Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1872-02-25
WASHINGTON GOSSIP.
sErs wharton's Special TroubIes-He
Coming Trial-WashlngtOn Rear

| Mrs WhartOn's Special Iron bles-HeE
Coming TriaI-WashlngtOn Bean.
ties.
''Gatho writes from Washington to the
Chicago Tribune as follows:
The Wharton social quarre. ext, nd
10 Washington, and as so much has be, n
said about the Van Ness family, it is now
alleged that they propose to reverse their
former decision and press the State author
tiles OF Maryland to try Mrs. Wharton for
the attempt to poison young Van Ness. If
convicted of this charge, term of impris-
onment, and not death, would be the pen
atty. The testimony upon the Van Ness
case is said to be more startling and definite
that In the Ketchum tragedy. Van Ness
says that he had never been asked, in all
his acquaintance with Mrs. Wharton, to
drink anything until the particular time
when she asked him to have some claret.
He drank but little of this, and cried out it
was bad, and then started to go home, only
short distance away; ne was seized with
blindess, and experienced a sensation as if
the back of his neck had been pinched in a
vice and then lifted up. Cropping along
like drunken man, he was able to reach
bis door step and ring the bell. As the door
was opened, he fell forward in his hall, and
knew no more for several days. The first
thought on recovery was to send word to
Mrs. Wharton not to give any more of that
claret to any body, because it must have
been that which made him sick. When
Van Ness got out again his relatives had the
idea that he had been sun-struck; but i'm
mediately after repairing to Mrs. Wharton's
she invited him to drink of another bever-
age. he felt the same pains coming on
him as before, and almost Immediately start
ed for the front door. "Where are you
goin92" cried Mrs. Wharton. "Don't stop
me" said Van Ness; ''that thing is coming
on nae again." He groped bis way along
the hall, but, before he could put his hand
on the front door-knob, he reeled and fell
into the hall, and was dragged into the
parlor, where he laid for week suffering
nausea, vomiting, and the agonies of in
ternal fire during the whole period of
Ketchum's sickness, who meantime died
above stairs. During his sickness it is al
legged that Mrs. Wharton frequently prepar
ed his medicine, and everytime he drank of
her preparation, his awful agonies returned;
while, fed by his own family he recovered
at last. 1t was at this time the milk punch
was rendered him which, when thrown out
contained the sediment of tartar-emetic all
around the bottom. Social circles are bad,
ly exercised, besides, over the fact that Mrs.
Wharton had assumed degree of wealth
which she never possessed, and her
former companions, to whom she
said she had income of S20,-
900 year, are loud in denunciation of her.
Old Gen. Brice, Ketchum's brother-in-laW,
hairr fba N,Il
the matter with severity and goes three
times day to drink his Vichy water.
WASHINGTON BEAUTIES.
A good deal is written from Washington
about society's beauties. There are some
pretty women here, but much of the praise
buttered over pretty persons is merely
maudlin. Poor Madame Catac3zy exper-
fenced the inconsistency of this wild lauda-
ton. Where she first arrived, her photo
graph was in every window; and, whenever
she attended a reception circle ofmen and
women stood around her to see little Cata-
cay adjust her laces or throw her shawl
over her shoulder. The last seen of this
unfortunate victim of female admiration
was the afternoon before she left Washing
ton, when, with her husband, she rode down
the avenue in melancholy way, with the
golden sheen of her remarkable hair waiv-
ing; and then, scarcely was her back turn
ed when the Washington clearinghouse
keepers and newspaper reporters were rum
maging over her boudoir and picking up
shoestrings for souvenirs. Reduced to COM
nonsense avoirdupois, the Madame was
cold-eyed, keen-featured, rather vOluptuous
English blonde, who could get herself up in
a stunning way, but was sometimes weary
and faded looking, and, at home, was quite
an ordinary house-keeper. Love, which be-
gins with an intrigue, is therefore forced in
to a certain uneasy prominence, and often
hangs on longer than a good love. Cata-
cay, deeply enamored of his wife, is yet
perpetually piqued that society is content
with looking upon her, but never wholly
embraces her.