“‘I jumped right in and proceeded to be good. The first thing I saw was my virtuous couch. I wonder how far I am from Rector’s—Rector’s and the Great White Way.’
“Significant, I consider that, indeed I do,” said Jerome, and then continued reading from the girl’s school diary.
“‘These things have always been of that kind. Not one of them will ever be anything. Mrs. De Mille was very nice and agreeable.
“‘I was taken into the house and shown all the celerity of a soubrette and proceeded to get shy. When we drove up to the house Mrs. De Mille’s son came out smoking a pipe, and I must admit he is a pie-faced mutt.
“‘I was taken into the house and shown to my room. It is neither large nor small; has Japanese paper on the walls. There is a virtuous white bed, a girl’s bureau and a washstand.’”
Then Jerome went on:
“This shows that this child played one man against the other. She went to Paris on Thaw’s money with White’s letter of credit in her pocket. This child that believed not at all in the virtue of women—this child who had been in the ‘Florodora’ company—this child who had been yachting with Garland—this child who had been to the late suppers where risque stories and intoxicated women prevailed. This child thought it was nothing to be a good mother—that she would rather become a great actress first, and she arrived in Paris fully convinced that there is no virtue in womankind, she being eighteen and a half at that time.
“This is the angel child described by Mr. Delmas. And then we are told that in Paris the child loved Thaw and in the greatness of her love renounced him and was willing to come back to the chorus and the studios. She made this renunciation and when she had done so she traveled about Europe with this St. George who had revealed to her that there was chastity in women, and then she leaves him for some reason, which I will dwell upon later, and comes to New York with his money.
“She arrives in this city on October 24, 1903, and is found a few days later in the office of Abraham Hummel in the company of Stanford White, the man who had so dreadfully ill-used her. If not another thing was found in that affidavit than the signature of Evelyn Nesbit, this date, which appears opposite that name, would be significant.
“The significant thing is that within twenty-four hours before she saw him on Sunday her great love had been undermined so that she deserted this man for the monster who had wrecked her life.