Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-04-03

like wounded animal to seclusion. TO be
alone with his grief And, although he
afterward permitted her to obtain di-
vOrce on the ground of desertion and non
support, and married twice afterward he
never recovered from the blow dealt
him by Eliza Allen The reason for their
| separation has never been made clear.
but naturally has been the subject of a
great deal of gossip and conjecture
few months after her divorce Mrs. HOus-
ton married DIR. Gilmore Douglas of Gal
latin, Tenn, with whom she lived unt1i
| the latter part of the civil war. She died
! by accident. With her children she was
taking part in a rehearsal for private
| theatricals in little theater at Gallatin.
| when she fell through a trap door Whlcti
had carelessly been left open. suffering
| injuries from which she died Few days
| later.
| Three or four years ago I met at Nash
| vile an aged lady who had known Mrs.
Houston Douglas intimately for twenty
| years or more as a neighbor and a
friend hut never knew her to refer to
| Gen. Houston in any way.
Wife Remained Silent.
She was absolutely certain that Mrs.
Douglas never gave any explanation OF
his desertion. or authorized any person
to make an explanation for her. There
were three theories among their intimate
friends. and all of them might have been
true. The first was that Gen. Houston.
| being Of very ardent and afect1onate
nature was repealed by the cold and in
different attitude of his bride; second,
| that on the night after their marriage
she told him frankly that she loved an
other man. and had married him because
! Of his social AM. political position as
| Governor of Tennessee; and third, that
on the night of their marriage. as they
were retiring. she discovered that he had
an open, running wound in his SIDE, which
l,rrin tn.l W nj
and had never healed. She was so horri-
fed at the repulsive sight that she faint
ed and would never again permit MIN TO
| approach her.
All of these theories may be true: they
/ do not contradict each other. and their
! cumulative force drove Houston to de-
| spair. He rendered his resignation as
! Governor OF Tennessee and fled to the
! wilderness to conceal MS SfleI ana hu-
] initiation.
! The late Thomas Boyers. another resi-
dent of Gallatin, who was related to Mrs.
Houst on Douglas. prepared memoran-
dunn concerning his recOlectlons of the
case which was printed in a local paper
after his death. The neighbors say that
| Boyers was a conservative and practical
| man. and was in a position to know as
much as any one concerning the myS-
terry The memorandum reads as fol-
| lows:
Not Alike in Natures.
From facts in my own memory and
others obtained from contemporaries now
| long dead, | believe that this marriage
and the mysterious separation which fol-
! lowed is easily explained by a simple
| analysis of the physical and spiritual
natures of Houston and his bride, rather
| than the wild rumors and eXaggerations
current at the time it occurred.
Gen. Houston. as | remember him,
was a man powerfully built. wonderful
in animal strength and vitality. and of
an ardent and romantic temperament.
He idolized his wife extravagantly; to
him she was the fairest lady that ever
the sun ShOne on
.Their courtship reads like an old ro-
nance.
There was a stately housf three miles
from Gallatin. Tenn. on the bluffs OF the
an old-fashioned country gentleman.
whose only daughter was at once the
despair and delight of the yNung cava-
Tiers. The wooers came from Tar to
but said ~ gently and decidedly.
In her train was on-%ho never spoke of
his love. feeling that his visit was hope
less. And him the lady loved. as she
confessed to one of her bridesmaids on
the eve Of her wedding. Who the un-
known sutton was. why he never spoke
and was he true to her--tslere are only
wild conjeetures; his name never passed
her lips.
Wooed and Won by Houston.
Meanwhile Houston came to Gallatin-
Houston the soldier, friend and comrade
of Gen Andrew Jackson-Houston, the
governor, and always Houston. the cava-
Her, booted and spurred. the glass of
fashion and the mold of form He wooed
and won and welded the beautiful Miss
Allen in January, 1920. One of the brides
maids described to me all the details of
the wedding. For weeks before. she said,
the bride was in a state Of melancholy.
openly acknowledging that she acceded
| to the governors suit only at her par
ents' solicitation. But it was not until
the wedding day came. and they were
decking her in bridal fnery that she con-
| fessed to her shame, that although many
had addressed her. the one whom she
loved had never spoken. yet she knew he
loved her.
AFTER three months Of what was to
| outward appearances happy honey
moon, the bride went home on visit.