The tri-weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1866-1868, 1866-04-07

The institution of suit Of divorce ly
Mrs. John \. kasson against her husband
and their final separation, has excited some
attention during the past three weeks, bat
still has not received that attention from tie
press which its importance would seem 10
demand. The prominence OF tlr. kasso:i,
his we'll known ability and influence in tie
councils of the nation, which all cOncede,
and the length of time he has been before
the public in high Official position, together
with the ama!,ility, beauty and lovely dis
position of his wife, all conspire to make It
a casue of more than ordinary moment. The
facts have not yet been published IN full, an
now. since the parties have agreed to an aTi:
icable separation, it is doubtful if they ever
see the light, further than are now known.
For this reason, we collect such as have been
made publc-and present them in a contln-
uous narrative, though OF course not oble 20
give so full an account as presence i'll the
town where they reside would alfur,.
Mr.. and HIrs. NasS0n have been married.
we are told about fifteen year7. He is, we
believe, a native OF Alabama, certainly of
some Southern State, but moved from there
many years ago. He has spent good deal
of his time in Washington, where he became
acquainted with and married his wife. Her
maiden name was Caroline Elliott; her
mother still resides in Washington unless
lately removed. Mrs. K. has Il brother il
ST. Louis. where he is pastor of a church.
This marriage has never been blessed with
any children, and it is believed that in this
fact .to be found, remotely or directly, no
small part of the cause of the present trouble.
Mr.. KassOn, during the first part of Mr..
Lincoln's term. vas First Assistant POstmas-
ter to Mr.. Blair. but he resigned the place in
1863. when he was elected to Congress from
the Fifth District o. this State. He had
made his home at Desmoines for several years,
where lie has pleasant little homestead
His wife mad usually accompanied him to
Washington, but this winter she did not 90
for some unexplained reason. It would ap-
pear. however, that at his departure he had
no suspicion of her. nor if he was guilty, did
he suspect that she had any knowledge of
it, for he left much the largest part of his .
ready money with her. /
While he was absent in Washington this .
winter, Mrs. KassOn not only heard, but it
would seem obtained evidence that he
was guilty oI violating his marital VOWS
Who with. however When or where, is not
known, and probably viii not be made pub
lie 1t is said, however, that the lady III
question was indiscreet enough to write him
a letter that contained good many things I
friendly epistle should not contain, and this,
of course, was miscarrieCi, and finally came
into Mrs. kasspns possession, and it Is pre-
sumed that this contained the evidence of
his sin. Be this as it may, she considered .
her wrongs too g:ievOus to be borne and .
with a full knowledge of all She and he must
both sacrifice, she determined to institute
and petition for divorce was
drawn up, but we cannot learn that it was
ever fled. This about the middle OF
February. Of course it would not long be
kept secret, and when started it travelled
fast Its first public announcement we think
was contained in dispatch published on
the morning Of February 90. Mr.. Kasson
was at once informed OF the state of aff;.irs
and started for home. 1t will be recollected
he was charged i'll some OF the papers with
lodging on some of the important votes ia
ken that week in Congress, but it now APP
pears that he was speeding away for Iowa as
fast as possible in matter that affected him
much more deeply and nearly than the mat
tiers he was leaving behind, important as
they were.
The result is already announced. He ar
rived at home, had an interview with his
wife, it is said, acknowledged his guilt; she
laid down the terms; he agreed to them
they resolved upon an amicable separation;
legal proceedings, if any II I'd been instituted
were dropped, and he is now on his return to
Washington. The lovers of scandal, and
those eager for the prurient development of
such divorce cases, are disappointed, and in
Il short time the whole thing will have passed
from the public mind.
This is the prevalent view Mr. Kasson,
of course, has many and warm friends who
do not and cannot believe those things true
of him, and they allege that his enemies in
his own party, who were offended at his
public action, and especially those who are
jealous of his power and popularity, have
operated upon Sirs. K, and magnifed what,
perhaps, were only slight indiscretions into
great wrongs, until they have ooaded her on
to do what she has done. How this suppo-
sition will be made to hinge with his action
while on a visit to Des Moines does not ap-
pear, One account says he appeared in open
court in Warren county, and plead guilty to
the allegations of infidelity, whereupon
decree was entered in accordance with the
prayer Of Mrs. Kasson's petition, but this is
doubtless an error.
1t is said that Mr. and Mrs. Kasson
had always manifested remarkable affcc-
ton for each other. They were attentive
and considerate of each other as lovers: she
was proud OF his talents, his open address.