The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-10-14

iitaS us tNihIstiS iti1tuBS HtlC not ways
pleasant, but the public were not in any
manner prepared for the revelations Of this
trial. Several days bave heen occupied With
tue examination Of q number of mediums.
Including DR.. Henry Slade, OF New York,
and one otthe original Fox sisters. 0; Roches-
ter, nov widow Of DIR. kaae, OF Arctic eX-
ploration fame. They all testified to Captain
Wards frequent consultations with spirits
through them on business ventures, on his
d1niestic relations, ard on the making Of his
will. One Of them described seance ut
which the spirit Of Senator Jacob M. How
ard, Of this State, was matcraliz ID and shook
hands with Captain Ward and predicted his
death within q short time. Another me-
dunn narrated instances In which Captain
Ward consulted through her the spirit OF
Dean Richmond for advice on railroad mat
ters, while on mining ventures he consul ed
constantly the shade Of a defunct German
geologist. which was known in medium cir
Giles by the rather astonishing upme of" Cab.
bagc John" This spirit was very frequent
ly consulted by Captain Ward, and among
other matt.rs advised him to oppose Sena.
tor Chtn Hers rejection, which he did on
the ground Of the la,ter's intemperauce.
Mrs. Kane produced 10 court some docu.
ments written by her as i medium, in which
iwo OF the s!irits Of deceased relatives Of
Captain Wa'd's second wife dictated for him
q will something Ike the one under Contest,
his first wiie's spirit breaking in with eXcla-
nations Of protest in the midst OF the CON-
muuiCitio1, which was in two different
hapdwri.iDgs. The manuscripts we're writ
ten on something like printing paper, 10
huge, Sciawling hand. and from the right of
the page 10 the left, like Hebrew. To read
them, therefore, looking glass was used
in court, aud they were scanned with great
interest. Another medium produced 4 large
picture of Il Il Nral wreath, said to have been
painted By spirits through a blindfoldt d me-
dunn in four hour, which Captain Ward
bought as a symbolic.l representation OF
his family. The absence Of any a)ral repre-.
sentative Of one sou was accounted by him
as proof that tina. boy was ilegitimate. Still
another mediu n, while under cross-cX sm-
nation, Went into n trance in the witness. box
and made some remarks in German while
seized Of a Dutch spirit, swearing positively
OF awakng that she did not know what had
happened, and that she could not speak Ger.
man. A large album filed with so-called
Sprit-pctUreS, the property of Captain
Ward, was slso produced in court ana
offered in evidence.
Outside Of all this there have been no
other revelations of domestic i1lelicity that
have shocked the community. An aged
uncle Of Captain Ward has testified to long
array Of imbeciles and idiots in the Ward
family, the hereditary mental disease ra).
pearipg in all generations. A Mrs. DemIng
has sworn to now having in her chlrge in
Ohio an illegi;inate son of Captain Ward by
Il sane woman, who has been from childhood
maniac.
Mr.. William B. Ely, Of Newton, Mass.
atti nced to Captain WARDS youngest daush-
ter, identified au anonymous letter written
to him last winter, warning him against
marrying into such lnnatic family, which
be traced in the end to the second Mrs.
Ward the young lady's Step.mother. From
this witness was also wreSted The fact. on
cross.eXamlnatiou, that on the news of Cap
tain Wards sudden death rcachiug his home
his adult sous by the first marriage at once
drove up town, passing their iatber'S BODY
on the way, for the purpose Of retaining
counsel 10 attack his will
To day counsel have been arguing over the
question whether evidence snail be admitted
TO Sho that Captain Wards divorce from
his first wife was procured through gro-S
fraud. and that bis marriage with his second
wife was therefore invalid. Soould the court
admit this testimony perfect sewer OF scan
dial will prob.oy be opened. Outside Of the
peculiar chlracer Of the testimony, the case
has had other very sensational features. Writ
Dcx'er, of Chicago, Mrs. Wards counsel,
made bitter personal attack. during one ar
aumeut, upon the leading counsel for the
contestants, Theodore Romcyn, OF Detroit,
denouucng him as slanderer, and declaring
his personal responsibility for bis language.
On the same day Captain Wards eldest son,
a confirmed Iunalic happened to be in court.
and after its dj,urnmen: endeavored to do
violence to Mir. Dexter for some supposed
insult TO his dead mother. Take it altogcth'
err, the case is without parallel in the civil
trials Of this portion Of the country.