The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-01-26
STORY OF A MAUsOLEUM.
Marian De La Varre's Love Was Tn
dying Indeed.
From the Brooklyn Eagle.


From the Brooklyn Eagle.
Walking a half mile in northeasterly
direction from the depot of the Long Is
land railroad at EastDort TO the home of
the Long Island Country Club and another
half mile beyond it an Eagle reporter last
week came upon small mausoleum in
the center Of little pine grove on an easy
rise Of ground. II was Of brick, plastered
over, and checkered on 10 initiate gray
stone. 1t was square and built with four
gables. The door opened toward the west
and there were little stained glass win
dOws on three sides. On one OF these win
dows was depicted an evergreen wreath,
on another a dove with an olive branch in
its beak and the third had been broken
out and was boarded up from the inside.
On the apex OF the roof, where the four
gables came together, there was an iron
urn. The tomb was once surrounded by
a wooden fence. which commenced at the
door of the mauSOleum and extended
around the three sides, but the fence had
gone TO decay and only little piece of it
remained standing.
All these things the reporter observed in
less time than IL takes to tell IL and while
wondering at the strange sight Of such
tomb in such place she (for the Eagle re-
porter is a woman put her hand on the
door, and. grating on its hinges, 1t yielded
to the touch. Inside there was short
flight of steps leading down into the vault
where the dead lay. The reporter descend
ed. There were no inscriptions of any kind
nor name nor date upon the structure in
wondering what could II all mean, pass
ing rustic of venerable appearance, who
was hailed and questioned, said:
"Oh, that's Johns grave; John Christie
and his wife; but folks round here just
call il Johns grave. Yes, guess its got
a history. but 1 can't tell it, though I've
The reporters curiosity once stimulated,
the story of John Christie and his grave
In the pine thicket was readily CLEANED
from a resident Of Eastport who was
youth fCrty years ago, when what he re-
lated took place, and who told a story
romantic and interesting to an extent sell
dom surpassed in real life. Here II is:
Marian de la Varre. who was to be the
daughter Of "A man who had been governor
Of Texas, was stolen by the Indians when
d child. She remained captive Tor
number of years and was finally rescued
by John Christie, an eastern lawyer, who
had turned prospector. Marian was just
blooming into young wOmanhood and was
beautiful, tall and slender, with dark,
shining hair, inclined to curl. and a rich
complexion with tint of yellow that off,
set her glossy hair TO excellent advantage.
Christie fell in love with his young pro-
tege, and failing to find her parents he
brought her as far east as st. Louis,
where he placed her in a convent to be
educated. Then he went back to his mines
and grew richer and richer as he grew
fonder of the girl he had rescued; Final
~ the day was fixed for the wedding and
Christie arrived in st. Louis to take his
bride to New Orleans, where the ceremo-
ny was to take place On the. Mississippi
was walking in seemingly perfect health
smoking a cigar, he dropped dead Among
his effects was will, leaving all his prop
erty and effects to his tiancee, who, with
a more than widowed heart turned back
and brought the body of her lover north
to consign il to the tomb. She came to
Long Island and bought plot of land in
Flushing, had her lover embalmed and
put him in mausoleum which she had
caused to be built to receive him. There
the dead man lay for two years. During
all this time Miss de la Narre had not
received a perfect title to the land where
her dead lover lay, and when the owner
suddenly died his wife refused to give
Miss de la Varre a deed, unless she would
permit her to use the tomb as a final
er's family. In her trouble she went to
MIR. Barrett of the firm of Barrett &
Beebe, attorneys-at-law, in New York
city Mr.. Barrett could not effect an am
icable settlement for his client so he
sold her about five acres of land down at
Eastport, just back of where the Long
Island Country Club House now stands
She disinterred her dead lover and brought
! him and as much of the old mausoleum
at Flushing as she could remove to East
port. There she employed Ebenezer lane
| to superintend the construction of the
tomb. AS soon as the vault was built
! John as she always spoke of him, was
over his body.
After the mausoleum was done. Miss
/ de la Narre took up her residence at East
/ port. and visited the tomb almost every
| pleasant morning. 1t is said she would
knock at the door, open it and go in
/ There she would sit and read aloud to
her dead lover or talk to him. There was
a rustic iron bench and couple of rustic
iron chairs in the mausoleum in those
days. and in one or the other of these
Marian would sit for hours communine.
| with her dead The old rustic iron chairs
and the bench the reporter found on the
ground in front of the tomb. as well as a
vase, which she used to keep filled with
| growing plants. For nearly forty wears
she lived at PASSPORT to be near her lovers
| tomb, and she was always regarded as
| insane on the subject, though harmless
and gentle. She had kept up a correspon-
dence with her lawyers and others, in the
| hope of finding some clew to her relatives
! in the south, and she finally discovered a
| niece, whom she brought to Eastport 10
/ be a companion to her. This child was
known to the villagers as Miss Marian's
Ada, and there Ada grew to womanhood
/ Travers, a young New York glove maker.
! who had met her during a summering a I
| Eastport. After fifteen years Of a happy
| welded life, he died. and his remains were
| also placed in the lonely tomb Mrs Tray
| ers his widow now lives in a pretty cot
tage opposite the boarding house of Mr..
Harrison Rogers, and in her own turn
| she will be placed beside the dead in the
mausoleum in the pine grove.
Miss de la Varre died about five years
| years she did not make so many pilgrim
| ages to the tomb of her lover, but she
| always held his memory in the utmost
veneration. She was a spiritualist and
| professed to have learned the art of heal
! ing with roots and herbs from the Indians.
| with whom she was for so many years a
! captive.
bridegroom a Chicken Thief.
From the Chicago Tines-HeraId