Page:The Great Harry Thaw Case.djvu/250

 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,