The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-02-08
THE SAD DEATH OF MRS. GOVERNOR
REYNOLDS.
A Detailed and Corrected Account.

| QeQtQl QeQtQ OF MIS-. INOWa6 "A. heS SuOluS, Tue
wife of Ex-Governor Reynolds, of Missouri.
Governor Reynolds, 1t will be remembered,
was born in Charleston, and Is the youngest
son of the late Geo. N. Reynolds, carriage.
maker In this city:
The interest which has been taken In the
sad end of Mrs. Reynolds justiHes the eorree-
| ton of some inaccuracies Ia the accounts
which have appearsd OF the circumstances at
tending 1t. Though she had long been an in
valid, her health had beeh almost entirely re-
stored during the past year; aud on Thursday
last she was In more than her usual strength
and good spirit, having attended mass at st.
| Johns Church early In the morning, and been
active In her domestic duties during the day.
After dinner she retired to her chamber, the
upper front room of the house, about three P.
| NJ, feeling drowsy from having sat up to a
late hour on the prevldus night Governor
| up stairs at half-past threb P. d. to take leave
of her for the afternoon, but finding her asleep
| on the bed, did not awake her, but left dlrec-
| tlols with her maid 10 make 10 noise and admit
no visitors to disturb her needed rest, but to
90 up to her room after awhile to see If she
required anything. About an hour afterwards,
the maid went to the door of her room and
seeing her sitting awake and engaged at her
| toilet before the fire, returned down stairs
About P. NJ, the barking of Mr.. R.s pet ter
rler upstairs alarmed the maid, who rushed
up and found Mrs. r. standing In the back
room of the house, with her dress In flames,
and both rooms apparently commencing TO
catch fire. She promptly gave her such aid
as was Immediately at hand, and running to
the adjoining porch, gave The alarm, which
brought aid to eXtlngulsh' the flames, and pro-
cure Mrs. R. medical assistance. Her hus-
band was then sent for aud hurried from hls
Office home.
The unfortunate lady was unable to account
for the origin of the fire 10 her dress, and said
that she had made no cry because she thought
she could extinguish 1t without aid. AS she
was of great courage and presence of MIND,
this was natural In her. To DR.. Webb she
stated that she at first supposed the house to
be on fire and endeavored to save 1t. After
wards, when calmer, she related to the Rev.
Fathers Ryan and Sautols and her husband,
that che had noticed her outer wOollen gown
was burning, aud had eItlng;lished the fire.
as she supposed; that subsequently she found
her lighter underclolhes blazing, and hurled
ly wrapped around her linen sheet to smoth-
er the flames, but this soon being In flames,
she threw 1t from her and ran through the
doors, which were kept constantly open, (fres
being kept up in all the rooms OF the house to
warm it throughout,) across the hall
to the back room, intending to exun-
guish the flames about her with q heavy
comforter which lay. on the bed there.
This was all she said, and no one then
thought of asking her where she was when
she discovered her danger. Even till after the
arrival of DR.. Webb she believed her Injuries
to be slight, although in fact they were 30 ter
rible that her hands and the surface of nearly
her entire person below the arms were badly
burned. The thick woo'len jacket she wore
tending outside of 1t, 30 that her neck, face
and hair remained wholly untouched. During
the whole time after the physicians had dressed
her burns, she said she felt no pain; the very
extent of her injuries had 30 completely para.
lived her nervous system that she suffered lit
tlSephysically. After her first nervous excite
ment was over. she remained calm and con-
slumber, che expired quietly in the arms OF
her husband, about ten minutes before two A.
NJ. of Friday last. Her countenance 10 death
is precisely as If she were still In quiet slum.
ber.
It was very clear that Mrs. Reynolds must
have been In O deep sleep when aroused by the
burning of her underclothes. and 1t was at
first believed that she had laid herself down
on the rug before the CRATE, and there fallen
asleep, but this did not accord with her usual
habitscor with her customary cautiousness in
regard to fire. Last Saturday friend of the
family suggested that the blanket which had
been on her bed should be replaced pre-
clsely In The position In which IT was before
the accident, aud as soon as this was done,
the matter became clear. Precisely where
her feet were when she was last seen lying
upon the bed, q large hole had been burnt In
the blanket, which was otherwise intact. I'm.
mediaiely after the accident 1t was observed
that the CRATE had been replenlshed With
coal from q light scuttle kept In the room for
the purpose. These facts, In connection with
her own statements, show that, while she was
putting some coal into the CRATE, her Woolten
dress had been burned; she had extlnguished
The ire. az she supposed, and again laying
herself upon the bed for renewal of her nap,
had fallen asleep. A spark or two concealed
In the woollen dress, at the bottom OF 1t,
slowly spread the fire In 1t and the blanket be.
low, and finally to her lighter underclothes,
until these getting into blaze, aroused her
from her sleep, too late 1or ner TO save ner-
self, or to be conscious at first of the precise
nature and extent Of her danger.
Mrs. Reynolds was the daughter OF Horatlo
Spraeue, ESQ.,, OF Massachusetts, for many
wears the leading merchant in the American
trade In the Mediterranean, aud United States
Consul at Gibraltar, aud his wife, q French
lady of the ancient family OF De La Flechelle,
of the noblesse OF Provence, tnrougn Wnom OF
she inherited the classic style OF beauty and the
exquisite grace and refined manners for which
the ladies of the land OF the Troubadours have
aIwavs been noted. Familiar from childhood
with the native languages Of her father and
mother aud that of the bulk OF the residents of
Gibraltar. She mad the singular advantage of
possessing, so to cay, three naive tongues,
and spoke English, French and Spanish with
elegance aud facility She had been carefully
educated at the convent OF the Sacred Heart
at Marseilles and by 1,.En an English governess ess
considerable, and although her great
religious TIi zeal and preference for retired
domestic life, in the mutually strong afee-
tlons of herself and her husband, led her to
avoid general society, she had many warm
friends and was perfectly idoIIzed by the nu-
merous poor to whom she delighted to be a
benefactress. She was married In 1s4s, at
Gibraltar, to Governor Reynolds, then re-
turning from the position he had d held ha
TTn,tsS States Iteration at Madrid Early In
1850 th they | selected this city for their perma-
nent home. The terrible blow 2,l which her m
more @ e readily imagined than described. They
had no children, and he stands alone in the
desolalion of bis home. The sad news of Mrs.
i to1p0raphp6 m pi o