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Awund that I Bad to sift out and discard even certain court tesfci
rrnony. For instance, Mr W. M. K. Olcott, of counsel for Harry
I during the second trial, testified that I had told him that I mar
ried Harry Thaw because he was the lesser of two evils—that !
ould ' wind him about my finger " I never made that statement
o Judge Olcott or to any one else. Such a remark would have
een silly, as neither 1 nor any one else could control Harry in
the least degree. His mother, sisters, brothers or friends had
not the slightest chance to swerve him once he made up his
* mind to pursue a certain course
A I could readily make up my mind on that point. The only
T way to control Harry Thaw, insane or not insane, was to keep
him tacked up in charge of keepers with official authority to
control him!
Was not his Matteawan experience already proof of that? No
ofie better than I knew the effects of the asylum discipline in
forcing him to live a decent life for the first time since mao-
hood. It showed in his improved persona! appearance, although
to a lesser extent in his mental operations.
A Letter That Gave Me Hope.
Yet, in his quieter moods, after his sentence to Matteawan,
he was capable of writing moderately expressed, coherent let
ters Here is one. I found it as I was looking last night through
a mass of letters and other papers on this subject. It is written
by Harry on a typewriter, which he quickly learned to operate
in the asylum. It reads:
"Dear Evelyn:
“You promised to come to Pishkill last Monday week,
August 10th. Then when Mr. Morschauser telephoned you
that the hearing was postponed until Friday, August 14th,
you changed your mind.
“Next Monday I have to go for another hearing at Fish
kill, and if you care to come to the Holland House Mr. Gor
don will know how to get me by telephone, if we are busy
at the Referee’s when you arrive
"Please let me know if you are coming, I shall be glad
to see you.
"I’m sorry to hear that you had grippe, but I heard that
you are well again. I have had a bad cold for over a week.
’ It got better, but now is rather worse again.
"HARRY."
This letter was extremely interesting to me, and I studied it
and pondered it. It seemed to indicate many evidences of im
provement in his mental condition. How well i remembered the
very, very different kind of letters Harry wrote while we were
engaged and at the time of the Stanford White tragedy. These
letters were wild, incoherent, strangely abbreviated, confused in
ideas, and, to me, strangest of all—absurdly mis-spelled.
Elsewhere od this page I present a little fragment of one of
Harry’s old letters. Please note the "Here what she has to say"
and “Cable me all knews about her.” To mis-spell "hear” and
"news” was to me astounding.
But here at last ,was a letter that was calm, coherent, well
expressed and correctly spelled. How could I account for two
*uch letters from the same individual! Was it possible, after
* all, that the experts were wrong? Would Harry get over his in-
i -sanity? Was there yet to be a serene and satisfactory life for
•me as the wife of Harry Thaw—Harry, the recovered lunatic?
On the other hand, I recalled my own observations of Harry’s
intense and officious interest in persons and affairs that were no
concern of his. He was quick to accuse any one else of "butting
in,” but when he did it, it was a case of the rightful engineer of
the universe fixing things as they should be—and if the universe
resented his interference, or exhibited ingratitude, he was
amazed!
Just a moment of digression. Harry insisted that I leave the
stage. He wouldn't have me before the public, and I was in
•very way deficient in the requirements of the acting profession,
anyway. he said. He could be sure of that, although I had never
progressed further than a place in the chorus. Well, to-day
large audiences at the best theatres appear to credit me with
some success in what old professionals agree is the finest and
most difficult department of the actor’3 art—pantomime. I am
the heroine of a drama in three scenes,
playing a full hour, in the course of
which not a word is spoken
Is a man sane who can’t seem to
help busying himself setting a crooked
world straight? As 1 asked myself this
question 1 held in my hand a page of
Harry's neatly tabulated, typewritten
record of his fellow prisoners in the
Tombs—long columns of names, dates
of commitment, trial court, Coroner or
Magistrate, and the present status of
each case
This record was beaded In capital
letters, red-underlined:
“LIST OF PRISONERS CHARGED
WITH HOMICIDE."
Undoubtedly he was studying their
cases for purposes of comparison with
his own. But I knew it did not end
there. He interested himself person
ally in each person accused, studied the
evidence against them, and showed them
how, on the authority of H. K Thaw, to
6et their lawyers right when they went
wrong—which usually would be the
case.
Was a man sane who could sit calm
ly in court and permit his young wife
to lay bare to the multitude the inner
most recesses of her heart and soul, in
order that he might be spared the law
ful penalty for murder?
Would not a sane man who had
killed a fellow being for the reasons
which Harry Thaw claimed for the kill
ing of Stanford White have risen from
his prisoner’s seat at the lawyers’ table
and cried out
"Wife, come down from that witness
chair You shall not do it. Not an
other word. Rather will I go to the
electric chair!"
Ttew’s Cottage Near the Asylum.
mower settled hetself so she might be clo->e
ras not invited to share it-
His Duty to Me.
And, being saved from the death pen
alty, would he not. being a sane man
have said to her:
"You alone have saved me I owe it
all to you. My thanks are too insig
nificant an offering. To you I owe the
unremitting devotion of a lifetime—
love, comfort, happiness, support—aDd
I will pay the debt to the full."
Was Harry Thaw crazy because he
had never said anything remotely re
sembling that?
My notes of the hearing before Judge
Mills in July, 1909, were available, and
I looked them over to compare my ideas
of Harry’s mental state with those of
several witnesses who testified there—
some ot them obviously having seen
and talked with Harry Thaw only during his unexcited moments.
Evidently while he was in the Tombs Harry held Keeper Otto
Metz hypnotized by his eloquence This witness testified that
Thaw impressed him as being sane; that he -had argued with
him regarding politics, and his arguments on the money question
were so good that, he bad changed his opinion to that of Thaw.
William W. Smith, a philanthropist, said he had visited Thaw
at Matteawan; he impressed him as being sane; showed a large
knowledge of the Bible.
I have stated more than once in these pages that Harry Thaw
had his religious side and was able to quote liberally from the
Scriptures Harry considered philanthropy one of his strongest
points—and as the Bible is undoubtedly our greatest, our in
spired authority on philanthropy, I have no doubt that Harry
and his philanthropic caller thoroughly enjoyed ,each other.
Was it the act of a sane man when Harry distributed chocot
late eclairs and hymn books among bis fellow inmates of Mat*
teawau? Dr Baker testified to this. He thought there was real
need for the hymn books _
I knew of Harry’s habit of carrying newspaper clippings
around in his pockets. Dr Baker testified that he searched
Thaw’s clothes at one time. He had found many of such clip
pings referring to girls who had stra/ed; he also found a copy
of Lincoln’s Gettysburg address. Harry’s pockets were usually
contradictory as to the nature of their contents.
Some time before this hearing I had written some “Insanity
Notes.” based upon my own observations of Harry's peculiarities-
They were before me now, together with some notes from author
ities Both sets of notes lead me to that part oi my narrative
which all along 1 have approached with dread
Here are some of my own observations, given just as they
were originally written:
“H. K. T.—Eccentric, too impulsive, erratic.”
"Drink; excesses wild rages.’ _ ___
"Later: Maniacal excitement. Obronic delusional insanity
Exaggerated ego."
"Marked nervous temperament,
state."
"Lucid—semi-insane. A certain tendency toward religious
ness.”
‘In fits of anger—violent, sudden movements of the body—
a fixed glare, face contorted, hissing breath Afterwards hours
of silence, constant guawing of the finger-nails.”
"Muttering to himself.”
"Will these strange outbursts of wicked and criminal pas
sions again manifest themselves?"
"Never shows any signs of regret, or that bis conscience tvas
tortured "
It seemed to me now that I had reached the end of my power*
of reaching a personal conclusion, definite aod just, about Harry
The Episode That Killed Evelyn’s Love for Harry Thaw.
"‘Have you been drinking?’ 1 demanded.
Certainly not, answered 1 haw. ‘1 have'spent half a million dollars to prove Stanford White was a scoun
drel, and you do not appreciate what I have done for you. I suppose Fll have to shoot YOU next!’”
Hereditary neuropathic
Thaw. Surely ail these bits of evidence seemed to weigh the
scale in the direction of Harry’s insanity. One thing was very
clear—in either caee it was best for him to be where he could
not readily -harm himself or others!
But I still loved him—1 was sorry for him, and pity ?ome
times retains love even as It creates it. There were moments
when the old love and comradeship which had been ours in the
happiest days of our association rekindled, and I had recollec
tions of happy as well as most unhappy moments amidst the
grim and repressive surroundings of Matteawan.
Yes, in spite of all the Injustice and neglect, I still loved
him. I must again repeat what I said in an earlier chapter
Love Does Not Quickly Die—It Fades.
Love does not die of a sudden. It fades in patches—there
were still patches which appealed to me very strongly. No
woman possessed of womanly feelings can be a eugenist In prac
Use, however much she may be convinced of the sanity of eugenic
principles in theory. Reason would depopulate the world, but no
human brain can uplift itself to comprehend the greater Reason
of Nature. The puny logic of humanity can run with Nature
scheme Just so far and no farther—sooner or later it finds iti
in conflict with the dominant logic and goes lgnominiously to the
wail.
This is *00 apology for the continuance of relationship other
than purely business relationships with Harry. To have cut him
off because he was a life prisoner of the State—as to ail intents
and purposes he was—would have been wicked. To have changed
my attitude even in the slightest degree would have been cruel.
Though he tried my patience, though he was at times brutal,
though there were moments when the patch of love glowed very
feebly. I was a good and faithful wife to him. But I could not
continue giving, giving, giving. The everlasting strain was sap
ping me—destroying me. There were times when I could have
screamed from sheer nerves at the-futility of his talk, at the ex
traordinary absence of any sense of proportion he displayed.
And while my mind was slowly digesting the evidence for
and against the hopeless insanity of Harry Thaw another thing
happened. My heart was suddenly frozen by my husband’s de
liberate threat to kill me as he had killed Stanford White. And
In that tragic interview in the Matteawan Asylum Harry Thaw
coolly revealed to me for the first time a startling fact which I
had never suspected—that he had deliberately planned the mur
der of While and had narrowly missed accomplishing if only
the day before he finally did shoot him.
To be very exact about this episode. I will quote directly
from my notes m-ide in my diary immediately after I left the
asylum that day. Daniel O Reilly, the lawyer, was present,
“Thaw sat there and deliberately told me he had
missed shooting Stanford White hy a few minutes the
day before the tragedy actually occurred!
I stared at him in bewilderment, horror-stricken So
then lie had deliberately planned and premeditated this
crime. And I grimly remembered that not one of os
ever seemed to think of accusing him of premeditation.
! here was no ‘brain storm’—no excuse! It was not
momentary insanity,’ as the jury were led to believe!
“O’Reilly’s face was a study—he looked hard at Thaw,
but said nothing.
“Suddenly I thought: 'Thaw must have been given
something to drink in Matteawan; no man in half his
right mind would talk like this.
“‘Have you been drinking?’ I demanded.
“’Certainly not,’ answered Thaw.. ‘I have spent half
a million dollars to prove Stanford White was a scoun
drel, and you do not appreciate what I Have done fbr
you. I suppose I’ll have to shoot YOU next!’
’“You are mad!’ I cried. ‘You talk like a raving
maniac, and if you continue this way you will never get
out of here.’’’
And then -it was at last that my love for Harry Thaw died.
Pity for him I have had since then, sympathy for him I have had
—but the flickering flame of love he extinguished with his own
words.
I had reached one definite conclusion about myself, however.
It was time that I stopped basing any expectations regarding
my future upon Harry Thaw or any of his family. To continue
in that direction would be to court the disasters which have al
most invariably overwhelmed the "woman in the case.” The
histories of nearly all great criminal trials show that the woman,
guilty or innocent, temptress or victim, rarely raised her head
again
She had gone down, down, down. Drink, drugs, the hundred
and one wild diversions which eclipse sorrow and soothe the
heartache had been pressed into service, and the poor light had
flickered out miserably. And this without exception.
It was a shocking fact, but I faced'it. Not only were these
women the merest victims of fortune's caprice, but in the vast
majority of cases the innocent victims. Their innocence did not
save them from ignominy
I said to myself: “Evelyn Thaw, you shall do better than
that.”
I had already set my foot in the road to independence—the
narrow but plain road of hard work; and the next chapter will
tell all about it. 1 will tell also of ray last disillusioning inter
view with Harry Thaw at Matteawan, which drove me out into
the world alone.
Next Sunday Evelyn Thaw Tells How She
Began Life Anew with the Serious Purpose of
Accomplishing Something Worth While.
Thaw’s Own Frank Revelations of Her Kaleidoscopic Career Which Touched
Fife at All Points--The Innocent Little Beauty Who Almost Starved to Death
n Forlorn Poverty and Suddenly
Burst Into the Most Brilliant
r That Ever Illuminated
New York’s Gay World