The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 24, 1895, Page 5

€ THE SAN FRANCISCO. CALL, SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 1895 The blurred and tear-stained pages of another chapterin the life bistory of the | Jate James G. Fair are now to be turnea 10 the ht of day. The maker of many wiils, the creator of a great fortune, lies in his last resting-place, while the great heprt of one of the world’s most talented women aches with pain. Miss Phazbe Couzins, the world-famed woman’ ghts advocate, orator and au- thor, was the affianced bride of James G. the time of his death. With the Senator the attachment for Miss have been mnothing more ng caprice of his active, ever ss mind. It may have been that the law of supremacy of mind over matter forced him to kneel, a worshiper at the ine of genius and intellect before the stion and plead for her love, cart and her hand in marriage, and 0 S00n as he was removed from thi stle and ennobling influence the gro its of his nature again resumed ency, and he either willfully neg strangely forgot the vows he had made to 16 papers they should be returned to her. But none came. If the dead millionaire had preserved them, some one quickly put them out of the way after his demise. Struggling with her sorrow and her sick- ness, Miss Couzins started{westward and arrived in San Francisco shortly after the death of the man who had promised to be- come her husband. She came and learned | that only a few short hours after Mr. Fair's | death a document purporting to be his last | will and testament was filed in court for | probate. It was the document creating a | trust—a document which did not even | mention Miss Couzins’ name, although | the testator had repeatedly stated in the | presence of witnesses that Miss Couzins THE LATE JAMES G. FAIR. [From a photograph taken a short time before his death.] i ». | the woman who loved him, trusted in his ord and held him sacred in her heart of ts as her ideal among men. the actions of Mr. od of his courtship s letters to the avowed affections, filled as re with the outpourings of a seem- nest and sincere Jove, the circum- s that surrounded him and the out- on him at all times, indicate that the e lover was not wholly master of himself. This is the belief of Miss Couzins, She thinks that he was hedged about with men and influences, whose persistency overpowered his individual will, and swayed his moral entity. The facts as viewed by her indicate that in this case Mr. Fair was dragged by a force he could not withstand from the woman he dearly loved and had promised o wed, and was prevented from seeing her again, orin any way communicating with her. To this end, the lady believes, many falsehoods were told, letters ntercepted by ene; selfish e proposed alliance. Whatever may or may not have been Mr. Fair's feelings or ultimate intentions | in the matter, one thing is certain, and that is that Miss Couzins’ aflections were won by the ex-Senator as completely as ever was the love of any fair lady by her brave knight in the good old days of chivalry. According to her own state- ments, Miss Couzins had long admired My. Fair, and as the acquaintance grew into friendship and she saw him oftener, der feeling of friendship grew into the deep, earnest, sincere love of a lifetime. And she firmly believed that she was sin- cerely loved in return. She is still of that belief, and cherishes the memory of her dead hero and mourns as a widow’s heart mourns for its departed mate. But Miss Couzins is altogether different ir during the | uences that were brought to bear ! sinister motives were threatened by | should be liberally provided for in a finan- | cial way and that she was to become his | wife at an early date. One of the witnesses { who heard these declarations was Dr. | Vincent Herbert of Chicago, who attended | Mr. Fair during a season of sickness at the | Grand Pacific Hotel in the spring of 1893, | Other reputable and well-known persons { heard Mr. Fair make the same statements, and now they wonder how it was possible that he could have so soon forgotten the | woman for whom he professed the most | sincere love, and calling her “his good | angel” and “the light and joy of his old | age,” and the like. | _When Miss Couzins came to San Fran- | cisco she said nothing of her own indi- | vidual loss or the pain in her heart. She delivered lectures and visited her friends and suffered in silence. At last she be- came so ill and weary that she could no | longer goon as formerly with her public | work. She decided to take a season of | rest. One of her admiring friends, Mrs. | Knox Goodrich of San Jose, had invited her to come and rest with her. Miss Couzins went about two weeks ago and fora | time was lost sight of to the busy world. | The fact that she had a brother living in the Garden City was another inducement | to draw her there. And there, after a | long search, a representative of the Caru | found Miss Couzins doing the work of a | ministering angel for her brother, who is ill at 220 South Ninth street, San Jose. | It wasin the cozy little parlor of the house | where her brother lives that Miss Couzins } reluctantly consented to tell the story that | will be read with interest all over the coun- | try. But after she had decided to relate | the facts connected with her engagement to Mr. Fair, she told her story freely, | candidly and without hesitancy. Before speaking about herself she said: “I will begin by stating that there were | many confidences between Mr. Fair and | myself which I cannot touch upon at all. SENATOR FAIR'S LETTER TO MISS COUZINS, WRITTEN AT YUMA, 1ZO: rom the original.] AR [Reproduced fr NA. from other women who once were passton- flames around the dead millionaire’s heart. | She will ask for no compensation, no after consideration; she will offer no petition of any sort for a share of the millions that were once pledged to her use; she does not | seck for pecuniary balm for her wounded heart. But she says that she does wish and hope and pray that justice will be done to the children of the man she loved— the children whom she loves for his sake— and that all who would wrongfully enrich themselves may come to grief. When James G. Fair died, his afflanced bride was in Salt Lake City. The news was a terrible shock to her because it was first conveyed to her by flaring head- lines in the newspapers. It made her serjously ill, and she has not been a well, a happy or a hopeful woman since. So soon as her dazed senses could fully com- prehend the situation she wrote to one of the executors of the will—their names having appeared in the telegraphic re- | He told me all about his life—his suc- cesses, his failures, his joys and his sor- rows. From these confidences I concluded that he had been more sinned against than sinning. I refer particularly to his mar- ried life and the unpleasant ending of it. | Cruel enemies and miserable meddlers had done their villainous wor k. I first met Mr. Fair in the Riggs House, | Washington, D. C., in 1883, while he was a | United States Senator from Nevada. 1 took a liking to him at once. He seemed to me to be the very ideal of a strong, vig- PHEBE COUZINS AND JAMES G. FAIR WE The Bereaved Lady Declares Her Firm Belief That Interested Persons Intercepted Their Letters. than mutual admiration. In the course of | a few months we parted, as true friends | part, and went our separate ways. He re- | turned to Nevada and California and I | resumed my work in different parts of | the world. Thus time went on. Several | years passed and we did not meet until | some time after my mother's death. “In the meantime I had been elected sec- 1 retary to the National Board of Lady Man- | agers of the Columbian Exposition, and | had made my home in the Grand Pacific Hotel, Chicago. I had served in the ca- | pacity of secretary for a long time, but had | not received my pay for the work or the | time I"'had devoted toit. Itwasa tiresome | and unpleasant task. There was always | trouble brewing and coming up, and I was | in the midst of it and oftentimes was se- | verely criticized by one side or the other. | The worry and labor had seriously affected | my health, and I felt a part of the time as | if I would like to lie down and die and be | at rest. | “In 1892 T had a bill before Congress the | purpose of which was to secure relief in the | | way of payment for my services as secre- | tary to the Board of Lady Managers. I needed all the influence that I could bring | to bear on the measure. While working ! among my friends and lobbying for my | bill T was at the same time attending by | the bedside of my mother, who was very | ill. She suggested to me that Senator Fair might be able and willing to help me. I wrote to him and asked if he had any friends in Congress on whom he could bring his influence to bear in my behalf. ““He promptly replied by writing me a | very kind letter, but stating that he had no She Says That the Ex-Senator Was Actually Controlled by Sinister Influences During the Latter Part of His Life. Pacific Hotel. Shortly after returning to Chicago I received a letter from Mr. Fair, in which he stated that he would soon see me; that he wanted our friendship to cul- minate in a rela:ionship closer and dearer than mere friendship, and that he was coming with serious intentions to ask my | hand and heart in marriage. “Well, Mr. Fair, accompanied by his secretaries, Bresse and Angus, and I think Mr. Crothers, arrived in Chicago May 7, 1893, and took apartments at the Grand Pacific. Mr. Fair immediately sent me his card. I met him in one of the parlors and he expressed great happiness at seeing me again. He told me then and there that he bad come all the way from California for the purpose of asking me to become his wife. Itold him that I would give him a definite answer within a few days and deli- cately intimated that he need have no fear of my final decision. He seemed very much pleased at this and we spent the evening very pleasantly talking of the present, the future and old times, “A few days after that Mr. Fair was taken suddenly and violently ill in a singu- lar manner. That night he sent for me to come to him. 1 did as requested. He fold me he was a very sick man and begged me to take care of him and to call in my physician. I immediately sent for Dr. Vincent Herbert, who came and examined Mr. Fair and prescribed for him. Mr. Bresse and Mr. Angus tried to keep me out of the sick-room, but Dr. Herbert interposed and directed that I be per- mitted to nurse Mr. Fair. I then went into the sick-room and cared for the sick man until the worst of his illness was | personal nor political friends in that Con- | past. He often spoke hopefully of the SENATOR FAIR'S NOTE TO MISS THE GRAND PACIFIG HOTEE DRAKE.PARKER & CO.PROPRIETORS. COUZINS, WRITTEN IN CHICAGO. [Reproduced from the original.] gress on whom he could bring any in-| fluence to bear. He gave me some valuable | advice—as he was well competent to do— and closed by urgently requesting me to write to him at once and open a corre- spondence. He also added in the letter that he was quite ill at the time. As T re-| membered him kindly and liked him very much I immediately wrote him a friendly letter, incidentally recalling the many pleasant hours w& had passed together at the Riggs House. “And this,” Miss Couzins resumed after 4 pensive pause, “‘opened the correspond- ence between us which eventually led to our betrothal. *‘For some time after that letters passed between us at regular intervals, and the spirit of the correspondence grew warmer and more confidential with each letter. In February, 1893, Mr. Fair started from San Francisco to come to Washington and see me. He traveled by the southern route and was accompanied by Mr. Bresse or Mr. Angus. I think by both. At Yuma he was taken strangely and suddenly ill. ‘“He wrote me one letter from there in which he explained his serious condition, stating that he was scarcely able to write atall. From Yuma he took a trip into Mexico. This seemed. to have benefited his health very much, for he soon recovered his usual vigor and energy of purpose. In the meantime I had returned to Chicago | and took up my residence at the Grand future if I would only remain near him through life. “When Mr. Fair had recovered suf- ficiently to enable him to be up and walk around he talled me aside one day. He said that he had aecided to shake himself free from certain influences that constantly interfered with his wishes and his peace of mind. He spoke of the many notes and cards which he had sent to my room after he became convalescent and which never reached their destination. They had been intercepted by some one who had an in- terest in keeping us apart. ‘I want to settle up my affairs,” he said, ‘in such a manner that I shall do justice to all my family connections. I love my children and I want to make fair provision for them. Ilove youand Iwant to pro- vide for you at all hazards so that finan- cial trouble can never come to you. I want you to be my wife. Will you marry me?” “1 answered ‘yes.’ He then said: ‘“ ‘Thank you, dearest. God bless you. ‘We must be married soon—yery soon. 1 shall arrange my business and property affairs at once.” ‘‘But he was still more or less ill, and this prevented our early marriage. One evening, when he was feeling much better, we sat together and talked about the ‘World’s Fair, and he said we must see all of it together, and that as ‘his own dear and gifted little wife’ I should explain all .~ £ z A orous and energetic man, who was created to succeed in life, to be a prince and a leader among men. The evident defects in his education and manners were com- pletely overbalanced by the natural great- ness of the man,asIsaw him. I soon admired him very much, and I could see that he also liked to be in my company and seemed to take interest in my work and my views of social and political condi- tions. X ports—and requested that if any of he.r letters to Mr. Fair were found among his “But this, our first friendship, did not grow at once to anything more or warmer FAC-SIMILE OF THE ENVELOPE CONTAINING MR. FAIR'S LETTER . TO MISS COUZINS. : [Reproduced from the original by a “Call” artist.] the items of interest with which he was not acquainted, from an historical point of ; view. ““And that was the last evening that we were together,”” said Miss Couzins, with a deep-drawn sigh. “On the following day Mr. Fair was whisked out of Chicagoas if he had been a prisoner or a fugitive from justice. I was permitted to see him only for a moment just before he went went away. Angus, Bresse and Crothers were constantly near him. “While I was speaking to him, just be- fore his departure, a man, who I think was | a hireling of Bresse, came and interrupted | our conversation. Mr. Fair managed to teil me that he was called away by very important business matters, but that he would speedily return and make me his wife. And so he left. I never saw him again. I received one letter from him after he arrived in San Francisco. In that he stated that he was well, and begged me to write often. “I did write, but I never got an answer after that. Iam positively certain that he wrote to me also, but the letters were un- questionably intercepted. His secretaries were constantly on the watch. When I used to call on Mr. Fairin his sick-room at the Grand Pacific his valet or one of the other attaches used to secrete themselves in the closets in order to listen to our con- versation. I called Mr. Fair’s attention to these things, but he only smiled aud said it didn’t matter as he was accustomed to it. Miss Couzins dwelt upon the meeting in Chicago with great tenderness. She said: “Senator Fair wrote to me that he would leave San Francisco for Chicago on the 15th of May, and for me to expect him in Chicago about the 18th or 19th of that month. i ““On the 1stof May, after returning from the exposition grounds, I was surprised to find his card under my door at the Grand Pacific Hotel. It wasabout 10 o’clock at night, and I immediately turned to go to the office, intending to askif the gentle- man was in the hotel and if he had per- sonally left the card. ““As I was about to get into the elevator Imet him just stepping out. We shook hands, and walked into the parlor. I said | I was very much surprised to meet him so | soon. He replied: ‘I decided that I could not wait any longer, and I have come to see you. I want your promise. I know | thatI am not 2 man worthy of such a woman as you, but I want you to take me | if you will’ I replied as any woman | would, that he was doing himself an in- justice, *“When he was taken sick he said to me: ‘Now I want you to take charge of my case and see that 1 am properly attended to. If T get very sick while I am here I want your own physician to prescribe for me and take care of me." “I sent for Dr. Vincent Herbert, who resided in the Grand Pacific Hotel, and asked him to call upon Senator Fair. He did so and the first question the Senator asked was, ‘Are you Miss Couzins’ phy- sician?’ He said, ‘I am,’ and the Senator said, ‘That then is all right. I would like to have you attend to my case and see if you cannot give me relief.’ ~ “Dr. Herburt took charge of the case and did what he could for him. He re- ported to me that the Senator was suffer- ing from a complication of ailments, and | that he was. not likely to survive the at- | tack. He considered it a very serious | situation and thought the very best of | nursing should be procured. My attorney, | ance, called an ‘equipoise,” and instructed him how to apply it. The next morning, as I was sitting at breakfast, he walked over to me and thanked me for my kind- ness, saying that the application had been successful and that he was relieved from | pain and had enjoyed a good night’s rest. ‘“‘After he became convalescent it was my custom every morning before starting for the exposition grounds to send a note asking in regard to his health and if he had rested well. He always replied by a verbal message or sent me a little facetious note | telling me. how he felt and wishing me good fortune in my work. *I was first attracted to Senator Fair be- cause he had such a beautiful head. In{ RE ENGAGED TO MARRY. most nice and to the point, and dishes up tha Cleveland matter. I wish I could write more, but I cannot. Sine cerely yours. JAMES G. FAIR. The other was a brief note written at the Grand Pacific Hotel,Chicago, and addressed simply, ““Miss Couzins, room 318.” Itscon- tents concerned an ear trouble for which Miss Couzins had procured remedies. It ran thus: THE GRAND PACIFIC Hnnn,; HICAGO, May 23, 1893. Dear Miss Couzins: My ear broke last night., I am much better now and have but little pain. With best and kindest wishes, I am yours truly. JAMES G. FAIR. Continuing her narrative Miss Couzins said: “I had a great affection for Mr. Fair and revere his memory, and I know that at one time at least he sincerely loved me, al- | though everything possible was done to cause our separation. Whenever there was anything mean said about me in the newspapers Mr. Fair’s valet used to mark the articles with blue pencil and place them conspicuously on a table. Every- Ay S 7 MISS PHEBE COUZINS. N [Sketched from life by a “Call” artist.] shapefit was almost perfect, and in that re- | gard he greatly resembled my father, who | was one of the noted men of St. Louis. My | father was one of the committee of seven appointed by Lincoln to keep Missouri in the Union. For five years he was acting | provost-marshal and Chief of Police of St. Louis. My mother was one of the nurses | who cared for the wounded during the | war. She was wounded on the field of | Vicksburg and was the only woman who was pensioned for injuries received during actual service. Senator Fair referred to | this when writing to me at the time I asked him for his assistance in securing my rights as a member of the lady board of managers. He said thata daughter of such a father and such a mother was en- titled to the best that a grateful nation could offer, and that he would do all he could to see that justice was done to mc.." Miss Couzins was the recipient of many endearing as wellas friendly letters from the dead ex-Senator. After the engage- ment of marriage Mr. Fair wrote love let- ters like an ardent youth of twenty, and these Miss'Couzins holds and cherishes as sacred relics. When asked for a copy of one of these she slowly but emphatically shook her head. “No, not for any consideration what- ever,” she said. “I hold them too sacred to be exposed to the jeers of an unfeeling world. Here are a couple of friendly mis- | sives, however, which you can have if you | like.” As she spoke she handed the reporter two letters and envelopes, all written with FAC-SIMILE OF THE ENVELOPE HOTEL [Reproduced from the original.] THAT CONTAINED THE GRAND | NOTE. Hon. William P. Black of 108 Dearborn street, advised me to take the matter into my own hands and to see that the Senator was properly cared for, but I hesitated to do so. “Dr. Herburt reportea that Clark, the Senator’s valet, was exceedingly diligent and attentive, and seemed to be afraid that he would be deposed by some one else. He said Clark was doing very well, and probably it would be just as well for him to continue as nurse. “Mr. Bresse and Mr. Angus watched the Senator like a chicken does a hawk, or a hawk does a chicken (which is it?), and allowed ‘no one to see him until Mr. Crothers came, when he seemed to have charge of the matter, and Bresse and Angus were seldom seen again about the hotel. “There he was, a man worth millions and with no one to care for him and no one to do anything for him, excepting those men, and they seemed to have him absolutely in their control. ““On his arrival he told me that he had started in opposition to the advice of his physician, Dr. Levingston, and said that he could not wait any longer, but had come to see me and wanted me todecide his fate. A day or two afterward he complained that he was suffering very much from pain in his ear, and I asked him what he had been doing; if he had been outdoors in that cold, raw weather. He said that his friends had taken him for a drive on the lake front in an open carriage. I replied that it was criminal for anybody to take a man in his feeble health for such a driveas that in that kind of weather. “He was suffering so much from the pain in his ear that I sent to my room and procured for him a little electrical appli- lead pencil. The first was dated at Yuma, and read as follows: YUMA, A. T, Aprfl 2, 1893. Dear Miss Couzins: I have your kind favor of March 23 to-night. I regret Idid mot write John E. D. Couzins, Deceased, Father of Miss Phobe Couzins. [Frem a ehatagmph.] e O T e L ach e O e S oftener. I have been sick most of the time since I wrote to you. Iam here now sick and cannot tell when I will get away. I have asthma-penumonia. That article of yoursis thing that could be done to influence him against me was done by Bresse and Angus and Crothers. Once a very prominent gentleman, who was staying at the same hotel, in speaking of Mr. Fair and his satellites, remarked that the life of a multi- millionaire is not altogether a pleasant one, “*Since leaving Chicago I have received a letter from Dr. Herburt, in which he states Mrs. Adeline Couzins, Mother of Miss Pheebe Couzins. [From a photograph.] that he frequently heard Mr. Fair speak of me as his future wife. And Mr. Fair's wife I should have become had not undue influence and interference come between us. Perhaps he would have been alive and well to-day had we been united in marriage before he was rushed away from Chicago. To me his sudden and unexpected death looked singular, and—but I will not say any more about it. The chapter is closed and I ask for nothing now except to be left in peace with my sorrow.” T0 G0 T0 THE GARDEN CITY ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE STATR SUNDAY-SCHOOL ASS0- CIATION. ELABORATE PREPARATIONS BEING MADE FOR THE MEETING OF APRIL NEXT. The next annual meeting of the State Sunday-school Association will be held in San Jose, beginning Tuesday evening, April 16, and continuing through Wednes- day and Thursday, the 17th and 18th. The members believe this will be one.of the most successful conventions ever held in the State, and an excellent programme has been arranged for the three days. The voting membership of the conven- tion will consist of the pastors and two delegates chosen from each school, and an additional delegate for every fifty members over 100. This, however, is not expected to be the limit of those who attend, but, large num- bers of those interested in Sunday-school work will be present. The Southern Pacific and San Francisco and Northern Pacific Railroad companies have made a two-thirds rate for all who at- tend the convention. San Jose, famed as the “Garden City,” will be at its loveliest, and has extended a cordial welcome to all to attend. On Wednesday and Thursday noons the ladies of the different churches of San Jose will serve a luncheon, and the social fea- tures of the convention are to be made a special feature. —————— The French Society’s Annual. At the annual meeting of the French Mutual Benevolent Society the election of officers will take place, and a spirited contest that has been going on for some time will be decided, so far as the officers of the society are concerned. The election of a resident physician for the French Hospital and that of visiting phg:l.ciln, ‘which has :daveloyed much bitterness, been post- poned.