The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1898-02-07
SORROWS OF AN OLD MAN
GEN. CASsIUs M. CLAY'S HALLUoIN-
ALTON ABOUT THE VENDETTA.

His Pitiabie Condition Through Fear VI
Girl He Married-one Tragedy He
Never Mentions.
Whitehall, Ky, Jan. 22.-The true
story of General Cassius M. Clay's do
nestle troubles has never been writ
ten. The old general himself does not
know the real cause of his tribulatons.
That he is in his dotage his closest
friends frankly admit. That there
can be no congeniality of spirit be-
tween the aged man of affairs and the
childish daughter of nature, Dora
Richardson, the most ardent disciple
not deny. They are as dissimilar as
the KlondilSe region is different from
the everglades of Florida.
General Clay's whole life has been
warfare. When young man. in love
with the daughter of the distinguished
Kentucky physician and aristocrat, DR..
Elisha Warfield, although his wedding
day was but few weeks off, his pug
nacious spirit led him into the duel
with young Bob Wickliffe, who had
Been charged with having made some
indecorous remark about the future of
Mrs. Clay. After he espoused the
cause Of negro emancipation his fight
ing procliyities had full sway. Every
man, woman and child in the state of
Kentucky, with possibly three eXcep-
tions, opposed his teachings. Slave
owners, who feared they would be
robbed of their human chattels, hired
desperadoes to attend his speakings
and to pick quarrels with him. He de-
nominated them '.hired assassins.'
That was more than half century
ago. Ever since then he has believed
assassins were continuously upon his
track Although a third of century
has passed since the question of slave
ry has been settled and the practical
work of Cassius M. Clay has been
done, he still believes the assassins are
after him. He sees in every misfor-
tune that overtakes him the work of
the conspirator and the assassin.
the son of the Russian woman, fall
from the second story of the porch
when he was an infant, the general
saw in this accident the work of con-
spirators. He thought the assassirs
were trying to slay the motherless boy,
and to this day he firmly believes that
the conspirators stunted his growth
and prevented him from becoming a
man of noble stature. When his son
tried to persuade him from marrying
Dora, the daughter of an outcast wo-
man, he thought it was part of an
other conspiracy, and ordered his son
away from the place and warned him
away, on pain of DEATH
After he married Dora the work of
his mysterious conspirators began to
take on a new form. When his fine
Southdown sheep would be killed by
neighbors' dogs he denominated it the
work of the conspirators. When his
cistern cracked and some of the water
ran into his cellar, he thought the con-
spirators did it. When some sneak
thief robbed his smokehouse Of bacon
and other provisions he laid it at the
door of the conspiracy. When some of
his timber was cut down by thieves
and RATED along the Kentucky river,
he believed that it was the work of the
.'vendetta,'' his latest term for the
conspirators.
After Dora left home, and while she
was staying at John Biggerstaffs, she
rode one of Johns young horses. The
animal became frightened one day and
threw her, and although an ordinary
accident, the general attributed it to
the vendetta Dora, feeling lonesome
In the big house at Whitehall and
having no young company, concluded
to go away for a season where she
could see persons more nearly her own
age The general attributed this de-
sire on her part to meet young people
as coming from the vendetta. Her
trip to Clell Richardson's, and her long
stay there were, in the generals opin-
ion, caused by the vendetta. The
keeping of Willie Bryant at Clell's is
also part of the vendetta's work, SO
the general thinks. When Clell, on ac-
count of a severe spell Of sickness, be-
comes half crazy and drives Dora
from his house and then shoots at her
the general exclaims: THANK God
the vendetta was not able to kill my
darling Dora" The general thinks
Clell is In the pay of the vendetta, an6
he thinks VIII Richardson is also be.
ing paid by the vendetta to watch
Dora and keep her away from White.
hall. He thinks the vendetta would
kill Dora and then kill him if Dora
were to remain at Whitehall, and it is
to circumvent these mysterious enc
mics that the general allows Dora tt
remain away from him.
Your correspondent has talked tt
General Clay for hours at @ time since
Dora left him. The burden of his con.
versation is the vendetta. He firmly
believes that he has scores of enemies
who would take delight in killing hin
and his girl wife. He said he would
allow no man to come into his house
In the night time. as he even distrustet
his best friends for fear they might BIZ
the unwilling tools of the vendetta
He is monomaniac on the subject Of
this vendetta, and during the pas
three years he has purchased enough
firearms to equip two dozen men, 81
that he can repel his imaginary foe.
should they attack him in the night.
His Authorizations render him
f;ot 1a ohiaof This GRAND o1f