The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1894-03-29
MR. ROSSELL TESTIFIES
Miss Pollard's Old Lover Appears
for Breckenridge,
HB WAS ONCE ENGAGED TO HER,


But Declares That Her Actions Were Not
Calculated to Hold His Respoot-De-
positions Tending to Show That the
Plaintiff was Unchaste.
WAsHtNGToN March 2g.-The surprise
pf the Pollard -Breckinridge trial yester-
Jay was the unexpected appearance of one
Of Miss Pollard's old lovers, Rankin Ros-
sell, a Kentucky schoolmaster. His depo-
Bition had been read in the case, but to
make his testimony doubly sure the ex-
| liancee was introduced in person. and no
sooner had he taken the stand than
| Madeline Pollard glided in, for the first
time this week from the Office of her
attorneys across the street, where she waits
to be sent for when her presence is needed.
| Most OF the testimony yesterday was in
the form of dispositions, and much of it
was of a character which can only be pub
lished in eNnH rgated forms. Those depo-
sitions, regarding which Judge Bradley
had expressed his regrets that they could
not be excluded on general principles,
were recited, and the justification for the
scathing comments on them was self evil
dent. Some of the language employed by
Hiram Kaufman, a Lexington butcher,
and John Brandt, ianitor from the same
! place, would hardly be tolerated in a well
reg ulated barroom. These gentlemen adj
mitted in a matter of fact way their ten
denotes toward habitual drunkenness and
marital iniidelity, and the court admitted
their statements uneXpurgated, as he re-
marked in conversation that the jury
might judge of the character of the wit
nesses.
Colonel BrecBnridges private secre-
tary was one witness of the day, and an
other was Colonel Hay, the best known
man in Washington, and incidentally an
expert on penmanship, who was subjected
to further cross-eXamination upon the
principles employed in detecting forger-
les, under the suggestions of another eX-
port who sat at Attorney Wilson's elbow
From the addition of this new expert into
the case it looks as though a hard fight
had been precipitated over the authen-
ticity of that black bordered letter which
was made public yesterday.
The case Of the defense is drawing to a
close, with the appearance of Colonel
Breckenridge, whose testimony is expected
to occupy at least three days. Then there
will be rebuttal for an indefinite length,
as Miss Pollard will take the stand again,
and witnesses have been summoned from
Kentucky.
Mr.. Rossell testified that he had met
Miss Pollard first in the fall of 1888, when
he was emr rlpyed in a Cincinnati dry
goods store Miss Pollard came into the
store and introduced herself to him, stat
ing she had heard her cousin, Nellie Oh
liver, speak of him often. At her request
he accompanied her to the Wesleyan col
lege, where she stated to DR. Brown that
he was n personal friend. Subsequently
! he called on her regularly at the semin-
ary, sometimes twice a week. She in
formed him of her engagement to Mr..
Rhodes, and of her dislike for that gem
tleman. The friendship between himself
and Miss Pollard led to love, and finally
they were engaged to be married.
When asked why he had allowed the
engagement to drop Mr.. Rossell said that
she had allowed him TO kiss and hug her
in a way he did not like in woman he
loved. Once he had written her about the
rings he had given her. He had destroyed
the reply.
Last April he had made application for
the position of gauger in the internal rev
enue service; but when his friends per
suaded him to run for superintendent of
schools he Withdrew his application. Did
not know Colonel Breckenridge when he
applied for the revenue position. His APP
plication had been withdrawn before he
made deposition in this case.
Mr. Wilson jumped into the cross-exam-
ination enthusiastically.
"You Withdrew your application before
you made that depositionr he asked
eyes, sir"
"How long beforeW
"Well, about"
"Was not the same day you made your
deposition the morning of the same day?'
7 'Yes; it was"
q "And didn't you have your application
! in your pocket when you made the depo
t sitionW
h "Yes sir that's fact'
= Asked if he did not know it to be a fact
a that visitors were permitted at Wesleyan
a only one night week, Rossell said hC
only knew he had told the truth, and Mr.
It Wilson returned sarcastically: eve dom
II care for your protestations about your tes
Y timony; we only want answers"
/. Rossell reiterated that Miss Pollard haC
+. sat on his lap for two hours at a tim,
70 there. Miss Pollard had told him tina
= she was born in November, 1868. 9Th,
e plaintiff claims that she was born Nov 30
r. 1865,
a The dispositions of Kaufman and Brand
IS tended to show that in 1888 Miss Polar,
e was an occupant of Lena Singleton
NJ bouse of i'll fnme in Lexington