Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-08-13
A Queer Story.
Nel0 Orleans Times.


That truth is stranger than fiction is
now a trite aphorism. James Waite,
wife and child dwelt iu Essexville, Mich.
Two years ago he was about to take his
spouse to Bay City for her health, when
James Burgess, a prosperous neighbor
and leading brother in the church, stated
that he was going thither on business
and would cheerfully act as her escort.
The grateful husband assented, babe her
goodbye, and few DAYS later received
from good Brother Burgess a telegram ::
81 have taken your wife and child; you
take mine. A fair exchange is no rob
berry" The generosity of Brother Bur
CESS in not emitting to furnish Waite with
a ready-made family did not especially
exhilarate the latter; he started forth in
weary pursuit of the fugitives. Brother
Burgess, after clandestine nuptial tour
of a month, reached Lynchburg, Va,
and having entered a new tie fifty con
cluded to take Mrs. James Waite's name,
opened a grocery and became leading
member of a Presbyterian church.
Brother Waite grew to be power" in
all good works. The original Waite,
meantime, was moving about the coun-
try a superf1uous man, wholly unsus-
piciOus that somebody else had his name
as well as his wife and child, and that
the only reasonable thing he could do
was to die. But Mrs Waite died in
stead, two months ago. Brother Waite
was enabled to fortifY himself against
this shock by reason of his religious re-
sources and of the remembrance that
nearly two years before he had given
up whole family with exemplary reslg-
nation. He had started for Bav CITY,
under the sanction of the original Waite,
to promote her health, and if the air and
waters of Virginia had, with her assent,
been deemed better to that end, why
should he reproach himself for the un-
happy result of the expedition? He
shed few timely tears, put a slab on
the grave and a liberal measure of
Grape on his hat, exhibited renewed in.
terest in the Sunday school and the gro
Gerry and excited the tender solicItude of
half dozen spinsters, who had waited
so long for good, staid man that they
were not averse from bearing the name
of Brother Waite. But less than week
ago these yearning ladies changed their
opinion. The original Waite alighted
from a car at Lynchburg and exhibited
photograph of the good brother
to policeman, who at once
ident fed it. Without railing, Waite
had run Burgess down TO his last tie.
A warrant was issued for bigamy and
seduction, and Burgess thereupon made
full confession. His grocery is closed,
to his pew will never again be lent his
weight as devout church member,
wicked wife is decomposing under the
Virginia sod, and her paramour will
have an ample opportunity in the Michi-
gan penitentiary to review his bible
lessons with its chaplain. Waite has
reclaimed his name and his child-two-
thirds, and the best part of his loss, all
the circumstances being considered. II
does not appear that Mrs Burgess and
her child, whom the good brother sought
to trade off by telegraph, are burdened
with sorrow by reason of his present
predicament; they probably know what
a rich measure of consolation he derives
from his aptitude for the Scriptures, and
are the more willing to leave him thereto
in view of his somewhat broad hint two
years ago that he could survive indefi.
nitely without them. All seems to have
come right. The house of Burgess is
free of him, the five-year-old Waite's
child is with her father, the pretty, fool
ish wanton is in the mould, and Burgess
is behind the bars, where he can
earn m labor ard 80 ,xost