Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1871-04-28

whole income, and consequently left his
family so poor at his death that the eX-
penses of his modest funeral, even, com
pletely exhausted his pitiful estate. 6ere!t
Of her husband the widow Hunt 1ouno
herself penniless in the word, WIN TWO
Tonng 1angbters and son looking to her
Tor snnnoTt and in this accumulation
~ Grief belpIessness and inordlnate re-
cnonsib ility, knew of naught else practl-
cahle than a removal with her three
charges to the city of New Orleans, where
lived some distant relatives of her late
husband, and where her son. at least,
might be able to enter into some employ
ment as an aid to the maintenance
of his sisters. To said city, then. alter
4 while, the Hunts removed, and, &C
cyrdiug to reports, lived there in
verv narrow circumstances for two or
thrcaI years. Drudgery and obscurity
might have continued TO be their lot
but for the more uncommon and far
less happy destiny Of one of the daugh-
terg, Miss Laura, who TO personal beauty
Of very striking type added mental char
acteristics in chronic revolt against her
irving domestic station in life. at sixteen
wears of age, this girl was as conscious of
her physical and intellectual fitness to
shine in the highest sphere of social exis-
tence as of the adverse worldly circum-
stances booming her to toll and hardshlps
injthe lowest, and, from the time of the re-
mo7al of the family to Louisiana. she
seems to have bent all her keenest facul-
ties upon a scheme for breaking the bonds
of adversely by the sheer strength of her
wit and beauty, and raising herself and
relatives to something like ambitious iv-
ing. It CHANGED that the impoverished
family, in the course of their petty trad
ing, became acquainted with rich whole
sale grocer named Strong. who, although
old enough to have been her grandfather,
suffered the attractions Of the young lady
To enthral his WidO1erS heart with sentl-
mental rapidity, and was tempted by her
amiable dcmeanor to offer her his hand In
marriage. If there is nothing in the pub
Iished record of this part OF Miss Hunts
life to show that she felt any particular at
lection for the sutton. there IS nothing to
Justify the idea that her acceptance of his
ardent suit was any more tainted with I'M
womanlv motives than are the matches of
convenience arranged in the most polite
society every year. 1t is but just to give
her the credit in this matter of the suppO
sition detracting the least from her char
acter for delicacy and average integrity.
Be that as it might have been, however,
nIr. Strongs offer was accepted, the mar
mage took place, and the bridegroom
money lifted the family temporarily to
comfortable circumstances Summonlng
common Christian charity to the qualltica-
ton of individual judgment again. it is
possible to believe that, it this matr1-
monial union had proved even
passably harmonious. the nature
of the young wife might have been pre-
served from any signal perverslon, and
her subsequent career undistinguished by
more follies and offences than ordinary
self ilIed women find indulgence for
every day; but, unhappily, soon after the
Wedding the husband was revealed as lit
tie better than drunken, despot1c savage,
who, in his frequent cups, treated his wife
with outright brutality. At first Laura
was oontented to know that her friends
understood the condition of affairs, and
sympathiZed with her as strongly as they
denounced her husband; but, being finally
exasperated into the bravado of pretend
ed Irritation by some particularly insulting
act of her husbands the latter's behavior
to her became 50 outrageous that she at
once left him and made application for
divorce, The suit never came to trial,
because Strong died of manis-a-potu while
il was pending; but, from the moment
If having resort to that remedy, Laura
seemed to cast aside all that there was OF
her better nature and become careless
alike OF the Judgments of God and man.
l;ecause her sister had married relative
of her late husband, she persuaded her
mother and other relatives to disown the
trifinQ degree ''made allowances" for the
deceased grocer, she abused and dehed
without stint while her spirit OF appre-
citation for those who had Internationally
championed her cause was extravagantly
evisced by her marriage with one of them
p gentleman named Grayson, in the first
month of her widowhood. By this act
she forfeited the regard of all her worthy
friends, and scarcely was the scandal over
at its flood when she left her second hus-
band for some wild reason never explained,
to mourn that he had ever known her,
and, it is said, TO commit gulclde. Be
come now thorough female outlaw and
adventurer, and possessed, apparently,
Of reckless determination to prey
upon all whom she coutd en-
snare into her let, she induced, or
rather commanded, her rather weak mind
ed mother and brother to go with her to
California, where, as she thought, the field
of her proposed depreda:ions might De
less circumscribed by the restraints OF So
cial civilization. It does not appear clear
" whether her third husband. Colone
Fair, was met and married by her In the
South before the California departure, OF
was amongst those first greeting her al
the mines - but it was certainly as
Mrs. Fair that the innocent and vivacions
Laura Hunt Of former times opened no
tel-the "Fajr House, in 1854 or 1856, IN
Virginia City, Nevada. The story Of this
marriage is enveloped in some mystery
The Colorado Ohieftain says that the brief
/ period had its scene in Donnlsvllle, Call
fornia, where, after many infe!icities, the
husband blew his brains out. and the wife
departed with his effects for San Francis
co. According to this account, it must
have been late in 1854, or early in 1855,
that the woman undertook the career of 81
actress on the stage of the metropolitan
Theatre in the City of the Golden Gate
Whatever the exact date of it, this new
venture did not attain sufficient success tt
last long. In the character OF Lady Tea
zle, however. Mrs. Fair was effective
enough to please, at least, one OF her au-
named Crittenden. who, forgetting his wifi
and family. secured an Introduction to tn
fair man-killer, and, from thenceforth, TO
some months, allowed her to prey upo'
him to the extent of many thousand o