) L 1 ,3 WEEKLY- NORWALK -‘GAZETTE ’LOCAL NEWS. George Seymour is convalescent of a severe illness. Dr. ahd Mrs. L. N. Phinney have re- turned from a trip to Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Fred Osborn, of Anson- ia, have been visiting in Norwalk. , Fred Grumman of New York, spent Sunday with his parents in this city. The month of roses and weddings opens very ~ a-u spiciously, gladsome in every way. Mr. and Mrs. Jacob M. Lavton of Fairfield avenue spent M em01ial Day in Orange, N. J. Miss Lavinia M. scoville, of New Y ork, spent the holiday at her home 0 :1 Elmwood avenue. ' Mr. and Mrs. Wayte A. Raymond of New York, were guests over Sunday of friends on Clay street. ' \Villiam Hosegood celebrated Memor- ial day by erecting a large flag-pole at his home'in East Norwalk. Mrs. W. Torrey Hancock of Grace church rectory, left today for Milwau- Wi's., to visit her "daughter. ‘M rs. Edward LaPrise, of Naugatuck, spent Memorial Day with Miss Sadie Noonan, of Academy street. Hattie W 3 'm is having a grand, good time at the home of her “ uncle,” James H. Stevens, on Bell Island. D1. Geoi ge Van Alstyne of Brooklyn spent Memorial day with his son Ge01ge R. Van Alstyne of High stieef. Mr. John Finch and family, of Brooklyn, are visiting at the home of Captain A. B. St. John, in East Nor- walk. The young ladies of Miss Baird’s In- stitute drove to Lewisboro, Tuesday, where they spent the day and enjoyed luncheon. ' For farming implements call at the Meeker Coal Co’s yards. They have " the exclusive agency, fer the Osborne P l 1 1 l utensils in town. The aged mother of Hon.John S. Sey- mour is convalescent of an illness caused by a fall in which she sustained serious injury to her hip. MI: and Mrs. Frederick H. Parsons, of Bridgeport», spent Memorial .Day with Mr. and Mrs. David W. Raymond of Crescent Terrace. Miss Della and \Villiam Cultler, of Jersey City, spent Sunday with their cousins. Misses Addie and Laura Lawrence, of School street: Mr. and Mrs, Archibald Sheffield and daughtersJMisses Florence and Pauline Morison of New York, are guests of ‘Mrs. Julia S. Morison of West avenue. Mr. and Mrs. Charles Fishbeck and Mr. and Mrs. Fred Baxter of Brooklyn, N. Y., were the guests of Mr. and Mrs. D. M. Corbett at Rowayton, Mr. Harry Pepper will sing the “Lost Chord” at the service of the Men’s Sunday Evening club, at the South Norwalk Congregational church, on Sunday evening next. Hattie S.’ wife of William C. Rapel- yea, formerly of South Norwalk, - died yesterday afternoon at her home in Danbury. Besides her husband. she leaves three daughters. ' The funeral of Esther Mary Bouton, widow of the late Thaddeus Guyer, was Monday afternoon. The de- ceased was 80 years of age. The inter ment at Riverside. The Girls Needle-Work club will be entertained at Mrs. Frederick Beldenés house on the Green next Saturday, June 4th from three until four o’clock. Prizes will be given, and there will be no more meetings until next fall. Residents of South Norwalk are not altogether favorable to the water fur- nished them, and there is a possibility that they will ask for a quarantine on 1he reservoir, withperhaps the proviso that it can be used in case of fire. The R. 8: G. corset factory is now working on full time, and this sudden rush of delightful weather will cause no stay in the same in fact it looks as though it would be a tight squeeze for the firm to keep up with the orders. The copy of the check which drew the bicycle at the Boston store, Satur- day evening, was as follows; Date, 5-28; salesman, 3; book, 2; Elastic, 7c; "amount received, 7c; red number 17. It was held by Miss Lillian Hyatt of 32 Knight street. Miss Kate Stevens, ,of Rowayton, slipped and fell overboard from the neww wharf at Roton on Monday, but beinga good swimmer soon regained the steps leading to the Wharf and mounting her wheel rode nome none ‘ the worse for her involuntary bath. : ,4 .z..~~.»-.- .- will beat home after September 1, at Y. Friends have received announcement of the marriage of Miss Henrietta Andrews to Chester Coleman Hayes. The ceremony was performed May 10th in All Souls’ church, London. They 20 Boulevard d’Inkermann, Neuillv sur Seine, France. \Iichael Lane, of South N orwalk and Miss Margaret Deering, of this city, \1 ere married at St. Mary’s church this 'morning by Rev. M. W. Barry. Thom- ,as J. Hyland, of Stamford, acted as best man and Miss Emma Deering was b1 idesmaid A reception followed the ' Ceremony. the bride on- Main street and was a‘ It was held at the home of .l'Oyous one. After a short'bridal trip Mr. and Mrs. Lane will become domes- 11.1, ticated at well furnished apartments on » Memorial Day. The Yacht Club. It was opening day at the Norwalk Yacht club, and the handsome club house at Hickory Bluff was thronged with members and guests during the day. In the evening dancing was indulged in until late at night. Music enlivened the afternoon, and Mr. Harry Pepper favored the company with “The Star Spangled Banner,” which was greeted with enthusiastic applause. The races were the chief attraction and kept the yachtsmen of the club on the balcony watching their favorites aS they flew over the course before a spanking breeze. The1e were thiee classes started, cabin cats, open cats. canoes and dories, the jib and main’safl class not . filling. There were two boats in the cabin cats, Mr. Bedferd’s new Heri'shoif Wanda and A. E. Chasmar’s Ayli. The V’Vanda was entirely too fast for the Ayli and easily won the race. The official record was as. follows: Start. Finish . Wanda 2.0.5 4.02-40 Ayli 2.05 4.12 There were four entries in the open cats, and although the Folly reached the stake boat first she declined to cross the line and allowed Vice-Commodore Jennings to cross the line first. The official score was as follows: Start Finish Daphne 2.10 4.24-32 Folly 2.10 Dolphin 2.10 4.33-10 Gladys May 2.10 4.33-21 The canoe race brought out four of the smaller boats, but W. H. Bying- ton ’5 Grace proved too fleet footed for the others and left them far behind. The Kearsarge gave up after going over the course once and the Ruth met with an accident and paddled home. The official score was as follows. Start. Finish. Grace 2.51 4.34 Emma 2.1.5 4.41-30 Ruth 2.1.5 —— Kearsarge 2.1.5 ———-— The dory race was something new and evoked considerable amusement. There were two entries, the Phil and Mag, and the tiny boats sailed by their owners, Lawrence and Robert Crauford. The official score was as follows : Start Finish Phil 2.20 4.4445 Mag 2.20 4.4640 The course was from a stake boat off Wilson "Point dock, around the black buoy off TavernlIsland, to the bell buoy and return. The races will be continued on Sat- urday June 11th and every other Satur- day until one of the boats in each class has won three times. At Roton Point. Roton Point, the most beautiful spot on the Long Island shore, had not ad- vertised Memorial Day as its opening day, nevertheless thousands crowded its groves and magnificent bathing beeches frdm early morning until long after the sun had sunk in the, west. Early in the day the Tramway cars be gan to fill up until at noontime stand- ing room could not be obtained on the trolleys. Extra cars were run every few minutes and the vast crowd was handled with admirable skill by the of- ficers of the Tramway company who were on hand’to see that everything moved along with a rush and that no ex- asperating delays occurred. At Dorlon Paint. It was opening day at Dorlon Point, and thousands of visitors thronged this delightful shore resort from early morn- ing until long after dark. Mine host O’Sullivan made every one feel at home, and the day was full of joy for both young and old, while the chef served up shore dinners for the hungry that were most appetising. Taken all in all it was a most success. ful day at Dorlon’s, and if all signs do not fail the season of ’98 will prove the most enjoyable of any since coming under Mr. O’Sullivan’s management. At the Knob. Although it was not opening day at the Knob Outing club, a large number of members ' visited the beautiful grounds and many visited the Yacht club on Rear Commodore John H. Fen,- ris’ handsome launch, Eva L., which made frequent trips between the two places. At Pleasure Beach. Over 2,000 people attended the bi- cycle races held at Pleasure Beach yesterday afternoon under the auspices of the Bridgeport Cycle Club. The prinCipal event of the day was the ten-mile multicycle paced match race between Eddie McDuflie of Cam- bridge, Mass., and Fred C. Hoyt of Bridgeport. Hoyt took the lead at the start and held it for two miles, and McDuflie held the lead from then on: Hoyt frequently outstripped his pacemakers, but could not overtake the'fleet McDuffie, who won by over a lap. McDuffie’s time for the ten miles was 18 minutes, 48% seconds. One Mile Tandem, handicap, Pro- fessional—Won by Fred P. Kent, Row- ley, Mass, and C. S. Henshaw, Cam- bridgeport, Mass. Time 2.02 1-5. W. P. Neville and M. Apgar of Newark, N. J, second; W. E. Tenzler, ,Buffalo, and Fred E. Allen, Springfield, 'lis’ alleged partner in crime, lury Finds Ben Willis Guilty of Murder in First Degree Just before court adjourned Mon- day, Frederick Max Brockhaus, Wil- was brought into court and put to plea on acharge of murder in the first degree for the killing of David S. R. Lambert on December 17, last. _ Brockhaus said he was 19 years old. He was dressed in a dark plaid _ suit and did not look like a hardened erifn- inal. He listened to the reading of the long indictment with the greatest at- tention, and in answer to the question “Aie you guilty or not guilty?’ ’he re- plied in a firm clear voice, “I am not guilty.’ “Attor hey John C. Chamber- lain has been assigned by the court to defend him, but the tiial will not be held until the September term of court. Stenographer Ramsey, who took Willis’ statement in New York, was the first witness in the Willis trial yesterday. He was recalled for cross examination by the defense. He ad- mitted on the stand that the statement read by him did not contain every- thing said by Willis. He said Willis frequently repeated himself and he used his own judgment what to leave out. The defense then opened its case, in- troducing a number of witnesses to show that Willis is insane. Mrs. Coop- er, Madame Louise, Willis’ mother, Dr. Hoover, Harry Bennett, Eugenia Espanoses and W. N. Pooley, all testi- fied that in their opinion Willis was insane and not responsible for. his acts at the time the crime was'committed. The witness, Miss Espanoses, was the girl with whom Ma'x Brockhaus kept steady company prior to his‘ ar- iest. In Willis’ confession mention is madeof Miss Espanoses. She testified to con'versationsand incidents tending 'to show that “(fills '1 *as not in his right mind. She cdii'oborated that portion of Madame Louise’s testimony Which related to the sunstroke received by her son Miss Espanoses is quite re- fined looking, decidedly, bifunette, and of intelligence. Her story was 'well told and well stuck to. T'Under cross examination it was not twisted, nor was she confused. N h Only one witness was called‘in rebut- tal of the state. Witness was Elmer N; Cornell, who has been in charge of Willis since his arrest. Mr. Cornell stated that Will/is’ actions have been those of a sane man from first to last. Not the slightest evidence of insanity had been given. Witness had gever said anything about having had v.94 _s_un_-', stroke when he Was young Which sub. sequently affected his mind, or any- thing in reference to having a brother who had sojourned at Bloomingdale for a period of years. When the court came in Tuesday morning the arguments alone remained to complete the case for the jury. The accused was not put upon the standand no attempt was made to combat the ten ible evidence which had been piled up against him. At the very last moment it was de- cided to make insanity the sole plea for mercy. But even this effort was rudely shaken by the cross examina- tion and the rebuttal. Counsel for the defense made an ef- fort to have inserted in the record the statement that objection was made to the admission of Willis’ confession upon constitutional grounds, but the court would not allow it. Assistant State’s Attorney Carter opened the arguments .by going briefly over the claim of the defense on the insanity plea. He also stated the law, following closely the lines laid down in the Boinay trial. He claimed murder in the first degree as the offense com- mitted and asserted that the state had proven that fact beyond a reasonable doubt 0' The defense followed with a state- ment of the case from the best possible view for Willis. Theinsanity plea was worked to the utmost and every actions of the accused after the crime, it was claimed, showed that this could be the only explanation of their peculiarity. State’s Attorney Fessenden closed with one of his usual fiery addresses which held up to ridicule the insanity claim and handled Willis without gloves. The ghastly crime was briefly reviewed and again brought before the jury a picture of words that were thrilling at times. Judge Thayer followed with an im- partial charge, which, however, had little‘in it which could be- construed as favorable to the accused, He offered no instructions in any way, more than to review the complica- tions of the case under the four ' dis- tinct counts. These were murder in the first degree, murder in the second degree, manslaughter and burglary. Willis kept his eyes on the judge during the charge, but acted in a list- less and not over interested way all through. Judge Thayer’s charge oc- cupied about 40 minutes time and at 3_:05 the jury retired. Then began a long period of waiting. Willis was re- moved from the court room to the cell department below, in charge of two keepers. His mother left the court room and waited anxiously in an‘ad- joining apartment. 9 Spectators and officials \wandered réstlessly. in and out of the court room. As the absence pf the jury. became end of speculation as to what the ver- dict would be. Minutes and hours went by. Of course, counsel for the accused con- sidered that the lengthy deliberations of the 12 men portended that they were not of one mind and that there was a possibility of a disagreement. Up to 6 o’clock not a sound had come from the jury room. Not even the ominous knock on the door, with a request, as is often the case, for instructions. Spectators held their seats well and an air of impatience and nervous restless- ness prevailed the court room. Madame Louise, the mother of VVil- 115, at this hour, uneasily paced the corridor, accompanied by a lady friend. Legal men, who had heard the chaf‘ge of Judge Thayer, believed that he had caused the jury to become all tangled up over the numerous features of the case. At 7 o’clock State’s Attorney Fessen- den began to show signs of impatience and by this time there must have been a hungry Set of men in the jury room. The majority w e1 e farmers. They were busily engaged in balloting and trying to make each other agree. The sun went down, the lamps were lit and still the fate of ‘.Villis hung in the balance. Soul racking hours, if he has any heart at all, 1111181; these have been to him waiting in the cell room below stairs every moment expecting the final decree. It Was stated at 7.15 o’clock that the jury Stood 11 to 1 for conviction: that one jiiryman was persistently holding out under the point made by counsel for the accused that the indictment was faulty? by which the accused was ar- raigned on three counts leaving Brock- haus unmentioned. It was recounted that the present jury had been out longer than any similar body in this county since the conviction of John Hawley. At 7:45 o’clock, or when the jury had been in retirement for nearly five hours, there came the tell tale knock at the jury room door. Judge Thayer emerged from his room and took his seat on the bench. “Bring 11p the prisoner,” was the command of Sheriff Hawley, and Wil- lis, in charge of keepers. came frém below. The jury filed in, iesponded to the roll call and in ms sponse to the usual query as to whether they had agreed, the foreman replied in the affirmative, saying that the accused had been found guilty of murder in the first degree. Willis appeared to be unaffected. The'l'jury were then discharged. tates Attorney Fessenden moved ior"l'z’f'fi.immediate sentence. Counsel for the accused asked for a "continu- ance of a day before sentence should be passed. This was objected to by Mr. Fessenden. Then came the direful Judge Thayer : “Sheriff, bring forward the prisoner.” Willis came before the bar and was asked: the penalty of the law should not be passed upon you?” The prisoner replied that he had not. Then the court in the usual formula ordered that he be removed to the cus- tody of the warden of the state prison at Wethersfield and there between the hours of 12:30 and 4 a. m. on Nov. 4 next, to be hanged by the neck until he was dead. Willis looked at the judge in a stoio cal way and betrayed no emotion as the sentence was passed. Afterwards he conversed with his counsel and was later handcuffed and removed to the county jail. He will be taken to VVeth- ersfield in a few days. It is said that the jury would soon have agreed on a verdict of murder in the first degree, had not one member held out for a second degree verdict. He was assailed and argued with for several hours and finally yielded to the majority. His identity was not re- vealed. William Davis of Greenwich, one of the jury when impanelled, stated that he held scruples against inflicting capital punishment although he said that he could put those scruples aside in passing on the guilt of the accused according to the evidence. It was not learned as to whether Davis was or was not the obdurate juryman. Much discussion was entailed by the fact that the prisoner was found and sentenced the same day, a custom that seldom prevails. The mother of Willis, Madame Louise, as she is called, was not in court when sentence was'passed. She went to the county jail and met her son on his return from court. The meeting was very affecting on her part, 03’ words of ference. It was reported that Willis’ counsel would take action in some way, in the shape of an appeal, but this is not probable. Michael Luther was fined $10 and costs in the Town Court this morning on the charge of drunkenness and breach of the peace. The breach was committed in South Norwalk, and he: the prisoner, was arrested’ in Bridge- port. Fortunately for him he was able 'to settle. He went back to Bridgeport but not to the jail. ’ Thomas Dorsey" is in receipt of an order from a Danbury party to build a sidewalk in that city similar to the one -_ r “Have you anything to say why ' guilty . Willis maintaining his apparent indif- ‘ A Dispute Dvei‘ Properly. ' During the trial of 'the case of Aaron G. Sherwood against Sarah N. Al'by in the court of Common Pleas at Bridge- port_yesterday, an interesting story was developed. The plaintiff sues to have a deed conveying a half interest in his property at Cranbury. Mr. Sherwood’s first wife was Jose- phine Alby, from whom he was di- vorced. Then he married her niece, and lived with her until her death. Sarah N. Alby, his first wife’s sister, was living with them. She remained with him as his housekee‘per .for a time, but they finally got into legal difficulties, and she sued him for $1.3 500. A settlement was affected. and it was at that time that he deeded half the property to her. He wanted 'to marry her, and she finally consented. After they had lived together for some time Mr. Sherwood found that she had been married and never di- vorced. He separated from her and later married a fourth time. His fourth wife had been to the matri- monial altar eight tirries. They separated after a brief time, and he returned to his first love. 'The pres- ent suit is to have the deed set aside on the ground that it was obtained by misrépresentation. Charles R. Helmer, an enterprising young newspaper reporter, was the victim last night of a surprise party. 'He was equal to the occasion, and wel- comed his visitors in a cordial manner. They took possession of the house, and proceeded to enjoy themselves to their greatest bent, and it was morning be- fore the festivities ended. But 500 canines have been registered as being licensed, up to date. The town clerk is of the opinion that there is something like 700 more that ought 'to have the privilege,according‘ to law, of roaming about the streets. Other- wise they are liable to be killed. The Waterside Mills at Stamford were almost totally destroyed by fire Sunday morning. fire is a mystery. The loss amounted to about $30,000 and the insurance amounted to $10,000 The Klondike club met Memorial Day in the woods of West N orwalk and bushels of clams out of sight, and danced in high glee over the achieve- ment. Mr. and Mrs. C. A. Blackman. of 19 Fairview avenu.e,spent Sunday and Me- morial Day visiting friends in Nor- walk. —Danbury 1 ews 'will law-alt events. -- ~ The origin of the among other pastimes placed thirty, , . GEN. TRACY SEES 68/. BLACK. They Confer About Van Wyck’e Removfil’ of Hamilton and Phlllpfi. Albany, May 31.—General Benjamin F. Tracy was in conference with Gov.- ernor Black and State Superintendent of Insurance Payn at the Capitol yes- terday. General Tracy came here in the interest of the New York city '1 ' publicans, to protest against M, Vah Wyck’s action in removing two Republican police commission? ' and the subsequent retirement of Chié‘f of Pouce.McCullagh by Lnevincomplete police board. ‘ The conference lasted for two hours and the whole question was discussed. The result of the conference, it any \\ as reached, could not be learned, ex— cept that the declaration was made that the Republican leaders do not pro- pose to allow Tammany Hall to cheat them out of an honest canvass of the ' \ote in New York (lty next fall if they can by any means preVent it. General Tracy and Superintendent Payii left for New York city yesterday aften noon. 825,000 mi- Rebel’s Head. 4 “ ~ Hong Kong, China, May’ 31.-—'The- Spaniards have offered $25,000 reward for the head of Aguinaldo, the insur— gent leaderJ who is aqtg‘vely drilling the rebels, preparatory 'to an attack upon Manila. - In reply to the Spanish attempt to win over Aguinaldo’s men the nsur- gents are said 'to have infor'me the Spaniards that they are neutraL-and 9‘" QM” Aguinaldo went to Manila with Dew- fl: ey’s squadron and was landed to make‘, connections with the insurgents. He is the most bitter enemy of Spain in the Philippines, and if he were removed the rebellion would lose its greatest leader. ~ -fi. 4n. Col. Astor Begins Army Life. Chickamauga Park, Chattanooga, May 31.—-Co]one1 John Jacob Astor he'- gan real army life last night and slept in a tent for the first time since he took the field. The Second New York is camped right over the neglected graves of the dead heroes who fell in the battle of I Chickam-auga. A tent of Company I has a grave right in the center, and in another tent of the same company two privates sleep with their heads on a .k grave. ° Panama Starts North. Key West, May 31.——The Spanish prize steamer Panama left for New York yesterday to be sold as a. prize, because a higher price was expected there. A‘story that she is to bMurned into a cruiser is denied, because she is only.a nine-knot ship. as Harvard Still at Kingston. Kingston, Jamaica, ' May 31.—The United States auxiliary cruiser Har- vard, formerly the American line stea~ mer New York, has not yet sailed. The colonial authorities have allowed her some hours longer in order to put her boilers in need condition. m 11:11 FRENCH 0011'“ Dotted Veiling ’and Grass-Linen Gown. Among the new imported models in summer 'costumes is a novel gown of voile with Shirred waist and skirt, the front of the skirt forming a slender apron. These charming voiles are made up over taffeta linings, usually varying in color from popy red to pale rose, and from Wilhelmina orange to dull yellow. The coloring of the model is palest heliotrope patterned with tiny silk dots in light yellow, over a foundation skirt of a deeper tint. The apron is of grass linen in the natural ecru color, and con- trasts pr‘ettily with the veiling, while an additional harmony is its trimming —-tiny velvet ribbons in graduated shades of old-yellow and brown. recently completed .by. him for" thisi ing to the ground, and gat ly in the back at the wais ducing the sweeping folds now in vogue. Its width is four and a half yards. , open-work straw braid. moderate "brim, under which, at the back, is a half-wreath. of wall-flowers in shades of yellow and brown. curling ostrich plumes form an efl’eo. The’ , tive decoration around the crown. plain sleeves of unlined linen are band- 336' at the wrist with the same velvet, ' ’.-.T.."1 fIA'CPER’S DAZAR ed close- 9.1 pro- The grass linen part of the back of. the waist is opéh in the centre,.,,a trimmed vertically with clusters of the narrow yellow velvet ribbons; hi 2h collar is slightly draped. The The proper cut of this gown can be obtained only from the cut paper pat- terns published by Harper’s Bazar, where it appears. The hat worn With this gown is of It has, a Long ApprOximate quantity» of material; . 1: e
Norwalk Chronicler