Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1870-04-25
HOME OF The FREE LOVERS.
RichardsOn's Late Resid dence-The
Heritage of the Woman who Lefs
Her Husband. t

Her ktusbaud.
From the New York SUM-
A couple of miles north of Newark, in
the modern suburbs of Woodside, and
near the banks Of the picturesque Pas
which A. d. Richardson, the gifted young
journalist fondly hoped to make his
home, and where, surrounded by every
comfort, with every luxury at immediate
command, and with the beauties of ma
ture and art combined to elevate the
tastes and dispositions of the children left
to his care by the faithful, loving and de-
voted wife of his early manhood, he could
pass away into quiet, satisfactory, and
enjoyable old age.
To-day the master rests in the clods OF
the valley, and the cause Of the terrible
tragedy-the woman whose first husband
lives wreck Of humanity, discarded for
the second, who now slumbers in the
grave-this unhappy woman is the mis-
tress of the house. And throughout the
populous suburb, which boasts but few
finer architectural ornaments than this
house, there are scarcely any neighbors
willing to acknowledge an acquaint-
ance, much less familiar intercourse,
with the seeming prosperous and fortu-
nate woman. Stunned like pestilence,
simple object of curious gossip, with
none to pay the respect and Difference
American women of character so uni
versally receive, Abby Sage Mcfarland,
reveling in the name and fortune of the
dead Richardson, has here her happiness
or misery, solitary, friendless, forlorn.
After interviewing small boy on the
road, the reporter proceeded to the cor
ner of May street, where the boy pointed
to the house and left him. The boy was
quite right in calling it a lane rather than
street. 1t boasted no sidewalk, was but
about thirty feet in width, and unpaved
The lane was perhaps six or eight hun
dred feet in length, terminating abruptly
at the base Of long low hill, recently
stripped of growth of forest trees
Near the base Of the hill, and nearly op-
posite the end of the lane, stood the villa.
The grounds in front were terraced ana
ornamented with few scrub eyergreens,
and carriage road curved gracefully to
the entrance gate. The inclosure en-
braced perhaps ten acres, all unlmproved
except that portion Immediately IN front
of the honse. The inclosure is the rough
est and plainest kind of board fence,
seriously dilapidated, and especially in
need of repairs at the gate, which seemed
to be wholly broken down.
The house is large and cheerful-look-
ing, though lacking the surroundings of
shade and ornamental shrubbery, which
had doubtless been designed to be sup
Piled in time 1t is two stories, with an
attic, and built of wood in the clustered
or conglomerate style peculiar to Ameri-
can rural architecture. Its features are
two gables, facing, respectively, to the
east and south, with square tower at
the intersecting angle, through which is
the main entrance The tower rises a
full story or sectiop above the roof of the
main building, with balconies at the up
per windows, thus furnishing fine OBJ
servatory, commanding an extensive
view along the charming valley of the
Passaic embracing the baronial castle
built by the lamented Phil. Kearney,
the outrageous retreat of Henry William
Herbert, known as the Cedars,'' and
others Of scarcely less pretentions, with
which the region abounds. The city of
Newark is also covered by the view, with
half a dozen smallboroughs or hamlets
in either direction.