The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1876-09-16

pocket with, that intention. So stubborn
was he in this resolve that Westermeyer,
believed him to be temporarily insane,
lent himself finally to most preposter.
Gus scheme, with the hope that his seem.
ing acquiescenee in it would give MIN the
time and opportunity to rotify the friends
OF Baugniet of his condition. He agreed
to and did write two letters in Baugniet's
name explaining why he bad committed
suicide. He took charge OF several pack
ages of papers and trinkets, and then
consented to 60 with his companion at
that late hour to the woman and satisfy
him that she was not to accompany him,
in the unsuccessful issue of which Baug.
MET was to kin himself. They set out
about IL o'clock at night, unobserved and
aioot. The woman was temporarily
stopping at a house in the suberbs. All
that occurred on that journey is not
known. But it is certain that Wester-
meyer endeayored TO eYade the meeting
with the woman, ard tried to get
Baugniet into one of the hotels and failed.
In their cross purposes they were led
by eircuitous route to the river, ard
when in lonesome place the frenzied
man suddenly whipped out his pistol and
snapped it at Westermeyer's head. A
short and desperate struggle ensued. One
OF them was fighting for his life. 1t
ended by the clay bank upon which they
stood giving way and Baugniet falling
into the river. A fierce current was rum
ming. Westermeyer shouted once or
twice for help, and ran down the stream
vainly looking for his companion. Then
all at once the truth flashed upon him
This whole plot was the work of the wo-
man. He saw that he was the victim.
He had met his rival late at night, had
gone out with him and must come back
alone He even carried his property on
his person. 1t was just like q rash young
man overwhelmed by the horror of his
situation to fly from thespot without sny
other defined purpose than than OF escape.
Circumstances appear to have deter
mined his after conduct. Curiously
enough Baugniet had not been seen to
enter Westermeyer's house. nor, as far as
known, was their exit observed. The
body was found the next afternoon, and
the newspapers supposed he had fallen
into the water intoxicated. There does
not appear to have been at that time the
slightest suspicion of foul play, or If there
was it did not point to Westermeyer,
who left New Orleans few days after
somewhat hurriedly.
There the chain of consequences sud-
denly disappears 1t is impossible to
trace the exact connection between the
events / have narrated and what after
ward took place. But the connection ex-
lists. Remember that the woman proba-
blv held the secret, and that the knowl.
edge of that fact probably haunted
Westermeyer like constant sense ofim-
pending danger, and led kim to pursue Il
wandering life for several years.
He went abroad in 1853 as the compan-
ION and tutor Of the wealthy son Of an
old acquaintance of the family. This
protege was an invalid, afflicted with
some kind of spinal disease. He came of
race of religionists, emotional, hyper
sensitive and imaginative, and that ac-
counts in part for the direction Wester-
meyers thoughts and studies took while
With his pupil. They spent few months
4 England, and then set out for the
nth of Europe, where they were to
reet the boys sister--a Miss Edith, who
Was studying music in Florence. The
results of that tour are briefly told The
young lady joined her brother and they
went oil upon long, dreamy pilgrimage
through Greece and Palestine and after
wards up through Germany. You can
easily guess the sequel. Miss Edith and
Westermeyer became lovers. l believe
she was II little zealot. At all events we
next hear of them in London in the win
ter of So, and there curiously enough
Westermeyer was converted at Spur
geon's Church, think it was Spur
geon's. Perhaps Miss Edith was as in
huential as the worthy preacher in bring
ing about this result.
At all events, his charges came home.
He remained over for year and halt
fitting himself for the ministry, and in
1858 returned and was married.
So far as 1t is possible to Judge of the
mans personal history, he appears to
have outhved the earlier fears of expos
ure.
Nothing had transpired to alarm him,
and | can readily perceive that the hap
py and eventful season abroad had re-
legated all his former experiences INTO
the limbo of youthful folly, where we are
so apt to believe may of our acts lie un-
registered and unfrultful.
There must have been in Westermeyer
a curious strain of moral weakness, or he
never could have suffered rs he .subse-
ouentiy did. To me it is incomprehinsi-
Ole even now. However, it is my busi-
ness to nsrrate; you can preach after.
wards.
We come now to the events at Tappan,
and | shall tell them connectedly just as
they have woven themselves In my mind
from many disconnected facts. You are
to understand that he came with his wife
to live on the Willoughby Place
as the pastor of new mission church.
The Willoughby Cottage was charming
spot. / suppose you might hunt the
world over without finding another that
SO exactly fills the bill of loves young |
dream.
But everybody in Tappan found out
soon enough thatthey did not GENE there
to bin and coo merely. That little wo-
man was an earnest, untiring worker.
We all felt that they were sincere Chris
tian enthusiasts and we lent them all the
aid we could. They quit that new stone
church on the Rockland road; they gath
cred in the children and taught them to
sing; they had private means sufficient to
make them public benefactors, and be.
leve there wasn't a widow or an orphan
in the place that didn't pray for them
night and morning. used to like to
hear Westermeyer preach. He had a
vein of natural eloquence, subdued and
refined by cultivation, and being a man
of intense feeling, never failed to move
me. His wife ldolized him as much as a
Christian woman dared. She referred
all the spiritua! success Of their lsbors to
his efforts. They had little pony chaise
in which they rode about together, and
manv's the time Iye met them on the |