Year: 1879

From the New York Herald, Now IL


Lady Gooch, wife of Sir Francis
Gooch, well known in connection with
her attempt to palm off spurious
child on her husband, is dead Thus
ends the strange history which star
tied London year ago. Lady Gooch
has not died unpitied. Ever since the
December morning when the recorder
of London said that the law did not
care to deal with her offence and the
grand jury refused to find true bill
against her, public opinion has been
veering in her favor, and, while it
could not justify has yet declined to
condemn. English society has come
to believe that she was more sinncd
against than shining. To the foreigner
the case was mainly interesting for
the light it threw on the decadence of
very old English family. The
Gooches were not cnnobled, but for
centuries they had been Lords of Suf-
folk domain. Thy had given Judges
to the bench, Generals to the army
and Bishops to the church. Their
founder had in 1927 been created Lieu
tenant Governor of Virginia, and it is
said of him that neither inhabitants
nor merchants ever complained of his
administration. Sir Francis, the
eighth baronet, succeeded to the title
and estates when he was barely of
age. His brother had suddenly died,
leaving a young widow, and from the
position of penniless younger son he
become at bound owner of Benacre
Hall and magnificent rent roll. His
first step was to marry Miss Annie
Sutherland. She was country
squire's daughter, pretty and lovable.


For a while all was happiness. Sir
Francis bought his younger brother a
commission, took his sister and mother
to live at the hall, and in the summer
of 1873 Lady Gooch gave birth to q
son. On the same day Lady Eleanor,
the dowagcr, married again.


Then the heir died, and the new
found happiness gradually melted
away. The young baronet, believing
that no other heir could be born to
him, estranged himself from his wife.
Somehow or other" said her advo-
cate at the trial, cher husbands love
was gone-gone with the little child
that was then laid in the grave. She
become possessed of one idea. Night
and day she cherished one dream. If
she had another child to take to him
another child who she could per-
suade him was her own-then she
might win back the love that was
lost" Sir Francis went off for months
on yachting expeditions; his sisters
had married; Lady Eleanor, who was
now once more regarded as his heiress,
treated her with undisguised bitterness,
and she was left alone in the hall with
a certain Miss Garrod, an elderly COM
panion, not unlike Miss Briggs, in
"Vanity Fair" In the morbid mood
thus engendered she first formed the
idea of getting child from the found
ling hospital. She made little secret
of her intention. She asked the aid Of
the meek Miss Garrod, of the hospital
matrons, of various doctors at various
seaside resorts, and when they all re-
fused hired the services of compass
sionate nurse, who conveyed the baby
at night into the Grosvenor Hotel.
Next morning the deception was dis
covered, and her husband burning to
avenge his wounded family honor and
vindicate the claims of Lady Eleanor,
summoned his crazy wife into police
Court. Everybody will remember the
rest The magistrate, feeling that his
Court was not tribunal for the ad-
justmcnt of private rights, sent the
case for trial, and the grand jury as ex-
pedtously threw it out. But Lady
Gooch's life was ruined beyond re-
demption, and in dying she made the
only expiation in her power.