The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1893-05-11
A ROMANCE IN REAL LIFE.
In Which The Villain Played a sue.
cessful Roll Until His Death.

1AGOAASOL Aduono, On VIC ulSUG vi
April 24th. When the evening train
arrived middleraged German wom>
an was one OF the first passengers to
alight. No sooner was she on the
platform than she was clasped in the
arms OF. big broad-shouldered
countryman. The woman cried and
sobbed like a child as she fell into
his arms and chung to him, while he
laughed and cried regardless of the
surroundings. The parties were
Mr., and Mrs. Weichman, who had
been separated tor twenty years,
each supposing the other dead.
Mrs. Welchman had arrived direct
from Germany for the purpose OF
joining her husband, who lives in
Osborne county.
They came to this country from
Germany in 1869, locating in PEN
sylvania. Four years later Mrs.
W eichman was called to her old
home in Germany to settle up her
fathers estate, she being one of FIVE
heirs inheritlng about $4,000 lii
cash and bonds, besides valuable
landed interests in Berlin and Ham
burg. Soon after her departure her
husband went to.Caiitornia, where
he remained d year, and then he
went to the Black Hills, where he
engaged in mining. While at Dead
wood, Weichman met young man
named Carl Kollatz, whom he had
known in Germany, and who had
been an unsuccessful sutton for Mrs.
Weichman's hand before her mars
riage Or even before hel engagement.
Kollatz soon learned of the good
fortune of the woman he had once
loved and determined to make one
more attempt to secure her hand,
and at the same time her fortune.
He suddenly disappeared from Dead
wood and six weeks later arrived at
his ole nome at Hamburg. He at
once sought out Mrs. Weichman
and told her a sorrowtul story about
her husbands death. He informed
her that her husband had been sud
denly killed in disaster in mine,
where they both had been working
many months. He produced pagers
purportlng to have been signed by
several miners who had been work I
ing with them and who had witness
ed the accident. He even delivered
to the stricken woman some of the
personal papers and letters which
he had stolen from his workmate,
and paid over to her sum OF mon>
ely which he represented as being
the cash assets remaining after de-
ductlng funeral expenses.
Mrs. Weichman believed the
story, as did all her relatives, and
she was easily persuaded to remain
in Hamburg. A year later KolIatz
began paying attention to the wo-
man, who supposed herself a widow
and soon after married her. He
was 1 reckless, indolent fellow who
had never before had the handling
OF much money, and in few years
he had spent spent more than halt
OF the woman's fortune. She chung
to him, believing that he loved her,
especially as she believed he had
been such a friend to her husband,
whose untimely death she even then
mourned.
Six months ago Kollatz was fatal
ly injured in railroad wreck and
died a week later. The day before
he died he made a confession in
which he told the wronged woman
of the past deception he had prac>
ticed. He persisted that he mad all
the time loved her, and that money
was not his only object. The con-
fession nearly drove the unfortunate
woman crazy. Placing the matter
i'll the hands of her relatives she
continued her attendance upon the
man who had wronged her, and for
ty>elght hours after buried him.
Her relatives at once opened cor
respondence with parties in Dead
wood, and inaHy succeeded in locat-
ing Weichman at Downs, Kansas.
He was dumtounded to learn that
his wife was still alive, as he had
received a letter from Hamburg
soon after her arrival there stating
that she had died very suddenly.
This letter was signed by Mrs
Wcichman's brother, or at least pur-
ported to be, and had been kept by
Weichman all these years. 1t con-
taiIed a draft tor a considerable
sum, represented as being all that
part of the wite's share that did not
revert to her family. Mr.. WEIGH
mar mourned for twenty years,
never having a thought of second
marriage. When the truth came to
his knowledge he arranged TOR his
wife to come to this country and
join him In his home here, which
was on we'll titled farm. The re-
united pair lett at once tor the west