The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1894-03-21
4 WATE ON SYMPATHY.
1t Comes to Miss Pollard in the
Celebrated Trial,
A GUILTY MOTHERS SACRIFICES.

Secret Marriage with Mrs. Wing.
WASHINGTON, March 81. 80 When the
phrill voice OF the bailiff cried adjourn
mcnt I'm the bare old circuit court yester-
day afternoon the yelled face of Madeline
Pollard was buried in her arms upon the
rough board top of the witness box, be-
hind which she had sat for three days
The only sound which had broken such
silence as seldom falls on a court room
was a sobbing that seemed to come from
her inmost heart. Three jurors were fumb-
ling in an uncertain way with their hand
kerchiefs the judge was staring toward
the ceiling abstractedly. Even the law.
yer whose cross-examnation had led up
to this passage wore look Of unwonted
gravity on his fatherly benevolent face
with something remarkably like moisture
about his eyes. If there was man among
the curious hundred in the court room
unmoved he was unconspicuous in the ma
jority of sympathetic faces. Madeline
Pollard had been telling the most tragic
episode of her unhappy life
"a woman can't do more than that for
a man. more than give up her child for
him. she had said. ~ laid my baby in
its coffin because it needed the mothers
k
me put it away from myself. | never let
him see me cry over it, because"
The sentence was unfinished, and no
more questions were asked. The men
trooped from the court room awed from
their customary charms of speculation
| and criticism.
| All day she had retained her composure
up to this close, telling her story with
such remarkable clearuess Of language,
such perception of the strong light which
certain phases would throw upon her case
that gentlemen experienced at the bar
were constrained to comment that she was
either telling the truth or was the most
cOnsummate actress who had ever come
under their observation.
The trial reached its climax early in the
! afternoon, when Judge Jere Wilson, fac
! ing Major ButterwOrth, had thrust at him
| direct the question whether his client adj
mitted the secret marriage to Mrs Wing
in New York and had, after a fiery pas
sage at arms, received an affirmative an
swer. From that crucial point the testi-
mony of the plaintiff regarding the turbu-
| lent days of pistols and promises follow
! ing the secret marriage on the 2gth of
April abounded in the most sensational
Incidents of the entire story
| From the questions prompted in part by
| the Kentuckian it developed that following
that marriage on the 29th of April. Col
onel Breckenridge had = npped at the Hoff-
! man House with Miss y ullard, registered
as his daughter; that she had threatened
to shoot him there, and he renewed his
| promise of marriage; that she had taken
| him from the presence Of his wife in Wash
| ing to the Office of the chief of police
where he had again promised to marry
| her.
The plaintiffs attorneys raised the con-
| tcntion that the secret marriage consti-
| tuted the breach of promise ON which the
suit was based, and that all following
events were irrevelent and to be excluded
! from consideration, but the point was
overruled. Most of the day up to the final
| interesting hour had been consumed in
reading the letters of Miss Pollard to
! James Rhodes, calling upon him for
money, and although interesting points
were raised the subject had been compar-
atively lifeless,
In her testimony Miss Pollard asserted
with great earuestness that the letters
sent by her to Rhodes which were intro
duced in evidence had been dictated by
| Mr.. Brcckinridge the idea being to CON
ceal the relations existing between him
self and Miss Pollard. She was passive
party to the arrangement because of her
desire TO shield Mr.. Breckinridge To a
| reference to her mother as "the agency of
deception in the Rhodes correspondence
Miss Pollard objected. Poor dear mama"
she said, SHOULD not be accused of that"
Another question asked the plaintiff by
| Mr.. Butterworth was; "Miss Pollard, you
said yesterday that your relations with
the defendant continued after his mar
riageY
After his secret marriage"
"Dd you have any suspicious about that
marriage?"
"No but knew he had been with Mrs.
| Wing in New York, and asked him about
it, He answered by telling me there was
nothing between them, and then he ma
ligned her. He spoke of her in language
cannot repeat, and that it would be hard
for any one to believe; and that she was
engaged to be married to Lieutenant
Chamberlain, of the army, and this was
all after his secret marriage"
"Did you believe there was nothing be
tween Colonel Breckinridge and Mrs
Wing"
"He told me that she was a very worldly
woman, and / certainly became suspicious
that he should spend twelve days with a
worldly woman"
"Nliss Pollard, did not you and Colonel
Breckinridge have some scenes about this
time"
ooh, yes" she cried scornfully, "lifC
with that man couldn't be all happiness
to everybody"
In answer to further questions Miss Pol
lard said she had never had any ambition
TO become an actress, as "only pretty
women go on the stage. A plain woman
would have no chance there" Her recita
of the visit to Major Moore, Washington,
chief of police, varied slightly from Majol
Moores account of the affair Speaking
of a letter in which Mr.. Breckenridge haC
written a solemn pledge Of marriage, sh'
was interrupted by Mr.. Butterworth ask
ing; "Have you that letterW
Miss Pollard raised her arm impressively
while every man in the court leaned for
5 ward to catch her reply, "He took it away
from me, )" she said, "on the nth Of Ma!
with the yilest, yilest lie"
After the letter was written, and befor,