Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1883-02-01
"Pere" HJaeInthe.
lCasAOlie AirrOr.l

prise W bIOuHutlui PcOPioi INV ~ was
possible for the brilliant orator Of the
conferences OF Notre Dame. "Pere'
Hyscinthe, 10 yield to the temptation
which robbed him of his prestige and
which has brought him to his present
deplorable condition. An article in
the Brooklyn Eagle, taken from the
Paris Figaro, gives an Interesting &C
count of the woman who wrought his
rum and who doubtless caused him TO
found the new Gallican Church. which
now lives but in name.
The emotion caused in Paris, in
France, and beyond the mountain by
the news which spread like trail of
powder on FIRE, that "Pere" Hyacinthe
had renounced the sacred vows Of
priesthood.is not yet entirely forgotten.
Why did the eminent orator, after
having arrived al the summit of re-
nown, deny in one stroke his past and
his present faith2 1t is true, it was
said there was a woman at the bottom
Of it. But the tempter had physically
and morally presented itself under an
aspect so void of charm that for us, as
for many serious minds, "Pere" Hya-
cinthe's sin remained not only without
excuse but also inexplicable. After
slow and minute researches we have
been able to give an account of the life
of the woman who caused the ruin of
the great orator.
Emily Jane Bitterfeld was born in
1888 in little town in the State of o.,
Her parents were English. Her faith
er, who was carpenter, was killed by
falling from scsffolding, and the
widow and FIVE children were sup.
ported for time by the town authori-
ties. Emily rapidly learned all that
was taught at the common schools. She
had already attained the age of fifteen
when she began teaching, and thus be-
came a help to her mother. She was
still teaching when
EDWIN MERRIMAN
young man belonging to an honora-
BILE family Of Bucyrus, fell in love
with the charming and intelligent
teacher and asked her hand in mar
riage The day of the wedding both
their ages did not make the sum of
forty. Young Merriman was clerk
in dry goods store, but through the
influence of his young wife, left Blu.
cyrus with her and went to New York,
where he obtained clerkship in the
wholesale house of Teft, Griswold &
Co. His aptitude as salesman was such
that his salary was raised to $4,000.
They took their abode in Brooklyn and
Mrs. Merriman was soon signalized by
her intelligence in the cultivated cir
Gle of
HENRY WARD BEECHER's CHURCH,
Of which she and her husband had be-
come members. Outside of the hours
she was obliged to devote to her house
hold duties and to her son Ralph, she
spent all her time in intellectual i'm
provements and in letters sent to the
paper Of fashions edited by Madame
Demorest 1t was at this time that
Mrs. Merriman invented hygienic
corset. with suspenders, had it patented
and afterward advertised by means of
Madame Demorest's fashion sheet
This incident caused the rumor at the
time of the marriage that "Pere' Hya-
cinthe had married corset maker.
Their little house in Brooklyn, although
small and retired, soon became the
rendezvous of select circle. Theodore
Tilton and Henry Ward Beecher were
often her guests, and Frank Bierstadt
the landscape painter, who died in
1861. here exhibited his famous Rocky
Mountains. 1t was he who gave Mrs
Merriman lessons in painting.
In throwing a glance at her rapid |
rise in the world, one would imagine
Emily perfectly happy, but such was
not the case. The ambitious young
woman had one dream, and that was
a sojourn in Europe. Unfortunately
her means did not allow it. An un-
looked for occasion soon offered itself,
Judge Hannah, of Indiana, rich
land holder of the West, who was fire.
quently one of her chosen circle, made
her the proposition to accompany his
son to
The offer was accepted with pleasure.
From Paris Merrimen sent several let
ters to the New York Times: they
were read with great interest, especial
ly one on Venice, which was then un.
der the heel of the Austrians. After
her sojourn in Europe she again set
tied in Brooklyn; she was then twenty
nine. AS she was then at the zenith
of her beauty, let us make sketch of
her, She was of medium size, with
an accented but finely shaped form, her
hands and feet are those of patrician,
she is of noble bearing; her raven hair
incases a fore. head, perhaps y little
low but wide; well-shaped nose; q
rosy, sensual large mouth, filled with
Enc white teeth; her look intimidates
when she does not wish to be amiable;
her whole appearance has sensual fas.
,ination. On her return to America,
,he Immediately laid plans to return to
Europe to make long stay, under the
plea that she wished to give her