The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 7, 1899, Page 17

SAN FRANCISCO, S UNDAY, MAY 7, 1899. P have at 1 has settled of Pine and ghbors that corner 1 keeping with her role of » house of mysteries. - the shadow of and every yellow- enic effect. ) the neighbors in the heard a voice that uthern accent, “Let me out! 1} ) 1 me i ot - Let me out!” “house of mys- any ap- om! the open Mammy a police- wears paupe where and e by d in foul, to mill has b twen s she ctator. The officers of the formed their duty her from the ho llowed M to take her way unescorted. Long befor ached the home of her friend, Mrs. Ferry, on er street, the lights had been put out, 'the shutters d , and had relapsed trable avir in removing she ) its »use of myste usual fmp; Bell and Mrs. Pleasant have quarreled,” 11 and Mrs. Pleasant have simply separa v the uninitiated d,” say the in- has lost her influence over Mrs. Bell,” affirm is using her influence over Mrs. Bell,” assert has played her last card,” say the wise ones. is playing her trump card,” protest the wiser B ch is right. Perhaps Mrs. Bell and But more likely they have seem- igation and for a purpose. As one ained “You see creditors are anxiously and ite with a view to the payment of their bilis. that she ever ordered the goods charged \ever recelved any of them. declz As purchaser er of tk yds they are equally responsible for the debts. refuse to assur either of these titles, nor does Mrs. I of be r and receiver. The And their denial smacks more ing both purch di 3 ponsibility in the matter. f being genuine when they are supposed to be strangers and ene- mies and no longer warm allles So the those who thus interpret Mammy’s last move. They will not believe ce over Mrs. Bell has waned. They that her influ ribe her ble ejecture as a clever guise to give the affair a ir and to satisfy Mammy's love for the spectacular. :» other hand there are those who believe that Mrs. Bell vakened to the fact that she has been as putty in hands; that the lence offered at the trial last year t her mind t Mammy’s dismissal is the result. trial Fred deavored to prove that Mrs. Bell was 0 ma the estate or to have charge of the Bell family skeleton was dragged into full light for the public eye. Charges and counter charges were made. Mammy Pleasant was f being a black leech who had fastened herself on the Bell ack until it was as dry as a sucked orange. Mrs. Pleasant up as the faithful black “mammy,” who was constant to whose hand went deep into her private pocket that her ht have luxuries. She was pictured as a black crook, a s wretch. She was painted whiter than the lilies of the fleld, as kind as the angels of mercy. The Bell family, save Fred Bell, saw naught but shining virtues money vas h d, mistress hear was her or ould work 1 pfonee hy merchants gentlemen ind install her as wred all bids in Mammy despite evidence calculated to make them think to the The d of the “house of mystery” was barred to the o ousc of Bell. The latchkey was reintrusted to had not even duri tator the trial relinquished any s di departure last week it was thought t Mrs. Pleasant as absolute monar until the end » who know think her power is supreme. Even Fred Bell, who has been re dmitted to his mother's presence since Mammy's departure, is doubtful the genuineness of the quarrel. int's last experience, real that would seem impossible studied fitting even between the covers f a book. She came to California in '50. There was a price on her head in the South and she wanted to get as far away from home & possible. Her connection with the “underground rail was an established fact border to the planters whose slaves the nded her life he had helped cros s a recompense. th der In the e fifties “a s oming in through the Golden Gate" was a far and more welcome sight in San Francisco than a gold n when the ve 1 on which Mrs. Pleasant w a passer Horn put into the harbor all of tent-c rd San Francisco was there to welcome it When the rich merchants, richer miners and good livers in town heard that ther a colored girl on the vessel and that she w “one of the greatest cooks that ever came out of the South” there was_ an excited and tumultuous scramble to engage her Tom Bell, Bill Sharon and a lot of other wealthy men held out well- filled wallets a bonus. But shrewd Mammy Pleasant held back €0 many gentlemen wanted her she thought it only fair that the should bid for her se and she would work for the highest bidder. So the bidding began while Mammy stood on the deck with folded arms and placidly looked on while the figures ran up into the hun- dreds. Finally the sum reached $500 and everybody seemed to think that was about fair pay for a cook, even if she was the best one that ever came out of the South But Mammy had her own ideas of the value of her services, just as she had on so many occasions afterward. “There's to be no washing,” she stipulated. The delighted purchaser of her services nodded. ““Not even dish shing,” she added. Another nod of acquiescence. But when the lucky bidder offered at once to escort her with becoming pomp to his bachelor's quarters and install her as goddess of the cook stove Mammy suddenly folded her arms and calmly an- nounced that she had changed her mind. She declared all bids off and said she'd take time, think the matter over and would let them know what she proposed doing. As she was the only cook that had come to town on that vessel the crestfallen millionaires, nabobs of provision houses and land- burdened philosophers were obliged to wend their ways sadly saloon- ward or across lots and wait for the autocrat of the cook stove to make up her mind. Mammy took a town were services room in town. Next day the plutocracy of the informed by notes that the new cook had determined to open up a boarding-house go that not any one particular man could monopolize her table dishes, but all good men could enjoy them. Twice in the years that followed Mammy Pleasant moved her house. Some of her clientele had lost their money, others had doubled and trebled their fortunes. They had become prominent in business or in the affairs of state. Whether they had married or remained single they came to Mammy Pleasant for advice. Black or white no other woman in this State has had the confidencé of so many of its prominent men—and no other woman has ever helped in the exposing and concealing of so many family skeletons. People marveled at her intelligence and at the total lack of the usual characteristics of her race. Her skin was as black as ebony, but her features were not those of a negress. Many said that she was half Indian and she never disclaimed it. There was none of the cringing, whining slave about her. She dictated to every one who came in contact with her. In those days Mammy's chief delight was matchmaking. Thomas Bell was interested in a protege of Mrs. Pleasant's. That that pro- tege was already provided with a husband did not disconcert Mammy. The first incumbent was given his walking papers and Mr. Bell, with ever 1. 4 ANGEL 'R ARCH FIEND IN THE H00SE °F MYSTERY? get a million, half or all of which she hers Her friends say it was friendship ur that prompted her. Until Mr. Bell's sudden and m) ago Mammy's position in the Bell hou Fred Bell, the eldest son, and chafed under the high household reins. The other child lly obtain. 1f would fi € y motives en years stioned. is teeth eld the Mammy. 1 with n and M embarrasse The Bells became financially mone going? People said that “Mammy” was giviy ith lavish hand to her innumerable proteges and whispered 10mas Bell s wh later Fred Bell was four in his fall over the ban When several ye: rippled hea nac at the foot of the stairs in a. house of one of Mrs asant’s re tainers, the accusing finger w again uplifted ) Bell himself was too much under the influence of liquor to remember how the accident happened After the trial last year the court ordered that the four younger children be sent to boarding school. Marie, the o laughter, re- turned to the ‘“house of myste with her Pleasant. What happened no one nows, but one her things and went to live with friends. Since that de never seen or spoken to her mother. But she remained as cor under Mammy’'s control as though they were under the san used her 1ence tween them. y scattered one part of the Mammy saw her constantly and is thought to have with both Mrs. Bell and Marie to widen the br To-day the inmates of the “house of myste the four corners. Mammy Pleasant is living i in still another lives Marie Bell In a flat out near Golden Gate P: a to city, keeping house with his young wife. The other children are at school. Only Mrs. Bell, with a blind old man to wait upon her, rem in the “house of mystery.” If Mrs. Pleasant has property or money she has safely concealed ed it under other people’s names. He is not the g accumulation, it 18 the greed for the power of distribution and expenditure. If she has ducats hidden away they are down so deep that not even the N (MR LR RH The Last Scene im the House of Mystery. Mammy Pleasant ordered out of the house where she had controlled affairs for over twenty years. During that period so many sensa- tional and mysterious events occurred there that the place acquired the title of the ‘“House of Mystery, a marriage license, undertook his dutfes. Half a dozen cthers were likewise mated or mismated by Mammy. Then Cupid growing shy Mammy gave up her place and moved her household gods to another quarter. All sorts of idle and ugly rumors floated around.” It was said that she dug pitfalls into which unheeding girls could stumble, It was at this time that Mrs. Pleasant met Sarah Althea Hill. After a year or two Mrs. Pleasant went to act as housekeeper in the home of Thomas Bell. She took absolute charge of all the domestic arrangemen All money matters between Mr. and Mrs. Bell were arranged by Mammy. Every day, in the long period when events ran smoothly, Bell handed her $100 for the usual household expenses Outside of this Mammy frequently visited his office to get check for two or three thousand dollars for special things needed by Mrs., Be That is, Mammy always explained them that way, and Millic Bell w a generous provider for his family. All the household money money for the children. She is supposed to have used a great deal of it on the Sharon case and when still more was needed she succeeded in making Mr. Bell personally advance it In the height of his financial power Bell was reputed to be worth $10,000,000; when he died his estate was appraised at $2,500,000, and now there is a struggle among the heirs and creditors to get the pickings of what is left. Her motives in the Sharon ecase, like all her other deeds, are open to argument. Her enemies say that she thought Sarah Althea would through her hands, even the pocket lawyers can find them. The general belief is that she has dissipated into thin air not only all her own money, but almost all the money entrusted to her by other people. “Mammy Pleasant has the evil eye,” her long and well. “Bvery one who has ever come under it has met with unhappiness and misfortune. For Sarah Althea, the bars of the madhouse, and for Mrs. Bell, utter and absolute loneliness and the faculties still left to realize it. The other women—and their name is legion—whose life lines have been closely entwined with Mammy's have likewise gathered but the fruit of the dead sea. 3 “Mammy is an incomprehensible mixture—a generous giver and said a man who has known taker, not only of her own but of other peopl ssions. She has not a spark of affection, nor an atom of conscience. She is the smoothest talker and the shrew woman in San Francisco. She is childish in her vanities, diabolical in her schemings. A woman to whom the feeling of power is the breath of life, and one who realizes that it is money that gives power. An intellectual giant, but a moral idiot.” “Mammy Pleasant is the dearest old thing,” said the girl who 1s Marie Bell’s intimate friend. “If you knew her and talked to her you'd never believe all the lies people tell. Do you suppose Marie would listen to Mammy if she wasn’t sure that she’s the best friend the Bells ever had. You can’t make me believe a word of the ridicu- lous falsehoods they tell about Mammy's taking the Bell mone Why, the poor woman wears the same dress year in and year out. She’s white inside even if her skin is black. Nobody knows what Mammy Pleasant has done for the Bell family.” ‘Which is only too true. Nobody does know what she has done for the Bells. Has she been the fiend or the archangel-in “the houflq of mystery?'\- - = -~ ~