Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1874-08-27


made her mark in the world Of letters
CARD FROM THE FATHER.
, From Hardlngs Paper, the Indianapolis sun
day Heraid.l
Under the advice Of my attorneys,
have concluded to make no detailed
statement in regard to the shooting az
fair OF last Thursday, or the cause which
led to it. Believing, however, thet the
public will expect something, I will say
this much: The ruin of my daughter
was accomplished under circumstances
Of unusual airocity, showing unparal-
leled baseness aud tTeaehery. A EnOwI-
edge of the circumstances was conveyed
to me in a confession the night before
the shooting, which confession SUISSE
quent events have invested With all the
sanetity and solemniiy OF death-bed
| revelation. / met the person vino had
done this fanl wrong to my daughter 3
/ few moments sfCer learning that she
would inevitably die from the effects OF
a deadly drug, taken by her while tenn
porarily erazed by regzet for the past,
shame Ion the present and despair for
! the future. | met him by the merest
| chance. No, ii was not chance. It
! was fate. The public know the re-
suit. When the case comes to trial
| they will know more of the causes. I
am sincerely grateful for the kindness
and sympathy which the citizens of In
| dianapolis have extended to me in this
overpoweriDg afiiiction. But, writing
in the presence Of the dead body of my
child, with this crushing weight of
shame and sorrow upon me, feel as if
sympathy, and even life itself, were Of
no avail. One word more and am
done. 1t has been represented that for
years an extraordinary friendship had
e1 listed between me and this person.
This is only partly true. For years he
has prnfessed the warmest and most I'M
selfish friendship for me, and 1 have felt
kindly toward him, because lie seemed
to be sincere in his friendship; but |
never regarded him as a friend, ana the
public have derived their impressions Of
the intimacy between Us from his own
talk, rather than from my actions.
never trusted him but once, and
that confidence was regretted even
before it was proven to have
been misplaced. l frequently called
on him at his place of CIjsiness in a bu-
siness capacity, simply to get such mat
ter SIS serves to pad out the local column
Of a newspaper. He more frequently
sought me when his society Was un-
welcome, and only tolerated b. cause I
dlsliked to affrOnt man who seemed to
have regard for me. He was not a
visitor at my house, and my wife, |
though she liked his wife, never visited
at his house because of the disgust with I
which he inspired her. This will ap-
pear to be trivial matter to mention |
st such time, but l cannot, without |
shudderiDg horror, remember the inti- /
macy between US, limited as it was, and I
am anxious that the public should think I
it no greater than it really was.
GEO. c. HARDING. I
THE FUNERAL OF MISS FLORA HARDING. /
From the indianapolis SentineI1
The funeral of Miss Harding unex-
pectediy took place yesterday afternoon,
from the residence on Pratt street. The /
house was well filed with friends, but 4
nothing like what it would have been
had it not been supposed the services
would occur this morning. The remains
were inelosed in fine rosewood casket
and placed in the center Of the front
room. Mrs. Morris, the mother of Miss
Harding (who was divorced from Mr..
Harding q number Of years ago,
and since marriedl, sat at
the head of the casket, while
Mr.. Harding and his family sat I
at one side. Several prominent citizens
were also present. The services were
conducted by Rev. J. II. Bayliss,
who read most appropriate scriptural
lecture, and made a touching though
brief address. The reverend gentleman
first read Eeciesiastes xii, and Gospel of
st. John, xiv. The services were very
short, the remarks veTging on an
and not in the
least commentary. He said that it
was peculiar ease. and that he did not
know that anything could be said beside
offering comfort to the bereaved family
and friends in the Savior. The friends
Of the deceased, said the preacher, know
all her amiable and endearing qualities,
and can comment on the case in their
own way. During the reading Of the
Mr.. Harding sat staring, with
4 wild look, into space, and Mrs. Nor
ris held the morning papers up to her
face. Several times, when anything
was said in her hearing about the
funeral arrangements, she would MAIN
tain rather an Indifferent composure. At
The close OF the services DR.. Bayliss
asked the father if he would like TO took
upon the face again, and he arose with
MS wife to take the farewell glance on
her almost natural features. He turned I
1alf around, as though TO take his seat
again, when he swconed and fell par
tally to the floor, beiug caught BY Rev.
Mr.. Bsyliss and Mrs. Harding. After Il
he use Of little water, he was able to
AXE his seat again, where he remained
until lie entered the carriage at
he door with his wife and family, |
Mrs. Morris entering another carriage.
The casket was carried to the hearse by
he following pall-bearers: Mr.. ThOs.
F. Ryan, Mr.. w. p. Fishback, Colonel |
W. r. Holloway, Mr.. John H. HolH-
lay, Mr.. E. w. Halford and Colonel
George W. Parker. The funeral con-
course then proceeded to Greenlawn
cemetery, where the remains were
placed in Weaver's vault. The burial
services were read by Rev. Mr.. BayIiss,
lfter which the cssket was arranged for
shipment to Charleston, Illinois, .As7st
light o'clock evening train. f
acts were ascertsiued in regard TO the
uicide yesterday morning. In looking
through some papers Of the deceased a
,ard was found which had written on it
be words: "The whole story will be
,ut. | feel reckless enough to kill my
elf" Ga another card were some
igures, showing the amount of poison
he had taken, and the amounts she
calculated on taking to end her life with.