Omaha daily bee., 1889-01-27
HER DEAD HUSBANDS GHOST,
1t Annoys Pretty Widow Toomley
and Her Gentlemen Callers.
a SIMILAR CASE m ST. LOUIS.
Haunted Her Recrcant L~oyer-John
Ihrock ,norten's Romance Over
Again-An Enoch Arden Who
Didn't Return Too Late.
NoveIe,tes i'm one Chapter.

A mystery that for n long time has panied
detectives and is still a pulling and pro.
found enigma, has alarmed the immediate
relatives and friends Of Mrs. Mary l.. loom
ley, who resides at Old Mill Green in Hart
ford, Conn. Mrs. Toomley is "A widow about
thirty-cight years old and still retains much
OF her former beauty. She is highly accom-
plished and an excellent crayon artist. Ten
years ago she married jerome Toomley, a
young man of excellent habits, but who was
unfortunately a local curiosity owing to his
lack OF adipose tissue. Toomlcy could well
have passed for a living skeleton. As a rule
he was shunncd by his female acquaintance
his unprepOssessing and CHASTITY appearance
sending a chill of horror down their verte-
brn. Notwithstanding Toomley's withered
physique, he wooed and succeeded in winning
the p~rcttiest girl among his acquaintance
For a year their cOnnubial relations nlled
the measure of their anticlpations. At the
expiration of twelve months of happiness
the husband died suddenly of heart disease
at exactly 3 O'Clock in the afternoon. While
in the flesh Toomley often expressed a fear
that he would not live long, and frequently
tried TO prevail upon his wife to register "a
vow that she would never marry again after
his death. Mrs. Toomlcy is positive that
she did not yield to his pressing solicitation,
as she considered 1t merely a whim which
did not demand so serious an obligation.
BE that as IL may, MIS-. lOOmlcy Is uceplN
perplcXcd and her many friends are exceed
ingly alarmed over her fate, which circum-
stances seem to point toward a future entirely
void of peace and happiness. Whenever Mrs.
Toomley receives or cntertains her gentle
men friends she experiences a sensation as il
beng urged away from her guests, and no
matter what hour of the day it may be, her
watch, the gift of her dead husband, will
point at exactly 3 o'clock, the hour of his
death. During the past six months Mrs.
Toomley has granted Mr.; Charles L.; flem-
ming, of Sheldon, the privilege of calling on
her. One evening at about 9:3O the clock on
the mantelpicCe struck 3 and the hands
pointed to that hour. At the same time Mr..
Flemming looked at his watch, and, to his
surprise, he bcheld the hands of his valuable
timepicce indicating the same hour. Mrs.
Toomley believes that some strange power Is
trying to prevent her from ever again enter
ing into the matrimonial relation, and the
same opinion is entertained by her numerous
friends, who have ocular proof of the myS-
FERROUS power that is making Mrs. Toomley's
life seriously unpleasant.
Miss Florence f. Haffa, daughter of the
late Judge Haffa, of the federal court at
Vicksburg, Miss, and a belle in fashionable
society, was recently committed to an insane
asylum near Bridesburg, Pa. She had been
arrested on the complaint of DR.. Charles n.
Williams, a son of Justice Williams of the
/. supreme court of Pennsylvania, whom she
was engaged to marry. The couple first met
here SIX years ago. Williams was then a
dashing young student ut the Pennsylvania
university, and Miss Haffa was a brown
eyed, rosy-cheeked beauty of fifteen, occupy
ing a proud social position. On his second
visit to her home Williams proposed and was
accepted, agreeing that the marriage should
take place after his graduation. BY that
time, however, he had changed his plans and
coldly said that the marriage could not take
place. Williams then left the city, but re-
turned about a year ago and the young
woman began to haunt his footsteps. Sho
took her stand before his office doo-, saying
that she would not leave until he had
kept his pledge. She remained seven
hours without food or drink.
Her perslslstency angered Williams
and he had her arrested Afterwards she
was released, being sane apparently on all
pther subjects, but again took her stand be-
fore his place of business. She was again
arrested an after a hearing was committed to
the asylum. The hearing was most dramatic.
Miss Haffa's affliction had not robbed her of
her beauty, and her gentle manner, added to
her exquisite dress and modesty, enlisted
general sympathy. With large tears cours.
ing down her cheeks she pleaded with DR..
Williams not to cast her off, protesting her
has since married David S. Root, the artist,
substantiated the main points of her story,
but Williams was cold as steel. Once she
advanced and said: Charles, be a man and
acknowledge that you promised to marry
me" 81 never made such a promise" was
his answer. "You lier" Miss Haffa said,
quietly adding: ''Think Of all the misery
You have caused me" She offered no resist
ance to the officials who conducted her to the
cab, but kept her reproachful eyes fastened
on Williams until the door closed on his
form.
Da,o NJn.,A, =, lN,A,nh np,n n,,A1 ,;.t,,
was arrested in Carondelet, a suburb of st.
Louis, and sent to the insane asylum. The
case has some features in common
with Amelia Rives' sensational novel.
Mrs. Messor came to Carondelet
forty-two years ago, She married IL man
named Forman, and lived very happily until
he was drowned in a stone quarry pit. After
a few years of this mechanical sort of exist
ence she met a man who bore some striking
resemblance, fancied or real, to Forman
After a brief courtship they were married,
His affection for her was said to lave been
remarkably strong. But, when, after n shor
absence, he returned to his bride, she would
have nothing to do with him. She told {
neighboring woman that she regretted hav
tng married him, not but that he was an eX,
Cellent man. for whom she had unbounded
respect and confidence, but she felt that she
mac violated u SuCreu ue WHICH, she man
tanned, bound her to her dead husband. Mes
Dor left her, but has secretly kept {
loving watch over her ever since
She shortly began to interest her neigh
bors with the constant REPETITION of n story Il
the effect that a dark shadow, the exac
image and likeness of her husband, con
tinually proceeded her wherever she would
60. AT all times of night she would startl'
some of the neighbors by loud knocking OF
their doors. When any one opened the doc
the nocturnal visitant would regale her hos
with the old, old story about the shadow o
her dead husband, while the host in nigh
clothes, shivered impatiently. About
O'Clock in the morning she aroused II. Mer
sot, at his home, No. 1904 South Broadway
and after she entertained him for a time h
took her into the house, fearing she woul'
destroy herself. But she annoyed his famil,
SO much by her monotonous spook story tina
he had her arrested.
A tragic-comic romance lately occurred a
Buda-P esth, A STRIPPING OF seventeen fel
In love with a girl three years his junior, AM
the children were in such despair at the pros
pect of having TO wait SO long before the.
could be married That they decided TO CON
init suicide. After kissing and hugging eac
other, the couple repaired to the Danube
and with a fortitude worthy of "a bette
cause the girl jumped in. Fortunately sh
could swim, and availed herself fully OF he
capabilities in that art. She shrieked 10
s'help," which was soon at hand. Just as sh
was safely landed her lover aimed thre
pistol shots at himself, but none Of them too
effect, and q quarter OF an hour later tn
young folks were handed over to their re