Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-10-29
A BIackguard, notwithstanding.
washington Post


Some weeks ago, at a time when there
seemed to be no immediate prospect Oh
Mr.. Edward Langtry's death, we took oc-
casion to comment upon his conduct, with
reference to his wife, and to express the
opinion that he was, perhaps, the most
unmitigated cad of whom we had KNOW
ledge or report. This opinion was passed.
as now appears, upon very Imperfect
information as TO the mans character
and actions We had, in fact, only ms
own account o. himself 10 go upon, anu
were in the dark as TO the many clTCuIn-
stances calculated to illustrate MS true
inWardness Now that Langtry has dled,
however and the seal or silence mas peeh
broken. we hear from Mrs. Langtry
lawyers many things which she had pre-
viously. out of pure consideration for his
feelings kept inviolate. We hear, IN fact,
that throughout all the period OF their
separation the husband drew from MS
wife's estate a regular allowance; that'
while he was abusing and malignlng her'
and intimating the vilest and most aDom-
Unable charges against her character, ne
was partly, if not wholly, living on her
bounty. When he made those charges,
and when we knew nothing or him except
that he was man assailing and dispar-
aging the one woman in the world VINO
should be sacred from his assaults we
denounced him as a scoundrel and CAD.
Now that we have heard more, and know
that he was all the time receiving pen
sion from his wife, we know that our de-
nunciation of him was not nearly as en-
phatic at 1t might have been. If there be
in all the world a creature more con-
temptible than he who casts asperslons
upon the wife of his bosom and the
mother of his child, il is he who does all
this while he is accepting money from the
victim of his cowardly and base detrac-
ton. Edward Langtry appears 10 nave
been guilty of this loathsome offence ana
If we have erred in speaking of him II
has been upon the side OF leniency.
Much has been said and written of Mrs.
Langtry. Moralists and preachers nave
shot their little barbS at her. and drawn
cheap lessons from her life. She has been
a target for every narrow prlg END sen
complacent lecturer. She has furnished
precepts for ten thousand contented,
Sinking homilies. The sermons that have
been delivered upon that text would loau
a ship. The petty naXims based upon her
life would be a treasury. But, com
pared with the meanness ana degrauatloh
OF the man, who, while drawing an an
nuity from her indulgence, has sought 10
blacken her i'm the worlds esteem by
every imaginable accusation and innuen-
do. she is whittier than the driven snow,
fafrer than Astartes shining brow. She is
a thing OF trivial peccadilloes contrasted
with a monster Of wickedness and infamy.
Her errors are as nothing In the light OF
his surprising meanness. Suppose the
worst of her. and yet she is miracle OF
gentleness and grace compared with the
renegade who once called her his wife.
We are out of patience with the hypoc-
risy which tells as to speak kindly always
OF the dead. 1t seems to us that when
man leads a long life of degradation. MI
ing his every day with the detestable ana
the odious, delighting in ignoble and mean
things and bathing his very soul in cow
ardice and treachery--it seems to as that
such a man should be treated by the
measure OF his deserts when the last deed
Is done and his record lies unrolled before
US. The only service he can be made 10
perform for his generation is that OF an
object lesson and a warning Refuse us
that and his life has been an injury In
deed For our part, we shall decline
the sorry role of deceit and conformation.
The only difference between the Edward
Lantry Of three months ago and the Ed
ward Lantry OF to-day Is that then ne
was living cad, and now he Is dead