Page:The Great Harry Thaw Case.djvu/279



"She comes here in her little school-girl dress—her little white, turned-down collars, which cover all but the flowing ends of a pretty childlike bow-tie. She sits in the witness chair and tries to impress on you this assumed, youthful childishness.

"There she was a poor, wronged, orphan child, whom Thaw would take to his arms and protect. Sir Galahad took that angel child—took her from her mother and flaunted her through every capital of Europe. 'Dementia Americana'—the higher, unwritten law! Why, you may paint Stanford White in as black color as you wish, but there are no colors in the artists' box black enough to paint this Sir Galahad. Why should this Sir Galahad be abandoned by this girl? Why should she leave him? For some reason she did leave him. Why? Let us go into the Hummel affidavit.

"What do we find Thaw doing? We find him wrapping $50 around American Beauty roses and sending them to her. Is that the course of honorable courtship?

"'Rector's, I know, is not the proper place for an innocent young person, but I always had a weakness for it.' (Mr. Jerome read from the diary.)

"'It is my ambition to see things and then settle down; but I want to be a good actress before I settle down to a humdrum existence.'"

Jerome again read from the diary of the girl, Evelyn Nesbit.

"You have heard what took place in Paris—mother, daughter and Thaw were living together. Thaw asked her there to be his wife and she refused, and when he asked her why she said:

"'Because.' And he asked. 'Is it Stanford White?' and she said, 'Yes.' And then we are told she gave him the entire story.