Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-12-18
REV. JAMES THEORIES.

4n1t 6uluI IAOAy lH WA1Cn t1o k0AA1AAy VI A>oV .
Mr.. James cut all the figures, himself
being the central one. The upshot was
that his wife sued for divorce, and the
case came on for trial before Judge Clark
yesterday. Itis being tried without q
jury. and Mrs. James was the only wit
ness examined yesterday. 1t has been
thought here by men Of the world, news
paper reporters and all others that the
Garrett case, which has occupied so
much public attention Of late, was the
worst one for downright nastiness and
depravity ever brought to light in this
State, or in almost any community in
the world. 1t actually becomes clean
by comparison with the James case.
Rev. and Mrs. James are people of
about 80 years of age. They are of
English birth, and it is seldom that
nature deals more kindly by people than
she has with these two. They are as
nearly the direct opposites of each other
as can be. James seems like an old-time
Danish viking, with his long black locks
well-kempt and his dress made to con-
form to the usages Of modern days. He
is tall, shapely, dark and Intelligent to q
marked degree. The lady is more .
Saxon than an antique Dane.
She is of light complexion,
with q skin like roses amothered
in snow. Her features are delicate,
her person we'll developed, tall, shapely
with small hands and feet, with limpid
eyes and wealth of tresses, blonde
with the least suspicion of red in them.
There is an air of considerable refine
ment about her manner in all excepting
whore her husbands very peculiar
theories have made her senses callous to
all shame. She is intelligent, too.
The woman told the story Of her life,
and in the lines that relate it should be
put picture of James as he appeared ct
Long Beach last summer. He is de-
scribed as dressing in q bathing
suit of rather scant dimensions, of very
close fit, and made of material of very
delicate colors. Dressed in this he
basked in the genial tropic sunshine on
the beach for hours each day, took long
strolls along the sand, and disported his
manly form in the waves, the observed of
all observers, the cynosure of all ewes,
He attended his task of teaching the re-
ligion of the chaste and pure Jesus from
the Methodist pulpit, with distributing
brochures of his own theories and giving
object lessons on the same to anv and ali
willing ears-that is, female ears. He
had profound contempt for the mascu-
line mind and supreme indifference
to the depths of ignorance in which the
male portion OF mankind wallowed. His
delight was to shed the refulgent beams
OF his knowledge, 30 pure and elevating,
on the minds OF women. If they were
very young women with plastic minds
unbiased by stupid prejudices, SO much
the better, and if they were pretty as
we'll az young, doubtless the scintillations
OF James genius in their coruscations
were proportionately brilliant, as he
taught the young idea how to shoot.
With this pen picture of James in his
daily vocations and associations in the
minds eye, the story told by Mrs. James
will be all the more intelligent.
She and James were born near
to each other in Merry England.
1t was in Lancashire. James was a pre-.
cocious youth. He was about half q
year older than the young girl whom he
delgned to love, because, like Mo-
hammed with his best beloved wife, she
was his first convert. He began when
they were between IA and Is years old
to develop to her his revelation of things
he would have her think divine. There
was good deal of physiology in the
teaching of James. From the outward
shell of the human form and from it's
outward limbs and fourishes he led the
plastic mind to the innermost arcsna
OF human physical nature and to the most
Iecondite mysteries of life and being.
This was all done under the guise OF
purity and truth. He made a promise
OF marriage to her in order to fulfill the
requirements of the common prejudice of
this slow and obfuscated age, and OBJ
tanned pledge of love from her. He
then made fierce attack on her virtue.
and failing to carry the fort of her Rirlish
modesty by the fine spoken theories he
had taught her, he essayed to do it by
physical violence. She resisted, and he
began the slow but sure programme of a
siege. In due time she capitulsted TO
his passion and before she became q
mother they were married. She was
then not quite 16 and he was but six
month her sonior.
Five months later he came to America.
taking q woman with him on
whom he might lavish his ardent
affections and keep his hand
In practice as teacher of the new COS
pei of purity. After while he sent for
her, and she came on to Eureka, Ne
vada, where he was preaching, having
become minister in the M. E. church.
They went about from place to place in
Nevada, then came to Oakland, From
Oakland he visited Southern California
and got charge of the church at Long
Beach. He sent for her and her two
children and baby to come there, and
thus this section has had the benefit of
James peculiar gospel of purity, and
also of the nice scandal of this divorce
suit.
Mrs. James was very specific about the
story she told Of her husbands doings at
Oakland and Long Beach. Their house
at the former place was small, con.
tanning only three rooms. James
had many proselytes about him,
and sleeping at his house was
one OF the object lessons by which they
mastered his fine theories of purity. His
household embraced, besides himself and
his wife and children, nephew of about
l6 years old, named Charlie Harrison q
sister Of James named Lilly, and
young lady named Agnes Clark. At
Oakland there was family named Mott,
comprising q mother, two boys and one
or two girls. The children ranged from
IA TO 18 or 20. Time, place and circum-
stance, go material in the eyes of the
law, are immaterial to reporter. Merely