The herald., 1896-10-06
Her Husband an Oakland Ply.
sician and Society Man
A SKULL AND BONES IN BED
A Saata Rosa Justice Lends Himself 10
q Fraud
laveislsl Ints Marriage Miss LlIian Dimmick
lasists Upoa Second Ceremony
During the Honeymoon DR.. Fearn
Tlourishes q Bowie Knife and Cries
for Gore-He Likes to Dine With
Hands Stained With Gore

The modest little city Of Oakland has.
been having its hands Of virginal purity
before its hypooritical little face in
holy horror.
One Of its prominent society men,
who is also a very successful surgeon
and physician. has been lifting the veil
that hid from the world the domestic
infelicity of his household, and Oakland
society is in state Of delightful antici-
patton regarding the outcome Of the af-
fair. ~ IA .Y4
But the metropolis Of the south is the
focus Of interest for right here is where
the suit for divorce was filed by the wife,
and 1t came about in this way:
DR.. John r. Fearn, the husband in
the case. like many another man pos
ing before the public as staunch and
steady citizen. has had hidden within
what passes with him for a heart, some-
thing Of the dual nature of DR.. Jekyll
and Mr. Hyde. An understanding of
tho mode in which this shining light of
Oakland society contracted q marriage
with one Of the society bellies makes
quite q romantic story and, at the same
time, discounts the assumed astonish-
Ment OF the young doctor who has taken
to airing his pretended grievances In
the San Francisco and Oakland papers.
The facts as herewith presented are
absolutely correct albeit, perhaps, not
80 full in detail as they would have been
had the attorneys in this city, represent
ing Mrs. Fearn, seen proper to follow
the lead of DR.. Fearn's attorney and
make detailed statement for the en-
lightenment Of the curious public,
For some time DR.. Fearn had been the
family physician of DR.. j. Dimmick,
who is well-known dentist in Oak
land. In that capacity he had free ac-
cess to the house and while attending
professionally Miss Lillian Dimmick he
cOntrived to SO ingratiate himself with
her that society was not surprised when
1t learned that the young couple were
engaged. AS time passed, however, the
young Lady discovered, what other of
her sex have also found when in SIM.
liar fix, that she had been too precipi-
tate; that she had misread her own
heart, and mistaken for love what was
merely strong regard. Instead of de-
claring the engagement off. Miss Dim
mick procrastinated, and, presumably,
salved her conscience by postponing the
wedding day when 1t was attempted to
fix date.
In March Of last year DR.. Fearn was
called in consultation to Santa Rosa.
and as he was to return to Oakland the
same day he asked his sweetheart to
accompany him upon the trip, and this
she did-to her sorrow. Upon arriving
at Santa Rosa the doctor attended to
his case, and then at the hotel Miss
Dimmick was introduced to DR.. Bruce
T. Cockrill, with whom DIR. Fearn had
been in consultation, and his wife. They
had quite pleasant time at luncheon,
and during the conversation that after
ward took place some light jokes, of
the usual inane order, were made re-
garding the marrying and giving in
marriage" DR.. Cockrill, in a spirit of
raillery, as 1t appeared, asked Miss Dim
mick II she would take DR.. Fearn to be
her welded husband, and so on in the
words ordinary in the marriage prom
Use. As would seem natural under the
circumstances, the young lady flushed
somewhat. and, possibly remembering
the anomalous position she was being
made to occupy-engaged to a man
whom in her heart she hoped not to
marry. and yet challenged to make pub
lie statement of her feeling, she some-
what incoherently replied that so might
sometime. DR.. Cockrill then put SIM
liar question to DR.. Fearn and that gen.
tleman answered with a very decided
affirmative.
To the astonishment of Miss Dim
mick DR.. Cockrill proceeded to congrat-
ulate her upon her marriage, and in
addressing her as Mrs. Fearn wished
her every happiness as the wife of his
friend and cOnfrere.
far enough, indeed, altogether too far,
but Dr. Fearn explained to her. on the
way back to town, that DR.. Cockrill was
double-decked practitioner, and being
justice of the peace had authority to
join folks in matrimonial bonds. The
new pledged husband also stated that
he had armed himself with the neces-
sary license, and that in very fact the
Miss Lillian Dimmick of the previous
day was then Mrs. Lillian Fearn.
Some time later the marriage license
came to hand, and sure enouSh it
showed the record of the marriage of
DR.. John Radford Fearn to Miss Lillian
l.. c. Dimmick on March Gath, at Santa
Rosa. The DOCTOR Justice had made the
return of this curious marriage as if
it had been legal in every particular
What could the poor girl do?"
What was to be done under the cir
cumstances? The young lady realized
to the full the embarrassment Of her
position. But while she continued to
protest to DR.. Fearn that the ceremony
was no marriage at all, she had in the
depths Of her heart many misgivipgs.
FOf several mOntnS tnlS mental pertur-
baton continued and then she deter
mined to settle the matter. She real
ized that full explanation of the Santa
Rosa episode and an application for the
annulment of the marriage, if in very
truth 1t was legal marriage, would re-
suit in a most unpleasant scandal.
To avert this she consented to her
union with DIR. Fearn in the orthodox,
everyday way, and in July, 1896, DR..
Willie, the San Francisco divine, made
an attempt to join together this much
married couple. AS matter of absolute
fact this attempt was no more success
full than the previous one, as later
events proved.
DR.. and Mrs. Fearn started on their
wedding tour. but it was by no means
triumphal one. What feelings ami
mated the heart of the bride can only
be surmised. True, Dr. Fearn had got
ten the woman he had schemed for, but
he probably realized at last that her
heart was not in his keeping, for on Au-
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