Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1877-06-06
The Famous Forrest Divorce case


The Famous Forrest Divorce Case
In his ellie of Edwin Forrest "
Mr.. Alger condenses the story of
the divorce into a short compass.
After a brief account of the misun-
derstanding between Mr.. and Mrs,
Forrest, the jealousy of Jamison
and the final outbreak, the biogra-
pher proceeds:
The next step in the tragedy was
the filing of an application for di-
vorce by Forrest in Philadelphia,
instantly counterchecked by SIM
liar application on the part of Mrs,
Forrest in New York. To those
who held her innocent, as the best
people did, her attitude appealed to
every chivalrous sentiment of adj
miration and sympathy; but to
him who believed her guilty, as her
husband did, it presented every
motive to aggrayate anger and re.
sentiment. The inevitable conse-
quences resulted, and a prolonged
struggle ensued, which was des-
perate fight for moral existence.
The miserable details need not be
specified. AS the combat thickened
the deeper grew the passions on
each side, and the more damaging
the charges and alleged disclosures.
The hostile championship likewise
became intenser and wider. The
trial, with the incrimination of
adultery and the recrimination Of
the same offense, began in Decem-
Der, 1851, and reached through six
weeks. No trial of the kind in this
country had ever awakened so eager
and extended an interest. The evi-
dence and arguments we're minutely
reproduced in the press, sold by
Wholesale in every corner of the
land, and deyoured by unnumbered
thousands with every sort of scan
dalous gossip and comment. The
completed report of the trial fills
two enormous volumes of more than
1900 pages each. The lady gained
much for her cause by her strict
propriety Of language, her elegant
department, the unequalled ability
and passionate zeal Of her counsel,
and the exalted character of her
large circle of influential and un-
faltering friends. The man lost as
much for his cause by the partisan
prejudices against him, by the i'm
prudences of his more reckless
friends, and especially by the re-
pelling violence and coarseness of
his expression and demeanor, to
which, in his exasperated state, he
was too often tempted. Abun-
dant examples have already
been furnished in these pages of
his scholarly taste, intellectual
dignity, moral refinement and
strength. Justice to the truth re-
qulres the frank admission that
there was also in him rude and
harsh element, a streak of uncivil-
lied bluntness or barbaric honesty
of impulse, shocking to people of
conventional politeness. These
people did him injustice by chiefly
seeing this cruder feature in bis
character, for it was quite a su6C.s
dinate part Of his genuine nature.
But it is only fair to give specimens
Of the level to which it not unfre-
quently sank him in social appear
ance. In his eyes, observance of
external seemings was nothing in
comparison with sincerity to inter
nal realities. After his separation,
before his divorce, meeting his wife
in the street, she said he kept her
there walking up and down for over
two hours in a pouring rair, hear
ing and replying to him, neither of
them having an umbrella. At this
same period watching onenight to
see who entered and left his house,
in which his wife was still residing,
though alone, a man named Ray
mond came out. The following
Ineligible dialogue took place, as
sworn to in courtby Raymond him
self; Z" Why are you sneaking away
like a guilty manY " Edwin For
rest, you have waylaid me by night
with bludgeon. You want pre-
tense for attacking me, and / shall
not give it YOU" "Bludgeon /
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