New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1873-01-05
NEW ORLEANS, NEMESIS.
George Alfred T0wnse ends Sketch of MIR
Gaines

| tTAlnes.
George Alfred Townsend, who was re
Gently in this city, has written some very
readable sketches, none, however, mcsce 81
| than this from the Chicago Tri6Wne
Mrs. Gaines is the great female character
| in New Orleans. She is q small, plump
bright eyed woman, and she has been the
| heroine of a very heroic lawsuit, which she
has personally conducted, raising money fol
| the purpose to the amount OF SoUU,V0O, re
covering nearly 81 900, 600, and with all the
probabilities in her favor of getting $1,000,
| 900 more But if she were to get what she
would receive under other conditions than
=. those of democratic public opinion, she
would possess half the city of New Orleans
| in its most valuable part, and be wealth
Ter woman than Miss Burdett-COutts, whom
Wellington endeavored to marry out OF
| covetousness to her fortune.
The home of this lady is in New York
! city, but she spends much of her time il
! New Orleans, where she has strong trends
| and strong enemies, almost equal IN mum
| Der. Her suit has involved many of her in
innate friends, from whom she has Dor
r0wed money TO pay lawyers, ices and court
| fees. Her second husband. General Gaines,
| believed implicitly in the merits OF her case,
and gave her 100000 TO fight it out. She
has been twice married, and to excellent
men both times; and / was told there that
| the brother of her first husband had helped
her with nearly the whole of his funds.
| There is a dash, piquance and nimbleness
| about this woman which distinguishes her
| as one of the queens of her sex. She is said
| to be about sixty years old, but would pass
| for forty; and, while her education Is de-
| fectiye, she is a natural authOress and law
YER and can write singing brief where
sauce and justice are mixed together.
She is lust the sort of woman to be iden-
tilted with New Orleans-provincialism and
cosmopolitanism mingling in her as among
many of these old ha6itanS. Her mother
had married French bigamist, and, dis
covering the fact after she reached New
Orleans, presumed 10 marry again the great
Daniel Clarke, who was one OF the wealth
lest men of the South He was one OF the
earliest property holders in New Orleans,
and represented that Territory in Jetfer-
sons administration. Clarke was smitten
with the beauty of the French lady, and
contracted secret marriage with her
made secret in order to anticipate
divorce from his French predecessor.
But, while he was absent in Washing
on City, his rel atives and connections,
who had expected to get his money, told
him that his wife was unfaithful, and hired
her lawyer to tell her that her marriage
with Clarke was not legal. Having nat
ural affection for man, the French lady pro-
posed to take third husband. This of
Tended Clarke, and it seemed to confirm
the lies which had been said against this
lady; and meantime his daughter was born
the present Mrs. Gaines-for whom he
maintained affection, so that, while he let
his wife slide, he gave very considerable
sum of money to a man in Wilmington,
Delaware, to be used and applied to the ed
ucatiOn of his daughter, and, at her ma
turity, to present her with the principal.
Thus the banks of the Brandy wine, where
Lafayette Thomas, Harry McC0mb, and
your humble correspondent spent their
youth, became the playground of the future
Mrs. Gaines. AS they had no penitentiary
in the State, and never whipped white peo-
pie at the post, the custodian of the baby
saw no business reason why he should not
squander her money. He did squander it,
and history has made no mention of the in
Vulnerable fried chickens, roast capons and
deyiled crabs which this unfaithful guar
dian deyOured out Of the inheritance of the
babe in the woods. Mr. Crossdale. who
is the best journalist in Delaware: some
time ago collected the story of Mrs. Gaines
childhood in Wilmington, and it was pub
Eshed, over another name, in the Galaxy
Magazine.
When the guardian had squandcred all
the money, and both his liver and CON
science were disordered. some faint recol-
lection OF her childhood inspired a dream
in the little ward.
She dreamed that her father was another
person than the man she called father: that
he was rich and alive in a distant State
among negroes, molasses and such other
things as children like. She came down to
breakfast the next morning, where the I'M
faithful guardian was thinking. FL q morose
way how fortunate it was for him that the
State had no .penitentiary, and how unfor-
tunate that there were no other little girls
to be let out with endOwments. Unhappy
Delawarian For him no longer the fried
oyster gamboled or the chicken fIicaseed!
While he was thinking over this thing the
little girl told her dream. He Immediately
tainted, and they had to borrow some old
Delaware rye next door, to bring him to
consciousness.
As he came to, ne said: "Myra (he pro-
noGnced it Myrie, as did the future gallant
husband of the little girl, who has been
putting that nonsense into your head - He
answered his own question by c0nfessing
like an honest criminal in one of the fairy
books.
The little girl was at once put in posses
sion Of law snit She became a heroine
married two husbands, and had living
grandchildren. Both her husbands were
devoted men, who believed in. her claim
She does the same, tighteng it out
have theory that natures chief use for
us in this life is employment; and that, like
the flies which convert into healthy motion
the modification and decay in the atmos-
phere, we are all right enough when some
thing is givenus to do. But nature makes
a very unhappy fig OF US when she leaves us
a vast lawsuit, and, at the same time, i'm
presses us with the fact that we are after
our rights. Who would know much about
Daniel Clarke, or the man in Delaware if
it were not for Mrs. Gaines