The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1907-06-09
THE MYSTERY OF THE GOVERNESS

Warmers character was what you be
lieved. was subject 10 neurQpathic hys-
terra. and after dwelling a whole day
on the subject had imagined that
scene we have many such cases on
record. II proved that ! was right.
His hysteria. aggravated by the crime
so near by. the loneliness OF his occu-
patton. his knowing the girl. too. as
he thought. and perhaps tinge OF
that love for notoriety we see every
where-through all this he had con-
jured up that vision and seen II so
frequently I'm his mind that he fully
believed II. In his confession he stated
the truth as he saw it. 1t was only
under my influence and through my
examination that the contradictions
and gaps showed. for he was UMPIRE
pared FOR the questions and could tell
only what was in his mind Many a
man with his trouble has shown up
as a rascal On the witness stand. and
In private life. too. when he was only
diseased. So much for him
Then, when you informed me Of the
diary. and showed il to me. be-
lieved recognized another phase Of
hysteria in its glowing. often inco-
hereut pages. and thought OF suicide.
because. never dreaming that the body
was not hers. / could explain the
facts I'm no other way. You recall the
Pledgett case. in which the woman
kept a diary for a whole year detail
ing a love affair, just as in this in
stance. and there wasn't a word of
objective truth in IL. reasoned that
Miss Goodwin. with her mind excited
by the Authorizations Of her disease.
subject as she must be 70 fits of deep
melancholia. had jumped into the
river. But as soon ASH viewed the
body and those clothes-why, man
alive. where were your eyes? The
face might possibly have passed for
that OF a fairly intelligent woman, but
not a cultivated one Certainly she
never could have been the governess
Of Philip Parker's children. 1 had, too,
a dim recollection Of a houseraid who
was missing. according to the papers.
and. as I recalled the description. *
seemed to Mt. The clio hing settled the
question. No woman who was suffi-
GENTLY cultured 10 be your friend's
sweetheart, or a goVerness. either,
could dress so tastelessly. I knew II
was the lost maid. doubtless a suicide.
from the fact that her name had been
cut from her garments. so / tele-
graphed the police and received word
that she WOULD be called for by her
brother. The groceryman. who. you
remember. was the first TO identify the
body, had gone 10 the Parker place
for his morning order. without doubt
learned that the governess had fed.
and than %
natural and Inevitable Any body
found near there would be that of
Miss Goodwin. II IL bore even a re-
mote resemblance to her; and the
mob, expecting to see Miss Goodwin
when they looked at the body. simply
saw her. That is human. IL isn't
likely that she was well known by any
of them, and a body lying dead and
nearly naked on a slab isn't expected
10 resemble very closely the same
body alive, erect, and fashionably at
tired. The Identification of a corpse
even by intimate friends. is often a
very difficult matter.
In the meantime my theorvi II
was annihilated. Though Miss Good
win was not dead. as far as we knew.
she MAS missing. and Warmers case
was not much improved. I had 10 be-
gin all over again. Where was she2
There seemed 10 be only one answer.
Since her lover also was absent she
probably was with him. II with him,
then married to him. They had for
some cause slipped away suddenly TO
be married. Where would they nat
urally go for the purpose2 To the
home OF one Of her relatives. These.