The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-01-15
THE PRODIGALS.
The Rev. Cooke Still n Wanderer-The Church
tisterhoed Of Course Lets Itself Oat ON Miss
Juhr stun.

sistcrhoed of Course Lets Itself Oat ON Miss
Juhr ston.
To-day's New York Herald has an additional
chapter upon the Cooke scandal
The sensation of mystery vet remains
around the clerical scandal. "Where is Mr..
Cooke 2" and "Where was Mr.. Cooke and Miss
Johnston during the four days?" is knowledge
sought with avidity, but answers to these ques-
tions are at present among the things not gene
rally known.
THE FEMALE PRoDIGAL.
Miss Johnston is at her fathers house, suffer-
ing still from the reaction consequent upon the
excitement of the last week and the notoriety
she has so unwittingly obtained. All who have
known her, either as fellow school teacher or
as O member of the church and congregation
speak of her maidenly modesty and the unlike
lihood of her being temptress to her clerical
adviser. Mr.. Johnston's family is greatly re-
spected by the society and congregation of the
Seventh Street Methodist Church, and Miss
Matte was the last young lady in the church
whom any one of its members would have sus-
pected OF an escapade of this kind.
Matte does not obtain so irreproachable tes-
timonial from her 'sister" friends. Feminine
loveliuess, when it attracts to itself the passion
ate devotion of prominent distinguished, and
handsome man, especially when that man is a
gushing clergyman, is sure Incentive to the
arousing of womans green-eyed jealousy, and
consequent inuendoes andahints that the erring
sister could not be any better than she should
be.
One of these ladies, who certainly had long
since passed the years where the maiden and the
woman meet, was whitening in her pantomimic
sneers at Miss Johnston being described as so
very young and so very innocent. Young, in
deed! why she will never see twenty any more.
She knew what she was about. Innocent, in
deedl / should like to know what she went to
his study for, unknown to his wife" And SO,
byinuendoes that may mean anything or nothing,
they take their little revenge upon poor Matte for
being SO unfortunate as to take "our pastors"
fancy.
THE INTERREGNUM.
The filing up of the period from Saturday to
Tuesday by statement that Mr.. Cooke and
Miss Johnston went to Railway, N. j., from
Philadelphia, receives no confirmation from her
friends though it is not unlikely to be correct.
Miss Johnston seems TO have had very little of
the society of her clerical admirer from the time
they left New York, and the evident Indifference
shown by her as to Mr.. Cookies whereabouts is
strongly confirmatory of her innocence. With
the present limited knowledge of how Mr.. Cooke
and Miss Matte spent the four days, the only
satisfactory conclusion to arrive at is that Miss
Johnston has had very narrow escape, and
that she has been the victim of youthful pas
sion which led her into very serious indis-
cretion.
WHERE is MIR. COOKE?
Yesterday evening Mrs. Cooke had no more
idea where her truant husband was than any
other inhabitant of the city of New York. From
the night Of his return up to last night she had
never seen him nor heard anything more of him
IMAM l0uC WHICH mas D6eU communicated LQTOuRn
the newspapers. All that either any of his or
her friends knew was that when he left the
Tombs, young man, one of the members of the
church, went with him to Broadway restau-
rant and there breakfasted together On coming
out Mr.. Cooke said to his young friend,
"Now | don't want you to go with me, and,
putting out his hand, he bid the young
man "Good-bye." The latter went on to
idea of where Mr.. Cooke went. When they
parted he supposed Mr.. Cooke would go to his
home, to his wife and son. That he did not do
this is very certain, and his departure or his
hiding away leaves a very large margin for con-
lecture, and all kinds of stories are atoat. Each
is quite as reliable as the other, and all equally
alike unworthy of belief Those who know Mr..
Cooke best are convinced that he is not likely to
have come to an untimely end and they believe
that he will turn up" in the course of q few
days melancholy, repentent prodigal, worn out
by the stiEgs of remorse and outraged con-
science.
THE ISFATUATIoN OF PASSION.
Were it not an every day occurrence for a
man to blight the fairest prospects in order that
master passion may ride triumphantly like a
juggernaut car over his entire moral nature, it
would have been a marvel that Cooke should
have been so blind to his own earthly interest as
to do what he has done. He was the idol OF
his church and congregation. he was ad-
mired and respected, and this admiration and
respect took the substantial form of a
salary of $4,000, parsonage, coal, wood,
| gas, and other perqulsltes, besides church
fees that yielded q very respectable addi-
tion to the salary. His church was Increasing
| in the number Of its members; he was in the
middle Of "a revival" in the society, and out
wardly all was well. This cancerous, fostering
spot of an Illicit love has blghted ALL and, for a
| time, has done harm to the common cause oil
protesting Christianity. Mr.. Cookies congrega.
tion speak highly of his preaching. His SER
mons were attractive and were enjoved by al
classes of his hearers. The only noticeable fea
| ture has been that of late there has been wan
of spiritual tone in many of his sermons
though not SO marked as to provoke muct
| remark.
| MRS. COOKE.
| Mrs. Cooke, with her son Baldwin, who seems
o clever boy, of about sixteen years of age, lef
the parsonage yesterday afternoon for he
mothers house at Williamsburg. The churcl
does not intend to desert her. A subscription
has been started which has met with very libe
raj response, and for time, at least, Mrs. Cook,
will be placed in position that will preventhe
from seeking any outside assistance beyond tina
of her friends In the meantime it is hoped tina
her misguided and infatuated husband will hav'
been able to adjust himself to the ordinary rela
tions of life and become bread winner for hi
family.