correct. He left note for three
thousand seven hundred dollars, for which
some provision has been made. His debts,
it is thought, are not large, and the money
he squandered was his own.
! The news Of Colonel Blood's strange con-
duct created great surprise among those
who knew him. Nothing but the infatua-
ton induced by an attempt to look into the
secrets of nature could have so weakened
his intellect as to make him fall prey to
the Vaccinations of designing and unprin-
cipled women. He forgot the holy ties
that bound him to his family, adopted as
his motto
!" Eat. drink, and love-what can the rest avail us
So said that ancient sage Sardanapalus."
But is not to be inferred that all spirit
ualists are Madam Hollands, or that all
who believe in the New Church are sus-
ceptible Of being led astray like Colonel