The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-12-11
Ra tcliffe Tells How
Walkers Bride Real
lied Her Blunder.
SAID LIFE WOULD
BE HE'LL FOR BOTH
Brother Testifes in Damage Suit
That Mrs. Walker Was Afraid
Husband Would Shoot Her
if She Told Him of Sudden
Revulsion of Feeling.
Family on Stand.

phasis, John l. Ratclime. brother OF
Mrs. Thomas Grant Walker. told n re-
rnarkable and dramatic story before
jury In tho Law and Equity Court yes
,crday afternoon In tho second days
hearing OF the Walker Ratcliffe s25.-
900 alienation suit. declaring that on
tho night after the marriage. h!s sis
ter cast away the rings. crochet and
fancy work Walker had given her. and
later told Walker that She realized
she had made "a mistake In marrying
him. and that If they lived together
life would be a hell for both
Ratcline testified that his brother.
Frank, told the young bride that there
would never be any happy medium.
that che must choose between her hug
band of ten hours or her family. ana
that the essence OF her reply was:
"Will you stand by me?'
Wanted to Go Awny.
Then tho girl asked her Oldest
brother If lie would take her 10 a sana-
,orium, TO New Orleans or to Atlanta,
or anywhere that she might get away
from Richmond Later. she told Nc
Donald Wexford. VINO is now AN at
torney in the case. that she was done
with Grant Walker forever. and asked
hts ADVICE.
When II WAS finally decided that she
should herself tell Walker of the
change. and the rcvulsion that had
come upon her she told her brother
he testified. that She was afraid that
Walker would shoot her and insisted
that he never leave her alone with her
husband
There followed later the pitiful and
dramatic scene between the but lately
welded husband and wife. tho fore
swearing OF her love by the girl and
the complete remuneration OF her, as
Eatcline swore. b. the husband who
al hpr - sh, mi
she pleased. and that ne would never
follow her nor try TO learn where she
was living
Alost Unique Case Tried Here.
IL was a strange story. strange even
in what lawyers term the most unique
case ever heard in u court in Rich
mond. katciiffc. speaking with care
iul deliberat!on. in remarkably close
chronological order of the events that
led up 10 The strange dcnoucncnt
and in convincing manner. held The
crowded courtroom in continued
silence He was on the stand Tor an
hour. and in all that time there was
hardly a stir among tho attorneys.
They let mia tell his story without
interruption. He paused frequently 10
collect his thoughts. saying that he
was nervous; but otherwise he spoke
without a halt. The room was iilled
with spectators. many of them having
TO stand.
Much of the testimony brought in
by tho defendants hinged upon the
point as To whether there had been
any coIlusiCn on the part of tho girls
family TO separate her from her hus-
band. and whether they had conspircd
together to that end. All the mem
hers OF the Radcliffe family who tes-
t!hed-father. mother. brothers and
sister-swore that they had had no
previous knowledge of the engagement
or tho young couple that there was
neither effort nor coercion to induce
her TO leave her husband. on the con-
trary. John Ratclife testified that
franK. his brother. offered to take
Betty" back TO her husband. If she
wished t. return TO him. though sbc
would have to make n choice betwccn
him and her family
Question or Health
Much OF the testimony reyolSnd
around the condition of Mrs Rotclifro
after she received the telephone mes
sage telling her of her douphtcr.s ,,,.s m,es-
riage. DR. II. L. Redd of Hjeblond
fark' said Oh the witness stand that he
visited her twice in the day. and
though she was in highly nervous
condition, she was not in peril OF
death, nor even dangerously iii Otbors
swore that she became crazed bv the
news. and appeared to be dcranred
and that she did not know what sbc
was doing or saying. DIR. Redd said
mat on his second visit he remained
until 10 o'clock at night-about two
hours 1t was at $3.50 o'clock that
night that Mrs. Bauer. Walkers sister
testified she received a telephone mes,
sage from the Ratcliffe home that Mrs
Ratcline was dying.
John Ratcline, who had been charged
By counsel for the plaintiffs with writ
Ing tho typewriter letter In which
Mrs Walker said that she had not been
Influenced by her brothers against
Walker. testified on tho stand when
:he letter was shown him that he had
never seen it before Mrs. Wadsworth
or Pittsburgh. with whom Mrs. Walker
lived after leaving Richmond testi-
lied thai 1t was written by Betty"
1T the dictation of a Mr. Pritchard.
Mrs. Wadsworth proved n careful and
mt times obstinate witness. On cross
examination she changed not an iota.
ana when Attorney Wendenburg nut
questions TO her she answered by re-
DcatinG exactly what she had stated
In the direct examination.
Said He Would Shoot walker
references We're made again to the
statement that Mrs. Ratcliffe would cut
walkers heart out, and Mr.. Ratcliffe
admitted on the stand that he had de-
clared that he would shoot Walker
If he came to the house with his
daughter. He denied the testimony OF
n witness who had declared that Mr.
Ratcline had told him he would rather
SEQ his daughter married to that boy
(pointing to small negro) than to
Grant Walker. The main objection the
Ratcliffes had to Walker seems to be.
on the evidence so far brought out,
Continued on Pago Eloyen)