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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..062884e --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #66056 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66056) diff --git a/old/66056-0.txt b/old/66056-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 09cef97..0000000 --- a/old/66056-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8141 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Great Harry Thaw Case, by Benjamin H. -Atwell - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: The Great Harry Thaw Case - Or, A Woman's Sacrifice - -Author: Benjamin H. Atwell - -Release Date: August 13, 2021 [eBook #66056] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at - http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - available at The Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREAT HARRY THAW CASE *** - - - - - Other Juries Compared With That in the Thaw Trial. - - - _Trial._ _Jury was out_ _Verdict._ - - Thaw 47 hours 8 minutes Disagreement. - William J. Koerner 59 hours 10 minutes First degree. - Nan Patterson (first) Mistrial. - Nan Patterson (second) 24 hours Disagreement. - Nan Patterson (third) 11 hours 35 minutes Disagreement. - Roland B. Molineux (first) 8 hours First degree. - Roland B. Molineux (second) 25 minutes Not guilty. - Albert T. Patrick 2 hours First degree. - Guldensuppe case 3 hours First degree. - Boscchieter case 4 hours Second degree - Carlisle W. Harris 1 hour 10 minutes First degree. - Dr. Buchanan 28 hours First degree. - Dr. S. J. Kennedy (first) 3 hours 13 minutes First degree. - Dr. S. J. Kennedy (second) 6 hours 35 minutes Disagreement. - Dr. S. J. Kennedy (third) 22 hours 5 minutes Disagreement. - Burton C. Webster (first) 19 hours Disagreement. - Burton C. Webster (second) 4 hours Manslaughter. - David Hannigan 6 hours 20 minutes Not guilty. - -[Illustration: MADISON SQUARE GARDEN - -The Scene of the Thaw-White Tragedy.] - -[Illustration: THE TOMBS PRISON - -Window in Circle Marks Thaw’s Cell.] - - - - - THE GREAT - - HARRY THAW CASE - - OR - - A Woman’s Sacrifice - - - BY - BENJ. H. ATWELL - - - A graphic and truthful narrative of the most sensational - case in modern jurisprudence. A thrilling account of - a young girl’s struggles in her battle for fame and - fortune, and the unconquered love of the man - who has baffled the world’s greatest alienists; - with portraits of many leading characters, - famous society leaders and noted - actresses who have made this case - the talk of America and Europe - - - ILLUSTRATED - - - CHICAGO - LAIRD & LEE, PUBLISHERS - - - - - Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1907, - By WILLIAM H. LEE, - in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at - Washington, D. C. - - - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - -Chronology of the Case, 6 - -CHAPTER - - I. Evelyn Nesbit Thaw, the Woman in the Case, 11 - - II. Harry Thaw’s Courtship and Marriage, 19 - - III. The Story that Startled the World, 28 - - IV. Stanford White, Creator and Destroyer, 41 - - V. Greatest Legal Battle of the Age Opens, 53 - - VI. “I swear Harry K. Thaw was Insane,” 68 - - VII. A Human Sacrifice on the Altar of Love, 78 - - VIII. Evelyn Reveals White as a Fearful Monster, 87 - - IX. Intrigue like those in Days of Nero, 102 - - X. White on Verge of Arrest when Shot, 120 - - XI. Thaw’s Will Disclosed Fear of Assassination, 128 - - XII. The Hidden Witness to the Proposal, 142 - - XIII. Lived on Bounty of Stanford White, 158 - - XIV. Thaw’s Mother on the Stand, 164 - - XV. Scathing Denunciation by Jerome, 182 - - XVI. Shocking Disclosures in Famous Affidavit, 193 - - XVII. Jerome Calls Thaw Madman, 201 - -XVIII. Lunacy Commission is Appointed, 213 - - XIX. Commission Finds Thaw Sane, 220 - - XX. Delmas, “The Napoleon of the Bar”, 223 - - XXI. Delmas’ Speech Moves Jurors, 228 - - XXII. “The Unwritten Law”--The Defense Ends, 244 - -XXIII. “Thou Shall Not Kill,” Quotes Jerome, 262 - - XXIV. The Judge’s Charge to the Jury--Thaw in Collapse, 278 - - XXV. Deliberations of the Jury, 285 - - XXVI. Ending of the Trial--Jury Disagrees, 293 - - - - -PREFACE. - - -A great trial has come to a close. It has attracted the attention of the -entire civilized world for three widely separated and distinctly defined -reasons--the unusual degree of heart interest underlying the tragedy -that brought it about; the startling and sensational disclosures of life -in the great metropolis, and the legal precedents established, -particularly in relation to the universal, unwritten law. - -Realizing that this remarkable case is destined to be more than a -passing sensation of the hour or the year; that it will exercise a wide -influence on the thought and lives of uncounted thousands, it has seemed -meet that a carefully prepared, clean and accurate record should be -given the world in permanent form. - -This, because its eloquent sermon cost too great a price to be lost, and -its awful warning against a vicious life is of too great value to the -world to trust it to fitful memory. - -Men standing on the brink of the precipice hewn by unbridled passion, -may read in the terrible fate that overtook Stanford White at the hands -of an avenging husband, an injunction against the worst in their nature -and reflect before it is too late. - -Mothers, tempted by the pressing, material needs of the day to permit -tender daughters to aid in the family support by entering occupations, -which, while not vicious, are beset by pitfalls, may think twice before -reaching a decision after contemplating the sufferings and humiliations -suffered by Evelyn Nesbit. - -Young women in the exuberance of youth, hungering for the empty bubble -known as a career, may recall the pathetic picture presented by the same -girl when on the witness stand as Mrs. Thaw, and recoil from thought of -a butterfly life after viewing that crushed, unhappy figure. - -Even more exalted personages may find profit in taking inventory of the -Thaw case. Prosecuting attorneys are found in every county in this broad -land. Let them observe the attitude of District Attorney Jerome in this -case and search out their minds to determine if they are ever guilty of -persecution in the name of prosecution, or inflict unnecessary torture -on the innocent, to vindicate an immaterial theory, of interest only to -the occupants of the grandstand. - -Modern times reveal no parallel to the Thaw case in its various phases. -Shakespeare’s wonderful creations of fancy contain no more thrilling -features nor more humanizing passages in their philosophic application -than have been disclosed by this life tragedy of love, hate, villainy, -perfidy and outraged innocence. - -All the emotions known to the human heart enter into it, ranging from -boundless, mercenary cupidity and indescribable cruelty to self -sacrificing love that has found no test too severe. - -Preachments covering the scope of every sermon life’s experiences -produce abound in its every development in such blunt, powerful form -that he who runs may read and he who reads may bring them home to -himself. - -Precedents in medical jurisprudence have been established, medical and -legal reputations made and lost. - -To the student of human nature, then, this volume will carry a message. -Also, to the moralist and the teacher, the physician and the lawyer. Nor -will this list exhaust the field of those who may find something of -interest and benefit within its pages, for the field is as broad as -mankind. - -If it is received in the spirit in which it is given to the public, free -from any disposition to pander to mere morbid curiosity or to exploit -that which is reprehensible in moral makeup, it shall have accomplished -the purpose of - - THE AUTHOR. - -[Illustration: EVELYN NESBIT AS “AN AMERICAN BEAUTY” when she was 18 -years old.] - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -Evelyn Nesbit Thaw, the “Woman in the Case.” - - FAMED FOR BEAUTY EVEN AS A LITTLE CHILD--BORN IN LITTLE - PENNSYLVANIA TOWN--WHEN ONLY 13 YEARS OLD SHE BEGAN AS AN ARTIST’S - MODEL--SOUGHT OUT BY FAMOUS PAINTERS--ENGAGED AS A CHORUS GIRL - BECAUSE OF HER BEAUTY--LURED FROM INNOCENT CHILDHOOD BY STANFORD - WHITE, MILLIONAIRE ARCHITECT--FORMED THE ACQUAINTANCE OF HARRY - THAW, RICH YOUNG PITTSBURGH MAN--SENT AWAY TO SCHOOL BY - WHITE--SNUBBED BY FELLOW STUDENTS--FORCED TO QUIT SCHOOL. - - -Evelyn Nesbit, later to be known as “the most beautiful artists’ model -in the world,” was born in Tarentum, Pa., a little village near -Pittsburg, in 1884. Even as a baby she was surpassingly pretty, and her -face, like that of a dark-haired cherub, attracted hundreds of visitors -to her parents’ humble home, a little two story frame cottage worth less -than $2,000. - -Evelyn’s life was like that of most young girls in country towns. She -went to Sunday school regularly, and at the age of five made her first -public appearance in a Sunday school entertainment. - -The family moved to Pittsburg, and Evelyn was still a schoolgirl when -the death of her father, Winfield Scott Nesbit, a struggling lawyer, -left her mother and herself almost destitute. Incumbrances on the -little property left by her father shut off almost every source of -income. The schoolgirl had to face a more serious problem than usually -falls to the lot of a girl in short skirts. - -When Evelyn was only thirteen years old, a Mrs. Darragh, a portrait -painter and miniature artist of Philadelphia, discovered her rare beauty -and painted her head. Later Phillips, a photographer of Philadelphia, -asked the Pittsburg child to sit for several photographic studies. The -pictures were printed in an art magazine and attracted attention. Before -her father had been dead long Evelyn Nesbit found that she was being -sought by such artists as Carroll Beckwith, F. S. Church, Carl Blenner, -and J. Wells Champney. - -Demand for the privilege of photographing her beautiful face or -portraying it on canvas became so great that the money earned by the -little girl by posing became the mainstay of the family. With her mother -she moved to New York, took rooms in a low-priced boarding house, and -began frequenting studios of famous artists. Her work was in constant -demand. - -It was while she was posing that she met the man whose acts toward her -resulted in his killing by Harry Kendall Thaw. It was when her mother, -modest, yet proud of her wonderfully beautiful little daughter just -budding into girlhood, took her to a photographer’s that Evelyn Nesbit -flashed into public view as a famous beauty. The pictures were so -remarkable, so perfect in feature, so graceful in every outline that the -artist exhibited them in his studio. - -Little wonder it was that every one who passed the show case stopped -spell-bound by the youthful beauty of the subject; little wonder that -Charles Dana Gibson, then in the zenith of his success, with his studies -of the American girl, looked upon Evelyn’s photographs in rapture and -wished immediately to meet the original and arrange to have her pose for -him. - -One day as the little model was about to leave the studio she was met by -a man about to enter the door. - -“By jove! Gibson, who is this little vision of the empyrean blue? Tell -me. I must know the little sprite, whether she is of this earth or just -a fairy from out of wonderland,” the man added, lightly, as he held the -girl a shy and pretty captive at the door. - -The usual unconventional studio introduction followed. The man who -gasped in admiration of the exquisite flower-like beauty of the young -girl was Stanford White, the renowned architect; the girl was Florence -Evelyn Nesbit, artist’s model. - -The man of the world saw in the innocent young thing an easy victim to -his wiles, and opportunities were made for him to meet the girl, whom he -planned to make his puppet, his plaything, his slave. - -His efforts were not long in being crowned by success. The pretty -trinkets which the girl loved so well were hers with the first -expression of her desire; she was flattered when she realized from whom -she was receiving adulation, the subtle, crafty methods of the -connoisseur of beauty, of art, the epicure in all his fleshly wants, the -polished manner, the refined taste that were his by birth, all added a -charm new and irresistible to the ingenuous, luxury-loving little model -with the eyes of a Madonna and the smile of a siren. - -Soon the beautiful, innocent Evelyn Nesbit was ensconced in a high class -apartment house and Stanford White, who paid the bills, became a -constant visitor to the magnificently appointed suite. - -There she lived in ease and the artist-architect brought his men friends -to see this girl, and boasted that she was his “by right of discovery.” -She was taken to the restaurants frequented by the men and women about -town. Evelyn Nesbit became the toast of the companions of White. - -Finally a stage career was mapped out for her. White managed it, and -Evelyn Nesbit’s fame spread as she flaunted her lithe form and graceful -beauty in “Florodora” and “The Wild Rose.” - -It was at this time that Harry Thaw made her acquaintance. The late -hours and the endless, restless round of pleasure had told upon the -fragile girl and she fell ill. - -A European trip was planned for her and Stanford White was one of the -party. In a few weeks they returned to New York, but Evelyn Nesbit could -never dance again. Instead she was sent to a boarding school where White -hoped that she would regain her health sufficiently to reappear upon -the stage and, incidentally, learn better how to spell and write. - -At this time Evelyn Nesbit was a mere slip of a girl, just sixteen, with -a wealth of brown hair and great brown eyes. It was in Mrs. Henry C. De -Mille’s school that White chose to have his “ward” educated, at -“Pimlico,” N. J. Stanford White’s checks were forwarded with great -regularity and the girl, known in the school to be the “ward” of the -great and prosperous architect, became a favorite among the girls--girls -of the most exclusive of families. - -It began soon to be whispered that Evelyn Nesbit was a soubrette and -exceptions were taken to the visits of Stanford White and of Harry Thaw -and other men of their types. - -One day Stanford White went to the school in a big touring car and -invited some of the pupils for a ride. During that ride his conversation -was of such a nature that three of the girls insisted upon being -permitted to alight and they returned to the school on foot. - -This caused such an uproar in the school that Evelyn was asked to leave, -but she was prevented from going by a sudden illness. During this -illness, Harry Thaw, who had made her acquaintance in New York while she -was on the stage, was in constant attendance upon her and when the girl -was finally forced to leave, Thaw was there to defray all her expenses. - -Stanford White meanwhile had deserted the beautiful girl and refused to -pay her tuition, which amounted to $3,000. He declared he was Evelyn’s -“guardian” by courtesy only. His failure to keep his word to defray the -girl’s expenses was a severe blow to Mrs. De Mille, whose school had -become so depleted through the notoriety that he had brought upon it -that it was forced to disband. - -Meanwhile Thaw became desperately in love with the girl and took her -back to her mother and told her of his love and begged her to take -Evelyn to Europe as his guest. It was in Pittsburg sometime later that -he married the girl who had been spurned and repudiated and left -friendless by the man who claimed her “by right of discovery.” - -Evelyn’s stage career was brief but brilliant. While an actress in -musical comedies she was pronounced by all “The most beautiful woman -behind the footlights,” but her natural beauty was destined to become -fatal--fatal to Stanford White--fatal to her own good name--fatal to her -husband’s hope of happiness. - -[Illustration: “The most beautiful woman behind the footlights.” - -PICTURE OF EVELYN NESBIT - -taken just before her marriage, and considered her best likeness.] - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -Harry Thaw’s Sensational Courtship and Marriage. - - YOUNG MILLIONAIRE’S ROMANCE STARTLED THE WORLD--MET EVELYN NESBIT - AFTER A PLAY WHEN SHE WAS ONLY 17 YEARS OLD--FRIENDSHIP RIPENED - INTO LOVE--THE YOUTH’S STRANGE CAREER--WENT TO EUROPE WITH THE - FOOTLIGHT AND STUDIO BEAUTY--REPORT OF MARRIAGE ABROAD SHOCKED - RELATIVES--DENIED BY BOTH THE SUPPOSED BRIDE AND GROOM--RETURNED TO - NEW YORK--EJECTED FROM FOUR HOTELS--HAD WEDDING CEREMONY PERFORMED - IN PITTSBURG--MOTHER OF THAW AT FIRST REFUSED TO ACCEPT EVELYN AS - DAUGHTER--OFFERED $250,000 TO GIVE UP HARRY. - - -Harry Kendall Thaw’s winning of Florence Evelyn Nesbit stands out as a -thrilling chapter in the great book of love. The biography of each of -the parties was studded with the bizarre. Fifty thousand dollar dinners, -ejectments from hotels, diamonds and grand pianos thrown about as -carelessly as if they were trinkets, family opposition, and remarkably -romantic love were some of the ingredients. - -Harry Thaw’s eyes first fell upon Evelyn Nesbit when she was only -seventeen years old. She had carried her beauty from Pittsburg to the -studios of New York. Then the stage called her, and her brunette -pulchritude charmed the scion of one of Pittsburg’s wealthiest families. -Somebody presented her to Thaw at a gay party of young and beautiful -stage girls who were having a costly supper after the play at an -exclusive restaurant. All this time Evelyn was supposed to be under the -eye of her mother, who, a few years previously, had doffed her widow’s -weeds and married Charles J. Holman, a Pittsburg broker. Mrs. Holman -told her friends she keenly realized the perils that beset the feet of -beautiful young girls, but her chaperonage did not save her own -daughter. - -Thaw loved the daughter, he said, as soon as he saw her. His -appreciation of feminine loveliness had always been one of his strongest -qualities. Only three years before he met Miss Nesbit he had given a -$50,000 dinner in Paris to twenty-five of the most beautiful women that -he could get together. Cleo de Merode, at whose feet the King of the -Belgians had laid royal tribute, Anna Robinson of this country and other -famous beauties were at that banquet. Sousa’s band received a check for -$1,500 for furnishing the music. This dinner and many of Thaw’s other -enjoyments were made possible by the fact that when his father died he -left a fortune of $40,000,000. This father was William Thaw and he had -been prominent in Pennsylvania railroad and steel affairs. His widow and -the seven children inherited the fortune. - -Harry Thaw’s penchant for economy was pretty - -[Illustration: HARRY K. THAW - -At the time of his marriage.] - -well exemplified by the will under which his annual income was to be -$2,500, because, as his father said, he would spend as much as he got -anyway. His mother, though, let him have annually sums that were never -under $40,000. - -With his money he set out to dazzle the little Miss Nesbit, who back -home had often trudged by the magnificent Thaw mansion and possibly had -wondered in her simple impecunious way as to the manner of life that can -be lived by a family that has $40,000,000 to dispose of. - -It didn’t take Harry Thaw long to show her how some of that money might -be spent. To her apartments in the Audubon in New York, an apartment -building beloved of the chorus girl, he caused to be sent an exquisite -grand piano. Miss Nesbit’s mother caused it to be carted away. So also -with many of the jewels which Thaw sent up. - -While Thaw’s wooing was in progress the name of his family loomed large -in the public prints because of the marriage of Harry Thaw’s sister -Alice to the Earl of Yarmouth. On the very day of the wedding, the earl -halted the ceremony by announcing that unless satisfactory financial -arrangements were made at once there would be no marriage. The money was -paid, although Harry Thaw told reporters that if he had been there we -would have kicked the Earl down stairs. A little later, however, his -sister Alice, Countess of Yarmouth, repaid the harsh blow at the -husband by publicly snubbing Evelyn Nesbit at an English race track. - -About the time of this marriage Evelyn Nesbit went to Europe. Harry Thaw -followed her. They went automobiling, and the charming brunette fell -madly in love with the young heir to nearly $40,000,000; he had been in -love with her since the evening they first met. - -Then, all because they were arrested for exceeding the automobile speed -laws in Switzerland, the curtain was raised upon their romance, that all -the world might see. In the police court to which they were taken the -impression that they were husband and wife gained ground. News of the -supposed marriage was telegraphed to London and thence to America. -Thaw’s relatives and rich society friends were shocked. They had -registered and stopped at the Carlton hotel in London as husband and -wife, and the report of their marriage was generally believed. - -When they returned to New York they had a stormy experience. On their -arrival they discovered that Mrs. William Thaw, mother of Harry, had -announced that under no conditions would she accept Evelyn Nesbit for a -daughter-in-law, and that if her son had really married the beautiful -young model she would promptly disown him. - -Harry didn’t want to lose his fortune, and it is probable that the girl -didn’t desire to see him impoverished, either. So they faced the -dilemma. Fear of the wrath of the mother forced them to deny that the -union had been consummated, yet at the same time they were together in -New York at the Cumberland hotel, and the proprietor demanded that -either Thaw write “wife” after his name on the register or quit the -hotel. - -Thaw refused to do this, and the couple went to another hotel with the -same result. After they had been ejected from four hostelries they -separated. All this time there had been no public announcement by either -of them that they had been married, as supposed. - -Miss Nesbit, as she still insisted on being called, went to a boarding -house and the young millionaire made efforts to placate his mother. He -was successful, but not until an open rumor had it that Miss Nesbit had -refused an offer of $250,000 in cash to give up Harry and quit the -United States. - -When the mother did agree to the union she acted handsomely, and the -exquisite beauty was quietly married at the home of Rev. William L. -McEwan, pastor of the Third Presbyterian church, Pittsburg, Mrs. Thaw -and the members of both families being present. This was on April 4, -1905. - -The Thaws left Lyndhurst, the magnificent Thaw country mansion near -Pittsburg, and went to New York. They varied their life in the -metropolis by trips to Pittsburg, but did not go to Newport, where -Benjamin Thaw, Harry’s brother, lived. In Pittsburg, Mrs. William Thaw -gave several receptions to the actress-model wife of her son. Pittsburg -society started to squabble over these affairs, but finally attended the -receptions and accepted Evelyn as a member of their exclusive set. - -The charms of the young Mrs. Thaw had disarmed much of the criticism. -Mrs. Holman grew to like her son-in-law, although not long before she -had threatened to apply a rawhide horsewhip to him, while Harry and her -daughter were living together in New York, apparently unmarried. - -The Thaws themselves, when they saw how hard young Mrs. Thaw was trying -to restrict the money-spending habits of her husband, forgave her -completely. They even regretted, some of them said, that they had -offered to buy her off. When that offer was made--it was during the -stormy days in New York,--Miss Nesbit had declared “My heart is not for -sale!” - -The story of the wedding--a remarkably simple affair--is interesting in -that it showed Evelyn Nesbit’s love for simplicity in her private life. -Although fame and fortune were linked in a remarkable union, the wedding -ceremony took place almost in secret. - -The day before the wedding Mr. Thaw went to the Hotel Schenley, and in -the grillroom met some of his old associates. He remarked that in less -than a week he would be a benedict. Steins were raised high and his -companions declared that it should be made his bachelor dinner. Their -host swore them to secrecy, and then the story of the coming nuptials -was divulged to the chosen few. - -Miss Nesbit arrived in Pittsburg with her chaperon, Miss Pierce, and -went to the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. C. J. Holman, in Oakland. -In the afternoon Harry Thaw went to the residence of Dr. McEwan in South -Negley avenue and arranged for the wedding. - -It was a few minutes after 5 o’clock when three carriages drove to Dr. -McEwan’s residence. From them alighted Mr. Thaw, his mother, Mrs. -William Thaw, his brother, Josiah Copley Thaw, and Fredrick C. Perkins. -Miss Nesbit came on the arm of her stepfather, C. J. Holman, and was -followed by her mother, Mrs. Holman. - -Miss Nesbit wore a traveling costume of dark material, which was almost -hidden in a light three-quarter opera cloak trimmed with rare lace and -ornamented with Persian floral designs. She wore a hat that indicated a -slight lingering toward the winter season, and across the silk entwined -brim was a gorgeous leather of three shades of brown. - -Miss Nesbit did not remove her cloak or hat and the bridegroom laid his -headgear and top coat over the banisters before he walked into the -drawing-room. When the ceremony was concluded the party left the -parsonage. Dinner was served at Lyndhurst, and the bride and bridegroom -hastened to the railway station to leave for their journey East. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -Story of the Killing That Startled the World. - - STANFORD WHITE ASSASSINATED BY CRAZED HUSBAND WHILE ATTENDING THE - PLAY--ON ROOF GARDEN OF MADISON SQUARE--THAW WALKED RAPIDLY TO - TABLE WHILE GIRLS WERE DANCING--AT LAST NOTE OF SONG HE DREW - REVOLVER, LEVELED IT AT WHITE--SAID “YOU HAVE RUINED MY LIFE--YOU - MUST DIE”--FIRED THREE TIMES--TWO SHOTS CAUSED DEATH ALMOST - INSTANTLY--PANIC IN AUDIENCE AND ON STAGE--BEAUTIFUL WIFE EMBRACED - SLAYER--THE ARREST. - - -The killing of Stanford White by Harry Kendall Thaw, on the roof garden -of Madison Square, New York, June 25th, 1906,--just fourteen months -after the marriage--startled the world. Millionaires both--the victim a -famous architect, the slayer even more famous--the love of a beautiful -woman the cause of the crime--is it any wonder the Thaw killing was the -greatest sensation in years? It took place just as the musical show, -“Mamselle Champagne,” was coming to a close. - -There was a big crowd on the roof of the garden; a crowd which pretty -well filled the floor. Many people noticed a slightly built young man -walking backward and forward in front of the stage, among the tables set -here and there in an open space in front of the seats. - -He was plainly nervous and very pale. He kept watching the entrance from -the Twenty-sixth street side. A few people knew it was Harry K. Thaw and -remarked on his peculiar behavior. They thought it queer also that he -wore a long, thin coat. - -At about 11:05 p. m. several persons noticed Stanford White enter the -roof garden and take a seat near the left hand side of the stage, pretty -well up to the front, dropping into a chair at a table four rows from -the stage. - -Young Thaw, who had been watching apparently for White to come in, -jumped at the sight of him and made for the table. - -Few persons saw what happened immediately afterward. In the first place, -the show was nearing its close, the dancers pirouetting and skipping -about the stage and the orchestra jingling and clanging in gay dance -music. - -All about the open enclosure in front of the stage, where the tables -were set, were palms and potted plants, which largely cut off the view -of the table where Mr. White was sitting. - -Some persons were sure that a young woman was at the table when White -lounged in and took a seat. They went so far as to describe her, saying -she was young, slim, dark-haired and dressed all in white, with a big -white hat, from which a filmy veil fell over her shoulders. - -Others who insisted that they observed White when he took a seat there, -said no woman was present. They were positive on that point. - -On reaching White’s table Thaw backed off a step or two, produced a -revolver, aimed it at White and pulled the trigger. The first bullet -entered the right eye, penetrating the brain. Thaw shot twice more, -rapidly. The other bullets both struck White’s body, one in the right -side of the upper lip and the other in the right arm. - -White hardly moved from his position at the table. His body sagged a -little to the left, his arm flattened out on the table top and his head -sank heavily on the arm. - -Above the swing and thrumming of the orchestra and the gay chorus of the -dancers the three shots sounded clearly, startling everybody, causing -the men to jump to their feet and rush toward the left side of the -stage. - -Two women nearby, seeing what had happened and the blood flowing from -the man’s wounds, screamed. Two of the girls on the stage fled screaming -into the wings. - -“Get back into your line,” roared the stage manager so that all heard -him. - -One of the girls started back, but she again fled to the wings, while -two of the remaining four, seeing the cause of the trouble, fell over in -a faint. - -The music and the dancing kept going a while feebly; then it died away. -The musicians jumped from - -[Illustration: MAZIE FOLLETTE - -Actress named in the case.] - -the pit and joined the crowd. The frightened chorus girls ran back on -the stage. - -The employes of the roof garden thought for a time that the shots came -from the stage. Manager Lawrence had been intending to introduce some -revolver shooting in the duel scene where the line occurs, “I challenge -you, I challenge you to a du-u-el,” and the stage hands and other -hangers on at the garden thought the innovation had been put on a night -or two ahead of schedule. - -They quickly found out their mistake, and had their hands full in a -minute or two handling the people, who were pushing right and left, the -women screaming to be let out. - -During all the confusion and excitement nobody made any effort to stop -young Thaw. He looked at White’s body, and then, still holding his -revolver, walked leisurely to a clump of potted plants and back toward -the elevator. Fireman Brudi saw a part of what had happened, saw Thaw -shoot White, and knew who the young man was that was walking away with -the revolver. - -Brudi went up to him and caught him by the shoulder. Thaw smiled at him -and made no resistance when Brudi told him he would have to wait until -the police came. He was very pale, but otherwise cool and collected. - -Brudi held Thaw lightly, while the crowd gathered around. It was a wait -of several minutes before Policeman Debes of the Tenderloin station, -appeared and took charge of Thaw. Debes telephoned to his station house -for the reserves to handle the crowd and the desk sergeant sent ten -policemen. Debes was waiting for the elevator to take Thaw to the police -station. - -Just before the elevator started, a slender, dark, pretty young woman, -the same one with whom Thaw had been sitting before he sauntered away on -his errand of death, came running into the car. She threw her arms -around the prisoner and kissed him. - -“Oh, Harry,” she cried. “Why did you do it, Harry?” - -“It’s all right, dear wife,” he answered, kissing her. “He ruined you, -and I fixed him. It’s all right.” - -All this time the audience was terror stricken. - -“Sing, you girls. Sing. For God’s sake keep on,” shouted the manager. - -The girls sang. They danced as the silent form lay prostrate. Their -faces were white. But they were on the stage and they quelled their -emotion. - -A man who sat at a table behind Mr. and Mrs. Thaw, told the following -story of the tragedy: - -“I noticed Harry Thaw and his wife when they came in. Thaw seemed to -have been drinking and was very restless. He got up from the table -several times and, leaving his wife, walked back toward the elevators. -They were sitting at the Twenty-sixth street side of the house. - -“At 10:30 Stanford White came in and took a seat at a table about five -tables in front of the Thaws. He talked a while to Harry Stevens and -then sat alone watching the show and resting his head on his right hand. - -“As he walked down the aisle, Harry Thaw noticed him and got up from his -seat. While White was talking to Stevens, Thaw walked over and stood -behind some artificial shrubbery just a few feet away from them. - -“When Stevens left, Thaw walked deliberately down the aisle and stood -for a minute behind White. He pulled a revolver from his pocket and -fired three shots. I think the first missed, but the other two took -effect, and White rolled to the floor, upsetting the chair.” - -With Thaw safely lodged in a police station cell, one of the greatest -trials of a century faced the public. The inexorable hand of the law -began its work the next day after the arrest, when Thaw was taken from -his cell in the Tenderloin police station, photographed and measured by -the Bertillon system, like a burglar or holdup man, arraigned in police -court and held without bail. Perfectly calm, Thaw went through the -hurried formalities in court, absolutely refusing to make any extended -statement regarding the tragedy. - -The policeman who arrested Thaw, gave this account of the shooting in -the police court hearing. - -“I found the people almost crazy, trying to get out of the place. I -jumped into the mob and saw a woman lying down. She had fainted, and -then I saw White. - -“I said to Thaw: ‘Did you do it?’ and he replied: ‘Yes, I did it. That -man ruined my life or wife.’ I don’t know which he said, but it sounded -like that. Then he went on saying: ‘That man ruined my home. I guess he -won’t ruin any more homes. Is he dead?’ I told him he was, and he said -he was glad of it, and he was glad he ‘made a good job of it.’ - -“When I arrested Thaw, a woman, who Manager Lawrence told me was Mrs. -Thaw, rushed up to Thaw and kissed him, and said: ‘I did not think you’d -do it in that way!’ ‘It’s all right, it’s all right,’ Thaw told her. -Then she whispered something into his ear. I don’t know what she said to -him.” - -“Down in the hall and in the street a lot of women gathered about us and -shook hands with Thaw and sympathized with him. ‘Why did you do it? Why -did you do it? they kept asking.’” - -A statement credited to Thaw immediately after the arrest is this: - -“We were all at a party in Martin’s. You can find out the names of the -others there, but I was sitting some distance from my wife. Suddenly I -saw her grow pale and begin to shiver, and I thought she was ill. - -“I made a motion to inquire what was the matter and she called a waiter -and wrote a note which she sent around the table to me. - -“The note said ‘The dirty blackguard is here.’ Then I turned and saw -that fat scoundrel sitting there, big and healthy, and then I saw her -and how she was.” - -“Did White make any motion to attack you?” was asked of Thaw. - -“What?” said Thaw. - -The question was repeated. - -Thaw nodded his head in the affirmative. - -From his pocket when he was searched there was taken a leather revolver -shield such as policemen carry their weapons in. He had $168 in cash and -several blank checks, besides a gold cigarette case. - -Thaw did not display the least anxiety about his own welfare nor about -the effects of his shots. He never asked a question about White. He did -not ask any questions of the police at all. He seemed as unconcerned as -if bailing out a chauffeur instead of facing an accusation of killing a -man. - -As he talked with a reporter he reverted again and again to his wife’s -attack of shivering when she saw White in Martin’s. - -“That poor, delicate little thing, all nervous and shaking like a reed,” -he said, half to himself. “And there he was, the big healthy scoundrel. -God!” - -While the coroner’s proceedings were in progress in the city next day, -the final scene of the tragedy as affecting White was carried out on -Long Island. At St. James’ the funeral of the dead architect was held. - -Friends and relatives of White left for the little town early to attend -the ceremony. By the time they returned the grand jury had indicted the -man who brought White’s career to a close and the coroner’s jury had -held him, completing the legal formalities preceding the trial itself. - -Thaw was restless in his cell in the Tombs from the time he entered it -until he was arraigned. His wife visited him every time the rules of the -prison allowed, and remained at his side as long as possible each time. -His mother, an aged, feeble woman, also went to New York to comfort her -offspring in his hour of trouble, and the Countess of Yarmouth, his -sister, was among the visitors. Other visitors--unwelcome ones--were the -alienists whom the state and the defense sent to examine the young man. -Thaw fought the insanity plea vigorously, and at times almost fought the -experts. Finally, however, he allowed the examinations into his mental -condition. - -[Illustration: STANFORD WHITE] - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -Stanford White, Creator and Destroyer. - - LIFE OF HARRY K. THAW’S VICTIM--HIS DEATH REFLECTED HIS STRANGE - LIFE--A MENTAL GIANT WHO TURNED FROM LOFTY ENTERPRISES TO VICIOUS - REVELS--BUILT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN--THE STUDIO IN THE - TOWER--MIGHTY WORKS THAT SURVIVE WHITE AS MONUMENTS TO HIS - GENIUS--THE TRAGIC “GIRL IN THE PIE” AFFAIR--WHITE’S HOME - EXISTENCE--HIS END. - - -Stanford White’s death was no more remarkable than the strange life he -led. Few expressed surprise that the end came as it did. On the other -hand, those who knew him best asserted they would have experienced a -sensation little short of amazement had White departed this life as most -men, surrounded by members of his family and enjoying the ministrations -of physician, nurse and spiritual advisor. - -Some saw in the pyrotechnic, picturesque, sensational climax of his -existence, the fulfillment of a prophesy oft reiterated by his closest -acquaintances. - -The unusual, the unexpected ruled the existence of this man of wonderful -brain and creative genius. A giant in mental force and power, he could -turn lightly from some vast enterprise to a revel passing all belief, -having as its only purpose the snaring of some young girl--as Evelyn -Nesbit was enmeshed. And he could turn quite as lightly from the -anguished cry of his victim and forget her in the multiplicity of -details surrounding his huge undertakings. - -What a mind was this--at once an engine of creation and destruction, -accepting the consequences in each instance as a matter of course. In -view of the peculiarities of the man, it cannot be counted strange that -he fell before the hand of the avenger in the temple he had builded to -mirth, for the famed Madison Square Garden was a creation of his mind. - -In the tower he had raised above it, overlooking the great Metropolis -with all its joys, sorrows, struggles, its mighty forces that work for -good and its uncounted army battling for sin, Stanford White had fitted -out a den of Oriental magnificence wherein he could accomplish his -purposes, far removed from the world at large. - -It was here his wildest orgies were held. It was from the tower-chamber -his young victims went forth to lives of bitterness and shame, and -within the shadow of that tower White was whirled to eternity without a -moment’s respite to atone for his sins or prepare for an accounting -before the final tribunal where truth and not pretense avails. Whatever -his offenses, his punishment was heavy, indeed. - -Great as an architect, a lover of beauty in his work and in his play, a -charming companion, a man of kindliness, possessed of many talents, a -lover of all the pleasant things of life, but not bound by scruples or -the dictates of morality--such was White. Within two days after his -death, New York rang with stories of strange debauches in which White -had played the part of host or one of the hosts. Anthony Comstock -declared that he had tried to obtain evidence which would suffice to -bring action against White for various alleged excesses. When White fell -to the floor of Madison Square Roof Garden, in short, his personal -reputation fell with him. - -As an architect, he was admittedly a genius, and he left an impress upon -the architecture of this country which will remain. He transformed the -old, unsightly Harlem Railroad freight station into Madison Square -Garden--one of the most beautiful edifices in New York. He aided in the -designing of Trinity Church in Boston. - -Among his famous works in New York were the Hall of Fame at New York -University, the Washington arch, the Century, University and -Metropolitan clubs, the William C. Whitney residence and the pedestal of -the Farragut monument in Madison Square. - -He was the son of Richard Grant White, the novelist and journalist, and -was born in 1853. After being graduated from New York University he went -to Europe to study architecture. He returned in 1881 and entered into -partnership with Charles F. McKim and William R. Meade. The firm of -McKim, Meade & White, largely through the genius of White, became one of -the most prominent in the profession. - -Mr. White was essentially a clubman, being a member of the -Knickerbocker, Union, University, Automobile, Metropolitan, Players’, -Lambs’ and New York Yacht clubs. He was a follower of the stage, a -devout first-nighter, and had an extensive acquaintance among theatrical -people. - -White’s studio apartment in Madison Square tower was one of the most -noted centers of revelry in the city. He used his studio in a -professional way to paint in water colors and to work out architectural -designs in matters that were separate from the firm work of McKim, Meade -& White, but the chief use of the rooms was as a meeting place for -gatherings of theatrical and other folk to whom night life was -attractive. - -The rooms were decorated with things that White had gathered in his -frequent trips to Europe. The draperies and rugs, the furniture and -adornments were of the florid style of three centuries ago that -prevailed in Italy and France. His tastes ran to decoration quite as -much as to architecture, and his apartments in the tower revealed the -artistic side of the man more than any of his purely professional -achievements. - -His acquaintance among stage folk ran not so much to those who were -regarded as the leaders in their - -[Illustration: HATTIE FORSYTHE - -Chorus girl, once a friend of Mrs. Thaw.] - -profession as to those who were willing to “make a night of it.” And it -was from these “all nighters” that Mr. White drew the material for the -“studio parties” that at one time brought notoriety to the Madison -Square Garden tower. - -In the field of decoration, White had established a place for himself -unlike that of any architect. He was accustomed to make trips to Europe -to secure collections of various kinds. He would get materials for a -Francis I. room or a Louis XVI. room, bring them home, and store them to -be sold later to some rich man who was looking for fads in household -decorations. Sometimes he would collect windows and doors. At other -times he would scour France and Italy for hangings and draperies. - -After the tragedy there was great diversity of opinion in the -architectural world as to White’s standing as an architect. Some of the -architects did not hesitate to say that he was the greatest in the -profession in his country since H. H. Richardson. Others asserted that -he shone largely by the reflected light of his partners, McKim and Mead. -It is certain that no architect was called upon oftener to serve on -juries to pass upon the merits of designs for the great buildings of the -country than White. - -Those who decried his abilities said that much of the work ascribed to -White was really the work of McKim or Mead. Their tastes ran to the -severely classic designs and to what is known as the field of pure -architecture. It was declared that White, a disciple of the French and -Italian schools, could not have designed many of the buildings for which -he got credit as a member of the firm of McKim, Mead & White. One -architect said: - -“The Boston Public library, the Columbia university buildings, the -Villard house, the agricultural building at the Chicago World’s Fair, -and other creations of the McKim firm were not and could not have been -designed by White. All through them runs the genius of Mr. McKim. White -ran to the lighter style of architecture, the florid, the modern, and -not to the Grecian or the severe and monumental style of purely classic -architecture. - -“His mood was that of gayety and it expressed itself in his designs. The -bases of St. Gaudens statues lent themselves to his mood, and some of -his best work was done in connection with them. He was essentially an -artist rather than an architect, and his influence in his firm was along -the lines of the artistic rather than along the strict standards of -architectural expression.” - -There were current also numerous stories regarding White’s private life -that were not of the creditable kind. It is not too much to say that he -was frequently under suspicion, but there was always something Lacking -in a legal way so that no open scandal attached to his name, although -evil reports were frequent. No action was taken by the investigators, -however, because of lack of tangible evidence. - -One incident that contributed much to White’s bad reputation and which -illustrates forcibly his view of a “good time” was the “Girl-in-a-Pie” -affair, which was later to come out in evidence at the trial. - -The famed “Girl-in-the-Pie” dinner was given to several artists and men -about town, with several notorious “fashionable” women in attendance. -The spread cost $350 a plate. - -At the approach of dawn, four negroes entered, bearing a huge pie, which -they placed on the table. A faint stir was observed beneath the crust -just as the orchestra struck up the air of the nursery jingle: - - “Sing a song of sixpence, a pocket full of rye, - Four-and-twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.” - -The pie was burst asunder, and from inside there emerged the beautiful -figure of a young girl, clad in black gauze draperies. She turned her -pretty childish face upon the astonished guests, and poised as a bird -about to fly, while two dozen golden canaries, released by her hand, -flew about the room. - -Then, when the tableau was complete, a man forced his way to the side of -the table and with a smile assisted the child to the floor. The man was -Stanford White. - -The young girl, a model, then 15 years old, lived with her mother, but -on the night of the banquet she disappeared, and remained in hiding for -two years. Efforts of the police to find her were unsuccessful. - -At last she returned, to tell a story of revolting mistreatment and -desertion by the man who met his death at the hands of Harry Thaw. - -“When I was lifted from the pie to a seat at the table I found myself -queen of the revel,” she said. “It was dazzling at first,” she said, -“but in the end it became a sad queendom. - -“Mr. White was kind for a time, but when he went to Europe he instructed -his clerks to get rid of me with as little trouble as possible. I never -saw him again.” - -Turned into the street to live as she might, this girl, not yet 18, -finally married, but her husband, when he learned of her part in the -“pie” banquet, brooded over the affair, and deserted his girl wife -without attempting to avenge her wrongs. She died soon afterward. - -Stanford White was as respectful to women of the stage who demanded -respect as he was to his wife’s friends. - -He was one of a group of men, old and young, who are oftenest seen in -and near theaters where frothy nonsense charmingly unclad is enacted and -in restaurants where musical comediennes tempt their dainty appetites -with broiled lobster. - -He knew many theatrical managers, and some of them often invited him -behind the scenes--but not to inspect the architecture. - -Stanford White was indefatigable in his pursuit of beauty in his work -and in his play. He was generous and considerate. He would hide a $100 -bill in a bouquet he ordered handed over the footlights; he would visit -a poor, sick chorus girl when she thought herself friendless in a -hospital. - -Once in a while, Mr. White gave entertainments in the tower, at which -the women and men of society were his guests. But there were other -entertainments on which Venus, not Diana, should have looked down. At -them, if a girl danced on the table she did not scratch the mahogany. -Stanford White vastly admired adolescence. His death was a tragedy and -is a warning. His last night was typical of his method of life. - -He dined with his son; he went to his club. From his nearest kin and his -honorable friends he turned to the structure his genius had raised, -where was hid his “studio.” The lights and music of the roof garden -enticed him. And in the presence of the woman who vows he ruined her -life he perished by her husband’s hand. And the last jangle that sounded -to him was a comedy song: “I could love a million girls.” - -Madison Square garden, which he created and where he met his death, was -known as his “pleasure house.” - -What an awful warning, to the would-be-young-man-about-town! With all -his subtle experience, with his fawning servants and paid detectives, -even Stanford White with his millions could not avert the hand of -vengeance. “Be sure your sin will find you out.” Sooner or later a -settlement must be made. Lucky is he whose balance is on the right side -of the ledger. - -[Illustration: THE BIRTHPLACE OF EVELYN NESBIT THAW AT TARENTUM, PA.] - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -Greatest Legal Battle of Age Opens. - - OPPOSING COUNSEL HESITATE TO SHOW THEIR HANDS IN DESPERATE GAME OF - LIFE OR DEATH--ATTORNEY GARVAN’S BRIEF OPENING ARGUMENT FOR - PROSECUTION FOLLOWED BY PRESENTATION OF STATE’S CASE IN LESS THAN - TWO HOURS--VICTIM’S SON CALLED TO STAND--FATAL BULLETS GRUESOME - EXHIBIT--STORY OF THE ROOF GARDEN TRAGEDY TOLD--DEFENSE OPENED WITH - PLEA THAT THAW BELIEVED HE WAS ACTING UPON THE COMMAND OF - PROVIDENCE WHEN HE SLEW WHITE--ALL IN READINESS FOR GREATEST - SACRIFICE OF MODERN TIMES. - - -Thousands throughout New York, and in fact the entire world, breathed in -anxious suspense when, with jury complete and all the machinery of legal -battle in readiness the great trial opened. Following delays in securing -the jury--the excusing of several jurors after their acceptance by both -prosecution and defense--the opening came as a surprise. - -The day will long be remembered because of the multiplicity of surprises -it brought forth. Brevity of argument by counsel for state and defense -was not the least of these. The opposing lawyers felt they were entering -upon a stupendous game with life and death the stakes, and youth, -beauty, love, hate, treachery and millions factors in the play. - -Neither cared to show his hand and disclose the cards he held. It was -Monday, February 4, 1907--a fateful day, coming after seven months and -ten days’ imprisonment for Thaw in the Tombs. - -The prosecution made a most remarkable record when it presented its -opening statement in ten minutes and followed it with less than two -hours of testimony, closing in time for the noon recess. The defense -announced it would open its case with a statement by Attorney J. B. -Gleason. - -The purpose of the prosecution was readily apparent--throwing upon the -defense the burden of disclosing its case, reserving the while the -state’s hardest fire for rebuttal later when Thaw’s lawyers had -exhausted themselves and their material. - -Opening shots of the legal battle royal were fired by Assistant District -Attorney Garvan, of counsel for the state. - -He congratulated the jurors on their body having been completed and then -outlined the purpose of the law, which was not seeking for vengeance, -but to uphold the security of the state, he said. He urged the -importance of the case and a strict observance of the law in order that -a verdict, fair to all, might be reached. - -It was the claim of the people, he said, that on the night of June 25, -1906, the defendant “shot and killed with premeditation and intent to -kill” one Stanford White. He then briefly outlined the movements of - -[Illustration: ASST. DISTRICT ATTORNEY GARVAN - -Sketched in court.] - -White, beginning with the Saturday preceding the tragedy and ending with -the actual scene of the shooting on the Madison Square Roof garden. - -“The purpose of punishment of crime is an example to the community,” -thundered the prosecutor. - -“The defendant is charged with the murder of Stanford White with -premeditation on June 25, 1906. Mr. White was an architect, a member of -the firm of McKim, Meade & White. On the Sunday before his death he went -to his home on Long Island with his family. He returned to the city on -Monday with his son and his son’s friend named King. They went to the -Cafe Martin for dinner. - -“Mr. White had previously purchased tickets to a theater. After dinner -Mr. White drove his son and his son’s friend to the theater and then -went himself to the Madison Square Roof garden, where a new play, -‘Mam’zelle Champagne,’ was to be produced. - -“Stanford White went to the Madison Square Roof garden and sat alone at -one of the small tables there, watching the first production of this -play called ‘Mam’zelle Champagne.’ - -“The defendant was there with his wife and two friends, Truxton Beale -and Thomas McCaleb. The defendant walked constantly about the place. - -“In the middle of the second act the defendant’s party started to leave -the roof. The defendant let his party go ahead and he lagged behind. -Passing the table where Stanford White was sitting, this defendant -wheeled suddenly, faced Mr. White, and deliberately shot him through the -brain, the bullet entering the eye. - -“Mr. White was dead. - -“The defendant did not know this. He feared he had not completed his -work, and he fired again, the bullet penetrating White’s cheek. Still, -to make sure, he fired a third time. - -“Mr. White, or rather the body of Mr. White, tumbled to the floor. - -“The defendant turned, and facing the audience, held his revolver aloft -with the barrel upside down to indicate that he had completed what he -intended to do. The big audience understood. There was no panic.” - -Mr. Garvan concluded by giving the details of Thaw’s arrest and -indictment by the prosecution. He spoke always in a conversational tone. -Thaw sat throughout with head downcast and face flushed. - -Calm and as cold and easy of manner as though rehearsing a scene in some -drama instead of a great tragedy of life, District Attorney Jerome -requested the exclusion of all other witnesses and placed his first -witness on the stand. - -As Evelyn Thaw passed her husband in leaving she took his hand and held -it for a moment, and, as she turned away, tears trickled down her -cheeks. - -Harry Thaw was visibly nervous and drummed on the table with his -fingers. - -[Illustration: - -DISTRICT ATTORNEY JEROME -in opening address. -] - -Lawrence White, the son of the dead architect, was the first witness. -Thaw again fastened his eyes on the table before him and did not once -look at the witness. - -Young White said he was 19 years old and a student at Harvard -university. His mother, he said, was then living at Cambridge, Mass. - -White was on the stand only a few minutes. He told of accompanying his -father to the Cafe Martin for dinner, and said that when he left him to -go with his chum, a boy named King, to the New York roof garden, it was -the last time he saw his father alive. - -Myer Cohen, a song writer and manager of the house which published the -music of “Mam’zelle Champagne,” was called after an elevator man had -detailed Thaw’s conversation when arrested. - -Mr. Cohen was on the Madison Square Roof garden the night of the -tragedy. He saw Thaw there for the first time during the initial act of -the musical comedy. Cohen described on a diagram the position of the -table at which White sat. - -When asked by Mr. Garvan to indicate Thaw’s manner of approaching the -architect that evening, the witness left the stand, and, walking up and -down before the jury box, he illustrated the slow pace which he declared -characterized Thaw’s deliberation in approaching his victim. - -“He walked up to Mr. White’s table like this,” said the witness, -indicating. “He made a slight detour, and coming up to Mr. White from -behind suddenly faced him and fired three times.” - -Henry S. Plaese, superintendent of the publishing company that owned the -rights of “Mam’zelle Champagne,” was the next witness. He saw the -defendant the night of the killing in the rear of the roof garden, -opposite the center aisle. Mr. Plaese was standing with Mr. Cohen, the -previous witness. Thaw stood before them for six or seven minutes, -looking to the right and left. - -After the first act he next saw Thaw just previous to the shooting. -White was seated, facing the stage, his head leaning on his right hand. -There was no conversation when Thaw approached White, and the former -immediately began firing. - -Thaw then retreated toward the rear of the garden, with his right hand -elevated, “the barrel of the pistol being pointed upward.” - -The weapon with which White was killed was brought into the case during -the testimony of Paul Brudi, the fireman who disarmed Thaw after the -fatal shots were fired. Brudi, who appeared on the stand in uniform, -identified the pistol when it was shown to him, and said that after -taking it from the prisoner he turned it over to the police. - -“I remember hearing only two shots,” said Brudi in relating the events -of the evening of the tragedy, “when I rushed up and grabbed the -prisoner, who had his arms uplifted.” - -“Did you hear the defendant say anything after the shooting?” asked -Assistant District Attorney Garvan. - -“Yes,” the witness replied, “he said ‘He ruined my wife.’” - -“Did he say anything else?” - -“No.” - -“Did you hear any one say anything to him?” - -“His wife.” - -“What did she say?” - -“Look at the fix you are in.” - -“Did he reply?” - -“I did not hear him say anything else.” - -Edward H. Convey, foreman of laborers at Madison Square garden, was -called to further identify the pistol Brudi took from Thaw, and which -Convey helped in turning over to the police. He was not cross-examined. - -Policeman A. L. Debes, who arrested Thaw, was called. He identified the -pistol, the bullets, and empty shells introduced as exhibit. - -“Did you have any conversation with Thaw?” asked Mr. Garvan. - -“I did,” he replied. - -“I asked the prisoner if he had shot Stanford White, and he said, ‘I -did.’ I then asked him why he shot him and he said, ‘Because he ruined -my wife--or life.’” - -“You could not distinguish whether he said wife or life?” was asked. - -“No. Thaw then asked where we were going and I replied, ‘To the station -house,’ and he said ‘All right.’ After this I turned him over to another -officer and went up stairs to get witnesses.” - -Coroner’s Physician Timothy Lehane, who performed the autopsy on -Stanford White’s body, described the wounds made by three pistol shots. - -The first bullet, he said, entered the right eye, passing downward and -entering the brain; the second entered on the right side of the upper -lip, and the third wound was on the right arm, the bullet ranging -downward and passing out six inches from the point of entrance, making -what is commonly called a flesh wound. - -The witness then identified the various bullets and Mr. Garvan asked -that they be formally received as evidence. The exhibits were passed -across to the table of counsel for the defense. Thaw’s eyes wandered -about from right to left, but not even a fleeting glance was thrown in -the direction where the deadly bullets were being left. - -Dr. Lehane declared cerebral hemorrhage, caused by the bullet wounds, -produced death. - -Dr. Sylvester Pechner, who was with a party on the Madison Square Roof -garden the night of the tragedy, next was introduced as a witness for -the prosecution. Dr. Pechner examined White soon after he fell and -pronounced him dead. The architect’s death must have been instantaneous, -the witness declared. - -Dr. Pechner said that when his attention was attracted by the firing of -the pistol, he saw Thaw standing over White. - -He then saw the defendant “break his gun” and pull out the empty shells, -and hold it aloft. Just after this Fireman Brudi took the man in charge. - -Policeman Debes was recalled and Mr. Garvan asked him: “Did you hear any -remark credited to the defendant’s wife that night?” - -“Yes.” - -“Where was it?” - -“On the ground floor of the Twenty-sixth street entrance.” - -“What did she say?” - -“‘Harry, why did you do it?’ and he replied, ‘It will be all right.’” - -This ended the state’s case--all the evidence depended upon to send the -young millionaire to the electric chair having been presented in that -brief session. The defense opened a little more than an hour later after -a brief recess for luncheon. - -“Harry Thaw believed he was acting upon the command of Providence when -he killed Stanford White,” thundered Attorney Gleason in opening the -case of the defense. - -Thaw’s insanity at the time of the killing, Mr. Gleason said, was due to -heredity and stress of circumstances. It would also be shown, he said, -that the defendant had suffered from temporary or emotional insanity for -years. - -“You must disabuse your minds, gentlemen of the jury,” he began, “of any -idea or impression that the defense in this case will rely upon anything -but the constitution and the laws of the imperial state of New York. -Upon these laws alone we will rely. - -“You must dismiss all idea that we are to import into this case any -so-called higher or unwritten law. We will rely upon all the defenses -that the law allows. - -“One of the defenses allowed by law is that of insanity.” - -Mr. Gleason declared further that it would be shown that Thaw acted in -self-defense and without malice, believing threats had been made against -him by Stanford White. Mr. Gleason said that Thaw did not know the -nature or quality of his act at the time he committed it. - -The defendant killed Stanford White, he said. He believed that it was an -act of Providence and that he was guided in that act by Providence. - -“The defendant killed White, and he did not know that act was wrong. He -was suffering from a mental unsoundness proceeded from a disease so that -he did not know what he was doing. We will show that there was a mental -unsoundness in his family. - -“There will be witnesses produced here on both sides, but you are the -ones who will judge of the fact of whether the defendant was insane or -not when he killed Stanford White. - -“It lies with you and you alone to decide whether or not Thaw was sane -when he killed Stanford White. You must apply to yourselves the test of -your ability to decide truly and wisely. - -“It is for you to reach out with that human spirit which says to any -man, no matter how degraded, ‘look up and be of good cheer. I, too, am a -man, and would have done the same thing had I been placed in your -position.’ - -“When you have heard all the testimony in this case and come to judge -this defendant, I am sure you will be of the opinion that the -defendant’s act was due to insanity and not one of crime.” - -Mr. Gleason’s address required less than an hour. At its conclusion the -way was clear for the greatest defense of modern times and the sacrifice -of Evelyn Thaw--a feature without a parallel in modern jurisprudence. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -“I Swear Harry K. Thaw Was Insane.” - - DEFENSE BEGINS TERRIFIC FIGHT TO PROVE YOUNG MILLIONAIRE WAS CRAZED - BY WHITE’S ACTS--DR. WILEY, THAW’S FAMILY PHYSICIAN, DECLARES HARRY - DID NOT REALIZE WHAT HE WAS DOING--THEATER EMPLOYE PROVED IMPORTANT - POINT THAT WHITE HAD THREATENED YOUNG THAW--ANOTHER PHYSICIAN - ASSERTED THE SLAYER, WHILE YOUNG, HAD ST. VITUS DANCE, A DREAD - MALADY THAT MIGHT HAVE AFFECTED HIS BRAIN--EVELYN PALE AND - WORRIED--PRISONER RAGING IN HIS CELL--THE CRISIS AHEAD. - - -Experts on the subject of insanity--famous physicians whose testimony -cost from $100 to $500 a day each, and whose services required an -expenditure of more than a half million dollars--were the central -figures in the early part of this celebrated trial. The defense began by -forging the links in the chain of circumstances which, it was asserted, -had disordered the brain of Harry Thaw and caused him to kill White. - -The first witness for the defense was Dr. C. C. Wiley of Pittsburg, the -Thaws’ family physician, who was connected with the Dixmont Insane -Asylum. During Dr. Wiley’s examination, the young prisoner sat with -paper and pencil, taking notes and consulting - -[Illustration: DELPHIN M. DELMAS - -Thaw’s chief lawyer.] - -constantly with his counsel. He was pale and nervous, and shuddered at -the slightest unusual noise in the court room. Jerome went at the -witness pitilessly, asked him trick questions, and endeavored a hundred -times to trap him into an admission that Thaw might not have been insane -at the time he killed White. - -Jerome failed. When the day had closed the evidence as to insanity -remained unshaken, but the witness was exhausted and so confused that he -often took refuge in the answer “I don’t know,” or “I cannot recall.” - -Mr. Gleason, attorney for Thaw, asked the expert a hypothetical question -the answer to which immeasurably strengthened the plea that Thaw was -insane. It was: - -“Assuming that any man was proved to you, as an expert, to have attended -a roof garden the day of June 25, 1906, the occasion of the opening of a -theatrical entertainment which was largely attended, and that on walking -out from the theater, with his wife near him, and apparently in a quiet -and orderly manner; that that man should turn aside and fire three shots -from a revolver into a man who was sitting at the table and to whom he -did not speak; that this man then held the pistol above his head and -walked quietly toward an elevator; that he gave up the pistol without -resistance and did not make any attempt to escape, and that he said, ‘He -ruined my wife,’ and that immediately thereafter he said to his wife, ‘I -have probably saved your life,’ I ask you, sir, upon your judgment as -an expert, whether you are able to give an opinion touching on the -sanity of the man who made that answer?” - -“I can,” said Dr. Wiley. - -“Will you express that opinion?” - -“I believe that that man -- --” - -District Attorney Jerome objected. - -“You must not state a belief,” said Mr. Jerome, “that is not evidence. -You must give an opinion.” - -“My opinion,” said Dr. Wiley, “is that the man who committed the act -described was suffering from insanity.” - -Other striking assertions from Dr. Wiley’s testimony were: - -“The act of Harry K. Thaw was that of an insane man. - -“The remark Thaw made to his wife after the tragedy, ‘I have probably -saved your life,’ is an indication of an insane delusion. - -“I have examined 800 people as to their sanity, and should know the -prisoner’s condition. - -“When I examined Harry in the Tombs prison after the murder his actions -were irrational.” - -Dr. Wiley was on the stand for the defense all the first day, and at the -opening of the second day a sensation came when Mr. Delmas took the helm -of the defense, and called Benjamin Bowman as the second witness. Jerome -had refused to allow Bowman to - -[Illustration: COUNTESS OF YARMOUTH - -Harry Thaw’s sister.] - -testify for the state. Bowman in 1903 was a doorkeeper at the Madison -Square Garden Theater. - -“I knew Stanford White and Harry Thaw,” Bowman swore. “A few nights -after Christmas, 1903, Stanford White came up to me after the show and -wanted to know if Miss Nesbit had gone home. I told him she had. He -replied: ‘You are a liar.’ I told him to go back on the stage and see -for himself. - -“When he returned, and as he passed me he pulled a pistol from his -pocket and muttered: “I’ll find and kill that-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- before -daylight.’” - -“Did you tell Harry Thaw of this threat against his life?” asked Delmas. - -“Yes, I met him on Fifth avenue and told him I wanted to speak with him -regarding Miss Nesbit. I then told him of the incident at the theater -and of White’s threat.” - -“What was Mr. White’s condition when he made the threat?” - -“He was black in the face with anger.” - -This ended the direct examination of Bowman, and Justice Fitzgerald -said: - -“If there are any persons in the courtroom whose sense of propriety -would be offended by the testimony of this witness the court will give -them an opportunity now to withdraw.” - -“We must ask the court to bear with us in bringing out this testimony,” -explained Delmas, “but it is essential.” - -“It is perfectly right and proper,” Justice Fitzgerald quickly assured -the lawyer. “There are ladies here, however, and I think they should be -given the opportunity to withdraw if they so desire.” - -The Countess of Yarmouth and Mrs. George L. Carnegie quickly left the -courtroom. - -Mrs. Evelyn Nesbit Thaw and May McKenzie arrived at the courthouse some -time after the session had begun. - -In cross-examination by Mr. Jerome the witness clung to his story. He -added that “The Girl From Dixie” was playing at the Roof Garden Theater -at the time, and that White and Thaw even then were rivals for Miss -Nesbit’s affections. - -The next witness was Martin Green, a newspaper man, who saw Thaw just -after the shooting. He was asked as to Thaw’s manner after he committed -the murder. - -“He held the pistol high above his head,” said Mr. Green, “He was very -pale, his eyes seemed about to pop out of his head, and his hair was -hanging well down on his forehead.” - -Dr. John Franklin Bingaman of Pittsburg, one of the Thaw alienists, -testified he had known Harry Thaw for thirty years. He attended him when -he was two or three years old. Thaw had children’s diseases and St. -Vitus’ dance. - -Dr. Bingaman said that Thaw’s condition might be called a neurotic -temperament. - -Mr. Jerome asked only two questions in cross-examination. In response to -them Dr. Bingaman said Thaw had the St. Vitus’ dance when he was six or -seven years old. - -At the end of this day’s hearing Harry Thaw was in a frenzy. In his cell -he denounced his lawyers for their determination to make insanity the -defense. Adding to his troubles was the fact that his beautiful young -wife was to go on the stand next day and bare her tragic life to the -public gaze. - -Mrs. Thaw dreaded the ordeal. She was barred from the court-room during -the latter part of the early testimony, but extra editions of the -newspapers were brought to her hourly, and she read the testimony she -was not allowed to hear. She was ghastly pale, and at times appeared -about to collapse. - -Next day brought the crisis in the most sensational trial of the -twentieth century, with the fair, slender Evelyn--the leader in the -battle to save her husband’s life. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -A Human Sacrifice on the Altar of Love. - - EVELYN NESBIT THAW BEGINS STORY OF TRAGIC FATE AT HANDS OF STANFORD - WHITE--TELLS OF SHOOTING--“I WILL BE BRAVE,” HER WORDS TO - HUSBAND--COLLAPSES ON STAND--RELATES HOW HER BETRAYAL DELAYED HER - MARRIAGE--THAW’S GREAT LOVE REVEALED--“I HAVE PROBABLY SAVED YOUR - LIFE”--WEPT WHEN SHE DISCLOSED TO HARRY THE VILLAINY OF - WHITE--BLUSHES CRIMSON ON THE STAND--ALMOST FAINTS WHEN ORDERED TO - TELL OF HER DOWNFALL. - - -“I will be brave--I will be very brave, and I know that when I am done, -you will go free. It will be hard, but I must tell all. Good-bye, Harry, -my love, my own, my sweetheart, husband--” - -These were Evelyn Nesbit Thaw’s words before going on the stand. - -Crime, horrible, fiendish, revolting, startling in its details, and -consummated with all the clever brutality that a brilliant mind could -encompass--was laid up against the blighted name of Stanford White by -Evelyn Nesbit on the witness stand February 8, 1907. - -Beauty in distress--beauty that made a powerful impression on judge, -jury and spectators, intensified a hundredfold the dramatic climax of -the trial. Frail, young, her fair name shattered, her love for husband -surpassing that of Thisbe for Pyramus, she laid down her bleeding heart -upon the altar of the soul, and gave herself a living sacrifice to save -her husband from the electric chair. - -In the midst of her story of her shame, the beautiful bride broke down -and cried bitterly. Restoratives were applied, and, fighting with the -life of her loved one as the stake, the piteously fragile and -surpassingly pretty young wife continued with the story of her ruin at -the hands of a modern Nero, for so she painted White. - -Mrs. Thaw was on the stand two hours, and her direct examination had not -been concluded when the luncheon adjournment was taken. As she walked -from the witness chair along the passageway back of the jury box she -felt along the wall with the finger tips of her left hand as if about to -faint. From scarlet her face had paled to the whiteness of a sheet. - -Except when she broke down when going into the details of her experience -with White the girl spoke in a clear, soft voice. On the witness stand -she appeared for the first time in court unveiled, and her beauty was -remarked on all sides. It is of a girlish type, a mass of dark hair -framing a face of daintily molded features. - -“Evelyn Nesbit Thaw,” called the clerk in a tragic voice, as soon as the -trial opened for what was fated to be its greatest day. - -The court room was hushed. Three hundred newspaper workers, flashing -bulletins to every American city, to London, Paris, and isles beyond the -seas, hardly breathed, leaned forward excitedly, and the crisis in the -greatest legal battle ever fought was on! - -The familiar figure in blue, now for the first time without her veil, -appeared from the judge’s chambers. She stood near the jury box as Clerk -Penny administered the oath. - -“I swear,” repeated Mrs. Thaw in an audible voice at the end of the -formal declaration, which was made just a little more impressive than -usual. “I solemnly swear before the ever living God to tell the truth, -the whole truth and nothing but the truth!” - -Mrs. Thaw took her place in the witness chair calmly. She looked -steadily ahead at Mr. Delmas and gave her answers to his first questions -in a clear and firm voice, which was soft in quality. - -Harry Thaw smiled at his wife as she walked to the witness stand, but -she apparently did not see him at the moment. After she was seated, -however, she smiled faintly at the prisoner and blushed crimson. - -In answer to Mr. Delmas’ first question Mrs. Thaw said she was born Dec. -25, 1884. She told of going to the Cafe Martin to dinner the evening of -June 25 with her husband, Thomas McCaleb, and Truxton Beale. - -“While you were at the Cafe Martin did you see Stanford White?” asked -Delmas. - -“Yes,” answered Evelyn. - -“At what time did you see him?” - -“I don’t know; it was some time after we arrived.” - -“Where did you first see him?” - -“Coming in at the Fifth avenue entrance.” - -“How long did you see him?” - -“I don’t know. He passed through and went on to the balcony.” - -“While he was on the balcony could you see him?” - -“No.” - -“Did you see him leave?” - -“Yes. I saw him come in from the balcony and go out of the Fifth avenue -entrance.” - -“While you were in the Cafe Martin, did you call for a pencil?” - -“Yes.” - -“From whom?” - -“I think from Mr. McCaleb. He said he did not have one.” - -Mrs. Thaw said that McCaleb sat on her left, Beale on her right, and -Thaw was facing her. - -“Did you ask again for a pencil?” - -“Yes, I got one from some one, I don’t remember whom.” - -“Did you write a note?” - -“I did.” - -“On what?” - -“A slip of paper. I think Mr. McCaleb gave it to me.” - -“What did you do with it?” - -“I passed it to Mr. Thaw.” - -“What did Mr. Thaw do?” - -“He said to me: ‘Are you all right?’ I said: ‘Yes.’” - -“What was your condition as to being disturbed or affected?” - -Mr. Jerome’s objection to the question was sustained. - -“Was there anything unusual in your manner that was visible to others?” - -Again an objection was sustained. - -“After this how long did you remain?” - -“Only a short time.” - -“Mrs. Thaw, have you that slip of paper now?” - -“I have not.” - -“Have you seen it since?” - -“No.” - -“Did what you wrote refer to Stanford White?” - -Mr. Jerome objected on the ground that the note itself was the best -evidence. - -“After you left the restaurant, you went to Madison Square Roof garden?” -asked Mr. Delmas. - -“Yes.” - -“About what time was it?” - -“About the middle of the first act.” - -Mrs. Thaw said that she sat in a seat beside Mr. Beale and Mr. McCaleb. -Her husband went to the back of the theater, she said. He was away about -fifteen minutes, when he returned and took a seat beside her. - -“How long did he remain at your side?” - -“About half an hour.” - -“What was his manner then?” - -“It seemed to be the same as ever.” - -“Did you talk about anything special then?” - -“No, just general.” - -“Who suggested going away from the garden?” - -“I did.” - -“The play wasn’t interesting to you?” - -“Not a bit,” said the witness. - -“How did you start when you went out?” - -“I think that Mr. McCaleb and I were in the lead and Mr. Thaw and Mr. -Beale followed.” - -“How far had you gone when something happened?” - -“Almost to the elevator. I had turned around to speak to Mr. Thaw.” - -“How far were you from Mr. White then?” - -“About as far as the end of the jury box.” - -“You saw Mr. White sitting there?” - -“I did.” - -“Did you see Mr. Thaw then?” - -“Not until a minute or so afterward. He was directly in front of Mr. -White, standing with his arm up in the air.” - -“Did you hear shots fired?” - -“Yes, immediately after I saw Mr. White I heard the shots.” - -“How many shots?” - -“Three shots.” - -“What did you say?” - -“I said to Mr. McCaleb: ‘I think he has shot him.’” - -“Did Mr. Thaw come over to where you were?” - -“Yes, I asked him what he had done. He leaned over and kissed me and -said: ‘I have probably saved your life.’” - -“What happened then?” - -“I left.” - -“You were taken from there?” - -“Yes, I think with Mr. McCaleb and Mr. Beale.” - -“You left and did not return?” - -“Yes.” - -“You said that you are the wife of the defendant?” - -“Yes.” - -“When were you married?” - -“On April 4, 1905.” - -“Where?” - -“In Pittsburg, at the residence of Dr. McEwen, pastor of the Third -Presbyterian church.” - -“Who were present?” - -“I think Josiah Thaw, Mr. Thaw’s brother,” the witness went on, after a -moment. - -“When had Mr. Thaw proposed for the first time?” - -“In June, 1903, in Paris.” - -“At the time did you refuse him?” - -“I did.” - -“Did you state in explaining your refusal of his proposal that it had -something to do with Stanford White?” - -“Yes.” - -“State what happened.” - -“Mr. Thaw told me that he loved me and wanted to marry me. I stared at -him for a moment and then he said, ‘Don’t you care for me?’ and I said -that I did. Then he asked me what was the matter. I said ‘nothing.’ ‘Why -won’t you marry me?’ he said. He put his hands on my shoulder and asked, -‘Is it because of Stanford White?’ and I said ‘yes.’ Then he told me he -would never love any one else or marry any one else. I started to cry. -He said he wanted me to tell him the whole thing. Then I began to tell -him how I first met Stanford White.” - -At this frail Evelyn collapsed utterly. Falling back in her chair, her -beautiful features ghastly pale, she murmured: - -“I can’t go on! I can’t! I can’t!” - -The court windows were opened, an alienist who was present applied -restoratives, and in a few minutes Mrs. Thaw was able to go on to the -story of her ruin. - - Evelyn Nesbit’s First Public Appearance - - Sweet-voiced Child of 5 Sang Requiem for the Dead in Village - Church, Moving Congregation to Tears. - -Florence Evelyn Nesbit was a particularly interesting child, very quiet, -somewhat shy, and did not easily make friends with anyone, but when one -did gain her confidence she was a loyal friend. She was a very beautiful -child and had a remarkably sweet voice for one so tender in years. - -Her gift was so marked that she made her first public appearance at the -age of 5. It was at a memorial service in the Methodist church of which -her parents were members. It was held in honor of the members who had -died during the year. The church was decorated for the occasion with an -immense bank of evergreens completely screening the pulpit. - -In the midst of a solemn hush in the service came the dulcet voice of a -child singing. It was little Florence Evelyn, hidden behind the -evergreens, and in tones that will never be forgotten by the hearers, -and which were clear and distinct in all parts of the edifice, came the -words of the hymn, “We Are Going Down the Valley One by One.” Before the -song was half finished nearly the entire audience was moved to tears. - -Softly, tremulously, yet distinctly, came the impressive burden of the -song. It was a splendid triumph for the child, and it still lingers in -the hearts of the people who were there, its remembrance helped them in -the midst of her trials to sympathize with and pity her. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -Evelyn Reveals White as a Fearful Monster. - - STAGGERING BLOW TO PROSECUTION--MOB OF WOMEN FIGHTS TO ENTER - COURT--PATHETIC SCENE--HAND OF MAGICIAN SUGGESTED IN DOORS THAT - OPEN WITHOUT HUMAN AID--AT AGE OF 16, BEAUTY FELL INTO CLUTCHES OF - UNSCRUPULOUS MILLIONAIRE--THOUGHT WHITE AN “UGLY MAN”--RED VELVET - SWING IN DEN OF MIRRORS--BEAUTY DRUGGED WITH WINE--MOTHER’S - INFLUENCE REVEALED--PHOTOGRAPHED IN KIMONO--LURED TO WHITE’S - STUDIO. - - -The staggering blow to Jerome was about to be dealt. Tense, nervous, and -thrilled with emotions of pity, the spectators hung on every word of the -pale Evelyn when she resumed her testimony. - -Word of the impending revelations mysteriously got outside the -court-room, although the doors were barred. - -The corridors were filled, and scores of people, many of them women, -tried in every possible way to force themselves by the officers at the -courtroom doors, but after the preceding afternoon’s laxity the bars -were put up again and very few were allowed to pass. - -However, half a score of women managed to succeed. They were attired in -their gayest costumes, in marked contrast with the costume of Mrs. Thaw. - -Evelyn on the stand did not look even her 23 years. She was dressed in a -plain dark blue gown, with a long coat and wore a broad white linen -collar. Her hat was dark and low in the crown, with a broad soft brim, -and trimmed with a small bunch of violets. She wore her hair in a loose -knot low on her neck, tied with a large black ribbon. Her face, which -until she took the stand, was unusually pale, was first flushed, then -ghastly in its pallor. It was marked with delicate eye-brows and long -lashes. Her eyes were large and dark, and appealing, and her dark hair -required frequent brushing back from her eyes. Her slender figure was -tense with excitement, and her voice was usually firm and clear. - -Even while the women were fighting their way into the room, the -questioning was resumed. Mrs. Thaw told of the startling crime of -Stanford White, that blighted her young life, and made her beauty a -mockery. - -Attorney Delmas, ever alert to forestall the mass of objections by -Jerome at every opportunity, cautioned the witness: - -“Be kind enough to remember you are to omit,” said Mr. Delmas, “in -relating the narrative of what you told Mr. Thaw, the name of any other -person save that of Mr. White. Now continue.” - -“A young lady asked my mother several times to - -[Illustration: - -EVELYN NESBIT AS “THE SUNBONNET GIRL” -when 16 years old. -] - -let me go out with her to lunch,” said the fragile beauty, Mrs. Thaw. -“She came again and again to me before I sent her to my mother, finally, -and she said, ‘All right.’ My mother finally consented.” - -“Proceed.” - -“On the day I was to go my mother dressed me and I went with Miss -- --, -the other young lady, in a hansom, hoping we would go to the ballroom, -because I wanted to see it. But we went straight down to Broadway, -through Twenty-fourth street up to a dingy looking door. The young lady -jumped out and asked me to follow her.” - -Mr. Jerome objected to the form of the narrative, and he asked: “Did you -relate all that to Mr. Thaw?” - -“Yes,” said the witness. “He told me to tell him everything.” - -“By the way,” interjected Delmas, “what was the date of that event?” - -“As nearly as I can remember,” with a pucker of forehead, “it was in -August, 1901.” - -“You were then 16 years and some months old?” - -“Well, now I want you to tell of your first meeting with Stanford White -just as you told it to Mr. Thaw on that day,” directed Delmas. - -The show girl said that a chorus girl, Edna Goodrich, asked her to a -luncheon party where she would meet White. She and Edna took a cab and -went to the studio on West Twenty-fourth street. The witness said the -doors seemed to open of themselves. - -“We went upstairs,” said Evelyn, “and there I met a man who was -introduced to me as Stanford White. I thought him an ugly man. There was -a table already set for four. Another gentleman came later. I remember -Mr. White teased me about my hair, which I wore down my back, and my -short skirt, which reached to my shoe tops. After supper we went up two -flights of stairs more, and in the room was a large red velvet swing. -Mr. White put me in the swing and swung me very hard. When we swung very -hard one foot crashed through a large Japanese umbrella which hung from -the ceiling.” - -“Your mother dressed you to go?” - -“Yes.” - -“I must caution you to tell only what you told Mr. Thaw.” - -“I will,” said the witness, and went on; “The dingy door opened, nobody -seeming to open it.” - -“What did you do then?” - -“We went up some steps to another door, which opened to some other -apartment. I stopped and asked the young lady where we were going and -she said: ‘It’s all right.’ A man’s voice called down ‘Hello.’” - -“Who was it?” - -“It was Stanford White,” said the witness clearly. - -“What did you find in the room or studio to which you went?” - -“A table set for four.” - -“This is all what you told Mr. Thaw,” put in Mr. Jerome. - -“It was,” said young Mrs. Thaw, “I told him everything.” - -There was a halt in the testimony here while Mr. Jerome and Mr. Delmas -whispered. - -“How were you dressed?” asked Mr. Delmas. - -“I wore a short dress, with my hair down my back.” - -The witness said they went up into another room, where a big Japanese -umbrella was swinging. - -Mr. Jerome objected to the testimony on the ground that he would have no -opportunity to prove or disprove the facts alleged. Mr. Delmas said the -defense would offer no objection to the district attorney probing the -correctness of the facts. - -Mrs. Thaw then said that afterward she and her companion went for a -drive to the park, then returned to the house with White. She said when -she got home she told her mother everything that happened. - -“Did your mother subsequently receive a letter from Stanford White?” was -asked. - -“She did.” - -“What was in the letter?” - -“It asked my mother to call on Mr. White at 160 Fifth avenue.” - -“Did you tell Mr. Thaw about that?” - -“I did.” - -“When your mother returned did she tell you anything?” - -“She did.” - -“What did your mother tell you?” - -“He asked her to take me to a dentist and have my teeth fixed and for -her to have her own fixed, too. She said: ‘No; that it was a very -strange thing.’ Mr. White told her that he did that for the other -Florodora girls.” - -“When did you next see White?” - -“I saw him in the studio. I got a note from him previously inviting me -to a party and saying a carriage would be waiting for me on the corner. -Before that he had sent me a hat, a feather boa, and a cape. There was -another man and girl with us.” - -Mr. Delmas mentioned the names of the others to Mr. Jerome. - -“Where did you go?” - -“To the studio in Madison Square tower. We had a very nice time there. -Mr. White said I was only to have one glass of champagne, and that I was -to be brought home early. I was brought home early to the door of my -house. I told Mr. Thaw that we had several parties of this kind in the -tower.” - -“Did you see Mr. White again?” - -“Yes, he came to see my mother, told her that I would be all right in -New York, and that he would take care of me.” - -Mrs. Thaw said she met White in September, 1901, in a studio in East -Twenty-second street. The door opened of itself, she said, and the house -looked at first as if no one lived there. She said that she went -upstairs and met Mr. White, a photographer, and another man. - -The witness whispered the name of the man to Mr. Jerome, who wrote it -down. - -“What did you see there?” - -“There was a lot of expensive gowns there.” - -“What happened?” - -“I went into the dressing-room to put on the dress. Mr. White knocked at -the door and asked if I needed any help. I said, ‘No.’” - -Mrs. Thaw related in detail her experience in the photographic studio -and said she posed until she was very tired and that White, who had come -in, ordered food and they had something to eat. The photographer left, -she said, and after they had lunched she went into a dressing room to -remove her kimono and put on her dress. - -“I shut the door while I was inside,” added the witness. “Mr. White came -to the door, knocked and asked me if I wanted any help. I said: ‘No.’” - -The former artist’s model testified that she drank but one glass of -champagne and when she was dressed she got into a carriage and was taken -back to the hotel. - -“The next night,” she continued, “I got a note from Mr. White asking me -to come down to the studio for luncheon after the theater with some of -his friends. A carriage would call for me, and would take me home after -the party, he wrote. I went down to the Twenty-fourth street studio -again and found Mr. White and no one else there. - -“‘What do you think,’ he said to me, ‘the others have turned us down.’ -Then I told him I had better go home, and he told me that I had better -sit down and have some fruit. So I took off my hat and coat. Mr. White -told me he had other floors in the garden, and that I had not seen all -of his place. He would take me around and show me, he said. - -“So he took me up some stairs to the floor above, where there were very -beautiful decorations,” went on Mrs. Thaw. “I played for him, and he -took me into another room. That room was a bedroom. On a small table -stood a bottle of champagne and one glass. Mr. White poured out just one -glass for me, and I paid no attention to it. Mr. White went away, came -back and said: ‘I decorated this room, myself.’ Then he asked me why I -was not drinking my champagne and I said I did not like it; it tasted -bitter. But he persuaded me to drink it and I did. - -“A few moments after I had drank it there began a pounding and thumping -in my ears and the room got all black.” - -Mrs. Thaw was almost in tears at this statement. - -“When I came to myself I was greatly frightened and I started to scream. -Mr. White came and - -[Illustration: EVELYN NESBIT - -Picture taken in Stanford White’s studio.] - -tried to quiet me. As I sat up I saw mirrors all over. I began to scream -again, and Mr. White asked me to keep quiet, saying that it was all -over. - -“When he threw the kimono over me he left the room. I screamed harder -than ever. I don’t remember much of anything after that. - -“He took me home and I sat up all night crying.” - -Regard for the morals of the young prevents the publication of the awful -details disclosed at this point in the evidence. The yellowest of yellow -journals omitted the hideous details flashed over the wires, and with -all the shocking evidence published, the public has no conception of -awful facts revealed by this pitiful tragedy. - -“What did he say afterward?” - -“He made me swear that I would never tell my mother about it. He said -there was no use in talking and the greatest thing in this world was not -to get found out. He said the girls in the theaters were foolish to -talk. He laughed afterward. - -“He said it was all right--that there was ‘nothing so nice as young -girls and nothing so loathsome as fat ones. You must never get fat.’” - -The black heart of Stanford White was disclosed in all its hideousness -at last! The final shred of respectability had been torn from his -reputation. The almost fainting Evelyn had completed the human -sacrifice. Her life story, tragic beyond human comprehension, had been -told under oath--told to a jury that gasped at every sentence, -shuddered at every disclosure. It was the coup d’etat of the defense! -the staggering blow reserved to overwhelm Jerome and his allies. What a -story it was that the poor little victim of a sybaritic brute told! What -a tale of Nero’s time it seemed to be! Tiberius and Caligula planned -dens and stage settings such as Evelyn Nesbit described in the haunts of -Stanford White. Did Tiberius and Caligula ever plan darker, more foul -conspiracies against helpless little girls than the plots of the great -architect seemed to have been? And with the telling of the heart-rending -story came new thoughts, new lights upon the shadowy life of the man who -died before the pistol of Harry Thaw. - -No one ever denied that Stanford White, no matter what he may have been, -was a generous giver, a good Samaritan in the time of need. He supported -Evelyn, her mother, and her brother, in royal fashion. - -What was to be deduced from the largess of White, both to the Nesbits -and to scores of others? - -Was the licentious architect a Jekyll and a Hyde? - -Or did the weight of remorse and gloomy shame bear down upon this -strangest of men in such degree that he strove mightily to salve his -conscience and his bitter memories? - -Or was White “a bookkeeper with the Fates”--a man who tried ever to -balance the accounts of good and bad, so that the final reckoning might -find his ledgers balanced? There are many men who keep the lists of -debits and of credits--who strive to make a deed of kindness balance -every deed of crime. Was White such a man--bookkeeping with the Fates, -and seeking by princely generosity to offset the debits of unscrupulous -passion? She sat in the witness chair, a tiny, shrinking figure, and she -spoke out the horrid details of the criminal outrage upon her; -unhesitating and unbreaking. The kindliness of White, all with its -ultimate hideous object masked beneath the roses; the mirrored room in -the architect’s hidden lair; the drugged wine; the awakening--all these -things the little Evelyn told with the close precision of a seared and -branded memory. And when the story had been spun the shrewd and skillful -Delmas smiled serene, well knowing that a probably fatal blow had been -dealt the prosecution. The “learned Jerome,” as Delmas suavely called -him, spent the night before planning and massing his artillery. He had a -fearful day of defeat and sorrow. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -Intrigue Like Those in Days of Nero. - - EVELYN TELLS HOW WHITE PLOTTED WITH FALSEHOODS AND MONEY AS HIS - INSTRUMENTS, TO BLAST HER LIFE BY FORCING HER TO LEAVE HARRY - THAW--SOUGHT TO WRECK HER LOVE--HUSBAND GHASTLY IN COURT--LAWYER - DICTATED “AFFIDAVIT” ACCUSING THAW, WHILE BEAUTIFUL ACTRESS - WEPT--BREACH OF PROMISE SUIT CONSPIRACY--BLACKMAIL HINTED--WHITE - FLEECED--ARCHITECT EVEN TRIED TO STEAL EVELYN FROM HUSBAND--JACK - BARRYMORE, ACTOR, BROUGHT INTO CASE--WANTED TO MARRY - WITNESS--PROPOSED TWICE--RUIN OF OTHER GIRLS BROUGHT UP--EVERYBODY - AFFECTED BY TRAGIC STORY. - - -“I refused to marry Harry at first because I loved him--it was because -of my reputation. I loved him more than all else--more than my own life. -I did not want to ruin his career, to estrange him from his family and -blast his future,”--Evelyn Nesbit Thaw told the Jury. - -Intrigue--a story of intrigue by Stanford White to steal Evelyn Nesbit’s -love away from Harry Thaw by means of false, shocking stories of cruelty -to other women was bared by the fragile Evelyn the second day she was on -the stand. - -Spectators shuddered at the diabolical ingenuity of White, millionaire, -famous and feted, who, with noble aims ready for his mind, diverted his -talent instead to hideous crimes. - -The ordeal of the witness chair had made nervous wrecks of the frail -woman and of her husband, for whose life she was battling. Young Thaw -for the first time since the trial began had lost the spring in his -step, and instead of walking briskly to his place at the table of his -counsel he moved hesitatingly and looked constantly from left to right -about the courtroom. The big crowd seemed to annoy him. The pallid face -broke into a faint smile as the prisoner recognized his brother, Edward -Thaw, who was the only member of the family in court. - -“Call Mrs. Evelyn Nesbit Thaw to the stand,” requested Mr. Delmas of the -clerk. - -When she appeared and took her place in the big witness chair Mrs. Thaw -was dressed precisely as on the previous day. She was extremely pale and -her lips trembled visibly as she replied to the first simple question -asked her by counsel. - -“Please relate what you told Mr. Thaw besides what you stated before,” -said Mr. Delmas, looking at Jerome, as if to say, “You cannot stop me -now.” - -“He asked me how I came to speak to Stanford White after my return from -Europe,” said Mrs. Thaw. “I told him I was driving down Fifth avenue one -day in a hansom cab with my maid and we passed Stanford White. I heard -him exclaim: ‘Oh, look at Evelyn.’ - -“A few days later I was called to the telephone and it was Mr. White. He -said: ‘My, but it is good to hear your voice again,’ and said he wanted -to come and see me. I told him I could not see him. He said it was very -important that I should see him at once. He said he had had much trouble -with my family and must see me. I asked if my mother was ill. - -“He said it was a matter of life and death--he could not tell me over -the telephone. So he came to see me at the Hotel Savoy. - -“When he came in he tried to kiss me, but I did not let him. He asked me -what was the matter. I told him to sit down and asked him again if my -mother was ill. He said, ‘No,’ and at once began to talk about Harry -Thaw. He told me that different actresses had told him that I was in -Europe with Harry Thaw. - -“He said presently that Harry Thaw took me to Europe, and asked me why I -went around with a man who took morphine. He said positively that Harry -Thaw took morphine, that he was not even a gentleman, and I must have -nothing to do with him. - -“After that he came constantly to see me. He also sent people to me who -told me stories about Mr. Thaw, the stories I told yesterday. I told Mr. -Thaw afterward that the stories worried me so much I could not sleep -nights. I got very nervous, for I knew Mr. Thaw was coming over and I -did not want to see him. I told Mr. White I did not want to see Mr. -Thaw. - -“One day Mr. White telephoned me that he was going to send a carriage -for me and I was to come to Broadway and Nineteenth street. I did so, -and White met me and got into the carriage. He said he was taking me to -see Abe Hummel, the greatest lawyer in New York, who would protect me -from Harry Thaw. He said I was not to be afraid of Mr. Hummel; he was a -little man with a big, bald head, warts on his face and was very ugly. - -“When I got to Mr. Hummel’s office Mr. White went away. Mr. Hummel’s -office walls were covered with photographs of actresses, with writing on -them. He asked me how I came to go to Europe with Harry Thaw, and I told -him that I didn’t, I went with my mother and Thaw followed us. He asked -me about my quarrel with my mother in London. I said it was a continuous -quarrel between us; we simply couldn’t get along. She wanted to come -home to America and I said she could come, but I was going to stay there -and return to the stage; but the doctor told me I couldn’t dance for a -year. Hummel asked me all places where I went with Thaw. - -“I told him all I could remember. He said I was a minor and that Thaw -should have been more careful. He said he had a case in his office -against Thaw, but the woman in the case was a very bad one and he did -not think the case was much good. - -“Then he said Thaw was a very bad man, and, above all things, I must be -protected from him. Mr. White then said that the other man was to get -Harry Thaw out of New York and keep him out. - -“They asked me if I went to Europe of my own accord, and I said I -certainly had. I said I remained in Europe after my mother left because -I had quarreled with her and could not dance for a year, and I liked Mr. -Thaw very much and could not do anything else. - -“‘Nevertheless,’ Hummel said, ‘you are a minor and he should not have -taken you away from your mother.’ I said he did not take me away. - -“Mr. White said that strong methods must be resorted to to keep Thaw out -of New York, and to protect myself I must help in every way I could. - -“Mr. White said I must leave everything in Mr. Hummel’s hands. Then they -sent for a stenographer, and the lawyer said I must not interrupt him in -what he was about to say. I was very nervous and excited, and I think I -began to cry. Then they began to dictate and put in a lot of stuff that -I had been carried away by Harry Thaw against my will. I started to -interrupt, but the lawyer put up his hands and stopped me. - -“They put in that I had been taken away from my mother and a lot of -stuff that was not true--that - -[Illustration: JUSTICE FITZGERALD - -Judge in charge of trial.] - -I had been treated badly by Mr. Thaw. Then they sent the man out of the -room. - -“Several days later Mr. Hummel called me up and asked if I had any -letters from Mr. Thaw. - -“I said I did, but I could not see what that had to do with it. Mr. -White also called up and said if I was not willing to help in every way -they could not protect me from Mr. Thaw. He said I must do just what Mr. -Hummel said. So I made the letters up in a bundle and took them down to -Mr. Hummel’s office. He said he did not want to read them, and did not -care what they contained. He asked, however, if they were love letters, -and I said ‘yes.’ - -“He said he just wanted to hold them over Harry K. Thaw’s head. He -sealed them up in a big envelope so I could see, he said, that he did -not care anything about them. - -“Then he asked me why I did not sue Harry Thaw for breach of promise. I -said that was absurd, for if there had been any breach of promise it was -on my part. He said that did not matter. - -“Mr. Hummel said a breach of promise suit would be a fine advertisement -for me. I told him I did not care for that kind of advertising. He said -lots of actresses had done the same thing and he had won lots of cases -for them. He told me an English duke had once been sued by an actress -for breach of promise. He declared he could easily win a suit for me. I -said I did not want to sue anybody. - -“This made Mr. Hummel very mad and angry and he told me I was foolish.” - -“What more did you tell Mr. Thaw?” suggested Mr. Delmas, to give the -girl witness a breathing spell. - -“Mr. Thaw asked me if I had signed anything in Mr. Hummel’s office and I -said I had not. He said that was funny, for if they wanted to cause -trouble I must have signed something. I said I had signed absolutely -nothing in Mr. Hummel’s office. - -“Mr. Thaw was very much agitated. He said Hummel was a blackmailer and -he said, I think, that there was something bad in the air and he -impressed me that he was going to see Mr. Longfellow, his lawyer.” - -Mrs. Thaw testified to going to her own lawyer and relating her -experiences with Hummel. Her lawyer, she said, was greatly incensed at -what she told him of her experiences in Hummel’s office. Mrs. Thaw said: - -“My lawyer, too, told me that Hummel was a shyster.” A laugh went around -the room. Hummel was at this time under conviction in a divorce scandal. -Mrs. Thaw continued: - -“Mr. Thaw told me that I had no business to speak again with Stanford -White. He accused me of having been imprudent with Mr. White since I -came back from Europe, and I said that it was a lie. He said it would -look to people as if I was a blackmailer by going to Hummel’s office.” - -“Did you tell of another incident?” - -“Yes, I told him of one day when White came to the hotel Navarre and he -was terribly mad, and walked up and down the room with a camp chair in -his hand. ‘My child,’ he said, ‘what did you tell Mr. Hummel about me?’ -I said I had not said anything, and then Mr. White said I must have told -Hummel, because Hummel had just squeezed $1,000 out of him and he was -not going to send another $1,000.” - -The witness, continuing, said that she did not know what she had signed -when she signed the paper at the request of Mr. White in his office in -Madison Square garden. - -“I called Mr. White up on the telephone after I had talked to Mr. Thaw, -and I demanded of Mr. White that he put the paper in the fire. He said -he did not have it--but that it was in Mr. Hummel’s office. I said: -‘Very well,’ and told him I was going down to Mr. Hummel’s office -immediately. He told me to not talk about the matter over the telephone, -and I said I did not care who heard me. Then White said he would meet me -on the corner and I met him. - -“When I met him we went down to Mr. Hummel’s office. He showed me the -paper and showed me my signature and asked if it was mine, and I said it -was. Then they put the paper in a big jardiniere and burned it. -Afterward I told Mr. Thaw all about it and also saw Mr. Longfellow and -told him. - -“How did Mr. Thaw treat you from that time until he proposed marriage?” - -“He treated me very nicely; carried me up and down stairs when I was -sick and brought me flowers and took me carriage riding.” - -After her marriage to Mr. Thaw the witness said they took a trip through -the west. While in Pittsburg, she said, she had lived at the home of her -husband’s mother. She related how she had persistently refused to marry -Thaw before she finally did so. - -“What reason did you give him for not marrying him?” - -“It was because of my reputation. I did not want to separate him from -his family. I knew it would be a good thing for me to marry him, but it -would not be for him. It was because I loved him that I would not marry. -If I did not love him so much I might have been anxious to marry him.” - -Mr. Delmas got the witness to relate how she met some of the Thaw family -in Europe. - -“There was something happened which led you to change your mind in -regard to marrying Thaw?” asked Mr. Delmas. - -“Yes,” answered the young woman. - -“You were given to believe that his family would receive you as his -wife?” - -“Yes.” - -“Did you meet Mrs. Thaw, his mother, in New York.” - -“I did.” - -“After your marriage did you visit New York from Pittsburg?” - -“We did.” - -“Did you tell your husband of the efforts of Stanford White to renew -your friendship?” - -“I did.” - -“What was the first occurrence you told your husband about?” - -“Once when I was driving on Fifth avenue, when I passed Mr. White and he -called out to me, ‘Evelyn.’” - -“Did you tell your husband?” - -“I did, and he said it was not right for me to see him and made me -promise that if I ever met White again I would tell him about it.” - -“Did you tell him?” - -“I did.” - -“When did you see Mr. White again?” - -“It was on Fifth avenue one day when I was riding to Dr. Delavan to have -my throat treated. I was in a hansom and Mr. White was also riding in a -hansom, too. - -“When I got home I told Mr. Thaw that at about Thirty-fourth street I -had passed Mr. White, both of us in hansoms. He did not attempt to speak -to me, but stared hard at me. I looked away. When I got down to the -doctor’s office I found Stanford White in his hansom coming there. I ran -up the steps, but I was excited and nervous and I told the door porter -that I would come some other time, so I ran back down the stairs, jumped -into my hansom, looked neither to the right nor to the left, and told -the driver to go back to the Lorraine as quickly as ever he could.” - -“How did Mr. Thaw act when you told him of this?” - -“Oh, he was always very excited whenever I told him of my meetings with -White. He bit his nails and looked excited.” - -“Did you ever tell Mr. Thaw how you came to be sent to school at -Pompton, N. J., and if so, relate it to the jury, and also wherein the -name of Jack Barrymore entered into the discussion, and tell what your -relations to Barrymore were.” - -“I met Mr. Barrymore when I was with the ‘Wild Rose’ company at the -Knickerbocker theater. Mr. White gave a dinner to a whole lot of -friends. I was asked to attend and I went there and met his friends at -the party. Mr. Barrymore was there.” - -Mrs. Thaw privately mentioned the names of the members of the party to -Mr. Jerome. She said that when she told White of “Jack” Barrymore’s -proposal he became very angry and said he would send her away to school -to New Jersey. She continued to detail her relations with Barrymore, and -her being sent to school. - -“It all came about through a quarrel between Mr. White, my mother and -myself over Mr. Barrymore, continued the witness. One afternoon in -Madison Square garden Mr. Barrymore said to me, ‘Evelyn, will you marry -me?’” - -Mrs. Thaw pronounced the name with a long “e.” - -“I answered him, and said, ‘I don’t know,’” she went on. - -“White asked me if I would marry Barrymore and said, ‘If kids like you -get married, what would you have to live on?’ - -“Every day after that when I would meet my mother she would ask me if I -intended ‘to marry that little pup Barrymore,’ saying Mr. White was -afraid I would. - -“Mr. White then came to see me and said I would be very foolish to marry -Mr. Barrymore: we would have nothing to live on, would probably quarrel -and get a divorce. He also said Mr. Barrymore was a little bit crazy, -that his father was in an asylum, and he thought the whole family was -touched. He was certain Mr. Barrymore would be crazy in a few years, and -for that reason said I ought not to marry him. - -“Mr. Barrymore asked me a second time if I would marry him, and again I -said, ‘I don’t know,’ and laughed. The upshot of the whole matter was -that Mr. White came and said I ought to be sent to school, and I was.” - -Mr. Delmas had asked Mrs. Thaw if Thaw had told her the fate of other -girls ‘at the hands of this man White?’ - -Mr. Jerome objected to further “defamation being thrown on the dead, who -have no chance to answer. The state is not permitted to controvert the -truth of a single statement in this testimony,” he added. “Stanford -White is dead, and I object to this question, which is along a path -which we can not follow.” - -Mr. Delmas said he had no desire to besmirch the name of the dead. He -was introducing letters by Thaw to corroborate the question. - -Justice Fitzgerald said he thought further competent evidence as to -Thaw’s insanity should be introduced before further testimony along the -day’s line was taken. - -“We are ready to submit the proof,” said Mr. Delmas. - -The line of examination was changed and Mrs. Thaw was asked to identify -more letters. - -One of the papers Mrs. Thaw was asked to identify was Harry Thaw’s will. - -The old saying, “Nothing but good of the dead,” must have recurred again -and again to Mr. Jerome as the slender Evelyn told her story. It is a -good old saying, but there is another: “The dead are safe--let us take -care of the living.” Jerome strove to protect the cold and unresponsive -dead. Delmas tried to save the living, and the fragile little model was -the life-line in his hands. Evelyn Nesbit’s story, as she told it, -showed new and curious lights and shadows in the character of White. One -thing was - -[Illustration: - -Best photograph of -DIST. ATTORNEY WILLIAM TRAVERS JEROME. -] - -evident: White, once possessor of a victim, wished to cling to that -victim through the years. Unlike nearly all other men of similar stamp, -he did not cast aside his playthings when wearied of them. Possibly he -had been like other men in this regard--possibly he had turned from many -another victim in the past. But the frail and pitiful little Evelyn -seemed to have enthralled his fancies, conquered his vagrant passions. -All his thoughts were for her, and for her his future dreams. He -lavished his bounty on her, and he strove to keep her from all other -men. The story of Evelyn’s affair with Jack Barrymore was a page in real -life that made the courtroom crowd strain its eager ears. Barrymore, -young, handsome, and romantic, had appealed to the girlish mind and eye. -The burly White, with his 50 years, found himself fading into the -background. He seized an opportunity to pose as “the friend of the -family” by discrediting Barrymore and sending the little girl to school. -It was an index to White’s soul--but it showed that White, at least, had -no idea of parting from or wearying of his victim. - -What had Delmas done? - -He made the jurors regard Stanford White as a fiend whose slaying was a -noble deed. - -He made the jurors thrill with sympathy for the fragile, pale-faced -little Evelyn. - -He showed cause enough ten times over for the dethronement of reason in -the brain of Harry Thaw. - -What more could any lawyer do? - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -White on Verge of Arrest When Shot. - - REV. ANTHONY COMSTOCK, THE FAMOUS REFORMER, TOLD HOW HARRY THAW HAD - HIRED HIM TO GATHER EVIDENCE AGAINST ARCHITECT--PROOF OF ORGIES IN - MIRRORED DEN FOUND BY DETECTIVES--HARRY WANTED TO PREVENT THE MAN - FROM SEIZING IN HIS CLUTCHES OTHER YOUNG AND INNOCENT GIRLS LIKE - EVELYN NESBIT--CASE OF CHILD ONLY 15 YEARS OLD LIKE MRS. - THAW’S--HUSBAND MADE DESPERATE--ATTORNEY DELMAS TELLS HOW EVELYN’S - STORY SHOCKED HIM--GREATER DISCLOSURES AHEAD. - - -Another blow to the prosecution, almost as great as that dealt by Evelyn -in her testimony, came when Jerome learned that Thaw held in reserve the -startling story of Stanford White’s entire past, and was ready to -produce it at any moment. Anthony Comstock, famous head of the Society -for the Prevention of Crime, had the documents. Mr. Comstock prepared a -statement for the defense, part of which is substantially as follows: - -“I know that much of what Mrs. Harry Thaw has stated on the witness -stand is true. I know that Stanford White’s den in the tower of Madison -Square garden was arranged as she described it, and that it was the -scene of revelries. I know of at least one specific instance. And what -I know I learned after I had been given the first clews by Harry Kendall -Thaw himself. - -“My first knowledge of this case dates from the summer of 1905--about a -year before the killing, I should say. One afternoon a tall, -well-dressed, well-bred young man came to me in my office in the Temple -Bar building. He seemed to be laboring under excitement, and it was -evident that he was desperately in earnest. He opened the conversation -by asking me if I were interested in the suppression of vice. Then he -wanted to know if my society gave special attention to the arrest and -punishment of men who preyed upon young girls. I told him that we did. -He jumped up abruptly, said he would see me again, and left without -telling me his name. At the door he stopped long enough to say he would -see me again. - -“A few days later he came back, still laboring under strong emotion. He -then introduced himself. As nearly as I can recall he said: - -“‘I am Harry Kendall Thaw of Pittsburg. I want to tell you of a man who -has betrayed more young girls than any other man in New York. He is -particularly given to pursuing the young girls of the stage. It is a -debt which society owes to itself to halt him now, before he brings -shame and sorrow to any more victims.’ - -“That in effect was his statement,” continued Mr. Comstock, “although -of course I asked him a great deal more of the matter. He left after -securing my promise to investigate. He agreed to pay the cost of looking -into the case. He at once mailed me a check of sufficient size to defray -the necessary expenses, and subsequently wrote me several times upon the -subject of White, asking each time what progress we were making. - -“Our investigation confirmed to a great degree what Thaw had told me. -Our detectives were astounded at what they discovered. We worked hard -and I learned a great deal, but of all cases these are the hardest to -prove under the rules of evidence, and before risking an arrest I -determined to catch White. - -“I learned that his rooms in the tower were as Mrs. Evelyn Thaw had -described them in the trial. Two of our detectives endeavored to hire -rooms in the same tower in order to watch his goings and comings. The -deal was almost completed when one of the detectives made a bungle. -Something which he said or did gave the alarm to the janitor, and, -although we were on the waiting list for a long time, and although -several times apartments in the tower were vacant, we were never able to -secure a suite or a single room. - -“We were still vainly trying to arrange a trap for White from which -there would be no escape when he dismantled his room in the tower. - -“I learned positively of one case of White’s conduct to a girl only 15 -years old almost identically as Mrs. Evelyn Thaw describes her own case, -but the girl was in the chorus of a road company, and we could not reach -her and make a witness of her. We got evidence of other things--things -that convince me that what Harry Thaw’s wife now swears is true. I -believe in her story and base that belief upon what I know of the man. - -“The last time I saw Harry Thaw was only two or three weeks before he -shot White. He appeared to be in a desperate state--like a man who is -well-nigh frantic. He said to me wildly: ‘You must keep on, you must -stop this man, he must be stopped now--at once.” - -The defense, on the same day that it secured the Rev. Mr. Comstock’s -statement, made another sensational discovery. It obtained proof that -the day after the shooting of White, the police searched the studio of -White and discovered evidence that showed that Evelyn Nesbit was not the -only young girl who had been lured into the Madison Square Garden -mirrored-room within a few months. - -In the room “with mirrors to left and to right, in the ceiling and on -the floor,” in securely locked drawers built into the walls, the police -found this evidence. That such a den of vice could have existed in the -very heart of the great metropolis seems well nigh incredible. That -such practices could have been known by men of social standing, and -without protest, is past belief. - -Speaking after this discovery, Attorney Delmas was confident of the -acquittal of Thaw. - -“Before we put Evelyn on the stand,” he said, “I heard her story but -once. There was no rehearsal no attempt at dramatic play.” - -“The story as she told it in court was not half as dramatic as it was -when she told it to me during our preparation of the case. - -“Only once in my life have I been so touched with emotion as I was when -Evelyn Nesbit first told me her story. That was at the burial of my -father. - -“As I sat there as a lawyer listening to the girl narrating the story of -what she had suffered at the hands of Stanford White, the tears welled -into my eyes and I fairly sobbed. - -“She told me then that when she awoke and found Stanford White was alone -with her in that mirrored bedroom he seemed to her like a big gorilla. - -“His hair was disheveled, and the look in his face was like an animal. -‘I screamed with terror,’ she told me. She added many details, which, if -she had told the jury, there would have been no need on her part to -produce further evidence--as we had not rehearsed our part, I depended -simply on her memory as to facts. The presence of the crowded courtroom -disconcerted her to the extent that she omitted some of the most -revolting features of that fatal night.” - -[Illustration: EVELYN NESBIT, AS “THE SUNBONNET CHILD” - -Picture taken just before she met Stanford White.] - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -Harry Thaw’s Startling Will Disclosed Fear of Assassination. - - DOCUMENT, INTRODUCED IN EVIDENCE AFTER A BITTER LEGAL FIGHT, - PROVIDED $50,000 OR MORE AS A FUND FOR THE HUNTING DOWN AND - PUNISHMENT OF ANY PERSON WHO MIGHT ASSASSINATE HIM--$75,000 LEFT TO - CARE FOR YOUNG GIRLS WHO WERE RUINED BY A BAND OF DISSOLUTE - MILLIONAIRES LIKE WHITE--MONEY FOR MRS. HOLMAN, WIFE’S MOTHER, AND - FOR HOWARD NESBIT--DOCUMENT ALLEGED TO PROVE THE SLAYER - INSANE--YOUNG MILLIONAIRE THOUGHT OF NOTHING BUT WIFE’S WRONGS--PUT - DETECTIVES ON WHITE’S TRACK. - - -The day Evelyn Nesbit Thaw resumed the stand was a pitiful one -for her husband. Harry Thaw was celebrating his thirty-sixth -birthday--celebrating it in a prison cell, with the memory of his wife’s -shame, told on the stand, rankling in his mind. - -“Be of good cheer,” were the only words Thaw heard addressed to him by -his wife that day, “everybody says you will be acquitted on the first -ballot.” - -Mrs. Thaw was accompanied in court by her chorus girl friend and chum, -May McKenzie, and by another close friend, Mrs. J. J. Caine of Boston. -Mrs. Thaw heard Dr. Britton D. Evans, a noted alienist, testify - -[Illustration: EVELYN NESBIT - -At age of twelve years.] - -that he had made three separate examinations of her husband shortly -after the murder, and on each occasion found him insane. He swore: - -“Thaw exhibited delusions of a personal character, an exaggerated ego, -and, along with them delusions of a persecutory character. He thought -himself of exaggerated importance and believed himself persecuted by a -number of persons.” - -By an “exaggerated ego,” Dr. Evans said he meant “a disproportionate -idea of importance of self, a belief that one is clothed with powers, -capacity and ability far above normal or above those actually -possessed.” - -These symptoms, he said, were characteristic of several mental diseases. - -One of the mental diseases indicated by Thaw’s actions, Dr. Evans -declared, is known as adolescent insanity. It is characteristic of the -development period of life--from 10 to 40 years. The person thus -afflicted is known as having a psychopathic taint, a predisposition to -mental unsoundness, the result of heredity. - -The death of the wife of Joseph B. Bolton, who succumbed to pneumonia, -delayed the trial for three days after Dr. Wagner’s testimony, and for a -time, grave fears that a new trial would be necessary, were expressed. -The day after the funeral, however, the juror resumed his duties. Up to -this point the defense had expended $1,000,000 on the trial, and the -state had paid out $250,000. If Juror Bolton had been incapacitated by -his wife’s death, all this expense would have been useless. - -When the failure of the trial was feared, Mrs. Thaw sought to cheer her -husband. Perhaps her woman’s wit had warned her that she must look her -prettiest, for on her visit to the Tombs prison she wore for the first -time a new and modish little brown frock, its coat set off with jaunty -silk fixings. She was radiant and smiling as she jumped out of her cab -and ran up the steps to the iron gates of the Tombs. - -As she waited to be taken to her husband, a jail guard showed her a -message which had come in the mail for her husband. It was a postal -card, a picture of a bunch of violets, bearing in a childish hand this -inscription: - -“Dear Mr. Thaw: I am a little Baltimore girl. I send you this as a token -of my sympathy. Yours, - - “LULU BELL.” - -The wife’s face dimpled with pleasure. “Isn’t that sweet?” she said. “I -know Harry will appreciate it.” - -Dr. Charles Wagner, the alienist, who took the stand when the trial was -resumed, declared there could be not the slightest doubt that Thaw was -insane at the time of the shooting, and told the jury that Harry had -declared a “sudden impulse” made him slay White. - -“Mr. Thaw said in his conversation with me,” asserted the witness, “that -he had no idea of killing White up to the very time he shot him. Thaw -said his sole purpose had been to get evidence against White to send him -to the penitentiary for his offenses against young women. - -“White, declared Thaw, made a practice of his sins against girls, to -pick out young women who had a disposition toward morality rather than -toward girls with an inclination toward immorality. - -“Thaw told me,” said Dr. Wagner, “that White did not hesitate to use -drugs or employ physical force to accomplish his evil purposes.” - -Mr. Jerome protested at “thus attacking the name of the dead,” but in -vain, and the doctor resumed: - -“Thaw constantly referred to White as ‘this man, this creature, the -beast, the blackguard,’ and said the man had sought to pollute every -pure minded woman who came within the sphere of his observation. - -“‘I tried to save them,’ Mr. Thaw said to us, and added, ‘I did all in -my power, I never wanted to shoot the creature. I never wanted to kill -him. I knew he was a foul creature, destroying all the mothers and -daughters in America, but I wanted through legal means to bring him to -trial. I wanted to get him into court so he would be brought to -justice.’ - -“I then asked him why under such circumstances he had shot Mr. White. - -“‘Providence took charge of it,’ he replied. ‘This was an act of -Providence. For my part I would rather have had him suffer in court the -humiliation the revelation of his acts would have caused.’” - -“Did he tell you what he had done, if anything, to bring White into -court?” asked Mr. Delmas. - -“He said he had gone to see Anthony Comstock, District Attorney Jerome -and a private detective agency. He said Mr. Jerome had told him he had -better let the matter drop; that there was nothing to it. The detectives -told him they would take the matter up, but they had not submitted a -proper report. As to Mr. Comstock, he said, he discovered that Delancey -Nicoll, an attorney, was acting as legal adviser both to White and to -Comstock. He regarded this as another link in the conspiracy against -him. - -“I asked him why he carried a pistol, and he said that Roger O’Mara, a -Pittsburg detective, had advised him to do so after he had told O’Mara -that on several occasions thugs had jostled him in an attempt to get him -into a street brawl. He said these thugs were the hired agents of -Stanford White, who did not want to take the responsibility and danger -of making a personal attack. He said White had hired the Monk Eastman -gang to get him into a quarrel and beat or kick him to death.” - -After these astounding statements, to which the jury listened eagerly, -the bailiff cried: - -“Mrs. Evelyn Nesbit Thaw to the Stand!” - -A thrill ran round the court. - -[Illustration: MAY McKENZIE - -Beautiful actress friend of Evelyn Nesbit Thaw.] - -Mrs. Thaw looked pale and serious as she took her place on the stand. -She appeared in the same simple girlish costume that she had worn every -day since the trial began. She smiled slightly as she caught her -husband’s eye. Thaw returned the smile, and then turned to Attorney -O’Reilly, with whom he talked for a minute excitedly. Then he kept his -eyes fixed on his wife’s face. - -After Mrs. Thaw had sat in the witness chair for nearly five minutes, -Mr. Delmas began his examination. - -“You have already testified, Mrs. Thaw, that you are familiar with the -handwriting of Stanford White,” said the attorney. “I now hand you a -paper and ask if from beginning to end it is in the handwriting of Mr. -White?” - -Mrs. Thaw gazed at the paper, evidently a letter, and said: - -“It is his handwriting.” - -Letter by letter, Mrs. Thaw identified forty-two missives written by the -architect. - -As the examination of the letters was concluded Mr. Delmas turned to the -witness. - -“How long have you known May McKenzie?” - -“Since 1901.” - -“How long has Mr. Thaw known her?” - -“Since 1904.” - -“Did you in May, 1906, relate to Mr. Thaw a conversation you had with -May McKenzie especially with reference to what she said to you -regarding Stanford White?” - -“May McKenzie told me,” said Mrs. Thaw, “Stanford White had been to see -her and that she had told him that Harry and I were getting along finely -together. She said she thought it was so nice the way we loved each -other. - -“She said Stanford White had remarked: ‘Pooh, it won’t last. I will get -her back.’” - -“Did Mr. Thaw say anything when you told him this?” - -“He said he had already heard it from Miss McKenzie.” - -“What was his condition when you told him?” - -“The way he always was when on the subject of Stanford White.” - -“How was that?” - -“Very excited and nervous.” - -“You had a second operation in 1905, did you not?” - -“Yes.” - -“Who made the arrangements for it and paid the cost?” - -“Harry K. Thaw.” - -“How much was the bill?” - -“In all about $3,000. The operation itself was $1,000.” - -The nature of the operation was not gone into. - -“Did Mr. Thaw have any conversation with the attending physician at -that time regarding your previous relations with White?” - -“No, sir; not in my presence.” - -“Did Mr. Thaw at the time of your marriage and subsequent thereto talk -very much about the incident in your life connected with White?” - -“Yes. He always talked about it. He would waken me often at night, -sobbing. And then he would constantly ask me questions about the details -of this terrible thing.” - -“Did you visit May McKenzie at her apartments in 1904?” - -“Yes; she was ill and sent me a letter to come to see her.” - -“While you were there did Stanford White come in?” - -“Yes.” - -“Did you tell Mr. Thaw of anything that then occurred?” - -“Yes. Stanford White spoke to me several times and I always answered -‘yes’ or ‘no.’ He then came over and started to straighten a bow on my -hair. My hair was short, having been cut off at the time of my first -operation. Then Stanford White tried to put his arms around me, and -wanted me to sit beside him on the bed. I told him to let me alone.” - -Mrs. Thaw said that Harry Thaw always attributed her ill health, the -necessity of the second operation, etc., to White. She also testified -that Thaw had told her he was going to take up White’s affairs with -Anthony Comstock. - -“I told him it would do no good,” she added: “that White had many -influential friends and that he could stop it. I told him that lots of -people would not believe the things about White on account of his -personality.” - -Harry had begun to weep when his wife told of the operations, and -continued to sob bitterly. - -“Did you and Mr. Thaw discuss the fate of other young women at the hands -of Stanford White and did you tell him certain names?” - -Mr. Jerome objected. - -Mr. Delmas put another question: - -“Did you and Mr. Thaw discuss the fate of the ‘pie girl?’” - -“Yes, sir. It was in Paris in 1903. He asked me what other girls I knew -of who had suffered at the hands of White. I told him I had heard of the -‘pie girl,’ whose name was known to both of us. A girl at the theater -had told me about it and that night when White came to my dressing-room -I asked him about it. He asked me where I had heard the story. I told -him a girl had told me. Then he told me all about it. - -“There was a stag dinner, he said, and the girl was put in a big pie -with a lot of birds. She was very young--about 15 years, I think he -said. He also told me that the girl had a beautiful figure and wore -only a gauze dress. He helped put her in the pie and fix it, and said -it was the best stunt he ever saw at a dinner. When the girl jumped out -of the pie the birds flew all about the room. - -“‘But I came near getting into trouble about it,’ he said. ‘We put gold -pieces in the girl’s shoes and in her dress and a lot of people heard of -it. All the newspapers got hold of it. I stopped it at all the -newspapers but one, but I could not stop it there. I got a friend to go -see them, though, and we finally got them to stop it, too. We kept it -out of the papers, but it was close.’” - -“I told Mr. White I had heard he ruined the girl that night, but he only -laughed.” - -The names of other girls ruined by White were whispered by Mrs. Thaw to -Jerome, but not made public. - -“When did Mr. Thaw next talk to you about such cases?” asked Delmas. - -“The next time was in Pittsburg, when we were married. He told me that -the girl was dead. He said he had investigated the story and that it was -true; that afterward the girl married, but her husband heard the story -of her connection with Mr. White and that he cast her off and she died -in great poverty and disgrace.” - -“Did you and Mr. Thaw often speak of these girls?” - -“Yes, there was a constant conversation. I could not possibly tell you -every place and every time we discussed it. He told me something ought -to be done about the girls. I told him I could not do anything. He then -said I could help him. I tried to get his mind on other things and then -he would say I was trying to get out of it. He said White ought to be in -the penitentiary; that he got worse and worse all the time and something -had to be done.” - -This closed the direct examination, and Mr. Delmas then read a letter -from Harry Thaw to Anthony Comstock, the foe of vice in New York. In it -Thaw described the studio in the Madison Square tower, and said it was -filled with obscene pictures, and should be raided. He also described -the studio at 22 West Twenty-fourth street, which he said was -“consecrated to debauchery” and was used by “a gang of rich criminals.” -He described the studio and said in it there were many indecent -pictures. - -In this building, the letter said, were the famous red velvet swing and -the mirrored bedroom. He inclosed a sketch of the arrangements of the -rooms. “Workmen on the outside of the building,” says the letter, “have -frequently heard the screams of young girls from this building.” - -The letter continued that the place was run by “rich criminals,” but was -frequently visited by young men who did not know its character. The -letter said that the place had been partly dismantled three years ago. - -The letter called attention to still another house, saying: - -“You may also abolish another place at 122 East Twenty-second street--a -house used secretly by three or four of the same scoundrels. - -Mr. Delmas then asked permission to recall Mrs. Thaw for one more -question--a startling one. Mrs. Thaw blushed violently and said in reply -that White was a monster given to such practices that they would not -bear repetition. - -Evelyn Thaw, when first she told her story of alleged wrongs at the hand -of the dead architect, did not falter in details as to the approximate -time and circumstances. - -“Counsel for the defense,” said the attorney, in speaking of the -progress, “are greatly pleased with Mrs. Thaw and her testimony. What -pleases us most is that she followed the instructions given her, which -were that she should tell the truth, no matter what question was asked -her. We told her she was not to consider the effect upon herself or the -defendant, but to tell the truth bluntly and without consideration of -the consequences.” - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -The Hidden Witness to the Proposal. - - MRS. CAINE TELLS HOW HARRY THAW OFFERED EVELYN’S MOTHER A VAST - AMOUNT OF CASH FOR HER HAND--EVELYN RECALLED TO THE STAND--TELLS OF - POSING IN STUDIOS--ANOTHER DAY OF TORTURE--THE VISIT TO THE “DEAD - RAT”--MRS. THAW IN TEARS--HUSBAND WEEPS WHEN SHE IS FORCED TO TELL - HOW SHE WAS FOUND BY A VISITOR TO WHITE’S STUDIO--ADMITS SHE - VISITED HIM OFTEN AFTER THE “MIRRORED STUDIO” INCIDENT--ALMOST - FAINTS ON STAND--HUSBAND IN TEARS--EVELYN IN DELIRIUM AFTER THE - ORDEAL. - - -The next sensation in the trial came when Mrs. J. J. Caine, of Boston, a -close friend of Evelyn Nesbit and her mother. Mrs. Holman, testified -that Harry Thaw pleaded with Evelyn’s mother for her hand in marriage. -The scene which she dramatically described, occurred in New York, in -1903. Mrs. Holman was entertaining Mrs. Caine in her apartments at the -time and when the young millionaire called, Mrs. Caine concealed herself -in a bathroom where she overheard all that took place. - -Mrs. Caine testified as follows: - -“Harry Thaw entered the room excitedly and at once told Mrs. Holman that -he wanted to marry Evelyn. He told the mother of his desire to send the -girl to Europe and said if she would marry him he would settle enough on -the mother and her son, Howard Nesbit, to keep them in comfort during -their entire lives. (Later testimony indicated this amount was -$200,000.) - -Evelyn’s mother said she would try to fix it so the seventeen-year-old -girl would accept him. Mr. Thaw did not stay long, and when he left, -Evelyn’s mother said, “Now you see his intentions are honorable.” - -Thaw had never before known his conversation was overheard by an -eavesdropper who would stand him in such good stead. - -After Mrs. Caine left the stand Mrs. Evelyn Thaw was recalled for cross -examination. For hours she sat before the merciless Jerome under a -scathing cross fire of questions. Traps were laid and sprung, queries -were hurled in volleys to carry her off her feet and overwhelm her in a -tangle of contradictions, but all in vain; the mere slip of a girl met -the skilled prosecutor with a calm and effective resistance. - -Jerome’s first step was to try to prove that Evelyn had posed in the -nude. He first showed her a photograph of herself taken in 1904. It -showed Evelyn in a kimono--the famous one given her by Stanford White. -There was nothing offensive in the pose as disclosed by a view of the -picture. - -Mr. Jerome by his next few questions indicated that he did not intend to -spare the feelings of the young woman in any way. He interrogated her -sharply as to the details of her dress when she was posing for artists -in Philadelphia and New York, seeking to learn whether she posed in “the -altogether” or partially draped. The prosecutor persisted in certain -questions even after Mr. Delmas had objected, and insisted on having -definite answers, though Mrs. Thaw usually said she could not exactly -remember. - -“Was there any exposure of the person or did you wear the so-called -artistic draperies?” - -“I would not say that,” replied the witness. “I posed in a Greek dress -and a Turkish costume.” - -Jerome questioned her especially as to her posing in New York, asking -whether she had ever been photographed or painted with her person -exposed. She answered positively that she had never posed in such a -condition. - -“You are certain you never posed for a painting or photograph in such a -manner?” asked Jerome. - -“I never did--I always posed with clothes on.” She moved her hands from -her throat to her waist and said: “Do you mean without anything on here? -I have posed in low-neck, but never, never like that.” - -Then Mrs. Thaw told how she won her New York reputation as a model. She -sent a picture of herself, under the name of Florence Evelyn to a New -York magazine and soon was besieged by artists. Her mother aided her in -her search for work. - -[Illustration: Jerome cross-examining Evelyn Nesbit Thaw.] - -“Is it not true,” went on Mr. Jerome, reading from a paper, “that in the -spring of 1901, so far as your relations with your mother were -concerned, that you were getting unruly, that your mother still stuck by -you, that a married man -- --” - -At this point Mr. Delmas interposed an objection to Mr. Jerome reading -from what he termed a statement by Evelyn Thaw’s mother. - -“If the district attorney wants the mother’s testimony in he should -produce her on the stand,” he said. - -“I’d like to, but you know that it is impossible. You know where she -is,” said Mr. Jerome. - -The question regarding Evelyn becoming unruly was allowed to stand. - -“No,” she answered decidedly. - -“Is it not true that that married man was James A. Garland, and that he -was getting a divorce, and that you and your mother frequently quarreled -about him?” - -“No, indeed.” Mrs. Thaw drew herself up indignantly and stamped her -foot. - -“Is it not true that you went alone with him on the yacht?” - -“Mamma and I, yes.” - -“Were you made a corespondent in Mr. Garland’s divorce suit?” - -Mr. Delmas objected. The record, he said, was the best evidence. - -The question of photographs was resumed. Jerome asked: - -“During this time did you ever pose for an artist in the nude?” - -“Never.” - -“Ever have any casts made in the nude?” - -“No.” - -“Did you not in the spring of 1901 have such a cast made?” - -“No.” - -“Do you know Mr. Wells, sculptor?” - -“No.” - -“Ever heard of him?” - -“Never.” - -“How long did you know Mr. Garland?” - -“Not long.” - -“When did your acquaintance with him cease?” - -“When I met Stanford White.” - -“Isn’t it true that Mr. Garland became very annoying when you lived at a -certain apartment house?” - -“No.” - -“Your recollection is clear that you posed in draperies the day before -the mirrored-room incident?” - -“Yes.” - -“Was there any exposure of the person?” - -“The photographs were low-necked.” - -The ivory cheeks of the fair witness suddenly flamed with color and a -look of mingled fear and - -[Illustration: District Attorney Jerome and Harry K. Thaw, photographed -in court.] - -anger crept into her big limpid eyes. She was about to break down when -the hearing for the day was ended. It was a spell of sorrow to her -husband and terror to the woman. - -Another day of torture was in store and it came with the morrow. Jerome -had prepared to make the ordeal terrific and under his pitiless lash -Evelyn fell like a stricken doe. Jerome read his questions from notes -carefully prepared, realizing it was useless to attempt to ensnare the -witness any other way. Although he brought tears to her eyes, and caused -her to wince again and again, she stuck to her story bravely. - -“Did you continue to believe all women were what Stanford White told you -until you talked with Thaw in Paris in 1903?” he thundered. - -“Yes, sir,” replied Mrs. Thaw meekly. - -Then Jerome proved that Mrs. Thaw had visited a place in Paris called -the Dead Rat in company with Harry Thaw. - -“Before the time you left Paris, had you any appreciation that such -things as you have described were considered as improper and positively -wrong?” - -“Not until my talk with Mr. Thaw.” - -“Before that you didn’t believe it wrong; you did not think it -improper?” - -“Oh, yes.” - -“Very wrong?” - -“Not particularly. I knew people said it was wrong.” - -“Did you think it very indelicate and vulgar?” - -“That is all.” - -“That it was only bad taste?” - -“Yes.” - -“But you didn’t think it was wrong?” - -“I didn’t fully realize it until I went to Paris.” - -“But you thought it was wrong?” - -“Yes.” - -“Did you belong to any religious organization?” - -“No.” - -“You went to church and Sunday school in Pittsburg?” - -“Not in Pittsburg.” - -“In Paris it was impressed on you that White had done you a terrible -wrong?” - -“In a way.” - -“Before you left Paris you had begun to look on such relations as very -wrong?” - -“Yes.” - -“Had you come to a full understanding of the infamous character of -White’s act?” - -“Yes--but not so much as I have now.” - -“Yet it was this that induced your renunciation of Thaw’s great love?” - -“Yes,” said Mrs. Thaw, as tears welled to her eyes. - -“Did you refuse Thaw solely because of the occurrence with White?” -asked Mr. Jerome of the witness. - -“Because I had been found out.” - -“Who told you you had been caught?” - -“Friends of Stanford White.” - -“So it was not because of the occurrence but because you had been found -out?” - -“It was both together. I had an instinct about it. When Mr. Thaw -proposed it was the first proposal I ever had and it all struck me very -seriously. It all came together.” - -“You felt the most heinous wrong had been done?” - -“I didn’t know anything about it at the time. All I remember is what I -felt like when I woke up. I remember that distinctly. I didn’t -understand what had taken place.” - -“It outraged every maidenly instinct in you, didn’t it?” - -“It did, and that is why I quarreled with Stanford White.” - -“You were very bitter against White when you told Thaw, weren’t you.” - -“Not then.” - -“When you felt you were giving up Thaw’s love you didn’t feel bitter -against White?” - -“Not intensely. Not until Mr. Thaw made me realize it.” - -“Did you continue to have a feeling of enmity against White?” continued -Jerome. - -“I wouldn’t say enmity--it was hostility against him for this one thing -and subsequent things.” - -“What subsequent things?” - -“The prosecutor caught up Mrs. Thaw’s own words?” - -“Things with Stanford White,” replied Mrs. Thaw. - -“Were they improper and indecent?” - -“I don’t know what you would call them.” - -Mrs. Thaw then testified that while she was in London, before her -marriage, her mother compelled her to write a friendly letter to White. - -“While abroad did you tell your mother of your experience with White?” - -“No.” - -“How did you know Stanford White’s friends knew of your relations with -Stanford White?” - -“One of them saw me with him at the East Twenty-second street studio.” - -“Was there any impropriety there?” - -“Yes.” - -“So you continued to maintain relations with Stanford White?” - -“Yes, for a time.” - -Thaw buried his face in his hands. Tears were in Mrs. Thaw’s eyes and -she broke into sobs. - -Mr. Jerome demanded the name of the man who had seen her at the studio. -He asked the witness to whisper it. - -Mr. Delmas wanted it publicly announced. A wordy conflict ensued, in -which Mr. Jerome threatened to have the courtroom cleared. Justice -Fitzgerald finally settled the matter, saying the name might be given to -counsel, the court, and the jury. - -“Did you tell Harry Thaw about these subsequent relations with Stanford -White?” - -“Yes.” - -“And you didn’t think to tell us on your direct examination?” - -“No.” - -“Can you fix dates as to these subsequent events?” - -“No.” - -“How did you know this man knew of your relations with White?” - -“He saw me one day with Mr. White in one of his studios.” - -“Were you and Mr. White alone?” - -“Yes.” - -“And this was about a month after the incident with drugs?” - -“Yes.” - -“How long did you continue to visit Mr. White?” - -“Not after January, 1902.” - -“How many visits did you make?” - -“I do not remember.” - -“Were they frequent?” - -“No.” - -“Ten times?” - -“I can’t remember.” - -“Where did these visits take place?” - -“At the Twenty-second and Twenty-fourth street studios and in the -Tower.” - -“And on these occasions were you two alone?” - -“Yes.” - -“Did you partake of refreshments there?” - -“Yes.” - -“Were you drugged again?” - -“No.” - -“Did you have too much wine?” - -“Yes.” - -“What time of the day did these incidents occur?” - -“Usually after the theater,” replied Mrs. Thaw, wiping the tears from -her eyes. - -As to the nature of the operation which was performed upon her while she -was at school in New Jersey the witness said she knew only what the -nurses and doctors told her, that it was for appendicitis. - -“Why did you not tell your mother all about your visits?” - -“I would rather have died than to tell her,” almost shrieked the girl. - -During this period the prosecution established the following facts -adverse to her: - -That this beautiful girl, in the critical character-forming time of her -life, was practically without religious instruction or training. - -That she was an associate of various men of evil reputation and mingled -with the gayest set of the intemperate circles of Bohemia. - -That she pursued a calling most dangerous to innocence and purity for -any girl. - -That she lived off the bounty of the man who she alleges committed a -shocking crime against her. - -That she held astounding and shameful ideas of morality. - -This was Mrs. Thaw’s worst day on the stand, when her tears flowed -almost constantly. When she was forced to tell of her experiences in -White’s infamous studio, she almost fainted. With head buried in his -hands, Thaw wept aloud. It was a pitiful scene. The husband was so far -overcome that he could not take his customary notes on the trial. - -Evelyn Thaw was delirious that night and fell in May McKenzie’s arms at -her hotel. - -Is it a wonder that Evelyn Thaw wished to flee from further notoriety -after Thaw shot Stanford White, according to a member of the Thaw -household? She is said to have made hasty preparations to sail for -Europe. When the Thaw lawyers learned of this, a council was called -immediately, and Evelyn was induced to stay, as rumor had it, by liberal -concessions of the Thaws. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -Lived on Bounty of Stanford White. - - EVELYN THAW FORCED INTO FURTHER REVELATIONS--PROVED THAT WHITE PAID - HER BILLS--ARCHITECT’S LETTERS AND RECEIPTS FOR MONEY PAID HER, - READ--THAW CALLED WHITE’S CASH “POISON”--AMERICAN OFFICIAL DRAGGED - INTO SCANDAL--JEROME PRODUCES EVELYN THAW’S DIARY AS A - SCHOOLGIRL--EVELYN’S PHILOSOPHY--DECLARES HERSELF VERY - “SUSCEPTIBLE”--ABE HUMMEL CALLED; LEAVES THE STAND WITH STORY - UNSHAKEN. - - -More crushing than all the ordeals hitherto experienced, Evelyn Thaw was -next compelled to admit the shameful fact that after her ruin she lived -on the bounty of her betrayer. Documentary evidence was introduced to -strengthen the hands of the merciless Jerome. A dozen times she took -refuge in the answer, “I don’t remember.” - -It was a bad day for the defense. The most sensational feature of the -session was the introduction of her diary which pictured her a -whimsical, strange little philosopher, even as a school girl. - -Jerome sprang his coup with startling suddenness. He handed Mrs. Thaw a -bundle of receipts representing money paid to her and her mother by -Stanford White, and demanded that the fair witness identify her own -signature on them. - -There were fourteen receipts in all. They were for various amounts -received from the Mercantile Trust company, where White had deposited a -sum of money for Evelyn and her mother. The amounts varied from $65 to -$110. The receipts were signed “Evelyn Florence Nesbit,” the mother and -daughter having the same name. - -A letter and envelope addressed to White’s private secretary by the -architect were next offered in evidence. The letter said: - -“Dear Hartnett: Please telephone Mrs. Nesbit to let you know whenever -Miss Evelyn decides to go on her vacation. Then send this note to the -Mercantile Trust company: ‘Please notify Miss Nesbit that on receiving -word she is about to start on her vacation you will send her the weekly -checks for $25 and an additional check for $200.’ Yours truly, - - “STANFORD WHITE.” - -Evelyn was then compelled to admit that for several months in 1902 she -lived at the exclusive Audubon apartments and that White paid the rent. -Then she told of her meeting with Thaw and of her trip to Europe with -him and of her recital to him of the story of her ruin, which, it was -contended, wrecked his mind. - -“When Harry learned I had a letter of credit from Stanford White, he -grew very much excited,” declared Mrs. Thaw. “He said the money was -filthy and poisonous and that I must never touch it again. He said he -would take it so I could not use it. He said that he would give me -anything I wanted, and that if mamma wanted anything she would only have -to ask for it. - -“When Mr. White gave me the letter of credit it was sealed up. I did not -know what it was, and he told me I must not open the letter until we -were well at sea. Whatever was used of the money was for my mother. Mr. -Thaw gave it to her after I had given it to him.” - -Thaw gave her $1,000 while she was in Paris. - -Jerome had in some mysterious and unexplained way secured possession of -a diary kept by Evelyn while she was at school at Pompton, N. J., in -1902. Rumor had it, that a handsome sum of money found its way to a -member of her family for filching the booklet. Extracts from the diary -were read to the fair witness, who admitted their authorship. - -Some of the remarkable excerpts were: - -“Mrs. De Mille (the head of the school) said to come right in and I -jumped with the agility of a soubrette and began to get shy. - -“I met Mrs. De Mille’s son, and I must admit that he was a pie-faced -mutt. - -“My room here is neither large nor small. There is a white, virtuous -bed. I took a nap, and the last thing I remember was, I wondered how far -I am from Rector’s. Rector’s is really not a proper place for an -innocent young person, but I always had a weakness for it.” - -“When one comes to think it over it is good to have lived. A girl who -has always been good and never had any scandal about her is fortunate in -more ways than one. On the other hand, not one of them will ever be -anything. By anything I mean just that. They will, perhaps, be good -wives and mothers, but whether it is ambition or foolish, I mean to be a -good actress first. - -“Of course, I can’t live here all the time. And I can’t forget all the -old people. They do not know what they are doing here, but give them a -chance to get away and see what they would do. If I stay here long I’ll -get just like the rest. I am very susceptible and I’ll soon be a -- --” - -“From the time you first became intimate with Thaw in 1903 until the -shooting of White, June 25, 1906, did you ever see anything in Thaw’s -condition that was irrational?” asked Mr. Jerome. - -“Yes.” - -Mrs. Thaw then detailed several instances. She said that one night while -on Broadway in a cab, she and Thaw saw White. Thaw became much excited. - -“I don’t know what you would call it,” she said, “but I would call it a -fit. He cried and sobbed, and bit his nails and talked rapidly.” - -“Did you ever see a man in an epileptic fit?” asked Mr. Jerome. - -“I’ve seen cats.” - -There was considerable laughter. - -Mrs. Thaw said her husband told her that White was circulating -scandalous stories about him and was plotting to have him killed. - -Abe Hummel, a once brilliant and respected lawyer in New York with a -large practice among theatrical people, was brought on the stand by the -prosecution prepared to swear that Mrs. Thaw had made an affidavit in -his presence that Harry had beat her in Paris. - -The evidence was not admitted. Jerome tried, however, to prove that she -had made the affidavit. Evelyn, who had left the courtroom, was -recalled. She came drying her eyes and showing signs of bitter -disappointment because she was not allowed to remain at her husband’s -side. - -“You’ve a brother, Howard Nesbit?” began Jerome. - -“Yes, sir.” - -“On your return from Europe in 1903, did you tell your brother Howard, -in substance, that while you were abroad you had been brutally abused by -Thaw to induce you to tell lies against Stanford White, and that these -lies were that he had drugged and mistreated you, which story you told -Howard Nesbit was false?” - -“I did not.” - -“Didn’t you tell your brother you were compelled at the point of a -revolver to make some such statement?” - -“I did not.” - -“Didn’t you tell Howard these facts in substance at some time?” - -“I--did--not!” - -Each time this answer was repeated with greater emphasis and a longer -pause between the three words. - -Evelyn was excused again. Jerome had been trying to prove her a -perjurer, but had failed. - -This ended Evelyn’s greatest ordeal on the witness stand. The slender -girl was free to rest after a strain that had taxed her vitality to the -utmost. Although she had suffered much in personal reputation, her -original story was unshaken. - -Dr. Evans, the alienist, was recalled for cross examination and remained -on the stand two days. He was given a terrific cross fire of questions. -Summed up Dr. Evans stated that he believed Thaw to have been suffering -from adolescent insanity in 1903 and at the time of his marriage, again -on April 4, 1905, and that when he killed Stanford White, June 25, 1906, -he was the victim of an acute and recurrent attack of the same mental -malady. - -Important as was his testimony, it was quite lost sight of by the public -in the keen interest surrounding Evelyn Thaw, and the spirit of -anticipation with which the appearance of Harry Thaw’s mother was -awaited. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -Thaw’s Mother on the Stand. - - AGED WOMAN WITH ALL HER WEALTH AND SOCIAL POSITION, A PATHETIC - FIGURE--BENT WITH GRIEF AND SHAKEN WITH SOBS--TELLS HOW SON WEPT - VIOLENTLY AT NIGHT--FIRST HEARD EVELYN NESBIT’S NAME ON - THANKSGIVING BEFORE MARRIAGE--HARRY CONFIDED TO MOTHER THAT GRIEF - WAS DUE TO EVELYN’S FATE--CALLED HER VICTIM OF - CIRCUMSTANCES--MOTHER APPROVED OF MARRIAGE ON CONDITION THAT MRS. - HOLMAN SHOULD NEVER ENTER HER HOUSE AND THAT EVELYN’S PAST SHOULD - NEVER BE REFERRED TO--DEFENSE ENDS ITS CASE. - - -Pathetic as was the trembling figure of Evelyn Nesbit Thaw on the -witness stand it paled into insignificance as compared with the -appearance of Mrs. William Thaw, the aged mother of the defendant, in -the role of a witness, contributing her share of humiliation to the -sacrifice for her son’s life. - -Bent with grief and shaken with sobs, the haughty widow of the -millionaire steel king appeared clothed from head to foot in black. For -the moment, pride of family and of wealth disappeared before the misery -of the ordeal she had to undergo. Momentarily, she would show a flash of -spirit, but it disappeared almost as quickly. Even the stern prosecutor -softened - -[Illustration: MRS. WILLIAM THAW - -Harry Thaw’s aged mother.] - -in manner before the sorrow of the aged woman. To attack her with the -same ferocity as the wife of the accused would have spelled ruin for -him. He read the handwriting on the wall and desisted. - -Altogether Mrs. Thaw did not make as good a witness as did Evelyn with -her wonderful composure and ready wit; but she impressed the jury and -all hearers forcibly nevertheless. She herself seemed disappointed when -her examination came to an end. Her disappointment centered about -refusal of counsel to permit her to deny that her son Harry suffered a -taint of insanity by heredity. She was placed on the stand immediately -after Dr. Charles D. Wagner, an alienist, had testified Harry Thaw was -incapable of viewing his action as wrong when he shot White. - -Mr. Delmas conducted the direct examination of Mrs. Thaw, which follows: - -“In what time of the fall of 1903 did your son, Harry K. Thaw, come to -your home in Pittsburg?” - -“In October. He came two days after my other son was married.” - -“During the time that Harry K. Thaw was at your home did you notice -anything peculiar in his conduct denoting a change?” - -“When he first entered the house his manner was such that it struck me -at the time.” - -“Will you describe his appearance?” - -“He seemed absent-minded and had a despairing look.” - -“Did this continue?” - -“Yes.” - -“What followed?” - -“This sort of thing happened several times at night. His room was next -to mine and he sobbed violently during the night.” - -It was at this point that the grief-stricken mother first gave way to -her overpowering emotion. Her face, which had been as gray as her hair -when she entered the courtroom, flushed red and tears stole down her -cheeks. - -She wiped away the tears with a black-bordered handkerchief and -continued her story in a hesitating manner. Her tones were so low that -several of the jurors could not hear her. - -“Had you proceeded to state that you had found your son as late as 3 or -4 in the morning awake and undressed?” - -“No; I said he was dressed.” - -“And you had proceeded to state what he said?” - -“He said that a man--probably the worst man in New York--had ruined his -life.” - -“Had you made any inquiry of your son as to what that man had done?” - -“He said the man had wrecked the life of a young girl.” - -“Did you learn more about that statement?” - -“Yes. I could not learn who the girl was who was associated with this -wicked man in New York.” - -“Did you learn her name from your son?” - -“Yes.” - -“Will you tell us just what he said?” - -“I learned more about it afterward.” - -“Was that all you learned up to Thanksgiving day?” - -Mrs. Thaw began crying again and restrained herself only after a great -effort. - -Some of the jurors complained that they had not been able to hear the -testimony. By direction of the court, the stenographer read aloud the -testimony of Mrs. Thaw. Her testimony was as follows, eliminating -questions: - -“In November, 1903, a few days before my second son was married, Harry -came there. It was the 18th of November. I noticed a change in his -conduct when he first entered the house. I had the habit of going to the -door, and when I saw him it struck me that he looked absent-minded, as -if he had lost interest in everything. The impression grew on me. - -“He appeared to be laboring with a problem. He went to the drawing room -and I heard the piano playing violently at first and then the tone grew -softer and softer. This happened after he would come back, and after a -while he would go to the drawing room and resume playing in the same -way, first wildly and then softer and softer. - -“But the most marked feature was his wakefulness at night. His room was -next to mine and I would hear him sobbing. I would see a light under -the door at three or four in the morning. I would go into his room and -find him sitting up crying. - -“I am not of a prying disposition, and I did not inquire into his -trouble at once. He finally told me one night what the trouble was. He -did not tell me definitely at first. He first said that it was something -a wicked man in New York had done that had ruined his life. That was as -much as I could get from him at first. He said the man was probably the -worst in New York. - -“On Thanksgiving I learned more. I did not ask the girl’s name. I -learned from him one night what the wicked man had done to the young -girl. I did not want to inquire any further. - -“I told him that sort of thing happened in New York constantly and I -asked, Why should that ruin your life? But he insisted it had. - -“I tried to influence him the other way, to show him that it was not his -place to look after the young girls. - -“He said the girl had the most beautiful mind of any woman he had ever -met and that if she had been under the influence of a good mother she -would have been the best woman that ever lived. I cannot recall the -entire conversation, but that is the substance of it. - -“I only know that on Thanksgiving Day that incident occurred. It was the -first Thanksgiving Day in our new church, and as it was very crowded. -Harry and I had to stand under the gallery. I was glad afterward that we -had to, as we heard the beautiful music. - -“I heard a sob and when we drove home I asked Harry, ‘Why did you forget -yourself in church?’ and he said it suddenly came over him--this -dreadful thing. ‘If that dreadful thing had not happened,’ he said, ‘she -could have been here with us.’” - -The reading ceased and Mrs. Thaw was questioned further by Mr. Delmas. - -“Did you have further conversations with him?” - -“I think that was the substance of what he said and what I noticed.” - -“After this conversation on Thanksgiving day, did you notice anything -about his wakefulness and disturbed condition?” - -“Nearly every morning I saw him up early. The same condition prevailed.” - -“Do you know whether Dr. Bingaman was in attendance a few afternoons -later?” - -“Yes; I remember it was a gloomy afternoon. It was the Saturday after -Thanksgiving, I believe. He did so so frequently that I do not recall -any single occasion.” - -“While he (Dr. Bingaman) was in your home did his reference to this -young girl become more frequent or less frequent?” - -“I am not sure. If anything it was more frequent.” - -“When did you learn who this young girl was?” - -“I cannot recall that. I have tried to. During the Spring of 1904, -before he went abroad, I am inclined to think I learned that.” - -“At that time can you recall what your son said about the young girl?” - -“I can not recall it.” - -District Attorney Jerome here appealed to the court to instruct the -witness to answer yes or no to this question. - -“You have stated that you think you learned who this young girl was -before your son went to Europe in 1904. Now, my question is, what did he -say?” - -Mrs. Thaw’s examination was interrupted at this time by a clash of -counsel over the purpose of the questions, District Attorney Jerome -insinuating that if it was to show Thaw mentally unbalanced he would ask -for a lunacy commission. The clash did much to disconcert the witness. -Finally her examination continued. - -“What did your son say to you?” - -“It was some time between Thanksgiving and when he went back to Europe -that he told me who the young girl was. I cannot recall the conversation -we had, but I think it was in March that he told me.” - -“What did your son tell you?” - -“He said she had gone with her mother to New York and she had met the -wicked man who had ruined her. I cannot recall all the conversation, but -know I learned her name. - -“Have you now stated all the conversation you had with your son between -the time he got home and the time he left for Europe?” - -“Yes: I have told all.” - -“Your son then reappeared in your home in the Fall of 1904?” - -“Yes.” - -“Did he speak to you then about his contemplated marriage to this young -girl?” - -“I remember expressing my disapproval about his coming over from the -other side with her, but he said there was nothing wrong: that she had -been the victim of circumstances.” - -“Will you state when he first manifested the intention of marrying that -young girl?” - -“In November, 1903, he told me he desired to marry her, but that he had -been frustrated at every move he made.” - -“You went South in 1904?” - -“In February. It may have been in 1905. I cannot remember dates.” - -“When you returned from the South you say your son was still intent on -marrying this girl?” - -“Yes; and I therefore came here to New York and saw her. This was about -a month before the wedding.” - -“You came to see her? And did you talk with your son about the wedding?” - -“Yes.” - -“Did you finally give your approval? Kindly state what conversation you -had with your son on the subject after your return to the hotel?” - -“He asked me whether I would be willing he should marry her and I said -he could marry her at my home. I said he could take her home--that I -liked the girl. I told Harry I had no one at home now and would take -this girl to my home and her past would be closed. I told him I would -never ask her about it nor permit it to be mentioned in my presence. I -did, however, make one condition. I told him I would not have her mother -in my house. So he made the arrangements and on April 2 came home to be -married.” - -“Now, after you had given your approval, they were married at your home -in Pittsburg?” - -“Yes.” - -“How soon did the marriage take place?” - -“Two days later.” - -“What seemed to be his condition just prior to the marriage?” - -“He seemed to be in a better condition, but somewhat depressed. He -seemed to fear that the mother of the girl would withhold her consent to -the marriage. He said he feared that at the very last her mother would -refuse her consent.” - -“What was the cause of this agitation on his wedding day?” - -“He felt that her mother would still try to interfere. He was busy -writing nearly all day.” - -“Did you know that a will and codicil was being executed that day?” - -“Yes.” - -“At what time of the day?” - -“At the early dinner.” - -“You say they left for the West that night?” - -“Yes.” - -“How did he appear when he came back?” - -“Their life was clear and placid. They were with me until October. I had -an opportunity and carefully watched them.” - -Mr. Jerome then took the witness in hand for cross examination. - -“Did your son learn to play the piano?” - -“Yes.” - -“At some time subsequent to the death of your husband--or, rather ... -I’ll put it this way--were you the executrix or trustee of your -husband’s estate?” - -Delmas objected. - -“I am trying to show that at a certain date the executors of the late -Mr. Thaw’s will increased the amount set aside for the defendant under -the will,” said Jerome. - -The question was changed as follows: - -“Did such an event take place?” - -“Yes.” - -“At what date?” - -“I cannot remember exactly.” - -“How did it come about?” - -Delmas objected. - -“I want to instruct the witness that the District Attorney can ask any -question he wants,” he said, “and that I can object to it if I want to, -and I ask you, Mrs. Thaw, not to answer until I have had a chance to -object.” - -“There was a time when your son, under his father’s will, was to receive -a certain amount of money unless the executors saw fit to increase it -and there was a subsequent time when the amount was increased by the -executors, when was that?” - -“If you will state it was after June, 1903, I will not object,” said -Delmas. - -“I will not allow the question unless you set the date subsequent to -June, 1903,” said Judge Fitzgerald. - -Jerome again put the question and was again overruled. - -“After the death of the defendant’s father was he in receipt of a -certain income from the estate of his father?” - -Delmas objected and was again sustained. - -“After June, 1903, what was the income of the defendant?” - -“It was from his own estate.” - -“What income did he receive before that?” - -[Illustration: CLIFFORD W. HARTRIDGE - -One of Thaw’s lawyers.] - -Delmas objected and was sustained; Jerome was beaten at every point. - -“When you spoke to him of his proposal of marriage, did he say he wanted -to shield the young girl from a wrong?” - -“Yes.” - -“Did he relate to you the occurrences in Europe? Did he tell you of his -desire to make Evelyn Nesbit his wife?” - -“He did.” - -“Did he express fear that he might not be married at that time?” - -“He said she had told him that it would make an unsuitable match and -that while he was very anxious to make the girl his wife she was not so -anxious because of this wrong.” - -“When they arrived from Europe did he come to your home in Pittsburg?” - -“Not directly, but during that month.” - -“So that up to the time of the marriage you had received no information -of his former relations with Evelyn Nesbit?” - -“No.” - -“I am through,” said Jerome. - -After the aged woman’s testimony had been concluded, Attorney Delmas -suddenly threw a bomb into the ranks of the prosecution by announcing in -a low voice the three words: - -“The defense rests!” - -[Illustration: PAULA DESMOND - -Actress figuring in the case.] - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -Scathing Denunciation By Jerome. - - DISTRICT ATTORNEY MAKES ATTACK ON LIFE OF HARRY THAW--ATTRIBUTES - WILD ORGIES TO THE DEFENDENT--THE ETHEL THOMAS TRAGEDY--ATTEMPT - MADE TO PROVE EVELYN THAW A PERJURER--NEW LIGHT ON THE CASE--ABE - HUMMEL ON THE STAND--JEROME TRIES TO PROVE EVELYN HAD SWORN THAT - WHITE NEVER WRONGED HER--CHARGES PLOT BY THAW TO PUT ARCHITECT IN - PENITENTIARY--FAMOUS ALIENISTS SWEAR THAW WAS SANE AT THE TIME OF - THE TRAGEDY--EVELYN ON THE STAND AGAIN. - - -With the testimony of Thaw’s aged mother fresh in their minds the jurors -heard District Attorney Jerome make a sensational attack on the past -life of Harry Thaw. Jerome insinuated that Thaw had in his wild youthful -days, indulged in wild orgies no less iniquitous than those of which -Stanford White had been accused, although differing in character. - -Attorney Frederick Longfellow, Thaw’s personal counsel, was a witness -from whom Jerome fought to draw this information. - -Longfellow was an unwilling witness and every answer had to be dragged -from him, Delmas interposing objections to the procedure throughout the -examination. - -“Did you represent this prisoner in the suit of Ethel Thomas against -Harry K. Thaw?” demanded Jerome. - -“My firm did,” Longfellow was allowed to answer. - -“It has been said that alleged acts of perversion by White added to the -fury of Thaw’s mental unbalance,” Jerome stated. “I want to show that he -knew all about such things--that they were set forth in the complaint in -this suit by Ethel Thomas, the papers of which were served on him. - -“I am not trying to show that Ethel’s statements were true. Anyway, this -poor girl now is dead--” - -A hot fight came here, and Jerome was forced to withdraw the words “poor -girl,” while the jury was cautioned to ignore what Jerome had said. - -“Mrs. Thaw herself,” Jerome fairly shouted, “says she was told the story -of Ethel Thomas!” - -Longfellow was not allowed to testify to anything about the charges -contained in the Thomas girl’s suit against Thaw. - -Jerome was burning with wrath. His expected victory had been turned to -bitter defeat. - -The next witness was Policeman Dennis Wright, who was called to testify -as to conversations he had with Thaw the night of Thaw’s arrest. The -witness said: - -“When I was in Madison avenue I saw Thaw. I asked him what the trouble -was. He said he wanted me to take him away from the crowd, to take him -to the station-house.” - -“Was there any more?” - -“Yes. When we were in Fifth avenue some person unknown asked me if I -knew the prisoner or what he had done. I said I did not. I asked the -defendant if he knew what he had done and he said ‘Yes.’ I asked him if -he knew who it was he had killed. He said he would say nothing until he -reached the station-house. He asked me for a light, offered me a cigar, -and then wanted to take a cab to the station, but I would not agree.” - -“Were his actions rational or irrational?” - -“Rational.” - -Four other policemen testified Thaw appeared rational after the murder. - -Jerome here made an attempt to prove Evelyn Thaw a liar. He was -defeated, however, for his star witness, Rudolph Eckmyer, a -photographer, was not allowed to tell the date he made the famous -Madison Square Garden photographs of Evelyn. - -“If you will let me fix the date of these pictures,” he said heatedly, -“I will show that on the night following the day they were taken, when -Mrs. Thaw’s experience at White’s studio took place, Stanford White was -not in the Twenty-fourth street house at all.” - -Jerome fairly shouted the last words and pounded the table before him. -Mr. Delmas said he must stand upon his objection, and it was sustained. - -“I now offer,” repeated Jerome, “to prove by this witness the exact date -on which these pictures were taken, which was, Mrs. Thaw testified, the -day before she was drugged by Stanford White. And I further offer to -prove that on that occasion Stanford White was not where she said he -was.” - -James Clinch Smith, Stanford White’s brother-in-law, who was in Europe -when the trial began, was allowed to testify for the defense. Smith’s -story threw much new light on the tragedy. It showed that Thaw several -times passed through the aisles on the Madison Square Roof-garden, -apparently seeking some one, and always his eyes were turned on the spot -where Stanford White sat. - -He sat down and talked to Smith on a variety of subjects--Wall street -speculation, the play, a trip to Europe, common acquaintances, and many -other topics. - -This story, Jerome sought to show, proved that Thaw was sane the night -of the murder, and that he repeatedly sought for his victim on the -roof-garden, instead of killing him because of a sudden impulse. - -“Thaw sat down beside me,” said the relative of White, “and offered me a -cigar. I said, ‘No, thank you.’ He said, ‘How’s that, don’t you smoke at -all?’ I said I occasionally smoked cigarets. He then took out his -cigaret case, offered me one, and I took it and thanked him. He struck a -match and lit my cigaret, and his cigar. He asked me how I liked the -play, and I said I did not care for it much. I thought it slow and not -the sort of play for a roof-garden. - -“He said, ‘It is different from those you usually see on the -roof-garden. It is a relief to see it, and I think it will be a -success.’ I said I doubted it. - -“A few moments later he said, ‘What are you doing in Wall street -now--any speculating?’ I answered that I did not speculate in Wall -street. He said he thought there was a great chance in copper; he -mentioned Amalgamated and one other. - -“And he also said Steel was good; he could not see why steel stocks were -kept down; the company was doing a bigger business than ever. He said if -he had any money he would put it in steel and copper, particularly -copper.” - -“Then suddenly he said: ‘Where are you going this summer?’ I told him -that I was going to Europe on Thursday. He wanted to know what ship I -was going on, and when I told him he said he did not like the ship. - -“He said he was going on the Amerika because he could get on that ship a -large suite of rooms, where he could have his meals served in his -apartments. - -“Then he said: ‘Are you alone over here?’ I told him that I had left my -wife in Paris. - -“When Thaw left me he walked around several times, looking over the -audience, toward the place where he subsequently shot White. Finally his -friends arrived, and then I heard three pistol shots and saw a cloud of -black smoke. I saw Thaw after the shooting, aiming his pistol toward the -floor. - -“I went to the entrance, keeping my eyes on Thaw all the while. Then I -saw a man lying face downward on the floor. The man’s face was so -blackened with powder I did not recognize my brother-in-law and left the -place without knowing who the man was.” - -Smith on cross-examination asserted Thaw was not intoxicated on the -night of the murder. - -Jerome next asked Abe Hummel this question: - -“Did you on October 27, 1903, see Evelyn Nesbit Thaw in your office?” - -“I did,” replied the lawyer. - -“At that conversation did Mrs. Thaw inform you that Thaw wanted to -injure White and put him in the penitentiary and that Thaw had compelled -her time and time again to sign statements about White and that those -documents charged White with having drugged Evelyn Nesbit when she was -about fifteen years old and that she, Evelyn Nesbit, had told you that -Thaw had beaten her for not signing the papers?” - -Hummel was not allowed to answer then, on objections by Delmas, but the -witness said he was acting for Stanford White at the time of the -conference. - -The district attorney made an impassioned argument to secure the -admission of Hummel’s testimony. He said: - -“Your Honor has ruled and rules, as I believe, with entire correctness, -that as to the truth or falsity as to whether Stanford White did do -these acts, we on this trial have nothing to do, the issue being, did -the defendant’s mind become unhinged by these and other things that have -been proven in evidence? Was an insanity induced by this revelation and -the others that appear in evidence which so swept reason from its -moorings that when he killed Stanford White that night he did not know -the nature and the quality of the act and that it was wrong? - -“Your Honor’s rulings have reduced the case to that, and have properly -reduced it, in my estimation, to that point. - -“Now on that question of whether or not his mind was unhinged by these -revelations, whether or no these revelations ever were made to him is -surely most important. It is not collateral. It goes to the very root of -the case. - -“They claim that as Thaw sat in the hotel in Paris that night and asked -her to marry him and she said she would not because of White, and she -then cryingly told how this man had drugged her when but a girl of -fifteen--they contend that this picture unhinged his mind. Your Honor -has ruled we have nothing to do with the truth or falsity of her story. -We have nothing to do with whether Stanford White did or did not do -these things. The issue here is did or did not this defendant’s mind -become unhinged when he heard Evelyn Nesbit’s story. - -“If this jury believes that she told this awful story would it not be a -fact that they would carry it in their minds and would it not weigh -heavily? - -“If on the other hand I can show that Mrs. Thaw did not tell Thaw in -Paris that White drugged her it will be a matter for the jury to -consider seriously in determining whether or not Thaw was insane when he -killed Stanford White. - -“If I can show that Evelyn Nesbit Thaw under the solemnity of an oath -swore that White had never wronged her; if I can show that she repelled -the advances of the man and that Thaw whipped and beat her because she -would not affix her signature to an affidavit charging White wronged -her; if I can show that she said to Hummel: ‘He beat me when we were in -Paris; he lashed me with a whip because I would not sign papers;’ if I -can show she swore ‘Stanford White never touched me’; if I can show that -Thaw wanted her to sign papers in order to put White in the -penitentiary--I can then show that the evidence in question is of vital -importance. - -“If I can show that she has made contradictory statements, the testimony -of Doctors Evans and Wagner, which was based on her statement contained -in the hypothetical question, can be stricken from the records. - -“There is the crux of the case as it appears in the evidence, and the -question becomes one of what the law says on this subject of introducing -contrary statements of a witness. - -“I was sincere when I said that I knew nothing in history or literature -could compare with the heroic sacrifice made by Evelyn Nesbit when she -refused to accept the proffered hand of Thaw in Paris--if the story told -by Evelyn is true!” - -The court made no decision on the question at issue, and examination of -Hummel was resumed. - -“At the interview in your office,” asked Mr. Jerome, “did Evelyn Nesbit, -prior to your dictating anything, tell you that she had told Thaw that -it was not true that Stanford White had drugged her?” - -Mr. Delmas was on his feet to object, but before he could do so and -immediately after the district attorney had ceased to speak, Hummel -said, in a loud voice: “She certainly did.” - -Mr. Delmas looked at the witness, and, with scorn in his voice, said: -“And you call yourself a lawyer!” Then, after a bitter clash with the -district attorney, in which temper was shown on both sides, Jerome being -denounced, Delmas said, “Let the answer stand, I waive my right.” - -Jerome turned to Hummel again and asked: - -“Did Evelyn Nesbit, as she was then known, say to you that Thaw had -prepared documents charging Stanford White with having drugged her when -she was 15, and insisted upon her signing them, but that she told Thaw -she would not, because the statement was not true?” - -The court ruled this question could not be answered until Evelyn Nesbit -Thaw had been recalled and testified as to whether or not Hummel was -acting as her attorney or as White’s. - -The next testimony was by Dr. Austin Flint, famous alienist for the -prosecution. In response to a question which required an hour and a -quarter to read, Dr. Flint said Thaw was sane when he killed White. The -question was practically a review of the tragedy and trial. - -The other $250-a-day alienists for the state--Drs. William B. Pritchard -of the New York Polyclinic Institute, Albert Warren Ferris of the -College of Physicians and Surgeons, A. R. Diefendorf of the State -Hospital of Middletown, Conn., and a professor of mental diseases at -Yale University, Dr. William E. Mabon, superintendent of the New York -state hospital for the insane on Wards Island, and Dr. William Hirsch of -the Cornell Medical College made the same reply to the same question. -All swore Thaw was perfectly rational and knew what he was doing when he -shot White. - -Jerome had hurled his strongest attack against the defense in this -desperate effort to prove Thaw sane at the time of the killing. While he -was smiling in triumph Delmas said: - -“Call Evelyn Nesbit Thaw.” - -Pale and apparently almost a nervous wreck the beautiful child wife took -the stand. - -“Did you,” asked Delmas, “when you visited Abe Hummel in his office call -upon him then and there, in a professional capacity with a view to -having his legal advice as a counsellor-at-law?” - -“I did,” was the answer. - -Mrs. Thaw then left the stand. - -Justice Fitzgerald then ruled that the defense could not now plead the -professional privilege in bar of Hummel’s testimony for the privilege -was involuntarily waived when young Mrs. Thaw herself took the stand and -told of the occurrences in Hummel’s office. - -This was a hard blow to the defense and the Napoleanic Delmas was -enshrouded in temporary defeat. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -Shocking Disclosures in Famous Affidavit. - - DOCUMENT DECLARED TO HAVE BEEN SIGNED BY EVELYN THAW INTRODUCED IN - EVIDENCE--CHARGES THAW CHOKED HER, AND BEAT HER WITH A RAWHIDE - WHIP--ANOTHER ATTACK THE NEXT DAY--FAINTED IN AGONY--BEATEN AND - CHOKED AGAIN AND AGAIN--DEFENDANT DECLARED TO HAVE TAKEN EVELYN’S - DIAMONDS AND MONEY--THREATENED WITH BODILY INJURY UNLESS SHE WOULD - ACCUSE WHITE, IS CHARGE--AFFIDAVIT ASSERTS WHITE DID NOT WRONG HER. - - -Startling charges that Harry Kendall Thaw administered unmerciful -lashings to Evelyn Nesbit, and tortured her because she would not accuse -Stanford White, were made in the famous affidavit prepared by Abe Hummel -and allowed by Justice Fitzgerald to be introduced in evidence, after -Hummel had sworn the prisoner’s sweetheart--whom he later married--had -signed and sworn to the document. - -Threats of death were added to the pitiless whippings and torture, some -of which made the girl--then traveling in Europe as Thaw’s wife--faint -in agony, and on one occasion confined her to bed for three weeks, so -read the affidavit. In this document Evelyn declared White did not -injure her. With blanched face--shuddering--Thaw listened to the -reading of the document. He had never heard it before. The full text of -this affidavit, classed by many lawyers as “the most remarkable exhibit -ever introduced in a New York law court,” was as follows: - -“Evelyn Nesbit vs. Harry Kendall Thaw. - -“Supreme Court, city and county of New York: - -“Evelyn Nesbit, being duly sworn, says: - -“I reside at the Savoy hotel, Fifth avenue and Fifty-ninth street, city -of New York. I am 18 years of age, having been born Christmas day, 1884. -For several months prior to June, 1903, I had been at Dr. Bull’s -hospital at 33 West Thirty-third street, New York city, where I had had -an operation performed on me for appendicitis during the month of June, -and then went to Europe with my mother, at the request of Harry Kendall -Thaw, the defendant above named. - -“My mother and I had apartments at the Hotel Maintenon in Paris, France, -and from there traveled to Boulogne, during which time we were -accompanied by Mr. Thaw. Mr. Thaw left us once for London, England. -Mother and I remained at the Imperial hotel about three weeks. - -“While the said Thaw was in London he wrote me a number of letters. He -then returned to Boulogne and took my mother and myself and we went back -to Paris, where we stayed at the Langham hotel. We left there about two -weeks after and the said Thaw, my mother and I returned to London, -where we located at Claridge’s hotel; that is, my mother and I lived in -that place, while Mr. Thaw stayed in Claridge’s hotel for some little -time and then removed to the Russell Square hotel, in Russell square, -London. - -“I went with Mr. Thaw to Amsterdam, Holland, by way of Folkestone. I was -ill during this entire period. Mr. Thaw and I traveled throughout -Holland, stopping at various places to make connecting trains and then -went to Munich, Germany. - -“We then traveled through the Bavarian highlands, going to the Austrian -Tyrol. During all this time said Thaw and myself were known as husband -and wife and were represented by the said Thaw and known under the name -of Mr. and Mrs. Dellis. - -“After traveling for about five or six weeks, the said Thaw rented a -castle in the Austrian Tyrol known as the Schloss Katzenstein, which is -situated about half way up a very isolated mountain. This castle must -have been built centuries ago, as the rooms and windows were all -old-fashioned. When we reached the place there were a number of servants -in the castle. I saw a butler, a cook, and a maid. They were the only -servants there. - -“We occupied one entire end of the castle, two bedrooms, the parlor, and -a drawing room. I was assigned to a bedroom for my personal use. - -“The first night we reached the Schloss Katzenstein I was very tired -and went to bed right after dinner. In the morning I was awakened by Mr. -Thaw knocking on the door asking me to come to breakfast, saying that -the coffee was getting cold. I immediately jumped out of bed and hastily -dressed. I walked out of my room and sat down to breakfast with said -Thaw. - -“After breakfast, he said he wished to tell me something and asked me to -step into my bedroom. I entered the bedroom, when Thaw without any -provocation grasped me by the throat. - -“I saw by his face that he was in a dreadfully excited condition. His -eyes were glaring and his hands grasped a rawhide whip. - -“He seized hold of me, placed his fingers in my mouth and tried to choke -me. He then without the slightest provocation inflicted on me several -severe blows with the rawhide whip, so severely that my skin was cut and -bruised. - -“I begged him to desist, but he refused. - -“I shouted and I cried. - -“He stopped then for a minute to rest, and then renewed his attack on -me, beating me with the rawhide whip. - -“I screamed for help, but no one heard me; the servants did not hear me -for the reason that they were in the other end of the castle. - -“Thereupon the said Thaw renewed his brutal attacks until I was unable -to move. - -“The following morning the said Thaw administered another castigation -similar to the day before. He took the rawhide whip and belabored me -unmercifully. - -“I swooned and I did not know how long I remained in that condition -until I regained consciousness. - -“He left me in a frightful condition. My fingers were numb, and it was -nearly three weeks before I sufficiently recovered to get out of my bed -and walk. - -“When I had sufficiently recovered the said Thaw took me to a place -in -- --, where Italy and Austria join and then we went to Switzerland, -and stopped at a place called the Switzer house at Santa Maria. - -“The next morning I made some remark and said Thaw took me to my room, -and while in the room took a rattan and beat me until I screamed; when I -began to scream said Thaw again stuck his fingers into my mouth. - -“During all that time the said Thaw never attempted to make the -slightest excuse for his conduct or state what the provocation was. - -“During all the time my mother and I remained in England we occupied -apartments at 5 Avenue -- --. I was constantly watched by detectives and -other hirelings of said Thaw, including the coachman and the valet. - -“When in Paris he assaulted me with a rattan for half a day, at -intervals of half an hour or so, striking me severely. - -“One day my maid was in my room taking things out of the drawers and I -found a little silver box, oblong in shape, about two and a half inches -in length, containing a hypodermic syringe, and some other small -utensils. I asked Thaw what that was for, and he stated to me that he -had been ill, and had to make some excuse. He said he had been compelled -to take cocaine. The first time I found he was addicted to the taking of -cocaine I saw the said Thaw administer the cocaine to himself internally -by taking small pills. - -“On one occasion Thaw attempted to compel me to take one of these pills, -but I refused to do so. - -“While in Paris I suffered from sickness by reason of the beatings he -had administered to me and that he had given me, and was confined to my -bed in my room about two weeks. - -“While we were in Paris the said Thaw compelled me by threatening to -beat me to write a letter to a Miss Simonton, who was staying at the -Algonquin hotel in the city of New York and knew my mother, asking her -to come to Paris. When she got there he told her a lot of falsehoods and -lies about me, telling me previously that if I did not indorse what he -said he would kill me. - -“While we were at the Schloss Katzenstein the said Thaw took from me -without my consent and still retains in his possession two diamond -rings, one sapphire ring with a diamond on each side, one pearl locket, -one gold purse and $400 in money consisting of drafts from Thomas Cook & -Sons. He had also in his possession in the city of Paris wearing apparel -of mine, consisting of five gowns, a number of hats, and three parasols. - -“I had not seen my mother since I left her in London, and I am informed -within the last few weeks that she returned to the city of New York from -London on the steamer Campania. - -“I arrived in this city Saturday, Oct. 24, 1903, having returned from -Paris by way of Cherbourg. - -“Before I left Europe the said Thaw had stated to me that his lawyer, a -Mr. Longfellow, would meet me at the dock and asked me if I needed -anything. He said he would see that all my requirements received -attention. I had a letter from him to the said Longfellow in which the -said Thaw asked the said Longfellow to have me followed by detectives -and also to see that everything I wanted was done and to see that I was -not troubled by anybody. - -“I had received a number of cablegrams from Thaw which I have delivered -to my counsel, Abraham H. Hummel. - -“I have been repeatedly told by the said Thaw that he is very inimical -to a married man whom he said he wanted me to injure and that Thaw would -get him into the penitentiary; that the said Thaw had begged me time -and time again to swear to written documents which he had prepared, -involving this married man and charging him with drugging me when I was -15 years of age. This was not so; and I so told him. - -“But because I refused to sign these papers said Thaw not alone -threatened me with bodily injury, but inflicted on me the great bodily -injury I have herein described. - -“Subscribed to before me this 27th day of October, 1903. - -“Sworn to before me this 27th day of October, 1903.” - - (Signature of notary.) - -“The state rests,” announced District Attorney Jerome after reading the -affidavit, and Attorney Delmas then attacked Hummel. He read the record -of Hummel’s conviction in the Dodge-Morse divorce scandal, in which the -lawyer was accused--just as Evelyn Thaw had accused him--of preparing a -false affidavit and false testimony. When Hummel was on the witness -stand he denied that in drawing the affidavit he was acting as counsel -for Evelyn Nesbit; the document itself proved that he was. The papers -were to have been filed, it was stated, in a suit for damages against -Thaw. - -More sensations were ahead. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -Jerome Calls Thaw Madman. - - PHYSICIANS ASSERT YOUNG MILLIONAIRE TO BE DEMENTED--ANGRY PROTEST - BY DELMAS--SENSATIONAL ARGUMENT BY DISTRICT ATTORNEY--BAD FAITH - CHARGED TO COUNSEL--LUNACY COMMISSION IS DEMANDED--THAW’S LETTERS - USED TO QUESTION HIS SANITY--COURT TAKES QUESTION UNDER ADVISEMENT. - - -After the reading of the shocking affidavit, District Attorney Jerome -swore five of the alienists for the defense, at one time. He sought, -through asking them the same hypothetical question put by the defense, -to prove that Thaw was insane both at the time of the murder and at the -time of the trial. - -“I do not believe Harry Thaw was sane at the time he shot Stanford -White, nor do I believe he is sane now,” declared Dr. Graeme M. Hammond. -“I do not know whether he will ever recover.” - -Dr. Smith Ely Jelliffe, professor at Columbia Medical School, swore he -was convinced Thaw was crazed at the time of the murder, but that he -“had a sort of insane knowledge” of what he was doing. - -Dr. Charles W. Pilgrim asserted Thaw “Did not know the nature or the -quality of his act on the Madison Square Roof-garden.” Dr. Minas -Gregory also swore the prisoner was insane at the time of the crime, -and others made the same statement. - -This was a startling change of base for the prosecution. Instead of -trying to prove the young millionaire was sane both at the time of the -tragedy and at the time of the trial, Jerome astounded the legal world -by endeavoring to prove him hopelessly insane. The prosecutor had given -up all hope of securing a verdict which would make the death-chair the -penalty. - -Delmas was angry. - -“We propose,” he shouted, “honestly to convince you, Mr. Jerome, that -Thaw was insane when he shot Stanford White--and sane now--by the very -witnesses whom you have subpœnaed and brought into court for the obvious -and only conceivable purpose of telling to this jury under oath the -truth and the whole truth.” - -The jury was ordered to leave during arguments over further testimony of -alienists. - -In his startling argument after the jury retired Mr. Jerome said: - -“I want to explain and make my position clear. As I understand the -matter Dr. Hamilton, who was originally called into the case by the -defense, is ready to testify that in his opinion this defendant was -insane, that he was of unsound mind when he committed the homicide, and -that as he sits at the table today he is suffering from a mental -disease known as paranoia, a disease in which the sufferer until the -last stages of the disease is capable of knowing the nature and quality -of his acts. - -“I understand that Dr. Hamilton so advised the defendant’s counsel and -that his counsel was then changed. - -“I am willing to throw open the door wide, and ask to let all these -facts come out, but I will not agree to Mr. Delmas confining his -questions to these four visits and keep me down to the close limits of -evidence and not be allowed to go into the real facts of the case. - -“Your honor knows,” continued District Attorney Jerome, “what my -position here has been all along. We have no right to be here trying -this man if the real facts are known. Your honor knows that I have tried -ever since this case opened to bring out these facts and that I have not -been able to do so. - -“If the real facts as to the mental condition of this defendant can be -brought out the court would be shocked and horrified and would stop this -trial instanter. So deeply have I been impressed with all this that I -have served notice on the attorney of record that when this case is -over, if I am convinced they possess the facts that I believe they -possess, I will lay the matter before the Appellate division of the -Supreme court. - -“There is not a man who has seen this defendant sitting there at the -table who believes he is capable of advising counsel. We are today -trying a man who is insane, while under the law he is sane. He is a -paranoiac, and while he is insane he is not insane in the eyes of the -law, for strictly speaking he knows the nature and quality of his acts. - -“A man named Taylor went to death under exactly similar circumstances. -The Appellate court said that he was insane, but he was a paranoiac, and -while his act was committed as the result of a delusion, this delusion -was not such as would have made his act justifiable had it been true. It -was one of the most gruesome acts the law has ever done. - -“In five minutes time,” cried the prosecutor, banging his fist on the -lawyers’ table, “I can show that this man is incapable of advising his -counsel as he sits here in court. I will present facts which will -prevent this trial from going further!” - -“In view of the statement made by the district attorney,” said Justice -Fitzgerald, “I now ask that I be given all the information in the -possession of either counsel--all the evidence as to the defendant’s -present state of mind which can be presented to the court. I do this -before instituting the proceedings I understand have been asked for.” - -Mr. Delmas wanted to know if a commission in lunacy was under -discussion. - -“The court,” replied Justice Fitzgerald, “is asked to hear testimony -while the jury is out of the room, and then to determine its course.” - -“All of my own experts, Dr. Bingaman, the family physician, and Dr. -Deemar, the physician to the Copley family, have informed me,” said -District Attorney Jerome, “that this man is suffering from paranoia. -This paranoia is characterized by systematized delusions. While -suffering from one of these insane delusions this man shot and killed -Stanford White.” - -“Did your own experts tell you that?” inquired Justice Fitzgerald of -District Attorney Jerome. - -“They certainly did,” replied Mr. Jerome, “but from the record of the -case I was prevented from bringing this out. I was bound down to a -hypothetical question, and my witnesses testified only as to the -hypothetical question. There is heredity in this man which he cannot -avoid.” - -Mr. Delmas again arose and inquired if a commission in lunacy had been -applied for. - -“I so understand it,” said Justice Fitzgerald, “if the court shall so -decide.” - -“We are prepared to combat that application,” said Mr. Delmas. - -“I have made no formal application,” explained Mr. Jerome. “I submit to -your honor the fact as he sits there the defendant is incapable of -directing his defense. I leave the matter entirely to the court.” - -Mr. Delmas declared Mr. Jerome’s charges were entirely unsupported. - -“The district attorney’s remarks were made under his oath of office,” -said Justice Fitzgerald, with some display of feeling. - -“He has appealed to my conscience, and I now demand the production of -all the evidence which any of counsel may possess.” - -Mr. Delmas said he understood Mr. Jerome to imply unprofessional conduct -on the part of the defense in suppressing testimony. - -“There was an implication of misconduct,” said Justice Fitzgerald. - -“I hear of it today for the first time,” said Mr. Delmas. - -Mr. Gleason here asked to be heard in behalf of the defense. - -“I desire to say,” said Mr. Gleason, “that when this case began I -attempted to introduce evidence on the very point which the district -attorney now demands, but it was ruled out on his own objections.” - -“I remember,” said Justice Fitzgerald, “ruling out such testimony on the -ground that it was in relation to collateral lines.” - -“We have made a perfect defense here,” asserted Attorney Gleason, “and -it is the duty of this court to submit that defense to the jury-- --” - -“This court does not need any instructions as to its duty,” interrupted -Justice Fitzgerald. “That is a matter the court can attend to for -itself. All I want is all of the information I can get on this subject. -The court wants this information, but if I can not get it, I will have -to act as I see fit.” - -For a moment all the lawyers were talking excitedly at once, and Justice -Fitzgerald was forced to rap sharply with his gavel. Finally Mr. Jerome -made himself heard. - -“The court has asked for all the facts I have in my possession, and I -will willingly furnish them. I will give them in the form of an -affidavit. I will also furnish the affidavit of Dr. Mabon and Dr. -MacDonald, and if his professional privilege is waived I will have an -affidavit from Dr. Hamilton.” - -“The learned district attorney has just said that this defendant is at -this moment so insane as not to be able to instruct his counsel,” broke -in Mr. Gleason in an angry tone, “and now he asks that this man whom he -has dubbed insane waive a privilege.” - -“His attorneys can waive it for him,” said Mr. Jerome. - -“The district attorney knows that that cannot be done,” was the reply. - -“We will get the other affidavits first,” said Justice Fitzgerald, “and -then we will discuss that matter.” - -Several other clashes took place, and ended in a formal demand by -District Attorney Jerome that a commission in lunacy be appointed to -pass on the mental condition of Harry Thaw, that the young prisoner -might be sent to a mad-house at once if found insane. Justice Fitzgerald -asked time to consider the question, and demanded from both sides the -names of all the alienists involved in the case, to guide him in -selecting a commission. - -Jerome was happy. He made this statement: - -“The situation is just what I have been looking for all during the -trial. A man who should be incarcerated in an insane asylum should not -be on trial for his life.” - -The justice held a special session of court, with the jury absent, for -the purpose of receiving affidavits from alienists for both sides, to -aid him in determining whether or not a commission in lunacy should be -appointed. Mr. Jerome called the court’s special attention to the -following statements by Dr. Carlos MacDonald: - -“After careful examination of the exhibits and the hypothetical question -and the testimony and affidavits of Mr. Cobb and assuming evidence -stated in the case to be true, my personal observation, in court during -the trial and also including certain observations that I made of the -defendant in the library of the district attorney’s office on the 27th -day of June, 1906, I am of the opinion that the defendant is now and -for some time past has been suffering from a form of mental disease -commonly known among men skilled in mental diseases as paranoia. Yet it -is my opinion, based upon what has just been enumerated, that when the -defendant killed Stanford White on the 25th day of June, 1906, he was -then suffering from said mental disease commonly known as paranoia, but -that his then mental state was such that he knew the nature and quality -of the act that he was doing ... and that he then and there knew such -act on his part was against the current morality of the people of this -state and in violation of law. - -“I am of the opinion, upon the facts above enumerated, that the mental -disease commonly known as paranoia, from which the defendant was -suffering on the night of June 25, 1906, is a form of mental disease -from which it is reasonably certain he will not recover, and that the -discharge of the said Harry K. Thaw would be dangerous to public peace -and safety, and that he should be committed to an institution for the -insane.” - -In arguing to secure the investigation of Thaw’s mental state, Mr. -Jerome said: - -“As long as forty days ago, Dr. Austin Flint, one of the state’s -alienists, came to me in my office and told me that after watching Thaw -in court every day of the trial he was solemnly of the opinion that the -defendant was not capable of instructing his counsel. I was much -concerned, and with my assistant and Drs. MacDonald and Mabon held a -long conference. I then called in other alienists, and after submitting -to them all the evidence I had in my possession they joined with the -others in declaring Thaw a paranoiac. - -“I am convinced Harry Thaw should be tried for his life.” - -To strengthen his argument, the prosecutor gave Justice Fitzgerald -several letters written by Thaw to J. Dennison Lyon, his Pittsburg -banker. Some were written before the tragedy and some while Thaw was in -the Tombs, but all, Jerome asserted, went to show Thaw was insane. One -of these letters, written from the Republican Club, was as follows: - -“Dear Denny--I’m sorry that the manager of Miss N’s (Evelyn Nesbit) -hotel is an idiot. She stopped one night at a place called the -Cumberland, but was disturbed by street noises. No one was moved, and -all meals were served. Now she has a better place, with a nice -woman--Mrs. Kane (Caine), a friend of her family. - -“I never saw this Sweat, nor spoke nor wrote to him. You know of her -misfortunes. - -“Mr. Holman married her mother three years too late. He is trying to -keep her quiet, and must do so. Should the facts come out, no one but -would believe she sold the child to the most notorious dastard in New -York. Everything proves it. - -“I, and a few other persons, know she did not mean wrong, but since -infancy she was jealous of and disliked the child, and was gulled to an -unbelievable extent by this blackguard and -- -- --” - -Some rambling letters about transactions in stocks followed this, and -then came these letters: - -“Dear Denny--I’m sorry to trouble you, but I don’t understand. I was -overdrawn $10,063.36. Paid in $8,982.70. (6370). (?) Did you make a note -for $10,000--leaving my balance near $9,000 or make a note for -$1,130.85, leaving no balance? - -“I lost almost nothing at M. C. playing. Just $1,400 for four weeks--a -good deal less than the percentage. I bought some pearls and a strong -automobile.” - -This letter was written after the trial started: - - “Dear Denny--The package arrived safely, but I can’t send them the - slip for 11 (eleven) days, as we thought it best to leave bundle - sealed in Gleason’s desk until he returns. He worked exceedingly - hard circumventing the crooked deal between Jerome’s first - assistant and that judge--and will combine rest with affairs. - Friday he starts for Mexico with -- --. If needed a telegram will - always catch him, then he could be back in two days--if we see a - chance for an early trial before any other judge--but we believe it - will be first week January. - - “All very well. Yours very sinc’ly, - - “H. K. THAW. - - “P. S.--I hope these blackmailers try you again.” - -The following peculiar letter no one in court could understand: - - “Dear Denny--or Frank: Please try to remember who was -- --. It is - said a relative of his is on my jury. If he is friendly or neutral - only write me a brief answer, but if he had any trouble with you or - I or is unfriendly please telegraph, ‘The iron is,’ eh? I will know - what you mean. I hope he is all right, we can leave jury as it is. - Of course, this is very secret. - - “All well. Y in haste. - - H. K. THAW.” - - - -The defense presented evidence equally strong, and Justice Fitzgerald -plainly was in a quandary. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -Lunacy Commission is Appointed. - - EVELYN THAW CARRIES TRYING INFORMATION TO HER HUSBAND--ACCUSED - ISSUES STATEMENT--PERSONNEL OF THE COMMISSION--JEROME - BALKS--REMARKABLE INQUIRY IS RUSHED--THAW SUBMITS TO - EXAMINATION--HOW THE YOUNG DEFENDANT PASSED EASTER. - - -To the surprise of every one connected with the case, Justice Fitzgerald -on March 26, suddenly called District Attorney Jerome and the lawyers -for the defense into a conference and announced his decision to appoint -a commission to pass upon the sanity or insanity of Harry Thaw. - -Upon the verdict of the three disinterested men whom he selected was to -depend whether Thaw would ever face the jury again, or go directly to -the Matteawan asylum. - -The decision was embodied in a written memorandum, prepared for the -minutes of the court. The court based his decision on the conflict of -affidavits as presented by the opposing sides, saying they were too -diametrically at odds to permit of a decision other than in favor of an -impartial inquiry. After citing the suggestion made in court by District -Attorney Jerome and the various affidavits presented on both sides, -Justice Fitzgerald’s memorandum reads: - -“I do, therefore, in pursuance of the statute in such cases made and -provided, hereby appoint Morgan J. O’Brien, Peter B. Olney and Leopold -Putzel, M. D., three disinterested persons, a commission forthwith to -examine into the mental condition of said Harry K. Thaw, and to report -to the court with all convenient speed the facts and their opinion as to -whether at the time of such examination the said Harry K. Thaw was in -such a state of idiocy, imbecility, lunacy, or insanity so as to be -incapable of rightly understanding his own condition, the nature of the -charges against him, and of conducting his defense in a rational -manner.” - -The task of announcing the decision of the court to Thaw was allotted to -his wife, who tearfully accepted it. Messrs. Hartridge and O’Reilly went -with Mrs. Evelyn Thaw to the Tombs and there in the hospital ward they -met the prisoner. This ward had been placed at their disposal because of -the crowd in the usual consultation room. Thaw was cheerful. - -“It is all right, dearie,” he said to his wife, “I am not afraid of a -commission. I am a sane man now; just as sane as the judge himself, and -I am sure that any fair-minded commission will so declare me.” - -The attorneys quickly withdrew from the conference and Thaw and his wife -sat for a long time together discussing what the commission probably -would do. When Mr. Hartridge came out he declared: - -“The fortitude of the boy [meaning Thaw] astonishes me sometimes, and it -certainly did today.” - -Later in the afternoon Thaw sent out a statement, in which he said: - -“Everything is perfectly satisfactory to me. I am sure I will be able to -satisfy the commission that I am sane at the present time. Anything -Justice Fitzgerald does is all right. He has always acted in a fair and -impartial manner.” - -The brothers of the defendant did not go to the Tombs, but hurried -uptown with the news of the commission to their mother and sisters, who -were waiting in their apartments. Thaw had divined the result of the -conference with Justice Fitzgerald and was not in the least surprised. - -The personnel of the commission lent a new distinction to the already -notable case. - -Morgan J. O’Brien, a former justice of the Appellate division of the -Supreme Court, was one of the trustees, with Grover Cleveland, of the -Hyde stock in the Equitable Life Assurance Society purchased by Thomas -F. Ryan just prior to the insurance investigation. When he was a -candidate for re-election to the bench in 1901 as a Democrat, Justice -O’Brien was unopposed. President Roosevelt made a trip from Washington -to Oyster Bay to cast his ballot for him. - -Peter B. Olney, formerly district attorney of New York county, was a -member with William C. Whitney of the commission appointed in 1879 to -revise the laws of the state affecting public interests in New York -city. He was a graduate of Harvard. - -Dr. Leopold Putzel, the third member of the commission, was a graduate -of Bellevue Hospital Medical School and had a long experience in that -institution. He qualified before the State Medical Board as examiner in -lunacy. - -A surprise was ahead, however, for former Justice O’Brien declined to -serve as a member of the board, after he had been sworn in. He gave -ill-health as a reason. Attorney David McClure, a well-known reform -worker in New York, was appointed to fill the vacancy. - -When the commission was finally in court together Harry Thaw was brought -in and found all the members of his family awaiting him. He looked -exceedingly well, and smiled a greeting to his wife, mother, sisters and -brothers. - -The commission began its hearings at once. At the end of the session, -which was held behind closed doors, Attorney Peabody for Thaw announced: - -“We are perfectly satisfied.” - -Hardly had the commission seated themselves when Thaw appeared. He was -directed to a chair within the inner counsel rail and sat directly -beneath the eyes of the men whose decision as to his mental capacity -was of such vital import to him. - -Thaw appeared to be in excellent spirits and sat unflinchingly under the -steady gaze they turned upon him. In the big courtroom there were only -the newspaper reporters and three of the prisoner’s family--his wife, -Evelyn Nesbit Thaw, who has never missed an opportunity to be near him -since he was placed on trial; and his two brothers, Edward and Josiah -Thaw. Mrs. Thaw sat between the brothers. - -After the session had formally been opened by the reading of the court’s -order, Clifford W. Hartridge, acting as counsel of record for Thaw, -arose and stated to the commission that his client was ready at any time -to submit to such examination as the commission desired. His only -request was that the hearing should be private. - -“Being a prisoner on trial for his life,” said Mr. Hartridge, “he feels -he should be protected as far as possible in this matter.” - -Chairman McClure then announced that whatever examination of Thaw the -commission might decide upon would be held behind closed doors. - -District Attorney Jerome protested. He remarked that if the -commissioners resolved themselves into a body of medical examiners and -undertook a physical examination of the defendant in private, he would -not attend such an examination. - -“But the law requires you to attend the session of the commission,” -suggested Chairman McClure. - -“I shall attend all sessions of the commission sitting as judges in -lunacy,” replied Mr. Jerome, “but I am not required to attend a board of -medical examiners.” - -Chairman McClure then said the inquiry the commission had in mind was a -simple one--to determine whether at this time the defendant is capable -of understanding the proceedings against him and of rationally advising -his counsel. The commission desires to limit the scope of inquiry as far -as possible. The court, he said, wished the inquiry to be brief in order -that the pending trial might be disposed of at the earliest possible -moment. The commission had decided not to take into consideration the -conflicting affidavits submitted to Justice Fitzgerald by Thaw’s counsel -and the opposing alienists, as they were considered as having been -prepared solely for the information of the court. - -The first two days of the hearing were taken up with a mental and -physical examination of Thaw. He was asked scores of questions, but the -nature of these never was made public. - -While the investigation was in progress Easter came, and on that Sunday -afternoon Thaw had a two hours’ conference with his wife in the Tombs -prison. The visit by Evelyn Nesbit Thaw was unusual. Never before had -she called on her husband on Sunday. To do so it was necessary for her -to obtain from Commissioner of Corrections John V. Coggey a special -permit. Mr. Coggey granted it when Mrs. Thaw explained that she had been -unable to see much of her husband during the week and that she wanted to -be with him some time on Easter Sunday. Commissioner Coggey went to the -Tombs himself and remained there during the time that Mrs. Thaw was -there. - -Before leaving the Tombs Mrs. Thaw said there was no significance -attached to her visit. She said she merely wanted to visit her husband -on Easter. - -“Harry is cheerful and feels confident the commission will decide in his -favor,” she said. - -Mrs. Thaw looked exceptionally pretty. She was dressed in a plain brown -tailor-made suit. She wore a flat, round hat of black straw, such as -women wear in riding costume. Her veil was white and heavy. She looked -just a little pale, and her expression was sad, but she said she felt -quite well. The trip to and from the Tombs was made in the electric -hansom that Mrs. William Thaw, mother of the prisoner, uses in going to -and from the courthouse. - -Thaw deviated from his usual custom and attended special Protestant -Easter services conducted in the Tombs chapel by the Rev. Mr. Sanderson. -A special choir and orchestra was engaged for the service. Thaw seemed -to enjoy the music and the remarks of the minister. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -Commission Finds Thaw Sane. - - CRISIS IN CASE IS REACHED--BLOW TO JEROME--EVELYN CARRIES GLAD - TIDINGS TO PRISONER--THAW EXPRESSES NO SURPRISE--PROSECUTOR - THREATENS TO APPEAL, BUT BOWS TO FINDING. - - -One of the most dramatic phases of the great trial was at hand. The -defense suddenly announced it had closed its case before the lunacy -commission, and after a private examination of Thaw by the board Dr. -Allen R. Diefendorf told the members that Thaw was a paranoic and had -not recovered his sanity. “Thaw is insane now,” he swore. - -The crisis came on the morning of April 4, 1907. After a session lasting -nearly all night the commissioners filed into court and Chairman McClure -handed the following report to Justice Fitzgerald: - -“After careful examination of the defendant personally and of all the -evidence we find the following facts: - -“In the frequent and in some cases daily--during the several months last -past--intercourse had by the defendant with the Tombs physicians, -chaplains, keepers, other attendants, and the probation officer these -persons failed to discover anything irrational in his conduct or speech. - -“The defendant has taken an active part in the conduct of the trial, has -made numerous suggestions orally in court and by letter as to the -selection of jurors and the examination of witnesses. Many of these -suggestions were deemed valuable and were adopted by his counsel, and -examination of the letters referred to shows that generally the -suggestions contained in them were material, sensible, and apparently -the product of a sane mind. - -“While the testimony of numerous experts called by the district attorney -and the defendant’s counsel is irreconcilable, that given by certain -experts who personally examined the defendant during the trial and since -the appointment of the commission, and who of all the alienists examined -had greatest opportunity of observing, disclosed the fact that no -indication of insanity at the present could be found in the speech, -conduct, or physical condition of the defendant. - -“The direct oral and physical examination of the defendant by the -commissioners themselves disclosed no insanity in the defendant at the -present time. Upon all of the facts it is our opinion that at the time -of our examination the said Harry K. Thaw was and is sane and was not -and is not in a state of idiocy, imbecility, lunacy, or insanity so as -to be incapable of rightly understanding his own condition, the nature -of the charges against him, and of conducting his defense in a rational -manner. - - “DAVID MCCLURE, - “PETER B. OLNEY, - “LEOPOLD PUTZEL.” - -This was a staggering blow to Jerome, who protested loudly. The defense -was elated. Thaw was not in court to hear the decision, and the jurors -also were barred. All the members of the prisoner’s family, however, -were present, and Evelyn Thaw herself conveyed the glad news to her -husband. Harry was not surprised at the finding. - -“It is only what I expected,” he declared. “I am as sane as any man on -earth.” - -The district attorney, who had been threatening to “appeal to the -Appellate court and have the trial stopped,” suddenly decided to yield -to the inevitable. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -Delmas, Nestor of Western Bar. - - SWAYS JURYMEN BY HIS ELOQUENCE--WAS BRILLIANT AS A STUDENT--HONORED - BY SANTA CLARA ACADEMY--STARTS POOR, AMASSES A FORTUNE--DELMAS’ - METHODS--IMPORTANT CASES HE HAS CONDUCTED. - - -The supreme moment for the defense came on April 8, when Delphin M. -Delmas, the master orator of the Pacific coast bar, arose to address the -jury in what proved to be the greatest forensic effort heard in a New -York court since the days of Daniel Webster. - -Twelve jurymen sat spell-bound under the sway of his eloquence. One -wept. A mute, absorbed and sympathetic audience listened--the judge, -bending forward, his eyes fixed eagerly on Delmas; the defendant hanging -on the words that he hoped would set him free; the wife, the mother, the -sister--their faces distorted with the pain of suspense--clutching their -chairs, clenching their hands--all the while, rising and falling in -waves of emotion, the voice of Delmas echoing a masterful plea for the -life of Harry Thaw. - -Delmas himself proved little less interesting than his wonderful -argument. He first attracted attention in 1856 as a brilliant young -student in Santa Clara college in California. - -The following sketch of his life was published in the History of the -Bench and Bar of California: - -Mr. Delmas was graduated in 1862, and in 1863 received the degree of -Master of Arts with the highest honors. Entering the law department of -Yale College, he received from that University, in 1865, the degree of -Bachelor of Laws, and at the same time was admitted to the bar of the -State of Connecticut. Returning shortly thereafter to California, he was -admitted in February, 1866, in the Supreme Court. In May of that year he -opened an office in San Jose. - -Mr. Delmas remained at the bar in San Jose for sixteen years; and, in -that period, acquired a reputation for skill and ability of the first -order. He had also great prosperity from the standpoint of finance. He -early held the office, so important and lucrative in that rich section, -of District Attorney. He was a public speaker of acknowledged force and -grace. By his knowledge, talents and address he gathered around him more -friends and clients that any other man of his age in the State. Setting -forth without money resources he amassed a fortune. It did not take long -to accomplish all this; and when his fame had spread through and beyond -the State, he left the field where his most splendid visions had been -realized, and established himself in San Francisco. This was on the 1st -of February, 1883. - -When Mr. Delmas had been in San Francisco about six years, we said of -him that no lawyer in this State possessed broader knowledge or was a -greater master of his profession than he. As an advocate he is the -admiration of the bar itself. His remarkable clear vision, his subtle -intellect, his piercing judgment, his power of statement, have been -applauded by the veterans of the profession. Before a jury, he is -argumentative or pathetic, as the occasion demands. Unlike some other -advocates of brilliant parts, he keeps in mind the fact that “the jury -are sworn to make a true deliverance, and that to address their passions -is equivalent to asking them to violate their oaths.” Mr. Delmas is very -painstaking in the preparation of causes and very skillful in their -management. He has great capacity for applying himself to his subject. -In the matter of evidence his method is noticeable. His system is to -make himself, before the case is answered “ready,” accurately, -mathematically if possible, master of all the facts of the controversy, -and especially, of those which are favorable to his adversary. Upon the -trial, he takes full notes of everything that is said and done. It is an -article of faith with him to state evidence to the jury with absolute -accuracy; and he almost invariably prefaces his argument with a -courteous invitation to his adversary not to hesitate to interrupt and -correct him in case he should inadvertently fall into an error. - -It would be impossible to enumerate the cases in which Mr. Delmas has -taken part. His practice has been confined to no specialty, but has -extended to all branches of litigation. He has figured in almost every -important case which has been before the courts during the last twenty -years. The most celebrated of these is, perhaps, that of Ellen M. Colton -vs. Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker, and C. P. Huntington, in which Mr. -Delmas, who had for associates ex-Chief Justice William T. Wallace, -ex-Judge John A. Stanly, Hon. George R. B. Hayes and G. Frank Smith, was -the senior counsel for the plaintiff. This case, if regard be had to the -eminence of the counsel engaged, the standing of the litigants, the -amount involved, the nature of the issues, and the duration of the -trial, is, doubtless, the most important that has been tried in -California in the last quarter of a century. The trial lasted eighteen -months--from November, 1883, to May, 1885. The arguments alone consumed -nearly five months. Mr. Delmas closed the case, answering Hall -McAllister and J. P. Hoge, who had immediately preceded him. - -Since he was elected District Attorney of Santa Clara County, in 1867, -Mr. Delmas has never been a candidate for any office, having devoted -himself entirely to the practice of his profession. He was, however, -appointed a regent of the University of California by Governor Stoneman, -in 1884, and served until 1892. While regent he was President of the day -on the occasion of the inauguration of Hon. Horace Davis as President of -the university, March 23, 1888, and delivered the address of welcome. - -In 1869, Mr. Delmas married a daughter of Colonel Joseph P. Hoge, of San -Francisco. There are four children of this union one of whom is the wife -of William S. Barnes, ex-District Attorney of San Francisco. Mr. Delmas -occupies offices at 120 Broadway, New York City. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -Delmas Moves Jurors. - - DECLARES HE BASES DEFENSE ON LAW--EXPRESSES SYMPATHY FOR WHITE’S - WIDOW--“SADDEST STORY EVER HEARD IN A COURT OF JUSTICE”--“BETTER - FOR STANFORD WHITE HAD HE NEVER BEEN BORN”--SCORES EVELYN THAW’S - MOTHER WITHOUT MERCY. - - - “If your honor please, and you, gentlemen of the jury, we have no - more right, if the real facts were known, to be here trying this - prisoner at the bar than if it was prohibited by statute,” declared - Mr. Delmas in opening his masterful address. - - “Had you heard these words from any irresponsible persons, instead - of having heard them from an official charged with a public duty; - had you heard them from a man given to irresponsible talk, instead - of in this court of justice and solemnity; had the occasion on - which they were uttered been some trivial discussion about an - insignificant topic, instead of where the discussion is one of life - or death--these words might not have filled you with amazement, but - this was a statement made by the district attorney. - - “To show the falsity of that, it will be necessary to call upon all - the energy in my power to reach a conclusion. And to reverse, at - least in a general way, the same points of the evidence which you - have heard for so many days I shall make no attempt to inflame your - passion, no appeal to make your feelings warp your judgment. - - “I shall rely on no such unstable thing as the supposed unwritten - law. I will base the fate of this defendant on the law of this - state--the law of the books, the written law. - - “In the performance of my task it will become my duty to speak of - the dead. I shall not be unmindful of the injunctions of the - departed. Only that which is good should be spoken, but I cannot - forget the circumstances under which the protection of the living - demand that the truth shall be told, no matter how it blights the - memory of the dead or how painful to the survivors. - - “Under that law we find ample protection for his rights and life - and to that law I shall resort as to the horns of the altar, for - his safety. In the performance of my task it will be my imperative - duty--unshunable duty--to speak of the dead. - - “I shall not be unmindful of him and shall speak in no other - terms--if possible--than those of praise. I shall not forget that - for the protection of the living the truth must be told, no matter - how painful to the dead or those who survive him. - - “Of those survivors I can speak in no other terms than those of the - most profound sympathy. For the widow who mourns and the son who - survives I have no words than those of sympathy. Gladly would I - remove from them, were it in my power, the cloud which must - henceforth accompany their life, and gladly would I remove from the - young man the sentence that the sins of the father must be visited - upon their children to the second and third generations. - - “Gentlemen, the story you have listened to is the story of two - young persons whom fate, by inscrutable decree, had destined to - link together, that they could walk through life together. It is a - story--the saddest, most mournful and tragic which the tongue of - man has ever uttered or the ear of man has ever heard in a court of - justice. - - “Let me begin briefly with the story--one filled with incidents - with which a volume might overflow and a tragedy might be filled, - as though it were written by the hand of a Shakespeare. - - “She was born on Christmas, 1884, in the state of Pennsylvania, in - the city of Pittsburg. The first years of her childhood saw her - lose her father and natural protector and left her in charge of a - mother who early manifested a character of frivolity and - extravagance which was later to be attended with such fatal - consequences. - - “At ten years of age the family began to feel the pangs of want, - the sufferings of poverty and the gnawing of hunger. At twelve she - began to be the family drudge, assisting her mother in such acts as - she could perform. And thus the family continued moving from place - to place without any fixed habitation on the face of the earth. - - “But nature having endowed her with beauty which showed in early - youth, we find her looking to it for the support of the family. At - fourteen we find her in Philadelphia, already embarked upon the - perilous seas of an artist’s model’s life. But New York was the - market in which such gifts were most eagerly sought and would be - dearly paid for. And to New York the family came, and by the - efforts of the mother the employment begun in Philadelphia was - continued here and the beautiful child went from studio to studio - and at the end of the week paid into the hands of the mother the - scant few dollars she had earned to support the mother, the brother - and the child. - - “But the large metropolis afforded broader avenues of gain than the - mere studios of artists--the stage, with all its tinsel and glare - of dazzling lights lay before them and the tempter came. - - “The theatrical manager found the girl at fifteen and employed her - at $15 a week, where she slaved at night as she did by day--posing - for artists--but at night she appeared on the boards of the stage. - - “It could not be long, for the beauty with which she was gifted - attracted attention and the tempter came. He saw, he desired to - have, with the consummate cunning of a man whose head had already - grown gray. He had a wife and an accomplished son. He fixed his - eyes upon the fated child and determined to make her his. - - “To win her he had none of the graces which a man of her own age - might present. He was already married and had a family of his own - and any such thought of love--legitimate love--between him and this - child was out of the question. He introduced himself into the - family in the guise of a protector. - - “His tender solicitude manifested his intentions to ameliorate - their condition. He won his way into the confidence of the mother; - established himself in the position of a protecting attitude toward - the family. When his purpose was secured he persuaded the mother to - absent herself from the city, assuring her the child would be safe - in his hands in her absence, telling the family that they should - rejoice that they had such a careful eye to watch over the - beautiful child. She went. The child was left alone. - - “I wish, gentlemen, it were in my power to pass over the scene - which followed. I wish it did not have to be embodied in the - argument I have to make to you. - - “To one of those dens fitted with all the splendor and dazzling - beauty with which this man of genius endowed his places, this child - was one evening lured, under the pretense that there were to be - others there to share the supper that had been prepared, and when - she arrived she found herself alone with the man who had promised - to be her protector. - - “Need I recount to you how the child was led from one step to - another until plied with wine and plied with drugs she became - unconscious and this man, who had promised to protect the child, - accomplished her ruin and downfall? Need I recall to you the - terrible scenes which you heard told from the lips of this tortured - victim? - - “Oh, better for Stanford White had he never been born. - - “Better that his ears had never been opened that he could not have - heard the words of anguish of the victim. - - “For what had he--a man whose hair was already gray--what had he - done? He had perpetrated the most horrible crime that can deface - the human heart. He had lured the poor, innocent flower that was - struggling forth to life. He had committed a crime which is a - felony--which the President of this republic in his last message to - Congress said should be punished by death. - - “He who had erected altars and sanctuaries and churches crowned - with the emblem of the Redemption--had he forgotten the words. - - “‘Who so receiveth such a little child in my name receiveth me, but - whosoever offendeth such a little one, it were better that a - millstone were tied around his neck and he were cast into the sea.’ - - “Oh, ye who have erected temples to the God of Abraham, Isaac and - Jacob, have ye forgotten the words of Jehovah, when upon the return - from Egypt He said: - - “‘Ye shall not afflict a fatherless child. I will surely hear that - cry, and I will kill you with the sword and your wives shall be - widows and your children fatherless.’ - - “Oh, Stanford White, in the entirety of your hardened heart, you - imagined that the cry of the fatherless child which that night was - heard in the darkness of the great city, where good citizens were - at rest, the child without a father, the child deserted by her - mother, the child left alone in this city of millions, would not be - heard. - - “Did your hardened heart imagine that God would not hear that cry? - Did you imagine that He had forgotten the promise He made--that any - one who afflicted a fatherless child would surely die? - - “Did you believe that the retribution would be omitted? - - “Better had it been for him had he died before that day, for then - he might have died in glory--he might have died when public - mourning would have attended his obsequies; he might have died - before his name had become a byword; before his genius had become - an aggravation. - - “But fate had decreed it otherwise. The poor child, returning to - her senses, not realizing what had been done, was taken back to her - home, there to sit in lonely vigil until he went back the next day - to complete the pollution he had but partially begun the night - before. It remained for him to destroy the last vestige of womanly - honor in her mind, and he performed that task after daylight that - day. - - “He went there--he, the strong man, kissed the hem of her garment; - told her to dry her tears, and to stifle her moans; told her that - what she did was not wrong, that it was but what all women did; - that the only sin was to be found out, and that if she would but - keep the dread secret pent up in her breast and not tell her mother - all would be well; that all women were wicked; that the only - distinction was that some succeeded in concealing their vices, - while others were found out. - - “And so he left her. And so he lured her again and again, plying - her with wine in the same dens for a couple of months. - - “Is this story true, gentlemen, or, rather, is the story I have - related to you the story Evelyn Nesbit told Harry Thaw in June, - 1903, in Paris--that, gentlemen, is one of the main questions which - you have to decide in this case and in the elucidation of which I - may be permitted to occupy a little of your attention. - - “The prosecution says this story is a clever lie--the result of the - imagination of this defendant’s wife. Your first inquiry must be - into the veracity of Evelyn Nesbit. If she never told Thaw this - thing, then she has been an untruthful witness before you. - - “She gave this testimony: ‘And those things you told Mr. Thaw of - the outrages at the hands of White were true?’ Her answer was, - ‘Those things were true.’ - - “In corroboration of the statement that these things did take - place, I beg to refer to the evidence and to the things that have - occurred before your eyes. You have seen Evelyn on the stand for - four days. You are men of the world--men accustomed to looking - through the souls of men and analyzing their conversations--you are - asked to judge if she were a clever actress as she sat in that - chair and related the horrors of that night. - - “You saw when she came to the final occurrence of that night--you - saw her countenance--how the shadow of horror overspread it. - Although the story was to save the life of the one person whom she - loved, you saw how she shrank from telling it. You saw the drawn - face, you saw the brave little girl struggling that she might save - her husband, that she might overcome the objectionable features of - the story. - - “For days and days you have seen her undergoing torture of an - examination unparalleled in the jurisprudence of this or any other - country. - - “Did the District Attorney of your city, to whom I gave the - greatest acknowledgment of talent, confuse her? You saw him using - all the arts, resorting to all the strategies of a practiced master - to entrap a girl who had never testified before. Was she caught in - a single falsehood, or contradiction? - - “You have seen learned men on the stand--tell me, if you have ever - seen a witness who has stood the excruciating tests of - cross-examination as well as this child? - - “Gentlemen, in that cross-examination the merciless District - Attorney--I say merciless without offense, because his office is - not one of mercy--you saw him extort from her truthful but - unwilling lips the confession that the misdeeds of Stanford White - did not stop with the first wrecking of her life, but continued - until God asserted himself in her and she would no longer be the - plaything and toy of this man. - - “I ask you, on your oaths, if this girl had fabricated this story, - would not she or the others who prompted the story have for the - sake of sympathy, said that the first drugging was the only - occurrence and that she had shrunk from further dealings with such - a man. - - “Upon any other theory than that the story is true I ask you the - question, why did Stanford White just at that moment see fit to - remove the mother--the only protector left this child--from her - post as sentinel? Why was the mother sent to Pittsburg with money - furnished by Stanford White? Why was the brother sent to school? - - “Gentlemen, I desire to call your attention to this point. During - this time Stanford White made a contract to pay Evelyn the sum of - $25 a week during the time she should be unable to obtain her own - living on the stage. And during that one year we have - discovered--by a strange fatality which ever seems to assist the - cause of justice and to disconcert the cause of injustice--there - appears certain checks on which the name of the mother was - indorsed. - - “And, according to a computation made by some gentleman in court, - the mother, for the year following the ruin of the child, received - $2,500, in round numbers, $200 a month. And yet the District - Attorney tells you that at the same time Stanford White was in - embarrassed circumstances. - - “One circumstance I desire to call to your attention. It relates to - the assistance which the prosecution draws in its attempt to - deprive Evelyn of her husband. You will recall that when the name - of the mother was spoken I disclaimed having said anything that - would cast upon the mother any shame that would cast reproach upon - her. - - “Gentlemen, at the time I made that declaration, I wish you to bear - in mind that three things had not been developed: - - “First. That the mother had been in receipt of $200 a month from - White. - - “It had not been developed at that time that the mother was - assisting the prosecution in the work of this case. - - “It had not been developed at that time that the mother had given a - written statement to the District Attorney by which he might - torture the soul of her daughter, a daughter who had been left - alone in the world except for a most unnatural mother. - - “And when I saw the District Attorney with that paper in his hand, - when I heard him read from it on the cross-examination of this - girl, when I learned that every shaft which he aimed at her heart - came from a quiver furnished by her mother, when I learned that - every sore in her poor soul had been pointed out to the District - Attorney, that it was a mother who was pointing out those sores, - and when I learned that the poor little girl had been sent away to - school so that she might get the money she desired from Stanford - White--I now retract what I then said. - - “Oh, most unnatural mother, you, who left the girl a victim of the - lust of this gray-haired man! You who received the wages of her - downfall, funds with which you bedecked yourself with diamonds and - finery, now in the hour of her supreme agony this mother assists - the prosecutor of her husband! - - “Why, a beast that wants reason protects her young! I have seen a - poor little bird no larger than your fist while I was out hunting. - A number of young ones were playing in the dust around her and I - have seen a pointer come running upon them and I have seen the - little bird ruffle its feathers until it looked as big and old as - an eagle, making the dog pause and return abashed. - - “I have now laid before you in outline what was given you in - evidence. I propose to prove by evidence that will demonstrate the - truth, which will leave no hook upon which to hang a doubt, that - Evelyn Nesbit told the story she swears she did in Paris in 1903. - - “In the first place, you have the undoubted, undisputed fact that - Mr. Thaw in September of that year, when Evelyn’s mother returned - to New York--that Mr. Thaw narrated that story in a letter to his - counsel, Mr. Longfellow. In the first letter he says: - - “Mistress Nesbit sails to-morrow for New York. Her daughter can’t - be with her, because Miss N. was beguiled by a blackguard when she - was but fifteen years of age. The child was drugged. - - “And in a later letter to Mr. Longfellow he says: ‘Her position - could not be worse. She was poisoned at fifteen and three-quarters. - Also since.’ - - “Now, gentlemen, bear in mind that these two letters were written - by Mr. Thaw in Paris to his counsel, Mr. Longfellow, in New York. I - ask you who is the blackguard referred to in these letters if not - Stanford White? What is the superhuman negligence of the mother, if - not her trip to Pittsburg, leaving her daughter alone in New York? - - “How was the child beguiled, if not by Stanford White’s paternal - kindness and show of parental goodness? - - “I leave it to you as to what these two letters can refer to if not - to the story Evelyn Nesbit says she told Harry in Paris in June, - 1903. - - “She told how she had learned this young woman’s name. He said he - desired to shield her from the awful consequences of the deed. What - was it the child that had come from Pittsburg, that had first posed - as an artist’s model, and had then gone on the stage--what was it - she had told Harry Thaw and what had he told his mother? - - “The learned prosecutor says that he invented it all. After - inventing did he go home and tell his mother--the mother who had - given him birth, who had nourished him at her breast, who had - watched him in his sleepless bed at night as he was giving evidence - of the troubles which were to have such a bearing on this case? - - “When he broke down in church and tears fell from his eyes and a - groan broke from his lips was he telling, was he acting a lie? - - Harry Thaw loved Evelyn. He had loved her ever since he saw her in - 1901. He had loved and wooed her honorably, and honorably sought to - make her his wife. - - “I make these assertions just before seeking to make any deductions - from them. It is meet and proper that I establish them as facts. As - early as 1901, when he found her on the stage, he realized that was - not a fit place for a young girl like her. He was contemplating - sending her to school--that is to say for three years. Then she - might come out and take her station in the world as his wife. - - “And if not, even though she did not become his wife, he would be - amply repaid by the nobility of the act he had performed. Evelyn - Nesbit says he met her in 1901 and called upon her frequently, but - was not always at that time a welcome visitor. It seems her mind - had been poisoned by the same persons who afterward poisoned her - mind against him again. He says of her: ‘When I first knew her she - was the most active, laughing, strong and fair child I ever saw.’ - - “That was the time when she was the support of the family, going - about in the daytime from studio to studio and appearing on the - stage at night and pouring into the lap of her mother her scant - wages. - - “And what was the nature of the foul wrong done to this child? - - “What was the fatal deed which he said he would gladly have - purchased with his life if it could be undone? - - “I say to you, these letters refer to no other transaction than - the story she related on the witness stand--the story she told you - she told him in June, 1903. The letters were private. They were to - be locked up in Mr. Longfellow’s breast. Then ask yourself whether - it is possible that Mr. Thaw was telling his lawyer in September a - falsehood or an invention of his own brain? - - “That is not all. You remember Thaw returned to New York in - November and shortly thereafter went to his home in Pittsburg and - told his mother the selfsame story he told his lawyer then in these - two letters. - - “I desire to give you the mother’s testimony and ask you whether I - am not telling you exactly what occurred. - - “Not only that but I invite interruptions if you desire to set me - right if I omit or tell anything that was not part of the - testimony. - - “Now, the mother whom you have seen on the stand and of whose - veracity I believe not even the prosecution has any doubt, this - mother says that after he arrived home she found him awake at - night, and when she went to his room he said it was because of a - wicked man--perhaps the most wicked man in New York. - - “She learned before Thanksgiving that this was said about a young - girl, but did not at that time learn her name. Her son told her he - was interested in that girl. This she learned one night when the - mother found him in his room at dawn. He had not been able to get - sleep surcease from his tortured brain. - - “She said, the son said, that this girl had the most beautiful mind - he had ever known, that she had been neglected, that if she had a - chance and anyone looking after her she would be all right. And - then you remember, gentlemen, Thanksgiving came. And the mother and - the son went to church together, and there, while the solemn anthem - was peeling, she heard tears dropping upon the paper which he was - holding in his hand, a stifled sob. - - “In 1903 he intended to marry her. Writing to Longfellow, he says: - - “‘Miss N. and I may be married after Lady Yarmouth comes. We could - have been married without a row. If I die, all my property goes to - my wife.’ And, writing to her, he says: ‘Mr. and Mrs. George - Carnegie should be your loving brother and sister-in-law.’ - Gentlemen, no man of his years, of his temperament, ever wooed a - woman in a manner more respectable than Harry Thaw did Evelyn - Nesbit. - - “There is nothing to show that everything and every bit of - testimony does not confirm the statement of Evelyn that in June, - 1903, he proposed honorably to make her his wife. - - “In corroboration of these facts told by Evelyn Nesbit, that she - told this story of Stanford White, that he, Thaw, asked her to - marry him, that it is not a cunningly devised tale told by Harry - Thaw for his own purposes. I ask you these questions: Does a man - who loves a woman, who has lavished upon her for two years all the - affections of his heart, does a man who loves a woman honorably and - sought to make her his wife and besought her mother’s consent--does - a man like that deliberately invent a story of this kind to defile - the object of his adoration? - - “Until you can take from this case the fact that Harry Thaw loved - Evelyn Nesbit, if any man says to you that he deliberately invented - this story to degrade the object of his affections--the most - degrading story any man could tell--it is not in the human heart - but to revolt from the allegation. - - “If I mistake not, I have established to your satisfaction the - great, simple fact--that this story about Stanford White is not an - invention and that the statement that Evelyn Nesbit did tell the - story to Thaw is true. - - “As against this assertion, what evidence is there in this case? - What is there to contradict this statement of Evelyn Nesbit, the - statement that she told this story to Thaw? - - “Nothing except the testimony of Abe Hummel. I will not speak of - that unfortunate man in any harsher term than the exigencies of - this case require. But it is a melancholy sight to see a man in the - declining years of his life, when soon the sun must set for him - forever, and he will appear to give that account of his life that - we are all called upon to give after death--I say it is a - melancholy sight to see a man whose pathway has been wreathed with - dishonest acts, crowning his acts with perjury--resorting to - perjury in order to deprive a fellow of his life. - - “Gentlemen, is this censure deemed excessive? Listen. Mr. Hummel is - not lacking in intelligence--certainly is not lacking in cunning. - - “Let me recall to your mind the photograph of the alleged - affidavit. You remember what weight the prosecution attached to it - and of what importance they considered it. Let me call your - attention to all the points in Hummel’s testimony regarding this. - - “Thaw’s lawyer then tore Hummel’s evidence to bits, showing that in - one place he swore positively he sent for the photographer and in - another he swore as positively that he did not. Continuing Delmas - said: - - “Which of these stories is true? They both come from the witness - sitting in that chair. They both have the sanction of his oath--the - oath of a man already convicted for subornation of perjury and - conspiracy. Both of these stories cannot be true. Which one is - true? One of these two stories is a deliberate falsehood, and which - it is I care not. They probably are both false. - - “Abe Hummel testifies that this thing, miscalled ‘affidavit,’ was - dictated by him in the latter part of October, 1903, in his office, - to a stenographer whose name he does not remember and even whose - individuality he has forgotten. - - “Listen: If Abe Hummel dictated this illegal affidavit, as he - swears he did, in the latter part of October, 1903; if this is his - work; if these are his words, this his dictation, then he committed - deliberate perjury, gentlemen, and the proof of this perjury was in - the hands of the learned interrogator. He held the paper before him - while the witness was in the chair and could not but know that at - that time the witness was swearing the proof of his perjury was - lying before him. - - “In order that Abraham H. Hummel could testify at all--before his - lips could be unsealed--it was necessary for him to swear he was - not acting in an official or professional capacity for Evelyn - Nesbit when he dictated this statement. Hence the absolute - necessity that this wretched old man should swear that he was not - acting as her attorney. - - “Hence he says, ‘I was not acting for Evelyn Nesbit. There was no - action contemplated by her. She did not consult me in my official - capacity.’ - - “Hence there could exist no professional relations. He said so. - - “This is the famous paper by which Abraham Hummel hoped to help the - District Attorney send Harry Thaw to the electric chair. Who - dictated these words, which lay open before the District Attorney - as he questioned Hummel? - - “‘I received many cablegrams from Mr. Thaw, which I turned over to - my counsel, Abraham Hummel.’ - - “Who dictated these words, if the paper was dictated at all? - Abraham Hummel, who came upon the stand and swore he had never - acted as her attorney--Abraham Hummel! - - “‘Howe & Hummel, attorneys for plaintiff,’ are the words that - appear on the indorsement of this paper. And who was the plaintiff? - Evelyn Nesbit. - - “And the same man who tells you no action was contemplated is the - man who dictated the first words of this affidavit, which read, - ‘Evelyn Nesbit, plaintiff, vs. Harry K. Thaw, defendant.’ - - “This is in letters as legible as I have ever looked upon. Perjured - when he tells you he was not counsel for Evelyn Nesbit, when he - tells you no legal action was intended, when he dictated this - affidavit. - - “You are called upon to convict her of perjury. - - “You are called upon to do so upon the strength of Hummel. And on - that testimony you are called upon to deprive a human being of his - life. - - “How did this paper have its birth? Miss Simonton, as I have told - you, came here after hearing in Paris the story you have all heard. - Arriving here, she went to Mr. White in order to get confirmation - or denial of that story. His body turned icy cold when she told her - story you have heard. - - “He knew that what he had done would not only disgrace him, but - would send him to prison. - - “She was told that Harry Thaw was a married man and that she should - be protected against Harry Thaw, and he took her to Hummel’s - office. What was White’s object in taking her to Hummel’s office? - It was to get from her by some monstrous deception her statement of - her story about herself that would neutralize their efforts should - they ever attempt to bring up against him their story of his - outrage, of his acts.” - -At this point Mr. Delmas had spoken two and one-half hours, and court -was adjourned, with another day of supreme effort ahead for the -brilliant general in command of the defense. - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -“The Unwritten Law”--The Defense Ends. - - DELMAS IN FINAL BURST OF ELOQUENCE CONCLUDES STORY OF EVELYN THAW’S - SAD FATE--DECLARES STANFORD WHITE A MONSTER WHOM THAW WAS JUSTIFIED - IN PUTTING OUT OF THE WAY--CRAZED BY WRONGS DONE TO - EVELYN--REMARKABLE SERIES OF LETTERS--DEFENDANT PICTURED AS A - BENEFACTOR TO SOCIETY--“I NOW, WITH ALL SOLEMNITY, LEAVE IN YOUR - HANDS THE FATE OF HARRY K. THAW.” - - -In a final burst of eloquence seldom equaled before the American bar, -Attorney Delmas concluded his pitiful tale of the wrongs of Evelyn Thaw -and her husband, and concluded dramatically: - -“I now, with all solemnity, gentlemen of the jury, leave in your hands -the fate of Harry K. Thaw.” - -Mr. Delmas made a direct appeal to the unwritten law. He said: - -“Let me call the ‘insanity’ of Thaw ‘Dementia Americana.’ It is the -species of insanity that makes every American man believe his home to be -sacred; that is the species of insanity which makes him believe the -honor of his daughter is sacred; that is the species of insanity which -makes him believe the honor of his wife is sacred; that is the species -of insanity which is him believe that whosoever invades his home, that -whosoever stains the virtue of his threshold, has violated the highest -of human laws and must appeal to the mercy of God, if mercy there be for -him anywhere in the universe.” - -The point of Delmas’ whole argument was that Stanford White deserved his -fate; that Harry Thaw in shooting the architect had acted as the -champion of purity and goodness, and that he had slain a foul monster -that had preyed upon the virtue of women. - -The closing part of the summing up by Delmas was as follows: - - “I will relieve the long suspense which has been occasioned by your - labors by announcing that I will shortly leave the fate of this - defendant in your hands. Before entering upon the remarks which I - propose making it may be useful to cast a rapid glance over what I - have already said, so that you may connect what I shall have to say - with what I have already said. - - “I have endeavored to lay before the eyes of the jury the picture - of the fate of these two young people. I had tried to show the - unfortunate occurrence which befell her when she narrated to him in - the summer of 1903 her awful story of what had happened. I have - shown, or at least have endeavored to convince you, first, that the - facts which she swears she then related were true and, secondly, - that it was true that she did relate them to the defendant at that - time.” - - Here Mr. Delmas endeavored to prove these facts. - - “Gentlemen, I shall prove to you from a number of sources, and - first, without adding any words of my own, in the very language in - which it was told by Evelyn when she was testifying before you. - - “She says, after narrating what took place in Paris in June, 1903: - ‘The effect of this story on Mr. Thaw was terrible. To think of - me--I was so young--and to think of this big, great yellow brute. - It must have been frightful. He could not think of it. He would - walk up and down the room exclaiming, “Oh, God; oh, God,” and kept - sobbing, not like an ordinary sob, but a terrible sob. He kept - saying, “Go on, tell me the whole story.” He said it was not my - fault--that I was simply a poor unfortunate little girl; that he - didn’t think any the less of me on account of it, and he said that - no matter what happened he would always be my friend. He renewed - his proposal of marriage two months after. He said that I was not - to blame--that it was not my fault. - - “‘I told him that if I did marry him the friends of Stanford White - would always laugh at him--that they knew about it and would be - able to sneer at him after our marriage; that it would not be right - for us to get married; that it would not be a good thing because of - his family; it would get him into trouble in his social relations. - He kept saying that he could never care for or love anybody else. - He said he never could marry another woman and that he wanted to - make me his honorable wife. He said I was an unfortunate person and - he thought just as much of me. - - “‘He kept pressing me to become his wife, but I said I could go on - the stage. I said that if he ever met some one he wanted to marry - he would be perfectly free to do so. - - “‘I loved him so dearly, but during the whole period I was refusing - his offers of marriage because I loved him. And I also respected - him.’ - - “‘Sublime renunciation,’ says the sneering district attorney. - ‘Sublime refusal on her part to accept the hand of a wealthy man - when he offered her an honorable union.’ - - “Incredible, he would lead you to believe. - - “‘Impossible!’ the district attorney says, and in the same breath - intimates that it is a falsehood from beginning to end. - - “I shall prove to you by evidence that will convince you beyond - every doubt that this renunciation by Evelyn was sincere. But, - thank God, the great Creator has placed in the breast of gentler - woman the noble sentiment and renunciation for the consolation of - the home and of the world. - - “But I shall prove to you that it is true. I shall prove to you - beyond the slightest doubt that she did refuse him, and refused him - for that reason alone. - - “Man, it may be, has not that great power of renunciation, but in - the gentler breast of woman do we find that great gift of God, and - in the breast of this little girl existed this great strength that - enabled her to put aside her one love when she knew it was for the - good of the one she loved. - - “Sublime renunciation! Ah, it indeed is. Do you remember the - letters he wrote three months after this sublime renunciation? He - says in a letter written in September, 1903: ‘Three months ago I - asked her point-blank. She thought, but said she would not; that it - would shut me out,’ etc. - - “The genuineness of this letter is not disputed; that it was - written to Mr. Longfellow is not denied; that Mr. Longfellow was - the trusted friend and adviser of Harry Thaw is admitted. Three - months before September, 1903, when this was written, was in the - early summer of 1903. Is not that true? Is it not true that she had - refused him? In this letter he says she thought she did not want - the man she loved to become an object of scorn. - - “She looked up to the man she loved and she did not want the man - she loved to be pointed at with the finger of scorn. - - “In her little heart she said, ‘Oh, Harry, I love you. I love you - so much that I will not drag you down. I want to leave you free, - and the moment you say so I shall return to my own sad way. You - shall be free and happy and I will go down until I, like many - others, have disappeared from the world.’ - - “The sneer, then, is unjustified. The sublime renunciation did take - place, although we men may not rise above our sordid occupations to - realize it. Do you remember how his mother saw him holding his - vigil in his room; heard him sob and moan, and how he told her - about the awful wrongs done to a little girl whom he loved? - - “And he told her he desired to protect the child from the vile - wrong that had been done her; that he had proposed marriage, and - that she--I quote the very words of the mother--that she had - refused because she would not drag him down. - - “Has this gray-haired and venerable mother in Israel come here to - perjure herself, or did he deceive her when he told her that he - wanted to extend his protecting arm over the girl whom the other - had betrayed; that she, the poor little girl who was earning her - living by the talents God had given her--she refused the man, not - because she did not love him, but because she thought it would not - be fitting to wed the man she so dearly loved. - - “Sublime, indeed, was the renunciation of this girl, unless the - mother of Harry Thaw has not told the truth upon the stand. I - return to her story as told in her own words. She says: ‘He talked - altogether too much of this thing. He did not sleep nights. He - cried too much about it. It was not crying, but terrible sobbing. - He would sit for hours without speaking or moving, and it was - terrible, terrible. He got worse about it. He would sit for hours - in a chair, just biting his nails. And then, in the midst of it, he - would suddenly ask me about Stanford White. It seemed to be - something that was ever present.’ - - “This, gentlemen, was the condition of Harry Thaw when, in 1903, he - parted from Evelyn Nesbit and sent her back ahead of him to New - York. You have the first faint dawn of that mental condition which - manifested itself three years after. The tower in which reason held - its seat did not topple over, but its foundations were already - beginning to be undermined. - - “The storm had not burst forth, but the dark clouds were gathering - from the four quarters of the horizon, from which lightning and - thunder were three years afterwards to burst forth. - - “She says that he called upon her as soon as he arrived in New - York--the middle of November. She had got to this city in the - latter part of October. In the meantime such things had happened - here that when the man whom she loved and whose hand she had - refused called upon her she declined to see him alone, and she - says: ‘I saw him at the Navarre. I would not see him alone. He came - into the room and sat beside me and said: “What is the matter with - you?” and I said: “I don’t care to speak to you because I have - heard certain things about you.” He said he did not understand, and - wanted me to tell him. - - “‘I told him that I had heard terrible stories. He said, “Poor - Evelyn! They have deceived you!” I told him that Mr. White had - taken me to Abraham Hummel’s office and that they had showed me - papers which they said were filed in a suit by a young woman - against him. He said, “Poor little girl! You can believe them if - you wish.” The interview lasted ten minutes. I persisted I did not - want to have anything to do with him. At the parting he kissed my - hand and said no matter what happened he would always love me and I - would be an angel to him.’ - - “Gentlemen, I ask you to picture yourself in the state of mind - Harry Thaw was in when he received such a greeting from the woman - he loved--the one he had parted from but a few weeks ago; the one - he had sworn to devote his whole life to. I ask you to imagine what - his condition of mind was when he returned to New York and found - that she had had her mind so poisoned against him again by the man - who had been the cause of all her misfortune. - - “She would allow White to fill her mind with these terrors of Harry - Thaw to such an extent that she refused to see Harry Thaw alone. - And what must have been the condition of mind of that poor man when - he exclaimed, ‘Oh, poor, deluded Evelyn!’ and stooped and kissed - her and then parted, as she believed, forever from her. - - “Gentlemen, what was the condition of his mind is pictured to your - eyes by documents of immeasurable worth, telling the story of this - epoch in Harry Thaw’s life. - - “The series of letters that voiced the wail that came from his - suffering soul is unparalleled in history from the time of the - Greeks to the present day. - - “He wrote to her the day after he had kissed her hand and parted - from her--she thought for all time--he wrote: ‘Yesterday I saw - you--you believed everything false people told you. Poor little - Evelyn! You have fallen back into the hands of the man who poisoned - your life--who poisoned your mind. I have no reproaches to heap on - your head, for I know you are honest. - - “‘I must fight this battle alone.’ his letter went on. ‘I should - have bet every cent in the world three weeks ago that no hypnotism - in the world could have made you turn on me.’ - - “If this man (Hummel) who sat upon that chair and perjured himself - in your presence--had he kept away with his smooth tongue and - professional tricks and devices, poor little Evelyn Thaw would not - have turned away from her the man who loved her and who was ready - to sacrifice his life for her. - - “She would not have broken the vow which she pledged. She would - have kept the purest thing from the pollution of those - double-minded, lying, deceitful, treacherous persons. - - “‘I am changed, but not in truth or faithfulness. Alone I cannot - settle down. I am not responsible now, so I am frivolous and not at - all as I was before. I can do no more than make the best of it, - which was far from bad except for regrets--every loss, every - illness, every opportunity missed--all these together are but as - the raging sea of water to a battling ship. Everything is trivial - to me now.’ - - “Pages neither of poetry nor oratory contain a more simple story of - anguish than the one of this young man, seeing the object of his - affections won from him by this man who had wrecked her life. - - “All was lost to him and the world appeared to him flat. He had - nothing to live for--all the ambitions of his life were gone and - whatever could happen was but as a glass of water in the sea in - which a ship was battling. He left New York in November for his - mother’s home in Pittsburg in this condition. - - “Up to that time Harry Thaw had been a man of cheerful and sanguine - temperament. His mother saw a change had come over her son the - moment he crossed the door. His manner was entirely different. He - had an absent-minded look, as if he had lost everything. - - “She told how she then in the dark of night had found him sitting - up on his bed fully dressed--how she questioned him. ‘It’s no - use,’ he said, ‘I cannot sleep.’ The mother was allowed to peep - into the heart of the suffering son by the story she brought out, - little by little. - - “But even then he would not tell the girl’s name, and then you - remember the scene in the church and while the organ pealed; how - the sob broke from his throat and the tears gushed from his eyes, - and how when his mother asked him why he had sobbed he answered, - ‘But for him she might have been with us today.’ - - “That was the condition of his mind; that one thing was ever in his - mind. - - “He could not, he would not forget--great, courageous, indomitable - man, who believes he has a mission to fulfill, to make one more - effort to rescue her from the hands of vice into which Stanford - White had lured her. He came back to New York and met her in a drug - store, where the artificial means were found to supply the beauty - she possessed, and he said: ‘Oh, these things are not for you.’ And - you remember how, afterward, they met as mere acquaintances in the - street and passed the time of day. - - “Here again no words of mine could supply the picture that is - furnished by the words of the wife herself as they fell from her - lips on the stand. She says that when they met at the Cafe Beaux - Arts: ‘I said I was going to a play, and Mr. Thaw said I looked - badly and wished I would not go to the play. He would pay me my - salary I would lose--that he would send it through a third party. - He begged me merely for the sake of my health not to go to the - theater. - - “‘But I said that I would go; that I had no other means of - livelihood.’ You remember they met a couple of days afterward and - he asked her to tell him of the stories that had been told about - him. ‘I told him then,’ she said, ‘all they had said about him and - that he was addicted to morphine and had many other vices, and he - said he could easily understand that they had made a fool of me. He - urged investigation.’ - - “She could find nothing in the stories. ‘I never lie,’ Thaw told - her. ‘You never told me a lie in your life,’ she said. And while - she was investigating these stories spread by Abraham Hummel for - the protection of Stanford White, he told her all these things had - been disseminated by Stanford White and his friend. - - “When she discovered that these awful stories were untrue--learned - that they had been disseminated by Stanford White and Abe Hummel - for the purpose of separating her from the man who loved her and - whom she loved--hope began once more to dawn upon him. - - “The hour of reconciliation was at hand. The barriers which had - been set up between them were one by one falling to ruin and the - two persons whom God and nature had intended to be united were - drawing nearer to each other. - - “That night in December, 1903--that night might have been, - gentlemen, the beginning of another tragic chapter in the life of - this poor child--the night when Stanford White in the lofty room in - the tower where he had spread a banquet in celebration of the - birthday of his child victim--the night in which he was to lure her - once again if possible, and bring her under his influence--the - night in which, amid the glare of the lights and the splendor of - the treasures he had planned to renew his power over the child - victim. - - “And the little girl, who had resisted the pleadings of rescuing - her came to her and snatched her from the clutches of Stanford - White--snatched her from the snares set for her--from the man whose - very existence had been a menace to her and the curse of his whole - life. - - “He folded her in his arms; he snatched her away from the old man. - And that night began another series of events. It was on that night - that Stanford White, baffled, his plans disconcerted, went about - that theater in Madison Square hunting for his victim, and, finding - her not, pistol in hand and with impotent rage in his heart, - threatened to shoot the man who had baffled his schemes. - - “And that night Harry Thaw, as he walked the streets of New York, - found that his footsteps were being dogged by hired malefactors in - the pay of Stanford White, and he learned in a few days of the - threat of Stanford White and his hirelings. From that moment the - dread of his life being taken away by this man added a grim specter - to the one that already had been haunting him. - - “And he from that time, as she relates to you, began to think - himself persecuted by Stanford White. The scurrilous stories - circulated in newspapers and elsewhere he attributed to him. He - expressed apprehension of personal violence and impressed upon her - mind that if he died she was to have his death investigated and to - spare no pains. - - “He told her he would probably be set upon in New York by some one - in the employ of Stanford White. He said the Monk Eastman gang had - been hired to kill him and the fear of death constantly haunted - him. - - “Consider in this connection, consider the strange clause in his - will--if you will not take it from Evelyn--the strange clause - appropriating the sum of $50,000 to be devoted to the investigation - into his death, should it occur. - - “In 1904, in the latter part of the year, or the beginning of 1905, - a second operation was performed on Evelyn. And when she was - convalescent the man who for two years had loved her, the man who - had told her sad story to his mother in 1903, who had been refused - by her because she thought their union would interfere with his - family relations--that man, I say, such was the constancy and - fervor of his love, persuaded his mother to come to the little - girl whose sad story she knew and whom in her heart she could not - but revere. - - “And she came to New York--she, embodiment of all that a good wife - and mother means--she came and saw the little girl and assured her - that she would be welcome to her home; that no allusion would ever - be made to her sad story. - - “And the little girl, who had resisted the pleadings of the man who - had loved her and because she loved him, could not resist the - pleadings of the mother, and on April 4, 1905, they were united at - the altar, when he in return for her love pledged to her before - Almighty God that he would protect her. And these two were then - made one. - - “And after a trip westward they returned to the shades of - Lyndhurst, the old family homestead. They were happy in each - other’s love, happy in each other’s confidence, forgetting the - past. - - “But social or business exigencies would not prevent them from - coming to New York, and one day while riding down one of your - streets there appeared the form of the man who had been the cause - of so much anguish, and he, though she was the wife of another man, - stared at her, and had the audacity to call her by her first name. - - “She went back to the hotel where her husband was, and told him - what had happened. And he, in his anger, exclaimed: ‘The dirty - blackguard had no right to speak to you--no right to speak your - name.’ And he extracted from her the promise that no matter what - happened she would tell him all. - - “‘He made me,’ she says, ‘promise that if I ever saw Stanford White - I was to come home and tell him of it.’ - - “They next met in New York when she was going to a physician. - Their hansoms crossed at Thirty-fourth street. He stared at her, - pulled at his mustache, and stared and stared. She did not speak to - him, but looked away and turned into Twenty-second street. - - “He also turned, and as she ran up the stairs of her doctor’s he - followed her. She became frightened, and ran down the steps and - jumped into a hansom and drove to the Lorraine, where she told her - husband. - - “‘He got excited,’ she said, ‘and bit his nails.’ In May, 1906, not - long before the hour which was to be Stanford White’s last on - earth, this is the story that she related to her husband. She told - him that Miss Mae MacKenzie had told her that Stanford White had - been to the hospital to see her. That she, Mae MacKenzie, had said - to him, ‘Isn’t it nice the way Harry and Evelyn really do care for - each other?’ and that she said that she had found it out, and that - Stanford White said: ‘Pooh! I don’t believe it.’ And Miss MacKenzie - had replied: ‘Oh, yes; it is true. I know it myself, and I think it - is so nice,’ and Stanford White had remarked: ‘Well, it will not - last long. I will get her back.’ All this she related to her - husband. - - “Then, when she told her husband what Mae MacKenzie had told her, - he became wild, and began to gnaw his finger nails. Did he not have - cause to get wild, to lose that reason which in a civilized - community one is supposed to stifle? - - “‘I stole her once from her mother, I will steal her now from her - husband,’ Stanford White said. But between him and the consummation - of that act there remained the strong arm of that young man to - protect her from his snares. - - “You remember how at Daly’s Theater Harry Thaw and his wife saw - Stanford White in a box opposite, and how when he saw him, he - became enraged. - - “When he looked into those eyes, into which so many a young girl - had looked before she went down to her ruin, his eyes grew wild and - he just sat there and stared and stared at the object of his - thoughts. She says, describing another meeting: ‘At another time, - when Harry and I were passing Herald Square in a hansom, we saw - Stanford White on the street. Mr. Thaw grew white and his eyes - glared. He talked so fast that I could not understand him. He - carried on in this way for about fifteen minutes. I believe Harry - had a fit then and there. He shook violently. He moaned and - clenched and unclenched his hands, and that was the way he acted - when he saw Stanford White. - - “‘One Sunday,’ said Evelyn, ‘he was sitting in a chair in my room - and suddenly he began to sob and cry without any warning whatever, - apparently gazing upon vacancy.’ - - “His mind was always on this man. He cried until at last his own - wife could not but believe this subject--the thought of Stanford - White--had preyed so on his mind that he had become insane. - - “The man who had brooded over those pictures of horror for three - years--this man would have been more than human if he could have - preserved a calmness of reason. Now, gentlemen, place yourselves in - the position of this defendant. - - “Recall the time, those of you who have wives, recall the time that - you led the one you loved to the altar, and if possible do this - defendant justice. You remember when the little lady tells you that - her husband on this subject had lost his mind--do you remember in - this connection the spontaneous exclamation of the friend who, on - hearing the shots fired on the Madison Square Roof-garden, made the - exclamation: ‘This is the act of an insane man.’ - - “Gentlemen, nothing now remains for me to do but to call your - attention to the events of the night of the tragedy. With a view - simply of elucidating the great point, fix your attention on this - point--that is, the condition of mind of the defendant on that - fateful night--you recall that Mr. Thaw, his wife and two friends - were seated at dinner at the Cafe Martin, a place of public - entertainment in this city. The time was summer, the evening - doubtless was sultry. Tables had been set upon the balcony, the - veranda on the outside for the accommodation of those who desired a - cooler spot. - - “Now, while this party of four were seated at the table, Stanford - White, by accident or design, came into the room in which they were - seated. He came in through such an entrance that Harry Thaw himself - could not see him. After White went out on the veranda on the Fifth - avenue side and remained there a considerable time. - - “The wife, seeing him, forbore at the time to call her husband’s - attention to him, and only when he was gone did she call his - attention on paper. She wrote upon it, ‘The B----’ (meaning - blackguard) ‘was there, but has gone out again.’ - - “As denoting the condition of mind of the defendant at that time, - he turned to his wife and said to her, ‘Are you all right?’ and her - answer that she was mastered every emotion he had in that public - place and the incident had no further consequence. Now, you will - remember that during the afternoon Thaw had procured four tickets - for the performance that was to take place that night at the - garden. He took with him his party and on the way took along - another friend to whom he gave his own seat. He went about with his - busy, nervous activity which characterizes him until he found a - seat beside the witness Smith. - - “He sat by Mr. Smith for half an hour engaging in such idle - conversation as so-called men of the world indulge in--men whose - minds are not seriously engaged in the serious problems of life. - - “When Thaw saw White he walked quietly and slowly down the aisle - until he faced White and then fired three shots. - - “He then slowly and deliberately turned away--and I wish to call - your attention especially to this circumstance, apparently slight, - but to my mind of the utmost importance, and testified to by the - defense. Mr. Meyer Cohen, one of the witnesses, said that as soon - as he heard the shots he looked and saw Thaw standing facing the - audience with his arms spread out in the form of a cross, a - circumstance which has not been dwelt upon by any of the learned - experts for the State. - - “Mr. Thaw stood as a priest might have stood after some ceremony of - sacrificial offering, saying, ‘All is over,’ and dismissing the - congregation. He turned his pistol barrel down to indicate to the - audience that there was no danger to them. - - “He then walked slowly to where his wife stood, and when she said, - ‘Oh, Harry, what have you done?’ he replied: ‘It is all right, - dearie, I have probably saved your life.’ As he said this he - stooped and kissed her. When he was disarmed he said, ‘He has - ruined my wife.’ When the policeman came he said: ‘He has ruined my - wife.’ - - “I have dwelt upon these acts and declarations of Mr. Thaw at that - time to call your attention to the fact that the safety of his wife - was menaced by the man who had followed her to the garden, the same - man who had followed her to Dr. Delavan, the same man who had said - to Mae MacKenzie he would get this young wife away from Thaw. - - “What condition of mind must Harry K. Thaw have been in when - walking down the aisle he turned and suddenly saw the form--the - hideous form--of the man who had caused so much unhappiness. - - “If you have been near death you know that at such a time the mind - travels with the rapidity of lightning. The mind goes back over the - past like lightning. Then Thaw, as he looked upon the hideous form - of this man, saw the whole panorama of White’s life. He saw him - making his way into the family where poverty dwelt; saw him laying - bare his plans to ingratiate himself; saw him giving the mother - money to absent herself from the city that he might perpetrate the - deed of shame he had planned; saw him inflaming her youthful - imagination; plying her with wine; saw her mind wandering under the - fatal drug; saw her losing consciousness; saw her in her shame; saw - him next day kissing the hem of her dress; heard his thousand - protestations of love; heard her refusing, and saw that chamber in - Paris where she told him the story of her wrongs; heard again his - oft proposals to her; he saw that terrible night when she had told - him her story; he saw himself as he walked the floor and cried, - ‘Oh, God! Oh, God!’ - - “He saw her return to New York; he saw her meet this man who had - wronged her; he saw her about to fall into this villain’s hands, - and he saw himself rescue her from this man. He saw himself again - at the altar marrying her. - - “He saw her when her mind was poisoned against him by the same man - who had ruined her; he saw her rescued from the man; he went over - the happy months he had lived with her in his mother’s house; he - saw this monster and he heard his words, ‘I will get her back,’ and - he knew not, he reasoned not, he struck as does the tigress to - protect her home--struck for the purity of American homes--struck - for the purity of American maidens--struck for the purity of - American wives. He struck, and who shall say he was not right? - - “He had appealed to the Pinkertons, to the district attorney, and - that night he appealed to God, and God that night answered that - cry--the cry of the fatherless child. And God then redeemed the - promise He had made thousands of years ago when He said He would - hear the cries of the afflicted and that He would make the wives of - the oppressors widows and their children orphans. - - “Ah, gentlemen, what was his condition of mind at that time? Men, - judge your fellow-man as ye would be judged. Place yourselves as - far as in your power lies in the place he stood. - - “It is for the district attorney to prove that the defendant was - sane, and if he fails to do this he has not established his case. - He must establish that he was sane at the time. - - “And I ask you not to violate any law, and I ask you to judge by - that law which bids you do unto others what you desire others to do - unto you. - - “Send this young man to his death for what he did when goaded into - frenzy by the persecution he had suffered? He turned at last as the - weakest of created things will turn--as a worm, it is said, will - turn against his tormentors--send him to his death for that? - - “Ah, gentlemen, recall the language of the great book in which is - contained the wisdom and religion of the people of old, and I say - to you, Is Jonathan to die for ridding Israel of its pollution? - - “Is Jonathan to die for working this great salvation in Israel? - - “God forbid! Not a hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for - he walked with God on that day. - - “I now with all solemnity leave in your hands the fate of Harry K. - Thaw.” - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -“Thou Shalt Not Kill”--Jerome. - - PROSECUTOR IN TERRIFIC DENUNCIATION OF HARRY THAW AS A COLD-BLOODED - MURDERER--ATTACKS CHARACTER OF EVELYN, THE “ANGEL CHILD WHO WAS - ALWAYS READY TO GO TO THE HUMAN OGRE” WHOM THAW KILLED--SNEERS AT - THE YOUNG WIFE--WARNS JURY AGAINST “DEMENTIA AMERICANA,” - PLEA--“NOTHING TO SHOW DEFENDANT WAS INSANE; EVERYTHING TO SHOW HE - WAS SANE. - - -In his supreme effort to send Harry Thaw to the electric chair, District -Attorney Jerome in his closing speech savagely lashed the defendant as a -deliberate, cold-blooded murderer. He bitterly attacked the characters -of Thaw and his wife, referring to Evelyn as “the angel child,” who was -“always ready to go to the human ogre who stripped her of her virtue,” -and declared her story of her ruin by White was absolutely false. - -Mr. Jerome lost no opportunity to sneer at the little wife’s tragic -story and at the chivalry of her husband, and he paid his respects to -Delmas’ sensational “Dementia Americana,” or unwritten law plea, by -asking if it was the higher law under which a man may flaunt the woman -through the capitals of Europe for two years as his mistress--and then -kill. - -The prosecutor warned the jury that it would be a violation of their -oaths to consider “Dementia Americana,” declaring it had no status on -the Atlantic seaboard. - -Mr. Jerome said: “This is simply a common, vulgar, everyday, tenderloin -homicide.” He denounced the plea of Attorney Delmas as “an appeal to the -passions.” There could, he said, be but one of four verdicts--murder in -the first degree, murder in the second degree, manslaughter, or “not -guilty because of insanity.” - -The prosecutor also made a stirring appeal in behalf of the slain -architect, declaring that he had been villainously maligned. Mr. Jerome -said it seemed to him that the voice of the murdered Stanford White was -crying out to him, “Can’t you say one word for me? Must I go down to the -fires of hell unheard--undefended.” - -William Travers Jerome, elected district attorney of New York on -November 5, 1902, won a great reputation as a reformer and a foe of -vice, gambling, crooked politicians, and every other evil. Before being -elected prosecutor, on a fusion ticket which overwhelmed the corrupt -Tammany hall machine, he was a justice of the court of special sessions -in New York City. - -As a private lawyer he was favorably known for the intense earnestness -he put into the cases of his clients. As a platform orator; a -campaigner and a hustler for votes he had his name to make, and he made -it. He was the bright, particular star of the campaign, and drew larger -crowds and excited more enthusiasm from immense assemblies than any -other speaker during the campaign. - -William Travers son of the well-known Larry Jerome, grew from a puny -baby to a boy too delicate to meet the rough-and-tumble life of public -schools. He had a private tutor, and after he left the tutor’s care he -entered Amherst College. He remained there three years, and at the end -of that time he left on account of poor health. - -But it was not in the Jerome blood to stay downed. Next year William -Travers Jerome entered Columbia College Law School, and was graduated in -1884. - -After that he traveled considerably, practiced law a little and amused -himself a little. By 1888 he was ready to settle down, and in that year -three important things happened in his life. He was appointed Assistant -District Attorney. He married Miss Hart, of Sharon, Conn. Lawrence -Jerome, his father, died. - -In the District Attorney’s office Jerome made a reputation among the -other assistants as a man who never gave up in the most thankless task, -and as an embryo politician who never worked for his own pocket. Jerome -has his failings and his friends, as well as his foes, know this well. -His chief weakness is a desire to say startling things. He has said -several, the most remarkable being an attack on William C. Whitney and -Boss Platt and the declaration that there was a plot hatched to either -kill him or scratch him at the polls. Jerome was called to time on these -propositions, and he retracted--but he did it without crawling. Jerome -is too outspoken to be a successful politician. His aggressiveness and -his fearlessness are admirable. - -Mr. Jerome’s speech was as follows: - - “If it please your honor and gentlemen of the jury, you seem, as - far as I can judge, to have been wandering through a weird deal of - romance in the past few days. It is not on statements such as you - have listened to that the life of a human individual on the one - hand nor the safety of the community on the other depends. - - “And important as it is that no human life shall be put out except - justly, yet it is equally important that it be put out if justice - demands it. - - “As to this ‘dementia Americana,’ which ‘prevails from the Canadian - line to the Gulf of Mexico’--and mostly on the Gulf of Mexico--does - it wait three years and glare at its enemy and then kill? - - “Does this ‘dementia Americana’ flaunt the woman it loves for two - long years through the capitals of Europe and then kill? ‘Dementia - Americana’ never hides behind the skirts of a woman; ‘dementia - Americana’ never puts a woman on the stand to lay bare her shame to - protect it; no woman could in the category where ‘dementia - Americana’ prevails. - - “‘When I discharged those shots into his head,’ said Thaw, ‘I - didn’t know I was discharging shots. I didn’t know it was Stanford - White. I didn’t know I was killing him, nor did I know it was - wrong.’ - - “It was wrong under the law. When the anarchists threw the bombs in - Chicago they had no personal grievance against any of the four - policemen who were killed. It is not a question whether the slayer - justified himself, not the form of his own conscience. It is the - law of the land that must be satisfied. - - “Let me first deal with the dead man. A middle-aged man, care-gray - already, a man with a wife and children, a man of position in the - community, a man of genius. He comes into the life of this girl. He - assists her and her family. Does he make a single insidious advance - until the night mentioned here? - - “Does he give her a single rich gift? Why, it was stipulated here - that the gifts were trifles--a hat, a coat. Did he try to dazzle - her with rich gifts? Did he try to see if she would yield to drink? - No. Night after night at dinners he would tell her she could have - but one glass of champagne. In the company of actresses, and those - miserable persons about town who seem to think that the society of - a chorus girl is the only one for them, did he not seek to protect - her from them? - - “This angel child, as Delmas depicted her--this chaste, good being, - cannot recall the time within three months of it when this brute - ruined her. - - “When she could not fix the time of her life’s wreck my learned - friend from the Pacific slope concluded, ‘Why don’t you prove an - alibi for Stanford White? The doors are thrown wide open.’ When the - people called Wittans to testify that there was no such drug as she - described the door was closed. When Eichemeyer, the photographer, - was called to fix the date of the event--it occurred the night of - the day after this picture was taken--the door was closed. - - “The learned judge ruled justly. I offered this not as new - evidence, but to call the story of the ‘angel child.’ - - “Maidens know well enough to appreciate the distinction between - right and wrong--their blushes, their reserve, their shrinking - would impress upon them indelibly the time when any such attempt is - made to destroy their purity. Was she brought up more carefully - than your own daughters? - - “And yet she meets him again and again and again. She meets him - eight or ten times at the tower. She meets him in the Twenty-fourth - street place because she believed others would be there. And then - all these subsequent attacks were attacks with liquor. After all - these, there was marked for identification, with greatest - ostentation, a number of letters written by Stanford White--this - great ogre! - - “And yet you will recall that on one occasion a Mr. P. called at - the Twenty-fourth street house and found the angel child downstairs - undressing. - - “Was there one of these letters put in evidence! Is it credible - that if a single one of these letters contained the slightest - intimation of indecency that it would not have been put in - evidence? - - “Could there have been these successive ill-treatments month after - month and yet not a single line in all those letters except words - of tender appreciation? Contrast those letters with this, for - instance: ‘Men celebrated for licking toes,’ the letter of this - most modern St. George, who leads the angel child up to the true - light. After days of description of the baseness and debauchery of - Stanford White, it seems as if the spirit of Stanford White itself - would have come here to say to Evelyn Thaw: ‘What! Not one word of - kindness--not one word to say for me?’” - - Here Jerome’s voice broke, his chin quivered, and he sobbed for a - moment. Drying his eyes, he continued: - - “The law will not allow it.” (Jerome, still talking of the spirit - of White, added: “I am not on trial. I have no one here to speak - for me.”) - - Jerome’s eyes filled with more tears as he went on: - - “‘Can you not say one word for me? Only one word for me,’ the - spirit seemed to say.” - - The tears started down Jerome’s face. He faced the jury, holding - aloft the photograph taken by Eichemeyer--the one on the bear rug. - Then he cried with evident feeling: - - “Can’t you say for me something? On the stand she said, ‘I know no - one who was nicer or kinder than Stanford White, except for this - one awful thing. He was exceptionally kind to me and to my family. - - “‘Outside of this one thing he was a grand man. And when I said so - to Mr. Thaw he said that only made Stanford White the more - dangerous. - - “‘He had a strong personality and had many friends, and they - believed in him and could not believe anything bad about him. And - even when they believed, they said: “Too bad. He is so good.”’ - - “Can there be any grander, better panegyric, uttered than this by - this girl on the stand. I am here not to defend Stanford White. - That he had his faults, his gross faults, no one will deny. - - “But there is a difference between the brute, and the unchaste. Her - own words have ruined this Jekyll and Hyde theory. - - “Can it be possible that now, at twenty-two, she could look back to - the time when she was fifteen and pronounce so grand a panegyric - upon a brute? - - “A wealthy man, finding, God only knows why, enjoyment in her - company--see how young she seems today (pointing to Evelyn - Thaw)--think how young she must have been then--that a rich man - should have tried to help her is consistent with his conduct. - - “That when she was told by the manager of the ‘Florodora’ company, - to whom she had applied, that they were not ‘running a baby - farm’--that a man like Stanford White should have taken care of her - and protected her--is certainly not inconsistent with the belief - that her relations with him were pure. - - “Again, it is consistent that their relations were not pure. This - girl alone knows. But I submit this girl is not telling the truth. - There is no proof of the wrongdoing.” - - At this point Jerome asked that a recess be taken. At the - reconvening of court, Mr. Jerome resumed as follows: - - “I have carefully laid out to you what we are here for in our - respective duties. I have presented briefly as I could the facts - that I have adduced. - - “The head on which I am now dwelling is, ‘What is the defense that - the defendant makes to this formal charge?’ I deem it necessary to - dwell at some length on the character of the three persons who - figure most in this case. However, much as we may disagree, we come - back to the issue: ‘Did he know the nature and quality of his act?’ - - “‘I did not know it was a self-cocking revolver and I did not know - I walked toward Stanford White and I I not know it was against the - law of the land to fire the shots.’ - - “In regard to the girl, we may esteem her, however much or little - we may think of her veracity. Nothing can go out to her except our - pity. If these things did not occur, if she perjured herself it - seems even more that she needs our pity. - - “What chance did she ever have in life? Her father died early, her - mother led a life of shifting about from place to place. We all - know what life on the stage is. We all see some of it. Why do you - suppose Garland, a married man, was following this girl about; why - do you suppose even Thaw was pursuing her with flowers? This little - girl knew something of life before she met Mr. White. - - “Counsel for the defense speaks of her fatal gift of beauty. It is - ever thus. We are all men of the world and we all pass along the - great white way of this city and see its effects daily. - - “Why do you suppose Garland was paying her attention? Why was Thaw - sending her American Beauty roses? Why did he pursue her even to - her home? I don’t wish to speak too harshly of this mother. I will - read what she says of Garland. - - “‘My mother was not entirely pleased with the relations of Mr. - Garland.’ - - “What were the relations that caused the mother to make objection? - They were very poor and the acquaintance of White and Garland was - desirable. The girl, you know, was sent to school. The whole - situation centered about the girl. It was she who, in the long run, - brought about all these occurrences. - - “Next time, Mr. Hartridge, that you take things and papers - belonging to Evelyn Thaw out of a storage warehouse, take good care - that you do not leave behind such a book as this.” - - Mr. Jerome displayed a flexible leather-bound book in which there - appeared a good deal of written matter. Jerome then raised the - diary, or book, and shook it before the jury. Mr. Hartridge - objected at this point and said that there was no evidence that he - had taken the documents from the warehouse. Mr. Hartridge was - overruled by Justice Fitzgerald. Jerome then read the one entry of - the diary which had been admitted in evidence. It was: - - “‘I jumped right in and proceeded to be good. The first thing I saw - was my virtuous couch. I wonder how far I am from - Rector’s--Rector’s and the Great White Way.’ - - “Significant, I consider that, indeed I do,” said Jerome, and then - continued reading from the girl’s school diary. - - “‘These things have always been of that kind. Not one of them will - ever be anything. Mrs. De Mille was very nice and agreeable. - - “‘I was taken into the house and shown all the celerity of a - soubrette and proceeded to get shy. When we drove up to the house - Mrs. De Mille’s son came out smoking a pipe, and I must admit he is - a pie-faced mutt. - - “‘I was taken into the house and shown to my room. It is neither - large nor small; has Japanese paper on the walls. There is a - virtuous white bed, a girl’s bureau and a washstand.’” - - Then Jerome went on: - - “This shows that this child played one man against the other. She - went to Paris on Thaw’s money with White’s letter of credit in her - pocket. This child that believed not at all in the virtue of - women--this child who had been in the ‘Florodora’ company--this - child who had been yachting with Garland--this child who had been - to the late suppers where risque stories and intoxicated women - prevailed. This child thought it was nothing to be a good - mother--that she would rather become a great actress first, and she - arrived in Paris fully convinced that there is no virtue in - womankind, she being eighteen and a half at that time. - - “This is the angel child described by Mr. Delmas. And then we are - told that in Paris the child loved Thaw and in the greatness of her - love renounced him and was willing to come back to the chorus and - the studios. She made this renunciation and when she had done so - she traveled about Europe with this St. George who had revealed to - her that there was chastity in women, and then she leaves him for - some reason, which I will dwell upon later, and comes to New York - with his money. - - “She arrives in this city on October 24, 1903, and is found a few - days later in the office of Abraham Hummel in the company of - Stanford White, the man who had so dreadfully ill-used her. If not - another thing was found in that affidavit than the signature of - Evelyn Nesbit, this date, which appears opposite that name, would - be significant. - - “The significant thing is that within twenty-four hours before she - saw him on Sunday her great love had been undermined so that she - deserted this man for the monster who had wrecked her life. - - “By stories too evil to repeat, she says, she was turned against - Thaw. And then, when he returned, she tells him of what she had - heard about him, and he says, ‘Poor little Evelyn. Somebody has - deceived you.’ - - “And when I call her renunciation of this young man sublime I did - not do so with a sneer. Such a renunciation, if it really occurred, - is unparalleled in history. - - “Great actress, indeed! She thought she could play on you like so - many children. Look at those pictures taken when she was sixteen - years old--does she look anything like the way she appeared in - court? - - “She appears in these early photographs in a way which you could - not allow a daughter of yours of sixteen to appear. - - “She comes here in her little school-girl dress--her little white, - turned-down collars, which cover all but the flowing ends of a - pretty childlike bow-tie. She sits in the witness chair and tries - to impress on you this assumed, youthful childishness. - - “There she was a poor, wronged, orphan child, whom Thaw would take - to his arms and protect. Sir Galahad took that angel child--took - her from her mother and flaunted her through every capital of - Europe. ‘Dementia Americana’--the higher, unwritten law! Why, you - may paint Stanford White in as black color as you wish, but there - are no colors in the artists’ box black enough to paint this Sir - Galahad. Why should this Sir Galahad be abandoned by this girl? Why - should she leave him? For some reason she did leave him. Why? Let - us go into the Hummel affidavit. - - “What do we find Thaw doing? We find him wrapping $50 around - American Beauty roses and sending them to her. Is that the course - of honorable courtship? - - “‘Rector’s, I know, is not the proper place for an innocent young - person, but I always had a weakness for it.’ (Mr. Jerome read from - the diary.) - - “‘It is my ambition to see things and then settle down; but I want - to be a good actress before I settle down to a humdrum existence.’” - - Jerome again read from the diary of the girl, Evelyn Nesbit. - - “You have heard what took place in Paris--mother, daughter and Thaw - were living together. Thaw asked her there to be his wife and she - refused, and when he asked her why she said: - - “‘Because.’ And he asked. ‘Is it Stanford White?’ and she said, - ‘Yes.’ And then we are told she gave him the entire story. - - “She had nothing ahead of her. There was a man she saw she loved. - He offered her his wealth in return for that love. She laid it - aside--all the comforts of life. Wasn’t that a sublime resignation? - - “He offered her a haven of rest--rest for the wanderer. And yet so - great was that love for him that she would not accept him. Those - were noble words for this man to say. This girl’s renunciation was - truly sublime--if true. She might not have known how Stanford - White, like the brute negro of the South, would look upon his - victim with passion, but she did not know that it was wrong. - - “I don’t think Hummel is an upright man, and he is in the position - he is in just because I put him there. He will go to jail and he - will stay there just as long as I can keep him there. He has lived - as a blackguarding blackmailer for twenty years and anything coming - from his hands must be viewed by you justly with suspicion. - - “But Abraham Snydecker swore that he took that affidavit to Evelyn - Nesbit there in the Madison Square tower and that she read it and - signed it. Let us see what she herself says about that affidavit. - The itinerary set down in the affidavit corresponds exactly with - her description of it. Were all these things put in there by - Hummel? Strange touches for this old blackmailing, blackguarding - scoundrel to have put into that affidavit--such little touches as - reference to a watch and to a hypodermic needle used for morphine, - which she says she found in Thaw’s trunk. - - “I will concede that this story may have been dressed up by the - lawyer. Can we think of the suggestions in her own testimony of the - Ethel Thomas suit? Can we think of the rumors of Dillingham’s - story? Can we fail to remark upon that passage in his letter in - which he says, ‘He will never hurt you,’ referring to himself? - - “Snydecker says that affidavit was taken to the Twenty-seventh - street studio and her signature appears exactly opposite the date. - - “Strange that after her return from Europe--from Thaw--she should - immediately have gone to him, to White. - - “A knight of old, redressing the wrongs of injured maidens, would - not have gone to Rector’s at 2 o’clock in the morning, would not - have gone to cakewalks and cafes, to the Dead Rat in Paris and - resorts in other places, to remain there all night and go home when - the market wakes. - - “Almost within earshot of his wife he asked Smith--this knight of - old asked: - - “Would you like to meet a nice, buxom brunette? Are you much - married? I am going abroad and I can put you next. - - “Every element, gentlemen, in this case is simply an ordinary, - mere, vulgar, every-day, Tenderloin, low, sordid murder. - - “If this rich young man instead of being Harry Thaw, the son of a - millionaire of Pittsburg, had been a poor Italian and his victim, - instead of a man of artistic temperament, a maker of plaster casts, - and a girl whom they quarreled about was a chorus girl in the - London Theater, how long would brainstorms and paranoia have - prevailed? - - “Simply a mere, ordinary Tenderloin homicide. Because she has a - pretty face and a child-like manner, she is coming here to tell a - tissue of lies to prevent you gentlemen from putting a deliberate, - cold-blooded murderer under ground. - - “Will you gentlemen acquit a cold-blooded, cowardly, deliberate - murderer on the ground of ‘dementia Americana’? - - “Thaw himself, the girl swore, accused her of having resumed - relations with White after she returned from Paris. Where does this - man’s conduct show aught that he did not know the quality and - nature of his act? We have the letters A to I. The girl says that - at times in 1903 Thaw was drinking heavily.” - - Jerome argued that neither Thaw’s letters nor his will indicated - insanity, but rather showed that he possessed a knowledge of legal - limitations. His letters he described as “erratic and vulgar, the - product of a rich illiterate.” Jerome continued: - - “He knew enough to automobile through Europe with this girl. He - knew enough to warn Longfellow to be on the lookout for legal - actions, and yet he did not know that when he shot White he was - doing wrong. Even the codicil drawn in his own language runs in the - legal way. - - “Everything shows a sane mind. There is not a thing to indicate a - crazy mind. There is evidence here that he consulted Roger O’Mara - before he carried a revolver. He was afraid of the Monk Eastman - gang. - - “Is it such an unknown thing that a man should be followed by a - gang of hirelings? Was the arrest and trial of the Monk Eastman - gang in Jersey a few years ago a figment of imagination? Where was - the delusion in that? How easy it is for a man of this kind to - store away his ‘dementia Americana’ for three years! Where is the - delusion in a man’s believing that he is in danger from a gang? - - “Don’t let’s blow hot and cold at the same time. In one breath we - are told that there was such a gang hired, and then we are told it - was all a delusion. - - “There was such a gang--and I am sorry to have to admit there was. - - “Why did he leave his money to the Society for the Suppression of - Vice? Was that a delusion? - - “And he says in a letter that they could find pictures in White’s - studio which were lewd, but perhaps within the law. Was that a - delusion? - - “Will you gentlemen acquit a cold-blooded, cowardly, deliberate - murderer on the ground of ‘dementia Americana?’ - - “If the only thing that lies between every man and his enemy is a - brainstorm, then let every man pack a gun. There are two things I - want to say. They are: ‘Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord,’ and - that other law that was thundered from Mount Sinai: - - “‘Thou shalt not kill!’” - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -The Judge’s Charge to the Jury--Thaw in Collapse. - - JUSTICE FITZGERALD DEALS BLOW WHEN HE TELLS THE TWELVE “GOOD MEN - AND TRUE” THEY MUST IGNORE THE “UNWRITTEN LAW”--READS THE STATUTE - GOVERNING INSANITY AS A DEFENSE--BURDEN OF PROOF OF MADNESS PLACED - ON THE DEFENDANT--TELLS WHAT VERDICTS MAY BE RENDERED--“YOU MUST BE - GUIDED ENTIRELY ON THE EVIDENCE; CLAMOR, PREJUDICE, OR SYMPATHY - MUST NOT PREVAIL.” - - -Upon the heels of District Attorney Jerome’s closing address, Justice -Fitzgerald dealt a terrific blow to the defense in his charge to the -jury. Every word that he uttered seemed to the lawyers attending the -trial to be a plea that the jurors ignore the most telling points of -Delmas’ address and confine themselves strictly to the facts and the law -on the statute books, ignoring the “unwritten law.” - -Thaw heard the charge with rapidly paling face, and he almost collapsed -when the judge said that the defendant must prove his insanity before he -could look for a verdict of acquittal. This charge and the bitter -closing speech of Jerome so worked upon the feelings of Harry that he -was in a sad condition when he was taken back to the prisoner’s room. A -call from his wife, however, cheered him up, and he said: - -“Well, dearie, we must make the best of it, anyway. Cheer up, little -girl, everything will come out all right.” - -The members of the Thaw family were low in spirits, especially when they -heard that the keeper of the prisoners’ room had said: - -“The judge’s cold-blooded charge has scared Harry half to death. He has -finally been made to realize what he is ‘up against.’” - -The charge of Justice Fitzgerald was as follows: - - “Gentlemen of the Jury, it now becomes my duty to give you such - instructions as are necessary to enable you to perform your duty as - jurors and to define for your information the legal principles by - which you are to be governed in reaching your conclusion of the - evidence. - - “It is particularly gratifying to me that you were selected by the - people and the defense as fair-minded men, after the examination of - 337 men and the peremptory challenges on each side had been - exhausted. The care with which you were severally selected to - ascertain the condition of mind of each of you as an impartial - juror must have impressed you with the spirit of justice. It must - have impressed you with that spirit of justice with which the - statutes regulating the acts of the orderly are governed. - - “The admonition so frequently given at the close of the sessions of - this trial were given in accordance with the law, that you might - remain impartial. Let me impress on you the importance of the issue - you are to decide. - - “The life of the deceased was in the protection of the law and had - been taken by the defendant. And the defendant is here to answer to - the law for that. - - “You must take the law absolutely from the court, but of the facts - you are the sole judges. A defendant to a criminal action is - presumed to be innocent until the contrary can be proved, and in - the case of a reasonable doubt he is entitled to it. - - “Let me begin by instructing you on the law of homicide. The - statute on homicide is divided into two divisions, which are again - subdivided. The two chief divisions are homicide that is criminal - and homicide that is not. - - “Criminal homicides are classed as murder in the first degree, - murder in the second degree and manslaughter in the first and - second degree. Homicide unless it is excusable or justifiable is - murder in the first degree, when committed with deliberate design - to effect the death of the person killed. - - “If committed with design to effect death without premeditation or - deliberation, it would not constitute murder in the first degree - but would constitute murder in the second degree. If committed - without design to effect death in the heat of passion with a deadly - weapon that would constitute manslaughter in the first degree. - - “All lesser criminal homicides are embraced within the definition - of manslaughter in the second degree. - - “Homicides not criminal are classed as justifiable and excusable - homicide. Homicide is justifiable when committed in the lawful - defense of the slayer or his wife or child or master or servant or - anybody connected with him in close relation. - - “The defense here is that the defendant was insane at the time he - committed the act and the law applicable in the defense of insanity - is found in sections 20 and 21 of the Penal Code. Section 20 - provides that an act done by a person who is an idiot, imbecile or - lunatic is not a crime. - - “But section 21 limits section 20 as follows: - - “‘A person is not excusable from criminal liability as an idiot, - imbecile, lunatic or insane person except upon proof that at the - time of committing the alleged crime he was laboring under such a - defect of reason as either not to know the nature or quality of the - act or to know that the act was wrong.’ - - “Before murder in the first degree can be done, a distinguished - jurist has said, it must appear that there was some act of - deliberation and premeditation. This, of necessity, is for the - comprehension of the jury. - - “If you are satisfied that there was a design to effect death, but - without deliberation and premeditation, you may find murder in the - second degree. The defendant may be convicted under this indictment - of murder in the first or second degree or manslaughter in the - first degree. - - “When it appears that the defendant committed a crime and there is - reasonable doubt of which degree he is guilty, he can be convicted - of the lowest only. - - “As I have tried to impress upon you since this trial began, the - character of the victim furnishes neither excuse nor justification. - The general character of the victim is not the issue, and no matter - how bad he might have been he was entitled to the protection of the - law. - - “The personal avenger of private or public wrongs is not recognized - under our law. Every person is under the protection of the law. - Good or bad, exalted or humble, all are alike covered by its - shield. - - “The plea of not guilty is a denial of every material allegation - charged against the defendant, and such evidence may be presented - as will offset these allegations and establish his insanity at the - time of the commission of the act. - - “The law presumes that sanity is the normal condition of man, and - wherein insanity is the plea that becomes the crucial question for - the jury to decide. - - “If there existed in the mind of the defendant an insane illusion - it is not an excuse unless the illusion is of such a character that - if true it would result in his injury. - - “Proof of partial or incipient insanity is not sufficient as an - excuse. The settled law of the state is that so long as that power - to appreciate the nature and quality of the act is present no man - must commit crime if he would escape the consequences. - - “Under the rules of evidence the story, claimed by the defendant - prior and subsequent to this tragedy and prior is admitted, not as - affecting the character of the deceased, but that you might - consider what effect such a story had on the defendant’s mind. - - “In considering her story, her credibility as a witness is highly - material, and everything that she has said or done must be taken - into consideration. Her admissions regarding the relations existing - between herself and the defendant prior and subsequent to this - tragedy and prior to her marriage or any other act should be - weighed in connection with her story. - - “A wide latitude was allowed on cross-examination. You should give - due credit to all that was developed along with other facts. - - “There has been no denial entered here that death resulted from - pistol shot wounds inflicted by the defendant; he committed the - act. It was not incumbent upon the prosecution to introduce - preliminary testimony to show that he was sane. The burden of proof - is upon the defense. Whoever denies sanity must prove that insanity - is present. The burden of proving a crime is on the prosecution, - but the burden of overthrowing sanity is on the person claiming - it. - - “The hypothetical questions which were answered by the experts - assumed certain facts and the answer was only the opinion of the - expert on those assumed facts. - - “You are not obliged nor are you permitted to accept opinions as - you would facts. In considering the testimony of medical experts, - you are to consider their experience and knowledge, and you should - consider the quality of the medical testimony and not its quantity. - - “The so-called irresistible impulse has no place in the law and is - not an excuse, nor is every person of a disordered mind excused. - While the burden of proof of insanity is on the defendant, he is - also entitled to every reasonable doubt on the subject. If the - defendant knew the nature or the quality of his act, or knew that - the act was wrong, then he committed a crime. - - “As to the distinction between reasonable doubt and a possible - doubt you were thoroughly examined when you were about to become - jurors. - - “The law does not require that the prosecution shall efface every - possible doubt. - - “It only requires that the prosecution shall go beyond a reasonable - doubt. Nothing in this world is beyond all doubt. The defendant is - entitled to every reasonable doubt and that is all. - - “You may in this case, let me say once more, find the defendant - guilty of murder in the first degree, guilty of murder in the - second degree or guilty of manslaughter in the first degree. - - “If you vote for acquittal on the ground of insanity you may state - that ground in your verdict. - - “You must be guided, gentlemen, entirely on the evidence. Clamor, - prejudice or sympathy must not prevail. You must be guided by your - reason and your judgment.” - -The case was given to the jury immediately upon the conclusion of the -reading of the charge, and at 5:15 p.m., Wednesday, April 10, 1907, the -jury was locked up to begin its deliberations. - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -Deliberations of the Jury. - - TWELVE MEN UNABLE TO REST OR SLEEP, HAVE HARD TIME--ANY ONE OF SIX - VERDICTS COULD BE GIVEN, SAID LAWYERS--THAW GLOOMY--VISITED BY - WIFE--MOTHER WORN OUT BY ANXIETY--JURORS HAVE PART OF EVIDENCE READ - AND RETURN FOR MORE BALLOTING--EVELYN ALMOST MOBBED BY - CROWD--VARIOUS RUMORS AFLOAT. - - -From the moment they left the court room, the jurors had a hard task -before them. The situation was complex. According to legal experts there -were six verdicts from which a logical choice could be made, as follows: - -1. Murder in the first degree, the penalty for which is death. - -2. Murder in the second degree, the penalty for which is life -imprisonment. - -3. Manslaughter in the first degree, the penalty for which is -imprisonment for twenty years. - -4. Manslaughter in the second degree, punishable by fifteen years’ -imprisonment. - -5. Not guilty, on the ground that the defendant was insane at the time -of the shooting. - -6. Not guilty, without any explanation. - -When the jury went out. Justice Fitzgerald expected a verdict soon, and -remained in the court room until 11 p. m., ready to receive it. At that -hour no word had come from the jury, and the judge ordered the twelve -men locked up for the night. Thaw’s cheerfulness had entirely -disappeared, and it was plain that he was in a mood of deepest gloom as -he was led back into the prisoner’s pen. There his wife visited him for -a short time, endeavoring to cheer him, and then she went to dinner at a -near-by restaurant with Dan O’Reilly, a member of Thaw’s counsel, not -wishing to be away from her husband if a verdict should be returned. - -In spite of District Attorney Jerome’s masterly speech, the members of -the Thaw family had a faint hope for an immediate verdict, and remained -in the courtroom for half an hour. Finally it became apparent that their -stay was useless. Mrs. William Thaw, worn out with anxiety, was forced -to go to her hotel. - -Though the long delay seemed to many close observers to preclude a -verdict of acquittal, it was taken as indicating that a verdict of -guilty also could not be reached, and the impression began to gain, that -there would be a disagreement, which would render the twelve weeks’ -trial useless. - -Members of Thaw’s family were fearful, however, lest under Justice -Fitzgerald’s charge the jury might bring in a verdict for one of the -lesser degrees of murder or for manslaughter as outlined by the court. - -One of the prison guards with Thaw received word from his home that his -little girl, who had been ill for several days, was dying. Thaw turned -to him and expressed the greatest sympathy. - -“You are in a worse predicament than I am,” he said to the guard, “and I -am very sorry.” - -When Justice Fitzgerald re-opened court the next morning he sent a -bailiff to ask Foreman Smith if the jury had reached a verdict. “No, we -have not,” was the only reply. - -At 11 a.m. the second day the jury sent word it would come into court -for further instructions. - -A moment later they filed in, headed by Deming B. Smith, their foreman. -Nobody needed to be told that they had sat up all night. They looked it. -The look of weariness and anxiety and sleepiness was all over them, but -they did not look like men who were ready to quit. They looked like men -who knew the gravity of their task and who were determined to discharge -it properly if there was any way of doing it. - -Justice Fitzgerald came in a moment later and as soon as he had taken -his seat Clerk Penny advanced to the rail and said in the quiet manner -he might use in asking for a glass of water: “Harry K. Thaw to the bar.” - -There was a brief delay, then the pen door opened and Thaw came in ahead -of a prion keeper and took his place, smiling a trifle at his wife and -mother. Thaw’s relatives had been in the building an hour or so before -the jury came in. They all bore themselves in the same impassive manner. -Grave they were, but none of them appeared in the least excited. Evelyn -Thaw herself looked as if she has passed a wretched night. She was paler -than usual and her eyes looked as if she might have been weeping. -District Attorney Jerome and Assistant District Attorney Garvan were in -their usual places, as also were all of the prisoner’s counsel. - -Justice Fitzgerald, in taking the bench, said: - -“I have received a request from the jury to be allowed to examine and -have possession of the following exhibits: - -“1. The plan or diagram of Madison Square garden. - -“2. Exhibits A to I--the letters from Thaw to Attorney Longfellow. - -“3. The will and codicil. - -“4. The Comstock letter. - -“5. Mr. Delmas’ hypothetical question. - -“6. Mr. Jerome’s hypothetical question.” - -“The people have no objection,” said Mr. Jerome. - -“The defense has none,” said Mr. O’Reilly of Thaw’s counsel. - -Foreman Smith stated that the jury desired not only the typewritten -copies of the Thaw letters, will and codicil, but the originals as well. -The papers were gathered together by Clerk Penny and made into a -bundle. - -The reading of the testimony of Policeman Dennis Wright and John Anthony -and Peter Barrett, doormen of the Nineteenth precinct police station, -followed. - -Meyer Cohen’s testimony had been largely a personal demonstration by -himself of Thaw’s attitude after the shooting and his manner of -approaching Stanford White. Henry S. Plaise was with Cohen the night of -the tragedy. - -Finally the jury asked to hear again the testimony of the doormen on -duty at the Tenderloin precinct police station the night of Thaw’s -arrest and who gave testimony as to the defendant claiming to hear the -voices of young girls. - -Juror Pink, who undoubtedly was in very bad shape, delayed the reading -of the testimony to the jury by asking permission to retire for a few -minutes. He tottered from the room accompanied by an officer and seemed -near a collapse. - -After an absence of five minutes he resumed his place in the jury box, -looking very pale and tired. - -Lastly the jurymen asked to have read to them the testimony of Evelyn -Thaw so far as it related to the shooting, the testimony of Thomas -McCaleb as to where the party was sitting on the roof garden, and the -testimony of Dr. Allen McLane Hamilton so far as it was allowed before -the jury. - -Foreman Smith also asked to have read that portion of Justice -Fitzgerald’s charge relating to the testimony of Drs. Evans and Wagners. - -After hearing a review of the evidence for two hours and a half the jury -retired to its room at 1:30 for a luncheon and further balloting. - -Evelyn Thaw was almost mobbed by the hundreds of curious persons outside -the courthouse as she left the building to go to luncheon with Attorney -Dan O’Reilly. Evelyn separated from the other members of the family at -the door and started to walk to a restaurant in Franklin street. - -The crowd surged about her by the hundreds, growing constantly with -every foot traversed. Several policemen rushed to her assistance, but -they were unable to keep back the mob, which crowded about her close -enough to touch her garments. - -When she had entered the restaurant hundreds took up their station -outside to await her appearance. - -When the other members of the Thaw family left the building it required -several policemen to protect them from the curious ones. - -Nothing further was heard from the jury room the second day. The twelve -men were taken out to a meal early in the evening, and Justice -Fitzgerald, after awaiting a verdict until 11 p.m., ordered the jurors -locked up for the night. Thirty-one hours of deliberation had passed -then. - -This was the second night that the jury has been locked up in the bare -jury room, whose only furniture was a long table and some hard chairs. -Contrary to what has occurred at many other famous murder trials no -information leaked out of the jury room regarding the attitude of the -jurors towards conviction or acquittal that could be regarded as in the -least reliable. - -Various rumors were afloat. Most of them had it that the jury stood 10 -to 2 or 9 to 3 for conviction, but on investigation it provided that all -of the rumors were nothing better than guesses. - -Soon after it was announced that the jury was to be shut up for the -night. Thaw was taken from the pen back to his cell. As he left the pen -he handed out to the reporters this note: - -“It is a great satisfaction that all of my family continue well. I -regret that so many officials and others have so much extra work.” - -On the morning of Friday, April 12, rumor had it that nine of the jurors -had agreed to find Thaw guilty of one in these three degrees: - -Murder in the second degree; penalty, life imprisonment. - -Manslaughter, first degree; penalty, twenty years’ imprisonment. - -Manslaughter, in the second degree; penalty, fifteen years’ -imprisonment. - -The nine, it was reported, were veering most strongly to manslaughter in -the first degree and the three holding out for acquittal. - -At noon the crowd about the courthouse was so great that traffic was -practically stopped. More than 5,000 people gathered about the building -and when a rumor that any member of the Thaw family was about to leave -the building they surged from one corner to another, sweeping the few -policemen who were trying to preserve order almost off their feet. - -A call for reserves from several nearby precinct stations was responded -to by half a hundred men, who were distributed on both of the streets on -all four sides of the building. - -Inspector McClusky issued orders that no crowd was to be permitted to -congregate. No one was allowed to stand on the sidewalks, all of the -curious being obliged to keep moving. - -The jury did not go out to luncheon, but had its meals sent in, and this -added strength to the rumors that a verdict was near. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -Ending of the Trial--Jury Disagrees. - - AFTER HAVING DELIBERATED MORE THAN FORTY-SEVEN HOURS, THE TWELVE - JURORS ARE FAR APART IN THEIR OPINIONS--LAST BALLOT SHOWED SEVEN - FOR CONVICTION FOR MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE, WITH DEATH AS - PENALTY, AND FIVE FOR ACQUITTAL--THAW ALMOST COLLAPSES--EVELYN - BEARS UP IN COURT BRAVELY, BUT IS OVERCOME LATER--THAW BACK TO CELL - IN TOMBS PRISON. - - -After having been out forty-seven hours and eight minutes, the Jury at -4:25 p. m., April 12, 1907, filed into the court room, and at exactly -4:31 announced a disagreement and was discharged. - -The disagreement was unexpected, as the fact that the twelve men had not -asked for further instructions led to the belief that the minority were -being won over to the views of the majority. - -News that the jury was about to report was taken to Justice Fitzgerald -by a bailiff, and Attorneys Delmas, Jerome, and the other lawyers in the -case were summoned at once, while Harry Kendall Thaw was brought from -the prisoner’s room to face the panel. - -After Justice Fitzgerald had taken his seat on the bench the jury was -polled and then ordered to stand up. Thaw was also commanded to rise, -and the clerk asked him to look upon the jury. - -The usual formality of “Jury, look upon the defendant, defendant look -upon the jury,” followed and the clerk asked the foreman if they had -agreed upon verdict. - -“We have not,” replied the foreman. Justice Fitzgerald thereupon told -them that as they had failed to agree he would discharge them. The -jurors quickly left the court room and Thaw sank back in his chair, -almost overcome with disappointment. Evelyn Thaw and the defendant’s -mother bore up bravely and on leaving the court house hurried over to -the Tombs, to see Harry, who was taken there in a few minutes. - -Mrs. William Thaw’s face was hidden behind a heavy black veil. She sat -with her daughters, the Countess of Yarmouth and Mrs. George L. -Carnegie, and all began to weep as soon as the verdict was announced. -Evelyn Thaw, sitting beside her husband, uttered a little shriek and -then turned deathly pale, almost collapsing. She revived quickly, -however, and begged the bailiff to be allowed to follow her husband out -of the court room. Thaw himself uttered not a word, and made no sign of -his great disappointment. He turned extremely pale, however, and was so -weak that two guards had to support him on the way to the Tombs. - -Soon after Thaw was placed in the Tombs his wife arrived. - -“My dear, my dear,” she sobbed. I am so sorry--so sorry,” and then she -collapsed utterly. - -Shortly after the jury had been discharged it was stated that the final -vote stood: Seven for conviction of murder in the first degree, with -death in the electric chair as the penalty, and five for acquittal. -Reports as to the earlier votes varied greatly--in fact, hardly two -jurors told the same story, but it was admitted that the division -throughout was, on most of the ballots, about half for acquittal and -half for conviction, although the degree favored by those who demanded -punishment from Thaw varied considerably. - -Estimates made as to the expense of the trial attracted nearly as much -attention as did the probable outcome of the long hearing. - -Apparently authentic estimates indicated that the trial cost -considerably over $300,000. Of this sum, it is estimated probably -$235,000 had been spent by the Thaw family, while the expense to the -state had been in the neighborhood of $80,000. - -At the district attorney’s office it was stated that the trial had not -cost the county over $30,000. This does not include salaries and such -expenses as come out of the general sessions fund. Conservative -estimates gave $80,000 as probably the minimum cost to the state. - -The expense Thaw had incurred in his own defense was estimated as high -as $1,000,000. As a matter of fact he had probably not spent over -$235,000. Neither Thaw nor any of his relatives could tell exactly, -however, what the defense had cost. - -Thaw’s alienists, it was said, cost him $45,000, and his attorneys -$145,000. To offset his expenses, the jurors who listened to the long -drawn out trial, paid at the rate of $2 a day, got only $1,536 for their -combined services. - -As soon as the verdict was announced, District Attorney Jerome, declared -he would rush preparations for a new trial. He was smiling; Delmas was -heartbroken. - -The day after the trial ended, the jurors stated the final ballot was as -follows: - -For Conviction--7. Murder in the first degree. Deming B. Smith, foreman, -George Pfaff, Charles H. Fecke, Harvey C. Brearley, Chas. D. Newton, -Joseph H. Bolton, Bernard Gerstman. - -For Acquittal--5. On the ground of insanity. Oscar A. Pink, Henry C. -Harney, Malcolm F. Fraser, John S. Dennee, Wilbur F. Steele. - -Eight ballots were taken by the jurors during their deliberations, with -the following results: - -_First Ballot_--Eight for conviction on the charge of murder in the -first degree and four for unqualified acquittal. - -_Second Ballot_--Eight for murder in the first degree and four for -acquittal. - -_Third Ballot_--Eight for first degree murder and four for acquittal. - -_Fourth Ballot_--Seven for murder in the first degree, one for -manslaughter in the first degree and four for acquittal. - -_Fifth Ballot_--One for murder in the first degree, six for manslaughter -in the first degree and five for acquittal. - -_Sixth Ballot_--One for murder in the first degree, six for manslaughter -in the first degree and five for acquittal. - -_Seventh Ballot_--One for murder in the first degree, six for -manslaughter in the first degree and five for acquittal. - -_Eighth Ballot_--Seven for murder in the first degree and five for -acquittal on the ground of insanity. - - -THE END. - - - - -Chronological Story of the Thaw Trial. - - -June 25, 1906--Thaw killed Stanford White. - -June 28, 1906--Indicted by grand jury. - -Jan. 21--Case set for trial. - -Jan. 23--Trial began. - -Feb. 1--Jury completed. - -Feb. 4--State presented its testimony. - -Feb. 4--Defense introduced its first witness, a minor character. - -Feb. 7--Evelyn Nesbit Thaw, wife of the defendant, called as a witness. - -Feb. 11--Dr. C. C. Wiley, expert on insanity called by defense and -severely cross-examined by District Attorney Jerome. - -Feb. 12--Delphin Michael Delmas assumed full charge of the defense. - -Feb. 12--Dr. Britton D. Evans, chief medical expert for the defense, -called to the witness stand. - -Feb. 14--Trial delayed by the death of Juror Belton’s wife. - -Feb. 19--Evelyn Nesbit Thaw recalled. - -Feb. 20-26--Evelyn Nesbit Thaw cross-examined. - -Feb. 27--Evelyn Nesbit Thaw recalled by defense. - -Feb. 28--Dr. Evans cross-examined. - -March 6--Mrs. William Thaw, mother of the defendant, testified. - -March 7--Trial delayed by death of a relative of Justice Fitzgerald, -presiding judge. - -March 8--Defense rested. - -March 11--State began rebuttal testimony. - -March 12--State called James Clinch Smith, brother-in-law of Stanford -White. - -March 15--Thaw declared sane by state’s experts. - -March 18--Court admitted the Abe Hummel affidavit in which Evelyn Nesbit -is alleged to have denounced Thaw. - -March 20--District Attorney Jerome asked court to appoint a commission -in lunacy to examine Thaw. - -March 21--Lunacy commission appointed. - -April 4--Lunacy commission pronounced Thaw sane. - -April 8-9--Attorney Delmas made his plea to the jury. - -April 10--District Attorney Jerome closed for the state. - -April 10--Justice Fitzgerald read his charge to the jury. - -April 11--Jury called for rereading of evidence after having retired. - -April 12--Jury announced disagreement, and was discharged. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREAT HARRY THAW CASE *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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Atwell</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Great Harry Thaw Case</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0;'>Or, A Woman's Sacrifice</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Benjamin H. Atwell</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: August 13, 2021 [eBook #66056]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images available at The Internet Archive)</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREAT HARRY THAW CASE ***</div> -<hr class="full" /> - -<p class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/cover.jpg"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" -height="550" alt="[Image of -the book's cover unavailable.]" /></a> -</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="" -style="border: 2px black solid;margin:auto auto;max-width:50%; -padding:1%;"> -<tr><td> - -<p class="c"><a href="#CONTENTS">Contents.</a></p> - -<p class="c"><span class="nonvis">(In certain versions of this etext [in certain browsers] -clicking on the image will bring up a larger version.)</span></p> - -<p class="c">(etext transcriber's note)</p></td></tr> -</table> - -<div class="bbox"> - -<p class="c">Other Juries Compared With That in the Thaw Trial.</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr valign="top"><td><i>Trial.</i></td><td class="c"><i>Jury was out</i></td><td class="c"><i>Verdict.</i></td></tr> -<tr valign="top"><td>Thaw</td><td>47 hours 8 minutes</td><td>Disagreement.</td></tr> -<tr valign="top"><td>William J. Koerner</td><td>59 hours 10 minutes</td><td>First degree.</td></tr> -<tr valign="top"><td>Nan Patterson (first)</td><td>Mistrial.</td></tr> -<tr valign="top"><td>Nan Patterson (second)</td><td>24 hours</td><td>Disagreement.</td></tr> -<tr valign="top"><td>Nan Patterson (third)</td><td>11 hours 35 minutes</td><td>Disagreement.</td></tr> -<tr valign="top"><td>Roland B. Molineux (first)</td><td>8 hours</td><td>First degree.</td></tr> -<tr valign="top"><td>Roland B. Molineux (second)</td><td>25 minutes</td><td>Not guilty.</td></tr> -<tr valign="top"><td>Albert T. Patrick</td><td>2 hours</td><td>First degree.</td></tr> -<tr valign="top"><td>Guldensuppe case</td><td>3 hours</td><td>First degree.</td></tr> -<tr valign="top"><td>Boscchieter case</td><td>4 hours</td><td>Second degree</td></tr> -<tr valign="top"><td>Carlisle W. Harris</td><td>1 hour 10 minutes</td><td>First degree.</td></tr> -<tr valign="top"><td>Dr. Buchanan</td><td>28 hours</td><td>First degree.</td></tr> -<tr valign="top"><td>Dr. S. J. Kennedy (first)</td><td>3 hours 13 minutes</td><td>First degree.</td></tr> -<tr valign="top"><td>Dr. S. J. Kennedy (second)</td><td>6 hours 35 minutes</td><td>Disagreement.</td></tr> -<tr valign="top"><td>Dr. S. J. Kennedy (third)</td><td>22 hours 5 minutes</td><td>Disagreement.</td></tr> -<tr valign="top"><td>Burton C. Webster (first)</td><td>19 hours</td><td>Disagreement.</td></tr> -<tr valign="top"><td>Burton C. Webster (second)</td><td>4 hours</td><td>Manslaughter.</td></tr> -<tr valign="top"><td>David Hannigan</td><td>6 hours 20 minutes</td><td>Not guilty.</td></tr> -</table> - -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_1" id="page_1">{1}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 419px;"> -<a href="images/i003.jpg"> -<img src="images/i003.jpg" width="419" height="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>MADISON SQUARE GARDEN</p> - -<p>The Scene of the Thaw-White Tragedy.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_2" id="page_2">{2}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 419px;"> -<a href="images/i004.jpg"> -<img src="images/i004.jpg" width="419" height="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE TOMBS PRISON</p> - -<p>Window in Circle Marks Thaw’s Cell.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_3" id="page_3">{3}</a></span></p> - -<h1> -THE GREAT<br /> -<br /> -<big>HARRY THAW CASE</big><br /> -<br /> -<small><small>OR</small></small><br /> -<br /> -A Woman’s Sacrifice</h1> - -<p class="c"><small>BY</small><br /> -<big>BENJ. H. ATWELL</big><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -A graphic and truthful narrative of the most sensational<br /> -case in modern jurisprudence. A thrilling account of<br /> -a young girl’s struggles in her battle for fame and<br /> -fortune, and the unconquered love of the man<br /> -who has baffled the world’s greatest alienists;<br /> -with portraits of many leading characters,<br /> -famous society leaders and noted<br /> -actresses who have made this case<br /> -the talk of America and Europe<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -ILLUSTRATED<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -CHICAGO<br /> -LAIRD & LEE, <span class="smcap">Publishers</span><br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_4" id="page_4">{4}</a></span><br /><br /><br /> -</p> - -<div class="boxx"> -<p class="c">Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1907,<br /> -By <span class="smcap">William H. Lee</span>,<br /> -in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at<br /> -Washington, D. C.<br />——<br /> -ALL RIGHTS RESERVED</p> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_5" id="page_5">{5}</a></span> </p> - -<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h2> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td colspan="2"> </td><td class="rt"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2">Chronology of the Case,</td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_6">6</a></td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="3"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">I.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">Evelyn Nesbit Thaw, the Woman in the Case,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_11">11</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">II.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">Harry Thaw’s Courtship and Marriage,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_19">19</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">III.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">The Story that Startled the World,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_28">28</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">IV.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">Stanford White, Creator and Destroyer,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_41">41</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">V.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">Greatest Legal Battle of the Age Opens,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_53">53</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">VI.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">“I swear Harry K. Thaw was Insane,”</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_68">68</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">VII.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">A Human Sacrifice on the Altar of Love,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_78">78</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">VIII.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">Evelyn Reveals White as a Fearful Monster,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_87">87</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">IX.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">Intrigue like those in Days of Nero,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_102">102</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">X.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">White on Verge of Arrest when Shot,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_120">120</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">XI.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">Thaw’s Will Disclosed Fear of Assassination,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_128">128</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">XII.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">The Hidden Witness to the Proposal,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_142">142</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">XIII.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">Lived on Bounty of Stanford White,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_158">158</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">XIV.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">Thaw’s Mother on the Stand,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_164">164</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">XV.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">Scathing Denunciation by Jerome,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_182">182</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">XVI.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">Shocking Disclosures in Famous Affidavit,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_193">193</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">XVII.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">Jerome Calls Thaw Madman,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_201">201</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">XVIII.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">Lunacy Commission is Appointed,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_213">213</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">XIX.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">Commission Finds Thaw Sane,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_220">220</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">XX.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">Delmas, “The Napoleon of the Bar”,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_223">223</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">XXI.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">Delmas’ Speech Moves Jurors,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_228">228</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">XXII.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">“The Unwritten Law”—The Defense Ends,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_244">244</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII">XXIII.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII">“Thou Shall Not Kill,” Quotes Jerome,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_262">262</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV">XXIV.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV">The Judge’s Charge to the Jury—Thaw in Collapse,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_278">278</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXV">XXV.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXV">Deliberations of the Jury,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_285">285</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="rt"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI">XXVI.</a></td><td class="pdd"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI">Ending of the Trial—Jury Disagrees,</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_293">293</a></td></tr> -<tr><td colspan="2"><a href="#Chronological_Story_of_the_Thaw_Trial"> -Chronological Story of the Thaw Trial.</a></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_298">298</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_6" id="page_6">{6}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_7" id="page_7">{7}</a></span> </p> - -<h2><a name="PREFACE" id="PREFACE"></a>PREFACE.</h2> - -<p>A great trial has come to a close. It has attracted the attention of the -entire civilized world for three widely separated and distinctly defined -reasons—the unusual degree of heart interest underlying the tragedy -that brought it about; the startling and sensational disclosures of life -in the great metropolis, and the legal precedents established, -particularly in relation to the universal, unwritten law.</p> - -<p>Realizing that this remarkable case is destined to be more than a -passing sensation of the hour or the year; that it will exercise a wide -influence on the thought and lives of uncounted thousands, it has seemed -meet that a carefully prepared, clean and accurate record should be -given the world in permanent form.</p> - -<p>This, because its eloquent sermon cost too great a price to be lost, and -its awful warning against a vicious life is of too great value to the -world to trust it to fitful memory.</p> - -<p>Men standing on the brink of the precipice hewn by unbridled passion, -may read in the terrible fate that overtook Stanford White at the hands -of an avenging husband, an injunction against the worst in their nature -and reflect before it is too late.</p> - -<p>Mothers, tempted by the pressing, material needs of the day to permit -tender daughters to aid in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_8" id="page_8">{8}</a></span> family support by entering occupations, -which, while not vicious, are beset by pitfalls, may think twice before -reaching a decision after contemplating the sufferings and humiliations -suffered by Evelyn Nesbit.</p> - -<p>Young women in the exuberance of youth, hungering for the empty bubble -known as a career, may recall the pathetic picture presented by the same -girl when on the witness stand as Mrs. Thaw, and recoil from thought of -a butterfly life after viewing that crushed, unhappy figure.</p> - -<p>Even more exalted personages may find profit in taking inventory of the -Thaw case. Prosecuting attorneys are found in every county in this broad -land. Let them observe the attitude of District Attorney Jerome in this -case and search out their minds to determine if they are ever guilty of -persecution in the name of prosecution, or inflict unnecessary torture -on the innocent, to vindicate an immaterial theory, of interest only to -the occupants of the grandstand.</p> - -<p>Modern times reveal no parallel to the Thaw case in its various phases. -Shakespeare’s wonderful creations of fancy contain no more thrilling -features nor more humanizing passages in their philosophic application -than have been disclosed by this life tragedy of love, hate, villainy, -perfidy and outraged innocence.</p> - -<p>All the emotions known to the human heart enter<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_9" id="page_9">{9}</a></span> into it, ranging from -boundless, mercenary cupidity and indescribable cruelty to self -sacrificing love that has found no test too severe.</p> - -<p>Preachments covering the scope of every sermon life’s experiences -produce abound in its every development in such blunt, powerful form -that he who runs may read and he who reads may bring them home to -himself.</p> - -<p>Precedents in medical jurisprudence have been established, medical and -legal reputations made and lost.</p> - -<p>To the student of human nature, then, this volume will carry a message. -Also, to the moralist and the teacher, the physician and the lawyer. Nor -will this list exhaust the field of those who may find something of -interest and benefit within its pages, for the field is as broad as -mankind.</p> - -<p>If it is received in the spirit in which it is given to the public, free -from any disposition to pander to mere morbid curiosity or to exploit -that which is reprehensible in moral makeup, it shall have accomplished -the purpose of</p> - -<p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">The Author</span>.<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_10" id="page_10">{10}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 388px;"> -<a href="images/i012.jpg"> -<img src="images/i012.jpg" width="388" height="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>EVELYN NESBIT AS “AN AMERICAN BEAUTY” when she was 18 -years old.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_11" id="page_11">{11}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.<br /><br /> -<small>Evelyn Nesbit Thaw, the “Woman in the Case.”</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">FAMED FOR BEAUTY EVEN AS A LITTLE CHILD—BORN IN LITTLE -PENNSYLVANIA TOWN—WHEN ONLY 13 YEARS OLD SHE BEGAN AS AN ARTIST’S -MODEL—SOUGHT OUT BY FAMOUS PAINTERS—ENGAGED AS A CHORUS GIRL -BECAUSE OF HER BEAUTY—LURED FROM INNOCENT CHILDHOOD BY STANFORD -WHITE, MILLIONAIRE ARCHITECT—FORMED THE ACQUAINTANCE OF HARRY -THAW, RICH YOUNG PITTSBURGH MAN—SENT AWAY TO SCHOOL BY -WHITE—SNUBBED BY FELLOW STUDENTS—FORCED TO QUIT SCHOOL.</p></div> - -<p>Evelyn Nesbit, later to be known as “the most beautiful artists’ model -in the world,” was born in Tarentum, Pa., a little village near -Pittsburg, in 1884. Even as a baby she was surpassingly pretty, and her -face, like that of a dark-haired cherub, attracted hundreds of visitors -to her parents’ humble home, a little two story frame cottage worth less -than $2,000.</p> - -<p>Evelyn’s life was like that of most young girls in country towns. She -went to Sunday school regularly, and at the age of five made her first -public appearance in a Sunday school entertainment.</p> - -<p>The family moved to Pittsburg, and Evelyn was still a schoolgirl when -the death of her father, Winfield Scott Nesbit, a struggling lawyer, -left her mother and herself almost destitute. Incumbrances<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_12" id="page_12">{12}</a></span> on the -little property left by her father shut off almost every source of -income. The schoolgirl had to face a more serious problem than usually -falls to the lot of a girl in short skirts.</p> - -<p>When Evelyn was only thirteen years old, a Mrs. Darragh, a portrait -painter and miniature artist of Philadelphia, discovered her rare beauty -and painted her head. Later Phillips, a photographer of Philadelphia, -asked the Pittsburg child to sit for several photographic studies. The -pictures were printed in an art magazine and attracted attention. Before -her father had been dead long Evelyn Nesbit found that she was being -sought by such artists as Carroll Beckwith, F. S. Church, Carl Blenner, -and J. Wells Champney.</p> - -<p>Demand for the privilege of photographing her beautiful face or -portraying it on canvas became so great that the money earned by the -little girl by posing became the mainstay of the family. With her mother -she moved to New York, took rooms in a low-priced boarding house, and -began frequenting studios of famous artists. Her work was in constant -demand.</p> - -<p>It was while she was posing that she met the man whose acts toward her -resulted in his killing by Harry Kendall Thaw. It was when her mother, -modest, yet proud of her wonderfully beautiful little daughter just -budding into girlhood, took her to a photographer’s that Evelyn Nesbit -flashed into public view as a famous beauty. The pictures were so<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_13" id="page_13">{13}</a></span> -remarkable, so perfect in feature, so graceful in every outline that the -artist exhibited them in his studio.</p> - -<p>Little wonder it was that every one who passed the show case stopped -spell-bound by the youthful beauty of the subject; little wonder that -Charles Dana Gibson, then in the zenith of his success, with his studies -of the American girl, looked upon Evelyn’s photographs in rapture and -wished immediately to meet the original and arrange to have her pose for -him.</p> - -<p>One day as the little model was about to leave the studio she was met by -a man about to enter the door.</p> - -<p>“By jove! Gibson, who is this little vision of the empyrean blue? Tell -me. I must know the little sprite, whether she is of this earth or just -a fairy from out of wonderland,” the man added, lightly, as he held the -girl a shy and pretty captive at the door.</p> - -<p>The usual unconventional studio introduction followed. The man who -gasped in admiration of the exquisite flower-like beauty of the young -girl was Stanford White, the renowned architect; the girl was Florence -Evelyn Nesbit, artist’s model.</p> - -<p>The man of the world saw in the innocent young thing an easy victim to -his wiles, and opportunities were made for him to meet the girl, whom he -planned to make his puppet, his plaything, his slave.</p> - -<p>His efforts were not long in being crowned by success. The pretty -trinkets which the girl loved so well were hers with the first -expression of her desire; she was flattered when she realized from whom -she was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_14" id="page_14">{14}</a></span> receiving adulation, the subtle, crafty methods of the -connoisseur of beauty, of art, the epicure in all his fleshly wants, the -polished manner, the refined taste that were his by birth, all added a -charm new and irresistible to the ingenuous, luxury-loving little model -with the eyes of a Madonna and the smile of a siren.</p> - -<p>Soon the beautiful, innocent Evelyn Nesbit was ensconced in a high class -apartment house and Stanford White, who paid the bills, became a -constant visitor to the magnificently appointed suite.</p> - -<p>There she lived in ease and the artist-architect brought his men friends -to see this girl, and boasted that she was his “by right of discovery.” -She was taken to the restaurants frequented by the men and women about -town. Evelyn Nesbit became the toast of the companions of White.</p> - -<p>Finally a stage career was mapped out for her. White managed it, and -Evelyn Nesbit’s fame spread as she flaunted her lithe form and graceful -beauty in “Florodora” and “The Wild Rose.”</p> - -<p>It was at this time that Harry Thaw made her acquaintance. The late -hours and the endless, restless round of pleasure had told upon the -fragile girl and she fell ill.</p> - -<p>A European trip was planned for her and Stanford White was one of the -party. In a few weeks they returned to New York, but Evelyn Nesbit could -never dance again. Instead she was sent to a boarding school where White -hoped that she would regain<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_15" id="page_15">{15}</a></span> her health sufficiently to reappear upon -the stage and, incidentally, learn better how to spell and write.</p> - -<p>At this time Evelyn Nesbit was a mere slip of a girl, just sixteen, with -a wealth of brown hair and great brown eyes. It was in Mrs. Henry C. De -Mille’s school that White chose to have his “ward” educated, at -“Pimlico,” N. J. Stanford White’s checks were forwarded with great -regularity and the girl, known in the school to be the “ward” of the -great and prosperous architect, became a favorite among the girls—girls -of the most exclusive of families.</p> - -<p>It began soon to be whispered that Evelyn Nesbit was a soubrette and -exceptions were taken to the visits of Stanford White and of Harry Thaw -and other men of their types.</p> - -<p>One day Stanford White went to the school in a big touring car and -invited some of the pupils for a ride. During that ride his conversation -was of such a nature that three of the girls insisted upon being -permitted to alight and they returned to the school on foot.</p> - -<p>This caused such an uproar in the school that Evelyn was asked to leave, -but she was prevented from going by a sudden illness. During this -illness, Harry Thaw, who had made her acquaintance in New York while she -was on the stage, was in constant attendance upon her and when the girl -was finally forced to leave, Thaw was there to defray all her expenses.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_16" id="page_16">{16}</a></span></p> - -<p>Stanford White meanwhile had deserted the beautiful girl and refused to -pay her tuition, which amounted to $3,000. He declared he was Evelyn’s -“guardian” by courtesy only. His failure to keep his word to defray the -girl’s expenses was a severe blow to Mrs. De Mille, whose school had -become so depleted through the notoriety that he had brought upon it -that it was forced to disband.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Thaw became desperately in love with the girl and took her -back to her mother and told her of his love and begged her to take -Evelyn to Europe as his guest. It was in Pittsburg sometime later that -he married the girl who had been spurned and repudiated and left -friendless by the man who claimed her “by right of discovery.”</p> - -<p>Evelyn’s stage career was brief but brilliant. While an actress in -musical comedies she was pronounced by all “The most beautiful woman -behind the footlights,” but her natural beauty was destined to become -fatal—fatal to Stanford White—fatal to her own good name—fatal to her -husband’s hope of happiness.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_17" id="page_17">{17}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 461px;"> -<a href="images/i019.jpg"> -<img src="images/i019.jpg" width="461" height="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>“The most beautiful woman behind the footlights.”</p> - -<p>PICTURE OF EVELYN NESBIT</p> - -<p class="nind">taken just before her marriage, and considered her best likeness.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_18" id="page_18">{18}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_19" id="page_19">{19}</a></span> </p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.<br /><br /> -<small>Harry Thaw’s Sensational Courtship and Marriage.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">YOUNG MILLIONAIRE’S ROMANCE STARTLED THE WORLD—MET EVELYN NESBIT -AFTER A PLAY WHEN SHE WAS ONLY 17 YEARS OLD—FRIENDSHIP RIPENED -INTO LOVE—THE YOUTH’S STRANGE CAREER—WENT TO EUROPE WITH THE -FOOTLIGHT AND STUDIO BEAUTY—REPORT OF MARRIAGE ABROAD SHOCKED -RELATIVES—DENIED BY BOTH THE SUPPOSED BRIDE AND GROOM—RETURNED TO -NEW YORK—EJECTED FROM FOUR HOTELS—HAD WEDDING CEREMONY PERFORMED -IN PITTSBURG—MOTHER OF THAW AT FIRST REFUSED TO ACCEPT EVELYN AS -DAUGHTER—OFFERED $250,000 TO GIVE UP HARRY.</p></div> - -<p>Harry Kendall Thaw’s winning of Florence Evelyn Nesbit stands out as a -thrilling chapter in the great book of love. The biography of each of -the parties was studded with the bizarre. Fifty thousand dollar dinners, -ejectments from hotels, diamonds and grand pianos thrown about as -carelessly as if they were trinkets, family opposition, and remarkably -romantic love were some of the ingredients.</p> - -<p>Harry Thaw’s eyes first fell upon Evelyn Nesbit when she was only -seventeen years old. She had carried her beauty from Pittsburg to the -studios of New<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_20" id="page_20">{20}</a></span> York. Then the stage called her, and her brunette -pulchritude charmed the scion of one of Pittsburg’s wealthiest families. -Somebody presented her to Thaw at a gay party of young and beautiful -stage girls who were having a costly supper after the play at an -exclusive restaurant. All this time Evelyn was supposed to be under the -eye of her mother, who, a few years previously, had doffed her widow’s -weeds and married Charles J. Holman, a Pittsburg broker. Mrs. Holman -told her friends she keenly realized the perils that beset the feet of -beautiful young girls, but her chaperonage did not save her own -daughter.</p> - -<p>Thaw loved the daughter, he said, as soon as he saw her. His -appreciation of feminine loveliness had always been one of his strongest -qualities. Only three years before he met Miss Nesbit he had given a -$50,000 dinner in Paris to twenty-five of the most beautiful women that -he could get together. Cleo de Merode, at whose feet the King of the -Belgians had laid royal tribute, Anna Robinson of this country and other -famous beauties were at that banquet. Sousa’s band received a check for -$1,500 for furnishing the music. This dinner and many of Thaw’s other -enjoyments were made possible by the fact that when his father died he -left a fortune of $40,000,000. This father was William Thaw and he had -been prominent in Pennsylvania railroad and steel affairs. His widow and -the seven children inherited the fortune.</p> - -<p>Harry Thaw’s penchant for economy was pretty<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_21" id="page_21">{21}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 446px;"> -<a href="images/i023.jpg"> -<img src="images/i023.jpg" width="446" height="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>HARRY K. THAW</p> - -<p>At the time of his marriage.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_22" id="page_22">{22}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_23" id="page_23">{23}</a></span> </p> - -<p class="nind">well exemplified by the will under which his annual income was to be -$2,500, because, as his father said, he would spend as much as he got -anyway. His mother, though, let him have annually sums that were never -under $40,000.</p> - -<p>With his money he set out to dazzle the little Miss Nesbit, who back -home had often trudged by the magnificent Thaw mansion and possibly had -wondered in her simple impecunious way as to the manner of life that can -be lived by a family that has $40,000,000 to dispose of.</p> - -<p>It didn’t take Harry Thaw long to show her how some of that money might -be spent. To her apartments in the Audubon in New York, an apartment -building beloved of the chorus girl, he caused to be sent an exquisite -grand piano. Miss Nesbit’s mother caused it to be carted away. So also -with many of the jewels which Thaw sent up.</p> - -<p>While Thaw’s wooing was in progress the name of his family loomed large -in the public prints because of the marriage of Harry Thaw’s sister -Alice to the Earl of Yarmouth. On the very day of the wedding, the earl -halted the ceremony by announcing that unless satisfactory financial -arrangements were made at once there would be no marriage. The money was -paid, although Harry Thaw told reporters that if he had been there we -would have kicked the Earl down stairs. A little later, however, his -sister Alice, Countess of Yarmouth, repaid the harsh blow at the -husband<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_24" id="page_24">{24}</a></span> by publicly snubbing Evelyn Nesbit at an English race track.</p> - -<p>About the time of this marriage Evelyn Nesbit went to Europe. Harry Thaw -followed her. They went automobiling, and the charming brunette fell -madly in love with the young heir to nearly $40,000,000; he had been in -love with her since the evening they first met.</p> - -<p>Then, all because they were arrested for exceeding the automobile speed -laws in Switzerland, the curtain was raised upon their romance, that all -the world might see. In the police court to which they were taken the -impression that they were husband and wife gained ground. News of the -supposed marriage was telegraphed to London and thence to America. -Thaw’s relatives and rich society friends were shocked. They had -registered and stopped at the Carlton hotel in London as husband and -wife, and the report of their marriage was generally believed.</p> - -<p>When they returned to New York they had a stormy experience. On their -arrival they discovered that Mrs. William Thaw, mother of Harry, had -announced that under no conditions would she accept Evelyn Nesbit for a -daughter-in-law, and that if her son had really married the beautiful -young model she would promptly disown him.</p> - -<p>Harry didn’t want to lose his fortune, and it is probable that the girl -didn’t desire to see him impoverished, either. So they faced the -dilemma. Fear<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_25" id="page_25">{25}</a></span> of the wrath of the mother forced them to deny that the -union had been consummated, yet at the same time they were together in -New York at the Cumberland hotel, and the proprietor demanded that -either Thaw write “wife” after his name on the register or quit the -hotel.</p> - -<p>Thaw refused to do this, and the couple went to another hotel with the -same result. After they had been ejected from four hostelries they -separated. All this time there had been no public announcement by either -of them that they had been married, as supposed.</p> - -<p>Miss Nesbit, as she still insisted on being called, went to a boarding -house and the young millionaire made efforts to placate his mother. He -was successful, but not until an open rumor had it that Miss Nesbit had -refused an offer of $250,000 in cash to give up Harry and quit the -United States.</p> - -<p>When the mother did agree to the union she acted handsomely, and the -exquisite beauty was quietly married at the home of Rev. William L. -McEwan, pastor of the Third Presbyterian church, Pittsburg, Mrs. Thaw -and the members of both families being present. This was on April 4, -1905.</p> - -<p>The Thaws left Lyndhurst, the magnificent Thaw country mansion near -Pittsburg, and went to New York. They varied their life in the -metropolis by trips to Pittsburg, but did not go to Newport, where -Benjamin Thaw, Harry’s brother, lived. In Pittsburg,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_26" id="page_26">{26}</a></span> Mrs. William Thaw -gave several receptions to the actress-model wife of her son. Pittsburg -society started to squabble over these affairs, but finally attended the -receptions and accepted Evelyn as a member of their exclusive set.</p> - -<p>The charms of the young Mrs. Thaw had disarmed much of the criticism. -Mrs. Holman grew to like her son-in-law, although not long before she -had threatened to apply a rawhide horsewhip to him, while Harry and her -daughter were living together in New York, apparently unmarried.</p> - -<p>The Thaws themselves, when they saw how hard young Mrs. Thaw was trying -to restrict the money-spending habits of her husband, forgave her -completely. They even regretted, some of them said, that they had -offered to buy her off. When that offer was made—it was during the -stormy days in New York,—Miss Nesbit had declared “My heart is not for -sale!”</p> - -<p>The story of the wedding—a remarkably simple affair—is interesting in -that it showed Evelyn Nesbit’s love for simplicity in her private life. -Although fame and fortune were linked in a remarkable union, the wedding -ceremony took place almost in secret.</p> - -<p>The day before the wedding Mr. Thaw went to the Hotel Schenley, and in -the grillroom met some of his old associates. He remarked that in less -than a week he would be a benedict. Steins were raised high and his -companions declared that it should be made his bachelor dinner. Their -host swore them to secrecy,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_27" id="page_27">{27}</a></span> and then the story of the coming nuptials -was divulged to the chosen few.</p> - -<p>Miss Nesbit arrived in Pittsburg with her chaperon, Miss Pierce, and -went to the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. C. J. Holman, in Oakland. -In the afternoon Harry Thaw went to the residence of Dr. McEwan in South -Negley avenue and arranged for the wedding.</p> - -<p>It was a few minutes after 5 o’clock when three carriages drove to Dr. -McEwan’s residence. From them alighted Mr. Thaw, his mother, Mrs. -William Thaw, his brother, Josiah Copley Thaw, and Fredrick C. Perkins. -Miss Nesbit came on the arm of her stepfather, C. J. Holman, and was -followed by her mother, Mrs. Holman.</p> - -<p>Miss Nesbit wore a traveling costume of dark material, which was almost -hidden in a light three-quarter opera cloak trimmed with rare lace and -ornamented with Persian floral designs. She wore a hat that indicated a -slight lingering toward the winter season, and across the silk entwined -brim was a gorgeous leather of three shades of brown.</p> - -<p>Miss Nesbit did not remove her cloak or hat and the bridegroom laid his -headgear and top coat over the banisters before he walked into the -drawing-room. When the ceremony was concluded the party left the -parsonage. Dinner was served at Lyndhurst, and the bride and bridegroom -hastened to the railway station to leave for their journey East.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_28" id="page_28">{28}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.<br /><br /> -<small>Story of the Killing That Startled the World.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">STANFORD WHITE ASSASSINATED BY CRAZED HUSBAND WHILE ATTENDING THE -PLAY—ON ROOF GARDEN OF MADISON SQUARE—THAW WALKED RAPIDLY TO -TABLE WHILE GIRLS WERE DANCING—AT LAST NOTE OF SONG HE DREW -REVOLVER, LEVELED IT AT WHITE—SAID “YOU HAVE RUINED MY LIFE—YOU -MUST DIE”—FIRED THREE TIMES—TWO SHOTS CAUSED DEATH ALMOST -INSTANTLY—PANIC IN AUDIENCE AND ON STAGE—BEAUTIFUL WIFE EMBRACED -SLAYER—THE ARREST.</p></div> - -<p>The killing of Stanford White by Harry Kendall Thaw, on the roof garden -of Madison Square, New York, June 25th, 1906,—just fourteen months -after the marriage—startled the world. Millionaires both—the victim a -famous architect, the slayer even more famous—the love of a beautiful -woman the cause of the crime—is it any wonder the Thaw killing was the -greatest sensation in years? It took place just as the musical show, -“Mamselle Champagne,” was coming to a close.</p> - -<p>There was a big crowd on the roof of the garden; a crowd which pretty -well filled the floor. Many people noticed a slightly built young man -walking backward and forward in front of the stage, among the tables set -here and there in an open space in front of the seats.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_29" id="page_29">{29}</a></span></p> - -<p>He was plainly nervous and very pale. He kept watching the entrance from -the Twenty-sixth street side. A few people knew it was Harry K. Thaw and -remarked on his peculiar behavior. They thought it queer also that he -wore a long, thin coat.</p> - -<p>At about 11:05 p. m. several persons noticed Stanford White enter the -roof garden and take a seat near the left hand side of the stage, pretty -well up to the front, dropping into a chair at a table four rows from -the stage.</p> - -<p>Young Thaw, who had been watching apparently for White to come in, -jumped at the sight of him and made for the table.</p> - -<p>Few persons saw what happened immediately afterward. In the first place, -the show was nearing its close, the dancers pirouetting and skipping -about the stage and the orchestra jingling and clanging in gay dance -music.</p> - -<p>All about the open enclosure in front of the stage, where the tables -were set, were palms and potted plants, which largely cut off the view -of the table where Mr. White was sitting.</p> - -<p>Some persons were sure that a young woman was at the table when White -lounged in and took a seat. They went so far as to describe her, saying -she was young, slim, dark-haired and dressed all in white, with a big -white hat, from which a filmy veil fell over her shoulders.</p> - -<p>Others who insisted that they observed White when<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_30" id="page_30">{30}</a></span> he took a seat there, -said no woman was present. They were positive on that point.</p> - -<p>On reaching White’s table Thaw backed off a step or two, produced a -revolver, aimed it at White and pulled the trigger. The first bullet -entered the right eye, penetrating the brain. Thaw shot twice more, -rapidly. The other bullets both struck White’s body, one in the right -side of the upper lip and the other in the right arm.</p> - -<p>White hardly moved from his position at the table. His body sagged a -little to the left, his arm flattened out on the table top and his head -sank heavily on the arm.</p> - -<p>Above the swing and thrumming of the orchestra and the gay chorus of the -dancers the three shots sounded clearly, startling everybody, causing -the men to jump to their feet and rush toward the left side of the -stage.</p> - -<p>Two women nearby, seeing what had happened and the blood flowing from -the man’s wounds, screamed. Two of the girls on the stage fled screaming -into the wings.</p> - -<p>“Get back into your line,” roared the stage manager so that all heard -him.</p> - -<p>One of the girls started back, but she again fled to the wings, while -two of the remaining four, seeing the cause of the trouble, fell over in -a faint.</p> - -<p>The music and the dancing kept going a while feebly; then it died away. -The musicians jumped from<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_31" id="page_31">{31}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 421px;"> -<a href="images/i033.jpg"> -<img src="images/i033.jpg" width="421" height="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>MAZIE FOLLETTE</p> - -<p>Actress named in the case.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_32" id="page_32">{32}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_33" id="page_33">{33}</a></span> </p> - -<p class="nind">the pit and joined the crowd. The frightened chorus girls ran back on -the stage.</p> - -<p>The employes of the roof garden thought for a time that the shots came -from the stage. Manager Lawrence had been intending to introduce some -revolver shooting in the duel scene where the line occurs, “I challenge -you, I challenge you to a du-u-el,” and the stage hands and other -hangers on at the garden thought the innovation had been put on a night -or two ahead of schedule.</p> - -<p>They quickly found out their mistake, and had their hands full in a -minute or two handling the people, who were pushing right and left, the -women screaming to be let out.</p> - -<p>During all the confusion and excitement nobody made any effort to stop -young Thaw. He looked at White’s body, and then, still holding his -revolver, walked leisurely to a clump of potted plants and back toward -the elevator. Fireman Brudi saw a part of what had happened, saw Thaw -shoot White, and knew who the young man was that was walking away with -the revolver.</p> - -<p>Brudi went up to him and caught him by the shoulder. Thaw smiled at him -and made no resistance when Brudi told him he would have to wait until -the police came. He was very pale, but otherwise cool and collected.</p> - -<p>Brudi held Thaw lightly, while the crowd gathered around. It was a wait -of several minutes before<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_34" id="page_34">{34}</a></span> Policeman Debes of the Tenderloin station, -appeared and took charge of Thaw. Debes telephoned to his station house -for the reserves to handle the crowd and the desk sergeant sent ten -policemen. Debes was waiting for the elevator to take Thaw to the police -station.</p> - -<p>Just before the elevator started, a slender, dark, pretty young woman, -the same one with whom Thaw had been sitting before he sauntered away on -his errand of death, came running into the car. She threw her arms -around the prisoner and kissed him.</p> - -<p>“Oh, Harry,” she cried. “Why did you do it, Harry?”</p> - -<p>“It’s all right, dear wife,” he answered, kissing her. “He ruined you, -and I fixed him. It’s all right.”</p> - -<p>All this time the audience was terror stricken.</p> - -<p>“Sing, you girls. Sing. For God’s sake keep on,” shouted the manager.</p> - -<p>The girls sang. They danced as the silent form lay prostrate. Their -faces were white. But they were on the stage and they quelled their -emotion.</p> - -<p>A man who sat at a table behind Mr. and Mrs. Thaw, told the following -story of the tragedy:</p> - -<p>“I noticed Harry Thaw and his wife when they came in. Thaw seemed to -have been drinking and was very restless. He got up from the table -several times and, leaving his wife, walked back toward the elevators. -They were sitting at the Twenty-sixth street side of the house.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_35" id="page_35">{35}</a></span></p> - -<p>“At 10:30 Stanford White came in and took a seat at a table about five -tables in front of the Thaws. He talked a while to Harry Stevens and -then sat alone watching the show and resting his head on his right hand.</p> - -<p>“As he walked down the aisle, Harry Thaw noticed him and got up from his -seat. While White was talking to Stevens, Thaw walked over and stood -behind some artificial shrubbery just a few feet away from them.</p> - -<p>“When Stevens left, Thaw walked deliberately down the aisle and stood -for a minute behind White. He pulled a revolver from his pocket and -fired three shots. I think the first missed, but the other two took -effect, and White rolled to the floor, upsetting the chair.”</p> - -<p>With Thaw safely lodged in a police station cell, one of the greatest -trials of a century faced the public. The inexorable hand of the law -began its work the next day after the arrest, when Thaw was taken from -his cell in the Tenderloin police station, photographed and measured by -the Bertillon system, like a burglar or holdup man, arraigned in police -court and held without bail. Perfectly calm, Thaw went through the -hurried formalities in court, absolutely refusing to make any extended -statement regarding the tragedy.</p> - -<p>The policeman who arrested Thaw, gave this account of the shooting in -the police court hearing.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_36" id="page_36">{36}</a></span></p> - -<p>“I found the people almost crazy, trying to get out of the place. I -jumped into the mob and saw a woman lying down. She had fainted, and -then I saw White.</p> - -<p>“I said to Thaw: ‘Did you do it?’ and he replied: ‘Yes, I did it. That -man ruined my life or wife.’ I don’t know which he said, but it sounded -like that. Then he went on saying: ‘That man ruined my home. I guess he -won’t ruin any more homes. Is he dead?’ I told him he was, and he said -he was glad of it, and he was glad he ‘made a good job of it.’</p> - -<p>“When I arrested Thaw, a woman, who Manager Lawrence told me was Mrs. -Thaw, rushed up to Thaw and kissed him, and said: ‘I did not think you’d -do it in that way!’ ‘It’s all right, it’s all right,’ Thaw told her. -Then she whispered something into his ear. I don’t know what she said to -him.”</p> - -<p>“Down in the hall and in the street a lot of women gathered about us and -shook hands with Thaw and sympathized with him. ‘Why did you do it? Why -did you do it? they kept asking.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>A statement credited to Thaw immediately after the arrest is this:</p> - -<p>“We were all at a party in Martin’s. You can find out the names of the -others there, but I was sitting some distance from my wife. Suddenly I -saw her grow pale and begin to shiver, and I thought she was ill.</p> - -<p>“I made a motion to inquire what was the matter<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_37" id="page_37">{37}</a></span> and she called a waiter -and wrote a note which she sent around the table to me.</p> - -<p>“The note said ‘The dirty blackguard is here.’ Then I turned and saw -that fat scoundrel sitting there, big and healthy, and then I saw her -and how she was.”</p> - -<p>“Did White make any motion to attack you?” was asked of Thaw.</p> - -<p>“What?” said Thaw.</p> - -<p>The question was repeated.</p> - -<p>Thaw nodded his head in the affirmative.</p> - -<p>From his pocket when he was searched there was taken a leather revolver -shield such as policemen carry their weapons in. He had $168 in cash and -several blank checks, besides a gold cigarette case.</p> - -<p>Thaw did not display the least anxiety about his own welfare nor about -the effects of his shots. He never asked a question about White. He did -not ask any questions of the police at all. He seemed as unconcerned as -if bailing out a chauffeur instead of facing an accusation of killing a -man.</p> - -<p>As he talked with a reporter he reverted again and again to his wife’s -attack of shivering when she saw White in Martin’s.</p> - -<p>“That poor, delicate little thing, all nervous and shaking like a reed,” -he said, half to himself. “And there he was, the big healthy scoundrel. -God!”</p> - -<p>While the coroner’s proceedings were in progress in the city next day, -the final scene of the tragedy as<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_38" id="page_38">{38}</a></span> affecting White was carried out on -Long Island. At St. James’ the funeral of the dead architect was held.</p> - -<p>Friends and relatives of White left for the little town early to attend -the ceremony. By the time they returned the grand jury had indicted the -man who brought White’s career to a close and the coroner’s jury had -held him, completing the legal formalities preceding the trial itself.</p> - -<p>Thaw was restless in his cell in the Tombs from the time he entered it -until he was arraigned. His wife visited him every time the rules of the -prison allowed, and remained at his side as long as possible each time. -His mother, an aged, feeble woman, also went to New York to comfort her -offspring in his hour of trouble, and the Countess of Yarmouth, his -sister, was among the visitors. Other visitors—unwelcome ones—were the -alienists whom the state and the defense sent to examine the young man. -Thaw fought the insanity plea vigorously, and at times almost fought the -experts. Finally, however, he allowed the examinations into his mental -condition.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_39" id="page_39">{39}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 362px;"> -<a href="images/i041.jpg"> -<img src="images/i041.jpg" width="362" height="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>STANFORD WHITE</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_40" id="page_40">{40}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_41" id="page_41">{41}</a></span> </p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.<br /><br /> -<small>Stanford White, Creator and Destroyer.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">LIFE OF HARRY K. THAW’S VICTIM—HIS DEATH REFLECTED HIS STRANGE -LIFE—A MENTAL GIANT WHO TURNED FROM LOFTY ENTERPRISES TO VICIOUS -REVELS—BUILT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN—THE STUDIO IN THE -TOWER—MIGHTY WORKS THAT SURVIVE WHITE AS MONUMENTS TO HIS -GENIUS—THE TRAGIC “GIRL IN THE PIE” AFFAIR—WHITE’S HOME -EXISTENCE—HIS END.</p></div> - -<p>Stanford White’s death was no more remarkable than the strange life he -led. Few expressed surprise that the end came as it did. On the other -hand, those who knew him best asserted they would have experienced a -sensation little short of amazement had White departed this life as most -men, surrounded by members of his family and enjoying the ministrations -of physician, nurse and spiritual advisor.</p> - -<p>Some saw in the pyrotechnic, picturesque, sensational climax of his -existence, the fulfillment of a prophesy oft reiterated by his closest -acquaintances.</p> - -<p>The unusual, the unexpected ruled the existence of this man of wonderful -brain and creative genius. A giant in mental force and power, he could -turn lightly from some vast enterprise to a revel passing<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_42" id="page_42">{42}</a></span> all belief, -having as its only purpose the snaring of some young girl—as Evelyn -Nesbit was enmeshed. And he could turn quite as lightly from the -anguished cry of his victim and forget her in the multiplicity of -details surrounding his huge undertakings.</p> - -<p>What a mind was this—at once an engine of creation and destruction, -accepting the consequences in each instance as a matter of course. In -view of the peculiarities of the man, it cannot be counted strange that -he fell before the hand of the avenger in the temple he had builded to -mirth, for the famed Madison Square Garden was a creation of his mind.</p> - -<p>In the tower he had raised above it, overlooking the great Metropolis -with all its joys, sorrows, struggles, its mighty forces that work for -good and its uncounted army battling for sin, Stanford White had fitted -out a den of Oriental magnificence wherein he could accomplish his -purposes, far removed from the world at large.</p> - -<p>It was here his wildest orgies were held. It was from the tower-chamber -his young victims went forth to lives of bitterness and shame, and -within the shadow of that tower White was whirled to eternity without a -moment’s respite to atone for his sins or prepare for an accounting -before the final tribunal where truth and not pretense avails. Whatever -his offenses, his punishment was heavy, indeed.</p> - -<p>Great as an architect, a lover of beauty in his work<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_43" id="page_43">{43}</a></span> and in his play, a -charming companion, a man of kindliness, possessed of many talents, a -lover of all the pleasant things of life, but not bound by scruples or -the dictates of morality—such was White. Within two days after his -death, New York rang with stories of strange debauches in which White -had played the part of host or one of the hosts. Anthony Comstock -declared that he had tried to obtain evidence which would suffice to -bring action against White for various alleged excesses. When White fell -to the floor of Madison Square Roof Garden, in short, his personal -reputation fell with him.</p> - -<p>As an architect, he was admittedly a genius, and he left an impress upon -the architecture of this country which will remain. He transformed the -old, unsightly Harlem Railroad freight station into Madison Square -Garden—one of the most beautiful edifices in New York. He aided in the -designing of Trinity Church in Boston.</p> - -<p>Among his famous works in New York were the Hall of Fame at New York -University, the Washington arch, the Century, University and -Metropolitan clubs, the William C. Whitney residence and the pedestal of -the Farragut monument in Madison Square.</p> - -<p>He was the son of Richard Grant White, the novelist and journalist, and -was born in 1853. After being graduated from New York University he went -to Europe to study architecture. He returned in 1881 and entered into -partnership with Charles F.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_44" id="page_44">{44}</a></span> McKim and William R. Meade. The firm of -McKim, Meade & White, largely through the genius of White, became one of -the most prominent in the profession.</p> - -<p>Mr. White was essentially a clubman, being a member of the -Knickerbocker, Union, University, Automobile, Metropolitan, Players’, -Lambs’ and New York Yacht clubs. He was a follower of the stage, a -devout first-nighter, and had an extensive acquaintance among theatrical -people.</p> - -<p>White’s studio apartment in Madison Square tower was one of the most -noted centers of revelry in the city. He used his studio in a -professional way to paint in water colors and to work out architectural -designs in matters that were separate from the firm work of McKim, Meade -& White, but the chief use of the rooms was as a meeting place for -gatherings of theatrical and other folk to whom night life was -attractive.</p> - -<p>The rooms were decorated with things that White had gathered in his -frequent trips to Europe. The draperies and rugs, the furniture and -adornments were of the florid style of three centuries ago that -prevailed in Italy and France. His tastes ran to decoration quite as -much as to architecture, and his apartments in the tower revealed the -artistic side of the man more than any of his purely professional -achievements.</p> - -<p>His acquaintance among stage folk ran not so much to those who were -regarded as the leaders in their<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_45" id="page_45">{45}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 420px;"> -<a href="images/i047.jpg"> -<img src="images/i047.jpg" width="420" height="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>HATTIE FORSYTHE</p> - -<p>Chorus girl, once a friend of Mrs. Thaw.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_46" id="page_46">{46}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_47" id="page_47">{47}</a></span> </p> - -<p class="nind">profession as to those who were willing to “make a night of it.” And it -was from these “all nighters” that Mr. White drew the material for the -“studio parties” that at one time brought notoriety to the Madison -Square Garden tower.</p> - -<p>In the field of decoration, White had established a place for himself -unlike that of any architect. He was accustomed to make trips to Europe -to secure collections of various kinds. He would get materials for a -Francis I. room or a Louis XVI. room, bring them home, and store them to -be sold later to some rich man who was looking for fads in household -decorations. Sometimes he would collect windows and doors. At other -times he would scour France and Italy for hangings and draperies.</p> - -<p>After the tragedy there was great diversity of opinion in the -architectural world as to White’s standing as an architect. Some of the -architects did not hesitate to say that he was the greatest in the -profession in his country since H. H. Richardson. Others asserted that -he shone largely by the reflected light of his partners, McKim and Mead. -It is certain that no architect was called upon oftener to serve on -juries to pass upon the merits of designs for the great buildings of the -country than White.</p> - -<p>Those who decried his abilities said that much of the work ascribed to -White was really the work of McKim or Mead. Their tastes ran to the -severely classic designs and to what is known as the field of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_48" id="page_48">{48}</a></span> pure -architecture. It was declared that White, a disciple of the French and -Italian schools, could not have designed many of the buildings for which -he got credit as a member of the firm of McKim, Mead & White. One -architect said:</p> - -<p>“The Boston Public library, the Columbia university buildings, the -Villard house, the agricultural building at the Chicago World’s Fair, -and other creations of the McKim firm were not and could not have been -designed by White. All through them runs the genius of Mr. McKim. White -ran to the lighter style of architecture, the florid, the modern, and -not to the Grecian or the severe and monumental style of purely classic -architecture.</p> - -<p>“His mood was that of gayety and it expressed itself in his designs. The -bases of St. Gaudens statues lent themselves to his mood, and some of -his best work was done in connection with them. He was essentially an -artist rather than an architect, and his influence in his firm was along -the lines of the artistic rather than along the strict standards of -architectural expression.”</p> - -<p>There were current also numerous stories regarding White’s private life -that were not of the creditable kind. It is not too much to say that he -was frequently under suspicion, but there was always something Lacking -in a legal way so that no open scandal attached to his name, although -evil reports were frequent. No action was taken by the investigators, -how<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_49" id="page_49">{49}</a></span>ever, because of lack of tangible evidence.</p> - -<p>One incident that contributed much to White’s bad reputation and which -illustrates forcibly his view of a “good time” was the “Girl-in-a-Pie” -affair, which was later to come out in evidence at the trial.</p> - -<p>The famed “Girl-in-the-Pie” dinner was given to several artists and men -about town, with several notorious “fashionable” women in attendance. -The spread cost $350 a plate.</p> - -<p>At the approach of dawn, four negroes entered, bearing a huge pie, which -they placed on the table. A faint stir was observed beneath the crust -just as the orchestra struck up the air of the nursery jingle:</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">“Sing a song of sixpence, a pocket full of rye,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Four-and-twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.”<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>The pie was burst asunder, and from inside there emerged the beautiful -figure of a young girl, clad in black gauze draperies. She turned her -pretty childish face upon the astonished guests, and poised as a bird -about to fly, while two dozen golden canaries, released by her hand, -flew about the room.</p> - -<p>Then, when the tableau was complete, a man forced his way to the side of -the table and with a smile assisted the child to the floor. The man was -Stanford White.</p> - -<p>The young girl, a model, then 15 years old, lived with her mother, but -on the night of the banquet she disappeared, and remained in hiding for -two years. Efforts of the police to find her were unsuccessful.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_50" id="page_50">{50}</a></span></p> - -<p>At last she returned, to tell a story of revolting mistreatment and -desertion by the man who met his death at the hands of Harry Thaw.</p> - -<p>“When I was lifted from the pie to a seat at the table I found myself -queen of the revel,” she said. “It was dazzling at first,” she said, -“but in the end it became a sad queendom.</p> - -<p>“Mr. White was kind for a time, but when he went to Europe he instructed -his clerks to get rid of me with as little trouble as possible. I never -saw him again.”</p> - -<p>Turned into the street to live as she might, this girl, not yet 18, -finally married, but her husband, when he learned of her part in the -“pie” banquet, brooded over the affair, and deserted his girl wife -without attempting to avenge her wrongs. She died soon afterward.</p> - -<p>Stanford White was as respectful to women of the stage who demanded -respect as he was to his wife’s friends.</p> - -<p>He was one of a group of men, old and young, who are oftenest seen in -and near theaters where frothy nonsense charmingly unclad is enacted and -in restaurants where musical comediennes tempt their dainty appetites -with broiled lobster.</p> - -<p>He knew many theatrical managers, and some of them often invited him -behind the scenes—but not to inspect the architecture.</p> - -<p>Stanford White was indefatigable in his pursuit<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_51" id="page_51">{51}</a></span> of beauty in his work -and in his play. He was generous and considerate. He would hide a $100 -bill in a bouquet he ordered handed over the footlights; he would visit -a poor, sick chorus girl when she thought herself friendless in a -hospital.</p> - -<p>Once in a while, Mr. White gave entertainments in the tower, at which -the women and men of society were his guests. But there were other -entertainments on which Venus, not Diana, should have looked down. At -them, if a girl danced on the table she did not scratch the mahogany. -Stanford White vastly admired adolescence. His death was a tragedy and -is a warning. His last night was typical of his method of life.</p> - -<p>He dined with his son; he went to his club. From his nearest kin and his -honorable friends he turned to the structure his genius had raised, -where was hid his “studio.” The lights and music of the roof garden -enticed him. And in the presence of the woman who vows he ruined her -life he perished by her husband’s hand. And the last jangle that sounded -to him was a comedy song: “I could love a million girls.”</p> - -<p>Madison Square garden, which he created and where he met his death, was -known as his “pleasure house.”</p> - -<p>What an awful warning, to the would-be-young-man-about-town! With all -his subtle experience, with his fawning servants and paid detectives, -even<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_52" id="page_52">{52}</a></span> Stanford White with his millions could not avert the hand of -vengeance. “Be sure your sin will find you out.” Sooner or later a -settlement must be made. Lucky is he whose balance is on the right side -of the ledger.</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> -<a href="images/i054.jpg"> -<img src="images/i054.jpg" width="600" height="369" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>THE BIRTHPLACE OF EVELYN NESBIT THAW AT TARENTUM, PA.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_53" id="page_53">{53}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.<br /><br /> -<small>Greatest Legal Battle of Age Opens.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">OPPOSING COUNSEL HESITATE TO SHOW THEIR HANDS IN DESPERATE GAME OF -LIFE OR DEATH—ATTORNEY GARVAN’S BRIEF OPENING ARGUMENT FOR -PROSECUTION FOLLOWED BY PRESENTATION OF STATE’S CASE IN LESS THAN -TWO HOURS—VICTIM’S SON CALLED TO STAND—FATAL BULLETS GRUESOME -EXHIBIT—STORY OF THE ROOF GARDEN TRAGEDY TOLD—DEFENSE OPENED WITH -PLEA THAT THAW BELIEVED HE WAS ACTING UPON THE COMMAND OF -PROVIDENCE WHEN HE SLEW WHITE—ALL IN READINESS FOR GREATEST -SACRIFICE OF MODERN TIMES.</p></div> - -<p>Thousands throughout New York, and in fact the entire world, breathed in -anxious suspense when, with jury complete and all the machinery of legal -battle in readiness the great trial opened. Following delays in securing -the jury—the excusing of several jurors after their acceptance by both -prosecution and defense—the opening came as a surprise.</p> - -<p>The day will long be remembered because of the multiplicity of surprises -it brought forth. Brevity of argument by counsel for state and defense -was not the least of these. The opposing lawyers felt they were entering -upon a stupendous game with life and death the stakes, and youth, -beauty, love, hate, treachery and millions factors in the play.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_54" id="page_54">{54}</a></span></p> - -<p>Neither cared to show his hand and disclose the cards he held. It was -Monday, February 4, 1907—a fateful day, coming after seven months and -ten days’ imprisonment for Thaw in the Tombs.</p> - -<p>The prosecution made a most remarkable record when it presented its -opening statement in ten minutes and followed it with less than two -hours of testimony, closing in time for the noon recess. The defense -announced it would open its case with a statement by Attorney J. B. -Gleason.</p> - -<p>The purpose of the prosecution was readily apparent—throwing upon the -defense the burden of disclosing its case, reserving the while the -state’s hardest fire for rebuttal later when Thaw’s lawyers had -exhausted themselves and their material.</p> - -<p>Opening shots of the legal battle royal were fired by Assistant District -Attorney Garvan, of counsel for the state.</p> - -<p>He congratulated the jurors on their body having been completed and then -outlined the purpose of the law, which was not seeking for vengeance, -but to uphold the security of the state, he said. He urged the -importance of the case and a strict observance of the law in order that -a verdict, fair to all, might be reached.</p> - -<p>It was the claim of the people, he said, that on the night of June 25, -1906, the defendant “shot and killed with premeditation and intent to -kill” one Stanford White. He then briefly outlined the movements of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_55" id="page_55">{55}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 394px;"> -<a href="images/i057.jpg"> -<img src="images/i057.jpg" width="394" height="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>ASST. DISTRICT ATTORNEY GARVAN</p> - -<p>Sketched in court.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_56" id="page_56">{56}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_57" id="page_57">{57}</a></span> </p> - -<p>White, beginning with the Saturday preceding the tragedy and ending with -the actual scene of the shooting on the Madison Square Roof garden.</p> - -<p>“The purpose of punishment of crime is an example to the community,” -thundered the prosecutor.</p> - -<p>“The defendant is charged with the murder of Stanford White with -premeditation on June 25, 1906. Mr. White was an architect, a member of -the firm of McKim, Meade & White. On the Sunday before his death he went -to his home on Long Island with his family. He returned to the city on -Monday with his son and his son’s friend named King. They went to the -Cafe Martin for dinner.</p> - -<p>“Mr. White had previously purchased tickets to a theater. After dinner -Mr. White drove his son and his son’s friend to the theater and then -went himself to the Madison Square Roof garden, where a new play, -‘Mam’zelle Champagne,’ was to be produced.</p> - -<p>“Stanford White went to the Madison Square Roof garden and sat alone at -one of the small tables there, watching the first production of this -play called ‘Mam’zelle Champagne.’</p> - -<p>“The defendant was there with his wife and two friends, Truxton Beale -and Thomas McCaleb. The defendant walked constantly about the place.</p> - -<p>“In the middle of the second act the defendant’s party started to leave -the roof. The defendant let his party go ahead and he lagged behind. -Passing the table where Stanford White was sitting, this defen<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_58" id="page_58">{58}</a></span>dant -wheeled suddenly, faced Mr. White, and deliberately shot him through the -brain, the bullet entering the eye.</p> - -<p>“Mr. White was dead.</p> - -<p>“The defendant did not know this. He feared he had not completed his -work, and he fired again, the bullet penetrating White’s cheek. Still, -to make sure, he fired a third time.</p> - -<p>“Mr. White, or rather the body of Mr. White, tumbled to the floor.</p> - -<p>“The defendant turned, and facing the audience, held his revolver aloft -with the barrel upside down to indicate that he had completed what he -intended to do. The big audience understood. There was no panic.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Garvan concluded by giving the details of Thaw’s arrest and -indictment by the prosecution. He spoke always in a conversational tone. -Thaw sat throughout with head downcast and face flushed.</p> - -<p>Calm and as cold and easy of manner as though rehearsing a scene in some -drama instead of a great tragedy of life, District Attorney Jerome -requested the exclusion of all other witnesses and placed his first -witness on the stand.</p> - -<p>As Evelyn Thaw passed her husband in leaving she took his hand and held -it for a moment, and, as she turned away, tears trickled down her -cheeks.</p> - -<p>Harry Thaw was visibly nervous and drummed on the table with his -fingers.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_59" id="page_59">{59}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 313px;"> -<a href="images/i061.jpg"> -<img src="images/i061.jpg" width="313" height="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>DISTRICT ATTORNEY JEROME<br /> -in opening address.<br /> -</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_60" id="page_60">{60}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_61" id="page_61">{61}</a></span> </p> - -<p>Lawrence White, the son of the dead architect, was the first witness. -Thaw again fastened his eyes on the table before him and did not once -look at the witness.</p> - -<p>Young White said he was 19 years old and a student at Harvard -university. His mother, he said, was then living at Cambridge, Mass.</p> - -<p>White was on the stand only a few minutes. He told of accompanying his -father to the Cafe Martin for dinner, and said that when he left him to -go with his chum, a boy named King, to the New York roof garden, it was -the last time he saw his father alive.</p> - -<p>Myer Cohen, a song writer and manager of the house which published the -music of “Mam’zelle Champagne,” was called after an elevator man had -detailed Thaw’s conversation when arrested.</p> - -<p>Mr. Cohen was on the Madison Square Roof garden the night of the -tragedy. He saw Thaw there for the first time during the initial act of -the musical comedy. Cohen described on a diagram the position of the -table at which White sat.</p> - -<p>When asked by Mr. Garvan to indicate Thaw’s manner of approaching the -architect that evening, the witness left the stand, and, walking up and -down before the jury box, he illustrated the slow pace which he declared -characterized Thaw’s deliberation in approaching his victim.</p> - -<p>“He walked up to Mr. White’s table like this,” said the witness, -indicating. “He made a slight detour,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_62" id="page_62">{62}</a></span> and coming up to Mr. White from -behind suddenly faced him and fired three times.”</p> - -<p>Henry S. Plaese, superintendent of the publishing company that owned the -rights of “Mam’zelle Champagne,” was the next witness. He saw the -defendant the night of the killing in the rear of the roof garden, -opposite the center aisle. Mr. Plaese was standing with Mr. Cohen, the -previous witness. Thaw stood before them for six or seven minutes, -looking to the right and left.</p> - -<p>After the first act he next saw Thaw just previous to the shooting. -White was seated, facing the stage, his head leaning on his right hand. -There was no conversation when Thaw approached White, and the former -immediately began firing.</p> - -<p>Thaw then retreated toward the rear of the garden, with his right hand -elevated, “the barrel of the pistol being pointed upward.”</p> - -<p>The weapon with which White was killed was brought into the case during -the testimony of Paul Brudi, the fireman who disarmed Thaw after the -fatal shots were fired. Brudi, who appeared on the stand in uniform, -identified the pistol when it was shown to him, and said that after -taking it from the prisoner he turned it over to the police.</p> - -<p>“I remember hearing only two shots,” said Brudi in relating the events -of the evening of the tragedy, “when I rushed up and grabbed the -prisoner, who had his arms uplifted.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_63" id="page_63">{63}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“Did you hear the defendant say anything after the shooting?” asked -Assistant District Attorney Garvan.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” the witness replied, “he said ‘He ruined my wife.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>“Did he say anything else?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p>“Did you hear any one say anything to him?”</p> - -<p>“His wife.”</p> - -<p>“What did she say?”</p> - -<p>“Look at the fix you are in.”</p> - -<p>“Did he reply?”</p> - -<p>“I did not hear him say anything else.”</p> - -<p>Edward H. Convey, foreman of laborers at Madison Square garden, was -called to further identify the pistol Brudi took from Thaw, and which -Convey helped in turning over to the police. He was not cross-examined.</p> - -<p>Policeman A. L. Debes, who arrested Thaw, was called. He identified the -pistol, the bullets, and empty shells introduced as exhibit.</p> - -<p>“Did you have any conversation with Thaw?” asked Mr. Garvan.</p> - -<p>“I did,” he replied.</p> - -<p>“I asked the prisoner if he had shot Stanford White, and he said, ‘I -did.’ I then asked him why he shot him and he said, ‘Because he ruined -my wife—or life.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_64" id="page_64">{64}</a></span>’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>“You could not distinguish whether he said wife or life?” was asked.</p> - -<p>“No. Thaw then asked where we were going and I replied, ‘To the station -house,’ and he said ‘All right.’ After this I turned him over to another -officer and went up stairs to get witnesses.”</p> - -<p>Coroner’s Physician Timothy Lehane, who performed the autopsy on -Stanford White’s body, described the wounds made by three pistol shots.</p> - -<p>The first bullet, he said, entered the right eye, passing downward and -entering the brain; the second entered on the right side of the upper -lip, and the third wound was on the right arm, the bullet ranging -downward and passing out six inches from the point of entrance, making -what is commonly called a flesh wound.</p> - -<p>The witness then identified the various bullets and Mr. Garvan asked -that they be formally received as evidence. The exhibits were passed -across to the table of counsel for the defense. Thaw’s eyes wandered -about from right to left, but not even a fleeting glance was thrown in -the direction where the deadly bullets were being left.</p> - -<p>Dr. Lehane declared cerebral hemorrhage, caused by the bullet wounds, -produced death.</p> - -<p>Dr. Sylvester Pechner, who was with a party on the Madison Square Roof -garden the night of the tragedy, next was introduced as a witness for -the prosecution. Dr. Pechner examined White soon after he fell and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_65" id="page_65">{65}</a></span> -pronounced him dead. The architect’s death must have been instantaneous, -the witness declared.</p> - -<p>Dr. Pechner said that when his attention was attracted by the firing of -the pistol, he saw Thaw standing over White.</p> - -<p>He then saw the defendant “break his gun” and pull out the empty shells, -and hold it aloft. Just after this Fireman Brudi took the man in charge.</p> - -<p>Policeman Debes was recalled and Mr. Garvan asked him: “Did you hear any -remark credited to the defendant’s wife that night?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Where was it?”</p> - -<p>“On the ground floor of the Twenty-sixth street entrance.”</p> - -<p>“What did she say?”</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Harry, why did you do it?’ and he replied, ‘It will be all right.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>This ended the state’s case—all the evidence depended upon to send the -young millionaire to the electric chair having been presented in that -brief session. The defense opened a little more than an hour later after -a brief recess for luncheon.</p> - -<p>“Harry Thaw believed he was acting upon the command of Providence when -he killed Stanford White,” thundered Attorney Gleason in opening the -case of the defense.</p> - -<p>Thaw’s insanity at the time of the killing, Mr. Gleason said, was due to -heredity and stress of cir<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_66" id="page_66">{66}</a></span>cumstances. It would also be shown, he said, -that the defendant had suffered from temporary or emotional insanity for -years.</p> - -<p>“You must disabuse your minds, gentlemen of the jury,” he began, “of any -idea or impression that the defense in this case will rely upon anything -but the constitution and the laws of the imperial state of New York. -Upon these laws alone we will rely.</p> - -<p>“You must dismiss all idea that we are to import into this case any -so-called higher or unwritten law. We will rely upon all the defenses -that the law allows.</p> - -<p>“One of the defenses allowed by law is that of insanity.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Gleason declared further that it would be shown that Thaw acted in -self-defense and without malice, believing threats had been made against -him by Stanford White. Mr. Gleason said that Thaw did not know the -nature or quality of his act at the time he committed it.</p> - -<p>The defendant killed Stanford White, he said. He believed that it was an -act of Providence and that he was guided in that act by Providence.</p> - -<p>“The defendant killed White, and he did not know that act was wrong. He -was suffering from a mental unsoundness proceeded from a disease so that -he did not know what he was doing. We will show that there was a mental -unsoundness in his family.</p> - -<p>“There will be witnesses produced here on both<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_67" id="page_67">{67}</a></span> sides, but you are the -ones who will judge of the fact of whether the defendant was insane or -not when he killed Stanford White.</p> - -<p>“It lies with you and you alone to decide whether or not Thaw was sane -when he killed Stanford White. You must apply to yourselves the test of -your ability to decide truly and wisely.</p> - -<p>“It is for you to reach out with that human spirit which says to any -man, no matter how degraded, ‘look up and be of good cheer. I, too, am a -man, and would have done the same thing had I been placed in your -position.’</p> - -<p>“When you have heard all the testimony in this case and come to judge -this defendant, I am sure you will be of the opinion that the -defendant’s act was due to insanity and not one of crime.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Gleason’s address required less than an hour. At its conclusion the -way was clear for the greatest defense of modern times and the sacrifice -of Evelyn Thaw—a feature without a parallel in modern jurisprudence.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_68" id="page_68">{68}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.<br /><br /> -<small>“I Swear Harry K. Thaw Was Insane.”</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">DEFENSE BEGINS TERRIFIC FIGHT TO PROVE YOUNG MILLIONAIRE WAS CRAZED -BY WHITE’S ACTS—DR. WILEY, THAW’S FAMILY PHYSICIAN, DECLARES HARRY -DID NOT REALIZE WHAT HE WAS DOING—THEATER EMPLOYE PROVED IMPORTANT -POINT THAT WHITE HAD THREATENED YOUNG THAW—ANOTHER PHYSICIAN -ASSERTED THE SLAYER, WHILE YOUNG, HAD ST. VITUS DANCE, A DREAD -MALADY THAT MIGHT HAVE AFFECTED HIS BRAIN—EVELYN PALE AND -WORRIED—PRISONER RAGING IN HIS CELL—THE CRISIS AHEAD.</p></div> - -<p>Experts on the subject of insanity—famous physicians whose testimony -cost from $100 to $500 a day each, and whose services required an -expenditure of more than a half million dollars—were the central -figures in the early part of this celebrated trial. The defense began by -forging the links in the chain of circumstances which, it was asserted, -had disordered the brain of Harry Thaw and caused him to kill White.</p> - -<p>The first witness for the defense was Dr. C. C. Wiley of Pittsburg, the -Thaws’ family physician, who was connected with the Dixmont Insane -Asylum. During Dr. Wiley’s examination, the young prisoner sat with -paper and pencil, taking notes and consulting<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_69" id="page_69">{69}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 426px;"> -<a href="images/i071.jpg"> -<img src="images/i071.jpg" width="426" height="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>DELPHIN M. DELMAS</p> - -<p>Thaw’s chief lawyer.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_70" id="page_70">{70}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_71" id="page_71">{71}</a></span> </p> - -<p class="nind">constantly with his counsel. He was pale and nervous, and shuddered at -the slightest unusual noise in the court room. Jerome went at the -witness pitilessly, asked him trick questions, and endeavored a hundred -times to trap him into an admission that Thaw might not have been insane -at the time he killed White.</p> - -<p>Jerome failed. When the day had closed the evidence as to insanity -remained unshaken, but the witness was exhausted and so confused that he -often took refuge in the answer “I don’t know,” or “I cannot recall.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Gleason, attorney for Thaw, asked the expert a hypothetical question -the answer to which immeasurably strengthened the plea that Thaw was -insane. It was:</p> - -<p>“Assuming that any man was proved to you, as an expert, to have attended -a roof garden the day of June 25, 1906, the occasion of the opening of a -theatrical entertainment which was largely attended, and that on walking -out from the theater, with his wife near him, and apparently in a quiet -and orderly manner; that that man should turn aside and fire three shots -from a revolver into a man who was sitting at the table and to whom he -did not speak; that this man then held the pistol above his head and -walked quietly toward an elevator; that he gave up the pistol without -resistance and did not make any attempt to escape, and that he said, ‘He -ruined my wife,’ and that immediately thereafter he said to his wife, ‘I -have prob<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_72" id="page_72">{72}</a></span>ably saved your life,’ I ask you, sir, upon your judgment as -an expert, whether you are able to give an opinion touching on the -sanity of the man who made that answer?”</p> - -<p>“I can,” said Dr. Wiley.</p> - -<p>“Will you express that opinion?”</p> - -<p>“I believe that that man — —”</p> - -<p>District Attorney Jerome objected.</p> - -<p>“You must not state a belief,” said Mr. Jerome, “that is not evidence. -You must give an opinion.”</p> - -<p>“My opinion,” said Dr. Wiley, “is that the man who committed the act -described was suffering from insanity.”</p> - -<p>Other striking assertions from Dr. Wiley’s testimony were:</p> - -<p>“The act of Harry K. Thaw was that of an insane man.</p> - -<p>“The remark Thaw made to his wife after the tragedy, ‘I have probably -saved your life,’ is an indication of an insane delusion.</p> - -<p>“I have examined 800 people as to their sanity, and should know the -prisoner’s condition.</p> - -<p>“When I examined Harry in the Tombs prison after the murder his actions -were irrational.”</p> - -<p>Dr. Wiley was on the stand for the defense all the first day, and at the -opening of the second day a sensation came when Mr. Delmas took the helm -of the defense, and called Benjamin Bowman as the second witness. Jerome -had refused to allow Bowman to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_73" id="page_73">{73}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 195px;"> -<a href="images/i075.jpg"> -<img src="images/i075.jpg" width="195" height="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>COUNTESS OF YARMOUTH</p> - -<p>Harry Thaw’s sister.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_74" id="page_74">{74}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_75" id="page_75">{75}</a></span> </p> - -<p class="nind">testify for the state. Bowman in 1903 was a doorkeeper at the Madison -Square Garden Theater.</p> - -<p>“I knew Stanford White and Harry Thaw,” Bowman swore. “A few nights -after Christmas, 1903, Stanford White came up to me after the show and -wanted to know if Miss Nesbit had gone home. I told him she had. He -replied: ‘You are a liar.’ I told him to go back on the stage and see -for himself.</p> - -<p>“When he returned, and as he passed me he pulled a pistol from his -pocket and muttered: “I’ll find and kill that— — — — — — — — before -daylight.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>“Did you tell Harry Thaw of this threat against his life?” asked Delmas.</p> - -<p>“Yes, I met him on Fifth avenue and told him I wanted to speak with him -regarding Miss Nesbit. I then told him of the incident at the theater -and of White’s threat.”</p> - -<p>“What was Mr. White’s condition when he made the threat?”</p> - -<p>“He was black in the face with anger.”</p> - -<p>This ended the direct examination of Bowman, and Justice Fitzgerald -said:</p> - -<p>“If there are any persons in the courtroom whose sense of propriety -would be offended by the testimony of this witness the court will give -them an opportunity now to withdraw.”</p> - -<p>“We must ask the court to bear with us in bringing<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_76" id="page_76">{76}</a></span> out this testimony,” -explained Delmas, “but it is essential.”</p> - -<p>“It is perfectly right and proper,” Justice Fitzgerald quickly assured -the lawyer. “There are ladies here, however, and I think they should be -given the opportunity to withdraw if they so desire.”</p> - -<p>The Countess of Yarmouth and Mrs. George L. Carnegie quickly left the -courtroom.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Evelyn Nesbit Thaw and May McKenzie arrived at the courthouse some -time after the session had begun.</p> - -<p>In cross-examination by Mr. Jerome the witness clung to his story. He -added that “The Girl From Dixie” was playing at the Roof Garden Theater -at the time, and that White and Thaw even then were rivals for Miss -Nesbit’s affections.</p> - -<p>The next witness was Martin Green, a newspaper man, who saw Thaw just -after the shooting. He was asked as to Thaw’s manner after he committed -the murder.</p> - -<p>“He held the pistol high above his head,” said Mr. Green, “He was very -pale, his eyes seemed about to pop out of his head, and his hair was -hanging well down on his forehead.”</p> - -<p>Dr. John Franklin Bingaman of Pittsburg, one of the Thaw alienists, -testified he had known Harry Thaw for thirty years. He attended him when -he was two or three years old. Thaw had children’s diseases and St. -Vitus’ dance.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_77" id="page_77">{77}</a></span></p> - -<p>Dr. Bingaman said that Thaw’s condition might be called a neurotic -temperament.</p> - -<p>Mr. Jerome asked only two questions in cross-examination. In response to -them Dr. Bingaman said Thaw had the St. Vitus’ dance when he was six or -seven years old.</p> - -<p>At the end of this day’s hearing Harry Thaw was in a frenzy. In his cell -he denounced his lawyers for their determination to make insanity the -defense. Adding to his troubles was the fact that his beautiful young -wife was to go on the stand next day and bare her tragic life to the -public gaze.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Thaw dreaded the ordeal. She was barred from the court-room during -the latter part of the early testimony, but extra editions of the -newspapers were brought to her hourly, and she read the testimony she -was not allowed to hear. She was ghastly pale, and at times appeared -about to collapse.</p> - -<p>Next day brought the crisis in the most sensational trial of the -twentieth century, with the fair, slender Evelyn—the leader in the -battle to save her husband’s life.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_78" id="page_78">{78}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.<br /><br /> -<small>A Human Sacrifice on the Altar of Love.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">EVELYN NESBIT THAW BEGINS STORY OF TRAGIC FATE AT HANDS OF STANFORD -WHITE—TELLS OF SHOOTING—“I WILL BE BRAVE,” HER WORDS TO -HUSBAND—COLLAPSES ON STAND—RELATES HOW HER BETRAYAL DELAYED HER -MARRIAGE—THAW’S GREAT LOVE REVEALED—“I HAVE PROBABLY SAVED YOUR -LIFE”—WEPT WHEN SHE DISCLOSED TO HARRY THE VILLAINY OF -WHITE—BLUSHES CRIMSON ON THE STAND—ALMOST FAINTS WHEN ORDERED TO -TELL OF HER DOWNFALL.</p></div> - -<p>“I will be brave—I will be very brave, and I know that when I am done, -you will go free. It will be hard, but I must tell all. Good-bye, Harry, -my love, my own, my sweetheart, husband—”</p> - -<p>These were Evelyn Nesbit Thaw’s words before going on the stand.</p> - -<p>Crime, horrible, fiendish, revolting, startling in its details, and -consummated with all the clever brutality that a brilliant mind could -encompass—was laid up against the blighted name of Stanford White by -Evelyn Nesbit on the witness stand February 8, 1907.</p> - -<p>Beauty in distress—beauty that made a powerful impression on judge, -jury and spectators, intensified a hundredfold the dramatic climax of -the trial.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_79" id="page_79">{79}</a></span> Frail, young, her fair name shattered, her love for husband -surpassing that of Thisbe for Pyramus, she laid down her bleeding heart -upon the altar of the soul, and gave herself a living sacrifice to save -her husband from the electric chair.</p> - -<p>In the midst of her story of her shame, the beautiful bride broke down -and cried bitterly. Restoratives were applied, and, fighting with the -life of her loved one as the stake, the piteously fragile and -surpassingly pretty young wife continued with the story of her ruin at -the hands of a modern Nero, for so she painted White.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Thaw was on the stand two hours, and her direct examination had not -been concluded when the luncheon adjournment was taken. As she walked -from the witness chair along the passageway back of the jury box she -felt along the wall with the finger tips of her left hand as if about to -faint. From scarlet her face had paled to the whiteness of a sheet.</p> - -<p>Except when she broke down when going into the details of her experience -with White the girl spoke in a clear, soft voice. On the witness stand -she appeared for the first time in court unveiled, and her beauty was -remarked on all sides. It is of a girlish type, a mass of dark hair -framing a face of daintily molded features.</p> - -<p>“Evelyn Nesbit Thaw,” called the clerk in a tragic voice, as soon as the -trial opened for what was fated to be its greatest day.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_80" id="page_80">{80}</a></span></p> - -<p>The court room was hushed. Three hundred newspaper workers, flashing -bulletins to every American city, to London, Paris, and isles beyond the -seas, hardly breathed, leaned forward excitedly, and the crisis in the -greatest legal battle ever fought was on!</p> - -<p>The familiar figure in blue, now for the first time without her veil, -appeared from the judge’s chambers. She stood near the jury box as Clerk -Penny administered the oath.</p> - -<p>“I swear,” repeated Mrs. Thaw in an audible voice at the end of the -formal declaration, which was made just a little more impressive than -usual. “I solemnly swear before the ever living God to tell the truth, -the whole truth and nothing but the truth!”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Thaw took her place in the witness chair calmly. She looked -steadily ahead at Mr. Delmas and gave her answers to his first questions -in a clear and firm voice, which was soft in quality.</p> - -<p>Harry Thaw smiled at his wife as she walked to the witness stand, but -she apparently did not see him at the moment. After she was seated, -however, she smiled faintly at the prisoner and blushed crimson.</p> - -<p>In answer to Mr. Delmas’ first question Mrs. Thaw said she was born Dec. -25, 1884. She told of going to the Cafe Martin to dinner the evening of -June 25 with her husband, Thomas McCaleb, and Truxton Beale.</p> - -<p>“While you were at the Cafe Martin did you see Stanford White?” asked -Delmas.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_81" id="page_81">{81}</a></span></p> - -<p>“Yes,” answered Evelyn.</p> - -<p>“At what time did you see him?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know; it was some time after we arrived.”</p> - -<p>“Where did you first see him?”</p> - -<p>“Coming in at the Fifth avenue entrance.”</p> - -<p>“How long did you see him?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know. He passed through and went on to the balcony.”</p> - -<p>“While he was on the balcony could you see him?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p>“Did you see him leave?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. I saw him come in from the balcony and go out of the Fifth avenue -entrance.”</p> - -<p>“While you were in the Cafe Martin, did you call for a pencil?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“From whom?”</p> - -<p>“I think from Mr. McCaleb. He said he did not have one.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Thaw said that McCaleb sat on her left, Beale on her right, and -Thaw was facing her.</p> - -<p>“Did you ask again for a pencil?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I got one from some one, I don’t remember whom.”</p> - -<p>“Did you write a note?”</p> - -<p>“I did.”</p> - -<p>“On what?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_82" id="page_82">{82}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“A slip of paper. I think Mr. McCaleb gave it to me.”</p> - -<p>“What did you do with it?”</p> - -<p>“I passed it to Mr. Thaw.”</p> - -<p>“What did Mr. Thaw do?”</p> - -<p>“He said to me: ‘Are you all right?’ I said: ‘Yes.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>“What was your condition as to being disturbed or affected?”</p> - -<p>Mr. Jerome’s objection to the question was sustained.</p> - -<p>“Was there anything unusual in your manner that was visible to others?”</p> - -<p>Again an objection was sustained.</p> - -<p>“After this how long did you remain?”</p> - -<p>“Only a short time.”</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Thaw, have you that slip of paper now?”</p> - -<p>“I have not.”</p> - -<p>“Have you seen it since?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p>“Did what you wrote refer to Stanford White?”</p> - -<p>Mr. Jerome objected on the ground that the note itself was the best -evidence.</p> - -<p>“After you left the restaurant, you went to Madison Square Roof garden?” -asked Mr. Delmas.</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“About what time was it?”</p> - -<p>“About the middle of the first act.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Thaw said that she sat in a seat beside Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_83" id="page_83">{83}</a></span> Beale and Mr. McCaleb. -Her husband went to the back of the theater, she said. He was away about -fifteen minutes, when he returned and took a seat beside her.</p> - -<p>“How long did he remain at your side?”</p> - -<p>“About half an hour.”</p> - -<p>“What was his manner then?”</p> - -<p>“It seemed to be the same as ever.”</p> - -<p>“Did you talk about anything special then?”</p> - -<p>“No, just general.”</p> - -<p>“Who suggested going away from the garden?”</p> - -<p>“I did.”</p> - -<p>“The play wasn’t interesting to you?”</p> - -<p>“Not a bit,” said the witness.</p> - -<p>“How did you start when you went out?”</p> - -<p>“I think that Mr. McCaleb and I were in the lead and Mr. Thaw and Mr. -Beale followed.”</p> - -<p>“How far had you gone when something happened?”</p> - -<p>“Almost to the elevator. I had turned around to speak to Mr. Thaw.”</p> - -<p>“How far were you from Mr. White then?”</p> - -<p>“About as far as the end of the jury box.”</p> - -<p>“You saw Mr. White sitting there?”</p> - -<p>“I did.”</p> - -<p>“Did you see Mr. Thaw then?”</p> - -<p>“Not until a minute or so afterward. He was directly in front of Mr. -White, standing with his arm up in the air.”</p> - -<p>“Did you hear shots fired?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_84" id="page_84">{84}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“Yes, immediately after I saw Mr. White I heard the shots.”</p> - -<p>“How many shots?”</p> - -<p>“Three shots.”</p> - -<p>“What did you say?”</p> - -<p>“I said to Mr. McCaleb: ‘I think he has shot him.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>“Did Mr. Thaw come over to where you were?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I asked him what he had done. He leaned over and kissed me and -said: ‘I have probably saved your life.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>“What happened then?”</p> - -<p>“I left.”</p> - -<p>“You were taken from there?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I think with Mr. McCaleb and Mr. Beale.”</p> - -<p>“You left and did not return?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“You said that you are the wife of the defendant?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“When were you married?”</p> - -<p>“On April 4, 1905.”</p> - -<p>“Where?”</p> - -<p>“In Pittsburg, at the residence of Dr. McEwen, pastor of the Third -Presbyterian church.”</p> - -<p>“Who were present?”</p> - -<p>“I think Josiah Thaw, Mr. Thaw’s brother,” the witness went on, after a -moment.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_85" id="page_85">{85}</a></span></p> - -<p>“When had Mr. Thaw proposed for the first time?”</p> - -<p>“In June, 1903, in Paris.”</p> - -<p>“At the time did you refuse him?”</p> - -<p>“I did.”</p> - -<p>“Did you state in explaining your refusal of his proposal that it had -something to do with Stanford White?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“State what happened.”</p> - -<p>“Mr. Thaw told me that he loved me and wanted to marry me. I stared at -him for a moment and then he said, ‘Don’t you care for me?’ and I said -that I did. Then he asked me what was the matter. I said ‘nothing.’ ‘Why -won’t you marry me?’ he said. He put his hands on my shoulder and asked, -‘Is it because of Stanford White?’ and I said ‘yes.’ Then he told me he -would never love any one else or marry any one else. I started to cry. -He said he wanted me to tell him the whole thing. Then I began to tell -him how I first met Stanford White.”</p> - -<p>At this frail Evelyn collapsed utterly. Falling back in her chair, her -beautiful features ghastly pale, she murmured:</p> - -<p>“I can’t go on! I can’t! I can’t!”</p> - -<p>The court windows were opened, an alienist who was present applied -restoratives, and in a few minutes Mrs. Thaw was able to go on to the -story of her ruin.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_86" id="page_86">{86}</a></span></p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="c"><big>Evelyn Nesbit’s First Public Appearance</big><br /> -——<br /> -Sweet-voiced Child of 5 Sang Requiem for the Dead in Village -Church, Moving Congregation to Tears.</p></div> - -<p>Florence Evelyn Nesbit was a particularly interesting child, very quiet, -somewhat shy, and did not easily make friends with anyone, but when one -did gain her confidence she was a loyal friend. She was a very beautiful -child and had a remarkably sweet voice for one so tender in years.</p> - -<p>Her gift was so marked that she made her first public appearance at the -age of 5. It was at a memorial service in the Methodist church of which -her parents were members. It was held in honor of the members who had -died during the year. The church was decorated for the occasion with an -immense bank of evergreens completely screening the pulpit.</p> - -<p>In the midst of a solemn hush in the service came the dulcet voice of a -child singing. It was little Florence Evelyn, hidden behind the -evergreens, and in tones that will never be forgotten by the hearers, -and which were clear and distinct in all parts of the edifice, came the -words of the hymn, “We Are Going Down the Valley One by One.” Before the -song was half finished nearly the entire audience was moved to tears.</p> - -<p>Softly, tremulously, yet distinctly, came the impressive burden of the -song. It was a splendid triumph for the child, and it still lingers in -the hearts of the people who were there, its remembrance helped them in -the midst of her trials to sympathize with and pity her.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_87" id="page_87">{87}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.<br /><br /> -<small>Evelyn Reveals White as a Fearful Monster.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">STAGGERING BLOW TO PROSECUTION—MOB OF WOMEN FIGHTS TO ENTER -COURT—PATHETIC SCENE—HAND OF MAGICIAN SUGGESTED IN DOORS THAT -OPEN WITHOUT HUMAN AID—AT AGE OF 16, BEAUTY FELL INTO CLUTCHES OF -UNSCRUPULOUS MILLIONAIRE—THOUGHT WHITE AN “UGLY MAN”—RED VELVET -SWING IN DEN OF MIRRORS—BEAUTY DRUGGED WITH WINE—MOTHER’S -INFLUENCE REVEALED—PHOTOGRAPHED IN KIMONO—LURED TO WHITE’S -STUDIO.</p></div> - -<p>The staggering blow to Jerome was about to be dealt. Tense, nervous, and -thrilled with emotions of pity, the spectators hung on every word of the -pale Evelyn when she resumed her testimony.</p> - -<p>Word of the impending revelations mysteriously got outside the -court-room, although the doors were barred.</p> - -<p>The corridors were filled, and scores of people, many of them women, -tried in every possible way to force themselves by the officers at the -courtroom doors, but after the preceding afternoon’s laxity the bars -were put up again and very few were allowed to pass.</p> - -<p>However, half a score of women managed to suc<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_88" id="page_88">{88}</a></span>ceed. They were attired in -their gayest costumes, in marked contrast with the costume of Mrs. Thaw.</p> - -<p>Evelyn on the stand did not look even her 23 years. She was dressed in a -plain dark blue gown, with a long coat and wore a broad white linen -collar. Her hat was dark and low in the crown, with a broad soft brim, -and trimmed with a small bunch of violets. She wore her hair in a loose -knot low on her neck, tied with a large black ribbon. Her face, which -until she took the stand, was unusually pale, was first flushed, then -ghastly in its pallor. It was marked with delicate eye-brows and long -lashes. Her eyes were large and dark, and appealing, and her dark hair -required frequent brushing back from her eyes. Her slender figure was -tense with excitement, and her voice was usually firm and clear.</p> - -<p>Even while the women were fighting their way into the room, the -questioning was resumed. Mrs. Thaw told of the startling crime of -Stanford White, that blighted her young life, and made her beauty a -mockery.</p> - -<p>Attorney Delmas, ever alert to forestall the mass of objections by -Jerome at every opportunity, cautioned the witness:</p> - -<p>“Be kind enough to remember you are to omit,” said Mr. Delmas, “in -relating the narrative of what you told Mr. Thaw, the name of any other -person save that of Mr. White. Now continue.”</p> - -<p>“A young lady asked my mother several times to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_89" id="page_89">{89}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 397px;"> -<a href="images/i091.jpg"> -<img src="images/i091.jpg" width="397" height="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"> - -<p> -EVELYN NESBIT AS “THE SUNBONNET GIRL”<br /> -when 16 years old.<br /> -</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_90" id="page_90">{90}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_91" id="page_91">{91}</a></span> </p> - -<p class="nind">let me go out with her to lunch,” said the fragile beauty, Mrs. Thaw. -“She came again and again to me before I sent her to my mother, finally, -and she said, ‘All right.’ My mother finally consented.”</p> - -<p>“Proceed.”</p> - -<p>“On the day I was to go my mother dressed me and I went with Miss — —, -the other young lady, in a hansom, hoping we would go to the ballroom, -because I wanted to see it. But we went straight down to Broadway, -through Twenty-fourth street up to a dingy looking door. The young lady -jumped out and asked me to follow her.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Jerome objected to the form of the narrative, and he asked: “Did you -relate all that to Mr. Thaw?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said the witness. “He told me to tell him everything.”</p> - -<p>“By the way,” interjected Delmas, “what was the date of that event?”</p> - -<p>“As nearly as I can remember,” with a pucker of forehead, “it was in -August, 1901.”</p> - -<p>“You were then 16 years and some months old?”</p> - -<p>“Well, now I want you to tell of your first meeting with Stanford White -just as you told it to Mr. Thaw on that day,” directed Delmas.</p> - -<p>The show girl said that a chorus girl, Edna Goodrich, asked her to a -luncheon party where she would meet White. She and Edna took a cab and -went to the studio on West Twenty-fourth street. The wit<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_92" id="page_92">{92}</a></span>ness said the -doors seemed to open of themselves.</p> - -<p>“We went upstairs,” said Evelyn, “and there I met a man who was -introduced to me as Stanford White. I thought him an ugly man. There was -a table already set for four. Another gentleman came later. I remember -Mr. White teased me about my hair, which I wore down my back, and my -short skirt, which reached to my shoe tops. After supper we went up two -flights of stairs more, and in the room was a large red velvet swing. -Mr. White put me in the swing and swung me very hard. When we swung very -hard one foot crashed through a large Japanese umbrella which hung from -the ceiling.”</p> - -<p>“Your mother dressed you to go?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“I must caution you to tell only what you told Mr. Thaw.”</p> - -<p>“I will,” said the witness, and went on; “The dingy door opened, nobody -seeming to open it.”</p> - -<p>“What did you do then?”</p> - -<p>“We went up some steps to another door, which opened to some other -apartment. I stopped and asked the young lady where we were going and -she said: ‘It’s all right.’ A man’s voice called down ‘Hello.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>“Who was it?”</p> - -<p>“It was Stanford White,” said the witness clearly.</p> - -<p>“What did you find in the room or studio to which you went?”</p> - -<p>“A table set for four.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_93" id="page_93">{93}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“This is all what you told Mr. Thaw,” put in Mr. Jerome.</p> - -<p>“It was,” said young Mrs. Thaw, “I told him everything.”</p> - -<p>There was a halt in the testimony here while Mr. Jerome and Mr. Delmas -whispered.</p> - -<p>“How were you dressed?” asked Mr. Delmas.</p> - -<p>“I wore a short dress, with my hair down my back.”</p> - -<p>The witness said they went up into another room, where a big Japanese -umbrella was swinging.</p> - -<p>Mr. Jerome objected to the testimony on the ground that he would have no -opportunity to prove or disprove the facts alleged. Mr. Delmas said the -defense would offer no objection to the district attorney probing the -correctness of the facts.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Thaw then said that afterward she and her companion went for a -drive to the park, then returned to the house with White. She said when -she got home she told her mother everything that happened.</p> - -<p>“Did your mother subsequently receive a letter from Stanford White?” was -asked.</p> - -<p>“She did.”</p> - -<p>“What was in the letter?”</p> - -<p>“It asked my mother to call on Mr. White at 160 Fifth avenue.”</p> - -<p>“Did you tell Mr. Thaw about that?”</p> - -<p>“I did.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_94" id="page_94">{94}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“When your mother returned did she tell you anything?”</p> - -<p>“She did.”</p> - -<p>“What did your mother tell you?”</p> - -<p>“He asked her to take me to a dentist and have my teeth fixed and for -her to have her own fixed, too. She said: ‘No; that it was a very -strange thing.’ Mr. White told her that he did that for the other -Florodora girls.”</p> - -<p>“When did you next see White?”</p> - -<p>“I saw him in the studio. I got a note from him previously inviting me -to a party and saying a carriage would be waiting for me on the corner. -Before that he had sent me a hat, a feather boa, and a cape. There was -another man and girl with us.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Delmas mentioned the names of the others to Mr. Jerome.</p> - -<p>“Where did you go?”</p> - -<p>“To the studio in Madison Square tower. We had a very nice time there. -Mr. White said I was only to have one glass of champagne, and that I was -to be brought home early. I was brought home early to the door of my -house. I told Mr. Thaw that we had several parties of this kind in the -tower.”</p> - -<p>“Did you see Mr. White again?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, he came to see my mother, told her that I would be all right in -New York, and that he would take care of me.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Thaw said she met White in September, 1901,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_95" id="page_95">{95}</a></span> in a studio in East -Twenty-second street. The door opened of itself, she said, and the house -looked at first as if no one lived there. She said that she went -upstairs and met Mr. White, a photographer, and another man.</p> - -<p>The witness whispered the name of the man to Mr. Jerome, who wrote it -down.</p> - -<p>“What did you see there?”</p> - -<p>“There was a lot of expensive gowns there.”</p> - -<p>“What happened?”</p> - -<p>“I went into the dressing-room to put on the dress. Mr. White knocked at -the door and asked if I needed any help. I said, ‘No.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>Mrs. Thaw related in detail her experience in the photographic studio -and said she posed until she was very tired and that White, who had come -in, ordered food and they had something to eat. The photographer left, -she said, and after they had lunched she went into a dressing room to -remove her kimono and put on her dress.</p> - -<p>“I shut the door while I was inside,” added the witness. “Mr. White came -to the door, knocked and asked me if I wanted any help. I said: ‘No.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>The former artist’s model testified that she drank but one glass of -champagne and when she was dressed she got into a carriage and was taken -back to the hotel.</p> - -<p>“The next night,” she continued, “I got a note from Mr. White asking me -to come down to the studio<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_96" id="page_96">{96}</a></span> for luncheon after the theater with some of -his friends. A carriage would call for me, and would take me home after -the party, he wrote. I went down to the Twenty-fourth street studio -again and found Mr. White and no one else there.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>What do you think,’ he said to me, ‘the others have turned us down.’ -Then I told him I had better go home, and he told me that I had better -sit down and have some fruit. So I took off my hat and coat. Mr. White -told me he had other floors in the garden, and that I had not seen all -of his place. He would take me around and show me, he said.</p> - -<p>“So he took me up some stairs to the floor above, where there were very -beautiful decorations,” went on Mrs. Thaw. “I played for him, and he -took me into another room. That room was a bedroom. On a small table -stood a bottle of champagne and one glass. Mr. White poured out just one -glass for me, and I paid no attention to it. Mr. White went away, came -back and said: ‘I decorated this room, myself.’ Then he asked me why I -was not drinking my champagne and I said I did not like it; it tasted -bitter. But he persuaded me to drink it and I did.</p> - -<p>“A few moments after I had drank it there began a pounding and thumping -in my ears and the room got all black.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Thaw was almost in tears at this statement.</p> - -<p>“When I came to myself I was greatly frightened and I started to scream. -Mr. White came and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_97" id="page_97">{97}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 378px;"> -<a href="images/i099.jpg"> -<img src="images/i099.jpg" width="378" height="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>EVELYN NESBIT</p> - -<p>Picture taken in Stanford White’s studio.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_98" id="page_98">{98}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_99" id="page_99">{99}</a></span> </p> - -<p class="nind">tried to quiet me. As I sat up I saw mirrors all over. I began to scream -again, and Mr. White asked me to keep quiet, saying that it was all -over.</p> - -<p>“When he threw the kimono over me he left the room. I screamed harder -than ever. I don’t remember much of anything after that.</p> - -<p>“He took me home and I sat up all night crying.”</p> - -<p>Regard for the morals of the young prevents the publication of the awful -details disclosed at this point in the evidence. The yellowest of yellow -journals omitted the hideous details flashed over the wires, and with -all the shocking evidence published, the public has no conception of -awful facts revealed by this pitiful tragedy.</p> - -<p>“What did he say afterward?”</p> - -<p>“He made me swear that I would never tell my mother about it. He said -there was no use in talking and the greatest thing in this world was not -to get found out. He said the girls in the theaters were foolish to -talk. He laughed afterward.</p> - -<p>“He said it was all right—that there was ‘nothing so nice as young -girls and nothing so loathsome as fat ones. You must never get fat.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>The black heart of Stanford White was disclosed in all its hideousness -at last! The final shred of respectability had been torn from his -reputation. The almost fainting Evelyn had completed the human -sacrifice. Her life story, tragic beyond human comprehension, had been -told under oath—told to a jury<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_100" id="page_100">{100}</a></span> that gasped at every sentence, -shuddered at every disclosure. It was the coup d’etat of the defense! -the staggering blow reserved to overwhelm Jerome and his allies. What a -story it was that the poor little victim of a sybaritic brute told! What -a tale of Nero’s time it seemed to be! Tiberius and Caligula planned -dens and stage settings such as Evelyn Nesbit described in the haunts of -Stanford White. Did Tiberius and Caligula ever plan darker, more foul -conspiracies against helpless little girls than the plots of the great -architect seemed to have been? And with the telling of the heart-rending -story came new thoughts, new lights upon the shadowy life of the man who -died before the pistol of Harry Thaw.</p> - -<p>No one ever denied that Stanford White, no matter what he may have been, -was a generous giver, a good Samaritan in the time of need. He supported -Evelyn, her mother, and her brother, in royal fashion.</p> - -<p>What was to be deduced from the largess of White, both to the Nesbits -and to scores of others?</p> - -<p>Was the licentious architect a Jekyll and a Hyde?</p> - -<p>Or did the weight of remorse and gloomy shame bear down upon this -strangest of men in such degree that he strove mightily to salve his -conscience and his bitter memories?</p> - -<p>Or was White “a bookkeeper with the Fates”—a man who tried ever to -balance the accounts of good and bad, so that the final reckoning might -find his ledgers balanced? There are many men who keep<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_101" id="page_101">{101}</a></span> the lists of -debits and of credits—who strive to make a deed of kindness balance -every deed of crime. Was White such a man—bookkeeping with the Fates, -and seeking by princely generosity to offset the debits of unscrupulous -passion? She sat in the witness chair, a tiny, shrinking figure, and she -spoke out the horrid details of the criminal outrage upon her; -unhesitating and unbreaking. The kindliness of White, all with its -ultimate hideous object masked beneath the roses; the mirrored room in -the architect’s hidden lair; the drugged wine; the awakening—all these -things the little Evelyn told with the close precision of a seared and -branded memory. And when the story had been spun the shrewd and skillful -Delmas smiled serene, well knowing that a probably fatal blow had been -dealt the prosecution. The “learned Jerome,” as Delmas suavely called -him, spent the night before planning and massing his artillery. He had a -fearful day of defeat and sorrow.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_102" id="page_102">{102}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.<br /><br /> -<small>Intrigue Like Those in Days of Nero.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">EVELYN TELLS HOW WHITE PLOTTED WITH FALSEHOODS AND MONEY AS HIS -INSTRUMENTS, TO BLAST HER LIFE BY FORCING HER TO LEAVE HARRY -THAW—SOUGHT TO WRECK HER LOVE—HUSBAND GHASTLY IN COURT—LAWYER -DICTATED “AFFIDAVIT” ACCUSING THAW, WHILE BEAUTIFUL ACTRESS -WEPT—BREACH OF PROMISE SUIT CONSPIRACY—BLACKMAIL HINTED—WHITE -FLEECED—ARCHITECT EVEN TRIED TO STEAL EVELYN FROM HUSBAND—JACK -BARRYMORE, ACTOR, BROUGHT INTO CASE—WANTED TO MARRY -WITNESS—PROPOSED TWICE—RUIN OF OTHER GIRLS BROUGHT UP—EVERYBODY -AFFECTED BY TRAGIC STORY.</p></div> - -<p>“I refused to marry Harry at first because I loved him—it was because -of my reputation. I loved him more than all else—more than my own life. -I did not want to ruin his career, to estrange him from his family and -blast his future,”—Evelyn Nesbit Thaw told the Jury.</p> - -<p>Intrigue—a story of intrigue by Stanford White to steal Evelyn Nesbit’s -love away from Harry Thaw by means of false, shocking stories of cruelty -to other women was bared by the fragile Evelyn the second day she was on -the stand.</p> - -<p>Spectators shuddered at the diabolical ingenuity of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_103" id="page_103">{103}</a></span> White, millionaire, -famous and feted, who, with noble aims ready for his mind, diverted his -talent instead to hideous crimes.</p> - -<p>The ordeal of the witness chair had made nervous wrecks of the frail -woman and of her husband, for whose life she was battling. Young Thaw -for the first time since the trial began had lost the spring in his -step, and instead of walking briskly to his place at the table of his -counsel he moved hesitatingly and looked constantly from left to right -about the courtroom. The big crowd seemed to annoy him. The pallid face -broke into a faint smile as the prisoner recognized his brother, Edward -Thaw, who was the only member of the family in court.</p> - -<p>“Call Mrs. Evelyn Nesbit Thaw to the stand,” requested Mr. Delmas of the -clerk.</p> - -<p>When she appeared and took her place in the big witness chair Mrs. Thaw -was dressed precisely as on the previous day. She was extremely pale and -her lips trembled visibly as she replied to the first simple question -asked her by counsel.</p> - -<p>“Please relate what you told Mr. Thaw besides what you stated before,” -said Mr. Delmas, looking at Jerome, as if to say, “You cannot stop me -now.”</p> - -<p>“He asked me how I came to speak to Stanford White after my return from -Europe,” said Mrs. Thaw. “I told him I was driving down Fifth avenue one -day in a hansom cab with my maid and we passed<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_104" id="page_104">{104}</a></span> Stanford White. I heard -him exclaim: ‘Oh, look at Evelyn.’</p> - -<p>“A few days later I was called to the telephone and it was Mr. White. He -said: ‘My, but it is good to hear your voice again,’ and said he wanted -to come and see me. I told him I could not see him. He said it was very -important that I should see him at once. He said he had had much trouble -with my family and must see me. I asked if my mother was ill.</p> - -<p>“He said it was a matter of life and death—he could not tell me over -the telephone. So he came to see me at the Hotel Savoy.</p> - -<p>“When he came in he tried to kiss me, but I did not let him. He asked me -what was the matter. I told him to sit down and asked him again if my -mother was ill. He said, ‘No,’ and at once began to talk about Harry -Thaw. He told me that different actresses had told him that I was in -Europe with Harry Thaw.</p> - -<p>“He said presently that Harry Thaw took me to Europe, and asked me why I -went around with a man who took morphine. He said positively that Harry -Thaw took morphine, that he was not even a gentleman, and I must have -nothing to do with him.</p> - -<p>“After that he came constantly to see me. He also sent people to me who -told me stories about Mr. Thaw, the stories I told yesterday. I told Mr. -Thaw afterward that the stories worried me so much I could<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_105" id="page_105">{105}</a></span> not sleep -nights. I got very nervous, for I knew Mr. Thaw was coming over and I -did not want to see him. I told Mr. White I did not want to see Mr. -Thaw.</p> - -<p>“One day Mr. White telephoned me that he was going to send a carriage -for me and I was to come to Broadway and Nineteenth street. I did so, -and White met me and got into the carriage. He said he was taking me to -see Abe Hummel, the greatest lawyer in New York, who would protect me -from Harry Thaw. He said I was not to be afraid of Mr. Hummel; he was a -little man with a big, bald head, warts on his face and was very ugly.</p> - -<p>“When I got to Mr. Hummel’s office Mr. White went away. Mr. Hummel’s -office walls were covered with photographs of actresses, with writing on -them. He asked me how I came to go to Europe with Harry Thaw, and I told -him that I didn’t, I went with my mother and Thaw followed us. He asked -me about my quarrel with my mother in London. I said it was a continuous -quarrel between us; we simply couldn’t get along. She wanted to come -home to America and I said she could come, but I was going to stay there -and return to the stage; but the doctor told me I couldn’t dance for a -year. Hummel asked me all places where I went with Thaw.</p> - -<p>“I told him all I could remember. He said I was a minor and that Thaw -should have been more careful. He said he had a case in his office -against Thaw,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_106" id="page_106">{106}</a></span> but the woman in the case was a very bad one and he did -not think the case was much good.</p> - -<p>“Then he said Thaw was a very bad man, and, above all things, I must be -protected from him. Mr. White then said that the other man was to get -Harry Thaw out of New York and keep him out.</p> - -<p>“They asked me if I went to Europe of my own accord, and I said I -certainly had. I said I remained in Europe after my mother left because -I had quarreled with her and could not dance for a year, and I liked Mr. -Thaw very much and could not do anything else.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Nevertheless,’ Hummel said, ‘you are a minor and he should not have -taken you away from your mother.’ I said he did not take me away.</p> - -<p>“Mr. White said that strong methods must be resorted to to keep Thaw out -of New York, and to protect myself I must help in every way I could.</p> - -<p>“Mr. White said I must leave everything in Mr. Hummel’s hands. Then they -sent for a stenographer, and the lawyer said I must not interrupt him in -what he was about to say. I was very nervous and excited, and I think I -began to cry. Then they began to dictate and put in a lot of stuff that -I had been carried away by Harry Thaw against my will. I started to -interrupt, but the lawyer put up his hands and stopped me.</p> - -<p>“They put in that I had been taken away from my mother and a lot of -stuff that was not true—that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_107" id="page_107">{107}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 546px;"> -<a href="images/i109.jpg"> -<img src="images/i109.jpg" width="546" height="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>JUSTICE FITZGERALD</p> - -<p>Judge in charge of trial.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_108" id="page_108">{108}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_109" id="page_109">{109}</a></span> </p> - -<p>I had been treated badly by Mr. Thaw. Then they sent the man out of the -room.</p> - -<p>“Several days later Mr. Hummel called me up and asked if I had any -letters from Mr. Thaw.</p> - -<p>“I said I did, but I could not see what that had to do with it. Mr. -White also called up and said if I was not willing to help in every way -they could not protect me from Mr. Thaw. He said I must do just what Mr. -Hummel said. So I made the letters up in a bundle and took them down to -Mr. Hummel’s office. He said he did not want to read them, and did not -care what they contained. He asked, however, if they were love letters, -and I said ‘yes.’</p> - -<p>“He said he just wanted to hold them over Harry K. Thaw’s head. He -sealed them up in a big envelope so I could see, he said, that he did -not care anything about them.</p> - -<p>“Then he asked me why I did not sue Harry Thaw for breach of promise. I -said that was absurd, for if there had been any breach of promise it was -on my part. He said that did not matter.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Hummel said a breach of promise suit would be a fine advertisement -for me. I told him I did not care for that kind of advertising. He said -lots of actresses had done the same thing and he had won lots of cases -for them. He told me an English duke had once been sued by an actress -for breach of promise. He declared he could easily win a suit for me. I -said I did not want to sue anybody.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_110" id="page_110">{110}</a></span></p> - -<p>“This made Mr. Hummel very mad and angry and he told me I was foolish.”</p> - -<p>“What more did you tell Mr. Thaw?” suggested Mr. Delmas, to give the -girl witness a breathing spell.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Thaw asked me if I had signed anything in Mr. Hummel’s office and I -said I had not. He said that was funny, for if they wanted to cause -trouble I must have signed something. I said I had signed absolutely -nothing in Mr. Hummel’s office.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Thaw was very much agitated. He said Hummel was a blackmailer and -he said, I think, that there was something bad in the air and he -impressed me that he was going to see Mr. Longfellow, his lawyer.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Thaw testified to going to her own lawyer and relating her -experiences with Hummel. Her lawyer, she said, was greatly incensed at -what she told him of her experiences in Hummel’s office. Mrs. Thaw said:</p> - -<p>“My lawyer, too, told me that Hummel was a shyster.” A laugh went around -the room. Hummel was at this time under conviction in a divorce scandal. -Mrs. Thaw continued:</p> - -<p>“Mr. Thaw told me that I had no business to speak again with Stanford -White. He accused me of having been imprudent with Mr. White since I -came back from Europe, and I said that it was a lie. He said it would -look to people as if I was a blackmailer by going to Hummel’s office.”</p> - -<p>“Did you tell of another incident?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_111" id="page_111">{111}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I told him of one day when White came to the hotel Navarre and he -was terribly mad, and walked up and down the room with a camp chair in -his hand. ‘My child,’ he said, ‘what did you tell Mr. Hummel about me?’ -I said I had not said anything, and then Mr. White said I must have told -Hummel, because Hummel had just squeezed $1,000 out of him and he was -not going to send another $1,000.”</p> - -<p>The witness, continuing, said that she did not know what she had signed -when she signed the paper at the request of Mr. White in his office in -Madison Square garden.</p> - -<p>“I called Mr. White up on the telephone after I had talked to Mr. Thaw, -and I demanded of Mr. White that he put the paper in the fire. He said -he did not have it—but that it was in Mr. Hummel’s office. I said: -‘Very well,’ and told him I was going down to Mr. Hummel’s office -immediately. He told me to not talk about the matter over the telephone, -and I said I did not care who heard me. Then White said he would meet me -on the corner and I met him.</p> - -<p>“When I met him we went down to Mr. Hummel’s office. He showed me the -paper and showed me my signature and asked if it was mine, and I said it -was. Then they put the paper in a big jardiniere and burned it. -Afterward I told Mr. Thaw all about it and also saw Mr. Longfellow and -told him.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_112" id="page_112">{112}</a></span></p> - -<p>“How did Mr. Thaw treat you from that time until he proposed marriage?”</p> - -<p>“He treated me very nicely; carried me up and down stairs when I was -sick and brought me flowers and took me carriage riding.”</p> - -<p>After her marriage to Mr. Thaw the witness said they took a trip through -the west. While in Pittsburg, she said, she had lived at the home of her -husband’s mother. She related how she had persistently refused to marry -Thaw before she finally did so.</p> - -<p>“What reason did you give him for not marrying him?”</p> - -<p>“It was because of my reputation. I did not want to separate him from -his family. I knew it would be a good thing for me to marry him, but it -would not be for him. It was because I loved him that I would not marry. -If I did not love him so much I might have been anxious to marry him.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Delmas got the witness to relate how she met some of the Thaw family -in Europe.</p> - -<p>“There was something happened which led you to change your mind in -regard to marrying Thaw?” asked Mr. Delmas.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” answered the young woman.</p> - -<p>“You were given to believe that his family would receive you as his -wife?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Did you meet Mrs. Thaw, his mother, in New York.”</p> - -<p>“I did.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_113" id="page_113">{113}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“After your marriage did you visit New York from Pittsburg?”</p> - -<p>“We did.”</p> - -<p>“Did you tell your husband of the efforts of Stanford White to renew -your friendship?”</p> - -<p>“I did.”</p> - -<p>“What was the first occurrence you told your husband about?”</p> - -<p>“Once when I was driving on Fifth avenue, when I passed Mr. White and he -called out to me, ‘Evelyn.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>“Did you tell your husband?”</p> - -<p>“I did, and he said it was not right for me to see him and made me -promise that if I ever met White again I would tell him about it.”</p> - -<p>“Did you tell him?”</p> - -<p>“I did.”</p> - -<p>“When did you see Mr. White again?”</p> - -<p>“It was on Fifth avenue one day when I was riding to Dr. Delavan to have -my throat treated. I was in a hansom and Mr. White was also riding in a -hansom, too.</p> - -<p>“When I got home I told Mr. Thaw that at about Thirty-fourth street I -had passed Mr. White, both of us in hansoms. He did not attempt to speak -to me, but stared hard at me. I looked away. When I got down to the -doctor’s office I found Stanford White in his hansom coming there. I ran -up the steps, but I was excited and nervous and I told the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_114" id="page_114">{114}</a></span> door porter -that I would come some other time, so I ran back down the stairs, jumped -into my hansom, looked neither to the right nor to the left, and told -the driver to go back to the Lorraine as quickly as ever he could.”</p> - -<p>“How did Mr. Thaw act when you told him of this?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, he was always very excited whenever I told him of my meetings with -White. He bit his nails and looked excited.”</p> - -<p>“Did you ever tell Mr. Thaw how you came to be sent to school at -Pompton, N. J., and if so, relate it to the jury, and also wherein the -name of Jack Barrymore entered into the discussion, and tell what your -relations to Barrymore were.”</p> - -<p>“I met Mr. Barrymore when I was with the ‘Wild Rose’ company at the -Knickerbocker theater. Mr. White gave a dinner to a whole lot of -friends. I was asked to attend and I went there and met his friends at -the party. Mr. Barrymore was there.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Thaw privately mentioned the names of the members of the party to -Mr. Jerome. She said that when she told White of “Jack” Barrymore’s -proposal he became very angry and said he would send her away to school -to New Jersey. She continued to detail her relations with Barrymore, and -her being sent to school.</p> - -<p>“It all came about through a quarrel between Mr. White, my mother and -myself over Mr. Barrymore,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_115" id="page_115">{115}</a></span> continued the witness. One afternoon in -Madison Square garden Mr. Barrymore said to me, ‘Evelyn, will you marry -me?’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>Mrs. Thaw pronounced the name with a long “e.”</p> - -<p>“I answered him, and said, ‘I don’t know,’<span class="lftspc">”</span> she went on.</p> - -<p>“White asked me if I would marry Barrymore and said, ‘If kids like you -get married, what would you have to live on?’</p> - -<p>“Every day after that when I would meet my mother she would ask me if I -intended ‘to marry that little pup Barrymore,’ saying Mr. White was -afraid I would.</p> - -<p>“Mr. White then came to see me and said I would be very foolish to marry -Mr. Barrymore: we would have nothing to live on, would probably quarrel -and get a divorce. He also said Mr. Barrymore was a little bit crazy, -that his father was in an asylum, and he thought the whole family was -touched. He was certain Mr. Barrymore would be crazy in a few years, and -for that reason said I ought not to marry him.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Barrymore asked me a second time if I would marry him, and again I -said, ‘I don’t know,’ and laughed. The upshot of the whole matter was -that Mr. White came and said I ought to be sent to school, and I was.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Delmas had asked Mrs. Thaw if Thaw had told her the fate of other -girls ‘at the hands of this man White?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_116" id="page_116">{116}</a></span>’</p> - -<p>Mr. Jerome objected to further “defamation being thrown on the dead, who -have no chance to answer. The state is not permitted to controvert the -truth of a single statement in this testimony,” he added. “Stanford -White is dead, and I object to this question, which is along a path -which we can not follow.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Delmas said he had no desire to besmirch the name of the dead. He -was introducing letters by Thaw to corroborate the question.</p> - -<p>Justice Fitzgerald said he thought further competent evidence as to -Thaw’s insanity should be introduced before further testimony along the -day’s line was taken.</p> - -<p>“We are ready to submit the proof,” said Mr. Delmas.</p> - -<p>The line of examination was changed and Mrs. Thaw was asked to identify -more letters.</p> - -<p>One of the papers Mrs. Thaw was asked to identify was Harry Thaw’s will.</p> - -<p>The old saying, “Nothing but good of the dead,” must have recurred again -and again to Mr. Jerome as the slender Evelyn told her story. It is a -good old saying, but there is another: “The dead are safe—let us take -care of the living.” Jerome strove to protect the cold and unresponsive -dead. Delmas tried to save the living, and the fragile little model was -the life-line in his hands. Evelyn Nesbit’s story, as she told it, -showed new and curious lights and shadows in the character of White. One -thing was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_117" id="page_117">{117}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 444px;"> -<a href="images/i119.jpg"> -<img src="images/i119.jpg" width="444" height="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p> -Best photograph of<br /> -DIST. ATTORNEY WILLIAM TRAVERS JEROME.<br /> -</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_118" id="page_118">{118}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_119" id="page_119">{119}</a></span> </p> - -<p class="nind">evident: White, once possessor of a victim, wished to cling to that -victim through the years. Unlike nearly all other men of similar stamp, -he did not cast aside his playthings when wearied of them. Possibly he -had been like other men in this regard—possibly he had turned from many -another victim in the past. But the frail and pitiful little Evelyn -seemed to have enthralled his fancies, conquered his vagrant passions. -All his thoughts were for her, and for her his future dreams. He -lavished his bounty on her, and he strove to keep her from all other -men. The story of Evelyn’s affair with Jack Barrymore was a page in real -life that made the courtroom crowd strain its eager ears. Barrymore, -young, handsome, and romantic, had appealed to the girlish mind and eye. -The burly White, with his 50 years, found himself fading into the -background. He seized an opportunity to pose as “the friend of the -family” by discrediting Barrymore and sending the little girl to school. -It was an index to White’s soul—but it showed that White, at least, had -no idea of parting from or wearying of his victim.</p> - -<p>What had Delmas done?</p> - -<p>He made the jurors regard Stanford White as a fiend whose slaying was a -noble deed.</p> - -<p>He made the jurors thrill with sympathy for the fragile, pale-faced -little Evelyn.</p> - -<p>He showed cause enough ten times over for the dethronement of reason in -the brain of Harry Thaw.</p> - -<p>What more could any lawyer do?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_120" id="page_120">{120}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X.<br /><br /> -<small>White on Verge of Arrest When Shot.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">REV. ANTHONY COMSTOCK, THE FAMOUS REFORMER, TOLD HOW HARRY THAW HAD -HIRED HIM TO GATHER EVIDENCE AGAINST ARCHITECT—PROOF OF ORGIES IN -MIRRORED DEN FOUND BY DETECTIVES—HARRY WANTED TO PREVENT THE MAN -FROM SEIZING IN HIS CLUTCHES OTHER YOUNG AND INNOCENT GIRLS LIKE -EVELYN NESBIT—CASE OF CHILD ONLY 15 YEARS OLD LIKE MRS. -THAW’S—HUSBAND MADE DESPERATE—ATTORNEY DELMAS TELLS HOW EVELYN’S -STORY SHOCKED HIM—GREATER DISCLOSURES AHEAD.</p></div> - -<p>Another blow to the prosecution, almost as great as that dealt by Evelyn -in her testimony, came when Jerome learned that Thaw held in reserve the -startling story of Stanford White’s entire past, and was ready to -produce it at any moment. Anthony Comstock, famous head of the Society -for the Prevention of Crime, had the documents. Mr. Comstock prepared a -statement for the defense, part of which is substantially as follows:</p> - -<p>“I know that much of what Mrs. Harry Thaw has stated on the witness -stand is true. I know that Stanford White’s den in the tower of Madison -Square garden was arranged as she described it, and that it was the -scene of revelries. I know of at<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_121" id="page_121">{121}</a></span> least one specific instance. And what -I know I learned after I had been given the first clews by Harry Kendall -Thaw himself.</p> - -<p>“My first knowledge of this case dates from the summer of 1905—about a -year before the killing, I should say. One afternoon a tall, -well-dressed, well-bred young man came to me in my office in the Temple -Bar building. He seemed to be laboring under excitement, and it was -evident that he was desperately in earnest. He opened the conversation -by asking me if I were interested in the suppression of vice. Then he -wanted to know if my society gave special attention to the arrest and -punishment of men who preyed upon young girls. I told him that we did. -He jumped up abruptly, said he would see me again, and left without -telling me his name. At the door he stopped long enough to say he would -see me again.</p> - -<p>“A few days later he came back, still laboring under strong emotion. He -then introduced himself. As nearly as I can recall he said:</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>I am Harry Kendall Thaw of Pittsburg. I want to tell you of a man who -has betrayed more young girls than any other man in New York. He is -particularly given to pursuing the young girls of the stage. It is a -debt which society owes to itself to halt him now, before he brings -shame and sorrow to any more victims.’</p> - -<p>“That in effect was his statement,” continued Mr.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_122" id="page_122">{122}</a></span> Comstock, “although -of course I asked him a great deal more of the matter. He left after -securing my promise to investigate. He agreed to pay the cost of looking -into the case. He at once mailed me a check of sufficient size to defray -the necessary expenses, and subsequently wrote me several times upon the -subject of White, asking each time what progress we were making.</p> - -<p>“Our investigation confirmed to a great degree what Thaw had told me. -Our detectives were astounded at what they discovered. We worked hard -and I learned a great deal, but of all cases these are the hardest to -prove under the rules of evidence, and before risking an arrest I -determined to catch White.</p> - -<p>“I learned that his rooms in the tower were as Mrs. Evelyn Thaw had -described them in the trial. Two of our detectives endeavored to hire -rooms in the same tower in order to watch his goings and comings. The -deal was almost completed when one of the detectives made a bungle. -Something which he said or did gave the alarm to the janitor, and, -although we were on the waiting list for a long time, and although -several times apartments in the tower were vacant, we were never able to -secure a suite or a single room.</p> - -<p>“We were still vainly trying to arrange a trap for White from which -there would be no escape when he dismantled his room in the tower.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_123" id="page_123">{123}</a></span></p> - -<p>“I learned positively of one case of White’s conduct to a girl only 15 -years old almost identically as Mrs. Evelyn Thaw describes her own case, -but the girl was in the chorus of a road company, and we could not reach -her and make a witness of her. We got evidence of other things—things -that convince me that what Harry Thaw’s wife now swears is true. I -believe in her story and base that belief upon what I know of the man.</p> - -<p>“The last time I saw Harry Thaw was only two or three weeks before he -shot White. He appeared to be in a desperate state—like a man who is -well-nigh frantic. He said to me wildly: ‘You must keep on, you must -stop this man, he must be stopped now—at once.”</p> - -<p>The defense, on the same day that it secured the Rev. Mr. Comstock’s -statement, made another sensational discovery. It obtained proof that -the day after the shooting of White, the police searched the studio of -White and discovered evidence that showed that Evelyn Nesbit was not the -only young girl who had been lured into the Madison Square Garden -mirrored-room within a few months.</p> - -<p>In the room “with mirrors to left and to right, in the ceiling and on -the floor,” in securely locked drawers built into the walls, the police -found this evidence. That such a den of vice could have existed in the -very heart of the great metropolis seems well nigh <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_124" id="page_124">{124}</a></span>incredible. That -such practices could have been known by men of social standing, and -without protest, is past belief.</p> - -<p>Speaking after this discovery, Attorney Delmas was confident of the -acquittal of Thaw.</p> - -<p>“Before we put Evelyn on the stand,” he said, “I heard her story but -once. There was no rehearsal no attempt at dramatic play.”</p> - -<p>“The story as she told it in court was not half as dramatic as it was -when she told it to me during our preparation of the case.</p> - -<p>“Only once in my life have I been so touched with emotion as I was when -Evelyn Nesbit first told me her story. That was at the burial of my -father.</p> - -<p>“As I sat there as a lawyer listening to the girl narrating the story of -what she had suffered at the hands of Stanford White, the tears welled -into my eyes and I fairly sobbed.</p> - -<p>“She told me then that when she awoke and found Stanford White was alone -with her in that mirrored bedroom he seemed to her like a big gorilla.</p> - -<p>“His hair was disheveled, and the look in his face was like an animal. -‘I screamed with terror,’ she told me. She added many details, which, if -she had told the jury, there would have been no need on her part to -produce further evidence—as we had not rehearsed our part, I depended -simply on her memory as to facts. The presence of the crowded courtroom -disconcerted her to the extent that she omitted some of the most -revolting features of that fatal night.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_125" id="page_125">{125}</a></span>”</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 390px;"> -<a href="images/i127.jpg"> -<img src="images/i127.jpg" width="390" height="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>EVELYN NESBIT, AS “THE SUNBONNET CHILD”</p> - -<p>Picture taken just before she met Stanford White.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_126" id="page_126">{126}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_127" id="page_127">{127}</a></span> </p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI.<br /><br /> -<small>Harry Thaw’s Startling Will Disclosed Fear of Assassination.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">DOCUMENT, INTRODUCED IN EVIDENCE AFTER A BITTER LEGAL FIGHT, -PROVIDED $50,000 OR MORE AS A FUND FOR THE HUNTING DOWN AND -PUNISHMENT OF ANY PERSON WHO MIGHT ASSASSINATE HIM—$75,000 LEFT TO -CARE FOR YOUNG GIRLS WHO WERE RUINED BY A BAND OF DISSOLUTE -MILLIONAIRES LIKE WHITE—MONEY FOR MRS. HOLMAN, WIFE’S MOTHER, AND -FOR HOWARD NESBIT—DOCUMENT ALLEGED TO PROVE THE SLAYER -INSANE—YOUNG MILLIONAIRE THOUGHT OF NOTHING BUT WIFE’S WRONGS—PUT -DETECTIVES ON WHITE’S TRACK.</p></div> - -<p>The day Evelyn Nesbit Thaw resumed the stand was a pitiful one for her -husband. Harry Thaw was celebrating his thirty-sixth -birthday—celebrating it in a prison cell, with the memory of his wife’s -shame, told on the stand, rankling in his mind.</p> - -<p>“Be of good cheer,” were the only words Thaw heard addressed to him by -his wife that day, “everybody says you will be acquitted on the first -ballot.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Thaw was accompanied in court by her chorus girl friend and chum, -May McKenzie, and by another close friend, Mrs. J. J. Caine of Boston. -Mrs. Thaw heard Dr. Britton D. Evans, a noted alienist, testify<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_128" id="page_128">{128}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 332px;"> -<a href="images/i130.jpg"> -<img src="images/i130.jpg" width="332" height="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>EVELYN NESBIT</p> - -<p>At age of twelve years.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_129" id="page_129">{129}</a></span></p> - -<p class="nind">that he had made three separate examinations of her husband shortly -after the murder, and on each occasion found him insane. He swore:</p> - -<p>“Thaw exhibited delusions of a personal character, an exaggerated ego, -and, along with them delusions of a persecutory character. He thought -himself of exaggerated importance and believed himself persecuted by a -number of persons.”</p> - -<p>By an “exaggerated ego,” Dr. Evans said he meant “a disproportionate -idea of importance of self, a belief that one is clothed with powers, -capacity and ability far above normal or above those actually -possessed.”</p> - -<p>These symptoms, he said, were characteristic of several mental diseases.</p> - -<p>One of the mental diseases indicated by Thaw’s actions, Dr. Evans -declared, is known as adolescent insanity. It is characteristic of the -development period of life—from 10 to 40 years. The person thus -afflicted is known as having a psychopathic taint, a predisposition to -mental unsoundness, the result of heredity.</p> - -<p>The death of the wife of Joseph B. Bolton, who succumbed to pneumonia, -delayed the trial for three days after Dr. Wagner’s testimony, and for a -time, grave fears that a new trial would be necessary, were expressed. -The day after the funeral, however, the juror resumed his duties. Up to -this point the defense had expended $1,000,000 on the trial, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_130" id="page_130">{130}</a></span> -state had paid out $250,000. If Juror Bolton had been incapacitated by -his wife’s death, all this expense would have been useless.</p> - -<p>When the failure of the trial was feared, Mrs. Thaw sought to cheer her -husband. Perhaps her woman’s wit had warned her that she must look her -prettiest, for on her visit to the Tombs prison she wore for the first -time a new and modish little brown frock, its coat set off with jaunty -silk fixings. She was radiant and smiling as she jumped out of her cab -and ran up the steps to the iron gates of the Tombs.</p> - -<p>As she waited to be taken to her husband, a jail guard showed her a -message which had come in the mail for her husband. It was a postal -card, a picture of a bunch of violets, bearing in a childish hand this -inscription:</p> - -<p>“Dear Mr. Thaw: I am a little Baltimore girl. I send you this as a token -of my sympathy. Yours,</p> - -<p class="r"> -“<span class="smcap">Lulu Bell</span>.”<br /> -</p> - -<p>The wife’s face dimpled with pleasure. “Isn’t that sweet?” she said. “I -know Harry will appreciate it.”</p> - -<p>Dr. Charles Wagner, the alienist, who took the stand when the trial was -resumed, declared there could be not the slightest doubt that Thaw was -insane at the time of the shooting, and told the jury that Harry had -declared a “sudden impulse” made him slay White.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_131" id="page_131">{131}</a></span></p> - -<p>“Mr. Thaw said in his conversation with me,” asserted the witness, “that -he had no idea of killing White up to the very time he shot him. Thaw -said his sole purpose had been to get evidence against White to send him -to the penitentiary for his offenses against young women.</p> - -<p>“White, declared Thaw, made a practice of his sins against girls, to -pick out young women who had a disposition toward morality rather than -toward girls with an inclination toward immorality.</p> - -<p>“Thaw told me,” said Dr. Wagner, “that White did not hesitate to use -drugs or employ physical force to accomplish his evil purposes.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Jerome protested at “thus attacking the name of the dead,” but in -vain, and the doctor resumed:</p> - -<p>“Thaw constantly referred to White as ‘this man, this creature, the -beast, the blackguard,’ and said the man had sought to pollute every -pure minded woman who came within the sphere of his observation.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>I tried to save them,’ Mr. Thaw said to us, and added, ‘I did all in -my power, I never wanted to shoot the creature. I never wanted to kill -him. I knew he was a foul creature, destroying all the mothers and -daughters in America, but I wanted through legal means to bring him to -trial. I wanted to get him into court so he would be brought to -justice.’</p> - -<p>“I then asked him why under such circumstances he had shot Mr. White.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_132" id="page_132">{132}</a></span></p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Providence took charge of it,’ he replied. ‘This was an act of -Providence. For my part I would rather have had him suffer in court the -humiliation the revelation of his acts would have caused.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>“Did he tell you what he had done, if anything, to bring White into -court?” asked Mr. Delmas.</p> - -<p>“He said he had gone to see Anthony Comstock, District Attorney Jerome -and a private detective agency. He said Mr. Jerome had told him he had -better let the matter drop; that there was nothing to it. The detectives -told him they would take the matter up, but they had not submitted a -proper report. As to Mr. Comstock, he said, he discovered that Delancey -Nicoll, an attorney, was acting as legal adviser both to White and to -Comstock. He regarded this as another link in the conspiracy against -him.</p> - -<p>“I asked him why he carried a pistol, and he said that Roger O’Mara, a -Pittsburg detective, had advised him to do so after he had told O’Mara -that on several occasions thugs had jostled him in an attempt to get him -into a street brawl. He said these thugs were the hired agents of -Stanford White, who did not want to take the responsibility and danger -of making a personal attack. He said White had hired the Monk Eastman -gang to get him into a quarrel and beat or kick him to death.”</p> - -<p>After these astounding statements, to which the jury listened eagerly, -the bailiff cried:</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Evelyn Nesbit Thaw to the Stand!”</p> - -<p>A thrill ran round the court.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_133" id="page_133">{133}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 479px;"> -<a href="images/i135.jpg"> -<img src="images/i135.jpg" width="479" height="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>MAY McKENZIE</p> - -<p>Beautiful actress friend of Evelyn Nesbit Thaw.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_134" id="page_134">{134}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_135" id="page_135">{135}</a></span> </p> - -<p>Mrs. Thaw looked pale and serious as she took her place on the stand. -She appeared in the same simple girlish costume that she had worn every -day since the trial began. She smiled slightly as she caught her -husband’s eye. Thaw returned the smile, and then turned to Attorney -O’Reilly, with whom he talked for a minute excitedly. Then he kept his -eyes fixed on his wife’s face.</p> - -<p>After Mrs. Thaw had sat in the witness chair for nearly five minutes, -Mr. Delmas began his examination.</p> - -<p>“You have already testified, Mrs. Thaw, that you are familiar with the -handwriting of Stanford White,” said the attorney. “I now hand you a -paper and ask if from beginning to end it is in the handwriting of Mr. -White?”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Thaw gazed at the paper, evidently a letter, and said:</p> - -<p>“It is his handwriting.”</p> - -<p>Letter by letter, Mrs. Thaw identified forty-two missives written by the -architect.</p> - -<p>As the examination of the letters was concluded Mr. Delmas turned to the -witness.</p> - -<p>“How long have you known May McKenzie?”</p> - -<p>“Since 1901.”</p> - -<p>“How long has Mr. Thaw known her?”</p> - -<p>“Since 1904.”</p> - -<p>“Did you in May, 1906, relate to Mr. Thaw a conversation you had with -May McKenzie especially with<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_136" id="page_136">{136}</a></span> reference to what she said to you -regarding Stanford White?”</p> - -<p>“May McKenzie told me,” said Mrs. Thaw, “Stanford White had been to see -her and that she had told him that Harry and I were getting along finely -together. She said she thought it was so nice the way we loved each -other.</p> - -<p>“She said Stanford White had remarked: ‘Pooh, it won’t last. I will get -her back.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>“Did Mr. Thaw say anything when you told him this?”</p> - -<p>“He said he had already heard it from Miss McKenzie.”</p> - -<p>“What was his condition when you told him?”</p> - -<p>“The way he always was when on the subject of Stanford White.”</p> - -<p>“How was that?”</p> - -<p>“Very excited and nervous.”</p> - -<p>“You had a second operation in 1905, did you not?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Who made the arrangements for it and paid the cost?”</p> - -<p>“Harry K. Thaw.”</p> - -<p>“How much was the bill?”</p> - -<p>“In all about $3,000. The operation itself was $1,000.”</p> - -<p>The nature of the operation was not gone into.</p> - -<p>“Did Mr. Thaw have any conversation with the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_137" id="page_137">{137}</a></span> attending physician at -that time regarding your previous relations with White?”</p> - -<p>“No, sir; not in my presence.”</p> - -<p>“Did Mr. Thaw at the time of your marriage and subsequent thereto talk -very much about the incident in your life connected with White?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. He always talked about it. He would waken me often at night, -sobbing. And then he would constantly ask me questions about the details -of this terrible thing.”</p> - -<p>“Did you visit May McKenzie at her apartments in 1904?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; she was ill and sent me a letter to come to see her.”</p> - -<p>“While you were there did Stanford White come in?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Did you tell Mr. Thaw of anything that then occurred?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. Stanford White spoke to me several times and I always answered -‘yes’ or ‘no.’ He then came over and started to straighten a bow on my -hair. My hair was short, having been cut off at the time of my first -operation. Then Stanford White tried to put his arms around me, and -wanted me to sit beside him on the bed. I told him to let me alone.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Thaw said that Harry Thaw always attributed her ill health, the -necessity of the second operation, etc., to White. She also testified -that Thaw<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_138" id="page_138">{138}</a></span> had told her he was going to take up White’s affairs with -Anthony Comstock.</p> - -<p>“I told him it would do no good,” she added: “that White had many -influential friends and that he could stop it. I told him that lots of -people would not believe the things about White on account of his -personality.”</p> - -<p>Harry had begun to weep when his wife told of the operations, and -continued to sob bitterly.</p> - -<p>“Did you and Mr. Thaw discuss the fate of other young women at the hands -of Stanford White and did you tell him certain names?”</p> - -<p>Mr. Jerome objected.</p> - -<p>Mr. Delmas put another question:</p> - -<p>“Did you and Mr. Thaw discuss the fate of the ‘pie girl?’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>“Yes, sir. It was in Paris in 1903. He asked me what other girls I knew -of who had suffered at the hands of White. I told him I had heard of the -‘pie girl,’ whose name was known to both of us. A girl at the theater -had told me about it and that night when White came to my dressing-room -I asked him about it. He asked me where I had heard the story. I told -him a girl had told me. Then he told me all about it.</p> - -<p>“There was a stag dinner, he said, and the girl was put in a big pie -with a lot of birds. She was very young—about 15 years, I think he -said. He also told me that the girl had a beautiful figure and wore -only<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_139" id="page_139">{139}</a></span> a gauze dress. He helped put her in the pie and fix it, and said -it was the best stunt he ever saw at a dinner. When the girl jumped out -of the pie the birds flew all about the room.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>But I came near getting into trouble about it,’ he said. ‘We put gold -pieces in the girl’s shoes and in her dress and a lot of people heard of -it. All the newspapers got hold of it. I stopped it at all the -newspapers but one, but I could not stop it there. I got a friend to go -see them, though, and we finally got them to stop it, too. We kept it -out of the papers, but it was close.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>“I told Mr. White I had heard he ruined the girl that night, but he only -laughed.”</p> - -<p>The names of other girls ruined by White were whispered by Mrs. Thaw to -Jerome, but not made public.</p> - -<p>“When did Mr. Thaw next talk to you about such cases?” asked Delmas.</p> - -<p>“The next time was in Pittsburg, when we were married. He told me that -the girl was dead. He said he had investigated the story and that it was -true; that afterward the girl married, but her husband heard the story -of her connection with Mr. White and that he cast her off and she died -in great poverty and disgrace.”</p> - -<p>“Did you and Mr. Thaw often speak of these girls?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, there was a constant conversation. I could<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_140" id="page_140">{140}</a></span> not possibly tell you -every place and every time we discussed it. He told me something ought -to be done about the girls. I told him I could not do anything. He then -said I could help him. I tried to get his mind on other things and then -he would say I was trying to get out of it. He said White ought to be in -the penitentiary; that he got worse and worse all the time and something -had to be done.”</p> - -<p>This closed the direct examination, and Mr. Delmas then read a letter -from Harry Thaw to Anthony Comstock, the foe of vice in New York. In it -Thaw described the studio in the Madison Square tower, and said it was -filled with obscene pictures, and should be raided. He also described -the studio at 22 West Twenty-fourth street, which he said was -“consecrated to debauchery” and was used by “a gang of rich criminals.” -He described the studio and said in it there were many indecent -pictures.</p> - -<p>In this building, the letter said, were the famous red velvet swing and -the mirrored bedroom. He inclosed a sketch of the arrangements of the -rooms. “Workmen on the outside of the building,” says the letter, “have -frequently heard the screams of young girls from this building.”</p> - -<p>The letter continued that the place was run by “rich criminals,” but was -frequently visited by young men who did not know its character. The -letter said that the place had been partly dismantled three years ago.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_141" id="page_141">{141}</a></span></p> - -<p>The letter called attention to still another house, saying:</p> - -<p>“You may also abolish another place at 122 East Twenty-second street—a -house used secretly by three or four of the same scoundrels.</p> - -<p>Mr. Delmas then asked permission to recall Mrs. Thaw for one more -question—a startling one. Mrs. Thaw blushed violently and said in reply -that White was a monster given to such practices that they would not -bear repetition.</p> - -<p>Evelyn Thaw, when first she told her story of alleged wrongs at the hand -of the dead architect, did not falter in details as to the approximate -time and circumstances.</p> - -<p>“Counsel for the defense,” said the attorney, in speaking of the -progress, “are greatly pleased with Mrs. Thaw and her testimony. What -pleases us most is that she followed the instructions given her, which -were that she should tell the truth, no matter what question was asked -her. We told her she was not to consider the effect upon herself or the -defendant, but to tell the truth bluntly and without consideration of -the consequences.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_142" id="page_142">{142}</a></span>”</p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII.<br /><br /> -<small>The Hidden Witness to the Proposal.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">MRS. CAINE TELLS HOW HARRY THAW OFFERED EVELYN’S MOTHER A VAST -AMOUNT OF CASH FOR HER HAND—EVELYN RECALLED TO THE STAND—TELLS OF -POSING IN STUDIOS—ANOTHER DAY OF TORTURE—THE VISIT TO THE “DEAD -RAT”—MRS. THAW IN TEARS—HUSBAND WEEPS WHEN SHE IS FORCED TO TELL -HOW SHE WAS FOUND BY A VISITOR TO WHITE’S STUDIO—ADMITS SHE -VISITED HIM OFTEN AFTER THE “MIRRORED STUDIO” INCIDENT—ALMOST -FAINTS ON STAND—HUSBAND IN TEARS—EVELYN IN DELIRIUM AFTER THE -ORDEAL.</p></div> - -<p>The next sensation in the trial came when Mrs. J. J. Caine, of Boston, a -close friend of Evelyn Nesbit and her mother. Mrs. Holman, testified -that Harry Thaw pleaded with Evelyn’s mother for her hand in marriage. -The scene which she dramatically described, occurred in New York, in -1903. Mrs. Holman was entertaining Mrs. Caine in her apartments at the -time and when the young millionaire called, Mrs. Caine concealed herself -in a bathroom where she overheard all that took place.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Caine testified as follows:</p> - -<p>“Harry Thaw entered the room excitedly and at once told Mrs. Holman that -he wanted to marry<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_143" id="page_143">{143}</a></span> Evelyn. He told the mother of his desire to send the -girl to Europe and said if she would marry him he would settle enough on -the mother and her son, Howard Nesbit, to keep them in comfort during -their entire lives. (Later testimony indicated this amount was -$200,000.)</p> - -<p>Evelyn’s mother said she would try to fix it so the seventeen-year-old -girl would accept him. Mr. Thaw did not stay long, and when he left, -Evelyn’s mother said, “Now you see his intentions are honorable.”</p> - -<p>Thaw had never before known his conversation was overheard by an -eavesdropper who would stand him in such good stead.</p> - -<p>After Mrs. Caine left the stand Mrs. Evelyn Thaw was recalled for cross -examination. For hours she sat before the merciless Jerome under a -scathing cross fire of questions. Traps were laid and sprung, queries -were hurled in volleys to carry her off her feet and overwhelm her in a -tangle of contradictions, but all in vain; the mere slip of a girl met -the skilled prosecutor with a calm and effective resistance.</p> - -<p>Jerome’s first step was to try to prove that Evelyn had posed in the -nude. He first showed her a photograph of herself taken in 1904. It -showed Evelyn in a kimono—the famous one given her by Stanford White. -There was nothing offensive in the pose as disclosed by a view of the -picture.</p> - -<p>Mr. Jerome by his next few questions indicated that he did not intend to -spare the feelings of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_144" id="page_144">{144}</a></span> young woman in any way. He interrogated her -sharply as to the details of her dress when she was posing for artists -in Philadelphia and New York, seeking to learn whether she posed in “the -altogether” or partially draped. The prosecutor persisted in certain -questions even after Mr. Delmas had objected, and insisted on having -definite answers, though Mrs. Thaw usually said she could not exactly -remember.</p> - -<p>“Was there any exposure of the person or did you wear the so-called -artistic draperies?”</p> - -<p>“I would not say that,” replied the witness. “I posed in a Greek dress -and a Turkish costume.”</p> - -<p>Jerome questioned her especially as to her posing in New York, asking -whether she had ever been photographed or painted with her person -exposed. She answered positively that she had never posed in such a -condition.</p> - -<p>“You are certain you never posed for a painting or photograph in such a -manner?” asked Jerome.</p> - -<p>“I never did—I always posed with clothes on.” She moved her hands from -her throat to her waist and said: “Do you mean without anything on here? -I have posed in low-neck, but never, never like that.”</p> - -<p>Then Mrs. Thaw told how she won her New York reputation as a model. She -sent a picture of herself, under the name of Florence Evelyn to a New -York magazine and soon was besieged by artists. Her mother aided her in -her search for work.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_145" id="page_145">{145}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 499px;"> -<a href="images/i147.jpg"> -<img src="images/i147.jpg" width="499" height="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>Jerome cross-examining Evelyn Nesbit Thaw.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_146" id="page_146">{146}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_147" id="page_147">{147}</a></span> </p> - -<p>“Is it not true,” went on Mr. Jerome, reading from a paper, “that in the -spring of 1901, so far as your relations with your mother were -concerned, that you were getting unruly, that your mother still stuck by -you, that a married man — —”</p> - -<p>At this point Mr. Delmas interposed an objection to Mr. Jerome reading -from what he termed a statement by Evelyn Thaw’s mother.</p> - -<p>“If the district attorney wants the mother’s testimony in he should -produce her on the stand,” he said.</p> - -<p>“I’d like to, but you know that it is impossible. You know where she -is,” said Mr. Jerome.</p> - -<p>The question regarding Evelyn becoming unruly was allowed to stand.</p> - -<p>“No,” she answered decidedly.</p> - -<p>“Is it not true that that married man was James A. Garland, and that he -was getting a divorce, and that you and your mother frequently quarreled -about him?”</p> - -<p>“No, indeed.” Mrs. Thaw drew herself up indignantly and stamped her -foot.</p> - -<p>“Is it not true that you went alone with him on the yacht?”</p> - -<p>“Mamma and I, yes.”</p> - -<p>“Were you made a corespondent in Mr. Garland’s divorce suit?”</p> - -<p>Mr. Delmas objected. The record, he said, was the best evidence.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_148" id="page_148">{148}</a></span></p> - -<p>The question of photographs was resumed. Jerome asked:</p> - -<p>“During this time did you ever pose for an artist in the nude?”</p> - -<p>“Never.”</p> - -<p>“Ever have any casts made in the nude?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p>“Did you not in the spring of 1901 have such a cast made?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p>“Do you know Mr. Wells, sculptor?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p>“Ever heard of him?”</p> - -<p>“Never.”</p> - -<p>“How long did you know Mr. Garland?”</p> - -<p>“Not long.”</p> - -<p>“When did your acquaintance with him cease?”</p> - -<p>“When I met Stanford White.”</p> - -<p>“Isn’t it true that Mr. Garland became very annoying when you lived at a -certain apartment house?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p>“Your recollection is clear that you posed in draperies the day before -the mirrored-room incident?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Was there any exposure of the person?”</p> - -<p>“The photographs were low-necked.”</p> - -<p>The ivory cheeks of the fair witness suddenly flamed with color and a -look of mingled fear and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_149" id="page_149">{149}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> -<a href="images/i151.jpg"> -<img src="images/i151.jpg" width="600" height="416" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>District Attorney Jerome and Harry K. Thaw, photographed -in court.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_150" id="page_150">{150}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_151" id="page_151">{151}</a></span> </p> - -<p class="nind">anger crept into her big limpid eyes. She was about to break down when -the hearing for the day was ended. It was a spell of sorrow to her -husband and terror to the woman.</p> - -<p>Another day of torture was in store and it came with the morrow. Jerome -had prepared to make the ordeal terrific and under his pitiless lash -Evelyn fell like a stricken doe. Jerome read his questions from notes -carefully prepared, realizing it was useless to attempt to ensnare the -witness any other way. Although he brought tears to her eyes, and caused -her to wince again and again, she stuck to her story bravely.</p> - -<p>“Did you continue to believe all women were what Stanford White told you -until you talked with Thaw in Paris in 1903?” he thundered.</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir,” replied Mrs. Thaw meekly.</p> - -<p>Then Jerome proved that Mrs. Thaw had visited a place in Paris called -the Dead Rat in company with Harry Thaw.</p> - -<p>“Before the time you left Paris, had you any appreciation that such -things as you have described were considered as improper and positively -wrong?”</p> - -<p>“Not until my talk with Mr. Thaw.”</p> - -<p>“Before that you didn’t believe it wrong; you did not think it -improper?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes.”</p> - -<p>“Very wrong?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_152" id="page_152">{152}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“Not particularly. I knew people said it was wrong.”</p> - -<p>“Did you think it very indelicate and vulgar?”</p> - -<p>“That is all.”</p> - -<p>“That it was only bad taste?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“But you didn’t think it was wrong?”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t fully realize it until I went to Paris.”</p> - -<p>“But you thought it was wrong?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Did you belong to any religious organization?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p>“You went to church and Sunday school in Pittsburg?”</p> - -<p>“Not in Pittsburg.”</p> - -<p>“In Paris it was impressed on you that White had done you a terrible -wrong?”</p> - -<p>“In a way.”</p> - -<p>“Before you left Paris you had begun to look on such relations as very -wrong?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Had you come to a full understanding of the infamous character of -White’s act?”</p> - -<p>“Yes—but not so much as I have now.”</p> - -<p>“Yet it was this that induced your renunciation of Thaw’s great love?”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said Mrs. Thaw, as tears welled to her eyes.</p> - -<p>“Did you refuse Thaw solely because of the oc<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_153" id="page_153">{153}</a></span>currence with White?” -asked Mr. Jerome of the witness.</p> - -<p>“Because I had been found out.”</p> - -<p>“Who told you you had been caught?”</p> - -<p>“Friends of Stanford White.”</p> - -<p>“So it was not because of the occurrence but because you had been found -out?”</p> - -<p>“It was both together. I had an instinct about it. When Mr. Thaw -proposed it was the first proposal I ever had and it all struck me very -seriously. It all came together.”</p> - -<p>“You felt the most heinous wrong had been done?”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t know anything about it at the time. All I remember is what I -felt like when I woke up. I remember that distinctly. I didn’t -understand what had taken place.”</p> - -<p>“It outraged every maidenly instinct in you, didn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“It did, and that is why I quarreled with Stanford White.”</p> - -<p>“You were very bitter against White when you told Thaw, weren’t you.”</p> - -<p>“Not then.”</p> - -<p>“When you felt you were giving up Thaw’s love you didn’t feel bitter -against White?”</p> - -<p>“Not intensely. Not until Mr. Thaw made me realize it.”</p> - -<p>“Did you continue to have a feeling of enmity against White?” continued -Jerome.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_154" id="page_154">{154}</a></span></p> - -<p>“I wouldn’t say enmity—it was hostility against him for this one thing -and subsequent things.”</p> - -<p>“What subsequent things?”</p> - -<p>“The prosecutor caught up Mrs. Thaw’s own words?”</p> - -<p>“Things with Stanford White,” replied Mrs. Thaw.</p> - -<p>“Were they improper and indecent?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what you would call them.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Thaw then testified that while she was in London, before her -marriage, her mother compelled her to write a friendly letter to White.</p> - -<p>“While abroad did you tell your mother of your experience with White?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p>“How did you know Stanford White’s friends knew of your relations with -Stanford White?”</p> - -<p>“One of them saw me with him at the East Twenty-second street studio.”</p> - -<p>“Was there any impropriety there?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“So you continued to maintain relations with Stanford White?”</p> - -<p>“Yes, for a time.”</p> - -<p>Thaw buried his face in his hands. Tears were in Mrs. Thaw’s eyes and -she broke into sobs.</p> - -<p>Mr. Jerome demanded the name of the man who had seen her at the studio. -He asked the witness to whisper it.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_155" id="page_155">{155}</a></span></p> - -<p>Mr. Delmas wanted it publicly announced. A wordy conflict ensued, in -which Mr. Jerome threatened to have the courtroom cleared. Justice -Fitzgerald finally settled the matter, saying the name might be given to -counsel, the court, and the jury.</p> - -<p>“Did you tell Harry Thaw about these subsequent relations with Stanford -White?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“And you didn’t think to tell us on your direct examination?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p>“Can you fix dates as to these subsequent events?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p>“How did you know this man knew of your relations with White?”</p> - -<p>“He saw me one day with Mr. White in one of his studios.”</p> - -<p>“Were you and Mr. White alone?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“And this was about a month after the incident with drugs?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“How long did you continue to visit Mr. White?”</p> - -<p>“Not after January, 1902.”</p> - -<p>“How many visits did you make?”</p> - -<p>“I do not remember.”</p> - -<p>“Were they frequent?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p>“Ten times?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_156" id="page_156">{156}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“I can’t remember.”</p> - -<p>“Where did these visits take place?”</p> - -<p>“At the Twenty-second and Twenty-fourth street studios and in the -Tower.”</p> - -<p>“And on these occasions were you two alone?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Did you partake of refreshments there?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Were you drugged again?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p>“Did you have too much wine?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“What time of the day did these incidents occur?”</p> - -<p>“Usually after the theater,” replied Mrs. Thaw, wiping the tears from -her eyes.</p> - -<p>As to the nature of the operation which was performed upon her while she -was at school in New Jersey the witness said she knew only what the -nurses and doctors told her, that it was for appendicitis.</p> - -<p>“Why did you not tell your mother all about your visits?”</p> - -<p>“I would rather have died than to tell her,” almost shrieked the girl.</p> - -<p>During this period the prosecution established the following facts -adverse to her:</p> - -<p>That this beautiful girl, in the critical character-forming time of her -life, was practically without religious instruction or training.</p> - -<p>That she was an associate of various men of evil<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_157" id="page_157">{157}</a></span> reputation and mingled -with the gayest set of the intemperate circles of Bohemia.</p> - -<p>That she pursued a calling most dangerous to innocence and purity for -any girl.</p> - -<p>That she lived off the bounty of the man who she alleges committed a -shocking crime against her.</p> - -<p>That she held astounding and shameful ideas of morality.</p> - -<p>This was Mrs. Thaw’s worst day on the stand, when her tears flowed -almost constantly. When she was forced to tell of her experiences in -White’s infamous studio, she almost fainted. With head buried in his -hands, Thaw wept aloud. It was a pitiful scene. The husband was so far -overcome that he could not take his customary notes on the trial.</p> - -<p>Evelyn Thaw was delirious that night and fell in May McKenzie’s arms at -her hotel.</p> - -<p>Is it a wonder that Evelyn Thaw wished to flee from further notoriety -after Thaw shot Stanford White, according to a member of the Thaw -household? She is said to have made hasty preparations to sail for -Europe. When the Thaw lawyers learned of this, a council was called -immediately, and Evelyn was induced to stay, as rumor had it, by liberal -concessions of the Thaws.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_158" id="page_158">{158}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII.<br /><br /> -<small>Lived on Bounty of Stanford White.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">EVELYN THAW FORCED INTO FURTHER REVELATIONS—PROVED THAT WHITE PAID -HER BILLS—ARCHITECT’S LETTERS AND RECEIPTS FOR MONEY PAID HER, -READ—THAW CALLED WHITE’S CASH “POISON”—AMERICAN OFFICIAL DRAGGED -INTO SCANDAL—JEROME PRODUCES EVELYN THAW’S DIARY AS A -SCHOOLGIRL—EVELYN’S PHILOSOPHY—DECLARES HERSELF VERY -“SUSCEPTIBLE”—ABE HUMMEL CALLED; LEAVES THE STAND WITH STORY -UNSHAKEN.</p></div> - -<p>More crushing than all the ordeals hitherto experienced, Evelyn Thaw was -next compelled to admit the shameful fact that after her ruin she lived -on the bounty of her betrayer. Documentary evidence was introduced to -strengthen the hands of the merciless Jerome. A dozen times she took -refuge in the answer, “I don’t remember.”</p> - -<p>It was a bad day for the defense. The most sensational feature of the -session was the introduction of her diary which pictured her a -whimsical, strange little philosopher, even as a school girl.</p> - -<p>Jerome sprang his coup with startling suddenness. He handed Mrs. Thaw a -bundle of receipts representing money paid to her and her mother by -Stanford White, and demanded that the fair witness identify her own -signature on them.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_159" id="page_159">{159}</a></span></p> - -<p>There were fourteen receipts in all. They were for various amounts -received from the Mercantile Trust company, where White had deposited a -sum of money for Evelyn and her mother. The amounts varied from $65 to -$110. The receipts were signed “Evelyn Florence Nesbit,” the mother and -daughter having the same name.</p> - -<p>A letter and envelope addressed to White’s private secretary by the -architect were next offered in evidence. The letter said:</p> - -<p>“Dear Hartnett: Please telephone Mrs. Nesbit to let you know whenever -Miss Evelyn decides to go on her vacation. Then send this note to the -Mercantile Trust company: ‘Please notify Miss Nesbit that on receiving -word she is about to start on her vacation you will send her the weekly -checks for $25 and an additional check for $200.’ Yours truly,</p> - -<p class="r"> -“<span class="smcap">Stanford White</span>.”<br /> -</p> - -<p>Evelyn was then compelled to admit that for several months in 1902 she -lived at the exclusive Audubon apartments and that White paid the rent. -Then she told of her meeting with Thaw and of her trip to Europe with -him and of her recital to him of the story of her ruin, which, it was -contended, wrecked his mind.</p> - -<p>“When Harry learned I had a letter of credit from Stanford White, he -grew very much excited,” declared Mrs. Thaw. “He said the money was -filthy and poisonous and that I must never touch it again.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_160" id="page_160">{160}</a></span> He said he -would take it so I could not use it. He said that he would give me -anything I wanted, and that if mamma wanted anything she would only have -to ask for it.</p> - -<p>“When Mr. White gave me the letter of credit it was sealed up. I did not -know what it was, and he told me I must not open the letter until we -were well at sea. Whatever was used of the money was for my mother. Mr. -Thaw gave it to her after I had given it to him.”</p> - -<p>Thaw gave her $1,000 while she was in Paris.</p> - -<p>Jerome had in some mysterious and unexplained way secured possession of -a diary kept by Evelyn while she was at school at Pompton, N. J., in -1902. Rumor had it, that a handsome sum of money found its way to a -member of her family for filching the booklet. Extracts from the diary -were read to the fair witness, who admitted their authorship.</p> - -<p>Some of the remarkable excerpts were:</p> - -<p>“Mrs. De Mille (the head of the school) said to come right in and I -jumped with the agility of a soubrette and began to get shy.</p> - -<p>“I met Mrs. De Mille’s son, and I must admit that he was a pie-faced -mutt.</p> - -<p>“My room here is neither large nor small. There is a white, virtuous -bed. I took a nap, and the last thing I remember was, I wondered how far -I am from Rector’s. Rector’s is really not a proper place for an -innocent young person, but I always had a weakness for it.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_161" id="page_161">{161}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“When one comes to think it over it is good to have lived. A girl who -has always been good and never had any scandal about her is fortunate in -more ways than one. On the other hand, not one of them will ever be -anything. By anything I mean just that. They will, perhaps, be good -wives and mothers, but whether it is ambition or foolish, I mean to be a -good actress first.</p> - -<p>“Of course, I can’t live here all the time. And I can’t forget all the -old people. They do not know what they are doing here, but give them a -chance to get away and see what they would do. If I stay here long I’ll -get just like the rest. I am very susceptible and I’ll soon be a — —”</p> - -<p>“From the time you first became intimate with Thaw in 1903 until the -shooting of White, June 25, 1906, did you ever see anything in Thaw’s -condition that was irrational?” asked Mr. Jerome.</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Thaw then detailed several instances. She said that one night while -on Broadway in a cab, she and Thaw saw White. Thaw became much excited.</p> - -<p>“I don’t know what you would call it,” she said, “but I would call it a -fit. He cried and sobbed, and bit his nails and talked rapidly.”</p> - -<p>“Did you ever see a man in an epileptic fit?” asked Mr. Jerome.</p> - -<p>“I’ve seen cats.”</p> - -<p>There was considerable laughter.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_162" id="page_162">{162}</a></span></p> - -<p>Mrs. Thaw said her husband told her that White was circulating -scandalous stories about him and was plotting to have him killed.</p> - -<p>Abe Hummel, a once brilliant and respected lawyer in New York with a -large practice among theatrical people, was brought on the stand by the -prosecution prepared to swear that Mrs. Thaw had made an affidavit in -his presence that Harry had beat her in Paris.</p> - -<p>The evidence was not admitted. Jerome tried, however, to prove that she -had made the affidavit. Evelyn, who had left the courtroom, was -recalled. She came drying her eyes and showing signs of bitter -disappointment because she was not allowed to remain at her husband’s -side.</p> - -<p>“You’ve a brother, Howard Nesbit?” began Jerome.</p> - -<p>“Yes, sir.”</p> - -<p>“On your return from Europe in 1903, did you tell your brother Howard, -in substance, that while you were abroad you had been brutally abused by -Thaw to induce you to tell lies against Stanford White, and that these -lies were that he had drugged and mistreated you, which story you told -Howard Nesbit was false?”</p> - -<p>“I did not.”</p> - -<p>“Didn’t you tell your brother you were compelled at the point of a -revolver to make some such statement?”</p> - -<p>“I did not.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_163" id="page_163">{163}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“Didn’t you tell Howard these facts in substance at some time?”</p> - -<p>“I—did—not!”</p> - -<p>Each time this answer was repeated with greater emphasis and a longer -pause between the three words.</p> - -<p>Evelyn was excused again. Jerome had been trying to prove her a -perjurer, but had failed.</p> - -<p>This ended Evelyn’s greatest ordeal on the witness stand. The slender -girl was free to rest after a strain that had taxed her vitality to the -utmost. Although she had suffered much in personal reputation, her -original story was unshaken.</p> - -<p>Dr. Evans, the alienist, was recalled for cross examination and remained -on the stand two days. He was given a terrific cross fire of questions. -Summed up Dr. Evans stated that he believed Thaw to have been suffering -from adolescent insanity in 1903 and at the time of his marriage, again -on April 4, 1905, and that when he killed Stanford White, June 25, 1906, -he was the victim of an acute and recurrent attack of the same mental -malady.</p> - -<p>Important as was his testimony, it was quite lost sight of by the public -in the keen interest surrounding Evelyn Thaw, and the spirit of -anticipation with which the appearance of Harry Thaw’s mother was -awaited.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_164" id="page_164">{164}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV.<br /><br /> -<small>Thaw’s Mother on the Stand.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">AGED WOMAN WITH ALL HER WEALTH AND SOCIAL POSITION, A PATHETIC -FIGURE—BENT WITH GRIEF AND SHAKEN WITH SOBS—TELLS HOW SON WEPT -VIOLENTLY AT NIGHT—FIRST HEARD EVELYN NESBIT’S NAME ON -THANKSGIVING BEFORE MARRIAGE—HARRY CONFIDED TO MOTHER THAT GRIEF -WAS DUE TO EVELYN’S FATE—CALLED HER VICTIM OF -CIRCUMSTANCES—MOTHER APPROVED OF MARRIAGE ON CONDITION THAT MRS. -HOLMAN SHOULD NEVER ENTER HER HOUSE AND THAT EVELYN’S PAST SHOULD -NEVER BE REFERRED TO—DEFENSE ENDS ITS CASE.</p></div> - -<p>Pathetic as was the trembling figure of Evelyn Nesbit Thaw on the -witness stand it paled into insignificance as compared with the -appearance of Mrs. William Thaw, the aged mother of the defendant, in -the role of a witness, contributing her share of humiliation to the -sacrifice for her son’s life.</p> - -<p>Bent with grief and shaken with sobs, the haughty widow of the -millionaire steel king appeared clothed from head to foot in black. For -the moment, pride of family and of wealth disappeared before the misery -of the ordeal she had to undergo. Momentarily, she would show a flash of -spirit, but it disappeared almost as quickly. Even the stern prosecutor -softened<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_165" id="page_165">{165}</a></span></p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 351px;"> -<a href="images/i167.jpg"> -<img src="images/i167.jpg" width="351" height="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>MRS. WILLIAM THAW</p> - -<p>Harry Thaw’s aged mother.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_166" id="page_166">{166}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_167" id="page_167">{167}</a></span> </p> - -<p class="nind">in manner before the sorrow of the aged woman. To attack her with the -same ferocity as the wife of the accused would have spelled ruin for -him. He read the handwriting on the wall and desisted.</p> - -<p>Altogether Mrs. Thaw did not make as good a witness as did Evelyn with -her wonderful composure and ready wit; but she impressed the jury and -all hearers forcibly nevertheless. She herself seemed disappointed when -her examination came to an end. Her disappointment centered about -refusal of counsel to permit her to deny that her son Harry suffered a -taint of insanity by heredity. She was placed on the stand immediately -after Dr. Charles D. Wagner, an alienist, had testified Harry Thaw was -incapable of viewing his action as wrong when he shot White.</p> - -<p>Mr. Delmas conducted the direct examination of Mrs. Thaw, which follows:</p> - -<p>“In what time of the fall of 1903 did your son, Harry K. Thaw, come to -your home in Pittsburg?”</p> - -<p>“In October. He came two days after my other son was married.”</p> - -<p>“During the time that Harry K. Thaw was at your home did you notice -anything peculiar in his conduct denoting a change?”</p> - -<p>“When he first entered the house his manner was such that it struck me -at the time.”</p> - -<p>“Will you describe his appearance?”</p> - -<p>“He seemed absent-minded and had a despairing look.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_168" id="page_168">{168}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“Did this continue?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“What followed?”</p> - -<p>“This sort of thing happened several times at night. His room was next -to mine and he sobbed violently during the night.”</p> - -<p>It was at this point that the grief-stricken mother first gave way to -her overpowering emotion. Her face, which had been as gray as her hair -when she entered the courtroom, flushed red and tears stole down her -cheeks.</p> - -<p>She wiped away the tears with a black-bordered handkerchief and -continued her story in a hesitating manner. Her tones were so low that -several of the jurors could not hear her.</p> - -<p>“Had you proceeded to state that you had found your son as late as 3 or -4 in the morning awake and undressed?”</p> - -<p>“No; I said he was dressed.”</p> - -<p>“And you had proceeded to state what he said?”</p> - -<p>“He said that a man—probably the worst man in New York—had ruined his -life.”</p> - -<p>“Had you made any inquiry of your son as to what that man had done?”</p> - -<p>“He said the man had wrecked the life of a young girl.”</p> - -<p>“Did you learn more about that statement?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. I could not learn who the girl was who was associated with this -wicked man in New York.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_169" id="page_169">{169}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“Did you learn her name from your son?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Will you tell us just what he said?”</p> - -<p>“I learned more about it afterward.”</p> - -<p>“Was that all you learned up to Thanksgiving day?”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Thaw began crying again and restrained herself only after a great -effort.</p> - -<p>Some of the jurors complained that they had not been able to hear the -testimony. By direction of the court, the stenographer read aloud the -testimony of Mrs. Thaw. Her testimony was as follows, eliminating -questions:</p> - -<p>“In November, 1903, a few days before my second son was married, Harry -came there. It was the 18th of November. I noticed a change in his -conduct when he first entered the house. I had the habit of going to the -door, and when I saw him it struck me that he looked absent-minded, as -if he had lost interest in everything. The impression grew on me.</p> - -<p>“He appeared to be laboring with a problem. He went to the drawing room -and I heard the piano playing violently at first and then the tone grew -softer and softer. This happened after he would come back, and after a -while he would go to the drawing room and resume playing in the same -way, first wildly and then softer and softer.</p> - -<p>“But the most marked feature was his wakefulness at night. His room was -next to mine and I would<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_170" id="page_170">{170}</a></span> hear him sobbing. I would see a light under -the door at three or four in the morning. I would go into his room and -find him sitting up crying.</p> - -<p>“I am not of a prying disposition, and I did not inquire into his -trouble at once. He finally told me one night what the trouble was. He -did not tell me definitely at first. He first said that it was something -a wicked man in New York had done that had ruined his life. That was as -much as I could get from him at first. He said the man was probably the -worst in New York.</p> - -<p>“On Thanksgiving I learned more. I did not ask the girl’s name. I -learned from him one night what the wicked man had done to the young -girl. I did not want to inquire any further.</p> - -<p>“I told him that sort of thing happened in New York constantly and I -asked, Why should that ruin your life? But he insisted it had.</p> - -<p>“I tried to influence him the other way, to show him that it was not his -place to look after the young girls.</p> - -<p>“He said the girl had the most beautiful mind of any woman he had ever -met and that if she had been under the influence of a good mother she -would have been the best woman that ever lived. I cannot recall the -entire conversation, but that is the substance of it.</p> - -<p>“I only know that on Thanksgiving Day that incident occurred. It was the -first Thanksgiving Day<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_171" id="page_171">{171}</a></span> in our new church, and as it was very crowded. -Harry and I had to stand under the gallery. I was glad afterward that we -had to, as we heard the beautiful music.</p> - -<p>“I heard a sob and when we drove home I asked Harry, ‘Why did you forget -yourself in church?’ and he said it suddenly came over him—this -dreadful thing. ‘If that dreadful thing had not happened,’ he said, ‘she -could have been here with us.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>The reading ceased and Mrs. Thaw was questioned further by Mr. Delmas.</p> - -<p>“Did you have further conversations with him?”</p> - -<p>“I think that was the substance of what he said and what I noticed.”</p> - -<p>“After this conversation on Thanksgiving day, did you notice anything -about his wakefulness and disturbed condition?”</p> - -<p>“Nearly every morning I saw him up early. The same condition prevailed.”</p> - -<p>“Do you know whether Dr. Bingaman was in attendance a few afternoons -later?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; I remember it was a gloomy afternoon. It was the Saturday after -Thanksgiving, I believe. He did so so frequently that I do not recall -any single occasion.”</p> - -<p>“While he (Dr. Bingaman) was in your home did his reference to this -young girl become more frequent or less frequent?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_172" id="page_172">{172}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“I am not sure. If anything it was more frequent.”</p> - -<p>“When did you learn who this young girl was?”</p> - -<p>“I cannot recall that. I have tried to. During the Spring of 1904, -before he went abroad, I am inclined to think I learned that.”</p> - -<p>“At that time can you recall what your son said about the young girl?”</p> - -<p>“I can not recall it.”</p> - -<p>District Attorney Jerome here appealed to the court to instruct the -witness to answer yes or no to this question.</p> - -<p>“You have stated that you think you learned who this young girl was -before your son went to Europe in 1904. Now, my question is, what did he -say?”</p> - -<p>Mrs. Thaw’s examination was interrupted at this time by a clash of -counsel over the purpose of the questions, District Attorney Jerome -insinuating that if it was to show Thaw mentally unbalanced he would ask -for a lunacy commission. The clash did much to disconcert the witness. -Finally her examination continued.</p> - -<p>“What did your son say to you?”</p> - -<p>“It was some time between Thanksgiving and when he went back to Europe -that he told me who the young girl was. I cannot recall the conversation -we had, but I think it was in March that he told me.”</p> - -<p>“What did your son tell you?”</p> - -<p>“He said she had gone with her mother to New<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_173" id="page_173">{173}</a></span> York and she had met the -wicked man who had ruined her. I cannot recall all the conversation, but -know I learned her name.</p> - -<p>“Have you now stated all the conversation you had with your son between -the time he got home and the time he left for Europe?”</p> - -<p>“Yes: I have told all.”</p> - -<p>“Your son then reappeared in your home in the Fall of 1904?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Did he speak to you then about his contemplated marriage to this young -girl?”</p> - -<p>“I remember expressing my disapproval about his coming over from the -other side with her, but he said there was nothing wrong: that she had -been the victim of circumstances.”</p> - -<p>“Will you state when he first manifested the intention of marrying that -young girl?”</p> - -<p>“In November, 1903, he told me he desired to marry her, but that he had -been frustrated at every move he made.”</p> - -<p>“You went South in 1904?”</p> - -<p>“In February. It may have been in 1905. I cannot remember dates.”</p> - -<p>“When you returned from the South you say your son was still intent on -marrying this girl?”</p> - -<p>“Yes; and I therefore came here to New York and saw her. This was about -a month before the wedding.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_174" id="page_174">{174}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“You came to see her? And did you talk with your son about the wedding?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Did you finally give your approval? Kindly state what conversation you -had with your son on the subject after your return to the hotel?”</p> - -<p>“He asked me whether I would be willing he should marry her and I said -he could marry her at my home. I said he could take her home—that I -liked the girl. I told Harry I had no one at home now and would take -this girl to my home and her past would be closed. I told him I would -never ask her about it nor permit it to be mentioned in my presence. I -did, however, make one condition. I told him I would not have her mother -in my house. So he made the arrangements and on April 2 came home to be -married.”</p> - -<p>“Now, after you had given your approval, they were married at your home -in Pittsburg?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“How soon did the marriage take place?”</p> - -<p>“Two days later.”</p> - -<p>“What seemed to be his condition just prior to the marriage?”</p> - -<p>“He seemed to be in a better condition, but somewhat depressed. He -seemed to fear that the mother of the girl would withhold her consent to -the marriage. He said he feared that at the very last her mother would -refuse her consent.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_175" id="page_175">{175}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“What was the cause of this agitation on his wedding day?”</p> - -<p>“He felt that her mother would still try to interfere. He was busy -writing nearly all day.”</p> - -<p>“Did you know that a will and codicil was being executed that day?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“At what time of the day?”</p> - -<p>“At the early dinner.”</p> - -<p>“You say they left for the West that night?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“How did he appear when he came back?”</p> - -<p>“Their life was clear and placid. They were with me until October. I had -an opportunity and carefully watched them.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Jerome then took the witness in hand for cross examination.</p> - -<p>“Did your son learn to play the piano?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“At some time subsequent to the death of your husband—or, rather ... -I’ll put it this way—were you the executrix or trustee of your -husband’s estate?”</p> - -<p>Delmas objected.</p> - -<p>“I am trying to show that at a certain date the executors of the late -Mr. Thaw’s will increased the amount set aside for the defendant under -the will,” said Jerome.</p> - -<p>The question was changed as follows:</p> - -<p>“Did such an event take place?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_176" id="page_176">{176}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“At what date?”</p> - -<p>“I cannot remember exactly.”</p> - -<p>“How did it come about?”</p> - -<p>Delmas objected.</p> - -<p>“I want to instruct the witness that the District Attorney can ask any -question he wants,” he said, “and that I can object to it if I want to, -and I ask you, Mrs. Thaw, not to answer until I have had a chance to -object.”</p> - -<p>“There was a time when your son, under his father’s will, was to receive -a certain amount of money unless the executors saw fit to increase it -and there was a subsequent time when the amount was increased by the -executors, when was that?”</p> - -<p>“If you will state it was after June, 1903, I will not object,” said -Delmas.</p> - -<p>“I will not allow the question unless you set the date subsequent to -June, 1903,” said Judge Fitzgerald.</p> - -<p>Jerome again put the question and was again overruled.</p> - -<p>“After the death of the defendant’s father was he in receipt of a -certain income from the estate of his father?”</p> - -<p>Delmas objected and was again sustained.</p> - -<p>“After June, 1903, what was the income of the defendant?”</p> - -<p>“It was from his own estate.”</p> - -<p>“What income did he receive before that?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_177" id="page_177">{177}</a></span>”</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 430px;"> -<a href="images/i179.jpg"> -<img src="images/i179.jpg" width="430" height="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>CLIFFORD W. HARTRIDGE</p> - -<p>One of Thaw’s lawyers.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_178" id="page_178">{178}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_179" id="page_179">{179}</a></span> </p> - -<p>Delmas objected and was sustained; Jerome was beaten at every point.</p> - -<p>“When you spoke to him of his proposal of marriage, did he say he wanted -to shield the young girl from a wrong?”</p> - -<p>“Yes.”</p> - -<p>“Did he relate to you the occurrences in Europe? Did he tell you of his -desire to make Evelyn Nesbit his wife?”</p> - -<p>“He did.”</p> - -<p>“Did he express fear that he might not be married at that time?”</p> - -<p>“He said she had told him that it would make an unsuitable match and -that while he was very anxious to make the girl his wife she was not so -anxious because of this wrong.”</p> - -<p>“When they arrived from Europe did he come to your home in Pittsburg?”</p> - -<p>“Not directly, but during that month.”</p> - -<p>“So that up to the time of the marriage you had received no information -of his former relations with Evelyn Nesbit?”</p> - -<p>“No.”</p> - -<p>“I am through,” said Jerome.</p> - -<p>After the aged woman’s testimony had been concluded, Attorney Delmas -suddenly threw a bomb into the ranks of the prosecution by announcing in -a low voice the three words:</p> - -<p>“The defense rests!<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_181" id="page_181">{181}</a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_180" id="page_180">{180}</a></span>”</p> - -<div class="figcenter" style="width: 531px;"> -<a href="images/i183.jpg"> -<img src="images/i183.jpg" width="531" height="600" alt="[Image unavailable.]" /></a> -<div class="caption"><p>PAULA DESMOND</p> - -<p>Actress figuring in the case.</p></div> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_182" id="page_182">{182}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV.<br /><br /> -<small>Scathing Denunciation By Jerome.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">DISTRICT ATTORNEY MAKES ATTACK ON LIFE OF HARRY THAW—ATTRIBUTES -WILD ORGIES TO THE DEFENDENT—THE ETHEL THOMAS TRAGEDY—ATTEMPT -MADE TO PROVE EVELYN THAW A PERJURER—NEW LIGHT ON THE CASE—ABE -HUMMEL ON THE STAND—JEROME TRIES TO PROVE EVELYN HAD SWORN THAT -WHITE NEVER WRONGED HER—CHARGES PLOT BY THAW TO PUT ARCHITECT IN -PENITENTIARY—FAMOUS ALIENISTS SWEAR THAW WAS SANE AT THE TIME OF -THE TRAGEDY—EVELYN ON THE STAND AGAIN.</p></div> - -<p>With the testimony of Thaw’s aged mother fresh in their minds the jurors -heard District Attorney Jerome make a sensational attack on the past -life of Harry Thaw. Jerome insinuated that Thaw had in his wild youthful -days, indulged in wild orgies no less iniquitous than those of which -Stanford White had been accused, although differing in character.</p> - -<p>Attorney Frederick Longfellow, Thaw’s personal counsel, was a witness -from whom Jerome fought to draw this information.</p> - -<p>Longfellow was an unwilling witness and every answer had to be dragged -from him, Delmas interposing objections to the procedure throughout the -examination.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_183" id="page_183">{183}</a></span></p> - -<p>“Did you represent this prisoner in the suit of Ethel Thomas against -Harry K. Thaw?” demanded Jerome.</p> - -<p>“My firm did,” Longfellow was allowed to answer.</p> - -<p>“It has been said that alleged acts of perversion by White added to the -fury of Thaw’s mental unbalance,” Jerome stated. “I want to show that he -knew all about such things—that they were set forth in the complaint in -this suit by Ethel Thomas, the papers of which were served on him.</p> - -<p>“I am not trying to show that Ethel’s statements were true. Anyway, this -poor girl now is dead—”</p> - -<p>A hot fight came here, and Jerome was forced to withdraw the words “poor -girl,” while the jury was cautioned to ignore what Jerome had said.</p> - -<p>“Mrs. Thaw herself,” Jerome fairly shouted, “says she was told the story -of Ethel Thomas!”</p> - -<p>Longfellow was not allowed to testify to anything about the charges -contained in the Thomas girl’s suit against Thaw.</p> - -<p>Jerome was burning with wrath. His expected victory had been turned to -bitter defeat.</p> - -<p>The next witness was Policeman Dennis Wright, who was called to testify -as to conversations he had with Thaw the night of Thaw’s arrest. The -witness said:</p> - -<p>“When I was in Madison avenue I saw Thaw. I<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_184" id="page_184">{184}</a></span> asked him what the trouble -was. He said he wanted me to take him away from the crowd, to take him -to the station-house.”</p> - -<p>“Was there any more?”</p> - -<p>“Yes. When we were in Fifth avenue some person unknown asked me if I -knew the prisoner or what he had done. I said I did not. I asked the -defendant if he knew what he had done and he said ‘Yes.’ I asked him if -he knew who it was he had killed. He said he would say nothing until he -reached the station-house. He asked me for a light, offered me a cigar, -and then wanted to take a cab to the station, but I would not agree.”</p> - -<p>“Were his actions rational or irrational?”</p> - -<p>“Rational.”</p> - -<p>Four other policemen testified Thaw appeared rational after the murder.</p> - -<p>Jerome here made an attempt to prove Evelyn Thaw a liar. He was -defeated, however, for his star witness, Rudolph Eckmyer, a -photographer, was not allowed to tell the date he made the famous -Madison Square Garden photographs of Evelyn.</p> - -<p>“If you will let me fix the date of these pictures,” he said heatedly, -“I will show that on the night following the day they were taken, when -Mrs. Thaw’s experience at White’s studio took place, Stanford White was -not in the Twenty-fourth street house at all.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_185" id="page_185">{185}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>Jerome fairly shouted the last words and pounded the table before him. -Mr. Delmas said he must stand upon his objection, and it was sustained.</p> - -<p>“I now offer,” repeated Jerome, “to prove by this witness the exact date -on which these pictures were taken, which was, Mrs. Thaw testified, the -day before she was drugged by Stanford White. And I further offer to -prove that on that occasion Stanford White was not where she said he -was.”</p> - -<p>James Clinch Smith, Stanford White’s brother-in-law, who was in Europe -when the trial began, was allowed to testify for the defense. Smith’s -story threw much new light on the tragedy. It showed that Thaw several -times passed through the aisles on the Madison Square Roof-garden, -apparently seeking some one, and always his eyes were turned on the spot -where Stanford White sat.</p> - -<p>He sat down and talked to Smith on a variety of subjects—Wall street -speculation, the play, a trip to Europe, common acquaintances, and many -other topics.</p> - -<p>This story, Jerome sought to show, proved that Thaw was sane the night -of the murder, and that he repeatedly sought for his victim on the -roof-garden, instead of killing him because of a sudden impulse.</p> - -<p>“Thaw sat down beside me,” said the relative of White, “and offered me a -cigar. I said, ‘No, thank you.’ He said, ‘How’s that, don’t you smoke at -all?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_186" id="page_186">{186}</a></span>’ I said I occasionally smoked cigarets. He then took out his -cigaret case, offered me one, and I took it and thanked him. He struck a -match and lit my cigaret, and his cigar. He asked me how I liked the -play, and I said I did not care for it much. I thought it slow and not -the sort of play for a roof-garden.</p> - -<p>“He said, ‘It is different from those you usually see on the -roof-garden. It is a relief to see it, and I think it will be a -success.’ I said I doubted it.</p> - -<p>“A few moments later he said, ‘What are you doing in Wall street -now—any speculating?’ I answered that I did not speculate in Wall -street. He said he thought there was a great chance in copper; he -mentioned Amalgamated and one other.</p> - -<p>“And he also said Steel was good; he could not see why steel stocks were -kept down; the company was doing a bigger business than ever. He said if -he had any money he would put it in steel and copper, particularly -copper.”</p> - -<p>“Then suddenly he said: ‘Where are you going this summer?’ I told him -that I was going to Europe on Thursday. He wanted to know what ship I -was going on, and when I told him he said he did not like the ship.</p> - -<p>“He said he was going on the Amerika because he could get on that ship a -large suite of rooms, where he could have his meals served in his -apartments.</p> - -<p>“Then he said: ‘Are you alone over here?’ I told him that I had left my -wife in Paris.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_187" id="page_187">{187}</a></span></p> - -<p>“When Thaw left me he walked around several times, looking over the -audience, toward the place where he subsequently shot White. Finally his -friends arrived, and then I heard three pistol shots and saw a cloud of -black smoke. I saw Thaw after the shooting, aiming his pistol toward the -floor.</p> - -<p>“I went to the entrance, keeping my eyes on Thaw all the while. Then I -saw a man lying face downward on the floor. The man’s face was so -blackened with powder I did not recognize my brother-in-law and left the -place without knowing who the man was.”</p> - -<p>Smith on cross-examination asserted Thaw was not intoxicated on the -night of the murder.</p> - -<p>Jerome next asked Abe Hummel this question:</p> - -<p>“Did you on October 27, 1903, see Evelyn Nesbit Thaw in your office?”</p> - -<p>“I did,” replied the lawyer.</p> - -<p>“At that conversation did Mrs. Thaw inform you that Thaw wanted to -injure White and put him in the penitentiary and that Thaw had compelled -her time and time again to sign statements about White and that those -documents charged White with having drugged Evelyn Nesbit when she was -about fifteen years old and that she, Evelyn Nesbit, had told you that -Thaw had beaten her for not signing the papers?”</p> - -<p>Hummel was not allowed to answer then, on objections by Delmas, but the -witness said he was acting for Stanford White at the time of the -conference.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_188" id="page_188">{188}</a></span></p> - -<p>The district attorney made an impassioned argument to secure the -admission of Hummel’s testimony. He said:</p> - -<p>“Your Honor has ruled and rules, as I believe, with entire correctness, -that as to the truth or falsity as to whether Stanford White did do -these acts, we on this trial have nothing to do, the issue being, did -the defendant’s mind become unhinged by these and other things that have -been proven in evidence? Was an insanity induced by this revelation and -the others that appear in evidence which so swept reason from its -moorings that when he killed Stanford White that night he did not know -the nature and the quality of the act and that it was wrong?</p> - -<p>“Your Honor’s rulings have reduced the case to that, and have properly -reduced it, in my estimation, to that point.</p> - -<p>“Now on that question of whether or not his mind was unhinged by these -revelations, whether or no these revelations ever were made to him is -surely most important. It is not collateral. It goes to the very root of -the case.</p> - -<p>“They claim that as Thaw sat in the hotel in Paris that night and asked -her to marry him and she said she would not because of White, and she -then cryingly told how this man had drugged her when but a girl of -fifteen—they contend that this picture unhinged his mind. Your Honor -has ruled we have nothing to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_189" id="page_189">{189}</a></span> do with the truth or falsity of her story. -We have nothing to do with whether Stanford White did or did not do -these things. The issue here is did or did not this defendant’s mind -become unhinged when he heard Evelyn Nesbit’s story.</p> - -<p>“If this jury believes that she told this awful story would it not be a -fact that they would carry it in their minds and would it not weigh -heavily?</p> - -<p>“If on the other hand I can show that Mrs. Thaw did not tell Thaw in -Paris that White drugged her it will be a matter for the jury to -consider seriously in determining whether or not Thaw was insane when he -killed Stanford White.</p> - -<p>“If I can show that Evelyn Nesbit Thaw under the solemnity of an oath -swore that White had never wronged her; if I can show that she repelled -the advances of the man and that Thaw whipped and beat her because she -would not affix her signature to an affidavit charging White wronged -her; if I can show that she said to Hummel: ‘He beat me when we were in -Paris; he lashed me with a whip because I would not sign papers;’ if I -can show she swore ‘Stanford White never touched me’; if I can show that -Thaw wanted her to sign papers in order to put White in the -penitentiary—I can then show that the evidence in question is of vital -importance.</p> - -<p>“If I can show that she has made contradictory statements, the testimony -of Doctors Evans and Wag<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_190" id="page_190">{190}</a></span>ner, which was based on her statement contained -in the hypothetical question, can be stricken from the records.</p> - -<p>“There is the crux of the case as it appears in the evidence, and the -question becomes one of what the law says on this subject of introducing -contrary statements of a witness.</p> - -<p>“I was sincere when I said that I knew nothing in history or literature -could compare with the heroic sacrifice made by Evelyn Nesbit when she -refused to accept the proffered hand of Thaw in Paris—if the story told -by Evelyn is true!”</p> - -<p>The court made no decision on the question at issue, and examination of -Hummel was resumed.</p> - -<p>“At the interview in your office,” asked Mr. Jerome, “did Evelyn Nesbit, -prior to your dictating anything, tell you that she had told Thaw that -it was not true that Stanford White had drugged her?”</p> - -<p>Mr. Delmas was on his feet to object, but before he could do so and -immediately after the district attorney had ceased to speak, Hummel -said, in a loud voice: “She certainly did.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Delmas looked at the witness, and, with scorn in his voice, said: -“And you call yourself a lawyer!” Then, after a bitter clash with the -district attorney, in which temper was shown on both sides, Jerome being -denounced, Delmas said, “Let the answer stand, I waive my right.”</p> - -<p>Jerome turned to Hummel again and asked:<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_191" id="page_191">{191}</a></span></p> - -<p>“Did Evelyn Nesbit, as she was then known, say to you that Thaw had -prepared documents charging Stanford White with having drugged her when -she was 15, and insisted upon her signing them, but that she told Thaw -she would not, because the statement was not true?”</p> - -<p>The court ruled this question could not be answered until Evelyn Nesbit -Thaw had been recalled and testified as to whether or not Hummel was -acting as her attorney or as White’s.</p> - -<p>The next testimony was by Dr. Austin Flint, famous alienist for the -prosecution. In response to a question which required an hour and a -quarter to read, Dr. Flint said Thaw was sane when he killed White. The -question was practically a review of the tragedy and trial.</p> - -<p>The other $250-a-day alienists for the state—Drs. William B. Pritchard -of the New York Polyclinic Institute, Albert Warren Ferris of the -College of Physicians and Surgeons, A. R. Diefendorf of the State -Hospital of Middletown, Conn., and a professor of mental diseases at -Yale University, Dr. William E. Mabon, superintendent of the New York -state hospital for the insane on Wards Island, and Dr. William Hirsch of -the Cornell Medical College made the same reply to the same question. -All swore Thaw was perfectly rational and knew what he was doing when he -shot White.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_192" id="page_192">{192}</a></span></p> - -<p>Jerome had hurled his strongest attack against the defense in this -desperate effort to prove Thaw sane at the time of the killing. While he -was smiling in triumph Delmas said:</p> - -<p>“Call Evelyn Nesbit Thaw.”</p> - -<p>Pale and apparently almost a nervous wreck the beautiful child wife took -the stand.</p> - -<p>“Did you,” asked Delmas, “when you visited Abe Hummel in his office call -upon him then and there, in a professional capacity with a view to -having his legal advice as a counsellor-at-law?”</p> - -<p>“I did,” was the answer.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Thaw then left the stand.</p> - -<p>Justice Fitzgerald then ruled that the defense could not now plead the -professional privilege in bar of Hummel’s testimony for the privilege -was involuntarily waived when young Mrs. Thaw herself took the stand and -told of the occurrences in Hummel’s office.</p> - -<p>This was a hard blow to the defense and the Napoleanic Delmas was -enshrouded in temporary defeat.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_193" id="page_193">{193}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI.<br /><br /> -<small>Shocking Disclosures in Famous Affidavit.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">DOCUMENT DECLARED TO HAVE BEEN SIGNED BY EVELYN THAW INTRODUCED IN -EVIDENCE—CHARGES THAW CHOKED HER, AND BEAT HER WITH A RAWHIDE -WHIP—ANOTHER ATTACK THE NEXT DAY—FAINTED IN AGONY—BEATEN AND -CHOKED AGAIN AND AGAIN—DEFENDANT DECLARED TO HAVE TAKEN EVELYN’S -DIAMONDS AND MONEY—THREATENED WITH BODILY INJURY UNLESS SHE WOULD -ACCUSE WHITE, IS CHARGE—AFFIDAVIT ASSERTS WHITE DID NOT WRONG HER.</p></div> - -<p>Startling charges that Harry Kendall Thaw administered unmerciful -lashings to Evelyn Nesbit, and tortured her because she would not accuse -Stanford White, were made in the famous affidavit prepared by Abe Hummel -and allowed by Justice Fitzgerald to be introduced in evidence, after -Hummel had sworn the prisoner’s sweetheart—whom he later married—had -signed and sworn to the document.</p> - -<p>Threats of death were added to the pitiless whippings and torture, some -of which made the girl—then traveling in Europe as Thaw’s wife—faint -in agony, and on one occasion confined her to bed for three weeks, so -read the affidavit. In this document Evelyn declared White did not -injure her. With blanched<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_194" id="page_194">{194}</a></span> face—shuddering—Thaw listened to the -reading of the document. He had never heard it before. The full text of -this affidavit, classed by many lawyers as “the most remarkable exhibit -ever introduced in a New York law court,” was as follows:</p> - -<p>“Evelyn Nesbit vs. Harry Kendall Thaw.</p> - -<p>“Supreme Court, city and county of New York:</p> - -<p>“Evelyn Nesbit, being duly sworn, says:</p> - -<p>“I reside at the Savoy hotel, Fifth avenue and Fifty-ninth street, city -of New York. I am 18 years of age, having been born Christmas day, 1884. -For several months prior to June, 1903, I had been at Dr. Bull’s -hospital at 33 West Thirty-third street, New York city, where I had had -an operation performed on me for appendicitis during the month of June, -and then went to Europe with my mother, at the request of Harry Kendall -Thaw, the defendant above named.</p> - -<p>“My mother and I had apartments at the Hotel Maintenon in Paris, France, -and from there traveled to Boulogne, during which time we were -accompanied by Mr. Thaw. Mr. Thaw left us once for London, England. -Mother and I remained at the Imperial hotel about three weeks.</p> - -<p>“While the said Thaw was in London he wrote me a number of letters. He -then returned to Boulogne and took my mother and myself and we went back -to Paris, where we stayed at the Langham hotel. We left there about two -weeks after and the said Thaw, my<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_195" id="page_195">{195}</a></span> mother and I returned to London, -where we located at Claridge’s hotel; that is, my mother and I lived in -that place, while Mr. Thaw stayed in Claridge’s hotel for some little -time and then removed to the Russell Square hotel, in Russell square, -London.</p> - -<p>“I went with Mr. Thaw to Amsterdam, Holland, by way of Folkestone. I was -ill during this entire period. Mr. Thaw and I traveled throughout -Holland, stopping at various places to make connecting trains and then -went to Munich, Germany.</p> - -<p>“We then traveled through the Bavarian highlands, going to the Austrian -Tyrol. During all this time said Thaw and myself were known as husband -and wife and were represented by the said Thaw and known under the name -of Mr. and Mrs. Dellis.</p> - -<p>“After traveling for about five or six weeks, the said Thaw rented a -castle in the Austrian Tyrol known as the Schloss Katzenstein, which is -situated about half way up a very isolated mountain. This castle must -have been built centuries ago, as the rooms and windows were all -old-fashioned. When we reached the place there were a number of servants -in the castle. I saw a butler, a cook, and a maid. They were the only -servants there.</p> - -<p>“We occupied one entire end of the castle, two bedrooms, the parlor, and -a drawing room. I was assigned to a bedroom for my personal use.</p> - -<p>“The first night we reached the Schloss Katzenstein<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_196" id="page_196">{196}</a></span> I was very tired -and went to bed right after dinner. In the morning I was awakened by Mr. -Thaw knocking on the door asking me to come to breakfast, saying that -the coffee was getting cold. I immediately jumped out of bed and hastily -dressed. I walked out of my room and sat down to breakfast with said -Thaw.</p> - -<p>“After breakfast, he said he wished to tell me something and asked me to -step into my bedroom. I entered the bedroom, when Thaw without any -provocation grasped me by the throat.</p> - -<p>“I saw by his face that he was in a dreadfully excited condition. His -eyes were glaring and his hands grasped a rawhide whip.</p> - -<p>“He seized hold of me, placed his fingers in my mouth and tried to choke -me. He then without the slightest provocation inflicted on me several -severe blows with the rawhide whip, so severely that my skin was cut and -bruised.</p> - -<p>“I begged him to desist, but he refused.</p> - -<p>“I shouted and I cried.</p> - -<p>“He stopped then for a minute to rest, and then renewed his attack on -me, beating me with the rawhide whip.</p> - -<p>“I screamed for help, but no one heard me; the servants did not hear me -for the reason that they were in the other end of the castle.</p> - -<p>“Thereupon the said Thaw renewed his brutal attacks until I was unable -to move.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_197" id="page_197">{197}</a></span></p> - -<p>“The following morning the said Thaw administered another castigation -similar to the day before. He took the rawhide whip and belabored me -unmercifully.</p> - -<p>“I swooned and I did not know how long I remained in that condition -until I regained consciousness.</p> - -<p>“He left me in a frightful condition. My fingers were numb, and it was -nearly three weeks before I sufficiently recovered to get out of my bed -and walk.</p> - -<p>“When I had sufficiently recovered the said Thaw took me to a place -in — —, where Italy and Austria join and then we went to Switzerland, -and stopped at a place called the Switzer house at Santa Maria.</p> - -<p>“The next morning I made some remark and said Thaw took me to my room, -and while in the room took a rattan and beat me until I screamed; when I -began to scream said Thaw again stuck his fingers into my mouth.</p> - -<p>“During all that time the said Thaw never attempted to make the -slightest excuse for his conduct or state what the provocation was.</p> - -<p>“During all the time my mother and I remained in England we occupied -apartments at 5 Avenue — —. I was constantly watched by detectives and -other hirelings of said Thaw, including the coachman and the valet.</p> - -<p>“When in Paris he assaulted me with a rattan for<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_198" id="page_198">{198}</a></span> half a day, at -intervals of half an hour or so, striking me severely.</p> - -<p>“One day my maid was in my room taking things out of the drawers and I -found a little silver box, oblong in shape, about two and a half inches -in length, containing a hypodermic syringe, and some other small -utensils. I asked Thaw what that was for, and he stated to me that he -had been ill, and had to make some excuse. He said he had been compelled -to take cocaine. The first time I found he was addicted to the taking of -cocaine I saw the said Thaw administer the cocaine to himself internally -by taking small pills.</p> - -<p>“On one occasion Thaw attempted to compel me to take one of these pills, -but I refused to do so.</p> - -<p>“While in Paris I suffered from sickness by reason of the beatings he -had administered to me and that he had given me, and was confined to my -bed in my room about two weeks.</p> - -<p>“While we were in Paris the said Thaw compelled me by threatening to -beat me to write a letter to a Miss Simonton, who was staying at the -Algonquin hotel in the city of New York and knew my mother, asking her -to come to Paris. When she got there he told her a lot of falsehoods and -lies about me, telling me previously that if I did not indorse what he -said he would kill me.</p> - -<p>“While we were at the Schloss Katzenstein the said Thaw took from me -without my consent and still re<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_199" id="page_199">{199}</a></span>tains in his possession two diamond -rings, one sapphire ring with a diamond on each side, one pearl locket, -one gold purse and $400 in money consisting of drafts from Thomas Cook & -Sons. He had also in his possession in the city of Paris wearing apparel -of mine, consisting of five gowns, a number of hats, and three parasols.</p> - -<p>“I had not seen my mother since I left her in London, and I am informed -within the last few weeks that she returned to the city of New York from -London on the steamer Campania.</p> - -<p>“I arrived in this city Saturday, Oct. 24, 1903, having returned from -Paris by way of Cherbourg.</p> - -<p>“Before I left Europe the said Thaw had stated to me that his lawyer, a -Mr. Longfellow, would meet me at the dock and asked me if I needed -anything. He said he would see that all my requirements received -attention. I had a letter from him to the said Longfellow in which the -said Thaw asked the said Longfellow to have me followed by detectives -and also to see that everything I wanted was done and to see that I was -not troubled by anybody.</p> - -<p>“I had received a number of cablegrams from Thaw which I have delivered -to my counsel, Abraham H. Hummel.</p> - -<p>“I have been repeatedly told by the said Thaw that he is very inimical -to a married man whom he said he wanted me to injure and that Thaw would -get him<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_200" id="page_200">{200}</a></span> into the penitentiary; that the said Thaw had begged me time -and time again to swear to written documents which he had prepared, -involving this married man and charging him with drugging me when I was -15 years of age. This was not so; and I so told him.</p> - -<p>“But because I refused to sign these papers said Thaw not alone -threatened me with bodily injury, but inflicted on me the great bodily -injury I have herein described.</p> - -<p>“Subscribed to before me this 27th day of October, 1903.</p> - -<p>“Sworn to before me this 27th day of October, 1903.”</p> - -<p class="r"> -(Signature of notary.)<br /> -</p> - -<p>“The state rests,” announced District Attorney Jerome after reading the -affidavit, and Attorney Delmas then attacked Hummel. He read the record -of Hummel’s conviction in the Dodge-Morse divorce scandal, in which the -lawyer was accused—just as Evelyn Thaw had accused him—of preparing a -false affidavit and false testimony. When Hummel was on the witness -stand he denied that in drawing the affidavit he was acting as counsel -for Evelyn Nesbit; the document itself proved that he was. The papers -were to have been filed, it was stated, in a suit for damages against -Thaw.</p> - -<p>More sensations were ahead.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_201" id="page_201">{201}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII.<br /><br /> -<small>Jerome Calls Thaw Madman.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">PHYSICIANS ASSERT YOUNG MILLIONAIRE TO BE DEMENTED—ANGRY PROTEST -BY DELMAS—SENSATIONAL ARGUMENT BY DISTRICT ATTORNEY—BAD FAITH -CHARGED TO COUNSEL—LUNACY COMMISSION IS DEMANDED—THAW’S LETTERS -USED TO QUESTION HIS SANITY—COURT TAKES QUESTION UNDER ADVISEMENT.</p></div> - -<p>After the reading of the shocking affidavit, District Attorney Jerome -swore five of the alienists for the defense, at one time. He sought, -through asking them the same hypothetical question put by the defense, -to prove that Thaw was insane both at the time of the murder and at the -time of the trial.</p> - -<p>“I do not believe Harry Thaw was sane at the time he shot Stanford -White, nor do I believe he is sane now,” declared Dr. Graeme M. Hammond. -“I do not know whether he will ever recover.”</p> - -<p>Dr. Smith Ely Jelliffe, professor at Columbia Medical School, swore he -was convinced Thaw was crazed at the time of the murder, but that he -“had a sort of insane knowledge” of what he was doing.</p> - -<p>Dr. Charles W. Pilgrim asserted Thaw “Did not know the nature or the -quality of his act on the Madison Square Roof-garden.” Dr. Minas -Gregory<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_202" id="page_202">{202}</a></span> also swore the prisoner was insane at the time of the crime, -and others made the same statement.</p> - -<p>This was a startling change of base for the prosecution. Instead of -trying to prove the young millionaire was sane both at the time of the -tragedy and at the time of the trial, Jerome astounded the legal world -by endeavoring to prove him hopelessly insane. The prosecutor had given -up all hope of securing a verdict which would make the death-chair the -penalty.</p> - -<p>Delmas was angry.</p> - -<p>“We propose,” he shouted, “honestly to convince you, Mr. Jerome, that -Thaw was insane when he shot Stanford White—and sane now—by the very -witnesses whom you have subpœnaed and brought into court for the obvious -and only conceivable purpose of telling to this jury under oath the -truth and the whole truth.”</p> - -<p>The jury was ordered to leave during arguments over further testimony of -alienists.</p> - -<p>In his startling argument after the jury retired Mr. Jerome said:</p> - -<p>“I want to explain and make my position clear. As I understand the -matter Dr. Hamilton, who was originally called into the case by the -defense, is ready to testify that in his opinion this defendant was -insane, that he was of unsound mind when he committed the homicide, and -that as he sits at the table<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_203" id="page_203">{203}</a></span> today he is suffering from a mental -disease known as paranoia, a disease in which the sufferer until the -last stages of the disease is capable of knowing the nature and quality -of his acts.</p> - -<p>“I understand that Dr. Hamilton so advised the defendant’s counsel and -that his counsel was then changed.</p> - -<p>“I am willing to throw open the door wide, and ask to let all these -facts come out, but I will not agree to Mr. Delmas confining his -questions to these four visits and keep me down to the close limits of -evidence and not be allowed to go into the real facts of the case.</p> - -<p>“Your honor knows,” continued District Attorney Jerome, “what my -position here has been all along. We have no right to be here trying -this man if the real facts are known. Your honor knows that I have tried -ever since this case opened to bring out these facts and that I have not -been able to do so.</p> - -<p>“If the real facts as to the mental condition of this defendant can be -brought out the court would be shocked and horrified and would stop this -trial instanter. So deeply have I been impressed with all this that I -have served notice on the attorney of record that when this case is -over, if I am convinced they possess the facts that I believe they -possess, I will lay the matter before the Appellate division of the -Supreme court.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_204" id="page_204">{204}</a></span></p> - -<p>“There is not a man who has seen this defendant sitting there at the -table who believes he is capable of advising counsel. We are today -trying a man who is insane, while under the law he is sane. He is a -paranoiac, and while he is insane he is not insane in the eyes of the -law, for strictly speaking he knows the nature and quality of his acts.</p> - -<p>“A man named Taylor went to death under exactly similar circumstances. -The Appellate court said that he was insane, but he was a paranoiac, and -while his act was committed as the result of a delusion, this delusion -was not such as would have made his act justifiable had it been true. It -was one of the most gruesome acts the law has ever done.</p> - -<p>“In five minutes time,” cried the prosecutor, banging his fist on the -lawyers’ table, “I can show that this man is incapable of advising his -counsel as he sits here in court. I will present facts which will -prevent this trial from going further!”</p> - -<p>“In view of the statement made by the district attorney,” said Justice -Fitzgerald, “I now ask that I be given all the information in the -possession of either counsel—all the evidence as to the defendant’s -present state of mind which can be presented to the court. I do this -before instituting the proceedings I understand have been asked for.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Delmas wanted to know if a commission in lunacy was under -discussion.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_205" id="page_205">{205}</a></span></p> - -<p>“The court,” replied Justice Fitzgerald, “is asked to hear testimony -while the jury is out of the room, and then to determine its course.”</p> - -<p>“All of my own experts, Dr. Bingaman, the family physician, and Dr. -Deemar, the physician to the Copley family, have informed me,” said -District Attorney Jerome, “that this man is suffering from paranoia. -This paranoia is characterized by systematized delusions. While -suffering from one of these insane delusions this man shot and killed -Stanford White.”</p> - -<p>“Did your own experts tell you that?” inquired Justice Fitzgerald of -District Attorney Jerome.</p> - -<p>“They certainly did,” replied Mr. Jerome, “but from the record of the -case I was prevented from bringing this out. I was bound down to a -hypothetical question, and my witnesses testified only as to the -hypothetical question. There is heredity in this man which he cannot -avoid.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Delmas again arose and inquired if a commission in lunacy had been -applied for.</p> - -<p>“I so understand it,” said Justice Fitzgerald, “if the court shall so -decide.”</p> - -<p>“We are prepared to combat that application,” said Mr. Delmas.</p> - -<p>“I have made no formal application,” explained Mr. Jerome. “I submit to -your honor the fact as he sits there the defendant is incapable of -directing his defense. I leave the matter entirely to the court.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_206" id="page_206">{206}</a></span>”</p> - -<p>Mr. Delmas declared Mr. Jerome’s charges were entirely unsupported.</p> - -<p>“The district attorney’s remarks were made under his oath of office,” -said Justice Fitzgerald, with some display of feeling.</p> - -<p>“He has appealed to my conscience, and I now demand the production of -all the evidence which any of counsel may possess.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Delmas said he understood Mr. Jerome to imply unprofessional conduct -on the part of the defense in suppressing testimony.</p> - -<p>“There was an implication of misconduct,” said Justice Fitzgerald.</p> - -<p>“I hear of it today for the first time,” said Mr. Delmas.</p> - -<p>Mr. Gleason here asked to be heard in behalf of the defense.</p> - -<p>“I desire to say,” said Mr. Gleason, “that when this case began I -attempted to introduce evidence on the very point which the district -attorney now demands, but it was ruled out on his own objections.”</p> - -<p>“I remember,” said Justice Fitzgerald, “ruling out such testimony on the -ground that it was in relation to collateral lines.”</p> - -<p>“We have made a perfect defense here,” asserted Attorney Gleason, “and -it is the duty of this court to submit that defense to the jury— —”</p> - -<p>“This court does not need any instructions as to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_207" id="page_207">{207}</a></span> its duty,” interrupted -Justice Fitzgerald. “That is a matter the court can attend to for -itself. All I want is all of the information I can get on this subject. -The court wants this information, but if I can not get it, I will have -to act as I see fit.”</p> - -<p>For a moment all the lawyers were talking excitedly at once, and Justice -Fitzgerald was forced to rap sharply with his gavel. Finally Mr. Jerome -made himself heard.</p> - -<p>“The court has asked for all the facts I have in my possession, and I -will willingly furnish them. I will give them in the form of an -affidavit. I will also furnish the affidavit of Dr. Mabon and Dr. -MacDonald, and if his professional privilege is waived I will have an -affidavit from Dr. Hamilton.”</p> - -<p>“The learned district attorney has just said that this defendant is at -this moment so insane as not to be able to instruct his counsel,” broke -in Mr. Gleason in an angry tone, “and now he asks that this man whom he -has dubbed insane waive a privilege.”</p> - -<p>“His attorneys can waive it for him,” said Mr. Jerome.</p> - -<p>“The district attorney knows that that cannot be done,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>“We will get the other affidavits first,” said Justice Fitzgerald, “and -then we will discuss that matter.”</p> - -<p>Several other clashes took place, and ended in a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_208" id="page_208">{208}</a></span> formal demand by -District Attorney Jerome that a commission in lunacy be appointed to -pass on the mental condition of Harry Thaw, that the young prisoner -might be sent to a mad-house at once if found insane. Justice Fitzgerald -asked time to consider the question, and demanded from both sides the -names of all the alienists involved in the case, to guide him in -selecting a commission.</p> - -<p>Jerome was happy. He made this statement:</p> - -<p>“The situation is just what I have been looking for all during the -trial. A man who should be incarcerated in an insane asylum should not -be on trial for his life.”</p> - -<p>The justice held a special session of court, with the jury absent, for -the purpose of receiving affidavits from alienists for both sides, to -aid him in determining whether or not a commission in lunacy should be -appointed. Mr. Jerome called the court’s special attention to the -following statements by Dr. Carlos MacDonald:</p> - -<p>“After careful examination of the exhibits and the hypothetical question -and the testimony and affidavits of Mr. Cobb and assuming evidence -stated in the case to be true, my personal observation, in court during -the trial and also including certain observations that I made of the -defendant in the library of the district attorney’s office on the 27th -day of June, 1906, I am of the opinion that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_209" id="page_209">{209}</a></span> defendant is now and -for some time past has been suffering from a form of mental disease -commonly known among men skilled in mental diseases as paranoia. Yet it -is my opinion, based upon what has just been enumerated, that when the -defendant killed Stanford White on the 25th day of June, 1906, he was -then suffering from said mental disease commonly known as paranoia, but -that his then mental state was such that he knew the nature and quality -of the act that he was doing ... and that he then and there knew such -act on his part was against the current morality of the people of this -state and in violation of law.</p> - -<p>“I am of the opinion, upon the facts above enumerated, that the mental -disease commonly known as paranoia, from which the defendant was -suffering on the night of June 25, 1906, is a form of mental disease -from which it is reasonably certain he will not recover, and that the -discharge of the said Harry K. Thaw would be dangerous to public peace -and safety, and that he should be committed to an institution for the -insane.”</p> - -<p>In arguing to secure the investigation of Thaw’s mental state, Mr. -Jerome said:</p> - -<p>“As long as forty days ago, Dr. Austin Flint, one of the state’s -alienists, came to me in my office and told me that after watching Thaw -in court every day of the trial he was solemnly of the opinion that the -defendant was not capable of instructing his counsel.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_210" id="page_210">{210}</a></span> I was much -concerned, and with my assistant and Drs. MacDonald and Mabon held a -long conference. I then called in other alienists, and after submitting -to them all the evidence I had in my possession they joined with the -others in declaring Thaw a paranoiac.</p> - -<p>“I am convinced Harry Thaw should be tried for his life.”</p> - -<p>To strengthen his argument, the prosecutor gave Justice Fitzgerald -several letters written by Thaw to J. Dennison Lyon, his Pittsburg -banker. Some were written before the tragedy and some while Thaw was in -the Tombs, but all, Jerome asserted, went to show Thaw was insane. One -of these letters, written from the Republican Club, was as follows:</p> - -<p>“Dear Denny—I’m sorry that the manager of Miss N’s (Evelyn Nesbit) -hotel is an idiot. She stopped one night at a place called the -Cumberland, but was disturbed by street noises. No one was moved, and -all meals were served. Now she has a better place, with a nice -woman—Mrs. Kane (Caine), a friend of her family.</p> - -<p>“I never saw this Sweat, nor spoke nor wrote to him. You know of her -misfortunes.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Holman married her mother three years too late. He is trying to -keep her quiet, and must do so. Should the facts come out, no one but -would believe she sold the child to the most notorious dastard in New -York. Everything proves it.</p> - -<p>“I, and a few other persons, know she did not<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_211" id="page_211">{211}</a></span> mean wrong, but since -infancy she was jealous of and disliked the child, and was gulled to an -unbelievable extent by this blackguard and — — —”</p> - -<p>Some rambling letters about transactions in stocks followed this, and -then came these letters:</p> - -<p>“Dear Denny—I’m sorry to trouble you, but I don’t understand. I was -overdrawn $10,063.36. Paid in $8,982.70. (6370). (?) Did you make a note -for $10,000—leaving my balance near $9,000 or make a note for -$1,130.85, leaving no balance?</p> - -<p>“I lost almost nothing at M. C. playing. Just $1,400 for four weeks—a -good deal less than the percentage. I bought some pearls and a strong -automobile.”</p> - -<p>This letter was written after the trial started:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“Dear Denny—The package arrived safely, but I can’t send them the -slip for 11 (eleven) days, as we thought it best to leave bundle -sealed in Gleason’s desk until he returns. He worked exceedingly -hard circumventing the crooked deal between Jerome’s first -assistant and that judge—and will combine rest with affairs. -Friday he starts for Mexico with — —. If needed a telegram will -always catch him, then he could be back in two days—if we see a -chance for an early trial before any other judge—but we believe it -will be first week January.</p> - -<p>“All very well. Yours very sinc’ly,</p> - -<p class="r"> -“<span class="smcap">H. K. Thaw</span>.<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_212" id="page_212">{212}</a></span></p> - -<p>“P. S.—I hope these blackmailers try you again.”</p></div> - -<p>The following peculiar letter no one in court could understand:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“Dear Denny—or Frank: Please try to remember who was — —. It is -said a relative of his is on my jury. If he is friendly or neutral -only write me a brief answer, but if he had any trouble with you or -I or is unfriendly please telegraph, ‘The iron is,’ eh? I will know -what you mean. I hope he is all right, we can leave jury as it is. -Of course, this is very secret.</p> - -<p>“All well. Y in haste.</p> - -<p class="r"> -<span class="smcap">H. K. Thaw</span>.”<br /> -</p></div> - -<p>The defense presented evidence equally strong, and Justice Fitzgerald -plainly was in a quandary.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_213" id="page_213">{213}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.<br /><br /> -<small>Lunacy Commission is Appointed.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">EVELYN THAW CARRIES TRYING INFORMATION TO HER HUSBAND—ACCUSED -ISSUES STATEMENT—PERSONNEL OF THE COMMISSION—JEROME -BALKS—REMARKABLE INQUIRY IS RUSHED—THAW SUBMITS TO -EXAMINATION—HOW THE YOUNG DEFENDANT PASSED EASTER.</p></div> - -<p>To the surprise of every one connected with the case, Justice Fitzgerald -on March 26, suddenly called District Attorney Jerome and the lawyers -for the defense into a conference and announced his decision to appoint -a commission to pass upon the sanity or insanity of Harry Thaw.</p> - -<p>Upon the verdict of the three disinterested men whom he selected was to -depend whether Thaw would ever face the jury again, or go directly to -the Matteawan asylum.</p> - -<p>The decision was embodied in a written memorandum, prepared for the -minutes of the court. The court based his decision on the conflict of -affidavits as presented by the opposing sides, saying they were too -diametrically at odds to permit of a decision other than in favor of an -impartial inquiry. After citing the suggestion made in court by District -Attorney Jerome and the various affidavits presented on both sides, -Justice Fitzgerald’s memorandum reads:<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_214" id="page_214">{214}</a></span></p> - -<p>“I do, therefore, in pursuance of the statute in such cases made and -provided, hereby appoint Morgan J. O’Brien, Peter B. Olney and Leopold -Putzel, M. D., three disinterested persons, a commission forthwith to -examine into the mental condition of said Harry K. Thaw, and to report -to the court with all convenient speed the facts and their opinion as to -whether at the time of such examination the said Harry K. Thaw was in -such a state of idiocy, imbecility, lunacy, or insanity so as to be -incapable of rightly understanding his own condition, the nature of the -charges against him, and of conducting his defense in a rational -manner.”</p> - -<p>The task of announcing the decision of the court to Thaw was allotted to -his wife, who tearfully accepted it. Messrs. Hartridge and O’Reilly went -with Mrs. Evelyn Thaw to the Tombs and there in the hospital ward they -met the prisoner. This ward had been placed at their disposal because of -the crowd in the usual consultation room. Thaw was cheerful.</p> - -<p>“It is all right, dearie,” he said to his wife, “I am not afraid of a -commission. I am a sane man now; just as sane as the judge himself, and -I am sure that any fair-minded commission will so declare me.”</p> - -<p>The attorneys quickly withdrew from the conference and Thaw and his wife -sat for a long time together discussing what the commission probably<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_215" id="page_215">{215}</a></span> -would do. When Mr. Hartridge came out he declared:</p> - -<p>“The fortitude of the boy [meaning Thaw] astonishes me sometimes, and it -certainly did today.”</p> - -<p>Later in the afternoon Thaw sent out a statement, in which he said:</p> - -<p>“Everything is perfectly satisfactory to me. I am sure I will be able to -satisfy the commission that I am sane at the present time. Anything -Justice Fitzgerald does is all right. He has always acted in a fair and -impartial manner.”</p> - -<p>The brothers of the defendant did not go to the Tombs, but hurried -uptown with the news of the commission to their mother and sisters, who -were waiting in their apartments. Thaw had divined the result of the -conference with Justice Fitzgerald and was not in the least surprised.</p> - -<p>The personnel of the commission lent a new distinction to the already -notable case.</p> - -<p>Morgan J. O’Brien, a former justice of the Appellate division of the -Supreme Court, was one of the trustees, with Grover Cleveland, of the -Hyde stock in the Equitable Life Assurance Society purchased by Thomas -F. Ryan just prior to the insurance investigation. When he was a -candidate for re-election to the bench in 1901 as a Democrat, Justice -O’Brien was unopposed. President Roosevelt made a trip from Washington -to Oyster Bay to cast his ballot for him.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_216" id="page_216">{216}</a></span></p> - -<p>Peter B. Olney, formerly district attorney of New York county, was a -member with William C. Whitney of the commission appointed in 1879 to -revise the laws of the state affecting public interests in New York -city. He was a graduate of Harvard.</p> - -<p>Dr. Leopold Putzel, the third member of the commission, was a graduate -of Bellevue Hospital Medical School and had a long experience in that -institution. He qualified before the State Medical Board as examiner in -lunacy.</p> - -<p>A surprise was ahead, however, for former Justice O’Brien declined to -serve as a member of the board, after he had been sworn in. He gave -ill-health as a reason. Attorney David McClure, a well-known reform -worker in New York, was appointed to fill the vacancy.</p> - -<p>When the commission was finally in court together Harry Thaw was brought -in and found all the members of his family awaiting him. He looked -exceedingly well, and smiled a greeting to his wife, mother, sisters and -brothers.</p> - -<p>The commission began its hearings at once. At the end of the session, -which was held behind closed doors, Attorney Peabody for Thaw announced:</p> - -<p>“We are perfectly satisfied.”</p> - -<p>Hardly had the commission seated themselves when Thaw appeared. He was -directed to a chair within the inner counsel rail and sat directly -beneath the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_217" id="page_217">{217}</a></span> eyes of the men whose decision as to his mental capacity -was of such vital import to him.</p> - -<p>Thaw appeared to be in excellent spirits and sat unflinchingly under the -steady gaze they turned upon him. In the big courtroom there were only -the newspaper reporters and three of the prisoner’s family—his wife, -Evelyn Nesbit Thaw, who has never missed an opportunity to be near him -since he was placed on trial; and his two brothers, Edward and Josiah -Thaw. Mrs. Thaw sat between the brothers.</p> - -<p>After the session had formally been opened by the reading of the court’s -order, Clifford W. Hartridge, acting as counsel of record for Thaw, -arose and stated to the commission that his client was ready at any time -to submit to such examination as the commission desired. His only -request was that the hearing should be private.</p> - -<p>“Being a prisoner on trial for his life,” said Mr. Hartridge, “he feels -he should be protected as far as possible in this matter.”</p> - -<p>Chairman McClure then announced that whatever examination of Thaw the -commission might decide upon would be held behind closed doors.</p> - -<p>District Attorney Jerome protested. He remarked that if the -commissioners resolved themselves into a body of medical examiners and -undertook a physical examination of the defendant in private, he would -not attend such an examination.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_218" id="page_218">{218}</a></span></p> - -<p>“But the law requires you to attend the session of the commission,” -suggested Chairman McClure.</p> - -<p>“I shall attend all sessions of the commission sitting as judges in -lunacy,” replied Mr. Jerome, “but I am not required to attend a board of -medical examiners.”</p> - -<p>Chairman McClure then said the inquiry the commission had in mind was a -simple one—to determine whether at this time the defendant is capable -of understanding the proceedings against him and of rationally advising -his counsel. The commission desires to limit the scope of inquiry as far -as possible. The court, he said, wished the inquiry to be brief in order -that the pending trial might be disposed of at the earliest possible -moment. The commission had decided not to take into consideration the -conflicting affidavits submitted to Justice Fitzgerald by Thaw’s counsel -and the opposing alienists, as they were considered as having been -prepared solely for the information of the court.</p> - -<p>The first two days of the hearing were taken up with a mental and -physical examination of Thaw. He was asked scores of questions, but the -nature of these never was made public.</p> - -<p>While the investigation was in progress Easter came, and on that Sunday -afternoon Thaw had a two hours’ conference with his wife in the Tombs -prison. The visit by Evelyn Nesbit Thaw was unusual. Never<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_219" id="page_219">{219}</a></span> before had -she called on her husband on Sunday. To do so it was necessary for her -to obtain from Commissioner of Corrections John V. Coggey a special -permit. Mr. Coggey granted it when Mrs. Thaw explained that she had been -unable to see much of her husband during the week and that she wanted to -be with him some time on Easter Sunday. Commissioner Coggey went to the -Tombs himself and remained there during the time that Mrs. Thaw was -there.</p> - -<p>Before leaving the Tombs Mrs. Thaw said there was no significance -attached to her visit. She said she merely wanted to visit her husband -on Easter.</p> - -<p>“Harry is cheerful and feels confident the commission will decide in his -favor,” she said.</p> - -<p>Mrs. Thaw looked exceptionally pretty. She was dressed in a plain brown -tailor-made suit. She wore a flat, round hat of black straw, such as -women wear in riding costume. Her veil was white and heavy. She looked -just a little pale, and her expression was sad, but she said she felt -quite well. The trip to and from the Tombs was made in the electric -hansom that Mrs. William Thaw, mother of the prisoner, uses in going to -and from the courthouse.</p> - -<p>Thaw deviated from his usual custom and attended special Protestant -Easter services conducted in the Tombs chapel by the Rev. Mr. Sanderson. -A special choir and orchestra was engaged for the service. Thaw seemed -to enjoy the music and the remarks of the minister.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_220" id="page_220">{220}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX.<br /><br /> -<small>Commission Finds Thaw Sane.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">CRISIS IN CASE IS REACHED—BLOW TO JEROME—EVELYN CARRIES GLAD -TIDINGS TO PRISONER—THAW EXPRESSES NO SURPRISE—PROSECUTOR -THREATENS TO APPEAL, BUT BOWS TO FINDING.</p></div> - -<p>One of the most dramatic phases of the great trial was at hand. The -defense suddenly announced it had closed its case before the lunacy -commission, and after a private examination of Thaw by the board Dr. -Allen R. Diefendorf told the members that Thaw was a paranoic and had -not recovered his sanity. “Thaw is insane now,” he swore.</p> - -<p>The crisis came on the morning of April 4, 1907. After a session lasting -nearly all night the commissioners filed into court and Chairman McClure -handed the following report to Justice Fitzgerald:</p> - -<p>“After careful examination of the defendant personally and of all the -evidence we find the following facts:</p> - -<p>“In the frequent and in some cases daily—during the several months last -past—intercourse had by the defendant with the Tombs physicians, -chaplains, keepers, other attendants, and the probation officer these<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_221" id="page_221">{221}</a></span> -persons failed to discover anything irrational in his conduct or speech.</p> - -<p>“The defendant has taken an active part in the conduct of the trial, has -made numerous suggestions orally in court and by letter as to the -selection of jurors and the examination of witnesses. Many of these -suggestions were deemed valuable and were adopted by his counsel, and -examination of the letters referred to shows that generally the -suggestions contained in them were material, sensible, and apparently -the product of a sane mind.</p> - -<p>“While the testimony of numerous experts called by the district attorney -and the defendant’s counsel is irreconcilable, that given by certain -experts who personally examined the defendant during the trial and since -the appointment of the commission, and who of all the alienists examined -had greatest opportunity of observing, disclosed the fact that no -indication of insanity at the present could be found in the speech, -conduct, or physical condition of the defendant.</p> - -<p>“The direct oral and physical examination of the defendant by the -commissioners themselves disclosed no insanity in the defendant at the -present time. Upon all of the facts it is our opinion that at the time -of our examination the said Harry K. Thaw was and is sane and was not -and is not in a state of idiocy, imbecility, lunacy, or insanity so as -to be incapable of rightly understanding his own condition, the nature<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_222" id="page_222">{222}</a></span> -of the charges against him, and of conducting his defense in a rational -manner.</p> - -<p class="r"> -“<span class="smcap">David McClure</span>,<br /> -“<span class="smcap">Peter B. Olney</span>,<br /> -“<span class="smcap">Leopold Putzel</span>.”<br /> -</p> - -<p>This was a staggering blow to Jerome, who protested loudly. The defense -was elated. Thaw was not in court to hear the decision, and the jurors -also were barred. All the members of the prisoner’s family, however, -were present, and Evelyn Thaw herself conveyed the glad news to her -husband. Harry was not surprised at the finding.</p> - -<p>“It is only what I expected,” he declared. “I am as sane as any man on -earth.”</p> - -<p>The district attorney, who had been threatening to “appeal to the -Appellate court and have the trial stopped,” suddenly decided to yield -to the inevitable.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_223" id="page_223">{223}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX"></a>CHAPTER XX.<br /><br /> -<small>Delmas, Nestor of Western Bar.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">SWAYS JURYMEN BY HIS ELOQUENCE—WAS BRILLIANT AS A STUDENT—HONORED -BY SANTA CLARA ACADEMY—STARTS POOR, AMASSES A FORTUNE—DELMAS’ -METHODS—IMPORTANT CASES HE HAS CONDUCTED.</p></div> - -<p>The supreme moment for the defense came on April 8, when Delphin M. -Delmas, the master orator of the Pacific coast bar, arose to address the -jury in what proved to be the greatest forensic effort heard in a New -York court since the days of Daniel Webster.</p> - -<p>Twelve jurymen sat spell-bound under the sway of his eloquence. One -wept. A mute, absorbed and sympathetic audience listened—the judge, -bending forward, his eyes fixed eagerly on Delmas; the defendant hanging -on the words that he hoped would set him free; the wife, the mother, the -sister—their faces distorted with the pain of suspense—clutching their -chairs, clenching their hands—all the while, rising and falling in -waves of emotion, the voice of Delmas echoing a masterful plea for the -life of Harry Thaw.</p> - -<p>Delmas himself proved little less interesting than his wonderful -argument. He first attracted attention in 1856 as a brilliant young -student in Santa Clara college in California.</p> - -<p>The following sketch of his life was published in the History of the -Bench and Bar of California:<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_224" id="page_224">{224}</a></span></p> - -<p>Mr. Delmas was graduated in 1862, and in 1863 received the degree of -Master of Arts with the highest honors. Entering the law department of -Yale College, he received from that University, in 1865, the degree of -Bachelor of Laws, and at the same time was admitted to the bar of the -State of Connecticut. Returning shortly thereafter to California, he was -admitted in February, 1866, in the Supreme Court. In May of that year he -opened an office in San Jose.</p> - -<p>Mr. Delmas remained at the bar in San Jose for sixteen years; and, in -that period, acquired a reputation for skill and ability of the first -order. He had also great prosperity from the standpoint of finance. He -early held the office, so important and lucrative in that rich section, -of District Attorney. He was a public speaker of acknowledged force and -grace. By his knowledge, talents and address he gathered around him more -friends and clients that any other man of his age in the State. Setting -forth without money resources he amassed a fortune. It did not take long -to accomplish all this; and when his fame had spread through and beyond -the State, he left the field where his most splendid visions had been -realized, and established himself in San Francisco. This was on the 1st -of February, 1883.</p> - -<p>When Mr. Delmas had been in San Francisco about six years, we said of -him that no lawyer in this State possessed broader knowledge or was a -greater master<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_225" id="page_225">{225}</a></span> of his profession than he. As an advocate he is the -admiration of the bar itself. His remarkable clear vision, his subtle -intellect, his piercing judgment, his power of statement, have been -applauded by the veterans of the profession. Before a jury, he is -argumentative or pathetic, as the occasion demands. Unlike some other -advocates of brilliant parts, he keeps in mind the fact that “the jury -are sworn to make a true deliverance, and that to address their passions -is equivalent to asking them to violate their oaths.” Mr. Delmas is very -painstaking in the preparation of causes and very skillful in their -management. He has great capacity for applying himself to his subject. -In the matter of evidence his method is noticeable. His system is to -make himself, before the case is answered “ready,” accurately, -mathematically if possible, master of all the facts of the controversy, -and especially, of those which are favorable to his adversary. Upon the -trial, he takes full notes of everything that is said and done. It is an -article of faith with him to state evidence to the jury with absolute -accuracy; and he almost invariably prefaces his argument with a -courteous invitation to his adversary not to hesitate to interrupt and -correct him in case he should inadvertently fall into an error.</p> - -<p>It would be impossible to enumerate the cases in which Mr. Delmas has -taken part. His practice has been confined to no specialty, but has -extended to all<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_226" id="page_226">{226}</a></span> branches of litigation. He has figured in almost every -important case which has been before the courts during the last twenty -years. The most celebrated of these is, perhaps, that of Ellen M. Colton -vs. Leland Stanford, Charles Crocker, and C. P. Huntington, in which Mr. -Delmas, who had for associates ex-Chief Justice William T. Wallace, -ex-Judge John A. Stanly, Hon. George R. B. Hayes and G. Frank Smith, was -the senior counsel for the plaintiff. This case, if regard be had to the -eminence of the counsel engaged, the standing of the litigants, the -amount involved, the nature of the issues, and the duration of the -trial, is, doubtless, the most important that has been tried in -California in the last quarter of a century. The trial lasted eighteen -months—from November, 1883, to May, 1885. The arguments alone consumed -nearly five months. Mr. Delmas closed the case, answering Hall -McAllister and J. P. Hoge, who had immediately preceded him.</p> - -<p>Since he was elected District Attorney of Santa Clara County, in 1867, -Mr. Delmas has never been a candidate for any office, having devoted -himself entirely to the practice of his profession. He was, however, -appointed a regent of the University of California by Governor Stoneman, -in 1884, and served until 1892. While regent he was President of the day -on the occasion of the inauguration of Hon. Horace Davis as President of -the university, March 23, 1888, and delivered the address of welcome.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_227" id="page_227">{227}</a></span></p> - -<p>In 1869, Mr. Delmas married a daughter of Colonel Joseph P. Hoge, of San -Francisco. There are four children of this union one of whom is the wife -of William S. Barnes, ex-District Attorney of San Francisco. Mr. Delmas -occupies offices at 120 Broadway, New York City.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_228" id="page_228">{228}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI"></a>CHAPTER XXI.<br /><br /> -<small>Delmas Moves Jurors.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">DECLARES HE BASES DEFENSE ON LAW—EXPRESSES SYMPATHY FOR WHITE’S -WIDOW—“SADDEST STORY EVER HEARD IN A COURT OF JUSTICE”—“BETTER -FOR STANFORD WHITE HAD HE NEVER BEEN BORN”—SCORES EVELYN THAW’S -MOTHER WITHOUT MERCY.</p></div> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“If your honor please, and you, gentlemen of the jury, we have no -more right, if the real facts were known, to be here trying this -prisoner at the bar than if it was prohibited by statute,” declared -Mr. Delmas in opening his masterful address.</p> - -<p>“Had you heard these words from any irresponsible persons, instead -of having heard them from an official charged with a public duty; -had you heard them from a man given to irresponsible talk, instead -of in this court of justice and solemnity; had the occasion on -which they were uttered been some trivial discussion about an -insignificant topic, instead of where the discussion is one of life -or death—these words might not have filled you with amazement, but -this was a statement made by the district attorney.</p> - -<p>“To show the falsity of that, it will be necessary to call upon all -the energy in my power to reach a conclusion. And to reverse, at -least in a general way, the same points of the evidence which you -have heard for so many days I shall make no attempt to inflame your -passion, no appeal to make your feelings warp your judgment.</p> - -<p>“I shall rely on no such unstable thing as the supposed unwritten -law. I will base the fate of this defendant on the law of this -state—the law of the books, the written law.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_229" id="page_229">{229}</a></span></p> - -<p>“In the performance of my task it will become my duty to speak of -the dead. I shall not be unmindful of the injunctions of the -departed. Only that which is good should be spoken, but I cannot -forget the circumstances under which the protection of the living -demand that the truth shall be told, no matter how it blights the -memory of the dead or how painful to the survivors.</p> - -<p>“Under that law we find ample protection for his rights and life -and to that law I shall resort as to the horns of the altar, for -his safety. In the performance of my task it will be my imperative -duty—unshunable duty—to speak of the dead.</p> - -<p>“I shall not be unmindful of him and shall speak in no other -terms—if possible—than those of praise. I shall not forget that -for the protection of the living the truth must be told, no matter -how painful to the dead or those who survive him.</p> - -<p>“Of those survivors I can speak in no other terms than those of the -most profound sympathy. For the widow who mourns and the son who -survives I have no words than those of sympathy. Gladly would I -remove from them, were it in my power, the cloud which must -henceforth accompany their life, and gladly would I remove from the -young man the sentence that the sins of the father must be visited -upon their children to the second and third generations.</p> - -<p>“Gentlemen, the story you have listened to is the story of two -young persons whom fate, by inscrutable decree, had destined to -link together, that they could walk through life together. It is a -story—the saddest, most mournful and tragic which the tongue of -man has ever uttered or the ear of man has ever heard in a court of -justice.</p> - -<p>“Let me begin briefly with the story—one filled with incidents -with which a volume might overflow and a tragedy might be filled, -as though it were written by the hand of a Shakespeare.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_230" id="page_230">{230}</a></span></p> - -<p>“She was born on Christmas, 1884, in the state of Pennsylvania, in -the city of Pittsburg. The first years of her childhood saw her -lose her father and natural protector and left her in charge of a -mother who early manifested a character of frivolity and -extravagance which was later to be attended with such fatal -consequences.</p> - -<p>“At ten years of age the family began to feel the pangs of want, -the sufferings of poverty and the gnawing of hunger. At twelve she -began to be the family drudge, assisting her mother in such acts as -she could perform. And thus the family continued moving from place -to place without any fixed habitation on the face of the earth.</p> - -<p>“But nature having endowed her with beauty which showed in early -youth, we find her looking to it for the support of the family. At -fourteen we find her in Philadelphia, already embarked upon the -perilous seas of an artist’s model’s life. But New York was the -market in which such gifts were most eagerly sought and would be -dearly paid for. And to New York the family came, and by the -efforts of the mother the employment begun in Philadelphia was -continued here and the beautiful child went from studio to studio -and at the end of the week paid into the hands of the mother the -scant few dollars she had earned to support the mother, the brother -and the child.</p> - -<p>“But the large metropolis afforded broader avenues of gain than the -mere studios of artists—the stage, with all its tinsel and glare -of dazzling lights lay before them and the tempter came.</p> - -<p>“The theatrical manager found the girl at fifteen and employed her -at $15 a week, where she slaved at night as she did by day—posing -for artists—but at night she appeared on the boards of the stage.</p> - -<p>“It could not be long, for the beauty with which she was gifted -attracted attention and the tempter came. He saw, he<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_231" id="page_231">{231}</a></span> desired to -have, with the consummate cunning of a man whose head had already -grown gray. He had a wife and an accomplished son. He fixed his -eyes upon the fated child and determined to make her his.</p> - -<p>“To win her he had none of the graces which a man of her own age -might present. He was already married and had a family of his own -and any such thought of love—legitimate love—between him and this -child was out of the question. He introduced himself into the -family in the guise of a protector.</p> - -<p>“His tender solicitude manifested his intentions to ameliorate -their condition. He won his way into the confidence of the mother; -established himself in the position of a protecting attitude toward -the family. When his purpose was secured he persuaded the mother to -absent herself from the city, assuring her the child would be safe -in his hands in her absence, telling the family that they should -rejoice that they had such a careful eye to watch over the -beautiful child. She went. The child was left alone.</p> - -<p>“I wish, gentlemen, it were in my power to pass over the scene -which followed. I wish it did not have to be embodied in the -argument I have to make to you.</p> - -<p>“To one of those dens fitted with all the splendor and dazzling -beauty with which this man of genius endowed his places, this child -was one evening lured, under the pretense that there were to be -others there to share the supper that had been prepared, and when -she arrived she found herself alone with the man who had promised -to be her protector.</p> - -<p>“Need I recount to you how the child was led from one step to -another until plied with wine and plied with drugs she became -unconscious and this man, who had promised to protect the child, -accomplished her ruin and downfall? Need I recall to you the -terrible scenes which you heard told from the lips of this tortured -victim?</p> - -<p>“Oh, better for Stanford White had he never been born.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_232" id="page_232">{232}</a></span></p> - -<p>“Better that his ears had never been opened that he could not have -heard the words of anguish of the victim.</p> - -<p>“For what had he—a man whose hair was already gray—what had he -done? He had perpetrated the most horrible crime that can deface -the human heart. He had lured the poor, innocent flower that was -struggling forth to life. He had committed a crime which is a -felony—which the President of this republic in his last message to -Congress said should be punished by death.</p> - -<p>“He who had erected altars and sanctuaries and churches crowned -with the emblem of the Redemption—had he forgotten the words.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Who so receiveth such a little child in my name receiveth me, but -whosoever offendeth such a little one, it were better that a -millstone were tied around his neck and he were cast into the sea.’</p> - -<p>“Oh, ye who have erected temples to the God of Abraham, Isaac and -Jacob, have ye forgotten the words of Jehovah, when upon the return -from Egypt He said:</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Ye shall not afflict a fatherless child. I will surely hear that -cry, and I will kill you with the sword and your wives shall be -widows and your children fatherless.’</p> - -<p>“Oh, Stanford White, in the entirety of your hardened heart, you -imagined that the cry of the fatherless child which that night was -heard in the darkness of the great city, where good citizens were -at rest, the child without a father, the child deserted by her -mother, the child left alone in this city of millions, would not be -heard.</p> - -<p>“Did your hardened heart imagine that God would not hear that cry? -Did you imagine that He had forgotten the promise He made—that any -one who afflicted a fatherless child would surely die?</p> - -<p>“Did you believe that the retribution would be omitted?</p> - -<p>“Better had it been for him had he died before that day,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_233" id="page_233">{233}</a></span> for then -he might have died in glory—he might have died when public -mourning would have attended his obsequies; he might have died -before his name had become a byword; before his genius had become -an aggravation.</p> - -<p>“But fate had decreed it otherwise. The poor child, returning to -her senses, not realizing what had been done, was taken back to her -home, there to sit in lonely vigil until he went back the next day -to complete the pollution he had but partially begun the night -before. It remained for him to destroy the last vestige of womanly -honor in her mind, and he performed that task after daylight that -day.</p> - -<p>“He went there—he, the strong man, kissed the hem of her garment; -told her to dry her tears, and to stifle her moans; told her that -what she did was not wrong, that it was but what all women did; -that the only sin was to be found out, and that if she would but -keep the dread secret pent up in her breast and not tell her mother -all would be well; that all women were wicked; that the only -distinction was that some succeeded in concealing their vices, -while others were found out.</p> - -<p>“And so he left her. And so he lured her again and again, plying -her with wine in the same dens for a couple of months.</p> - -<p>“Is this story true, gentlemen, or, rather, is the story I have -related to you the story Evelyn Nesbit told Harry Thaw in June, -1903, in Paris—that, gentlemen, is one of the main questions which -you have to decide in this case and in the elucidation of which I -may be permitted to occupy a little of your attention.</p> - -<p>“The prosecution says this story is a clever lie—the result of the -imagination of this defendant’s wife. Your first inquiry must be -into the veracity of Evelyn Nesbit. If she never told Thaw this -thing, then she has been an untruthful witness before you.</p> - -<p>“She gave this testimony: ‘And those things you told<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_234" id="page_234">{234}</a></span> Mr. Thaw of -the outrages at the hands of White were true?’ Her answer was, -‘Those things were true.’</p> - -<p>“In corroboration of the statement that these things did take -place, I beg to refer to the evidence and to the things that have -occurred before your eyes. You have seen Evelyn on the stand for -four days. You are men of the world—men accustomed to looking -through the souls of men and analyzing their conversations—you are -asked to judge if she were a clever actress as she sat in that -chair and related the horrors of that night.</p> - -<p>“You saw when she came to the final occurrence of that night—you -saw her countenance—how the shadow of horror overspread it. -Although the story was to save the life of the one person whom she -loved, you saw how she shrank from telling it. You saw the drawn -face, you saw the brave little girl struggling that she might save -her husband, that she might overcome the objectionable features of -the story.</p> - -<p>“For days and days you have seen her undergoing torture of an -examination unparalleled in the jurisprudence of this or any other -country.</p> - -<p>“Did the District Attorney of your city, to whom I gave the -greatest acknowledgment of talent, confuse her? You saw him using -all the arts, resorting to all the strategies of a practiced master -to entrap a girl who had never testified before. Was she caught in -a single falsehood, or contradiction?</p> - -<p>“You have seen learned men on the stand—tell me, if you have ever -seen a witness who has stood the excruciating tests of -cross-examination as well as this child?</p> - -<p>“Gentlemen, in that cross-examination the merciless District -Attorney—I say merciless without offense, because his office is -not one of mercy—you saw him extort from her truthful but -unwilling lips the confession that the misdeeds of Stanford White -did not stop with the first wrecking of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_235" id="page_235">{235}</a></span> her life, but continued -until God asserted himself in her and she would no longer be the -plaything and toy of this man.</p> - -<p>“I ask you, on your oaths, if this girl had fabricated this story, -would not she or the others who prompted the story have for the -sake of sympathy, said that the first drugging was the only -occurrence and that she had shrunk from further dealings with such -a man.</p> - -<p>“Upon any other theory than that the story is true I ask you the -question, why did Stanford White just at that moment see fit to -remove the mother—the only protector left this child—from her -post as sentinel? Why was the mother sent to Pittsburg with money -furnished by Stanford White? Why was the brother sent to school?</p> - -<p>“Gentlemen, I desire to call your attention to this point. During -this time Stanford White made a contract to pay Evelyn the sum of -$25 a week during the time she should be unable to obtain her own -living on the stage. And during that one year we have -discovered—by a strange fatality which ever seems to assist the -cause of justice and to disconcert the cause of injustice—there -appears certain checks on which the name of the mother was -indorsed.</p> - -<p>“And, according to a computation made by some gentleman in court, -the mother, for the year following the ruin of the child, received -$2,500, in round numbers, $200 a month. And yet the District -Attorney tells you that at the same time Stanford White was in -embarrassed circumstances.</p> - -<p>“One circumstance I desire to call to your attention. It relates to -the assistance which the prosecution draws in its attempt to -deprive Evelyn of her husband. You will recall that when the name -of the mother was spoken I disclaimed having said anything that -would cast upon the mother any shame that would cast reproach upon -her.</p> - -<p>“Gentlemen, at the time I made that declaration, I wish you to bear -in mind that three things had not been developed:<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_236" id="page_236">{236}</a></span></p> - -<p>“First. That the mother had been in receipt of $200 a month from -White.</p> - -<p>“It had not been developed at that time that the mother was -assisting the prosecution in the work of this case.</p> - -<p>“It had not been developed at that time that the mother had given a -written statement to the District Attorney by which he might -torture the soul of her daughter, a daughter who had been left -alone in the world except for a most unnatural mother.</p> - -<p>“And when I saw the District Attorney with that paper in his hand, -when I heard him read from it on the cross-examination of this -girl, when I learned that every shaft which he aimed at her heart -came from a quiver furnished by her mother, when I learned that -every sore in her poor soul had been pointed out to the District -Attorney, that it was a mother who was pointing out those sores, -and when I learned that the poor little girl had been sent away to -school so that she might get the money she desired from Stanford -White—I now retract what I then said.</p> - -<p>“Oh, most unnatural mother, you, who left the girl a victim of the -lust of this gray-haired man! You who received the wages of her -downfall, funds with which you bedecked yourself with diamonds and -finery, now in the hour of her supreme agony this mother assists -the prosecutor of her husband!</p> - -<p>“Why, a beast that wants reason protects her young! I have seen a -poor little bird no larger than your fist while I was out hunting. -A number of young ones were playing in the dust around her and I -have seen a pointer come running upon them and I have seen the -little bird ruffle its feathers until it looked as big and old as -an eagle, making the dog pause and return abashed.</p> - -<p>“I have now laid before you in outline what was given you in -evidence. I propose to prove by evidence that will demon<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_237" id="page_237">{237}</a></span>strate the -truth, which will leave no hook upon which to hang a doubt, that -Evelyn Nesbit told the story she swears she did in Paris in 1903.</p> - -<p>“In the first place, you have the undoubted, undisputed fact that -Mr. Thaw in September of that year, when Evelyn’s mother returned -to New York—that Mr. Thaw narrated that story in a letter to his -counsel, Mr. Longfellow. In the first letter he says:</p> - -<p>“Mistress Nesbit sails to-morrow for New York. Her daughter can’t -be with her, because Miss N. was beguiled by a blackguard when she -was but fifteen years of age. The child was drugged.</p> - -<p>“And in a later letter to Mr. Longfellow he says: ‘Her position -could not be worse. She was poisoned at fifteen and three-quarters. -Also since.’</p> - -<p>“Now, gentlemen, bear in mind that these two letters were written -by Mr. Thaw in Paris to his counsel, Mr. Longfellow, in New York. I -ask you who is the blackguard referred to in these letters if not -Stanford White? What is the superhuman negligence of the mother, if -not her trip to Pittsburg, leaving her daughter alone in New York?</p> - -<p>“How was the child beguiled, if not by Stanford White’s paternal -kindness and show of parental goodness?</p> - -<p>“I leave it to you as to what these two letters can refer to if not -to the story Evelyn Nesbit says she told Harry in Paris in June, -1903.</p> - -<p>“She told how she had learned this young woman’s name. He said he -desired to shield her from the awful consequences of the deed. What -was it the child that had come from Pittsburg, that had first posed -as an artist’s model, and had then gone on the stage—what was it -she had told Harry Thaw and what had he told his mother?</p> - -<p>“The learned prosecutor says that he invented it all. After -inventing did he go home and tell his mother—the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_238" id="page_238">{238}</a></span> mother who had -given him birth, who had nourished him at her breast, who had -watched him in his sleepless bed at night as he was giving evidence -of the troubles which were to have such a bearing on this case?</p> - -<p>“When he broke down in church and tears fell from his eyes and a -groan broke from his lips was he telling, was he acting a lie?</p> - -<p>Harry Thaw loved Evelyn. He had loved her ever since he saw her in -1901. He had loved and wooed her honorably, and honorably sought to -make her his wife.</p> - -<p>“I make these assertions just before seeking to make any deductions -from them. It is meet and proper that I establish them as facts. As -early as 1901, when he found her on the stage, he realized that was -not a fit place for a young girl like her. He was contemplating -sending her to school—that is to say for three years. Then she -might come out and take her station in the world as his wife.</p> - -<p>“And if not, even though she did not become his wife, he would be -amply repaid by the nobility of the act he had performed. Evelyn -Nesbit says he met her in 1901 and called upon her frequently, but -was not always at that time a welcome visitor. It seems her mind -had been poisoned by the same persons who afterward poisoned her -mind against him again. He says of her: ‘When I first knew her she -was the most active, laughing, strong and fair child I ever saw.’</p> - -<p>“That was the time when she was the support of the family, going -about in the daytime from studio to studio and appearing on the -stage at night and pouring into the lap of her mother her scant -wages.</p> - -<p>“And what was the nature of the foul wrong done to this child?</p> - -<p>“What was the fatal deed which he said he would gladly have -purchased with his life if it could be undone?</p> - -<p>“I say to you, these letters refer to no other transaction<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_239" id="page_239">{239}</a></span> than -the story she related on the witness stand—the story she told you -she told him in June, 1903. The letters were private. They were to -be locked up in Mr. Longfellow’s breast. Then ask yourself whether -it is possible that Mr. Thaw was telling his lawyer in September a -falsehood or an invention of his own brain?</p> - -<p>“That is not all. You remember Thaw returned to New York in -November and shortly thereafter went to his home in Pittsburg and -told his mother the selfsame story he told his lawyer then in these -two letters.</p> - -<p>“I desire to give you the mother’s testimony and ask you whether I -am not telling you exactly what occurred.</p> - -<p>“Not only that but I invite interruptions if you desire to set me -right if I omit or tell anything that was not part of the -testimony.</p> - -<p>“Now, the mother whom you have seen on the stand and of whose -veracity I believe not even the prosecution has any doubt, this -mother says that after he arrived home she found him awake at -night, and when she went to his room he said it was because of a -wicked man—perhaps the most wicked man in New York.</p> - -<p>“She learned before Thanksgiving that this was said about a young -girl, but did not at that time learn her name. Her son told her he -was interested in that girl. This she learned one night when the -mother found him in his room at dawn. He had not been able to get -sleep surcease from his tortured brain.</p> - -<p>“She said, the son said, that this girl had the most beautiful mind -he had ever known, that she had been neglected, that if she had a -chance and anyone looking after her she would be all right. And -then you remember, gentlemen, Thanksgiving came. And the mother and -the son went to church together, and there, while the solemn anthem -was peeling, she heard tears dropping upon the paper which he was -holding in his hand, a stifled sob.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_240" id="page_240">{240}</a></span></p> - -<p>“In 1903 he intended to marry her. Writing to Longfellow, he says:</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Miss N. and I may be married after Lady Yarmouth comes. We could -have been married without a row. If I die, all my property goes to -my wife.’ And, writing to her, he says: ‘Mr. and Mrs. George -Carnegie should be your loving brother and sister-in-law.’ -Gentlemen, no man of his years, of his temperament, ever wooed a -woman in a manner more respectable than Harry Thaw did Evelyn -Nesbit.</p> - -<p>“There is nothing to show that everything and every bit of -testimony does not confirm the statement of Evelyn that in June, -1903, he proposed honorably to make her his wife.</p> - -<p>“In corroboration of these facts told by Evelyn Nesbit, that she -told this story of Stanford White, that he, Thaw, asked her to -marry him, that it is not a cunningly devised tale told by Harry -Thaw for his own purposes. I ask you these questions: Does a man -who loves a woman, who has lavished upon her for two years all the -affections of his heart, does a man who loves a woman honorably and -sought to make her his wife and besought her mother’s consent—does -a man like that deliberately invent a story of this kind to defile -the object of his adoration?</p> - -<p>“Until you can take from this case the fact that Harry Thaw loved -Evelyn Nesbit, if any man says to you that he deliberately invented -this story to degrade the object of his affections—the most -degrading story any man could tell—it is not in the human heart -but to revolt from the allegation.</p> - -<p>“If I mistake not, I have established to your satisfaction the -great, simple fact—that this story about Stanford White is not an -invention and that the statement that Evelyn Nesbit did tell the -story to Thaw is true.</p> - -<p>“As against this assertion, what evidence is there in this case? -What is there to contradict this statement of Evelyn Nesbit, the -statement that she told this story to Thaw?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_241" id="page_241">{241}</a></span></p> - -<p>“Nothing except the testimony of Abe Hummel. I will not speak of -that unfortunate man in any harsher term than the exigencies of -this case require. But it is a melancholy sight to see a man in the -declining years of his life, when soon the sun must set for him -forever, and he will appear to give that account of his life that -we are all called upon to give after death—I say it is a -melancholy sight to see a man whose pathway has been wreathed with -dishonest acts, crowning his acts with perjury—resorting to -perjury in order to deprive a fellow of his life.</p> - -<p>“Gentlemen, is this censure deemed excessive? Listen. Mr. Hummel is -not lacking in intelligence—certainly is not lacking in cunning.</p> - -<p>“Let me recall to your mind the photograph of the alleged -affidavit. You remember what weight the prosecution attached to it -and of what importance they considered it. Let me call your -attention to all the points in Hummel’s testimony regarding this.</p> - -<p>“Thaw’s lawyer then tore Hummel’s evidence to bits, showing that in -one place he swore positively he sent for the photographer and in -another he swore as positively that he did not. Continuing Delmas -said:</p> - -<p>“Which of these stories is true? They both come from the witness -sitting in that chair. They both have the sanction of his oath—the -oath of a man already convicted for subornation of perjury and -conspiracy. Both of these stories cannot be true. Which one is -true? One of these two stories is a deliberate falsehood, and which -it is I care not. They probably are both false.</p> - -<p>“Abe Hummel testifies that this thing, miscalled ‘affidavit,’ was -dictated by him in the latter part of October, 1903, in his office, -to a stenographer whose name he does not remember and even whose -individuality he has forgotten.</p> - -<p>“Listen: If Abe Hummel dictated this illegal affidavit,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_242" id="page_242">{242}</a></span> as he -swears he did, in the latter part of October, 1903; if this is his -work; if these are his words, this his dictation, then he committed -deliberate perjury, gentlemen, and the proof of this perjury was in -the hands of the learned interrogator. He held the paper before him -while the witness was in the chair and could not but know that at -that time the witness was swearing the proof of his perjury was -lying before him.</p> - -<p>“In order that Abraham H. Hummel could testify at all—before his -lips could be unsealed—it was necessary for him to swear he was -not acting in an official or professional capacity for Evelyn -Nesbit when he dictated this statement. Hence the absolute -necessity that this wretched old man should swear that he was not -acting as her attorney.</p> - -<p>“Hence he says, ‘I was not acting for Evelyn Nesbit. There was no -action contemplated by her. She did not consult me in my official -capacity.’</p> - -<p>“Hence there could exist no professional relations. He said so.</p> - -<p>“This is the famous paper by which Abraham Hummel hoped to help the -District Attorney send Harry Thaw to the electric chair. Who -dictated these words, which lay open before the District Attorney -as he questioned Hummel?</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>I received many cablegrams from Mr. Thaw, which I turned over to -my counsel, Abraham Hummel.’</p> - -<p>“Who dictated these words, if the paper was dictated at all? -Abraham Hummel, who came upon the stand and swore he had never -acted as her attorney—Abraham Hummel!</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Howe & Hummel, attorneys for plaintiff,’ are the words that -appear on the indorsement of this paper. And who was the plaintiff? -Evelyn Nesbit.</p> - -<p>“And the same man who tells you no action was con<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_243" id="page_243">{243}</a></span>templated is the -man who dictated the first words of this affidavit, which read, -‘Evelyn Nesbit, plaintiff, vs. Harry K. Thaw, defendant.’</p> - -<p>“This is in letters as legible as I have ever looked upon. Perjured -when he tells you he was not counsel for Evelyn Nesbit, when he -tells you no legal action was intended, when he dictated this -affidavit.</p> - -<p>“You are called upon to convict her of perjury.</p> - -<p>“You are called upon to do so upon the strength of Hummel. And on -that testimony you are called upon to deprive a human being of his -life.</p> - -<p>“How did this paper have its birth? Miss Simonton, as I have told -you, came here after hearing in Paris the story you have all heard. -Arriving here, she went to Mr. White in order to get confirmation -or denial of that story. His body turned icy cold when she told her -story you have heard.</p> - -<p>“He knew that what he had done would not only disgrace him, but -would send him to prison.</p> - -<p>“She was told that Harry Thaw was a married man and that she should -be protected against Harry Thaw, and he took her to Hummel’s -office. What was White’s object in taking her to Hummel’s office? -It was to get from her by some monstrous deception her statement of -her story about herself that would neutralize their efforts should -they ever attempt to bring up against him their story of his -outrage, of his acts.”</p></div> - -<p>At this point Mr. Delmas had spoken two and one-half hours, and court -was adjourned, with another day of supreme effort ahead for the -brilliant general in command of the defense.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_244" id="page_244">{244}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXII" id="CHAPTER_XXII"></a>CHAPTER XXII.<br /><br /> -<small>“The Unwritten Law”—The Defense Ends.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">DELMAS IN FINAL BURST OF ELOQUENCE CONCLUDES STORY OF EVELYN THAW’S -SAD FATE—DECLARES STANFORD WHITE A MONSTER WHOM THAW WAS JUSTIFIED -IN PUTTING OUT OF THE WAY—CRAZED BY WRONGS DONE TO -EVELYN—REMARKABLE SERIES OF LETTERS—DEFENDANT PICTURED AS A -BENEFACTOR TO SOCIETY—“I NOW, WITH ALL SOLEMNITY, LEAVE IN YOUR -HANDS THE FATE OF HARRY K. THAW.”</p></div> - -<p>In a final burst of eloquence seldom equaled before the American bar, -Attorney Delmas concluded his pitiful tale of the wrongs of Evelyn Thaw -and her husband, and concluded dramatically:</p> - -<p>“I now, with all solemnity, gentlemen of the jury, leave in your hands -the fate of Harry K. Thaw.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Delmas made a direct appeal to the unwritten law. He said:</p> - -<p>“Let me call the ‘insanity’ of Thaw ‘Dementia Americana.’ It is the -species of insanity that makes every American man believe his home to be -sacred; that is the species of insanity which makes him believe the -honor of his daughter is sacred; that is the species of insanity which -makes him believe the honor of his wife is sacred; that is the species -of insanity which is him believe that whosoever invades his home,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_245" id="page_245">{245}</a></span> that -whosoever stains the virtue of his threshold, has violated the highest -of human laws and must appeal to the mercy of God, if mercy there be for -him anywhere in the universe.”</p> - -<p>The point of Delmas’ whole argument was that Stanford White deserved his -fate; that Harry Thaw in shooting the architect had acted as the -champion of purity and goodness, and that he had slain a foul monster -that had preyed upon the virtue of women.</p> - -<p>The closing part of the summing up by Delmas was as follows:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“I will relieve the long suspense which has been occasioned by your -labors by announcing that I will shortly leave the fate of this -defendant in your hands. Before entering upon the remarks which I -propose making it may be useful to cast a rapid glance over what I -have already said, so that you may connect what I shall have to say -with what I have already said.</p> - -<p>“I have endeavored to lay before the eyes of the jury the picture -of the fate of these two young people. I had tried to show the -unfortunate occurrence which befell her when she narrated to him in -the summer of 1903 her awful story of what had happened. I have -shown, or at least have endeavored to convince you, first, that the -facts which she swears she then related were true and, secondly, -that it was true that she did relate them to the defendant at that -time.”</p> - -<p>Here Mr. Delmas endeavored to prove these facts.</p> - -<p>“Gentlemen, I shall prove to you from a number of sources, and -first, without adding any words of my own, in the very language in -which it was told by Evelyn when she was testifying before you.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_246" id="page_246">{246}</a></span></p> - -<p>“She says, after narrating what took place in Paris in June, 1903: -‘The effect of this story on Mr. Thaw was terrible. To think of -me—I was so young—and to think of this big, great yellow brute. -It must have been frightful. He could not think of it. He would -walk up and down the room exclaiming, “Oh, God; oh, God,” and kept -sobbing, not like an ordinary sob, but a terrible sob. He kept -saying, “Go on, tell me the whole story.” He said it was not my -fault—that I was simply a poor unfortunate little girl; that he -didn’t think any the less of me on account of it, and he said that -no matter what happened he would always be my friend. He renewed -his proposal of marriage two months after. He said that I was not -to blame—that it was not my fault.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>I told him that if I did marry him the friends of Stanford White -would always laugh at him—that they knew about it and would be -able to sneer at him after our marriage; that it would not be right -for us to get married; that it would not be a good thing because of -his family; it would get him into trouble in his social relations. -He kept saying that he could never care for or love anybody else. -He said he never could marry another woman and that he wanted to -make me his honorable wife. He said I was an unfortunate person and -he thought just as much of me.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>He kept pressing me to become his wife, but I said I could go on -the stage. I said that if he ever met some one he wanted to marry -he would be perfectly free to do so.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>I loved him so dearly, but during the whole period I was refusing -his offers of marriage because I loved him. And I also respected -him.’</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Sublime renunciation,’ says the sneering district attorney. -‘Sublime refusal on her part to accept the hand of a wealthy man -when he offered her an honorable union.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_247" id="page_247">{247}</a></span>’</p> - -<p>“Incredible, he would lead you to believe.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Impossible!’ the district attorney says, and in the same breath -intimates that it is a falsehood from beginning to end.</p> - -<p>“I shall prove to you by evidence that will convince you beyond -every doubt that this renunciation by Evelyn was sincere. But, -thank God, the great Creator has placed in the breast of gentler -woman the noble sentiment and renunciation for the consolation of -the home and of the world.</p> - -<p>“But I shall prove to you that it is true. I shall prove to you -beyond the slightest doubt that she did refuse him, and refused him -for that reason alone.</p> - -<p>“Man, it may be, has not that great power of renunciation, but in -the gentler breast of woman do we find that great gift of God, and -in the breast of this little girl existed this great strength that -enabled her to put aside her one love when she knew it was for the -good of the one she loved.</p> - -<p>“Sublime renunciation! Ah, it indeed is. Do you remember the -letters he wrote three months after this sublime renunciation? He -says in a letter written in September, 1903: ‘Three months ago I -asked her point-blank. She thought, but said she would not; that it -would shut me out,’ etc.</p> - -<p>“The genuineness of this letter is not disputed; that it was -written to Mr. Longfellow is not denied; that Mr. Longfellow was -the trusted friend and adviser of Harry Thaw is admitted. Three -months before September, 1903, when this was written, was in the -early summer of 1903. Is not that true? Is it not true that she had -refused him? In this letter he says she thought she did not want -the man she loved to become an object of scorn.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_248" id="page_248">{248}</a></span></p> - -<p>“She looked up to the man she loved and she did not want the man -she loved to be pointed at with the finger of scorn.</p> - -<p>“In her little heart she said, ‘Oh, Harry, I love you. I love you -so much that I will not drag you down. I want to leave you free, -and the moment you say so I shall return to my own sad way. You -shall be free and happy and I will go down until I, like many -others, have disappeared from the world.’</p> - -<p>“The sneer, then, is unjustified. The sublime renunciation did take -place, although we men may not rise above our sordid occupations to -realize it. Do you remember how his mother saw him holding his -vigil in his room; heard him sob and moan, and how he told her -about the awful wrongs done to a little girl whom he loved?</p> - -<p>“And he told her he desired to protect the child from the vile -wrong that had been done her; that he had proposed marriage, and -that she—I quote the very words of the mother—that she had -refused because she would not drag him down.</p> - -<p>“Has this gray-haired and venerable mother in Israel come here to -perjure herself, or did he deceive her when he told her that he -wanted to extend his protecting arm over the girl whom the other -had betrayed; that she, the poor little girl who was earning her -living by the talents God had given her—she refused the man, not -because she did not love him, but because she thought it would not -be fitting to wed the man she so dearly loved.</p> - -<p>“Sublime, indeed, was the renunciation of this girl, unless the -mother of Harry Thaw has not told the truth upon the stand. I -return to her story as told in her own words. She says: ‘He talked -altogether too much of this thing. He did not sleep nights. He -cried too much about it. It was not crying, but terrible sobbing. -He would sit<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_249" id="page_249">{249}</a></span> for hours without speaking or moving, and it was -terrible, terrible. He got worse about it. He would sit for hours -in a chair, just biting his nails. And then, in the midst of it, he -would suddenly ask me about Stanford White. It seemed to be -something that was ever present.’</p> - -<p>“This, gentlemen, was the condition of Harry Thaw when, in 1903, he -parted from Evelyn Nesbit and sent her back ahead of him to New -York. You have the first faint dawn of that mental condition which -manifested itself three years after. The tower in which reason held -its seat did not topple over, but its foundations were already -beginning to be undermined.</p> - -<p>“The storm had not burst forth, but the dark clouds were gathering -from the four quarters of the horizon, from which lightning and -thunder were three years afterwards to burst forth.</p> - -<p>“She says that he called upon her as soon as he arrived in New -York—the middle of November. She had got to this city in the -latter part of October. In the meantime such things had happened -here that when the man whom she loved and whose hand she had -refused called upon her she declined to see him alone, and she -says: ‘I saw him at the Navarre. I would not see him alone. He came -into the room and sat beside me and said: “What is the matter with -you?” and I said: “I don’t care to speak to you because I have -heard certain things about you.” He said he did not understand, and -wanted me to tell him.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>I told him that I had heard terrible stories. He said, “Poor -Evelyn! They have deceived you!” I told him that Mr. White had -taken me to Abraham Hummel’s office and that they had showed me -papers which they said were filed in a suit by a young woman -against him. He said, “Poor little girl! You can believe them if -you wish.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_250" id="page_250">{250}</a></span>” The interview lasted ten minutes. I persisted I did not -want to have anything to do with him. At the parting he kissed my -hand and said no matter what happened he would always love me and I -would be an angel to him.’</p> - -<p>“Gentlemen, I ask you to picture yourself in the state of mind -Harry Thaw was in when he received such a greeting from the woman -he loved—the one he had parted from but a few weeks ago; the one -he had sworn to devote his whole life to. I ask you to imagine what -his condition of mind was when he returned to New York and found -that she had had her mind so poisoned against him again by the man -who had been the cause of all her misfortune.</p> - -<p>“She would allow White to fill her mind with these terrors of Harry -Thaw to such an extent that she refused to see Harry Thaw alone. -And what must have been the condition of mind of that poor man when -he exclaimed, ‘Oh, poor, deluded Evelyn!’ and stooped and kissed -her and then parted, as she believed, forever from her.</p> - -<p>“Gentlemen, what was the condition of his mind is pictured to your -eyes by documents of immeasurable worth, telling the story of this -epoch in Harry Thaw’s life.</p> - -<p>“The series of letters that voiced the wail that came from his -suffering soul is unparalleled in history from the time of the -Greeks to the present day.</p> - -<p>“He wrote to her the day after he had kissed her hand and parted -from her—she thought for all time—he wrote: ‘Yesterday I saw -you—you believed everything false people told you. Poor little -Evelyn! You have fallen back into the hands of the man who poisoned -your life—who poisoned your mind. I have no reproaches to heap on -your head, for I know you are honest.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>I must fight this battle alone.’ his letter went on. ‘I should -have bet every cent in the world three weeks ago that no hypnotism -in the world could have made you turn on me.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_251" id="page_251">{251}</a></span>’</p> - -<p>“If this man (Hummel) who sat upon that chair and perjured himself -in your presence—had he kept away with his smooth tongue and -professional tricks and devices, poor little Evelyn Thaw would not -have turned away from her the man who loved her and who was ready -to sacrifice his life for her.</p> - -<p>“She would not have broken the vow which she pledged. She would -have kept the purest thing from the pollution of those -double-minded, lying, deceitful, treacherous persons.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>I am changed, but not in truth or faithfulness. Alone I cannot -settle down. I am not responsible now, so I am frivolous and not at -all as I was before. I can do no more than make the best of it, -which was far from bad except for regrets—every loss, every -illness, every opportunity missed—all these together are but as -the raging sea of water to a battling ship. Everything is trivial -to me now.’</p> - -<p>“Pages neither of poetry nor oratory contain a more simple story of -anguish than the one of this young man, seeing the object of his -affections won from him by this man who had wrecked her life.</p> - -<p>“All was lost to him and the world appeared to him flat. He had -nothing to live for—all the ambitions of his life were gone and -whatever could happen was but as a glass of water in the sea in -which a ship was battling. He left New York in November for his -mother’s home in Pittsburg in this condition.</p> - -<p>“Up to that time Harry Thaw had been a man of cheerful and sanguine -temperament. His mother saw a change had come over her son the -moment he crossed the door. His manner was entirely different. He -had an absent-minded look, as if he had lost everything.</p> - -<p>“She told how she then in the dark of night had found him sitting -up on his bed fully dressed—how she questioned<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_252" id="page_252">{252}</a></span> him. ‘It’s no -use,’ he said, ‘I cannot sleep.’ The mother was allowed to peep -into the heart of the suffering son by the story she brought out, -little by little.</p> - -<p>“But even then he would not tell the girl’s name, and then you -remember the scene in the church and while the organ pealed; how -the sob broke from his throat and the tears gushed from his eyes, -and how when his mother asked him why he had sobbed he answered, -‘But for him she might have been with us today.’</p> - -<p>“That was the condition of his mind; that one thing was ever in his -mind.</p> - -<p>“He could not, he would not forget—great, courageous, indomitable -man, who believes he has a mission to fulfill, to make one more -effort to rescue her from the hands of vice into which Stanford -White had lured her. He came back to New York and met her in a drug -store, where the artificial means were found to supply the beauty -she possessed, and he said: ‘Oh, these things are not for you.’ And -you remember how, afterward, they met as mere acquaintances in the -street and passed the time of day.</p> - -<p>“Here again no words of mine could supply the picture that is -furnished by the words of the wife herself as they fell from her -lips on the stand. She says that when they met at the Cafe Beaux -Arts: ‘I said I was going to a play, and Mr. Thaw said I looked -badly and wished I would not go to the play. He would pay me my -salary I would lose—that he would send it through a third party. -He begged me merely for the sake of my health not to go to the -theater.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>But I said that I would go; that I had no other means of -livelihood.’ You remember they met a couple of days afterward and -he asked her to tell him of the stories that had been told about -him. ‘I told him then,’ she said, ‘all they had said about him and -that he was addicted to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_253" id="page_253">{253}</a></span> morphine and had many other vices, and he -said he could easily understand that they had made a fool of me. He -urged investigation.’</p> - -<p>“She could find nothing in the stories. ‘I never lie,’ Thaw told -her. ‘You never told me a lie in your life,’ she said. And while -she was investigating these stories spread by Abraham Hummel for -the protection of Stanford White, he told her all these things had -been disseminated by Stanford White and his friend.</p> - -<p>“When she discovered that these awful stories were untrue—learned -that they had been disseminated by Stanford White and Abe Hummel -for the purpose of separating her from the man who loved her and -whom she loved—hope began once more to dawn upon him.</p> - -<p>“The hour of reconciliation was at hand. The barriers which had -been set up between them were one by one falling to ruin and the -two persons whom God and nature had intended to be united were -drawing nearer to each other.</p> - -<p>“That night in December, 1903—that night might have been, -gentlemen, the beginning of another tragic chapter in the life of -this poor child—the night when Stanford White in the lofty room in -the tower where he had spread a banquet in celebration of the -birthday of his child victim—the night in which he was to lure her -once again if possible, and bring her under his influence—the -night in which, amid the glare of the lights and the splendor of -the treasures he had planned to renew his power over the child -victim.</p> - -<p>“And the little girl, who had resisted the pleadings of rescuing -her came to her and snatched her from the clutches of Stanford -White—snatched her from the snares set for her—from the man whose -very existence had been a menace to her and the curse of his whole -life.</p> - -<p>“He folded her in his arms; he snatched her away from<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_254" id="page_254">{254}</a></span> the old man. -And that night began another series of events. It was on that night -that Stanford White, baffled, his plans disconcerted, went about -that theater in Madison Square hunting for his victim, and, finding -her not, pistol in hand and with impotent rage in his heart, -threatened to shoot the man who had baffled his schemes.</p> - -<p>“And that night Harry Thaw, as he walked the streets of New York, -found that his footsteps were being dogged by hired malefactors in -the pay of Stanford White, and he learned in a few days of the -threat of Stanford White and his hirelings. From that moment the -dread of his life being taken away by this man added a grim specter -to the one that already had been haunting him.</p> - -<p>“And he from that time, as she relates to you, began to think -himself persecuted by Stanford White. The scurrilous stories -circulated in newspapers and elsewhere he attributed to him. He -expressed apprehension of personal violence and impressed upon her -mind that if he died she was to have his death investigated and to -spare no pains.</p> - -<p>“He told her he would probably be set upon in New York by some one -in the employ of Stanford White. He said the Monk Eastman gang had -been hired to kill him and the fear of death constantly haunted -him.</p> - -<p>“Consider in this connection, consider the strange clause in his -will—if you will not take it from Evelyn—the strange clause -appropriating the sum of $50,000 to be devoted to the investigation -into his death, should it occur.</p> - -<p>“In 1904, in the latter part of the year, or the beginning of 1905, -a second operation was performed on Evelyn. And when she was -convalescent the man who for two years had loved her, the man who -had told her sad story to his mother in 1903, who had been refused -by her because she thought their union would interfere with his -family relations—that man, I say, such was the constancy and -fervor<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_255" id="page_255">{255}</a></span> of his love, persuaded his mother to come to the little -girl whose sad story she knew and whom in her heart she could not -but revere.</p> - -<p>“And she came to New York—she, embodiment of all that a good wife -and mother means—she came and saw the little girl and assured her -that she would be welcome to her home; that no allusion would ever -be made to her sad story.</p> - -<p>“And the little girl, who had resisted the pleadings of the man who -had loved her and because she loved him, could not resist the -pleadings of the mother, and on April 4, 1905, they were united at -the altar, when he in return for her love pledged to her before -Almighty God that he would protect her. And these two were then -made one.</p> - -<p>“And after a trip westward they returned to the shades of -Lyndhurst, the old family homestead. They were happy in each -other’s love, happy in each other’s confidence, forgetting the -past.</p> - -<p>“But social or business exigencies would not prevent them from -coming to New York, and one day while riding down one of your -streets there appeared the form of the man who had been the cause -of so much anguish, and he, though she was the wife of another man, -stared at her, and had the audacity to call her by her first name.</p> - -<p>“She went back to the hotel where her husband was, and told him -what had happened. And he, in his anger, exclaimed: ‘The dirty -blackguard had no right to speak to you—no right to speak your -name.’ And he extracted from her the promise that no matter what -happened she would tell him all.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>He made me,’ she says, ‘promise that if I ever saw Stanford White -I was to come home and tell him of it.’</p> - -<p>“They next met in New York when she was going to a <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_256" id="page_256">{256}</a></span>physician. -Their hansoms crossed at Thirty-fourth street. He stared at her, -pulled at his mustache, and stared and stared. She did not speak to -him, but looked away and turned into Twenty-second street.</p> - -<p>“He also turned, and as she ran up the stairs of her doctor’s he -followed her. She became frightened, and ran down the steps and -jumped into a hansom and drove to the Lorraine, where she told her -husband.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>He got excited,’ she said, ‘and bit his nails.’ In May, 1906, not -long before the hour which was to be Stanford White’s last on -earth, this is the story that she related to her husband. She told -him that Miss Mae MacKenzie had told her that Stanford White had -been to the hospital to see her. That she, Mae MacKenzie, had said -to him, ‘Isn’t it nice the way Harry and Evelyn really do care for -each other?’ and that she said that she had found it out, and that -Stanford White said: ‘Pooh! I don’t believe it.’ And Miss MacKenzie -had replied: ‘Oh, yes; it is true. I know it myself, and I think it -is so nice,’ and Stanford White had remarked: ‘Well, it will not -last long. I will get her back.’ All this she related to her -husband.</p> - -<p>“Then, when she told her husband what Mae MacKenzie had told her, -he became wild, and began to gnaw his finger nails. Did he not have -cause to get wild, to lose that reason which in a civilized -community one is supposed to stifle?</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>I stole her once from her mother, I will steal her now from her -husband,’ Stanford White said. But between him and the consummation -of that act there remained the strong arm of that young man to -protect her from his snares.</p> - -<p>“You remember how at Daly’s Theater Harry Thaw and his wife saw -Stanford White in a box opposite, and how when he saw him, he -became enraged.</p> - -<p>“When he looked into those eyes, into which so many<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_257" id="page_257">{257}</a></span> a young girl -had looked before she went down to her ruin, his eyes grew wild and -he just sat there and stared and stared at the object of his -thoughts. She says, describing another meeting: ‘At another time, -when Harry and I were passing Herald Square in a hansom, we saw -Stanford White on the street. Mr. Thaw grew white and his eyes -glared. He talked so fast that I could not understand him. He -carried on in this way for about fifteen minutes. I believe Harry -had a fit then and there. He shook violently. He moaned and -clenched and unclenched his hands, and that was the way he acted -when he saw Stanford White.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>One Sunday,’ said Evelyn, ‘he was sitting in a chair in my room -and suddenly he began to sob and cry without any warning whatever, -apparently gazing upon vacancy.’</p> - -<p>“His mind was always on this man. He cried until at last his own -wife could not but believe this subject—the thought of Stanford -White—had preyed so on his mind that he had become insane.</p> - -<p>“The man who had brooded over those pictures of horror for three -years—this man would have been more than human if he could have -preserved a calmness of reason. Now, gentlemen, place yourselves in -the position of this defendant.</p> - -<p>“Recall the time, those of you who have wives, recall the time that -you led the one you loved to the altar, and if possible do this -defendant justice. You remember when the little lady tells you that -her husband on this subject had lost his mind—do you remember in -this connection the spontaneous exclamation of the friend who, on -hearing the shots fired on the Madison Square Roof-garden, made the -exclamation: ‘This is the act of an insane man.’</p> - -<p>“Gentlemen, nothing now remains for me to do but to call your -attention to the events of the night of the tragedy. With a view -simply of elucidating the great point, fix your<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_258" id="page_258">{258}</a></span> attention on this -point—that is, the condition of mind of the defendant on that -fateful night—you recall that Mr. Thaw, his wife and two friends -were seated at dinner at the Cafe Martin, a place of public -entertainment in this city. The time was summer, the evening -doubtless was sultry. Tables had been set upon the balcony, the -veranda on the outside for the accommodation of those who desired a -cooler spot.</p> - -<p>“Now, while this party of four were seated at the table, Stanford -White, by accident or design, came into the room in which they were -seated. He came in through such an entrance that Harry Thaw himself -could not see him. After White went out on the veranda on the Fifth -avenue side and remained there a considerable time.</p> - -<p>“The wife, seeing him, forbore at the time to call her husband’s -attention to him, and only when he was gone did she call his -attention on paper. She wrote upon it, ‘The B——’ (meaning -blackguard) ‘was there, but has gone out again.’</p> - -<p>“As denoting the condition of mind of the defendant at that time, -he turned to his wife and said to her, ‘Are you all right?’ and her -answer that she was mastered every emotion he had in that public -place and the incident had no further consequence. Now, you will -remember that during the afternoon Thaw had procured four tickets -for the performance that was to take place that night at the -garden. He took with him his party and on the way took along -another friend to whom he gave his own seat. He went about with his -busy, nervous activity which characterizes him until he found a -seat beside the witness Smith.</p> - -<p>“He sat by Mr. Smith for half an hour engaging in such idle -conversation as so-called men of the world indulge in—men whose -minds are not seriously engaged in the serious problems of life.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_259" id="page_259">{259}</a></span></p> - -<p>“When Thaw saw White he walked quietly and slowly down the aisle -until he faced White and then fired three shots.</p> - -<p>“He then slowly and deliberately turned away—and I wish to call -your attention especially to this circumstance, apparently slight, -but to my mind of the utmost importance, and testified to by the -defense. Mr. Meyer Cohen, one of the witnesses, said that as soon -as he heard the shots he looked and saw Thaw standing facing the -audience with his arms spread out in the form of a cross, a -circumstance which has not been dwelt upon by any of the learned -experts for the State.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Thaw stood as a priest might have stood after some ceremony of -sacrificial offering, saying, ‘All is over,’ and dismissing the -congregation. He turned his pistol barrel down to indicate to the -audience that there was no danger to them.</p> - -<p>“He then walked slowly to where his wife stood, and when she said, -‘Oh, Harry, what have you done?’ he replied: ‘It is all right, -dearie, I have probably saved your life.’ As he said this he -stooped and kissed her. When he was disarmed he said, ‘He has -ruined my wife.’ When the policeman came he said: ‘He has ruined my -wife.’</p> - -<p>“I have dwelt upon these acts and declarations of Mr. Thaw at that -time to call your attention to the fact that the safety of his wife -was menaced by the man who had followed her to the garden, the same -man who had followed her to Dr. Delavan, the same man who had said -to Mae MacKenzie he would get this young wife away from Thaw.</p> - -<p>“What condition of mind must Harry K. Thaw have been in when -walking down the aisle he turned and suddenly saw the form—the -hideous form—of the man who had caused so much unhappiness.</p> - -<p>“If you have been near death you know that at such<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_260" id="page_260">{260}</a></span> a time the mind -travels with the rapidity of lightning. The mind goes back over the -past like lightning. Then Thaw, as he looked upon the hideous form -of this man, saw the whole panorama of White’s life. He saw him -making his way into the family where poverty dwelt; saw him laying -bare his plans to ingratiate himself; saw him giving the mother -money to absent herself from the city that he might perpetrate the -deed of shame he had planned; saw him inflaming her youthful -imagination; plying her with wine; saw her mind wandering under the -fatal drug; saw her losing consciousness; saw her in her shame; saw -him next day kissing the hem of her dress; heard his thousand -protestations of love; heard her refusing, and saw that chamber in -Paris where she told him the story of her wrongs; heard again his -oft proposals to her; he saw that terrible night when she had told -him her story; he saw himself as he walked the floor and cried, -‘Oh, God! Oh, God!’</p> - -<p>“He saw her return to New York; he saw her meet this man who had -wronged her; he saw her about to fall into this villain’s hands, -and he saw himself rescue her from this man. He saw himself again -at the altar marrying her.</p> - -<p>“He saw her when her mind was poisoned against him by the same man -who had ruined her; he saw her rescued from the man; he went over -the happy months he had lived with her in his mother’s house; he -saw this monster and he heard his words, ‘I will get her back,’ and -he knew not, he reasoned not, he struck as does the tigress to -protect her home—struck for the purity of American homes—struck -for the purity of American maidens—struck for the purity of -American wives. He struck, and who shall say he was not right?</p> - -<p>“He had appealed to the Pinkertons, to the district<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_261" id="page_261">{261}</a></span> attorney, and -that night he appealed to God, and God that night answered that -cry—the cry of the fatherless child. And God then redeemed the -promise He had made thousands of years ago when He said He would -hear the cries of the afflicted and that He would make the wives of -the oppressors widows and their children orphans.</p> - -<p>“Ah, gentlemen, what was his condition of mind at that time? Men, -judge your fellow-man as ye would be judged. Place yourselves as -far as in your power lies in the place he stood.</p> - -<p>“It is for the district attorney to prove that the defendant was -sane, and if he fails to do this he has not established his case. -He must establish that he was sane at the time.</p> - -<p>“And I ask you not to violate any law, and I ask you to judge by -that law which bids you do unto others what you desire others to do -unto you.</p> - -<p>“Send this young man to his death for what he did when goaded into -frenzy by the persecution he had suffered? He turned at last as the -weakest of created things will turn—as a worm, it is said, will -turn against his tormentors—send him to his death for that?</p> - -<p>“Ah, gentlemen, recall the language of the great book in which is -contained the wisdom and religion of the people of old, and I say -to you, Is Jonathan to die for ridding Israel of its pollution?</p> - -<p>“Is Jonathan to die for working this great salvation in Israel?</p> - -<p>“God forbid! Not a hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for -he walked with God on that day.</p> - -<p>“I now with all solemnity leave in your hands the fate of Harry K. -Thaw.”</p></div><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_262" id="page_262">{262}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIII" id="CHAPTER_XXIII"></a>CHAPTER XXIII.<br /><br /> -<small>“Thou Shalt Not Kill”—Jerome.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">PROSECUTOR IN TERRIFIC DENUNCIATION OF HARRY THAW AS A COLD-BLOODED -MURDERER—ATTACKS CHARACTER OF EVELYN, THE “ANGEL CHILD WHO WAS -ALWAYS READY TO GO TO THE HUMAN OGRE” WHOM THAW KILLED—SNEERS AT -THE YOUNG WIFE—WARNS JURY AGAINST “DEMENTIA AMERICANA,” -PLEA—“NOTHING TO SHOW DEFENDANT WAS INSANE; EVERYTHING TO SHOW HE -WAS SANE.</p></div> - -<p>In his supreme effort to send Harry Thaw to the electric chair, District -Attorney Jerome in his closing speech savagely lashed the defendant as a -deliberate, cold-blooded murderer. He bitterly attacked the characters -of Thaw and his wife, referring to Evelyn as “the angel child,” who was -“always ready to go to the human ogre who stripped her of her virtue,” -and declared her story of her ruin by White was absolutely false.</p> - -<p>Mr. Jerome lost no opportunity to sneer at the little wife’s tragic -story and at the chivalry of her husband, and he paid his respects to -Delmas’ sensational “Dementia Americana,” or unwritten law plea, by -asking if it was the higher law under which a man may flaunt the woman -through the capitals of Europe for two years as his mistress—and then -kill.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_263" id="page_263">{263}</a></span></p> - -<p>The prosecutor warned the jury that it would be a violation of their -oaths to consider “Dementia Americana,” declaring it had no status on -the Atlantic seaboard.</p> - -<p>Mr. Jerome said: “This is simply a common, vulgar, everyday, tenderloin -homicide.” He denounced the plea of Attorney Delmas as “an appeal to the -passions.” There could, he said, be but one of four verdicts—murder in -the first degree, murder in the second degree, manslaughter, or “not -guilty because of insanity.”</p> - -<p>The prosecutor also made a stirring appeal in behalf of the slain -architect, declaring that he had been villainously maligned. Mr. Jerome -said it seemed to him that the voice of the murdered Stanford White was -crying out to him, “Can’t you say one word for me? Must I go down to the -fires of hell unheard—undefended.”</p> - -<p>William Travers Jerome, elected district attorney of New York on -November 5, 1902, won a great reputation as a reformer and a foe of -vice, gambling, crooked politicians, and every other evil. Before being -elected prosecutor, on a fusion ticket which overwhelmed the corrupt -Tammany hall machine, he was a justice of the court of special sessions -in New York City.</p> - -<p>As a private lawyer he was favorably known for the intense earnestness -he put into the cases of his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_264" id="page_264">{264}</a></span> clients. As a platform orator; a -campaigner and a hustler for votes he had his name to make, and he made -it. He was the bright, particular star of the campaign, and drew larger -crowds and excited more enthusiasm from immense assemblies than any -other speaker during the campaign.</p> - -<p>William Travers son of the well-known Larry Jerome, grew from a puny -baby to a boy too delicate to meet the rough-and-tumble life of public -schools. He had a private tutor, and after he left the tutor’s care he -entered Amherst College. He remained there three years, and at the end -of that time he left on account of poor health.</p> - -<p>But it was not in the Jerome blood to stay downed. Next year William -Travers Jerome entered Columbia College Law School, and was graduated in -1884.</p> - -<p>After that he traveled considerably, practiced law a little and amused -himself a little. By 1888 he was ready to settle down, and in that year -three important things happened in his life. He was appointed Assistant -District Attorney. He married Miss Hart, of Sharon, Conn. Lawrence -Jerome, his father, died.</p> - -<p>In the District Attorney’s office Jerome made a reputation among the -other assistants as a man who never gave up in the most thankless task, -and as an embryo politician who never worked for his own pocket. Jerome -has his failings and his friends, as well as his foes, know this well. -His chief weakness<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_265" id="page_265">{265}</a></span> is a desire to say startling things. He has said -several, the most remarkable being an attack on William C. Whitney and -Boss Platt and the declaration that there was a plot hatched to either -kill him or scratch him at the polls. Jerome was called to time on these -propositions, and he retracted—but he did it without crawling. Jerome -is too outspoken to be a successful politician. His aggressiveness and -his fearlessness are admirable.</p> - -<p>Mr. Jerome’s speech was as follows:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“If it please your honor and gentlemen of the jury, you seem, as -far as I can judge, to have been wandering through a weird deal of -romance in the past few days. It is not on statements such as you -have listened to that the life of a human individual on the one -hand nor the safety of the community on the other depends.</p> - -<p>“And important as it is that no human life shall be put out except -justly, yet it is equally important that it be put out if justice -demands it.</p> - -<p>“As to this ‘dementia Americana,’ which ‘prevails from the Canadian -line to the Gulf of Mexico’—and mostly on the Gulf of Mexico—does -it wait three years and glare at its enemy and then kill?</p> - -<p>“Does this ‘dementia Americana’ flaunt the woman it loves for two -long years through the capitals of Europe and then kill? ‘Dementia -Americana’ never hides behind the skirts of a woman; ‘dementia -Americana’ never puts a woman on the stand to lay bare her shame to -protect it; no woman could in the category where ‘dementia -Americana’ prevails.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>When I discharged those shots into his head,’ said Thaw, ‘I -didn’t know I was discharging shots. I did<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_266" id="page_266">{266}</a></span>n’t know it was Stanford -White. I didn’t know I was killing him, nor did I know it was -wrong.’</p> - -<p>“It was wrong under the law. When the anarchists threw the bombs in -Chicago they had no personal grievance against any of the four -policemen who were killed. It is not a question whether the slayer -justified himself, not the form of his own conscience. It is the -law of the land that must be satisfied.</p> - -<p>“Let me first deal with the dead man. A middle-aged man, care-gray -already, a man with a wife and children, a man of position in the -community, a man of genius. He comes into the life of this girl. He -assists her and her family. Does he make a single insidious advance -until the night mentioned here?</p> - -<p>“Does he give her a single rich gift? Why, it was stipulated here -that the gifts were trifles—a hat, a coat. Did he try to dazzle -her with rich gifts? Did he try to see if she would yield to drink? -No. Night after night at dinners he would tell her she could have -but one glass of champagne. In the company of actresses, and those -miserable persons about town who seem to think that the society of -a chorus girl is the only one for them, did he not seek to protect -her from them?</p> - -<p>“This angel child, as Delmas depicted her—this chaste, good being, -cannot recall the time within three months of it when this brute -ruined her.</p> - -<p>“When she could not fix the time of her life’s wreck my learned -friend from the Pacific slope concluded, ‘Why don’t you prove an -alibi for Stanford White? The doors are thrown wide open.’ When the -people called Wittans to testify that there was no such drug as she -described the door was closed. When Eichemeyer, the photographer, -was called to fix the date of the event—it occurred the night of -the day after this picture was taken—the door was closed.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_267" id="page_267">{267}</a></span></p> - -<p>“The learned judge ruled justly. I offered this not as new -evidence, but to call the story of the ‘angel child.’</p> - -<p>“Maidens know well enough to appreciate the distinction between -right and wrong—their blushes, their reserve, their shrinking -would impress upon them indelibly the time when any such attempt is -made to destroy their purity. Was she brought up more carefully -than your own daughters?</p> - -<p>“And yet she meets him again and again and again. She meets him -eight or ten times at the tower. She meets him in the Twenty-fourth -street place because she believed others would be there. And then -all these subsequent attacks were attacks with liquor. After all -these, there was marked for identification, with greatest -ostentation, a number of letters written by Stanford White—this -great ogre!</p> - -<p>“And yet you will recall that on one occasion a Mr. P. called at -the Twenty-fourth street house and found the angel child downstairs -undressing.</p> - -<p>“Was there one of these letters put in evidence! Is it credible -that if a single one of these letters contained the slightest -intimation of indecency that it would not have been put in -evidence?</p> - -<p>“Could there have been these successive ill-treatments month after -month and yet not a single line in all those letters except words -of tender appreciation? Contrast those letters with this, for -instance: ‘Men celebrated for licking toes,’ the letter of this -most modern St. George, who leads the angel child up to the true -light. After days of description of the baseness and debauchery of -Stanford White, it seems as if the spirit of Stanford White itself -would have come here to say to Evelyn Thaw: ‘What! Not one word of -kindness—not one word to say for me?’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>Here Jerome’s voice broke, his chin quivered, and he sobbed for a -moment. Drying his eyes, he continued:</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_268" id="page_268">{268}</a></span></p> - -<p>“The law will not allow it.” (Jerome, still talking of the spirit -of White, added: “I am not on trial. I have no one here to speak -for me.”)</p> - -<p>Jerome’s eyes filled with more tears as he went on:</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Can you not say one word for me? Only one word for me,’ the -spirit seemed to say.”</p> - -<p>The tears started down Jerome’s face. He faced the jury, holding -aloft the photograph taken by Eichemeyer—the one on the bear rug. -Then he cried with evident feeling:</p> - -<p>“Can’t you say for me something? On the stand she said, ‘I know no -one who was nicer or kinder than Stanford White, except for this -one awful thing. He was exceptionally kind to me and to my family.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Outside of this one thing he was a grand man. And when I said so -to Mr. Thaw he said that only made Stanford White the more -dangerous.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>He had a strong personality and had many friends, and they -believed in him and could not believe anything bad about him. And -even when they believed, they said: “Too bad. He is so good.”<span class="lftspc">’</span></p> - -<p>“Can there be any grander, better panegyric, uttered than this by -this girl on the stand. I am here not to defend Stanford White. -That he had his faults, his gross faults, no one will deny.</p> - -<p>“But there is a difference between the brute, and the unchaste. Her -own words have ruined this Jekyll and Hyde theory.</p> - -<p>“Can it be possible that now, at twenty-two, she could look back to -the time when she was fifteen and pronounce so grand a panegyric -upon a brute?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_269" id="page_269">{269}</a></span></p> - -<p>“A wealthy man, finding, God only knows why, enjoyment in her -company—see how young she seems today (pointing to Evelyn -Thaw)—think how young she must have been then—that a rich man -should have tried to help her is consistent with his conduct.</p> - -<p>“That when she was told by the manager of the ‘Florodora’ company, -to whom she had applied, that they were not ‘running a baby -farm’—that a man like Stanford White should have taken care of her -and protected her—is certainly not inconsistent with the belief -that her relations with him were pure.</p> - -<p>“Again, it is consistent that their relations were not pure. This -girl alone knows. But I submit this girl is not telling the truth. -There is no proof of the wrongdoing.”</p> - -<p>At this point Jerome asked that a recess be taken. At the -reconvening of court, Mr. Jerome resumed as follows:</p> - -<p>“I have carefully laid out to you what we are here for in our -respective duties. I have presented briefly as I could the facts -that I have adduced.</p> - -<p>“The head on which I am now dwelling is, ‘What is the defense that -the defendant makes to this formal charge?’ I deem it necessary to -dwell at some length on the character of the three persons who -figure most in this case. However, much as we may disagree, we come -back to the issue: ‘Did he know the nature and quality of his act?’</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>I did not know it was a self-cocking revolver and I did not know -I walked toward Stanford White and I I not know it was against the -law of the land to fire the shots.’</p> - -<p>“In regard to the girl, we may esteem her, however much or little -we may think of her veracity. Nothing can <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_270" id="page_270">{270}</a></span>go out to her except our -pity. If these things did not occur, if she perjured herself it -seems even more that she needs our pity.</p> - -<p>“What chance did she ever have in life? Her father died early, her -mother led a life of shifting about from place to place. We all -know what life on the stage is. We all see some of it. Why do you -suppose Garland, a married man, was following this girl about; why -do you suppose even Thaw was pursuing her with flowers? This little -girl knew something of life before she met Mr. White.</p> - -<p>“Counsel for the defense speaks of her fatal gift of beauty. It is -ever thus. We are all men of the world and we all pass along the -great white way of this city and see its effects daily.</p> - -<p>“Why do you suppose Garland was paying her attention? Why was Thaw -sending her American Beauty roses? Why did he pursue her even to -her home? I don’t wish to speak too harshly of this mother. I will -read what she says of Garland.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>My mother was not entirely pleased with the relations of Mr. -Garland.’</p> - -<p>“What were the relations that caused the mother to make objection? -They were very poor and the acquaintance of White and Garland was -desirable. The girl, you know, was sent to school. The whole -situation centered about the girl. It was she who, in the long run, -brought about all these occurrences.</p> - -<p>“Next time, Mr. Hartridge, that you take things and papers -belonging to Evelyn Thaw out of a storage warehouse, take good care -that you do not leave behind such a book as this.”</p> - -<p>Mr. Jerome displayed a flexible leather-bound book in which there -appeared a good deal of written matter. Jerome then raised the -diary, or book, and shook it before the jury. Mr. Hartridge -objected at this point and said<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_271" id="page_271">{271}</a></span> that there was no evidence that he -had taken the documents from the warehouse. Mr. Hartridge was -overruled by Justice Fitzgerald. Jerome then read the one entry of -the diary which had been admitted in evidence. It was:</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>I jumped right in and proceeded to be good. The first thing I saw -was my virtuous couch. I wonder how far I am from -Rector’s—Rector’s and the Great White Way.’</p> - -<p>“Significant, I consider that, indeed I do,” said Jerome, and then -continued reading from the girl’s school diary.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>These things have always been of that kind. Not one of them will -ever be anything. Mrs. De Mille was very nice and agreeable.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>I was taken into the house and shown all the celerity of a -soubrette and proceeded to get shy. When we drove up to the house -Mrs. De Mille’s son came out smoking a pipe, and I must admit he is -a pie-faced mutt.</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>I was taken into the house and shown to my room. It is neither -large nor small; has Japanese paper on the walls. There is a -virtuous white bed, a girl’s bureau and a washstand.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>Then Jerome went on:</p> - -<p>“This shows that this child played one man against the other. She -went to Paris on Thaw’s money with White’s letter of credit in her -pocket. This child that believed not at all in the virtue of -women—this child who had been in the ‘Florodora’ company—this -child who had been yachting with Garland—this child who had been -to the late suppers where risque stories and intoxicated women -prevailed. This child thought it was nothing to be a good -mother—that she would rather become a great actress first, and she -arrived in Paris fully convinced that there is no virtue in -womankind, she being eighteen and a half at that time.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_272" id="page_272">{272}</a></span></p> - -<p>“This is the angel child described by Mr. Delmas. And then we are -told that in Paris the child loved Thaw and in the greatness of her -love renounced him and was willing to come back to the chorus and -the studios. She made this renunciation and when she had done so -she traveled about Europe with this St. George who had revealed to -her that there was chastity in women, and then she leaves him for -some reason, which I will dwell upon later, and comes to New York -with his money.</p> - -<p>“She arrives in this city on October 24, 1903, and is found a few -days later in the office of Abraham Hummel in the company of -Stanford White, the man who had so dreadfully ill-used her. If not -another thing was found in that affidavit than the signature of -Evelyn Nesbit, this date, which appears opposite that name, would -be significant.</p> - -<p>“The significant thing is that within twenty-four hours before she -saw him on Sunday her great love had been undermined so that she -deserted this man for the monster who had wrecked her life.</p> - -<p>“By stories too evil to repeat, she says, she was turned against -Thaw. And then, when he returned, she tells him of what she had -heard about him, and he says, ‘Poor little Evelyn. Somebody has -deceived you.’</p> - -<p>“And when I call her renunciation of this young man sublime I did -not do so with a sneer. Such a renunciation, if it really occurred, -is unparalleled in history.</p> - -<p>“Great actress, indeed! She thought she could play on you like so -many children. Look at those pictures taken when she was sixteen -years old—does she look anything like the way she appeared in -court?</p> - -<p>“She appears in these early photographs in a way which you could -not allow a daughter of yours of sixteen to appear.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_273" id="page_273">{273}</a></span></p> - -<p>“She comes here in her little school-girl dress—her little white, -turned-down collars, which cover all but the flowing ends of a -pretty childlike bow-tie. She sits in the witness chair and tries -to impress on you this assumed, youthful childishness.</p> - -<p>“There she was a poor, wronged, orphan child, whom Thaw would take -to his arms and protect. Sir Galahad took that angel child—took -her from her mother and flaunted her through every capital of -Europe. ‘Dementia Americana’—the higher, unwritten law! Why, you -may paint Stanford White in as black color as you wish, but there -are no colors in the artists’ box black enough to paint this Sir -Galahad. Why should this Sir Galahad be abandoned by this girl? Why -should she leave him? For some reason she did leave him. Why? Let -us go into the Hummel affidavit.</p> - -<p>“What do we find Thaw doing? We find him wrapping $50 around -American Beauty roses and sending them to her. Is that the course -of honorable courtship?</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Rector’s, I know, is not the proper place for an innocent young -person, but I always had a weakness for it.’ (Mr. Jerome read from -the diary.)</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>It is my ambition to see things and then settle down; but I want -to be a good actress before I settle down to a humdrum existence.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>Jerome again read from the diary of the girl, Evelyn Nesbit.</p> - -<p>“You have heard what took place in Paris—mother, daughter and Thaw -were living together. Thaw asked her there to be his wife and she -refused, and when he asked her why she said:</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Because.’ And he asked. ‘Is it Stanford White?’ and she said, -‘Yes.’ And then we are told she gave him the entire story.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_274" id="page_274">{274}</a></span></p> - -<p>“She had nothing ahead of her. There was a man she saw she loved. -He offered her his wealth in return for that love. She laid it -aside—all the comforts of life. Wasn’t that a sublime resignation?</p> - -<p>“He offered her a haven of rest—rest for the wanderer. And yet so -great was that love for him that she would not accept him. Those -were noble words for this man to say. This girl’s renunciation was -truly sublime—if true. She might not have known how Stanford -White, like the brute negro of the South, would look upon his -victim with passion, but she did not know that it was wrong.</p> - -<p>“I don’t think Hummel is an upright man, and he is in the position -he is in just because I put him there. He will go to jail and he -will stay there just as long as I can keep him there. He has lived -as a blackguarding blackmailer for twenty years and anything coming -from his hands must be viewed by you justly with suspicion.</p> - -<p>“But Abraham Snydecker swore that he took that affidavit to Evelyn -Nesbit there in the Madison Square tower and that she read it and -signed it. Let us see what she herself says about that affidavit. -The itinerary set down in the affidavit corresponds exactly with -her description of it. Were all these things put in there by -Hummel? Strange touches for this old blackmailing, blackguarding -scoundrel to have put into that affidavit—such little touches as -reference to a watch and to a hypodermic needle used for morphine, -which she says she found in Thaw’s trunk.</p> - -<p>“I will concede that this story may have been dressed up by the -lawyer. Can we think of the suggestions in her own testimony of the -Ethel Thomas suit? Can we think of the rumors of Dillingham’s -story? Can we fail to remark upon that passage in his letter in -which he says, ‘He will never hurt you,’ referring to himself?<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_275" id="page_275">{275}</a></span></p> - -<p>“Snydecker says that affidavit was taken to the Twenty-seventh -street studio and her signature appears exactly opposite the date.</p> - -<p>“Strange that after her return from Europe—from Thaw—she should -immediately have gone to him, to White.</p> - -<p>“A knight of old, redressing the wrongs of injured maidens, would -not have gone to Rector’s at 2 o’clock in the morning, would not -have gone to cakewalks and cafes, to the Dead Rat in Paris and -resorts in other places, to remain there all night and go home when -the market wakes.</p> - -<p>“Almost within earshot of his wife he asked Smith—this knight of -old asked:</p> - -<p>“Would you like to meet a nice, buxom brunette? Are you much -married? I am going abroad and I can put you next.</p> - -<p>“Every element, gentlemen, in this case is simply an ordinary, -mere, vulgar, every-day, Tenderloin, low, sordid murder.</p> - -<p>“If this rich young man instead of being Harry Thaw, the son of a -millionaire of Pittsburg, had been a poor Italian and his victim, -instead of a man of artistic temperament, a maker of plaster casts, -and a girl whom they quarreled about was a chorus girl in the -London Theater, how long would brainstorms and paranoia have -prevailed?</p> - -<p>“Simply a mere, ordinary Tenderloin homicide. Because she has a -pretty face and a child-like manner, she is coming here to tell a -tissue of lies to prevent you gentlemen from putting a deliberate, -cold-blooded murderer under ground.</p> - -<p>“Will you gentlemen acquit a cold-blooded, cowardly, deliberate -murderer on the ground of ‘dementia Americana’?</p> - -<p>“Thaw himself, the girl swore, accused her of having<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_276" id="page_276">{276}</a></span> resumed -relations with White after she returned from Paris. Where does this -man’s conduct show aught that he did not know the quality and -nature of his act? We have the letters A to I. The girl says that -at times in 1903 Thaw was drinking heavily.”</p> - -<p>Jerome argued that neither Thaw’s letters nor his will indicated -insanity, but rather showed that he possessed a knowledge of legal -limitations. His letters he described as “erratic and vulgar, the -product of a rich illiterate.” Jerome continued:</p> - -<p>“He knew enough to automobile through Europe with this girl. He -knew enough to warn Longfellow to be on the lookout for legal -actions, and yet he did not know that when he shot White he was -doing wrong. Even the codicil drawn in his own language runs in the -legal way.</p> - -<p>“Everything shows a sane mind. There is not a thing to indicate a -crazy mind. There is evidence here that he consulted Roger O’Mara -before he carried a revolver. He was afraid of the Monk Eastman -gang.</p> - -<p>“Is it such an unknown thing that a man should be followed by a -gang of hirelings? Was the arrest and trial of the Monk Eastman -gang in Jersey a few years ago a figment of imagination? Where was -the delusion in that? How easy it is for a man of this kind to -store away his ‘dementia Americana’ for three years! Where is the -delusion in a man’s believing that he is in danger from a gang?</p> - -<p>“Don’t let’s blow hot and cold at the same time. In one breath we -are told that there was such a gang hired, and then we are told it -was all a delusion.</p> - -<p>“There was such a gang—and I am sorry to have to admit there was.</p> - -<p>“Why did he leave his money to the Society for the <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_277" id="page_277">{277}</a></span>Suppression of -Vice? Was that a delusion?</p> - -<p>“And he says in a letter that they could find pictures in White’s -studio which were lewd, but perhaps within the law. Was that a -delusion?</p> - -<p>“Will you gentlemen acquit a cold-blooded, cowardly, deliberate -murderer on the ground of ‘dementia Americana?’</p> - -<p>“If the only thing that lies between every man and his enemy is a -brainstorm, then let every man pack a gun. There are two things I -want to say. They are: ‘Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord,’ and -that other law that was thundered from Mount Sinai:</p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>Thou shalt not kill!’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p></div><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_278" id="page_278">{278}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIV" id="CHAPTER_XXIV"></a>CHAPTER XXIV.<br /><br /> -<small>The Judge’s Charge to the Jury—Thaw in Collapse.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">JUSTICE FITZGERALD DEALS BLOW WHEN HE TELLS THE TWELVE “GOOD MEN -AND TRUE” THEY MUST IGNORE THE “UNWRITTEN LAW”—READS THE STATUTE -GOVERNING INSANITY AS A DEFENSE—BURDEN OF PROOF OF MADNESS PLACED -ON THE DEFENDANT—TELLS WHAT VERDICTS MAY BE RENDERED—“YOU MUST BE -GUIDED ENTIRELY ON THE EVIDENCE; CLAMOR, PREJUDICE, OR SYMPATHY -MUST NOT PREVAIL.”</p></div> - -<p>Upon the heels of District Attorney Jerome’s closing address, Justice -Fitzgerald dealt a terrific blow to the defense in his charge to the -jury. Every word that he uttered seemed to the lawyers attending the -trial to be a plea that the jurors ignore the most telling points of -Delmas’ address and confine themselves strictly to the facts and the law -on the statute books, ignoring the “unwritten law.”</p> - -<p>Thaw heard the charge with rapidly paling face, and he almost collapsed -when the judge said that the defendant must prove his insanity before he -could look for a verdict of acquittal. This charge and the bitter -closing speech of Jerome so worked upon the feelings of Harry that he -was in a sad condition when he was taken back to the prisoner’s room. A -call from his wife, however, cheered him up, and he said:<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_279" id="page_279">{279}</a></span></p> - -<p>“Well, dearie, we must make the best of it, anyway. Cheer up, little -girl, everything will come out all right.”</p> - -<p>The members of the Thaw family were low in spirits, especially when they -heard that the keeper of the prisoners’ room had said:</p> - -<p>“The judge’s cold-blooded charge has scared Harry half to death. He has -finally been made to realize what he is ‘up against.’<span class="lftspc">”</span></p> - -<p>The charge of Justice Fitzgerald was as follows:</p> - -<div class="blockquot"><p>“Gentlemen of the Jury, it now becomes my duty to give you such -instructions as are necessary to enable you to perform your duty as -jurors and to define for your information the legal principles by -which you are to be governed in reaching your conclusion of the -evidence.</p> - -<p>“It is particularly gratifying to me that you were selected by the -people and the defense as fair-minded men, after the examination of -337 men and the peremptory challenges on each side had been -exhausted. The care with which you were severally selected to -ascertain the condition of mind of each of you as an impartial -juror must have impressed you with the spirit of justice. It must -have impressed you with that spirit of justice with which the -statutes regulating the acts of the orderly are governed.</p> - -<p>“The admonition so frequently given at the close of the sessions of -this trial were given in accordance with the law, that you might -remain impartial. Let me impress on you the importance of the issue -you are to decide.</p> - -<p>“The life of the deceased was in the protection of the law and had -been taken by the defendant. And the defendant is here to answer to -the law for that.</p> - -<p>“You must take the law absolutely from the court, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_280" id="page_280">{280}</a></span> of the facts -you are the sole judges. A defendant to a criminal action is -presumed to be innocent until the contrary can be proved, and in -the case of a reasonable doubt he is entitled to it.</p> - -<p>“Let me begin by instructing you on the law of homicide. The -statute on homicide is divided into two divisions, which are again -subdivided. The two chief divisions are homicide that is criminal -and homicide that is not.</p> - -<p>“Criminal homicides are classed as murder in the first degree, -murder in the second degree and manslaughter in the first and -second degree. Homicide unless it is excusable or justifiable is -murder in the first degree, when committed with deliberate design -to effect the death of the person killed.</p> - -<p>“If committed with design to effect death without premeditation or -deliberation, it would not constitute murder in the first degree -but would constitute murder in the second degree. If committed -without design to effect death in the heat of passion with a deadly -weapon that would constitute manslaughter in the first degree.</p> - -<p>“All lesser criminal homicides are embraced within the definition -of manslaughter in the second degree.</p> - -<p>“Homicides not criminal are classed as justifiable and excusable -homicide. Homicide is justifiable when committed in the lawful -defense of the slayer or his wife or child or master or servant or -anybody connected with him in close relation.</p> - -<p>“The defense here is that the defendant was insane at the time he -committed the act and the law applicable in the defense of insanity -is found in sections 20 and 21 of the Penal Code. Section 20 -provides that an act done by a person who is an idiot, imbecile or -lunatic is not a crime.</p> - -<p>“But section 21 limits section 20 as follows:<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_281" id="page_281">{281}</a></span></p> - -<p>“<span class="lftspc">‘</span>A person is not excusable from criminal liability as an idiot, -imbecile, lunatic or insane person except upon proof that at the -time of committing the alleged crime he was laboring under such a -defect of reason as either not to know the nature or quality of the -act or to know that the act was wrong.’</p> - -<p>“Before murder in the first degree can be done, a distinguished -jurist has said, it must appear that there was some act of -deliberation and premeditation. This, of necessity, is for the -comprehension of the jury.</p> - -<p>“If you are satisfied that there was a design to effect death, but -without deliberation and premeditation, you may find murder in the -second degree. The defendant may be convicted under this indictment -of murder in the first or second degree or manslaughter in the -first degree.</p> - -<p>“When it appears that the defendant committed a crime and there is -reasonable doubt of which degree he is guilty, he can be convicted -of the lowest only.</p> - -<p>“As I have tried to impress upon you since this trial began, the -character of the victim furnishes neither excuse nor justification. -The general character of the victim is not the issue, and no matter -how bad he might have been he was entitled to the protection of the -law.</p> - -<p>“The personal avenger of private or public wrongs is not recognized -under our law. Every person is under the protection of the law. -Good or bad, exalted or humble, all are alike covered by its -shield.</p> - -<p>“The plea of not guilty is a denial of every material allegation -charged against the defendant, and such evidence may be presented -as will offset these allegations and establish his insanity at the -time of the commission of the act.</p> - -<p>“The law presumes that sanity is the normal condition<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_282" id="page_282">{282}</a></span> of man, and -wherein insanity is the plea that becomes the crucial question for -the jury to decide.</p> - -<p>“If there existed in the mind of the defendant an insane illusion -it is not an excuse unless the illusion is of such a character that -if true it would result in his injury.</p> - -<p>“Proof of partial or incipient insanity is not sufficient as an -excuse. The settled law of the state is that so long as that power -to appreciate the nature and quality of the act is present no man -must commit crime if he would escape the consequences.</p> - -<p>“Under the rules of evidence the story, claimed by the defendant -prior and subsequent to this tragedy and prior is admitted, not as -affecting the character of the deceased, but that you might -consider what effect such a story had on the defendant’s mind.</p> - -<p>“In considering her story, her credibility as a witness is highly -material, and everything that she has said or done must be taken -into consideration. Her admissions regarding the relations existing -between herself and the defendant prior and subsequent to this -tragedy and prior to her marriage or any other act should be -weighed in connection with her story.</p> - -<p>“A wide latitude was allowed on cross-examination. You should give -due credit to all that was developed along with other facts.</p> - -<p>“There has been no denial entered here that death resulted from -pistol shot wounds inflicted by the defendant; he committed the -act. It was not incumbent upon the prosecution to introduce -preliminary testimony to show that he was sane. The burden of proof -is upon the defense. Whoever denies sanity must prove that insanity -is present. The burden of proving a crime is on the prosecution, -but the burden of overthrowing sanity is on the person claiming -it.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_283" id="page_283">{283}</a></span></p> - -<p>“The hypothetical questions which were answered by the experts -assumed certain facts and the answer was only the opinion of the -expert on those assumed facts.</p> - -<p>“You are not obliged nor are you permitted to accept opinions as -you would facts. In considering the testimony of medical experts, -you are to consider their experience and knowledge, and you should -consider the quality of the medical testimony and not its quantity.</p> - -<p>“The so-called irresistible impulse has no place in the law and is -not an excuse, nor is every person of a disordered mind excused. -While the burden of proof of insanity is on the defendant, he is -also entitled to every reasonable doubt on the subject. If the -defendant knew the nature or the quality of his act, or knew that -the act was wrong, then he committed a crime.</p> - -<p>“As to the distinction between reasonable doubt and a possible -doubt you were thoroughly examined when you were about to become -jurors.</p> - -<p>“The law does not require that the prosecution shall efface every -possible doubt.</p> - -<p>“It only requires that the prosecution shall go beyond a reasonable -doubt. Nothing in this world is beyond all doubt. The defendant is -entitled to every reasonable doubt and that is all.</p> - -<p>“You may in this case, let me say once more, find the defendant -guilty of murder in the first degree, guilty of murder in the -second degree or guilty of manslaughter in the first degree.</p> - -<p>“If you vote for acquittal on the ground of insanity you may state -that ground in your verdict.</p> - -<p>“You must be guided, gentlemen, entirely on the evidence. Clamor, -prejudice or sympathy must not prevail. You must be guided by your -reason and your judgment.”</p></div><p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_284" id="page_284">{284}</a></span></p> - -<p>The case was given to the jury immediately upon the conclusion of the -reading of the charge, and at 5:15 p.m., Wednesday, April 10, 1907, the -jury was locked up to begin its deliberations.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_285" id="page_285">{285}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXV" id="CHAPTER_XXV"></a>CHAPTER XXV.<br /><br /> -<small>Deliberations of the Jury.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">TWELVE MEN UNABLE TO REST OR SLEEP, HAVE HARD TIME—ANY ONE OF SIX -VERDICTS COULD BE GIVEN, SAID LAWYERS—THAW GLOOMY—VISITED BY -WIFE—MOTHER WORN OUT BY ANXIETY—JURORS HAVE PART OF EVIDENCE READ -AND RETURN FOR MORE BALLOTING—EVELYN ALMOST MOBBED BY -CROWD—VARIOUS RUMORS AFLOAT.</p></div> - -<p>From the moment they left the court room, the jurors had a hard task -before them. The situation was complex. According to legal experts there -were six verdicts from which a logical choice could be made, as follows:</p> - -<p>1. Murder in the first degree, the penalty for which is death.</p> - -<p>2. Murder in the second degree, the penalty for which is life -imprisonment.</p> - -<p>3. Manslaughter in the first degree, the penalty for which is -imprisonment for twenty years.</p> - -<p>4. Manslaughter in the second degree, punishable by fifteen years’ -imprisonment.</p> - -<p>5. Not guilty, on the ground that the defendant was insane at the time -of the shooting.</p> - -<p>6. Not guilty, without any explanation.</p> - -<p>When the jury went out. Justice Fitzgerald ex<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_286" id="page_286">{286}</a></span>pected a verdict soon, and -remained in the court room until 11 p. m., ready to receive it. At that -hour no word had come from the jury, and the judge ordered the twelve -men locked up for the night. Thaw’s cheerfulness had entirely -disappeared, and it was plain that he was in a mood of deepest gloom as -he was led back into the prisoner’s pen. There his wife visited him for -a short time, endeavoring to cheer him, and then she went to dinner at a -near-by restaurant with Dan O’Reilly, a member of Thaw’s counsel, not -wishing to be away from her husband if a verdict should be returned.</p> - -<p>In spite of District Attorney Jerome’s masterly speech, the members of -the Thaw family had a faint hope for an immediate verdict, and remained -in the courtroom for half an hour. Finally it became apparent that their -stay was useless. Mrs. William Thaw, worn out with anxiety, was forced -to go to her hotel.</p> - -<p>Though the long delay seemed to many close observers to preclude a -verdict of acquittal, it was taken as indicating that a verdict of -guilty also could not be reached, and the impression began to gain, that -there would be a disagreement, which would render the twelve weeks’ -trial useless.</p> - -<p>Members of Thaw’s family were fearful, however, lest under Justice -Fitzgerald’s charge the jury might bring in a verdict for one of the -lesser degrees of murder or for manslaughter as outlined by the court.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_287" id="page_287">{287}</a></span></p> - -<p>One of the prison guards with Thaw received word from his home that his -little girl, who had been ill for several days, was dying. Thaw turned -to him and expressed the greatest sympathy.</p> - -<p>“You are in a worse predicament than I am,” he said to the guard, “and I -am very sorry.”</p> - -<p>When Justice Fitzgerald re-opened court the next morning he sent a -bailiff to ask Foreman Smith if the jury had reached a verdict. “No, we -have not,” was the only reply.</p> - -<p>At 11 a.m. the second day the jury sent word it would come into court -for further instructions.</p> - -<p>A moment later they filed in, headed by Deming B. Smith, their foreman. -Nobody needed to be told that they had sat up all night. They looked it. -The look of weariness and anxiety and sleepiness was all over them, but -they did not look like men who were ready to quit. They looked like men -who knew the gravity of their task and who were determined to discharge -it properly if there was any way of doing it.</p> - -<p>Justice Fitzgerald came in a moment later and as soon as he had taken -his seat Clerk Penny advanced to the rail and said in the quiet manner -he might use in asking for a glass of water: “Harry K. Thaw to the bar.”</p> - -<p>There was a brief delay, then the pen door opened and Thaw came in ahead -of a prion keeper and took his place, smiling a trifle at his wife and -mother.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_288" id="page_288">{288}</a></span> Thaw’s relatives had been in the building an hour or so before -the jury came in. They all bore themselves in the same impassive manner. -Grave they were, but none of them appeared in the least excited. Evelyn -Thaw herself looked as if she has passed a wretched night. She was paler -than usual and her eyes looked as if she might have been weeping. -District Attorney Jerome and Assistant District Attorney Garvan were in -their usual places, as also were all of the prisoner’s counsel.</p> - -<p>Justice Fitzgerald, in taking the bench, said:</p> - -<p>“I have received a request from the jury to be allowed to examine and -have possession of the following exhibits:</p> - -<p>“1. The plan or diagram of Madison Square garden.</p> - -<p>“2. Exhibits A to I—the letters from Thaw to Attorney Longfellow.</p> - -<p>“3. The will and codicil.</p> - -<p>“4. The Comstock letter.</p> - -<p>“5. Mr. Delmas’ hypothetical question.</p> - -<p>“6. Mr. Jerome’s hypothetical question.”</p> - -<p>“The people have no objection,” said Mr. Jerome.</p> - -<p>“The defense has none,” said Mr. O’Reilly of Thaw’s counsel.</p> - -<p>Foreman Smith stated that the jury desired not only the typewritten -copies of the Thaw letters, will and codicil, but the originals as well. -The papers<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_289" id="page_289">{289}</a></span> were gathered together by Clerk Penny and made into a -bundle.</p> - -<p>The reading of the testimony of Policeman Dennis Wright and John Anthony -and Peter Barrett, doormen of the Nineteenth precinct police station, -followed.</p> - -<p>Meyer Cohen’s testimony had been largely a personal demonstration by -himself of Thaw’s attitude after the shooting and his manner of -approaching Stanford White. Henry S. Plaise was with Cohen the night of -the tragedy.</p> - -<p>Finally the jury asked to hear again the testimony of the doormen on -duty at the Tenderloin precinct police station the night of Thaw’s -arrest and who gave testimony as to the defendant claiming to hear the -voices of young girls.</p> - -<p>Juror Pink, who undoubtedly was in very bad shape, delayed the reading -of the testimony to the jury by asking permission to retire for a few -minutes. He tottered from the room accompanied by an officer and seemed -near a collapse.</p> - -<p>After an absence of five minutes he resumed his place in the jury box, -looking very pale and tired.</p> - -<p>Lastly the jurymen asked to have read to them the testimony of Evelyn -Thaw so far as it related to the shooting, the testimony of Thomas -McCaleb as to where the party was sitting on the roof garden, and the -testimony of Dr. Allen McLane Hamilton so far as it was allowed before -the jury.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_290" id="page_290">{290}</a></span></p> - -<p>Foreman Smith also asked to have read that portion of Justice -Fitzgerald’s charge relating to the testimony of Drs. Evans and Wagners.</p> - -<p>After hearing a review of the evidence for two hours and a half the jury -retired to its room at 1:30 for a luncheon and further balloting.</p> - -<p>Evelyn Thaw was almost mobbed by the hundreds of curious persons outside -the courthouse as she left the building to go to luncheon with Attorney -Dan O’Reilly. Evelyn separated from the other members of the family at -the door and started to walk to a restaurant in Franklin street.</p> - -<p>The crowd surged about her by the hundreds, growing constantly with -every foot traversed. Several policemen rushed to her assistance, but -they were unable to keep back the mob, which crowded about her close -enough to touch her garments.</p> - -<p>When she had entered the restaurant hundreds took up their station -outside to await her appearance.</p> - -<p>When the other members of the Thaw family left the building it required -several policemen to protect them from the curious ones.</p> - -<p>Nothing further was heard from the jury room the second day. The twelve -men were taken out to a meal early in the evening, and Justice -Fitzgerald, after awaiting a verdict until 11 p.m., ordered the jurors -locked up for the night. Thirty-one hours of deliberation had passed -then.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_291" id="page_291">{291}</a></span></p> - -<p>This was the second night that the jury has been locked up in the bare -jury room, whose only furniture was a long table and some hard chairs. -Contrary to what has occurred at many other famous murder trials no -information leaked out of the jury room regarding the attitude of the -jurors towards conviction or acquittal that could be regarded as in the -least reliable.</p> - -<p>Various rumors were afloat. Most of them had it that the jury stood 10 -to 2 or 9 to 3 for conviction, but on investigation it provided that all -of the rumors were nothing better than guesses.</p> - -<p>Soon after it was announced that the jury was to be shut up for the -night. Thaw was taken from the pen back to his cell. As he left the pen -he handed out to the reporters this note:</p> - -<p>“It is a great satisfaction that all of my family continue well. I -regret that so many officials and others have so much extra work.”</p> - -<p>On the morning of Friday, April 12, rumor had it that nine of the jurors -had agreed to find Thaw guilty of one in these three degrees:</p> - -<p>Murder in the second degree; penalty, life imprisonment.</p> - -<p>Manslaughter, first degree; penalty, twenty years’ imprisonment.</p> - -<p>Manslaughter, in the second degree; penalty, fifteen years’ -imprisonment.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_292" id="page_292">{292}</a></span></p> - -<p>The nine, it was reported, were veering most strongly to manslaughter in -the first degree and the three holding out for acquittal.</p> - -<p>At noon the crowd about the courthouse was so great that traffic was -practically stopped. More than 5,000 people gathered about the building -and when a rumor that any member of the Thaw family was about to leave -the building they surged from one corner to another, sweeping the few -policemen who were trying to preserve order almost off their feet.</p> - -<p>A call for reserves from several nearby precinct stations was responded -to by half a hundred men, who were distributed on both of the streets on -all four sides of the building.</p> - -<p>Inspector McClusky issued orders that no crowd was to be permitted to -congregate. No one was allowed to stand on the sidewalks, all of the -curious being obliged to keep moving.</p> - -<p>The jury did not go out to luncheon, but had its meals sent in, and this -added strength to the rumors that a verdict was near.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_293" id="page_293">{293}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVI" id="CHAPTER_XXVI"></a>CHAPTER XXVI.<br /><br /> -<small>Ending of the Trial—Jury Disagrees.</small></h2> - -<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">AFTER HAVING DELIBERATED MORE THAN FORTY-SEVEN HOURS, THE TWELVE -JURORS ARE FAR APART IN THEIR OPINIONS—LAST BALLOT SHOWED SEVEN -FOR CONVICTION FOR MURDER IN THE FIRST DEGREE, WITH DEATH AS -PENALTY, AND FIVE FOR ACQUITTAL—THAW ALMOST COLLAPSES—EVELYN -BEARS UP IN COURT BRAVELY, BUT IS OVERCOME LATER—THAW BACK TO CELL -IN TOMBS PRISON.</p></div> - -<p>After having been out forty-seven hours and eight minutes, the Jury at -4:25 p. m., April 12, 1907, filed into the court room, and at exactly -4:31 announced a disagreement and was discharged.</p> - -<p>The disagreement was unexpected, as the fact that the twelve men had not -asked for further instructions led to the belief that the minority were -being won over to the views of the majority.</p> - -<p>News that the jury was about to report was taken to Justice Fitzgerald -by a bailiff, and Attorneys Delmas, Jerome, and the other lawyers in the -case were summoned at once, while Harry Kendall Thaw was brought from -the prisoner’s room to face the panel.</p> - -<p>After Justice Fitzgerald had taken his seat on the bench the jury was -polled and then ordered to stand up. Thaw was also commanded to rise, -and the clerk asked him to look upon the jury.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_294" id="page_294">{294}</a></span></p> - -<p>The usual formality of “Jury, look upon the defendant, defendant look -upon the jury,” followed and the clerk asked the foreman if they had -agreed upon verdict.</p> - -<p>“We have not,” replied the foreman. Justice Fitzgerald thereupon told -them that as they had failed to agree he would discharge them. The -jurors quickly left the court room and Thaw sank back in his chair, -almost overcome with disappointment. Evelyn Thaw and the defendant’s -mother bore up bravely and on leaving the court house hurried over to -the Tombs, to see Harry, who was taken there in a few minutes.</p> - -<p>Mrs. William Thaw’s face was hidden behind a heavy black veil. She sat -with her daughters, the Countess of Yarmouth and Mrs. George L. -Carnegie, and all began to weep as soon as the verdict was announced. -Evelyn Thaw, sitting beside her husband, uttered a little shriek and -then turned deathly pale, almost collapsing. She revived quickly, -however, and begged the bailiff to be allowed to follow her husband out -of the court room. Thaw himself uttered not a word, and made no sign of -his great disappointment. He turned extremely pale, however, and was so -weak that two guards had to support him on the way to the Tombs.</p> - -<p>Soon after Thaw was placed in the Tombs his wife arrived.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_295" id="page_295">{295}</a></span></p> - -<p>“My dear, my dear,” she sobbed. I am so sorry—so sorry,” and then she -collapsed utterly.</p> - -<p>Shortly after the jury had been discharged it was stated that the final -vote stood: Seven for conviction of murder in the first degree, with -death in the electric chair as the penalty, and five for acquittal. -Reports as to the earlier votes varied greatly—in fact, hardly two -jurors told the same story, but it was admitted that the division -throughout was, on most of the ballots, about half for acquittal and -half for conviction, although the degree favored by those who demanded -punishment from Thaw varied considerably.</p> - -<p>Estimates made as to the expense of the trial attracted nearly as much -attention as did the probable outcome of the long hearing.</p> - -<p>Apparently authentic estimates indicated that the trial cost -considerably over $300,000. Of this sum, it is estimated probably -$235,000 had been spent by the Thaw family, while the expense to the -state had been in the neighborhood of $80,000.</p> - -<p>At the district attorney’s office it was stated that the trial had not -cost the county over $30,000. This does not include salaries and such -expenses as come out of the general sessions fund. Conservative -estimates gave $80,000 as probably the minimum cost to the state.</p> - -<p>The expense Thaw had incurred in his own de<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_296" id="page_296">{296}</a></span>fense was estimated as high -as $1,000,000. As a matter of fact he had probably not spent over -$235,000. Neither Thaw nor any of his relatives could tell exactly, -however, what the defense had cost.</p> - -<p>Thaw’s alienists, it was said, cost him $45,000, and his attorneys -$145,000. To offset his expenses, the jurors who listened to the long -drawn out trial, paid at the rate of $2 a day, got only $1,536 for their -combined services.</p> - -<p>As soon as the verdict was announced, District Attorney Jerome, declared -he would rush preparations for a new trial. He was smiling; Delmas was -heartbroken.</p> - -<p>The day after the trial ended, the jurors stated the final ballot was as -follows:</p> - -<p>For Conviction—7. Murder in the first degree. Deming B. Smith, foreman, -George Pfaff, Charles H. Fecke, Harvey C. Brearley, Chas. D. Newton, -Joseph H. Bolton, Bernard Gerstman.</p> - -<p>For Acquittal—5. On the ground of insanity. Oscar A. Pink, Henry C. -Harney, Malcolm F. Fraser, John S. Dennee, Wilbur F. Steele.</p> - -<p>Eight ballots were taken by the jurors during their deliberations, with -the following results:</p> - -<p><i>First Ballot</i>—Eight for conviction on the charge of murder in the -first degree and four for unqualified acquittal.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_297" id="page_297">{297}</a></span></p> - -<p><i>Second Ballot</i>—Eight for murder in the first degree and four for -acquittal.</p> - -<p><i>Third Ballot</i>—Eight for first degree murder and four for acquittal.</p> - -<p><i>Fourth Ballot</i>—Seven for murder in the first degree, one for -manslaughter in the first degree and four for acquittal.</p> - -<p><i>Fifth Ballot</i>—One for murder in the first degree, six for manslaughter -in the first degree and five for acquittal.</p> - -<p><i>Sixth Ballot</i>—One for murder in the first degree, six for manslaughter -in the first degree and five for acquittal.</p> - -<p><i>Seventh Ballot</i>—One for murder in the first degree, six for -manslaughter in the first degree and five for acquittal.</p> - -<p><i>Eighth Ballot</i>—Seven for murder in the first degree and five for -acquittal on the ground of insanity.</p> - -<p class="fint">THE END.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_298" id="page_298">{298}</a></span> </p> - -<h2><a name="Chronological_Story_of_the_Thaw_Trial" id="Chronological_Story_of_the_Thaw_Trial"></a>Chronological Story of the Thaw Trial.</h2> - -<p class="cb">————</p> - -<p>June 25, 1906—Thaw killed Stanford White.</p> - -<p>June 28, 1906—Indicted by grand jury.</p> - -<p>Jan. 21—Case set for trial.</p> - -<p>Jan. 23—Trial began.</p> - -<p>Feb. 1—Jury completed.</p> - -<p>Feb. 4—State presented its testimony.</p> - -<p>Feb. 4—Defense introduced its first witness, a minor character.</p> - -<p>Feb. 7—Evelyn Nesbit Thaw, wife of the defendant, called as a witness.</p> - -<p>Feb. 11—Dr. C. C. Wiley, expert on insanity called by defense and -severely cross-examined by District Attorney Jerome.</p> - -<p>Feb. 12—Delphin Michael Delmas assumed full charge of the defense.</p> - -<p>Feb. 12—Dr. Britton D. Evans, chief medical expert for the defense, -called to the witness stand.</p> - -<p>Feb. 14—Trial delayed by the death of Juror Belton’s wife.</p> - -<p>Feb. 19—Evelyn Nesbit Thaw recalled.</p> - -<p>Feb. 20-26—Evelyn Nesbit Thaw cross-examined.</p> - -<p>Feb. 27—Evelyn Nesbit Thaw recalled by defense.</p> - -<p>Feb. 28—Dr. Evans cross-examined.</p> - -<p>March 6—Mrs. William Thaw, mother of the defendant, testified.</p> - -<p>March 7—Trial delayed by death of a relative of Justice Fitzgerald, -presiding judge.</p> - -<p>March 8—Defense rested.</p> - -<p>March 11—State began rebuttal testimony.</p> - -<p>March 12—State called James Clinch Smith, brother-in-law of Stanford -White.</p> - -<p>March 15—Thaw declared sane by state’s experts.</p> - -<p>March 18—Court admitted the Abe Hummel affidavit in which Evelyn Nesbit -is alleged to have denounced Thaw.</p> - -<p>March 20—District Attorney Jerome asked court to appoint a commission -in lunacy to examine Thaw.</p> - -<p>March 21—Lunacy commission appointed.</p> - -<p>April 4—Lunacy commission pronounced Thaw sane.</p> - -<p>April 8-9—Attorney Delmas made his plea to the jury.</p> - -<p>April 10—District Attorney Jerome closed for the state.</p> - -<p>April 10—Justice Fitzgerald read his charge to the jury.</p> - -<p>April 11—Jury called for rereading of evidence after having retired.</p> - -<p>April 12—Jury announced disagreement, and was discharged.</p> - -<hr class="full" /> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE GREAT HARRY THAW CASE ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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