Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1897-10-21
THE GOVERNORS
TRAGEDY.
A the Governor rode | ist my
II grandmother's house on the

A the Governor rode | ist my
IL grandmothers house on the
l. n spring morning when he left the
State forever ne wore his uniform and
carried the sword with which he after
wards led the charge at San Jacnto.
Fl, was tall man, broad-shouldered
and well-knit. with Il certain graceful
stateliness which, though he had it by
nature, he had not left uncultivated. 1t
was held in those days to be IA mark OF
the person of quality, and from the
time when as IA boy of 10 he had lam
on the puncheon floor of his fathers
cabin spelling ont Iopes Had by the
light of Il pine knot, the Governor had
always felt himself person of quality.
My grandmother was on the porch as
tremendously doiiing his hat, as he al
ways did to ladies. 1t was the last time
she ever saw him, and though she had
been his warmcst friend. he kept his
own counsel with her as with every
one else.
no the day Of his death, he never eX-
planned himself. sir" he would say,
In response to every attempt to draw
him out. 'let us speak of something
else" And the bow With which h. said
II was conclusive. When he had just
reached the summit of what had been
his ambition; when he was Governor
IF what was then the pivotal State of
the Union. with the Presidency as Il
possibility for him. and the United
States Senate for life Il certainty, why
II was that he chose to dress himself
in his uniform and ride out into the
wilderness beyond the l~~issippi,
never to return. his biographers have
not been able to explain except in
vague sencralities. How my grand
mother knew the story | cannot say.
further than that she was the friend
not only of the Governor himself. but
Of Virginia Frazer and of John Endi
colt, the Governors private secretary.
who made the trouble between them.
ut is true. my dear" said my grand
mother to me, that Endicott was Il
Yankee and an mpecunious school
teacher. but he was Il Harvard grad
uate and gentleman. The Endicotts
are an excellent family-almost as good
as our own. or as Nirginias. And the
Governor you know, though one of the
best bred men | ever saw. lacked the
great advantage of descent from we'll
bred people"
Those who conclude from this that
my grandmother was something Of a
Tory will not be wholly mistaken. but
II they had known the charming cd
lady as well as | they would forgive her
as easily as do. even though--which
Is not likely-they are as radical in
their politics as am thought to be by
some.
The Governors honeymoon was bare
ly over when he left the State. The
fact of his resignation, which he had
addressed in due form to the presiding
officer of the Senate, was not generally
known until he was 800 miles away.
sitting in a Cherokee cabin. smoking
an Indian pipe, as silent and impressive
rs any other savage of those around
him. For that was undoubtedly his
idea at the time to rcnouncc civilization
forever and live barbarian among
barbarians.
Mrs. Frazer, Nirginia's mother. was 4
famous matchmaker and one of the
Governors staunchest partisans. "If
he was born in a cabin" she said to
my grandfather a few days before the
wedding. "he has more brains than any
other man in the State. expect to see
him President yet"
With visions of Virginia in the White
House and herself as the power behind
the throne, she was correspondingly
elated on the night Uf the wedding. 1t
Is no part of my purpose to attempt to
describe her feelings when the catas-
trophe came and she found herself
face to face with the climax of one of
those tragedies which compel silence
In all who are incapable of resigna-
ton.
When Endicott first met Virginia
Frazer he was not more than 20, very
handsome, and with an unassuming
self-possession which made amends for
his lack of the ceremonious courtesy
habitual to the society into which he
was thrown. There had been a marked
attraction between him and Virginia
from their first acquaintance, and me
who did not know her mother expected
1t to be match. But Virginia, before
any one knew of her engagement to the
Governor, had begun to hold Endicott
at arms length, and after the climax
there was never the slightest scandal
connecting her name with his.
She was not more than 20 at the time
Of her marriage. Six weeks later, when
she stood before the fireplace of her
sittingroom as the Governor entered
ut II o'clock at night, she wore the
muslin whose contrasting whiteness
had so heightened her brunette beauty
on the day after her marriage. The
Governor had just come fro n a con-
ference Of his political friends and was
flushed and hopeful. His wife did not
move as he entered the room. Her
face was half averted when, with his
usual impressive gallantry, he took off
his hat at the door and crossed the
room to kiss her hand. He had taken it
In his and his lips had almost touched
1t when she hastily-almost violently
withdrew it. Slipping past him, she
atOod in the center of the room facing