The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-01-27
RELEASE
From Domestic Hell
Wanted.
.LIBELLANT'S PLEA
At the Close Of the Osborn
Divorce Case.


| Judgment of the court, granting or de-
nying a. decree of divorce Judge Gas
kill yesterday stated that he desired
time to arrive at a decision, and would
continue the case under advisement A
judgment is not anticipated for several
days.
The greater part of the day was de-
voted to hearing the testimony OF the
| libellee and his witnesses. The great
| er part of the alleged cruelties brought
| forward by the libellant were either de-
}nied or explained. Mrs Osborns rela-'
tives were accused of having caused all
| the discord, The hayward conduct Of
the children was pointed to as the cause
of whatever nervousness and i'll temper
he may have exhibited After both
sides had rested their cases, Attorneys
Parker and Vaughan made eloquent
pleas to the judge.
After two unimportant witnesses for
| the libellant had testified, Thomas S.
Osborn, the libellee, took the stand He
said the night he was alleged to have
| thrown knife at his wife, he had just
Quarrelled with his daughter for stay
| ing out late nights. He was angry.
| He threw his knife unthinkingly at the
door, where it stuck It, was a COM
| mon habit with him to thus throw his
knife. He had one of the children in
his arms at the time. He did not throw
the knife at his wife or use her cru
ely.
With regard to the fiatiron incident,
he said an accident had happened to
one of the horses. He came into the
| house to get hot water. He found
the water in the tea kettle cold This
provoked him, and he gave way to
little temper. He moved some of the
| fiatirons on the stove aside, and on
pushing one Of the irons without ham
die. burnt his hand. He gave it a quick
push and 1t flew a distance of three
feet hit the Dashboard and struck his
i wife on the rebound. He bathed his
Wifes injured foot with hamamelis
The boy Goodwin was not present at
the tline. Hls daughter Winnifred only
came on the scene afterwards
The time he was accused of threaten
| ing to drive his wife into a pond and
drown her, he was harassed with worry
over money matters. What he did
say, he said, was to say that he was so
Wfetched he would willingly drive into
the stream and drown himself.
He denied in toto the alleged appear
ance with razor and rope, Aug 30 He
never carried razor, he said, except
| When shaving, nor any rope except the
natter to hitch his horses He admit
TED going into the fields with a shotgun
to shoot crows
The day Of August 9. when his wife
left him, he said nothing unusual oc-
CURED to make him anticipate her de-
parture The dinner was partaken of
me same as ever. AT night, on coming
| nome from the fields, no supper was
ready, and wife and daughter were
gone. He took a carriage, and with his
son, Eddie, drove to Farlawn the
nome of the Norcrosses. He sent in
Eddie with a message that he was
there and desired to see his wife. Mrs.
Osborn came to the door, but before
much had been said, James A. Norcross
| came, slammed it shut and turned the
lock- The libellee then drove away. He
saw his wife on two subsequent oc-
| easions, on one of which she came to
the farm. In brief conversation, she
told him she would return to him if he
paid his bills. and became a man. He
afterwards sent his wife a gold ring
worth $50, which she kept.
On cross examination he firmly de-
MED ever having addressed improper
| language to his wife on any occasion.
| A large bundle of letters he had written
to his wife, entreating her to come
back, was placed in evidence.
Mrs. Mary Peterson, a former SER
want in the Osborn family, testified to
| having never seen Osborn misuse his
| wife. Long after ceasing to work for
Mrs. Osborn, the latter met her on the
| street one day and told her Osborn was
| no longer the same man he used to be.
Mrs. Ida Tullar, a near neighbor while
the Osborns were at the Roy farm,
testified that on the 22d of July 1897,
Mrs. Osborn came to her and said her
relatives were trying to get her TO
| leave her husband. But | shall never
do So" she resumed. IT should be al
| ways thinking Of him and worrying for
fear that he be taken sick" Mrs. Os-
born also said her father had given
her $50, 000 but that it was of no use to
her while she was married. The wit
ness deposed that she was certain
| about the date because she kept a d.
| airy
Edwin N Osborn, son of the prin-
cipals, said he had never known his
father to treat his mother unkindly.
He bore out his fathers story of the
flatiron story, and the visit to the Nor
cross mansion.
Mrs. Minnie Newgent, Osborns sister,
testified that Mrs. Osborn had said to
her: my folks want me to leave Tom.
but al the money they have won't
| make me-"
Mrs. l.. f. Williams, another sister,
offered similar testimony. Mrs. Osborn
| had told her that her relatives had not
| money enough to bring about a separa-
| ton, and had ended by saying. TON
is good enough for me-" Both sisters
said their relations with their broth
er's wife were both friendly and inti-
mate. They had exerted influence to
| bring about a reconciliation. They
never remembered hearing Tom speak
| unkindly to his wife.
| William Atcherson, the hired man on
the farm, said the only trouble he had
noticed in the household was caused
| In the first instance by the children.
He heard Osborn speak harshly to his
wife at these times. He told of being
called at 2 O'Clock in the morning by
| Mrs. Osborn the night of the alleged
knife throwing, but had not got half
way down stairs, when Mrs Osborn
said: TITS all right; go back"
Before making his plea, Attorney
| Parker asked the court to rule that
the libellants promise to return and
live with him was a conformation.
| Again, that the threat to commit
suicide was not an act of cruelty. And.
thirdly, that no evidence had been adj :
of marital relations; and that In law
such resumption mitigated the attend =
| ing circumstances.
Mr.. Parker began by painting a
striking picture of the sanctity of the
| marriage relation, and told how great
must be the proyocation to cause 1t to
be set aside. While he had sympa thy
with every woman having the least
suspicion OF cruelty. but that in this
case slight facts had been greatly ex-
aggerated. Woman was no longer a
chattel, and If a decree was denied, she