Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-08-08
ADAUGHTER,s DILEMMA.
sad Story of Mrs. COwles-PomerOy'
Religious TribulatiOns,

Religious TribulatiOns,
Three important law suits for damages
aggregating $4,000, says a Cleveland, o.,
special of Aug. 4, are to be settled here in
the withdrawal of the suits of Edwin
Cowles. of the Cleveland Leader, against
the Penny Press, Edwin Cowles against
Richard Gilmour, and Edwin Cowles
against Richard Gilmour and Manly Tell,
of the Catholic UniUerSe. The Individual
modestly designated as Richard Gtlmour
is Catholic Bishop of the diocese OF CleVe-
land, Scotchman of great frmness and
force of intellect. The suits were an cpl
sOde in an interesting history. Briefly,
the story is as follows: Edwin Cowles,
editor OF the Leader, has for years fought
the Catholics in the columns OF his paper
with such vehemence that he has been
called 9'crank' on the subject.
He had q family of children, including
an accomplished daughter named Helen,
who went abroad and fell in love with
Young Frenchman. She was crossed in
love. Some say that her father broke on
the match when he discovered that the
Frenchman was a Catholic. 1t IS also
stated that feeling that her father had
thwarted her hopes OF happiness,
she stipulated that he should fur
nish her $4,000 a year and permit
her to 1--we abroad. At any rate she
went away and he provided for her hand
sOmely. being a most indulgent father,
especially to this, his favored child. On
her second voyage Europeward she
formed a friendship for Mrs. Mitchell
and her daughter. One day While de-
nouncing the Catholics with all her IA
theirs fervOr she learned from them that
the Mitchells were Catholics. She was
,I,s,,.r Cd h1If Mp1
said, LET us dismiss the subject"
To her surprise Miss COwles reverted
frequently to it in a spirit of inquiry, and
Mrs. Mitchell finally referred her, on their
arrival at Rome, to the Bishop of Arme-
dale. She at length expressed desire to
become Catholic and enter a nunnery.
The Catholics aver that when her fathers
opposition to the church was learned the
Bishop was 10th to receive her into the
church until she should have years
time to ref ct on the matter. AT any rate
She brOoked no delay. but joined the
Catholic Church. She did not, however,
become nun. She cOnfided her secret to
a lady friend in Cleveland, and, of course,
il reached Mr.. COWles. HIS anger was
terrible, and he at once FASTENED to Lon
don, where his daughter then was.
The Catholics say that in his failure to
induce his daughter to leave the church
his ire was so great that Helen for short
time sought an asylum with nun. But
his treatment was not that OF brutal, per-
sOnal violence. Miss Cowles refused to
reuounce her religion. At length she
met a New Jersey gentleman named
POmeroy, who was said to be very
wealthy, but on the day of her marriage
to him he received the news that his
father had died after disinheriting him.
Mrs. Confectionery returned home on
visits after her marriage, and vas ac-
customed to 60 prior to the Sabbath to
some town out of the city Where she
could attend the Catholic Church without
disturbing her father. She at length be-
came an invalid, and was very sick in
her fathers house.
About this time some ladies of the Cath
Ole Church formed a Ladies' Land League
and were threatened with ex-communica-
ton by Bishop Gilmour, unless they
ceased to identify themselves with it.
Editor Cowles, with his Old-time vigor,
accused the Bishop of curtailing the lib
erty of conscience Of members of his flock
and offered to i've place in his columns to
a reputation of the charge, if the Bishop
could make one. The Bishop wrote and
sent to Cowles. by his private secretary,
Father Houch, a communication, which
81 angered COwles that he kicked Father
HOuch out OF his office and was fined the
costs for the assault. He refused to pub
Iish the communication, although he had
promised to give place in the Leaders
columns to the Bishops defense. Then
the Penny Press, an afternoon paper, and
the Catholic URiUerSe published the letter.
No one was surprised that the cOmmu-
nicatiOn had melted COWles to personal
violence when it appeared, for the Bishop
had penned a most caustic letter calling
COwles hypOcrite, in that he who be-
walled the fact that the Bishop had cur
tailed the liberty of conscience of his
paTishiOners. had prosecuted his own
daughter Helen, for conscience and her
religions sake and had, by his treatment
reduced her to her then invalid state.
COwles at once brought the civil suits
above mentioned, as well as one or two
criminal actions. The latter, however,
were compromised. While Mrs. COwles-
Fomeroy lay sick at her fathers house,
the Bishops lawyers called and took a
part of her deposition, and a tragic scene
ensuei. A lawyer asked the sick woman
if she had written some letters to GER
tain Catholic prelate. She admitted that
she had.
NWere the statements in these letters
correct?" asked the lawyer.
With her native quick wit, the poor
woman grasped the Importance of that
ing on her stormy interviews with her
father in regard to her religion were in the
lawyers hands, and her admission of the
truth of all the statements in those letters
would practically be a great victory for
the Bishop and a crushing defeat for her
father, who sat pale and angry in the sick
room. She had a daughters regard for
her father, and hoped for a compromise of
the suits. There was painful silence in
the room. She finally refused to answer
the question, and the lawyer said that the
notary must compel her to do so, or he
would 90 to court and ask for an order for
her to answer the question, and show
cause why she should not be punished for
contempt.
Then Mr.. Cowles, taking the lawyers
words to be threat of imprisOnlng his
sick daughter, angrily sprung up, de-
nOunced the lawyer, and shook his fist in
the latter's face. The physician, who had
sat with his hand on the lady's fluttering
pulse, warned the lawyer that the excite
ment would kill her, and the lawyer left.
The court refused to compel the sick
woman TO answer, and at the end of year
the sick woman died in Florence, leaving
unanswered the question. 1t was finally
agreed that if the Bishop would retract
certain expressions in his communication
charging Mr.. COwles with brutality to-
ward his daughter the suits would be
withdrawn, as Mrs. COwles-POmeroy
being dead the afflicted father did not
desire a legal fight over her grave. The
Bishop expressed a willingness to retract
the expression specified, and the case was
withdrawn with the stipulation that each
litigant shall pay his own costs.