The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-11-21
NORTHUMBERLAND
NARROW ESCAPE OF A GIRL
WHO ANSWERED AN AD.

Tho Festive Lothario 65 Years Old
and Worth S1,ooo,Ooo, But the
Head of Family-His Wife Finds
Come of the Atlanta Girls Letters.
A Divorce and Damage Suit.
ATLANTA, Ca. Nov. 2O-Miss Matte
Bellah is the youngest daughter of one of
the best families in Atlanta. She is very
pretty, and accomplished in musical and
literary way. The Bellah family occupy a
nice home on Whitehall street, and Miss
Matte aud her sister have long en-
joyed wide circle Of friends.
Quite a while ago Miss Mattie's
sentimental nature aud girlish love of the
romantic prompted her to answer the ad-
vertisement OF a matrimonial bureau. As
a result correspondence sprung up between
her and gentleman in Elmira, Cal, thirty
five miles from San Francisco.
CLAIMED TO BE WORTH A MILLION.
The gentleman signed his letters"A. s.
Thornton" and represented that he was
worth a million. He said he was a child
less wldower and pictured in touching tints
the loveliness of his beautiful home. His
profession OF admiration for the fair At
lanta girl whom he bad never seen were so
sincere In his correspondence and seemingly
so honorable that Miss Beilah's girl
ish waywardness began to as
sumo firmness and tenderness
that she never dreamed OF when the first
letter was written. Finally Mr.. Thornton
came all the way from California to visit
his Georgia sweetheart. When he returned
the correspondence continued and then he
made second visit to the Bellah home. This
time he carried back to the Golden Gate the
pretty Atlanta girls promise to become his
wife.
HIS HAIR TINGED WITH GRAY,
he was an elderly man. Sixty>five years
had tinged his hair with gray, but then he
was wealthy and there was the thought of
being an old mans darling. which his tens
derness could not help but inspire. Some
time ago Mr.. Bellah got hold Of book
descriptive of Salome county, in which
Thornton said the beautiful home he
owned was located. Sure enough
there was the place illustrated
and described in glowing terms. The young
lady's suspicious we're aroused because the
book gave the name of the owner as w. w.
Smith. She wrote to the postmaster at Ell
mira, and he replied that A. 8. Thornton
and w. w. Smith were one and the same.
He also said Mr. Smith was married and
had family of lovely children. He was
wealthy and prominent.
THE REPORT CONFIRMED.
Recently Mr.. Tripp of LaGrange, who is
a friend of the BellRh family, went to Cali
FORMS and while there interested himself
in looking up Mr.. Thornton. His discover
les corroborated the postmaster's account,
and he 80 informed Miss Mattie and her
family. 1t is now probable that the gay Cal
ifornlan will be the defendant in damage
suit Ia which pretty Miss Matte Bellah
is plaintiff. There is still another seusa-
tional chapter to the story. kilograms re-
ceived in Atlanta to-day tell of a suit for
divorce which Smiths wife has filed against
him. 1t seems that she got hold of the let
ters Miss Bellah had written to her hus-
band from Atlanta and thus acquainted
herself with his faithlessness
REALLY WEALTHY.
Smith is really a very wealthy man aud
an extensive fruit grower. Up to the capt
ure of the Atlanta letters he, with his wife
and family lived at Vicavilles. fifty
miles from San Francisco. The
old Lothario had his matrimonial
bureau mail directed TO Elmira to evade
his wife's detection, but unfortunately his
strategem failed and the pretty Atlanta
young lsdys romantic dream ends in a
libel for divorce and damage suit.