Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1876-05-03
BElkNAP AND HIS PROSECU-
TORS.

correspoa aence Of tho oraphic,

WAsHINGToN, April 25.--General
Belknap's answer filed to the articles
Of the House managers, takes the line
of policy that outlined to you at the
time of his catastrophe. His wife
assumes her place as the ncgotiant in
the subject matter of the impeach-
ment. That was her duty no less
than her penalty. And it was his du-
ty as well to the Office he had resign
ed that he should endeavor to clear
the character of an American Sccre-
tary of War, even at the expense of
an erring and repentapt woman.
Much of what is called "chivalry to
women" is written in the two cent
papers, which show no chiyalry to
women or men. The chivalry to wo-
men is the maintenance Of justice and
the partition ofconjugal responsible
ty and, if necessary or right. mercy
afterwards. Here we behold a Sec
rotary OF War, greatly enamored of a
pretty woman, his sister-in-law. The
weak side of that Secretary is his vo-
righteousness, uXuriousness, or what
ever word may intimate that he is a
marrying man, and being married,
i
wives have passed under the shelter
of his wing, and to each he has been
an unusually good husband. The
last wife is wondrously pretty and
winning-one of those women who
have no great force of character, but
that lovely mixture of modesty,
warmth, and gayety which attracts
the dark-cyed, dewy Of hair, shapely.
supple-thc duplicate perhaps of that
Bathsheba who drew David down
without designing it-she had never
theless, the dazed ideas of official OPP
portunity derived from reading the
newspapers of the day and living in
a hotel.
Her first husband made the mistake
of taking her TO a hotel, where there
are no housekeeping cares, and the
women sit around and talk lightly
about the habits of the men, and lose
the gristlc of their independence in
the soft iaison of each others compa-
NY. Money gets to be the subject and
society to be the motive. They love
each other like kittens, and after tel
ling everything in confidence fall out
and quarrel like cats. The history of
women since Sarah Jennings and
Queen Anne has been this.
AT the Cincinnati hotel the widow
whom General Belknap affected and
the commercial Marsh's wife grew in
innate. After Gen. Belknap was
made Secretary of War the widow
came to see her invalid sister in
Washington, still writing to her dear
hotel friend. A handsome friend in
Washington, the guest of Secretary,
is not long out of society. AS the
widow grew better looking people
put it in the newspapers and the
newspapers put it in her head
When one is better looking than one
had supposed, it is necessary to orna
ment that beauty with clothes and go
abroad 10 uphold the reputation
But the hotel friend, Marsh, was a
faithful correspondent. The twain
kept up the friendship till death
which all women friends have had for
a few years at o time, The Marsh
family had come TO Nav York; they
rushed into each others arms; what
love is like that of the full-grown kit
tens of the softer sex? David loved
cOIctIldu DuI IlOt IIkC tIlS.
The upshot of it was they agreed
they were very able business women,
and Marsh, the man party, wanted
something to do. The invalid wife
of the Secretary and the widow Bow
er rushed 1t through; for it cost
nothing and was mere appoint
mcnt Of discrimination. Atthat time
the war market being closed out, cv-
cry impecuniOus merchant was trying
to get on the plains and deal with
the Indians. 1t was rather small
ambition for great hardware mer-
chant, but when three women be-
sieged the Secretary, he gave the place
to Marsh.
Marsh found he could get an in
come by selling this commission to
trader already on the spot The in
triguc began when, IN an unusual mo-
ment Of generosity, Marsh proposed
to give the women a part Of the mon
ey thus suddenly acquired. The two
women first entertaining the idea
were, no doubt Mrs. Marsh and Mrs.
Bower. They impressed the propri-
ETY. of the gift on Mrs Belknap, the
invalid. She took 1t from woman's
reasons, just as Eve took the apple,
and Moses could not explain the mem
tai process through which Eve went
on that occasion. Tho first thing
Eve did, however, when she took tho
present, was to get some clot'ies.-I
They all go TO extremes.
Now, let qpy respectable mind con-
ceive the operations going on around
this Secretary. His wife died. Did
he know she had any present from
Marsh? Marsh, one Of several hum
bred post-traders If SO, did. he con-
Al n o,,t NTH TIM nm 1fuv ri ~