The Centre reporter. [volume] (Centre Hall, Pa.) 1871-1940, 1877-03-22
VICTIM TO SCANDAL.
Nllc VaieHfinr> Driving sensitive Woman
te ~uiridr--Ntrs. huwv ipIai Lrnp--rur-
Ll-mInra nL Lhc NLnLh AAnmnr IInAtdA.

Slle veieHfinr, Driving s sensitive Woman
ta ~uiyIdr-- Nrs. hus, ere lUIat irap--FHr-
uruiUra Of thv smith Avenue TrukrdN.
"She seemed to rest her hands on the
-Ily wall u moment uS SHE leaned for
ward from the ruui and looked down into
JAy street Then She swung about side
Wise lu % queer sort ut Way. all lu "a hur-
~, uui hung over the area, her hands
chuglug to the coping for an instant
then shr screamed and fell.
Such IN hriri Wa, the description given
10y Annie Norman, perhaps the only per
suu Who SAW her iull, of thr manner IN
which Mrs Della G. Bowers came Ia her
death at the corner ui Ninth ayeuue and
Nineteenth street ON the evening of
WashugtUns birthday. Ii was be-
ginning to grow dark when Mrs Bow
yr- fell, and Ter form appeared 90 some
Whu SAW 10 IN the distance like bun
die ui rluthug thrown frIm the house
top mite the street The noise of the
iall attracted quite % crowd from the
tguemynts. stores and workshops IN the
vicinity, and us the people passed about
the woman prasuute form the horror
ot the scene crypt through them and
pictured itself upon their eager faces.
" What's tAv muttyrs' lis rhu dradF'
" How did she fall .' busy tongues not
more earnestly than eager ewes IN
Iuirrd. hut there was uu one there
.heu o. say how il happened She had
fallen. She Wa, iu,cuslhir ur at leaet
appeared So and probably would die.
As hcr shattered form was lifted from
"a
thc crowd pressed about the door und
edged more closely % the central point
% lind ont all about the woman Who
fell
Mrs. Bowers lived at No l53 Ninth
avenue, WAS married and the mother oi
two children. aged about eight and ten
wears respectively, and her death is CON
sldgrrd q he uf her own seeking, IN
spite oi the implied contradictions Ire-
,amri % exist Ia the fact that she was
much respected hy all her uu,ghbors AS
"a gnui Christian and au exemplary wlfe
and mother. 70 an over sensitive dispo-
Sliluu d charged the mental condition
which lci her o. prccipltate herself from
the roof of O house forty feet high into
narrow ara1, Just railcl ia from the open
street /, WIS "a fnrEiful leap from
which the stuutest heart. IN sane mo-
meuts. would rac1l with O. shudley
What could have driven 90 sooi. peace
iul Christian mother a. tale such fatal
pluugr2
TIE VOICE or SCANDAL.
Tho sting of s,audaLs Such was the
generally accepted explanation put III
circulation shortly after hrr death by her
uciELhar> aul acquaintance. icS uf
whom pretended o. know the history Of
,ha whole affair. Reports sAy that Oh
Valentines day February IA Mrs.
Bowers received from % female ueighbor
some offensive carlca.urrs with accom-
pmyiug lines of q >urrluus character.
written hy tAr sv.-u-, The language
utrl vla very harsh and Mrs. Bowers
worried greatly over the matter. She
shovel her husband what she had IT.
uu.yrl. and told h,m from WHOM she sus-
pec.yl the siau.rruus messages 90 have
COME Unlike his wife, Mr.. Bowers did
not sec enough IN such "a silly malicious
h., ui business tn give him amy cause for
wurumDut He advised her a. gave no
heed .a the matter Two of the ylru-
auas were sand to have had respectively
tha captions. a Seamstrrss and
'' In Love with Eyrrv Preacher" but
wha; tar accompanying lines were has
NOT been stated.
Mr.. Bowers wHs constant attendant
at the Sixteenth Street Bap; 81; church.
and after at.mo the story ui the sturrtlaus
valentines. mingled with some further
scandal. got % the ears az the rangrcFu-
t.,u, and its circulation there capped the
climax ~ her murgticltIau Meanwhile
the more talkutiyc ui her uylEhb1rs had
heard Uf Mrs. Bowen, restly,ucss under
the lash uf these painful stories and kept
astir the petty gossip which the sender of
the valentines gave forth ~ first. Grad
ually the poor wamau's ucrvys, gave way
under thc ordeal uutl O few days before
Aer fatal lslp, when she even refused a.
cat 50 much was she exercised over the
scandal Her friends did not entertain
any serious apprehension, however, and
the Thought ui suicide hy So devoted a
Christian aul s1 well conducted wife
never entered the head of ANY one
Mrs Bowers resided i'm the .irst house
from the corner; and it is considered
strange low some of the uo.ghh1rs that
She shuuld have gone 10 the roof 81 the
adjoining house ~ Vrcciptatc herself
thcrcfrum. with suicidal intent when she
could as easily have thrown herself from
the roof Of hcr. own house II WAS no
very unusual thing, however, for the in
mates of No. lj3, in which Mrs. Bowers
resided. to pass over 10 the roof of the
corner house But "a flying rumor which
couldnut be traced toits source yesterday
lent some importance 10 the foregoing
comments This rmor would have IT
that some one, the gossips could not say
who, had seen % woman's figure retreat
ing from the roof uf the corner house to-
ward the sCuttle of one Of the houses
above Just as Mrs. Bowers fell to the
ground. II Is not pretended that any
one pushed Mrs Bowers over into the
street, but II this rumur were found to be
a fact, and the person fleeing from the
roof should bc identified. there is found
here as strong a chain Of circumstantial
evidence ns many on which convictions
even for murder have been obtained
The dying woman's last words were:
Mrs. - is the cause Of this. -
Ngr ]DrE Hyruid