Mrs. Lattin's Lawsuit. An Aged Couple Unable to Live Any Longer in Wedlock. Old Mr. Lattin on the Stand in His Own Defense. Denying His Wife's Charge of Cruelty, and Wanting to Examine the Lawyers. (From the New York Sun) The office of Sol. B. Noble, in long Island City, was occupied yesterday for four hours by the parties to the divorce suit brought by Mrs. Hannah Lattin against her husband, Henry Lattin, their counsel, end newspaper reporters. Old Mr. Latin, if less pious, was more decorous in his behavior- than heretofore, not that his inclination, to exhort had left hint, but because he was watched so closely by the referee and counsel that it was almost impossible for him to doelaim without Lastest interruption. The gems of courtesy that,: occasionally passed between the , lawyers catised the old man to laugh with an interna1 ,3 rumbling, and painful exertion that startied)nyerybody, for at such instants his life seemed about to be shaken out of him. He was eTeatly aroused when his 0013DIDPI:ez-Judge Jelin R. Reid, in reply to a remark of Air. Brewer, Mrs. Lattin's lawyer, that certain blatikeis that the plaintiff had carried away with , her were old ones, said, "Oh, they were well taken care of. I have used blankets as old as you are, and in much better condition." z The defendant said he bad ne Idea what the land was worth. Ile was no judge of the value of property. Mr. Brower asked him if be bad been to church on be preceding day, and the old man, snapped hie fingers in his questioner's face. "oh, yes," said he, "glory be to God. But were Ion at church? That's the question; and did your preacher tell you that you could not save yourself, but that you must be saved , by the: -grace of the Lord Jesus Christ?" Here Judge Reid grasped MS 1-ellent by the arm, and lora minute 'topped:. him but he launched out again almost imniediateitt.; "Don't yeu know," be exclaimed, "that the devil is a liar and the father of liars? Didn't you learn that at church, OW "Oh, said Judge Retd, soothingly, "what 1 is the use of asking him that? Be doesn't know anything about it. Re -hasn't been at church silica he was ahoy." 'At this sally the old man laughed too oonvtilively and long that about twmmutes elapsed before be went on to testify that his income consisted merely of the interest, at b per cent, upon $1,100, and what he mild earn. He I owned the house he lived hi. tie bad drawn about OM from the savings bank within the plat four months, and he had noi more money saved. 'Glory. The defendant's counsel volunteered the information that the We referred to had been drawn to pay him ' Judge Reid r his fee. while his opponent admitted that he was working not for greenbacks butfor giore,i krs. Lattin having no money. 'rim defendant was not titan& sure from what bank be bad drawn the money, but he rather thought it was from like Ponquoge Bwk. r t He was asked if be was a licensed preacher, and the argument which emoted between the lawyers as to whether Ruch a qeestion was ad- zniseible was interrupted, in a somewhat singular way, by Mrs. Lattin "If you ask him about that," said the old lady. earnestly, "he'll get mad, end then wry -come a glory on you." The questiou was not allowed. He testified that be had take away a shawl, .1 which formerly belonged to ills dist wile, from the plaintiff, and given let his granddaughter. , He had made the Otani a present to Mrs. Lattin, but after she bid ,quitted nut. house and gone to itve with be daughter-in-law, Mrs. Conklin, he had determined to replevin it. There were Immo fire, too, that had belonged to hie first wife, that be had presented to Mrs. Lattin. sz These he also - desired to give to i- his granddaughter with the shawl. looked for theta in the house where they were uestalir kept," said be "but they were not there. Then knew that they bad boon taken to the house She to lite wife--"was staying in. It was a receiving shop ' nothing else, and everething went there., I followed her and demanded them. I said I wanted them for my granddaughter. 1 Say, she, be time enough for her t have them when I ank done with them. Bays I, you've done with them now, eo give them to me.' I made her give them up, and I gave them to my greaddeughter. Oh, giory,f Lie had paid, he said, not lets, than $6 for shoes for his wife during the four yeare of their married life. When she went away from him to live With her daughter-iu-hiw ' she had taken with her everything that bad belonged to his first wife, with the exception of two old ragged dresses. 4 , "Did you not go to Mrs. Ciattlin's house and search it from top to bottom trying to find those clothes?" asked the Gemmel for the plaintiff. The old man faced his questioner, and slowly shook his finger at him. "No," he said, "I did not; and anybody Unit pays I did lies limier' up and down." 4 -2 -Being called by Judge Reid, in rebuttal, be denouncedtthe testimony of his stepp-daughter as untrue. Ile was old enough bete her grandfather, but he bad. nevertheless gone to his house several times and abutted him and celled iim an old liar. Since the institution of the suit, be said Mrs. Lattin bad gone to him and offered to drop it and live with him again for Z. He agreed, and giving her $5 on account, he said. 4 117 the grace of God thstis the commencement of the $25.'0 It was also, however, the end, for he paid her tio more, because she did not comply with the requirements of the agreement, namely; That thereafter they should live together na man and wife. Glory. Mrs. Lawn, being recalled, totally denied the hater portion of her husband's testimony. lie had proposed to compromise, she said, saying be would rather settle, sn not go to law. She referred him to bee; lawyer, but said she would rather knock her .:head against a tree and dash her brains out than live with him again. On May 11 he told her bis son was 'lick, and gave her $5 to buy necessaries for him. His wife's testimony seemed to ;excite Mr. Latin, and his desire to cross examine her was suppressed with diMoultyi :He leaned forward, and for the third or fourth time shook his forefinger close to her sonneel's face. "Nov Mr. Lattin," said its lawyer hastily, "keep still, sir, keep st44" "Why, bet is keeping said Judge Reid. ,"He'la not speaking." 4 '-Oh, no "I replied Mr. BroWer, "but can see by ala face that he's gettleg ready to shout.' I Again the I apparently dangerously suppressed mirth shook Mr. Lattin's aged frame, but a minute afterward he was in a high state of excitement. His wife spoke elightingly of of a certain bat that she had taken away with her, and the defendant shook his fist at ber, and exclaimed that it was one of the beat and most i becoming hats within the range of his eXperience. ",Ae good a bat, ' ' he said, "as! you ve been In the habit of wearing since you've been ' stuck up by your lawyer, I guess. I Glory." The next few minutes were suooestsfully oocu- pied by the two lawyers and the referee in a Joint and vigorous effort to prevent Mr. Lattin from bursting into exhortation. i Mrs. Lattin testified that her husband had put away some of his MeV wife's dresses, so that she (the plaintiff) could not got them. t Yes," exclaimed the old man, A' 'I put them away to prevent you from stealint them." Judge Reid, with a view of showing that Mrs. Lattin was amply able to pratect herself from any attack made upon her br, her hueband,examined her as to her weight and physical condition. hhe said that she weighed 150 pounds seven years ago, but thought that she might perhaps have lost something since. Assuredly she had. She is now a yery slender old woman, and seems to be fay as aged as her husband, who is seventy-twci. - In summing up, counsel for the defense said that much of the trouble had been caused by too much step-daughter-in-law,- But little violence bad been sworn to. It was alleged in the complaint that the defendatit - bad once taken the plaintiff by the neck to Connection with fresh eggs( he had knocked her down in the matter of domestic difference of opinion and he had pulled her nose with t reirard to , milk and beans. Ile had long ago, under great provocation, threatened to "take her by the snout," and be bad Merely fulfilled his promise on a repetition of her - offense.

Counsel waked the referee to consider that, among the lower lasses of society, foul words and even .ight blows were often used ail terms and actions of endearment. Counsel for the plaintiff summed up very briefly, and the referee reserved his decision.

• Hannah (born 1816), second wife of Henry K. Lattin
• Henry K. Lattin (1806-1894), the husband
• Solomon Belden Noble (1819-1895), the arbitrator

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