The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-04-28
REV. J. BELLS VICTIM
STORY OF MISS EMMA HALL AS RE-
vEALED BY HER LETTERS.
The Not Seen Since He Con-
fessed to His Wife and Fled from
His English Home.

OLDBURY, England, April 27.-The Rev.
Jonathan Bell came to Blackheath from
Bradford fifteen months ago. His pastorate
embraced the three ham,ets of Blackheath,
Rowley and Halesowen. Emma Hall, the
young woman for whose death the Rev. Mr..
Bell is said to be responsible, was a daugh-
ter of John Hall. day laborer employed
in the chemical works at Oldbury. Miss
Hall was engaged to nurse the wife of the
Rev. Bell, and when the latter recovered
she visited her mother. Emma remaining
with the family. Emma went to Leeds on
Oct. q last and wrote from that place on
Dec. q to a cousin, Joseph Hall, living at
Spark Brook, near Birmingham, as fol-
lows:
II am now beginning a very hard task,
one that breaks my heart, to write to you
q sad communication to deliver to my
Ena@r and md m ooa r. ! have sinn sdnr and dsf God
II was done, / could not have believed I
should have given myself away. l held out
until every bit of strength seemed gone.
Ever since I have been here / have buoyed
myself and my, parents up with thoughts
not so. When I left to come here it was
with the notion to soon be rid of my
failed"
Emma Halls parents received a letter
from her on Jan. IS. and heard nothing else
from her until the news of her death
reached them. The Hall family is in very
poor circumstances. The members live in
a small. neat. whitewashed cottage at
Blackheath. The mother is an honest. in
dustrious woman, but she is unable to read
or write. She says that Emma was a good
girl, was educated, and was always her
favorite. The girl loved here home. They
were crushed att the news received from
Detroit. Mr.. Bell lived at Primrose Villa,
Blackheath. His wife is a plain, hard
working woman with a small child. She
said to-day: II do not know where my
husband is. He left here on Tuesday after
seeing the papers. / fear he has commit
ted suicide, as he had no friends in Eng
land to who he could fly Mrs. Bell also
her, husband had with him. She admitted
he had confessed is guilt to her on Monday,
letter addressed to him at Boston, Mass,
and coming from Emma Hal, who wrote
trom Leeds; Miss Hall. in this letter, said:
Dear Friend-If you are still in Boston.
you will have mine of the 24th, telling what
have done. Had ! been wen there would
told me what was the matter in a minute.
vowed he would write to my parents if i
did not. When ! wrote my mother through
my cousin Joe, your name meyer crossed my
Ups, and never shall. know | have
gether. / do not think now that anybody
will think of you In connection with me tn-
less less it to be YOU, orr wife; but hope not; ! feel
me, but II you think / have forfeited every
right to your help and sympathy, I am sor-
battle II my scondition ever gets known.
You viii never be betrayed by me. Don't
angry with me. The part / played with
you was pleasant. but it left a bitterness
cannot look back without a shudder. but [
know the Lord has forgiven me. DO ex-
actly as you like: but come back and do
on high. / will do my best to get well and
be brave; Yours. ever. EMMA"
desk q lettergfrom Mrs, Jane, who keeps the
lying-in hospital in which Emma Hall died.
IL ana 's dafed Detroit, Nigh. April 10, 1893,
at Siackheath, and reads:
fro oSirn sdn,a received a letter from England
Miss Halls business. Now. this young
woman whom you sent only remained long
pleased with the place or with us. As@I
cannot compel anyone to STAY against their
had a New York paper in which were adj
vertisements of several hospitals of this ma
5ure. She cut them out, saying that if she
return to some place she was at previous
to coming here. She promised me on leav-
ing the depot that she would wire you at
some point on her journey. Did she do SO?
She told me she had been forbidden to write
letters on account of her family and posi-
ton. She also told me to be careful. For
that reason l left it to her to wire you in
f sbeaS st6 OF or doing 7g5 so 90 myself Rah She She left EFT, here on
= @ 2 tdht III
train on the Michigan Central, via the Ma
CARA Falls route Although she promised to
not done so. Probably she does not care to
write. / do not see why she did not care to
far as 1 can, and Miss Hall may be on her
guard and know who suspects her. You
may know these people and know if they
does not want the people of her own town
to know of her troubles Kindly answer at
once and tell me If she arrived home or If
she wrote you after leaving me. I have a
letter, and a letter card for her which ar
rived after she left. Don't blame me for
her. but she was odd and had a mind and a
and Seemed to think if she w went ro tn New
York she would not have so far to travel
for her boat when she was not strong. She
said she would go straight back and present
you with the infant. She seemed to have a
moods. but / liked her, for she had some
written you ali concerning. the matter.
Mrs. Bell told a reporter to-day that her
husband burned many letters on Monday
looked. 1t is presumed that the letter from
Detroit must have been written after the
merchant of Blackheath. and a member of
the flock of the Rev. Jonathan Bell, says
that bait the e. latter 1,t,ssd was ge seen a hy h Ia II 1sps 10
toward Causeway Green, which is a back
road to Birmingham Mr.. Parsons adds
mat 2 was fSNof aHN 4tCi-
ligent man. thirty-eight years of age, of
slender build, five feet nine inches tall,
wearing a long beard. and was of decidedly
Jewish appearance. Mr.. Parsons can form
no theory as to where Bell has gone, and
krows very little of the missing pastor'si
antecedents. The police inspector of Hales-A
owen says that the Hall family has not
asked for the arrest of Bell, and that no
warrant has been issued. He added: Il am
waiting some requisition from America. but
if MIR. Bell was to pass me on the street at
the present moment / could not arrest him.
l can form no theory as to where he has
gone. l think from what / hear that he
may have committed suicide, but / know
nothing definite"
Various members of the church of Mr..
Bell think that he went to America to make
arrangements with the keeper of the De-
froit hospital for the reception of Miss Hall.
It could not be learned from Mrs. Bell or
from the friends of the family what means
Bell had TO escape with.
The feeling against Bell is increasing.
At a meeting of officials of the church to-
day a resolution of sympathy with Mrs.
Bell was passed and 1t was decided to al
low her to remain in the church house until
the end of the ministerial year in July and
also TO provide a livelihood for her children.
THE ENGLISH SCANDAL.
Testimony Against Oscar Wilde and
Alfred Taylor.