The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1876-03-09


who betrayed his trust. IF the Sen
ate were not to proceed now Ia the
Belknap case it would be an admis-
sion that any inculpated official
might escape the disqualification pro
vided by the Constitution by resign
ing as soon as detected. Hon I
Montgomery Blair viii probably act /
as Belknap's counsel in this case.
THE ROMANCE OF THE SCANDAL.
The Implication of Mrs. BeIknap I.
in the downfall and disgrace of her
husband gives a feature Of romance
to the sickening affair which invests
It with piquaucy that seldom at
taches TO such matter. There Is IN
this department Of the subject a con
fusion Of names, dates and circun-
stances which must be dispelIed in
order To arrive al a clear under
standing Of the case and properly
divide up the responsibility. The
present Mrs. BelknaD Is the third
wife Of the Secretary altogether,
and the second wife he has had since
he entered the Cabinet. Her imme-
date predecessor was her sister,
who died about three years ago. It
was the second Mrs. B-Iknap. sister
of the present incumbent, who made
the original bargain with Marsh.
Her maiden name was Carrie Tom
linsOn, while the name Of the pres
ent is Amanda. So, for the sake of
distinction we viii speak of them as
Mrs. Carrie and Mrs Amanda.
WoMAN's AMBITION.
When Belknap first came to
Washington, Mrs. Carrie at once
aspired TO a social rank which her
husbands salary would not sustain
They had no private fortune to fall
back on, but nothing would content
them short of social rivalry with
the Fishes, who had a private in
come compared to which the Cabi-
net salary was a mere bagateIle.
/ There was but one way to meet the
I deficiency, and that was by making
illicit profits OutOf the office. The
woman wit Of Mrs Carrie did not
long lack for crooked ways and
means. She surveyed the possibiIi-
( ties and determined to avail herself
/ of them at the first opportunity.
/ This came in the shape OF Marsh,
/ whose acquaintance the Belknap
made at Long Branch in 1870. The
/ testimony itself shows that Mrs.
( Carrie made the first overtures to
Marsh, but the testimony tells only
small portion Of the story. The
woman seemed perfectly infatuated
with the dazzle of Washington sOci-
ETY., and, dazzled with the prospect
Of sudden wealth, she devoted her
/ self to the business Of bartering
away the influence Of her husband
position, and soon laid schemes by
which their income was raised from
a Cabinet salary to about $25, 600
a year. Then just as the coveted
/ pOmp and extravaganza was within
/ her reach Mrs. Carrie sickened and
died, leaving as a legacy TO her hus-
| band the plans she had made for
/ the betterment Of their financial
fortunes at the expense Of honor.
/ THE MARRIAGE.
The Secretary did not long re
main a widower. The present wife,
I Mrs. Amanda, was a blooming
young widow, and there was a ma
I teFial enhancement Of her ripe and
lucious charms in the fact that she
was qualified TO take up the thread
| of worldly thrift right where it had
| fallen from the nerveless fingers Of
/ her diving sister. Mrs. Amanda had
/ been fully IN the confidence OF her
/ sister and knew all the ropes, so to
/ speak, which had been laid to pull
/ in the crooked profits. According
/ ~ she was every way fitted to take
her sisters place in the affections
Of the Secretary and in the business
end Of the war department. It was
I therefore, a D7dTr5dgs de cOHUez-
0Hce as well as d'aH0ur, and Mrs.
Amanda stepped into the shoes Of
/ Mrs. Carrie, matrimOnially, socially,
and financially. Mrs. Amanda was
in all respects a qualified successor
Of her thrifty sister. She was in
/ spired by the same ambition. blessed
with the same liberal conscience,
and gifted with even superior beauty
Of face and form.
/ SHORT DIVISION OF THE sPoILs.
/ Mrs. Carries baby, upon whom
the created income from the post
/ traderships had been settled when
the mother died, soon followed the
latter to the grave, and then there
was nobody left TO divide with the
/ Secretary and the gushing widow
the perquisites Of the War Depart
ment. Mrs Amanda and the Sec
rotary were married with a flourish
of trumpets, and Immediately set
about placing MaTsh's money where
it would do the most goOd-that Is
to say, in SILKS, diamonds, furs,
I feathers and style generally. Their
home was among the most luxuri-
Gus even in this center Of luxury.
/ Mrs. Belknap called about her the
fairest and brightest Of her sex, and
sought to create Q select social cir
[ Gle of her own. the entree to which
should be the desideratum of the
haut ton. She was to be the Lady
( BlessingtOn of the reign Of Ulysses,
I and her home should be the HOl-
land House of the realm. Her fem
mime prOteges were to be the cen
/ ters of admiration, and nothing
less than n millionaire or count
could aspire to pay them serious
attention.
A BRACE OF DIPLOMATIC SPECTATORS.
When the articles Of impeach-
/ ment we're read in the Senate Cham
Der to-day the sole occupants ofthe
Diplomatic Gallery were the Danish
Minister, Hergermann Lindencrone,
and his wife, formerly Mrs. Charles
Moulton. The couple bent over
the railing with the straining eager
ness of pain and foreboding when
I the reading began Madame Herger-
mann LindererOne Was = proEege Of
Mrs Beiknap when her entitled
lover sought her hand, and the Dan
ish Count bad been introduced to
his "fate' by tie woman whose
I fGme fgured ia that dreadful recital