Morning journal and courier., 1884-09-23
News by Telegraph
 FROM ALL QUARTERS. .BEWTTCHED BY 4 WOMAN A Rich Old Man Complete ly Infatuated WITH HIS SERVANT GIRL. A Scandal That is Stir
 ring Beacon Hill. BLAINE LEAVES NEW YORK. He is Warmly Received in
 Philadelphia.
BLAINE LEAVES NEW YORK.
INFATUATED WITH A SERVANT.

INFATUATED WITH A SERVANT.
 A Wealthy old Man Suceumbs 10 a DOmestfc's WtIes, Sets Her Up As
 Mistress of HfA Home And Cuts
 Loose From His GhiIdren-A Strange
 Tale of Scandal From Beacon Hill. BOSTON, Sept 22.-One of the most singu-
 lar stories of infatuation and intrigue which
 ever scandalized Beacon Hill society was told
 in the Supreme court today by Hon. E. R.
 Hoar, counsel for plaintiff in the case of Or
 rin s. Knapp, special administrator of the
 estate of Thatcher Magoun, and Thatcher Magoun, jr., and others against Margaret
 Magoun. The case involves extensive trans
 fers of property madS by Thatcher Magoun,
 who died May 27, 1883, to his former ser
 want, who was afterwards adopted by him
 and who received a large shala of the prop erty from his will. Margaret O4are, the
 defendant, known now as Margaret Magoun,
 was born in Ireland in 1894, but at he age
 of twenty or whereabouts came to America
 and hired out as domestic servant. Early
 in 1860 she was engaged in the family of
 Thatcher Magoun as body servant to Mrs.
 Magoun, who was rapidly becoming insan>,
 After the removal of the wife to an asylum in 1861 Margaret was retained by MT. Ma
 goun and it is alleged began to practice the
 arts upon her master which afterwards re-
 suited in his complete submission to her. At
 first MT. Magoun conducted his household in
 perfectly proper manner. Gradually, how
 ever, Margaret was exalted and finally
 installed as mistress, Magoun ordering his
 children to regard her as their equal.
 Finally Magoun's daughtef, Mrs. David L
 Kidder, was forbidden to enter the house in
 her fathers absence, Margaret charging that
 she had abstracted property therefrom and
 had treated her with incivility. The children
 were obliged to swallow the woman's insults and Margaret became the acknowledged queen of the old man'ssheart and mind She wore his wifes most valuable dresses and jewelry and took her afternoon drive in the finest carriages. So fond of her did. the old man become that in the winters of 1865.6-7 he established magnificent city residence upon Beacon street and here took Margaret to en- joy the delights of the city. But the pair found themselves at some loss for society and so MT. Magoun sent for his children to visit him, which they did. But the intercourse between the father and children was becom- ing more embarrassing, the parent openly accusing them of circulating reports injuri- OuS GO u4o uOuOI. III IA ApI1l, 1CIo, NIL NAes- goun, ST., dissolved his partnership with his son Thatcher jr., and Mr. Kidder, publicly asserting that they were conspiring to rob him and refused to have anything further to do with the latter. His relations with his sister, Mrs. Adams, of Lexington, were also greatly strained. In all his trials against his chil- dren he appears to have taken the word of Margaret as evidence against them. In the summer of 1875 the gentleman attempted to adopt Margaret but encountering some diff cu1ty in the law was not able to accomplish this until the following year, when the adoption took place. No means were now spared to render Margaret happy as the en- ioyment of all that money would afford could
 make her and presents of the most costly character were constantly being given her by Magoun. In 1919 Mrs Magoun died at the insane asylum, where she had been kept, and after that event all inter course between the father and children ceased until the formers final illness and death, which occurred in 1883.
 The prosecution expects to show that be- sides being under the influence and control of Margaret the deceased was possessed with all infatuation which rendered his enfeebled 1 mind easily tractable to the womans efforts It expects also to show that the conveyances by the late Thatcher Magoun to Margaret were made while in unsound condition of mind, which was embittered by the false reports of the defendant.