The evening light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1881-1883, 1883-02-21
A CHANCE FOR A SARDOU.
A Thrilling Romance i'm Which Appears
One Woman Painting and Another
Dropping Dead.
Mrs. Waddingham Thought Her First
Husband Dead, But he Turns Up
Alive and Well.

A Sardou would find in St. Louis ground
work for one of the most thrilling episodes
which could be put on the mimic stage. On
September IS, IS45, Paulina Hulett was mar
ried to Charles X. Gavin, in Detroit, Mich.
He was about of age and she four years
younger. He wandered East some two years
later and was next heard of in Auburn, N. ",
having been sentenced to three years for
grand larceny. Meantime his wife was said
to have acquired low associations, and upon
his release he went West and eventually served
short term in the Ohio penitentiary for coun-
terfeiting. After that-in ISs3-his family
in Detroit heard no more of him. About this
time Mrs. Hulett was living in St. Louis. and
on August 20, 1858, she became the wife OF
William Waddngham, under the alleged sup
position that death had divorced her from her
first husband. In less than year he left her
on the plea that her repute was not entirely
satisfactory. Mrs. Waddingham then went to
Poultney, VT, and for over 20 years received
SIoo per month
FROM HER HUSBAND,
who is worth from 5000 900 to $500 900.
Not long ago he removed from ST. Louis to
Mexico, Mo, and shortly afterward discovered
by accident that his wiie's first husband was
living. He procured dispositions from Poult-
ney, which were damaging 10 her reputation,
and still others from Detroit, establishing her
marriage to Gavin. Suit for divorce was
accordingly instituted by Mr.. Waddingham a
few days ago and his wife came on from Yer
mont. She denied the allegations and said
that she was never Gavin's wife, but that
cousin who greatly resembled her, named
Martha Jane llaSking, was the one who mar
ried Gavin.
Dispositions were TO be taken at an attor-
news office. AS the woman and her lawyer
entered strange man, with his hands behind
him, who stood up against the wall facing the
door, looked steadily at her. He saw a we'll
preserved woman of over so, of good figure,
tastefully dressed and with smile of assur-
ance on her face. 1t died away, however, as
she stopped suddenly and looked al him as
THOUGH SHE HAD SEEN GHOST.
palor spread over her features, the eyes
dilated, the muscles about her mouth began
to twitch she threw up her hands despair
ingly crying in frantic accents, "Charles !!
Charles! Charles!" and staggering few steps,
fell on the carpet in bysterical fit. The man
betrayed no signs of recognition, and neither
|
to pick her up and throw water in her face.
Upon being revived she looked quickly about
at the stranger and whispered fearfully: 81
thought he was dead" Still he did not
move. The woman who had been his wife
over 80 years before, was nothing to him now.
Charles Gavin had come to St. Louis from
Shreveport, La, where Waddingham's extern
sively circulated advertisements for him had
at last come to his notice, for no other pur
pose than to serve the plaintiff and prove the
defendants testimony to be false. Whatever
tenderness he had once felt for her had long
ago turned to indifference, and probably the
memory of his,,misdeeds had too much of her
influence connected with them to make her
appearance, after over quarter of century,
anything but pleasant one to the man she
had
EVIDENTLY WISHED TO FORGET.
"Thats her," was all he said as they led her
out, and then he testified briefly as to their
marriage and that no divorce had
ever been sought by either.
He was cross-examined the following day,
and Waddingham's marriage to the defendant
was clearly proved null and void. That even
ing, however, he was taken to Detroit to be
identified by his own mother. The latter had
been married again to Mr.. Marsh and was
living at No. IoI Catharine street, being very
feeble and in her S5th year. A short time ago
she lost her favorite son, Knox Gavin, law
yer in Detroit, and she had believed her son
Charles dead for many years. When the two
visitors called at her house the SER
want ushered them into the room where the old
lady was seated. She arose to receive them,
but al the same moment she recognized her
lost son, and, screaming out his name, dropped
dead at his feet.
Thus practically ends the story of one ofthe
most remarkable divorce suits on record.