The daily gazette., 1879-05-08
DurcuER.wArsoH. (.
were asssissd = hs<ssssS.

were Received In MaR1foE0.
From tho Hartford Coprant. ,AaaTL
Mr.. George NJ. butcher and Mrs.
sJudge" Watson left Hartford for New
York by the 1.20 q. m. train yesterday,
evidently coming to the conclusion that
their joint enterprise was being SO clear
ly- and conclisively exposed as to make
it Improbable to continue further labors
in the cause of reform in this part of the
vineyard. That Mrs. Watson is an ad-
venturer, cannot be questioned, In the
light of facts already developed, and per-
haps 1t Is charity to believe that butcher
has been deceived by her, though his ad-
herence to her, after almost indisputable
proof of her character was furnished,
puts him hi q position from which IL will
be difficult to extricate himself and salts
fly the public of his good intentions.
His own statements have been contradic-
tory. When he printed card explana-
tory of his conduct, he asserted that Mrs.
Watson was the victim of dark plot.
When privately urged to divulge the
mystery, he reluctantly declared that
there was conspiracy formed because
she had been a Roman Catholic and
Romish influences were pressing her.
After being pressed on that point and
made to see that his story was incOnsist-
ent and unreasonable in many of its
bearings, he retreated and gave what he
insisted was the real cause Of the prose-
cution, and the woman corroborated him,
The final story they stuck to was that
after Mrs. Watson's sredempt on, gen.
tleman Of prominence in Philadelphia
oot 40 a.f har and r,f1 t<,
provide her with house and give her
$1,000 lin money; that she Indignantly
repelled this base proposition, and
butcher came to the rescue, and was
bound to see that she remained pure |;
that getting her away from Philadelphia
SO incensed the appointment gentleman"
that he followed her through the medium
of paid emissaries and was himselfinstru-
mental in poisoning the mind of Mrs.
butcher, whose presence in Connecticut
and whose letters were explained by his
desperate plot to ruin Mrs. Watson.
The newspaper representative to whom
this wonderful yarn was unfolded was
perhaps not In sufficiently credulous
frame of mind to take it all In as set
tlement OF the case, and he asked DO
many questions about the prominent
Philadelphian-even going so far as TO
suggest that a man who was doing as
this man was said to be doing might
easily be exposed. that Mr.. butcher and
Mrs. Watson both seemed to be slpgu-
larly affected. Finally Mrs. Watson
gave reason why she didn't expose the
man !; he had a wife whom she knew as
'sdear friend" and she did not want 10
destroy her happiness. The more the
story was examined the thinner it be-
came. A letter Of inquiry sent to Phil
adelpbia from the COurdnt office, re-
questing Information as to the ''promi-
nent &c ,tleman," brought out the inter-
es ing and painful report that the man
bad already lived with Mrs. Watson and
was not probably now engaged in any
pot to ruin her But that she had black
mailed him. ~
The Courdnt entered upon an in
vesligailon of this case in the public in
terest and was willing from the start to
do full justice to all parties. Its snspic-
Ions that the association of butcher and
the woman was for nj good purpose have
been justified by the disclosure made.
The first development in the case-the
appearance of Mrs. butcher In Danbury,
protesting against her husband desert
ing her and going off with the woman
vas enough to warrant suspicion and
demand Investigation. If Mr.. butcher
has been made the victim of a designing
woman, believing her to be reformed,
it is not yet too late for him to desert
her and turn his attention 10 a more
hopeful subject. If she is yet to be re-
formed 1t Will be more profitable for Mr..
butcher to hire another man to pray
with herthan to apply his own energies
in the same direction.s