Page:The Great Harry Thaw Case.djvu/22

 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.