BACKWARD, THEN FORWARD.
A clear understanding of the events to transpire in the courtroom on
to-morrow, necessitates the bringing to light of some incidents that
occurred many years previous.
One beautiful day two Negro girls, sisters, sauntered forth from home to
make the rounds of the dry goods stores. It was their custom to go from
store to store, inspecting fine garments, whether they had or did not
have the money to make purchases. Looking at the fine displays of goods
seemed to give these poor girls as much satisfaction as the actual
possession of them would have done. Upon returning home they would
delightedly discuss all that they had seen. As this was about the only
novelty of their humdrum existence, the mother, deeply engrossed in
aiding her husband supply the necessities of life, never interposed any
objection.
At this time Ex-Governor Lawson was a young man, and was employed as
clerk in one of the clothing stores visited by these two young girls.
One of the girls impressed him as being more than ordinarily
good-looking, and he had some curiosity to know how much her looks could
be enhanced by proper attire. He made both of them presents of very
elegant and costly costumes on the condition that they should not inform
their parents as to the true source of the gift, and he further
stipulated that they should return on the morrow clad in the attire
given them by him.
The taste for fine dressing having been whetted to abnormal proportions,
the girls, otherwise honest, accepted the gifts and began the first
deceptions of their lives. The beautiful girl looked like a veritable
queen when she appeared the next day. Little by little they were led on
and on, until Lawson and the girl that interested him were meeting
clandestinely, through the co-operation of her sister. It was not long
before public disgrace overtook the erring girl through the birth of a
child. That child was Erma Wysong.
Dolly Smith was the sister that abetted Erma's mother in her sinful
course. The disgrace was too severe a blow for the mother of the two
girls, and she soon died of grief. The enraged father drove them away
from his house. Cast off, they appealed to the partner in their guilt
for help. He spurned them from him, and threatened to have them
imprisoned if they besought aid of him again. This action was the
occasion of Dolly Smith's vow to consecrate her whole life to the
wreaking of vengeance on the wrecker of their happiness.
The clerk rose rapidly in the scale of life, soon was a merchant
himself, and later was triumphantly elected Governor of Virginia, and
more recently was appointed minister to Germany. Dolly Smith never lost
sight of him nor faltered in her purpose. Imagine, then, her wolfish joy
when his son commits his fortunes into her keeping. She feels that she
can wreck the father through the child.
We now pass from the father to the son. While Erma was at Mrs. Turner's,
young Lawson became familiar with her handwriting, she having aided
Franzetta Turner and himself in addressing invitations on several
occasions. Dolly Smith knew of this, and had been faithfully laboring to
imitate Erma's handwriting. She was entirely successful, and could write
so that it would require microscopic inspection to distinguish between
the two.
It was a forged letter to young Lawson that caused Mrs. Turner to
summarily dismiss Erma from her service, offering no opportunity for an
understanding. The imitation was so perfect that both Mrs. Turner and
Franzetta regarded the matter as beyond question.
Now that Erma was lost to Lawson's view, Dolly began to correspond with
him, using Erma's name and handwriting. These letters represented Erma
as making advances toward Lawson, professing love for him and expressing
a desire for lifetime companionship. These letters rendered Lawson wild
with joy. He felt that the greatest blessing that the world had in store
for him, Erma's love, was at last attained.
Dolly made Erma to say in these forged letters that she desired that he
settle upon her a sum of money sufficient to care for her for life in
the event that he should die or his affections should wane. Young Lawson
assured her that his love was immortal, and that she did not need
insurance against the possible loss of that. Yet he deemed it but an act
of justice to make ample provisions for her, so that she would never be
in want under any circumstances that might arise.
Young Lawson at this time had only five thousand dollars in his own
right, though the prospective heir to a great fortune. He desired to
settle ten thousand dollars on Erma. He prepared a note, forged the
endorsement of a well-known firm, had the note discounted, hoping to
save enough from his liberal quarterly allowances to redeem the note at
maturity. The money was paid over to parties named, Dolly Smith having
most skillfully arranged this part of the programme. This done, the
fictitious correspondence with Erma suddenly ceased, and young Lawson
was enraged at what appeared to him to be Erma's duplicity.
Dolly Smith immediately employed a business agency to institute a secret
inquiry into young Lawson's financial standing, she being confident that
he would have to resort to irregularities of some kind to raise the sum
of ten thousand dollars. This inquiry soon brought to the notice of the
firm whose signature was forged, the note of young Lawson, which
otherwise would have been unmolested until the time of maturity, so high
and unquestioned was the standing of all parties concerned in the note
transaction. Exposure and the arrest of young Lawson followed, and we
are now to attend upon his trial.