Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1912-05-10

posed that they were of great value
and that the motive had been robbery.
but the pendants were found next
morning on the ground where the at
tack had taken place. They proved to
be of little intrinsic worth. Mrs.
Beach said they were family heirlooms
her mother had given her, and she val
ued them on account of the associa-
lions connected with them. A mo-
ment before Mrs. Beach was assailed,
Pearl Hampton, a negro woman In the
Beach family's employ, was felled by
the same fence paling and presumably
by the same man who struck down
Mrs. Beach. This negress was near
an outbuilding used as laundry. She
told contradictory stories afterward
of having seen some one run out OF
the laundry and disappear in the
darkness just before she was struck
Mrs. Beach's screams when she was
assailed aroused the neighborhood,
and her attacker was pursued. He
lodged into an alley and escaped. Mrs.
Beach swooned and was taken into the
house. The assault occurred just out
side the grounds. She was for long
time in a serious condition and un-
able to afford the police and detec-
tives much assistance. She declares
it was a negro that attacked her, one
that she does not remember ever hav-
ing seen before.
Naturally every one began to ask
questions. Why should any one at
tack Mrs. Beach? What possible mo-
tive could there be? If the motive had
been robbery, why had her assailant
attempted to cut her throat and add
murder to the crime?
Choice MorseI for Those Who Revel in
Scandal.
Starting with the known facts, So
ciety at Aiken and elsewhere straight
way became more than busy. 1t must
be remembered that in a small place
like Aiken, where the exclusive social
circle is limited, the vital thing of
each days existence is gossip. 1t is
like life in one of those little garrison
towns in India that Kipling has de-
scribed so mercilessly. Therefore
every one began building fabric of
theories as to how it all happened.
After two or three repetitions each
small incident was distorted into a
thrilling bit Of gossip, which presently
was passed along as a matter of fact.
In this way the Beach affair soon be-
came an inconceivably tangled skein
of surmise and suspicion that widened
day by day and involved more and
more people.
One of the stories that started, no
one knows where, and spread with the
utmost rapidity, was to the effect that
a close relative of the woman slashed
Mrs. Beach's throat, and that the as
sailant and his friends conspired to
hide his guilt by charging an un-
known negro with the crime. Mr..
Beach, because of the inactivity of
the police and the activity of the COS
sips, employed two Of the most promi-
nent lawyers in Aiken to look after
his interests, and brought down de-
tective from New York. The detec-
tive spent several days in Aiken, but
if he accomplished anything it was
not made public. This furnished more
food for the gossips, and Mr.. Beach
spent day after day closeted with his
lawyers
Whisperings Excite Ire of c. oliver
Iseiin.
Then a new figure appeared in the
case with an astounding proclama-
ton. C. Oliver Iselin, the millionaire
New York banker, the dean of the
Aiken colony, came out with an an
nouncement in letter to the mayor
of Aiken that he would take pleasure
in the lynching of the person or per-
sons who were responsible for the
slanderous accusations that had been
floating about since the murderous as
sault on Mrs. Beach. Mr. Iselin's
name had not been mentioned in the
dispatches from Aiken before that.
He is fully as rich and as prominent
socially as the Beaches. His estate
at Aiken, Hopelands, is one of the
show places of the south. 1t is named
after his wife, who was Hope God
dard. the daughter of Colonel William
Goddard of Providence. They have
five children Mr.. Iselin is famous as
a yachtsman. He is the owner of the
Vigilant, and was one of the manag-
ing owners of the Columbia and other
cup defenders. His home is at New
Rochelle.
In Mr.. Iselin's letter to the mayor