The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1894-04-10

MUMMY. Iue Jury nnl beon III tue
court room daily representative, OF the
press OF tho whole country.
While aomo OF tho facts and tho cat ns.
tropho had happened in tho District OF
Columbia, tho plaintiff was resident oi
Kentucky, OF the samo congressional
dlgtrlct aa tho defendant, who came to
Washington merely, rs temporary
representative OF that state. Tho plain
III was friendless woman OF humble
birth, the defendant n man OF national
reputation. Later 1t would bo tho duty
OF tho speaker to say what tho commun.
ity had q right TO expect OF tho defend.
ant, and how greatly 1t had bocn 10 hia
interest TO find everything he could
against tho character OF tho poor girl.
1t could be fairly assumed that all his
intluenco, wide acquaintance aud fam.
lily connection had been used to rake up
whatever detrimental to hcr character
Tho result had been seen. Madeline
Pollard was tho daughter OF M humble
saddlcr, man OF good character, Of n
taste for books which he had cndeav.
orcd to impart TO his daughter until he
died.
Mr.. Carlisle, who has himself boon
tho master OF ono OF the leading
Masonic lodges OF tho city, reminded
the jury Of tho Masonic funeral OF Mr..
Pollard. Colonel Breckenridge had
known her father, and, according to his
version OF that first meeting on tho
train, had inquired for him, apologizing
whom he was told that tho father had
died. The lawyer sketchcd the early
life OF Miss Pollard rs disclosed by the
Testimony. life free from slandcr or
reproach until she had met tho colonel.
A COMPARISON OF AGES.
Mr.. Carlisle asserted that all the at,
tempts OF tho detenso to impeach the
character OF tho plaintiff had failed, al
luding briefly to tho engagement OF the
plaintiff to William Wood. He next in
vited the attention OF the jury to tin
type portrait OF Miss Pollard at tho
period when she first met Colonel
BreCkinridgc, and said:
"Look at that girl and then look at
the defendant, remembering how little,
rs the testimony for the defense says,
she has changed since then"
The white-haircd kentucky congress
man sat facing tho jury, so thoy had no
trouble in seeing him as thcylif,od their
faces rs though pulled by one string.
Taking up their meeting in the train,
whore frat tho lives of the two came to-
Gcther. and where their testimony be.
gan to differ. as they said, tho lawyer
remarked, "He has told you that there
was nothing improper in her conduct,
nothing 10 alarm him.
Before We come to this meeting lot
US consider who this defendant was.
Ho was from one OF tho best families OF
Kentucky, his father q prominent Pres.
byterian divine; he was blessed with all
the advantages which training aud cd.
ucation could give. He had great per-
soDal talents, ho graduated from college
ut tho early age OF eighteen; in 1857 ho
was admitted to the bar; in 1859 he was
married to q lady OF ono OF tho best
families in kentucky, who early died /;
in 1861 he was second timc married to
q lady SO estimabie that here on this
witness stand, in the midst OF this case,
he could not forbcar tribute in his
voice to that woman who had been the
mother OF his seven children.
"As he tells you, he had q happy
home, was beloved by his wife and chill.
dren. lie confeases that no man ever
had less excuse for what he did; that no
man has had greater advantages; that
no words could point tho depth to
which he fell This was the man who
met tho school girl on the train"
= From this point, Mr.. Carlisle turned
back TO James Rhodes, who was dead,
he said, and who could not bo called.
The letters from Madeline Pollard to
him had been read, and disclosed no
hint OF the relations which Mr.. Brock
inr!dge had attempted to charge existed
between them. Moreover, the descrip.
tion given by Mrs. Brown OF his char
actcr and OF his Difference toward tho
young girl had been heard. 1t was not
extraordinary that she should feel
alarmed ii Rhodes attempted to compel
her to carry ont one alternative OF her
contract and marry him.
She knew. Colonel Breckenridge as O
most distinguished lawyer OF that sec-
tion. aud, having met him, having been
told by him tnat lie knew her father,
sho wrote to him for advice. Then be-
gan the SECOND stage OF the controversy
between them. Colonel breckenridge
had produced letter which he said
she had written him and which sh @
pronounced forgery.
THE DISPUTED LETTER.
Returning to the disputed letter alter
the noon recess, Mr.. Carlisle dealt with
the testimony OF experts Hay and
Schaeiler, contonding that theirs was
not an exact science and that they only
claimed 10 have opinions upon pen.
manship worth more than the opinions
OF other people. He displayed the letter
to the jury aud with 1t the marriage
certificate for Colonel Breckinridgc's Is
secret marriage to Mrs. Wing. The au-
thenticlty OF the letter, he claimed,
rested wholly on the defendants word,
while the testimony OF the experts
should not weigh feather. He thought
that tho value OF the letter OF the dc.
fendant was merely as an opening
wedge, while the plaintiff would have
no obioc. in denying it except the fact
that she had not written it 1t would
have been easy to concoct u letter like
that, because for the most part 1t coin.
cided with the statements OF the plain.
tiff aud the defendant. He laid stress
OH the fact that OF all the hundreds OF
letters written by Miss Pollard to the
colonel this was tho only one which
had been found. with tho exception OF
little note written in 1889.
While Mr.. Carlisle was reading the
testimony OF Colonel Brecklnridge re.
garding his first visi. to Miss Pollard,
tho colonel spoke up in correction Of