Newspaper Page Text
THE STORY OF MY LIFE-
By Evelyn Thaw
Sixth Instalment of the Most Extraordinary
Human Document Ever Written—Stranger
Than Any Story in Fiction or Drama
Comments of Distinguished Clergymen.
Repulsion from Evil.
By Rev. CHARLES H. PARKHURST. D. D„
Pantor Maditon Square Prctbytcrian Church. New York.
THE publication of tn autobiography that atira in the reader repulsion from
evil I. salutary. Any article, or series of articles, on a misguided life
that arouses such feelings of disgust or horror as those with which, for
Balance, the audience came away from Brieux’a clinical play, “Damaged Goods,”
undoubtedly serves a moral purpose. If the publication of the life story of
Evelyn Thaw serves to warn against evil, it will doubtless be of benefit.
The Record of an Afflicted Soul.
By Rev. GEORGE CHALMERS RICHMOND,
Hector of Old St. .fiohnt Episcopal Church, Philadelphia.
SINCE we have to rend so much about Harry Thaw, I am in favor of letting
Evelyn have her final word in their story in print. I have said from the
pulpit that because Jerome's headlong course is likely to plunge New York
into heavy expense. I favor his being sent back to Pennsylvania, to let his mother
take care of him. Coincidentally I am glad thia newspaper is publishing
the story of Evelyn Thaw, which lets still more light fall upon the unique case.
It will undoubtedly help th" mind of the public to a clearer understanding of the
unique case and perhaps prevent the recurrence of others like It.
lam never afraid to read the record of a soul. The more troubled and
Chapter VI.---How District Attorney Jerome Tried to
Humiliate Me and Discredit My Testimony at My
Husband's Trial for the Murder of Stanford White
Copyright, 19IJ, by Star Company
Book Righto Reserved by Evelyn Nesbit Thaw.
MY narrative now brings me to me “Great Thaw Trial," aa
Che newspapers called it—those terrible days of anxiety
in the early Winter of 1907, when my husband's life hung
In the balance. The verdict of those twelve men In the jury box
would, I wm told, probably depend upon tny own testimony—
Harry Thaw’s life was, in other words, in my hands. A fearful
responsibility, I thought
I can never forget those days, those hours, those moments—
yes, even fractions of moments, when Jerome, the prosecuting
officer, shot a quertlon of tremendous Importance and everybody
waited with suspended breath for the answer.
Here let me introduce this note which 1 find in my diary
after my second day’s cross-examination:
I did not underrate the ordeal which awaited me. I know
that on my evidence would depend Harry’s fate and I knew, too,
that a merciless prosecutor, the most skillful man in his pro
fession, would leave no stone unturned to discredit me. I went
into court that morning with all the sensations of one already
« condemned, yet with the firm resolve to tell everything I knew;
to bare my soul to the gaze of the multitude, so that in doing
so I might help my husband. It would mean torture to me —it
would mean, perhaps, everlasting effacement; it would certainly
make me notorious. I was no better and no worse than any
other normal twlng confronted with the prospect of having her
most intimate secrets dragged into publicity. \
T had a natural shrinking from such au ehpeHence, and my
panic was accentuated by the knowledge of how much depended
upon my statement.
Harry's eyes met mine as I took my
place on the stand and he smiled encourag
ingly. I knew that the first part of the evi
dence would be drawn from me by a friendly
counsel, but that story would be one which
no woman could tell without an effort. In
many ways I found this fl rat day the worst
of all, worse indeed than the cross-examlna
Cion which was to follow. Nothing obscured
my view of Harry, who sat about forty foot
away in the centre of the court.
I was used now to the court, to the crowd,
to the staid Judge on the bench. I was fa
miliar with all the formulas of the law; to
the rows of busy reporters, to the spectators,
to the building. But as I sat in the witness
chair It was all the difference between
watching the sea from the beach and view
ing the beach from the sea.
Very slowly the counsel unfolded the
story from my Ups. First the actual shoot
ing and all that happened on that dreadful
night, then the meeting with White and ail
that followed.
Then he led me through the events which
preceded the marriage.
As the case proceeded I found confidence.
I could listen with patience to the wrangles
which came up between Mr. Delmas,
Harry's counsel, and Mr. Jerome.
It dawned on -me that tills trial was a
game—a game played according to set rules.
There were certain things you must not do.
certain things that could be done and others
about which the rules were obscure. And
because the rules were obscure they must
make now ones as they went, appealing to
the Judge for confirmation.
When 1 realized thia I began to take an interest I had not
felt before!
Mr. Delnuis spoke of a letter Harry had sent. Mr. Jerome
Objected to (be k..cx being produced. Why?
Written by Evelyn Nesbit Thaw.
I vL
// ‘p
Y- j
I
District Attorney Jerome Sketched
at the Trial by Evelyn Thaw.
They talked and talked, first one of them and then the other,
and then the Judge, it must be a wonderful letter to produce so
much discussion. Mr. Jerome would not have it Mr. Dolmas
insisted. Why, I thought, so much bother about one old letter
unless it proved something very vital? It was part of the game;
it was like arguing whether you should play solitaire with the
right hand or the left. The letter was forthcoming eventually
and was about nothing except "Mother sailing for New York.”
Then Mr. -Delmas wanted to produce another letter, and Mr.
Jerome was very insistent upon its not being produced because
there was no date upon It. Another was very Important because
the Judge said it must not be produced, and he said this very
impressively.
I was a spectator for most of the time and I grew Impatient.
I wanted Mr. Delmas to come back to me and get to important
things. He turned to me at last and I was disappointed. He
wanted to know things which I thought everybody knew by now
It was ail very trivial and unimportant and banal—but it
was part of the game.
"When you returned from Europe in 1903 did you come at
the same time as Thaw, or alone?” Mr. Jerome began gently.
“I came before he did.”
"Before you left Europe did you huve any conversation with
Thaw about your being met on your arrival?"
The Name I Whispered.
"Yes. Thaw said he would get Longfellow (his attorney) to
meet me and see me through the Customs House."
"Did you bring letters to Longfellow from Thaw?"
"Yes’’
"When did you first see Thaw after your
return?"
"I think a little over a month after
wards.”
“Where?”
"At the Hotel Navarre, where we were
stopping."
"Did you see him alone?”
"No, I would not see him alone."
“Had he been made aware of this?"
"Yes, he had been made aware of It. and
when he came -to see me there was another
man present.”
J must stop here to whisper the name of
the man. it seems if was a dreadful thing
for any one to be associated in this case.
"This second man was a member of the
Bar and a person of standing in the com
munity, was he not?"
"Yes.”
The examination for the day ended tame
1y soon after this. It had been a terrible
day for me. but worse for Harry. As 1 re
peated the story of Stanford White, Harry's
anguish was terrible to see. From time to
time he strained forward in his chair and
gripped the table convulsively, and when I
had finished recounting the progress of my
friendship with White he broke down and
sobbed. The papers said that the whole of
the court was similarly affected, but so great
was the strain on me that I did not notice
this.
in order to introduce the contents of
some letters which were put in I was re
called at the end of the day. One of them,
which Mr. Delmas read ! beard for the first
time:
"Evelyn has left me six or seven letters and telegrams from
the blackguard. If they wish to begin a row, lam ready for it.
but 1 prefer to reach New York so as to go to Philadelphia, Pitts
burgh and Port Huron to time for the wedding on November 19tb.
afflicted that soul, the more dearly we may read the truth and warning* o» fffa
by its lurid light.
Warning Young Women to Safeguard Themselves.
By Rev. JOHN S. BRAUN,
Rector of St. Boniface') Church, New York.
A STORY like that of the struggles and temptations and horrors suffered by
Evelyn Thaw may, if treated in the spirit of a warning, supplement th«
work of the confessional.
We believe in warning the girls in our church of the dangers that lurk in the
dark corners of life. If Evelyn Thaw’s story sheds a light on those dark places
and uncovers the wretchedness and suffering hidden there, let it be told. We
do not belive in drawing a veil over the facts of life. On the contrary, we try
to teach them that they exist, and warn our young women how to safeguard •
themselves. We believe in plain speech, as plain as may be uttered without of
fending. It is the duty of the priest in the confessional to utter these warnings
We band our girls together into solidarities, hoping they will help each other.
Our apprehension is for the girls who come from poor and often unhappy
homes, and, following the longing in a young girl's heart for romance, seek it in
street acquaintances. Occasionally a play is produced or a story or book writ
ten that will show girls the real nature of this kind of “romance." Therefore,
say I. let Evelyn Thaw's biography be printed, with the hope that It will save
other girls from becoming Evelyn Thaws.
< would return to New York In time to meet Lady Yarmouth, who
lands on the 24th. The more row the better —maybe after the
row. Her mother don’t count.”
After referring to some unnamed married woman as a trick
ster and a schemer, and cautioning Mr. Longfellow that the mar
riage must be kept secret, Harry continued:
(He had written this when the absurd talk of a kidnapping
charge was in progress.)
’’* • • If a suit for kidnapping is begun it must not be
mentioned, but we will need two staffs of reporters. • » » Miss
N. would give all she possessed if she could have been sent to
school by me Instead of by him. She should never have remained
on the stage so long, and if they had listened to me she would not
have. It resulted in her name being falsely connected with two
others besides that blackguard. Poor girl, she was poisoned when
she was fifteen and a half years old. Remember, if I die my prop
erty will all go to my wife, but in the event of her death it must,
not go to her relatives. Foor girl, if I die she may not live to be
twenty-one.”
Poor Harry’
Harry Cheerful During My Ordeal.
1 was to learn now of a new phase of the game as it was
shown to me on the day of my cross-examination.
It was not to proceed without confusion.
There were wrangles as to the admissibility of evidence; wran
gles as to Harry’s sanity. (Harry looked wonderfully cheerful. 1
thought, and nodded a smile to me.
First Delmas took me in hand and produced the story of the
pie girl I speak of the pie girl because there are all sorts of
stories concerning her, and because In some mysterious fashion
it has passed Into the legend of the case that she was me. 1
reproduce the story from the official records:
"Did you and Thaw discuss the fate of the pie girl?”
,"YeS; that was in Paris in 1903.” He asked mewhat other girls
I knew of who had suffered at the hands of White. I told hirn
1 had heard of the pie girt, whose name was known to both
of us. A girl at the theatre had told me about it, and that night
when White came to my dressing room, I asked him about it.
"White wanted to know where I heard the story, and I told
him a girl had told me. Then be told me all about it.
“There was a studio dinner, White said, and this girl was put
in a big pie with a lot of birds. She was very young—about
fifteen, I think he said.
’’He told me the girl had a beautiful figure, and wore only a
gauze dress. He helped to put her In the pie, and to arrange
It, and he said that was the best stunt he had ever seen at a
dinner, when the girl jumped out of the pie, and the birds flew
alt about the room.
Jerome Shows Me No Mercy.
"At a dinner party at the St. Regis Hotel, in 1904, when Thaw,
another man and I were present, a guest told Thaw the story
of the pie girl, giving all the details, and remarking that White
had some trouble In keeping It. out of the newspapers. He had
told the man who was telling the story that he had gone on
his knees to the editor of a newspaper, imploring him not to
publish the story, but that finally the whole story was printed
with Stanford White's name in it
“What newspaper was It?”
"The New York American.”
"What did Thaw say?”
“He said he must investigate It.”
“When did he next talk about it?”
"At Pittsburgh, after we were married. He said he had in
vestigated the story and found that It was true; that afterward
the girl had got married, but her husband had beard of the
story of her relations with White and had cast her off, and
she had died In great poverty and disgrace.”
Jerome's line of examination is now plainly Indicated. It is
clear that he does not intend to spare my feelings and presses his
r,; rr
>
I
, *
■ ■ I
4 v
w"
|&. Wt.
"% 1 "
I 4
w
ffiSl • •
■s'l
■kb
<ll
*
J? j|| r
/ IRfii
/ il wB
f : - < Ji
■
< • w: ;
9 * i
if/ w
1W " if
J w ■" 11
I j
/’AoTo (£) byCampb «=■// (So N.Y.
questions sharply as to the details of the dresses I wore wi
posing for artists in the Philadelphia and New York studios, p
slstiug ip certain queries and insisting on definite answers,
spite the protests of Mr. Delmas. He credits me with a mtm<
I do not possess. 1
“Where did your mother live after coming to New Yorl?”
“In West Thirty-fifth street, between Fifth and SlxAa
nuee.” t I
"What was your first theatrical appointment?” V
“In the ’Florodora' company.” •
“You contributed to the family support?”
"Yes.”
I am a terrible girl by inference. My “noes” sound very fee
In comparison with the detailed and impressive questions Jero
puts. Now lam keeping questionable company. qgp*
"Did you become acquainted with Mr. M ?”
"Yea.”
My Pictures a Disappointment.
"Did you receive letters from him?” s ! --
"Yes.” r
Now I am a cunning destroyer of evidence.
"Were those letters among the packages of letters which }
burned after taking them from a storage warehouse to this fit
Delmas objected to what he described as "this ainaz'
question,” declaring that there was no justification for it.
Mr. Justice Fitzgerald sustained the objection, though it u.
little difference to me what form the question took.
"Did you not take out letters from a warehouse?”
"No.”
"Did you not visit a warehouse?”
"No.” j
"When were you first ambitious to become a great actless
“Before I went to Philadelphia.”
’“Then, when you came back to New York you still had tl
ambition?” ♦
"Yes.” J
"What did your mother think about your going on the Mjige
"Mamma said I ought not to go out without her. Shi ss
the show was all right, but she ought to go along with me.”j
Mr. Jerome wanted to prove my own slackness from t
moral standpoint. He produced some photographs which h
been taken of me. They were disappointingly proper.
“Are these fair types of all the pictures taken that day? A
there none suggestive of any more impropriety than these?” 1
asked, aggrieved.
a*