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Evelyn Thaw’s Own Frank Revelations of Her Kaleidoscopic Career Which Touched,
Life at All Points—The Innocent Little Beauty Who Almost Starved to Death
in Forlorn Poverty and Suddenly Burst
Into the Most
Brilliant Star That
Ever Illuminated
New York’s
Gay World
rl y
0*1 ew
er Bridal Ermine Coat.
|U. Vir and he, eredi, wan tn.lly exhausted will
wdrn and. shabby, .which she wore on specia
room first meeting between Harry's mother and Anthony Com
stock.
It will be remembered that Harry had, in his impulsive and
officious way, drawn Mr. Comstock’s attention to reports that
n coterie of rich and powerful men in New York—among them
Stanford White—were, in the pursuit of their favorite recrea
tions, proper subjects for his (Mr. Comstock's) official observa
tion. And that celebrity had been summoned as a witness for
the defense.
Now, of course, the object of Mr. Comstock’s activities was a
good and worthy one. 1 knew that perfectly well—and 1 also
knew that if Mr. Comstock had been entirely successful in his
life work 1 could not have been in my present terrible situation
I have no doubt that there are many worthy citizens of New
York who could, figuratively speaking, clasp Comstock, the man.
to their bosoms. I cannot explain why 1 should have conceived
an aversion to him at first sight, but I did. And when he en
tered the witness room that day I was in no condition of mind
or nerves to miss any safety-valve opportunity.
The charitable acts of Mrs. William Thaw, Harry's mother,
had caused her name to be blessed far beyond the confines of
her own country. 1 knew and appreciated this, but R was the
Comstock element in the scene that primed me. for the unfor
givable act which followed. Now that 1 have confessed my cul
pability. you are prepared for the scene.
Enter Mr. Comstock. His eyes rest upon the rich and char
itable Mrs. Thaw, and he pauses, as one entranced The lady
rises upon a natural impulse of sincere respect and offers him
her hand.
MRS. THAW—I am very glad to see you, Mr. Comstock; I
have heard so much of your noble work.
MR. COMSTOCK—I feel deeply honored, Mrs. Thaw. Who has
not heard of the noble deeds which stand to your credit?
It was bard for me to restrain myself, but I managed it with
an effort
MRS. THAW—You are accomplishing such a desperately
needed reform, Mr. Comstock.
MR. COMSTOCK—My poor efforts are of comparatively little
consequence beside the benefits whidh you bestow upon deserv
ing persons, Mrs. Thaw.
MRS. THAW—But you, Mr. Comstock, are so often misunder
stood. and denied credit for your noble exertions.
MR. COMSTOCK—It Is uphill work, Mrs. Thaw; but the least
one can do In a noble cause is to persevere.
MRS. THAW—Yours, Mr. Comstock, is indeed a noble cause.
MR. COMSTOCK—Not more noble than the many which
you
And the Check Came Back.
Well, right here 1 simply had to let go of myself. I threw up
my hands, and shrieking “Help! Help!” fled from the room.
Of course, Mrs. Thaw was inexpressibly shocked—what she and
Comstock had to say to each other about me I have no idea.
1 think I have now made you familiar with about all the rea
sons why Harry’s people became reconciled to getting along
without my society. Also why they grew to be neglectful’ of
their promise to me respecting money.
At the time when the marriage annulment proposition was
made to me Harry was in the middle of one of his periods of
sympathy with his people, and I and my future were lesser con
siderations No chance for hl3 release, with its renewal of our
happiness together, loomed on my horizon.
The proposition was brought to me by Mrs. Thaw's lawyers—
Colonel Franklin Bartlett and A. Russell Peabody.
I was amazed. The evidences of my amazement gave me an
advantage which I was not slow to make use of. The useless
ness of combating any fixed determination on the part of Harry’s
people was rendered emphatic by my helpless and really 1 hopeless
situation at that time. But I did not confide my state of mind
to these shrewd lawyers—I bargained.
And when the bargain was finally agreed upon I promptly de
manded, upon this occasion, something not only bearing Mrs.
William Thaw's signature, but in her handwriting. The lawyers
did not hesitate. In a few hours there was returned to me the
copy of this agreement, written by Mrs. Thaw on the note paper
of the Hotel Lorraine, to which I have referred. That copy
reads as follows:
Hotel Lorraine, March 8, 1908.
I, Mary C. Thaw, hereby guarantee to all whom it may
concern that the amounts agreed upon shall be paid to
EVELYN FLORENCE NESBIT, regularly, as follows:
FIRST—Fifteen thousand ($15,000) dollars in hand when
the annulment papers are signed.
SECOND—Twelve thousand ($12,000 dollars per annum
during the life of Evelyn Florence Nesbit, in monthly pay
ments of one ($1,000) dollars each, this latter fund to come
from Harry K. Thaw and myself, with such other members
of the family as are willing to join with us.
The fund of twelve thousand ($12,000) < <*o rs shall be
paid into the hands of a trustee, and by him to an agent in
New York, who will pay it to Evelyn Florence Nesbit, afore
said.
Each contributor to this fund will bind himself or herself
to make provision in their respective wills for the continu
ance of the payment of their share from their residuary
estate.
(Sealed) MARY C. THAW.
Upon receipt of this evidence of Mrs. William Thaw’s deter
mination to take me out of her son Harry’s life altogether I saw
fny lawyers and set about performing my part of the agreement.
I signed the marriage annulment summons and complaint, con
forming to all the requirements of the law, and the same was
filed with the Clerk of the New York Supreme Court.
The next stage in the proceedings was the “fifteen thousand
dollars in hand”—and I got the check.
But I didn’t get the money.
It had been a long continued habit with me not to get the
money.
Of course, owing to my loss of all sense of balance, to which
I have already referred, I had continued to exercise my credit
privilege at the shops, modistes and milliners for a quantity of
things which I needed no more than I needed as many symbol
ical bunches of orchids.
But you are probably wondering about that fifteen thousand
dollar check, considering how well fortified the agreement was
by Mrs. William Thaw's act of writing out and signing it. I
couldn’t quite understand the matter myself for a little while—
and then by analyzing the second section of my annulment com
plaint and putting two and two together in different directions I
began to see light.
The Thaw family lawyers probably had discovered that theif (
act had given the ship a bit too much list to sta'b’ard. Read
that second section for yourself. Here it Is:
"That at the time of the marriage of the plaintiff, Evelyn Flor
ence Nesbit Thaw, to the defendant, Harry K. Thaw, the dc-
Mrs. Mary Copley Thaw’s Agreement with Evelyn.
This was written by the elder Mrs. Thaw in her own handwriting, and promised Evelyn $15,0(10 in cash the
Evelyn brought suit to annul her marriage with Harry Thaw and $1,000 a month for the remainder
of her life. Mrs. Thaw is now being sued on .this agreement by Mr. John Reilly, Evelyn's lawyer.
fondant, Harry K. Thaw, was a lunatic and of unsound mind, '
and was incapable of making a valid contract, and was incapable
of contracting a marriage, and that the cause for annulling this
marriage, to wit, the lunacy of the defendant, Harry K. Thaw,
existed at the time of such marriage."
To this day I am not able to see that, from a legal viewpoint,
I strained the truth any in signing and swearing/to the clause
above quoted. I have repeatedly, in the course ofThis narrative,
stated that whenever Harry was under the influence of liquor he
certainly was not a sane man—and he was very frequently in
that condition. From the human, moral viewpoint, this consider
ation, though well known to me, was not of sufficient force to
prevent my marrying Harry. Nor would it, at this time, have
prevented my continued loyalty toward him as his wife, if the
money powers had been willing.
From the Thaw standpoint, of course Harry was crazy, both
actually and legally, when he married me.
Their idea seemed to be that be wouldn't have married me if
lie hadn’t been crazy.
So, to a sufficient extent, the Pittsburgh notion regarding the
matter agreed with my sworn complaint
I now realized the true cause of Harry’s coolness toward me.
his petulance, his complaints, even brutality, upon the occasion
of my latest visits to him in Matteawan. He had become sane
enough to lose his illusions about a speedy release. The neces
sary authority to seek a reversal of the insanity verdict rested
with his mother, and she alone could be depended upon to pro
vide the large sum necessary to defray the expenses of another
trial.
Harry's mother, as I have stated, was occupying a cottage near
Matteawan, and was able to present a countenance turned to
stone whenever Harry argued with her for both a new tria.' and
his wife.
I have no doubt that Mrs. William Thaw at that time desired
an annulment of my marriage with Harry even if that act should
keep him locked up with the criminal insane for the balance of
his life.
Pitfalls Dug by the Temptress Credit.
So you see that Harry was between two horns of a dilemma;
the new hearing would not be financed unless I agreed to sue
for an annulment of our marriage—and the very nature of the
complaint which I would have to make in my petition to the court
would fill Mr. Jerome’s soul with joy.
Now, perhaps, you see light about that fifteen thousand dollar
check that came back. The agreement upon which I had brought
suit was thereby violated. The Thaw family lawyers, suddenly
frightened at their mental picture of Jerome’s jubilation, had
done this, and were, therefore, in a position to juggle with the
annulment proposition, disinfect it, draw its sting, perhaps.
This brings me back to my text. I was about to get the first
bump In my lesson concerning the pitfalls of credit and the value
of a dollar in real money.
A certain modiste and milliner became alarmed over current
reports regarding my financial prospects. 1 was out of the city
at the time, and had left in her keeping a colored photograph of
a rather valuable portrait of myself. She sued me for the amount
of my unpaid bill and held a public sale of the photograph—it
was worth about two dollars.
The amount standing against me at this shop was a balance
of several hundred dollars, for sundry hats, skirts and blouses—
mostly blouses at one hundred dollars or more each—which I
never would have dreamed of purchasing had I not been lured
by the Temptress Credit.
It was an insignificant affair, but one of those traditional
straws which show the direction of the wind. Naturally the
newspapers made much of it, and all of a sudden I beheld myself
saved from any further temptation in that direction. From that
day up to the present time, in the courts and outside of them,
t have had constant reminders of the eiusiveness of credit. The
result has been to restore my sense of balance, my comprehen
sion of true values. Long before 1 had realized the need of con
centrating upon the task of making myself independent of Harry
Thaw and his family 1 had gained deep respect for the humble
yet powerful dollar, knew what it would buy of the plain neces
saries of life, and knew that its worth was greatest when it rep
resented value received for honest, hard work. 'When I began
to scheme to stand upon my own feet, the schemes which would
not crystalize upon that basis were cast aside.
To restore the chronology of my story, 1 must now relate fur
ther episodes connected with that marriage annulment farce.
Urged to do so by Harry’s people, I had brought the suit; two
months later, at their solicitation, 1 withdrew it.
As I had filed the papers under a written agreement that the
Thaw family would do me some sort of justice in a money wny,
so I withdrew it upon a similar understanding.
I waived the point of the still unpaid lump sum in cash speci
fied in the annulment agreement, and once more placed reliance
upon (hejr promise to pay regularly the monthly allowance—and
the suit was cancelled’. But 1 might here remark that I am suing
Mrs. Thaw on that very same agreement which she made and
backed out of, and my suit is in the very able hands of Mr. John
Reilly, of No. 170 Broadway, New York.
The whole negotiation, as I have already intimated, was to
pave the way for the first insanity hearing. Mrs. William Thaw
was now-ready to supply the necessary funds for an attempt to
have Harry declared sane. My withdrawal of the annulment
papers enabled the Thaw lawyers to go ahead, and to "deny
everything.”
As my story would be neither candid nor complete if 1 ignored
the matter of public sentiment, and the methods used to "work
it up” against me, I will quote Colonel Bartlett's statement made
to a New York newspaper apropos of the withdrawal of the an
nulment suit:
"You may take the following statement as a direct quotation
from Mrs. William Thaw, my client, with whom I have been in
consultation to-day.
“Mrs. Evelyn Thaw’s lawyer has issued a statement that
pressure was brought upon Mrs. Evelyn Thaw by members of
the Thaw family to have her begin annulment proceedings and
that the proceedings were also discontinued at the request of tho
family.
Not One Word of Thanks for Her Ordeal.
"As far as Mrs. William Thaw' and other relatives are con
cerned no pressure has been brought to hear by any of them to
bring about an annulment of the marriage of Harry K. Thaw
and Evelyn Nesbit. I am at a loss to see how any pressure could
be brought to bear upon this young person.
“It is logical that Harry K. Thaw’s insanity at the time ha
shot Stanford White is no evidence that he was insane at tha
time of his marriage.
"The position of the Thaw family toward this young person—
Evelyn Nesbit Thaw—Is very simple and just. Mrs. Wiilianjt
Thaw desires that this young woman should be treated not only
fairly, but generously, and she is now being paid $1,000 a month.
"This, in my opinion and the opinion of lawyers of experience.
Is far more than any court would allo'Y her for maintenance and
support either by alimony or any other way. It is a more gen
erous allowance than such as would be appropriated if based
upon her bebav no, upon Harry Thaw's income, or if meas
ured by her station in life.”
In other ways these lawyers created the impression that I bad
not been "behaving well"; that my withdrawal of the annulment
suit was hopeful evidence of a changed heart, and that 1 was to
be encouraged in well doing with the generous gift of one thou
sand dollars a month—"during good behavior."
1, who, to save my husband from the electric chair or life im
prisonment. had gone willingly to my crucifixion in the witness
chair; who had received not one word of thanks either from
Harry Thaw or any member of his family; who had been slighted,
avoided and brought to penury—I was once more promised a
regular allowance In money in case my "behavior" proved to
conform to a particular Pittsburgh ideal.
One thousand dollars a month in cash is now and was then
ample to meet all my actual needs. How very far I came from
receiving any such sum is indicated by the letters already quoted
on this page. Old Jacob's mess’of pottage is something tangibla
that I have grown to heartily respect.
Now, if you will obligingly read the Morschauser-Dr. Sillo cor
respondence—in which, by such a roundabout fashion, I was pro
vided with $500 to enable me to take a "vacation”—you will bo
prepared for the extraordinary sequel to that unexpected act of
generosity.
A little way back I pictured the imagined joy of Mr. Jerome
over my annulment suit affidavit—to-wit, that Harry was crazy
at the time of our marriage. Well, as I was about to go away on
my vacation, presto! came a subpoena from the office of the
District Attorney.
I was summoned as a witness for the State in a trial called to
attack the insanity verdict to show, on the valuable testimony of
that Harry Thaw was already insane long before be
his wife,
shot Stanford White.
Umagine the one and only Jerome losing sight of me for an
instant after reading that significant section of my sworn annul
ment complaint! On the part of the Thaw lawyers, consider the
puerility of such a device as trying to snatch me out of Jerome’s
reach with the gift of a $500 "vacation!"
The only comment I shall add on the marriage annulment farce
is that it operated as a sort of double-edged sword throughout all
Hie subsequent hearings brought In the hope of freeing Harry
Thaw. It is quite possible that he would be free to-day but for
that affair.
The Thaw family desired to get rid of me. The Thaw lawyers
gave very bad advice when they agreed that it was a wise thing
to persuade me to try to annul the marriage. The situation they
created came back to plague them many times—and was, indeed,
as 1 have just said, an important factor in upsetting their various
schemes to get Harry Thaw out of Matteawan.
Next Sunday Evelyn Thaw Describes Her
Visits to Her Husband in Matteawan Asylum
and the Tragic Episode when Thaw Declared to
Her. “1 Suppose I’ll Have to Shoe! YOU Next!”
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