Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-12-03

side Of the town. used 20 VISIT the wldoW
daily. As occasion served, in the inter-
walls of offering spiritual consolation ne
confided 70 her his own troubles NOT LOT
himself so much did he grieve that pc Was
peuniiess, but for the sake OF us da3gn
ter a girl of manageable age 70 "nom
be was too poor to give dowry. Mrs.
MORGAN. in one Of her impressionahle
moods, promised 10 purchase a house lot
him. but few days later, when shs nad
reg8ined her strength, she realized the
eXtua al Of the promise she had mace 70
him, arih deeply regretted IL. Too sensi-
] Gve .tos Ivt3,fhe reverend gentleman that
she hsd made the promise when not prop
erIy herself and that she did not wish 20
keep il, she voluntarily made h'm
several presents of very considera-
he sdms of money, IN the nope
that he would then have too much
dplicaey 10 exact Of her the fulfllment OF
that promise. lie took the money, and
fwbeu a favorable occasion presented Itself
he tod her that ne had found just the
bousetbat he would Ike his noble kind
hea rted lenefactress TO buy for him, IN
9ccOraapae vita her prom Sc. II was a
nice h0usp. ia a quiet, aristocratic neieh-
borh0nd 30 East Thirty-fOurth street, and
IL very much pleased his wife, who had
seen il. The widow immediately sent for
me and instructed me, as her confidential
agent, to learn the value Of the house, but
not to let it be known that she was the
I Intending purchaser, as she intended TO
have the deed made out in the name OF
the Rev. DR., COnkhng. The contract for
purchase was made: she herself drew
from the Second National Bank the re-
quired sum of money, So, 800, and sent 1t
to Or. CCnkling, who raid it over and re-
ceived a deed for the property IN his own
name.
'Not long after that Mrs. Morgan was
induced to pay the expense of reftting
and furnishing the new house, putting
handsome antique front doors to it, alter
ing wholly its main stairway, and max
ing other radical and costly changes,
amounting to over S45, 900. While that
was going on the widow sent the Rev. DR..
COnking and bis family on a tour across
the continent at her expense.
''After the return of the minister and
his family from the Pacific coast, the
widow gave him a constant succession of
heavy sums of money TO defrav bis house
hold expenses, to furnish his house in
sly lie suitable to tue improved magnif-
cence of the building. to adOrn and en-
bellish it., to dress himself and his fami-
ly and so on. She had become greatly in
terested in him, and letters we're cOntinu-
ally passing and repassing between them
through my hands. or all the many times
that Mrs. Morgan commissioned me TO
carry a letter for her to the Rev. DR..
COnkling. | can recall but very few when
did not also have to convey to him some
gift Of money or other valuable. Between
Nov. 10, 1879, and Jan. /, 1880, | carried
him $1,000 in money from her. DR.. COnk-
ling was not without a help-meet in his
wife, and she, too, found consolation in
the widows generosity.
A haIrf ii a. he
gan instructed her business agent, Mr..
James RintOul (who used to serve her
husband in the same capacity and to
whom she was accustomed 10 present
$4,000 a year, outside Of his commits
sions }, to purchase for her and deliver to
her at her house $500, 600 in four per cent.
government bonds. He bought the bonds
IN three lots OF $500, 600 each, all within
four or five days, and delivered them to
her She kept them in her possession for
two weeks. Then one day the Rev. DR..
COnkling came in a coupe. She gave the
bonds TO him. BY her direction, ] helped
him to carry them 10 his coupe. That was
the last saw OF the bonds. and very nearly
the last | saw OF the Rev. DR.. COnk-
ling. for shortly afterwaTd be went over
TO Europe, and did not return until Mrs.
Morgan was dead. Before be went away.
however, about a week after the bonds
down town, sold them, and bought United
States registered bonds with the money.
DIR. COnkiing was not the only person
who benefited by the widows generosity.
After her husbands death Mrs. Morgan
developed a sort of spasmOdic entnusi-
asm for buying paintings, jewels, an
tiques and the thousand and one things
humOrOuslv classified as objects OF big
Otry and virtue.' When not suffering
from hn cd lnH oil Al
her life, and when, consequently, her
mind was clear, she had little or no in
cliLation TO buy such things. and would
not make bad bargain. But when her
mental faculties were clOuded she was
quickly elevated TO the position of the
leading patrOness of art in America.
1t IcOst her over $1,000, 600 TO one jeweler
alone, in less than six years. to be the pa
trOness of art in America. Once she was
induced to buy one dozen and half of
dinner plates at $4,000 per dozen. Plates
became one OF her mobiles. She spent for
plates 100000. In June, 1881. she went
over to Europe, aud in Paris she bought a
great deal OF valuable stuff. among the
rest 100000 worth of diamonds, set In
jewelry, which she bought for her own
use, and brought back with her.
"Mrs. Morgan expended for paintings
alone the sum OF $l.199, $50, and for etch-
bought by her we're worth less than she
was induced TO give for them. know Of
oil paintings that she paid as high as S23,-
600 each for that were not actually worth
$50, 000 each. But, even ifthey were all that
they were represented to her, that is no
excuse for the keeping OF some OF them by
people who have no right to them. Eleven
pictures, OF the aggregate value OF ST.
600, are missing yet.
"As Tor her orchids, Mrs. Morgan
| bought OF them to the extent Of SlI5 900
from the English flOriculturists. Veitch.
! Williams and Bull, and Sl30.OO0 more
from American growers of those rare and
costly plants. According to the terms of
their sale the auctioneers have sixty
days in which TO make their report. so /
don't know how much has been realized
from them, but possibly 10 per cent, OF
their cOst.
I'm going over the subjects have
touched I have by no means exhausted
the field. There were many other persons
drawing large sums from Mrs. Morgan.
TO 0nttier a Co., for instance, she paid tor
painting snd irescO'ng her paror $ll 600,
for wQOd-panellnE OF her hallway SAL
600, FOR liking up the Rev. DR.. Conking's
house 5,000-in all S97. 000-and TO Her.
ter Brothers for rehtting her second. floor
front room $4,000 But high art decora.
ton and furniture is an expensive luxury
10 Indulge, and those sums We're really
earned.
''Oh July OF the present year Mrs.
Morgan died at the Windsor hotel Sara