The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-09-24

D
/ friend, and the spiritual adviser of the John
sons, had been in consultation her condition,
/ and it was finally agreed that she should IN
| dergo treatment for mental disorder, the con-
/ versation concluding with her piteous declara-
ton: ~ s, / suppose that means that must
go to an insane asylum Captain Johnson and
/ DR.. Wakefield went down town and slept at
/ hotel and shortly after they left, Mrs johnson
/ shot herself The suicide created much com
ment and conjecture at the time, but this died
away in few days, and had it not been for the
litigation instituted by her father, the stain OF
i dishonor would not now rest upon the memory
THE BEGINNING OF THE SCANDAL
On Wednesday, Dec II, just two weeks after
the death of Mrs Johnson her father, Dr.
/ Griffith, brought suit to set aside
the conveyance of the family homestead
on North Pennsylvania street, making allega-
tions that led to the publicity of the whole scan
dial On the night Of her death she and her
father had transferred the property to MIR.
Wakefield in trust for her son, and the claim
was made that undue influences were used to
bring about this result, and that her husband
| had acted dishonorably and dishonesty in the
matter The report of the filing of the suit, on
the next day, closed with these words: THE
Journal is panied to record one ghoul-like para
graph in the complaint-one that certainly
\ might have been omitted-allowing the unhappy
woman, so nurr1eQly taken lnUO 6I6fnlIy, TO nave
escaped blackening calunny, and suffered her
/ to at least have retained her good name. This
4 paragraph AYERS that Johnson wilhelm conference
i with DR.. Wakefield falsely represented to him
that his wife, Marietta G. johnson, had been Sc
/ duced while in Tennessee by a man named
! Henry, thereby forever alternating and sep
/ arating them. Upon receiving notice of the
i suit, Captain johnson, who had returned to
1 Tennessee, came back to indianapolis, but de-
! clined to make any statements for publication,
i further than to deny the charge made by DR..
1 Griffith, that he had murdered his wife because
she would not accede to his wishes regarding
the disposition Of the property. Regarding
| Major Henry and how he had figured in their
4 domestic complications, he had nothing to say,
i In speaking of Mrs. johnson he con-
| tnuaOy referred to her as My honored wife by
/ whom | hope to buried when | die" the
Il honored mother of my noble son, and by other
similar expressions. On the following Monday
he gave to the public the note which his wife had
i written the night before her death, which was as
4 follows:
i Il had already written a letter, which have de-
stroyed, and substitute this. nothing for me to
do now, but what have at least attempted to do,
/ hope shall not fail. There is nothing for me to
save by staying. and have suffered enough by not
/ going before. ] have Inundated myself to pur.
pose; so now farewell and may God have that mercy
that all on earth refuse MARIETTE
In the preliminary examinations incident to
1 the trial Of Dr. Grifiths suit Captain johnson
made all honorable efforts to prevent his wife's
/ letters to him from being made public and tried
i to effect compromise OF the case, but his
i efforts were unavailing. Judge Taylor ruled
i that the letters must be brought out in evidence
las the facts contained in them were material,
i Captain johnson was put on the stand and he
j gave detailed account of the experiences of
! himself and wife in Tennessee last summer;
how she first met Major Henry; how their inti-
| macy grow upon them, and inalyled to scandal
Gus rumors which he felt called upon to inves
! tgate. The result was their entire confirma-
ton. When they first came to his ears, he re-
i ported them in detail to his wife, who was then
/ in Indianapolis, at her urgent request. Their
truthfulness was denied, more by implication
/ than by any direct answers at first. The CORE
| spondence between husband and wife was ex-
ceedingly voluminous, and in few weeks
i amounted to sIxty-six letters. but sixteen of
1 which were introduced in testimony.
4 THE SCARLET LETTERS.
Under date of November ~, Mrs johnson
wrote her husband a letter, limiting at suicide
and concluding with the questions Tell me, is
there really such thing as mesmerismY Can one
person control the will of another entirely" This
he considered as an indication that she was
about to confess to her relations with Major
Henry, and this belief was confirmed by the
following pathetic, letter written week later
tsMy Dear Husband--Your letter of the 18th came
this morning Just in time the, last act in the
4 scene Of life with me- / have everything prepared,
and tonight would have been the sleep which knows
i
which has deferred before that then all would
be known and for Griffith sake, than anything
else waited to see if there was no alternative not to
i save my life; no. never for moment would have
been willing to endure eternity of woe if could
have saved you and him. The reason have implored
you to let you all the time, was that thought
i to you alone could tell the truth. The most
countabe part of possessed was that
4 SO long as I was in c. could not see and
dered to myself but every effort and deter Inination
| made seemed of avail. was powerless. will
tell you the truth know and feel it to be such.
I There never in any way, by word or deed, any
improper advance made to until you and Griffith
versation kind and such to gain confidence,
such as would feel toward much older than my
self and in position, as thought to make any i'm.
proprietes impossible. After you left he constituted
! himself my guardian, coming to take me to meals
and various other attentions which did not receive
without some protest as Mrs. G.. and others could
attast If thav would He said vnn had left me in his
care and answered did not believe it, because you
j knew could take care of myself. Still he perse-
been gone days. in the afternoon, he came into
/ my room sat on the sofa, and he in chair
i looking up There had been nothing said to alarm
| mel, when felt an influence, and looking up,
met his eyes fixed on me and his lips moving
my hand and stroked it said: Don't, Major
You can't mesmerize me; it has been tried before
and he merely said not and kept highland, and put
my will giving way and begged him to desist but he
! kept me, and, though the door wide open. and
I 4
help it. but there was no act Of pollution. Soon he
j left me- and determined would not allow such an
opportunity again and thought what should tell him
when saw him and that should be the end of in.
/ tercourse. When he came again l found he had
power never thought possible, and that what he
willed should do was powerless to oppose. Though
did not love him. yet he had strange fascination
and was queted and my fears subdued when in his
/ embrace-neyer more than that. never thought Of
anyone else of its being wrong. NY love for you
4 and c. was the same. never felt injuring
i YOU and he seemed satisfied to have near
i Z hse1O for Vvao hat he
was satisfied just be meust to take my hand
and press it to his face smooth my hair that salts
fed him. as he was seldom passionate. And now
secret but it may have much to do with
! the case. Though, no doubt, he had every
DESIRE yet do not believe he capable of really
lastir,c iri,,ry = :. Now. what his