Omaha daily bee., 1896-11-26
RUssELL-sCoTT LIpEL NEARING
Another Days Testimony In the
Trial Mt London.

Irtnl nt bhnuons
LONDON. Nov. 25.-The trial Of Lady
Selma Scott mother OF Countess Russell.
John Cockerton, an engineer; Frederick
Kast, a groom and william Aylott, valet,
charged with criminal libel by Earl Russell,
son-in-law Of Lady Scott, was continued be-
fore Justice Hawkins at the central criminal
court, otherwise the "old Bailey" today.
Earl Russell was again on the stand. Con-
tinuing his testimony he said that at Christ
mas 1892, he received a card saying: God
grant that next Christmas all will be for
gotten and that you will be with the people
who love you"
Witness later received a letter written by
Lady Scott, and addressed to a private
detective named Dicknan, containing the
following words: ANY one who proves any
thing will not only get my thanks. but
enough to start in life, for, although we
have enough evidence TO hang an ordinary
man, II is not quite sufficient for our
purpose"
The earl on cross examination admitted his
former affection for Lady Scott, and said
that on the Sunday previous to his marriage
he wrote to her as follows:
Parting with you seems harder to bear
as 1t gets nearer. l don't see why you are
not coming to the station. l want to give
you a last hug, my darling, my angel
Bother! | am beginning to cry"
The earl said this was simply an express
sion at the time of his feeling for the
mother OF the lady he was about to marry.
Replying to further questions, witness
said that he presented Lady Scott in 1883
with Thomas A. Kempis Imitation OF
Christ" because he thought it would be
useful to her. and as she often told him
that she would like 1t. 1t was inscribed on
the fly leaf:
ITO my dear Bo. the truest woman and
p1nS nj hay known
from her loving Frank
This language, the earl added, was sin
cere then, but was somewhat exaggerated
Continuing, Earl Russell testified that
when his wife first left him in 1890 he loved
her and wished her to return and in a
letter to Lady Scott at that time he alluded
to the countess as follows:
"She has not been actually disagreeable
but of course the stony-hearted, self-rghte-
Gus saint has not shown an atom of kind
ness or softness, and 1t will be relief to get
rid OF my curse for few days"
In a subsequent letter to Lady Scott the
earl described his wife as a "hard-hearted
fiend," and while the countess was gone on
three months visit to Earl Russell's
mother the witness wrote to Lady Scott and
asked her to come and stay with him during
his wifes absence. He said: "If you fail
to accept this concession | shall know you
love me no more than that false woman
does"
This characterization applied to the
countess. This letter also read: God
bless you. my dear one. God keep you safe
always. Oh dearest, ] can't write any
more. I cannot see the paper. Good night,
my darling"
In another letter, two days prior to his
marriage, the earl wrote to Lady Scott:
"Oh, darling, will you forgive me? was
very naughty to you, you true-hearted angel.
l go to bed at and have a splitting head
ache. Come soon, my lovely one. Ever
your loving Frank"
Earl Russell is about 80 years of age and
is the son of the famous Lord John Russell,
who was premier and first lord of the treas
ury of Great Britain from 1916 TO 1852 and
from 1865 to 1866 and who for about fifty
years represented the whig policy in and
out OF Parliament
After the reading OF these letters a dis
cussion ensued relative to the admission of
further similar evidence. and Justice Haw-
kins said: II have nothing to do with the
relations between Lady Scott and Lord Rus
sell"
After a reference to the incidents OF Earl
Russell's past life, which brought out the
original separation case, including the fact
that he was expelled from oxford, the hear
ing Of the case was again adjourned.