L.
. 1
Is She Trying to Forget
Her Sad. Marital JExperi
ence ia Her Devotion to
Her Brother?
TTTVZO could wish for a more touch-
tug example of sisterly love and
' affection than that shown re-
tently by Alice Thaw, in her heroic efforts to
restore her brother Harry to freedomf,
Ever since H any Thaw was first brought
before a jury to answer for the death of Stan
ford White she has stood by him unfalter
ingly. At all times during the famous trials
she was on hand, scarcely missing a day, and
helping to cheer the unfortunate man by her
presence. She sent him countless little deli
cacies and various other things which might
Serve tO relieve the tedium of life in prison.
Not even mhrn her brother was adiudeed
fytsane and committed to Matteawan did she
-give up hope, but just a short while ago she
xvalked ten miles through the Maine woods, in
Ma terrific downpour cf rain, in order to plead
ttvith Justice Mills for Harry's parole from
the asylum.
Through each stage of the tragic affair
(her every movement, every thought, seems to
mave been given up to him, to the exclusion of
)all other interests. This young woman, ac
customed since birth to enjoy every luxury
ithat money could provide, has been living a
iife of most heroic self-sacrifice in the hope
vf attaining her end.
One is reminded by this that she has had
Vier own portion of sorrow. Her unfortunate
experience as the countess of Yarmouth was
tnough to take all the heart out of any girl
mot gifted with such a hardy spirit. In throw
$ng her whole heart and soul into her brother's
fcause so unreservedly, is she finding a way to
if or get her own sad marital martyrdom?
IS HER girlhood days no one would have singled
out Alice Thaw as having- any striking; capacity
for (Section. She was not unkind or heartless,
but. waa very much like- any other "golden girL"
She never had to count the cost of anything:, and
per whole exlstenoe waa centered in the round of en
hrtalnmnU and affair which go to make up llf In
the fashionable world. Perhaps, in some corner of her
taind, ther waa a lurking; anticipation of a brilliant
taarrtage, but it waa probably more out of regard for
the aocial position it would give her than for any
other consideration.
Although aha was Harry Thaw'a favorite alater.
they were frequently at cross purposes. Such was the
condition of thlnga when tha earl of Yarmouth hap
epned on the scene and stirred the maiden to romantic
And ploturesque visions of life as a countess.
The various eacapadea of thia nobleman had thrown
tf rather hasy halo around hia reputation. Newport
2ad enjoyed tha novel experience of aeelng him In the
Tola of an actor at tha Casino there, and hia histrionic
xperleno had ended In a lawsuit, which ha had man
gd. fortunately, to turn to his advantage.
HAUNTED BY DEBTS
Be had startled the 'fashionable world aa a wine
Bnerobaat and by varioue other business ventures. It
(was generally understood that this1 scion of England's
IfcobUlty would not be aver to a marriage with an
ULmericaa heiress, eould it be arranged, for he
wepoted t b la a bad way financially, and was said
o have left a strtog of debts In his wake.
Nevertheless, ke was dined and feted by th moat
sxcloslve America eoclety to hia beart'a content.
tEverywber be created a sonsation. -
As nMmbr of on of England" first families, he
raa the object of aeUcltou interest a th part of
rich BBthr with tnarrlareabl daughter. Many a,
natch-making dowager bad a tray set for fclra. The
lect that t was earl waa enough to override all
lfcr conelderatlons
The social poaiiion te obtained by euck
snare cocnpietmy e i mora smottioos mothers,
it 9 oari. However, let It be lua that hie cbele g saterosuog
Tveted oa A lie Tbaw. lir charms were rscsi as to I I KJagflom. th countess
maorm ay mm, IH eer money at IS V f wflk Miss Button thai a
AUe. thee 11 years old. waa eomplniy captl- yT ,
te4- T earl imH a4 f god fellow, and " coaates married the esvrt
It was Q mate i use see. so a. Already ab aaw a i Jfc&e, vrts act tzea. It riare eld. aad
THK.OKEGON SUNDAY JOURNAL PORTLAND, SUNDAY MORNINO. SEPTEMBER 19, 1005)
Mlf countess of fiowui Una. with, undisputed antra
Into any eoclety. M.UiWI!
The earl waa bankrupt. Tea, that waa true; but
what did it matter when they loved one another? Be
sides, ah had, more than waa needed to permit their
llvlna; In a manner beflttln the earl'a itatlon.
Then came the fun. Mri. Thaw waa obdurate In
her refuaaL The earl had already been aporned by
Allce'a niece, Mlaa Buren Thaw. Harry Thaw, al
though a cloe chum of the earl, whom he had enter
tained lavlahly, aaw nothing; but unhappineaa In it for
hia alater. Ha'1 objected to the match. At laat. 'after
many pleadlnra and argumenta, the youn rlrl pre
vailed upon her mother to five her conaent.
COMEDY OF ERRORS
The wedding; took place in Pittsburg; on April 27.
3 903, and waa a veritable comedy of error. Harry.v
who waa expected to fflv the bride away, showed hia
Uuapleaaure by not appearing; at alL Tha erl. arriv
In three houra late, held up the ceremony at the altar
atepa till the marriagre aettlement waa doubled. The
ffueata had to wait in the church while the matter waa
adjuatert.
On the way to New York, where a steamer waa to
take them to Europe to apend the honeymoon, the earl
waa beset by credltora and lawyers, one of whom had
an attachment for hia bag-gage. They managed to
dodge the moat of them, but a few of the mora press
ing onea had to be satisfied.
For a time all aeemed to be well. Reports from the
other aide rave tha impression that the match waa a
happy one. and that the American bride'a right aa a
aocial leader had been recognized. '
Friction aoon arose, however. The earl and all his
family never eould countenance Harry Thaw's mar
riage to Evelyn Neabit. They brought great pressure
1o bear on the countess, in an effort to have her pre
vent it. It would be a slur on the Yarmouth name to
)mv the brother of the countess wedded to a show
girl. X AMERICAN - girl has giwep. English
newspaper and public? their most absorb
ing theme for discussion, outside of Dr.
Cook's adventures in the Arctic, the tros
ress of aerial flight and other current matters of
news interest. .-
. When Hay Sutton, the California girl who
has won tennis championships on two' continents,
broke her engagement to marry she started a re
markable discussion, It is not uncommon for a
pjrj . v ,v riTrrrmt: the reeaon riven by
worses la th -Cnlted
f Cardigan, agrees
girt should aet marry
f Cardigan la Utt-
her yooxg BsfbttsA
' 1 ' AW f Ivr IISA
ft ;'?'t'A--A r
Alice Thaw atood by her brother and, from then
on, matters went from bad to worse. Tha earl waa
extravagant, and his companions were such aa to be
unpleasant to his wife. The climax came with the
Stanford White tragedy. '
The countesa of Yarmouth, aa aoon aa ahe heard of
the sad affair, wanted to hasten to her brother. The
earl and hia folks would not hear to it. They asserted
It would ruin them socially to have their name mixed
up in such a scandal. . . -
Result, an open . breach. The earl busied himself
In Egypt with a select party of Englishmen, while the
countess started for America. She arrived at New
York January 18, 1907. in time for the first trial, and
did not leave until it had ended, with the Jury at a,
deadlock. ,
Am soon as was permissible, ah visited her brother
in the Tombs, to sympathize with him In the hour of
his misfortune. Till the case was ready for trial she
did everything In her power to cheer him up and give
him courage.
She sent him books, dainties and what not. When
-Harry waa taken into court she sat near by, so that
Hiss Sutton has caused ail the hubbub
Thia reason was her belief that ahe was too
young to wed. "So woman should marry until sb
is 25 years old." she declared, and thereby set in
notion an endless chain of comment, criticism, re
buke and approval
Is Miss Sutton right I WC1 the world in its
wisdom finally abandon love's young dreamt And
what is the best age at which a woman should
ttA !
waa stoadUy Uaibiag la ladder a f military faaa aad
promotion which Anally broagkt him ta liestoaaat
generalship la lb English army. H was tb snoot
ckivalroaa and popular her of tb CrisMaa War. wl-
!ag bla laaroie la Ik fasaoe bar re of U Licit
Brtgad at Balaklavs.
he could see her and realize that she stood by him
through thick or thin. During; the whole of the three
trying montha that the trial digged on aha acarcely
missed a day, but was always- on hand with a loving;
smile. ,
It was a wretched ordeal for her. Sho had to Sit
passively by while her brother's- life hung in the bal
ance, knowing at the same time that it meant the
blasting of her married life.
When the trial ended she returned to England, so
worried over her brother's plight that she lived In vir
tual seclusion. She suffered alone, cutting off all her
acquaintances and avoiding the brilliant life to which
her husband's rank entitled her. Khut up in the Yar
mouths' county estate at Park Hall, she grew thin
and lost her former captivating; expression.
In the meantime, relations with her husband be
came so unbearable that she decided to put an end to
the whole thing. This she did by instituting proceed
ings to have hr marriage to the earl annulled, and
her dowry or what was left of it restored to her.
It came out that the earl had never been a husband
In anythlnr but name.
No girl knows her own
mind in her teens, the countess
of Cardigan thinks. At least,
she is sure that she did not.
although her marriage proved
happy In every way.
"I had known him when I
was a mere girl." ahe states,
"and my girlhood admiration
gradually ripened into love.
Lord Cardigan never disap
Po;nt4me. I soon reached th age when I was no
longer intense, and with the loss of th first glamour
of youth there came an appreciation of maturity. I
could recognise the salient points of a man far better
than X ceuld Judge them from tho standpoint of a girl
who has nothing to forgive.
"My sdvlc Is never to marry too young. Th
chains of love bcom Intolerable when hampered with
th link of doubt and disillusion. Lot la very ro
mantic and charming to a girl of If. but bo girl knows
th heart f a anaa until she Is Well la boff twenties.
"A man at St or SO la ften older In experience, and
bow tan a schoolroom beauty permanently depo th
adorable she wh has filled th happy, youthful years
f mans Ufa?
.Cyaice aeon at each tnrnod-dowa pagea. bat they
are tha saoat aacred f any, for th beauty of realisa
tion give th fulnesa or Bias's lor In perfect mar
riage, when after year of disappointment, porkap. ho
setts tha one woman wh gently bind p bla lost
ideals and bids him forget ot thst forgetting; briar
kapplBoas always, bat It brings ropo.-
Hilea kit t hers, the novelist, s-ugrrtats th period (
from tt t ti yr as U boat ago fr a glrWt saarry.
aad ft r II for a saaa.
"ATter IX." sb ear, "a girl ta apt t V a lit tie '
bit ff her oarly prim of yet asd a Uttl soured by
tt kttowiedr. for asror f xe rp V a U
Um to 4r ar 4stI?!,torJ, "- -
The earl was not concerned yary much about ,aoi
annulment, but he waa Interested la the money part
of tha question. Consequently an amicable agreement
waa signed by both sides, whereby the earl agreed not
to contest the ault for a consideration. On February
, 1108, the counteaa again became plain Alice Thaw.
Tha unhappy wlf would probably have let mK
tera run on indefinitely, while ah alone waa the suf
ferer, rather than admit to the world that aha had'
Bad a mistake. But when the earl and hia family
attacked her brother and tried to prevent her front
being with him, it waa too much.
Bine that time her whole life haa been dvotdM0'
the attempt to get Harry out of the clutchea of the
law. Her only waking desire, apparently, haa been ta1
see him a free man again.
No sacrifice, no effort haa aeemed too great, prow
Tided ah la rewarded with success In the and. Sh
haa been the very essence of sisterly love, riving up i
every moment of her tiniest the advancement of hec
brother's cause.
When, at the end of the aecond trial, the4ury ad-i
Judged her brother Insane, and he was committed tcfj
tha asylum at Matteawan, there to be confined lndeft-i
nltely. she did not give up hope.
Only a few weeks ago she trudged ten miles over1
the trails of the Maine woods, in a driving; rain, t9
plead with Justice Mills on behalf of her brother.
She waa authorised to offer $1,000,000 as security,
for his good behavior, if only he be released front
Matteawan. Needless to say, the effort was in vain.
Justice Mills had secluded himself on a fish and. game)
preserve, and could not be communicatedwlth.
UNDAUNTED BY HARDSHIPS
Leaving White Plains on Sunday, morning;, August
15, Alice Thaw reached Bear Island early tha next day.
She found It was impossible to find a teamster to take
her to Justice Mills, on account of the thickness of the
woods. Undaunted, ahe hunted up a guide and, ;
dreased in a hunting- skirt and blouse, set out on foot.
She did not even carry an umbrella.
Gamely she labored on, pushing aside tha heavy
underbrush with her. hands, her feet sinking In th
mud at every step and her hands and face wounded
by the briars. Finally, soaked to the skin and almost
fainting; with fatigue, she arrived at the place where .
the Justice was staying;.
No man was ever more surprised than ha. With a
feeling of the deepest compassion, he heard her plea
that Harry be paroled; but, of course, ho could do
nothing. Seeing how hopeless her errand was, the
young; woman broke down and wept. Then, drying;
her tears as soon as she could control herself, she
bade the Judge good-bye and went back tha way she
came. -:vv:',
Some may see in her action simply the blind effort
of a grief-stricken woman to drown her sorrow after
the ruin of her young life by an- Ill-fated marriage.
Be the Incentive what it may, there are few women
living today who are capable of exhibiting; such devo
tion. She Is certainly entitled to the benefit of the
doubt: for how many women, reared in the lap of
luxury, would give up husband, title, position and all
that life holds dear, to stand by a brother as ah has
done? -.:':!
it should not cause much surprise if, with such a
sister working for him. Harry Thaw does see the day j
when he may walk out of Matteawan a fre man. i
Tf Alice Thaw does not bring it about, it Is doubtful
whether any human agency can. f
warpmg oi tne mfnd and body, negro whan tha
supreme moment that tho flower was ripe for gather
ing has passed and It remains 'unplucked?
"There is a time in every woman's life, usually
when she is quite young, that she has In her th mak
ing of a perfect lover, wlf and mother, and it Is only
by her character in after llf that you realise th
magnitude of what she has missed and the tragedy of
her stunted enjoyment. -; .
Opposing the Mathera idea stands former Governor
Edwin Warfleld, of Maryland, who asserts with great
positiveness that girls, especially American girls,
marry too young. . H . ,.
"My advice to girls." he said some tlm ago, "Is to
eschew matrimony before they are XS years old. That
was the age of Mrs. Warfleld when she and J were
married. I have told my daughter that I will not
. consent to their marriage before they are 2t." ,
He supplemented the above expression by atatlng
thst It is the minimum age at which h believes
women should wed; he was of the opinion that they
would become better wives and be happier in after
life If they waited until they were 2t or even. SO years
of age.
That the Governor's ideas were not shared by one
of his daughters, at least, waa ahown by tha marriaare
of Mtas Carrie Warfleld. who became the wife of W.
H. Harris, of Blnghamton. N. before aha waa St,
"YOUNG BRIDES MISS MUCH"
"The girl who marrlea too early misses many of the
pleasures of life." Mr. Warfleld continued. "She Is
doomed to spend her youthful daya in tha trying and
taxing carea of motherhood and household duties, with
broken health and rundown nerves before aba has
passed out of her tec as. .
"Such marriages are unfortunate. Tbey are enter 1
Into without due conalderatloa. and frequently before
tb husband has fully established bis business ability
and th earning capacity that will enable him to pru
vld for th increasing want ef married life. Girls
should b taught that ther Is more la lit than gettt-c
married; that when the leave school tbey owe
service to their pare a U, and that tbey should
some of tblr days ta making tho lives of their fstaert
aad mothers easier aad brighter.
"Th same advice pertains t young men. I !
known cases where young men, because they rr,rr l
too soon and before they had established t htr..: v.
In permanent positions, wer compelled te rr i t
epport unities for advancement b4-aus fam.'y t -environment
kept them down to eae I'xii 'r 7 -realisation
of the mistake of marrying too ear r -
disco raged many yeung maa, t)atd h' f -
brought d!rpolBtect to himself sad 3;r:.
and aaffericg t t'.s family.
-I be '.lev la marriage tel wm;M rite l e
rlii8nn p'i Ij C"5n- -
1 ?. ut X am jcl ta ear y aai lis- .. -nag."