Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-12-21
A Bundle of Love Letters.

A Bundle OF Love Letters.
Mrs. Connor had what was better than
aldermen, living or dead to prove her case.
She had what was even'Better than the cor
rcboration of her own testimony. She had,
IN a bundle, the love letters Of John P. Van
Ness in his own handwriting, both before
and after the marriage, oand she produced
them. They were read IN open court. There
was no mistaking their ring. 1t had the
sound of true love in every syllable. The
letters prior to the marriage were ardent
professions of love aHdo idolatry for the
widow. In those written subsequent to the
event, he alluded to the h"aldermanic mar
riage" in Philadelphia, and called the Widow
Connor his wife. The Old Dutch Van Nesses
in pictures up at Undertook must have
fallen from their frames as the letters were
read in the old Circuit Court. There were
the letters in black and white. There were
upward Of thirty of them. They We're
handed around to the jury. They were pre-
sented to the world for inspection. Were
they forgeries or genuine? If they were
genuine, they were confederation, confess
sion, proof, and the widow could live the
balance of her life in mansion. If they
were forgeries, the weeping Widows chances
for the penitentiary were certaintieS.
Over fifty different men who had been
connected with the bank of which Van Ness
was president. as directors and clerks
through a series of years, and who had seen
him write SO often that.his chirography was
as familiar to them as his face, were
brought to prove or disprove the genuine
ness of the letters. Each one examined
each letter, first with 'magnifying glasses
and then without No letters were ever
subject ted to such examination before nor
since. They were read, placed on window
panes and behind candle light, read upside
down and crossways. They were read all
together and separately. Men walked up
and selected one letter from the bunch as
conjurer would a card from the pack to per-
form trick with. and then they put the
letter back in the bunch and were no wiser.
They hemmed and they hawed, and after
days thus spent in the amative epistolary
examination of the men most familiar with
the deceased bank presidents handwriting,
the most swore beyond doubt that the let
tiers were genuine. Some doubted and
wouldn't swear at all. Experts on hand
writing were summoned witnesses from
far and near. They examined the letters
under glasses and over glasses. They
hemmed and hawed. They looked wise and
stupid They differed in their opinions, as
experts always do. The many pronounced
the letters genuine. The few who doubted
could not be as sure they were forgeries as
they were of facts better known The widow
was far ahead in the race. Then came Miss
Virginia Connor to the witness box. She
was petite in form and pretty in face. She
was the widows niece. She swore positive
ly to the visits of John p. Van Ness upon
the widow in his life time. and his declara-
tons both in the widows and her own pres
ence that he was Mrs. Connor's husband
When Virginia left the stand the heirs of
n
nings. They had but one witness whose
testimony was damaging to the widow and
he was minister Of the Gospel from Mis-
souri,. The widows private character was
unimpeachable. Like Caesars WIFE she
was above suspicion.
Had Tried 1t Before.
The minister's sworn statement was that
few years before, while on visit to Wash
ington to prosecute claim before Congress,
he boarded at Mrs. Connor's, and that one
day during his stay. she knowing his cleri-
cal profession, approached him, accompan-
led by gentleman whom she introduced as
General Van Ness, president of the Bank of
the Metropolis. In his ministerial capacity
he was asked by the gentleman, whom he
then believed to be Van Ness to perform
the marriage ceremony between him and
Mrs Cornor as the contracting parties The
minister declined. at the same time express
ing ms surprise that q man of the position
ascribed TO Van Ness Should desire a secret
marriage. The same reason given for the
ciandestine marriage in Philadelphia was
urged upon the minister and although fur
tier solicited to perform the ceremony he
emphatically declined. He further swore
that John p. Van Ness was subsequently
pointed out to him upon the street. and that
he was not tho man who urged the secret
marriage In Mrs. Connors parlor
The minister's testimony produced a sem
sation, but after all. itfwas not so bad as it
looked. HI man identity is. ALWAYS a theme
of uncertainty. He Admitted that he was a
tribe nearsighted- There was the fog of
doubt about the widow but her chances
were good The social thermometer regis
tered fever heat as the case was given to the
jury. Pople scarcely dared breathe during
the jury's absence for consultation.
Ana then! The denouement of the case was
slckeningly disappointing, although in the
intensity CT its surprise it was fully in keep
ing with the series of surprises occurring
during the trial. AS the jury stepped for
ward ostensibly to announce their YER
of fh.. t,,,.,
clined to vote upon the question: because he
could not conscientiously adopt as law what
was stated to be law by the court This
was such new phase of conscientious
scruples on the part of a juror, never heard
In Washington before, that the city hall al
most stirred in it's foundation stones with
laughter. But Mr.. Birth was terribly in
earnest, and in face of the court threatening
to punish him for contempt he strongly
maintained his determination against ac-
cepting, as justice the law as stated Then
happened what never occurred before in the
history OF the District Judiciary the rendi-
ton of verdict by eleven jurors By some
legal bubble it was entered upon the min
utes as the decision of the twelve, and it was
IN iaVor OF the Van Ness heirs and against
the widow.
She Vanished.
In mourning and tears the widow left the
court room. and in a suspiciously short
time afterward, although the case was on
appeal to the Supreme Court, she left
washington forever. 1t was a current story
at the time that the heirs placed In her
hands $4,000 as a consideration for future
peace, but they always denied the report.
The case was a most remarkable one in
all its respects. No one claimed for the
genial and whole-souled John P Van Ness
the strict morality of Joseph, the son Of
Jacob. That he knew the widow and that
she knew him was conceded likewise, that
she reaped many substantial favors from
the knowledge in the shape of home and
home comforts; but that he actually mar
ried her was after a time discredited by
everybody. Who, then, forged the love let
tiers so cleverly as to deceive Intimate
friends and scientific experts with their
show of genuineness? They must have re-
CURED years in their execution, and they
must have been written in the reliant faith
of the survival of Mrs. Connor after Van
Ness death. Otherwise the stupendous
labor were useless. Whose deft hands and
able brain aided and abetted Mrs. Conner
in her attempt to steal fortune? Who
was the unseen power behind the scenes
playing the puppets in front?
There were suspicious, many, about
the case as to suggest in public print the
inquiry, IF the letters were forgeries, why
didn't the heirs cause the indictment Of
Mrs. Connor?" They owed her punishment
for the crime to justice, to themselves and