"THE STORY OF EDEN."

NZ Truth, Issue 264, 16 July 1910, Page 5

" THE STORY OF EDEN."

AVONOALE 'MENTAL -HOSrLIAL 1 RAGED Y, Lionel Terry*s insane Sister. TIE NOVEL WHICH UNBALANCED HER MIND. A S' African Sketch of Scandal and Sin, . The " 13ra€ker*s w Terribly Tragic Termination.

■MiMn the past week, or so- a seueai tionai and shocking tragedy has been enacted m the Queen City of the Dominion, the circumstances being such as to cast a gloom over one , of the most beautiful spots m the Empire. Auckland is ' just such an ideal spot as one would wish to select for the purpose of rest alter a long and wearisome battle with the vagaries and vicissitudes of life. There, if anywhere,' one' would expect peace to Ire found, and not tragedy. And the tragedy which sacrificed the lives of Mrs Webster, an inmate of the Avondale Mental Hospital, and Captain Jones, a retired military officer, is, sufficiently start- , ling m itself, but it becomes intensified when the veil is lifted and a peep behind the scenes permitted. What are the facts as detailed by the daily press? Simply and succmctty these i Mrs BUen Madelene Webster had been a mentally attftcted person since October, 1909, although not sumcientry insane to be unable to participate m tbe j everyday life and amusements of the hospital) and Captain Herbert Jones was m I the habit of visiting her periodically. About 3.30 p.m. on Thursday, July 7, the acting-matron (Miss Violet Campbell) was attracted by a noise m the corridor such as would be ,caused by a person falling heavily on tbe floor, and she instantly rushed to toe scene, being horrified to find Mrs Webster stretched on the floor m violent convulsions, with Jones m a kneeling posture across her body, and j also apparently shaking with agonising pains. Both victims died within a few minutes, and , subsequent investigation showed that they had each died from prussic acid poisoning. In J ones' possession were -found ai small pin-fire revolver, loaded m six chambers, also a Uox ot cartridges and a razor. It was apparent , that the deed was premeditated and prearranged, as Jones had m 'his possession a letter addressed to Dr. Beattie, . m which he rationally expressed his thanks to the staff for many acts of kindness to Mrs Webster, and asked to he excused for committing the deed. Such is the sum and substance of a remarkable tragedy that startled all New Zealand. It was apparent from the outsets to the most unimaginative person that this tragedy is outside the category of ordinary suicide or murder and suicide, "but the story of what lies underneath has not yet been disclosed. A pathetic incident of the coroner's inquest into the circumstances leading up to i»he tragedy was the reading of the following lines from a letter addressed by Captain Jones to the Coroner immediately before . jfche occurrence s— SLEEP. Sleep, my beloved, sleep, ' v Be patient ! We shall keep Our secret closely hid, •Beneath the coffin lid. There is no place m earth or -air, ?Tor such honored love, respect, 0&&xfo:, despair. Sleep, sleep, my beloved, sleep. Be patient, and do not weep. 1 {Your secret I will for ever keep, Earth shall never, know, it is too deep, ■flbere is no other place; m earth, or air, For such honored love, respect, or such, despair. . . Therein lies proof enonghthat a mysi; tery existed, a mystery m wMch tbe ■■ lives of the unhappy pair were m some measure linked together. What was the ••secret" which Jonas said they should' keep J *ek»ely hid Ineweatb the-coffio. lid" •?•■ Despite Jones' assertion that '"earth shall newer fcnow," the mysterious sec- - ret : is capable of revelation. The key to the situastaon lie^ inVSouth 'Africa, that grave of all good repwfcattoas, where Mrs Webster m her girhsh days had met Captain Jones, -who served m the Anglo-Boer War, and the romance has already been revealed m a book, the name of winch bas-so fax not been disclosed either because it was-notv known or because the dairy press did ■ bot care to disclose it, hence "tewrth" comes to the rescue and teßs the wirole s&ozy for the benefit of its readers. A simage and romantic featare ol the , tragedy is the statement that Mrs Webster's mind bad become unhinged some ; twelve mowfchs ago through reading a novel m wMch her own past was oirty too painfully accurately depleted. The pnbfic are not supplied with furtfcer details, which the dally press has failed to, elicit. As has been customary m the past, "Truth" is able, by virtue of special investigation, to supply these details to tbe readers of tins journal. Wynberg is a picturesque little village m Oape Colony romantically situated on tbe slopes of Table Mountain, some ten miles south of Cape Town. Since prewar times it has been the locate of a military camp, and, as such, a society rendezvous and naturally the birDh-place of many a. scandal. Reading between the lines, and substituting for 14ie names of tbe characters m, tttie book the names of those m real lilo, .■who were obviously inteßfled by the ' authoress, the story is as fioUovws : — Among the military officers stationed at ,Wynberg- m 1898, a year or so bfiSore the < late Anglo-Boer war oroke out, was a, tall man of striking appearance, wbohad : an unenviable reputation for o*her acts; than those pertaining to military camp i life.. This was Captain Hecberit Jones, a man about 48 years 'of age, although, despite his bronzed and weather-beaten face, m appearance seemingly several ■ years younger. In his regiment, *be Captain was known as "Has Tracker" on account of his penchant for scenting out and "tracking" every fresh petticoat which came upon the scene. Captain. Jones made no secret of his being a married man. It pxeetatled tne possfbitety ot bis ttfctenfekms t o tbe fair sex bising misconstrued, bat he gained, a cojraMerab\e - amount of sympathy by reason of Ms ; statement that bis \wtfe was 'hopelessly insane amd a confinee m a ttutatic asylum. MotwftbstaaHng all this, the «".aptam found (himself fairly m ctovet among the TwomenSoflc of Wywberg, -wjho feared and yet admired him, antt he wjts the occasfem of. many a scandal m itne vicinity ■pf Hhab picftnaesqtte viliage. Ewexy community has its odfl men out and Ms cranks. Wyntterg had rfcs»odd mau out at tins time, and be was a scientific and literary crank. Tbis was Liioaiel v Terry; people eafled him ""the Profe/ssor." Socially he didn't count ; he was a scientist, a« erratic genhts, not a man- A»bo«* this time, Terry's sister, Ellen Madelene, a yonsg girl of about nineteen, born and bred ia iient, came out to tdjre Cape to keep house for her eccentric toother. Sfee was a bßbght and vivacious girl, reftaed and accomplished, of >*erary tastes, and' able to conj/erse m tnree languages. Brought up tenderly in -a purely Kwgfisb, atmosphere, her first impressions of fife at the Cape were those of revolt awr^disgttst act the feee and easy rtiose or less Bohemian manner of social intercourse ; fry ..degrees* itowevef, findteg 1 , .that unless

[she became as others, she would, be- out- ■ m. lihe cold, she resignedly threw m her ' lot wifih the colonials, m course of time, Miss Terry became a prime favorite with social Wynberg, and garden parties, tennis parties, and the like, were not considered complete without her presence. Naturally enough Captain Jones and Miss Terry became acquainted, and therein lies' the embryo of the future tragedy. Warned against "the Tracker," Miss Terry viewed him first wifch fear, then with cariosity, and finally with interest, which rapidly ripened rnfco admirationThey became firm friends, much to the ' consternation of the unsophisticated girl's many friends, who looked with alarm upon the growing confidence springing up between "the Tracker" and his latest toy. Before many months had elapsed, it was a daily occurrence for the couple to he m company. They went for rides together m the beautiful solitudes around Table Mountain, and were frequently alone m the most secluded spots. This companionship led to mutual confidences ; girlish on t*ne one hand, those of the man of the world (who was nearly thirty years her senior) on the otter, ifis design was so far successful that he overcame all net scruples of propriety, and, alter numberless nocturnal rambles, after "the Professor" had. gone to bed, he made the proposal that they should meet one evening at a hotel at Hoot's Bay— the other side of the Cape Peninsula— and there stay. An opportunity had presented itself ot this bold design being carried out. by Terry's absence from Wynberg for a few , days, and, revolting as the proposal was to the girl at first, she weakly yielded, and the idea was carried into execution. Shame was her first feeling subsequently, coupled with fear that she should foe found out, but this soon disappeared wften she realised that her absence. from home had passed unnoticed, and so the meetings became more and more frequent and less and less guarded, till, quite unconsciously, the misguided young woman became the subject of much conversation carried on with hated breath at tea parties. Then the Boer war broke out, and Captain Jones was ordered to the Iron*, and, for a time, the two were separated. About this time another actor m this drama m real life came upon the scene. This was George Webster, who proposed settling down m Wynberg and engaging m the wine industry there. Business matters brought him m contact with Terry, at whose house he became a frequent visitor, and he , was fascinated with the erratic scientist's charming sister, the scandal encircling whom he had never. ! learnt.. With that impetuosity, with which 1 some men decide the most important mat■ters affecting their own welfare, Webster iset his mind upon marrying Ellen Terry, and he lost no time m impressing upon i her the fact that he considered they were ! predestined for each other. His impor- ; tunings were not m vain, and m due course they were married. After the /. -^10-Boer war» Captain I. Jones came to i.^w Zealand and settled, ;• with his wife, to whom he had been emarried very many years ago, at Omafca, where he purchased a vineyard. Web'•ster learnt of his wife's misconduct with Jones subsequently to his marriage, and, apparently m disgust, forthwith deserted 'her, and for the past two. years he has been an unknown quantity. Terry left South. Africa and pursued a nomadic career, from time to time bursting forth■wrtih some effusions of more or less literary merit, eventually coming to Mew Zealand and killing an old Chinaman m Wellington m order to emphasise the^ "Yellow Peril," and is at present confined m the Stumyside Mental Bospita! at enormous cost to the Dominion Government. Mrs Webster also came to w^w Zealand and again came m contact with Captain Jones. Meanwhile, Dolf WyDarde, authoress of ; -**Captain Amyas," '•'Uriah the Hittite," v "Tropical Tales," and •other books of a*> -class which many people consider impro-. per, wove fee s£ory of Mrs Webster and Captain Jones into a novel, and as-such it appeared under the title of "The Story of Eden." EHen Madeline Terry figures! ' as Margery Cunningham, Lionel Terry as Anthony Cunningham C"*be Professor"), Captain Jones as Major -Vibart ("the Tracker"), and George Webster as Lansing Crofton. The story of the unfortunate heroine, Margery Cunningham, is almost identical with the life of the woman who met .her death at Avondale last week. Kvorything tallies to the smallest detail, even 1 : the visit to South Africa, and the like—; , ness is so startling that when Mrs; Webster read the book about twelve; months ago her mental balance wassnat-' .tered, and there was notthing for it but-" ' to have her committed to the A-vomrtale* Mental Hospital, where she had been a .patient since October 1909. The authoress has little pretensions toliterary skill, but she knows the novel- , . reading public sufficiently well to rank as . [.a. "gepd seller" by the diabolical dexter- . ity with which she panders t o the jaded ' palate of the devourer of neurotic fiction, it is not so long ago since a novelist, m; cGermany was sentenced fax three years' : i imprisonment for putting into a book -his-; tfriends so tfamly disguised m their fie- 1 ■tionai garb as to be readily recognised '■. »by all who knew them. The authoress ot. '"The Story of Eden" is an even worsen 'offender against right feeling, good taste, ■ and common decency. Apart from the* motive of the book, which is sordid, mean .and ignoble, apart from the method of treatment adopted, which is morbid, sig- ' • nificant, and unwholesome to a degree, and apart from its literary style, which is trivial and artificial, the persistent analysis of the unfortunate heroine's in- > most feelings and motives is a'bsolutcly brutal when it is recollected that the character is drawn from real life. It seams as though the authoress was actuated by personal vrntfictiveness towards : f/he unhappy girl, so remorselessly does she impale her with her pen and -dissect her most sacred feelings for the edification of her South African friends and the novel-reading public. The cruelty of the process is the more emphasised 'by the (fact that no person can delineate the m- . roost feelings of a human soul known only "to itself and its Maker, and for that reason the presumed analysis m tins work is all the crueller. It can, therefore, be imagined what a mental shock was caused tok Mrs Webster (figuring m the book "s Margery Cunningham) on reading this detestable production, which purported to dissect her and related with a wealth of detail, a dark passage m her life which she thought was closed when she left South Africa with her husband. It must be remembered that Mrs Webster left South Africa m ignorance of the book, which was not published till afterwards, and the sharp reminder of her past life brought before her m wanton .J print was more than sufficient tq partially wreck fcer reason. Captain Jones (Major Vibart or "the Tracker" of the book) came to New Zealand at the close of the Attglo-Boer war, m which he -had <

Served, and entered upon, vine-growing at Omaha. In the book he is Kilted m the ■war, but m view of the pertinacious fidelity with which the characters are labelled for identification m the hook, this tact is to he attributed to the authoress' desire for a dramatic climax, rather than a kuwHiearted, though belated, desire to throw her readers off the scent. Captain Jones was a frequent visitor to the hospital, and he was always grateful for any kindness shown to Mrs Webster, and never forgot to show it. On one occasion, explaining the great interest he fook m Mrs Webster, he told a person that her husband had deserted ber j m New 'Zealand, and had since died. Mrs Webster had ' three children — one aged six, another three, and the youngest was a baby born about twelve months ago. A noteworthy fact concerning the birth of the youngest is the fact that it occurred at a period of more than twelve months after her late husband had disappeared. PASSAGES FROM THE BOOK. An illustration of the authoress' direct personal style is given m the passage m which she introduces Margery Cunningham (Mrs Webster before her marriage) and Major Vibart (that is, Captain Jones). Madge made him a present of another blush. She was rather prodigal of her ruddy favors m those days, but it was a habit she never entirely lost. As John Mortimer Vibart sat m his wicker-chair on the stoep, where a jutting wall covered with honeysuckle made a cosy corner behind him, Ms eyes could rest without let or hindrance on the sun-shot cobwebs of her hair — lor she had thrown her hat aside, and the wind had ruffled her head, snare-wise — on the curved sweep of her eye-lashes with the glint of blue 'between them, tne ingenuous tilted line of nose and uppei" lip and chin; all shortened and rounded With the unformed softness of youth. Under her chin the little white throat melted into the hard linen collar, and below that the severe habit made the utmost of. a developing bust and slender waist. She held the habit out of her way with her left hand while she stood beside the tea-table pouring out the tea with her right. He missed no curve of her as he sat m his corner watching with the steady, devouring gaze of a heast of prey. As fresh and fragrant as % the honeysuckle, as dainty and delicate as the fretted sunshine among the firs, as young and maidenly as the ripening fruit- 1 m the garden there below. A further description of Major Vibart is given m the following passage : — She could not help smiling down upon him as he stood with the bridle of his own horse slung over his shoulder, and his handsome face bent over her fqot. He was extremely bronzed from his fortnight's shooting up country, and Madge thrilled a little with pleasure as she covertly noted the strength of his shorn square chin and the -breadth of his chest and shoulders. He was a tall man, well developed and well trained, thanks to his profession. People who go to cattle shows, and are judges of such things, observe and admire the same class of advantages m the entries there. Vihart was standing so close to her that Margery couM detect a faint scent of cigar smoke about him — ever a pleasant scent m t*e open air, but always with-a masculine suggestion about it to a -woman. It was almost a relief when he swung himself into his ownsaddle and they rode away, up the lane, and ont of the open gate into the sunny red road. Here is an example of the authoress' analysis of the heroine's character :— She was still very young as she sat m the sunshine, reading ; but t&e year's experience had left its mark on her face, m a certain firm set of her lips, which might have been hardness, if they had not smiled so readily, a certain poise of her head, a certain dry decision m speaking of some indisputable fact of life. She taught with auth- . ority — the authority' of knowledge— and not as do the theoretical scribes. s Jtier secret experience had had its part also^ m moulding her, but less visibly. Tteei Vibart incident, strangely enough, had had a mental result though its agency * was purely physical. As faT as Vibart was concerned, he had left her, outwardly, as he found her, and her appearance was as young as ever, not a curve lost, not a roundness of youth displaced, not a line added. Mrs Webster's departure from South": Africa (m 1901) is^thus depicted m the< ■authoress' concluding words : — Margery leaned on the rail and watched the sunset, and the line of the retreating shore. Cape Town was still ' sharply visible m the warm dying tight, ' a city of big buildings, of strength a-raP beauty and life, with the velvet mountain standing sentinel behind it. ... One of the officers of the boat hovered near her, wishing to speak and begin, an acquaintance to be worked up on tne voyage. She turned and smiled, with the assured positron of a pretty woman. As he began to talk to her she contrasted herself curiously with the shy girl who had come out three years before. She had been more eager for pleasure and distraction then, but she. had not found it so ready to her band; as now. She had developed. She knew her own worth, and was sure of herself. . "Look your last at Gape Town, Mrs Crofton »" said the oflicer, suddenly. The sun was going ; as she turned and looked he touched the mountains. Tne> ship held steadily on. her outward way,, the purple and sunset water widening between her and the shore. Overhead was an empty blue sKy with one star — the evening star — hanging m the void. The light went lower, the earth turned by just so much of a hairs-breadth as dropped the land out of sight ol the ship, and Africa and the sun went down behind the round horizon together.