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""Jclr" AN INDEPENDENT FAMILY NEWSPAPER. 'a!XA"''
TTol. "VI . . Now Bloomiicld, 3?., TuoKduy, Tui-oli IS, 1872. IV. 11.
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A REMARKABLE IMP0STER,
on
The Deacon's Mistake.
rilllE villago in uno of the Middle States
JL in which iny boyhood and early youth
wwe passed was and is a quiet agricultural
centre of about one thousand population,
It hud tho usual complement of country
tores and inns, nud a largo and imposing
academy. In the traveling season it was
enlivened for an hour daily by the transit
through Its "Main Street" (and what city
or village in tho country has not that
Stereotyped name?) of passengers from the
railroad depot to tho steamboat; but for the
most part it dozed amid the great events of
the world, npait from its excitements and
its bustling activity. Let it not bo under
stood, however, that this place had nothing
In particular to distinguish it from the
Joiicsvillos, Pottstowus and Smithburghs,
in which those States are prolific. It was
an old and historic place, celebrated in tho
Annals of at least one of our wars; its situ
ation on the bank of a great river, nestling
under a mountainous elevation of table
land, was exceptionally romantic; it
was embowered by trees of patriarchal
growth; and among its people there was a
goodly sprinkling of education, refinement
and wealth, with some old and rather ex
elusive families to give a tono to its society.
It was a place, in short, of such natural
beauty and rural quiet as to make it the
domicile of a number of that most envied
olass they who livo on tho interest of their
money.
In this community there were several
ohurchos; at least two more than could
decently support a pastor. Tho largest of
those societies, as well as tho wealthiest,
and one second to none in worldly resocta
bility and icligious character, had parted
with its last shepherd some months before.
A painful want of harmony had arisen in
thU Hock; schisms had crept in, several
members had been expelled, social breaches
had consequently occurred, and the society
bad become divided, distracted, and power
less to accomplish" Christian work. The
church edifice had been permanently closed,
and there seemed no immediate prospect
of bettor things.
At this juncture a person arrived in the
village bearing a letter of introduction to
one of tho deacons, which was duly present
ed, and out of which grew momentous con
sequences. The bearer of this letter was a man of
thirty-five or forty years of age, habited in
Mack, but without the conventional white
neckcloth of the ministry. He wore an
amount of jewelry upou his person that
seemed quite unclorical; but his general
demeanor was grave aad decorous, while
tils manners and address were those of the
most courteous refinement. Personally lie
was rather undorsized, uite spare, and
with a face that at once denoted mental
activity. It was certainly an attractive
ace, set off as it was with curly black hair
and whiskers, illuminated by a pair of such
brilliant eyes as is not often bestowed upon
Ida sex, and embellished by a half-smile
that was at once winning and habitual. The
outside of this man, in short, was decided
ly interesting, and provocative of inquiry
as to who and what he was. ouch at least,
was the impression made upon the deacon,
wko politely invited bit visitor to be seated
while he mounted bis spectacles and read
be letter. .
"The worthy man was instantly filled
with a sense of awe and importance to find
tilmseU addressed m writing as the dear
respected brother of a dootorof dlviulty
resident of an Eastern city, whoso name
may be hero omitted, but who occupied tho
very highest place in learning, picly and in
fluence in this denomination; one of thoso
bright and shining lights known to all good
Christians, but whose beamings our good
deacon had never thought would rest par
ticularly on him. Glancing with pleasure
and pride upou a religious work by this
very doctor that ho had just been reading,
the deacon proceeded to acquaint himself
with tho contents of tho epistle. It was
substantially as follows, barring date, ad
dress and superscription:
" I desire to present to you, iu the bear
er of this, tho Itev. Albert Wynne, a clergy
man of our denomination. For some years
past iu charge of one of tho largest of our
Eastern churches, he has boon compelled
by ill-health and an unfavorable climate
to relinquish his charge- and seek a more
congenial atmosphere. His relations with
his peoplo were sundered with the utmost
reluctance upon his part, and with tho last
ing regret of the whole society. Ho is a
young man of extraordinary gifts, and, if
Providcnco shall spare his life, willbecomo
in a few years a priceless treasure to us all.
Therefore I nm personally solicitous as to
the preservation of his health; and to this
end I liavo recommended him to seek a
charge in somo quiet locality like yours.
You may secure him for a time and I learn
that you are without a pastor and though
his connection with you cannot, as you
will understand from my premises, be
lengthy, yet your peoplo have cause to re
gard themselves as fortunate beyond other
men in securing him at all. One caution,
however; I charge you and your co-workers,
as brethren in Christ, to guard his health
assiduously. You must sco to it that lie
takes suflicicnt physical exercise, and does
not injure himself by overwork or study.
" As I am about to depart for an extend
ed tour of duty at tho South, and as the
reputation of your people and yourself is
wetl known to me, no answer to this will be
necessary. I trust Brother Wynne to you
with tho assurance that all will be well."
Thisletter, of course, secured the rever
end gentleman a hearty welcome at tho
hands of the deacon and his family, and ho
was most hospitably entertained. The
deacon at once obtained the necessary con
cent that Mr. Wynne might preach tho fol
lowing Sabbath; but ho was troubled and
vexed to find that ho could create very little
interest iu tho matter among tho people.
Tho general feeling in tho society was ono
of apathy and indifference, which even the
letter of this distinguished doctor, widely
as it was circulated, was not powerful
enough to remove. Tho good deacon was
restless, nervous, almost wretched. Not
withstanding his utmost exertions to create
a furore in favor of the new-comer, ho was
conscious of having failed; and on Sunday
moriiing.on the way to tho place of meeting,
he bunglingly stammorcd his fears and ex
cuses to his guest.
"Pray don't be troubled, my dear broth
er, responded Mr. Wynne, with smiling
suavity. " Let us see if I cannot advertise
myself to this peoplo to-day."
And advertise himself he did, most thor
oughly. To the two dozen assembled in
tho morning he preached such a discourse as
the old stones of that church had never be
fore heard. It was fervid, earnest, elo
quent, convincing iu argument, powerful in
diction, and so impressively delivered as to
kindlo enthusiasm in the ihillost of his few
heareis. The fume of this efi'ort flow over
the whole village during the day, and at
night the church was crowded with curious
listeners. The evening's sermon Was in no
way inferior to that of the morning; both
the prayer and the preaching of this man,
so different from all that those peoplo bad
been accustomed to, wrought powerfully
upon the minds of all present. On the fol
lowing morning a committee waited on Mr,
Wynne to secure him as a pastor of the
church. They found no difficulty in ac
complishing tills object. In answer to the
tender of a larger salary than the society
had ever paid, made with apologies for its
smallness, the minister reiterated the
reasons which had led him to desire
change of location, as expressed in the in
troductory letter, and cordially accepted
the charge offered him, expressing the hope
that he might, by the blessing of God, be
permitted to forward his work in this place,
And he Immediately entered upon his min
istry.
I shall not attempt to detail tnlnntely
tiie history of Mr. -Wynne's connection
with this church and peoplo for the next
sis months.' Both church and people were
takes by storm, if I may so phrase it, and
surrendered at discretion. The new minis
ter was tho lion of the town, tho foremost
themo of public and privato conversation,
tho observed of nil observers.- Everybody
was enthusiastic in his praise; all were
delighted with him, savo the elders of other
denominations, upon whoso membership
his pastorate threatened a heavy draft.
Ilis zeal was unbounded, out of the pulpit
as well as In it. Not only did tho fervor
and charm of his preaching (ill tho church
twice each Sabbath, thereby greatly aug
menting its revenue, but his inquiry-meet
ings, earnest and stirring, wcro largely at
tended, and made important additions to'
tho membership. lie healed nil tho social
di (Terences in his Hock; he investigated tho
ascs of some who sulferod expulsion,
proved their errors venial or their peni
tence sincere,and accomplished their restor
ation; he lent his potent encouragement to
aid societies, ever dear to the kind hearts of
the matrons; ho built up the languishing
Sabbath school iu fact, lie made himself
effectually useful about everything that
concerned the harmony and prosperity of
this church and society. That he became
immensely popular follows as a natural
consequence from the above statements.
Aside from tho high favor that ho enjoyed
among the membership as a talented and
levoted minister, his fascinating address
and brilliant conversational powers made
him tho acknowledged leader, tho facile
princf.pi of tho best society of the place.
Beyond this, young men liked him because
ho was always companionable; the young
women (could it be otherwise?) thought
him as handsome as Hamlet on the stage,
and not unlike the melancholy philosopher,
wliilo many of them sighed secretly at
thought of liini.
For six mouths or more all wont swim
mingly with Mr. Wynno and liis people;
and as he expressed a warm desire to ex
tend his term of seryico hero indefinitely,
there seemed a good prospect that the con
nection might bo a long and spiritually
prulitablo one. Suddenly ono weak auda
cious voice was lifted up against him. A
journeyman tailor, a man of extensive read
ing, if humble occupation, heard i one of
Mr. Wynne's astonishing discourses one
evening, and discovered that its language
soundti strangely familiar to him. lie
turning homo with tho idea fresh in his
mind, ho took up a volume of Chamiing's
published sermons, ami there found the
one ho hail jnst heard, word for word as
Mr. Wynne had rcpoated it from the pul
pit. The tailor mado known his discovery,
and created a little buzz of excitement and
inquiry. Tho candid few who took tho
trouble to examine the proof of this clerical
piracy jvcro convinced, and denounced Mr.
Wynne as an impostor; but tho popular
tide had been setting too long and too
strong to be suddenly checked. As the
minister indignantly denied tho charge.
most of his admirers were perfectly willing
to dismiss it at once; others believed, or af
fected to believe, that it was merely a re
markable coincidence of language nud ideas;
and the insinuation was speedily hooted
down, leaving a very sninll minority who
believed in it.
A more dangerous rock than this, how.
ever soon after threatened tho good fame
of tho minister. The deacon to whom his
introductory letter happened to be ad
dressed was very littlo of a letter-writer,
and under ordinary circumstances tho inti
mation with which this letter closed, con.
corning tho doctor's proposed absence,
would have been sufficient to prevent a re
sponse. But about this time tho deacon
had become so deeply lmpressod with the
merits and talents of Mr. Wynne, and so
grateful to tho learned doctor for securing
him to this place, that ho wrote and posted
to the latter a letter of awkward acknowl
edgment, briefly setting forth the great
success of his protege iu Ids new charge
A reply came promptly, and conveyed some
rather startling intelligence. The doctor
acknowledged the receipt of the deacon's
letter, and emphatically repudiated the
Rev. Albert Wynno. Ho had never before
wiilten to the deacon, he said, nor did he
know any person, minister or otherwise, of
the name given in his correspondent's letter.
He had written no letter of introduction for
a year; and he hod not been, nor had he in
tended to bo, absent from the city of his
residence for more than a day at a time
during that period.
The deacon felt as if struck by a thunder
bolt. He seized his hat, and rnshing to
Mr. Wynne's study, threw the letter down
before him, and anxiously, breathlessly,
asked him to read it. The minister did
read it, : calmly and without change of
countenance, and then musingly replied:
" Why, this is strange oiiough t ' What
oan it mean" ' '
' I don't know," the deacon said. ' Don't
you know?"
' There is some awkward blunder some
where," replied the minister, taking a turn
across tho floor. "Doctor not know
me, indeed ! Ho is my father iu tho minis
try. I nm inclined to think that this letter
you have shown mo is tho mistake of his
amanuensis."
" Perhaps so," said tho deacon, catching
;it this awkward explanation with a sigh of
relief.
"I'm certain of it," cried tho pastor,
with animation. "Now don't say a word
about this, my dear brother, and I will
write at onco to the doctor. I am conn
that his answer will set everything right."
The too credulous deacon promised and
return home, secretly rejoicing that his
confidence in Mr. Wynno was unshaken.
Had lie nt once mado public the contents
of this letter, the final cntastropho would
have been averted; but with his blind faith
in tho wonderful pastor ho held his peace,
nnd only revealed his damning information
when it. was too lato to prevent tho mis
chief that this wolf in sheep's clothing was
even then meditating. It is unnecessary
to say that Mr. Wynne did not write to the
doctor.
It has been said that Mr. Wynne was pe
culiarly a favoiito with tho young ladies
of his flock. Several of them, indeed, hal
been up to this time successively tho ob
jects of his particular attention; and it
was more than whispered that ho had
trifled with tho affections of three or four
of tho villago belles in a very cruel way,
flitting from ono to another, and engaging
tho hearts of all at the samo time, like a
professional lady-killer. Such reports,
however, mado but littlo headway against
tho strong current of popular favor; nor
was this favor materially diminished when
it became known that ho was engaged to
marry tho young and beautiful daughter of
a wealthy memberof another denomination.
The announcement created a great flutter,
of course; somo of tho younger ladies in
dulged in bitter comments, which evi
denced anything else than a lack of inter
est, and somo of tho matrons expressed
tho opinion that it was decidedly wrong
in Mr. Wynne to look beyond his own
flock for a wife: but tho intelligence, on the
whole, was well received, nnd tho approach
ing union bado fair to establish Mr. Wynno
more lirmly than ever in tho affection of
the wliolo village.
The wedding-day drew near; and in the
mean time certain impalpable rumon
touching tho fair fame of his proposed sou.
in-law reached tho lady's father. Solicit
ous for his daughter's happiness, tho parent
gave them such investigation as they were
capable of, and ascertained that they had
no more substance than this, namely: that
a few persons, confessedly hostile to Mr.
Wynne, had said of him, first, that he did
not dress like a minister; second, that he
wore too much jewelry for n minister; third,
that ho wroto three or four different hands;
fourth, that he stole his sermons; fifth, that
he had flirted with all the girls in tho con
gregation: and therefore, taking nil these
things together, they believed he was a
humbug, or something worse.
Attaching some littlo importance to this
incongruous indictment, as ho would prob
ably not have done had he stood in ordinary
relations with the subject of it, tho father
sought a private interview with tho pastor,
and laying these complaints before him,
looked him fairly in tho eye, and demanded
to know if their was any geod reason or
any impediment to prevent the proposed
union. And Mr. Wynne laughingly blew
away the charges against him, as too
puerile to call for a serious answer; and
then looking his catechist squarely iu the
eye, and laying his hand on his heart, re
plied that there was no such reason oi im
pediment, so help him Heaven.
The wedding took place nt the appointed
time, with all the imposing show, and all
the hilarity that attends such occasions
among the wealthy and aristocratic The
mansion was filled with guest, and was
prodigal in its hospitality; the curiosity
and interest excited by the occasion was
gratified to see both bride and groom ap
pear self-possessed and happy, looking
never so well; the ceremony was over, the
dancing done, the feast had been duly
honored, and the newly-made husband and
wife had received farewell and godspeed
thirty hours past Alien the Impending
thunderbolt fell. The deacon, thoroughly
awake to the wretched truth, rushed into
the house of the late rejoicing with another
leeter from the doctor that moment receiv
ed. It denounced the man calling himself
the Reverend Albert Wynne as a swindler
and an impostor; that lie was not a minis
ter of tho gospel, although he had assumed
in several places to be such, anil that ho
had abandoned his wifo and children in
New Jersey two years before.
The scene that followed is indoscribable.
Passing over the emotions natural to sush
a distressing revelation, we turn to the
pscudo pastor. Being apprised in some un
accountable manner, at the hotel in tho
city where tho first pauso in their journey
was made, of the discovery of his villany
and tho pursuit of the father, ho precipi
tately abandoned tho poor confiding victim
of his deception and lied. Ho was discover
ed some hours after ou a railroad train,
partially diiguised; and when asked by tho
officer wither ho was going, he coolly re
plied that charges had been mado against
him which required him to defend himself,
nnd that ho was going East to investigate
them, lie was arrested, detained for a
time, nnd then reluctantly discharged for
lack of evidence.
But justice was not to be thus balked.
The father, outraged by the villain's crime
in liis most precious relations, and now
set himself systematically to work to fasten
the clutches of tho law firmly upon this
man. Whilo one set of detectives "shad
owed" him from place to place, others went
to New Jersey and procured tho legal ev
idence of liis former marriage, and the at
tendance of the deserted wife. In a few
weeks tho culprit was re-arrested and
brought bock to the scene of his illicit
triumphs, now the scene of his disgrace;
and under the unromntic name of James
Hardy, the only ono to which he could lay
rightful claim, ho was indicted, tried and
convicted of bigamy, and sentenced to five
year' imprisonment. The trial incidentally
developed tho fact that the accused was an
expert forgo r as well as a vctciau bigamist
It appeared that he had at least two wives
living nt tho time of this last marriage,
both of whom lie had heartlessly deserted;
nnd that upon abandoning tho second, in
New Jersey, ho had caused tho notice of
his death to bo published in a distant
paper, followed by tho touching sentiment:
" Peaceful be his silent slumber
In the cold nnd lonely grave."
Copies of this paper had been sent to his
late residence. He had been traced through
several places, in nil of which ho perform
ed the role of a minister, as skillfully and
its successfully, for tho most part, as in the
last scene of his labors.
It is somewhat of a relief to know that
this adroit scoundrel died in tho peniten
tiary before the expiration of his term ;
and that the life of his last victim was not
blighted irreparably by his villany. Bho
has since happily married, and in tho rela
tions of a loved and honored wifo and
mother, she may well remember her share
in this dark episode only as a troubled
dream.
I have styled tho career of this man a
remarknlile imposture. It may be said that
neither bigamy nor the simulation of tho
clerical ofliee is extremely rare among us,
and that both are occasionaly delected in
the fame individual. After this is granted,
I must still claim that the real-life villain
here presented was tho peer in subtlety,
audacity and unadulterated wickedness, of
anything in human shape that even tho
genius of Wilkie Collins has put in print ;
and I nm quite certain that Miss Braddon
has introduced us to no more fascinating
a gentleman among those of her characters
who descrvo gibbeting. I do not remem
ber to have read of any of the black sheep
of fiction who were possesed of that strong
personal magnetism that made people of
average common sense the unyielding ad
herents of tliis reprobuto, and caused them
to reject conclusive evidence of his im
position. I hope and believe that such dan
gerous gifts are charily bestowed ou man
kind. Married Without Delay.
A young man in Columbia county, Ohio,
courted a girl lor a woek. Knowing that
procrastination is the thief of time, he got
a can of oysters and a license, invited the
justice to the fair one's house at eight
o'clock, and then popjied the question, was
accepted, pulled out tho document, and
informed the maiden that the squire would
be there at eight Bho pleaded delay; he
couldn't see it. Her silk dress wasn't
made; calico would do. There was no
stove in the west parlor; off coat, and in
ten minutes there was a fire roaring. The
squire came, the job was fixed, and the
new-made wife cooked tho oysters. '
13T Without a regular ocoupatlon, no
person, male or female, can preserve
sound niind in s sound body.