The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-06-13
TO LAURA.


1t would be pity to hang Mrs. Fair, she
is such a handsome and attractive woman,
and has such killing ways. Petrarch immor-
talized his Laura in exquisite Italian verse;
shall we immortalize ours with an ugly
modern gibbet? Unless all gallantry is dead
in California lovely Laura will not die. Her
name is too pretty, too historical, to be
entered on the roll of executed felons. For
give her if she did err rather more than is
given to less ravishipg women to err; tell
her to go and sin no more; or if somebody
must expiate her crimes, hang some homelier
female In her place. Beauty is SO rare it has
its rights and privileges, and to its occa-
slonal sccentricities an admiring world
ought to be passing kind. She loved
much and therefore she ought to be forgiven
much. She has only killed three men, and
an ordinary beauty would do that without the
aid of deadly weapon, if we are to credit
poets fantasies.
In her occasional breaches of the law she
only followed the fashion of the times, and
what is a woman if not in the fashion? They
say she might as we'll be out Of the world,
but probably she would not care to go out by
means of the gallows. All women are privi-
legged to shoot their lovers and their husbands;
it is the right of the sex laid down in the
American Magma Charta of public sentiment;
the privilege is established on early and un-
broken precedent Hundreds of women
offended in thought or deed have thus settled
their accounts, and no one of them has ever
yet been punished; none of them except the
unfortunate Mrs. Fair but was acquitted
amid the plaudits of an aamiring audience.
California ought not to be She first to depart
from this wise and benefcent rule. The gen.
tie sex, as is we'll known, cannot pro-
tect itself against the wiles of artful man.
Laws to keep the sweet creatures in the
straight path are of no avail and unless they
could use the pistol where would be their
security? z
The lady Fair has such q round white neck
it would be a shame to crush it with horrible
noose she has such bswitching eyes it would
be sin to quench their brightness before the
allotted time she has such delicate little
hands and such graceful feet, such a perfect
form, such enticing arms, So many allure
ments of person and of mind, that no gallant
man would willingly see them lost TO the
world and sacrificed to the cruel demands of
law. 1t is true these very attractions caused
| some trouble to others. Mr.. Fair became
| jealous and Mrs. Crittenden unhappy, and
even Snyder-poor, foolish snyder-did not
like the turn that things took when he was
turned out to sleep on the sofa. Her little
hands managed to grasp loaded revolver,
her flashing eyes were able to point it well,
and those taper fingers pulled the trigger at
the right moment. But after all she only
slew three Objectionable persons-only three;
SO the Governor of California ought to par
don her. he ought to preserve all those en-
dearing young charms fora pleasanter sleeping
place than the cold, cold ground, and not
give to the grave what was meant for man
kind.
Remember all the happiness that Mrs. Fair
has conferred. The most joyous moment of
mans life is when he whispers with beating
heart and bated breath into the ears of the
loved one the momentous question and re-
ceives a favorable response. Observe how
many must have whispered those words to
this beauty and been blessed by her reply.
She began when she was little more than a
child, and kept on blessing all sorts OF men
till the day of her trial. She blessed three or
four husbands of her own and several of other
peoples, not to mention quitea crowd of out
siders Even Crittenden himself would pro-
badly have accepted the delights of her love
although he were forewarped how it would
end. The JOY surpassed the misery in his
opinion we have no doubt, and it would be nc
more than just to balance the account and set
the poor thing free.