The Cairo daily bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1870-1872, 1872-02-03
THE MANSFIELD AGAIN.
AN INTERVIEW WITH LAWLOR,
HER FORMER HUSBAND.
THE MALICIOUS LIBELS OF THE
NEW YORK sun" REFUTED.--
(From the Chicago Times.)


publishes a letter from the San Francisco
purporting to give the early
California lite of Helen Josephine Mans
field. The letter has been Published in va
rious other newspapers, and AL
Though to parties conversant with the
early history of ''the beautiful SIREN"
it is known TO be untrue, 1t might not be
of sufficient Importance to contradieh'
did it not drag into the foul mess gentle
man against whom rumor or newspaper
report never before raised its defamatory
voice. The gentleman is Mr.. Frank Law
lor, director of the academy Of music In
this city, and who, as is well known, was
the husband of the Observation-Disclosures
until forced, by her misconduct, he pro-
cured divorce. w.
After distorling the facts concerning the
death Of Joseph Mansfield, father
Of Helen Josephine, the Sun
proceeds with the statement that
Lawlors marriage with the latter was the
result of an elopement from the convent
| OF Nrtrs Dame Mt San j 'se, whore she
had l beeP placed t. fnish her education
board with the brides mother, who had
subsequent 10 Man .feld's death, married
with II Mr.. Warren, and tinall 1, that Law
the.uttempt, to black-mui an Englishman
named Perley out of $1,000 for alleged
trlhing with the affections of Mrs. Mans
field, in which little game she, also, took u
| hand.
Reporter-Havc you any objection, Mr..
Lawlor, to giving the Times y statement
Of your California experience for pubica-
ton?
Mr.. Lawlor-None in the least as
have been ST. shamefully slanderered and
stigmatized MS a blackmailer. had in
tended to say nothing about it, and have
refused several Newspaper men
before, as did not want my name m liked
up with the Fisk affair, and wanted TO say
nothing to injure Josephine, but it is
nothing more than right that protect
my own character, now that il has been
assaied, and / shall do SO in a court Of
justice.
R.-The story of your elopement with
Josephine was not true2 Ia
Mr.. L.-No, sir. In the first place l
was never in San jose, where the elope.
ment is said to have have occurred, in
my life. first met the girl about ,ls63.
she was young, pleasing and attractive,
and Mt that time good. / liked her
very we'll but had no engagement with
her and no desire to marry. In 1864 /
went over to Virginia City, Nevada, to
play an engagement, and it was while was
there that Warren and his wife under.
took the blackmsiling operation on the
man Perley. l was not in the state of
California at that time, and can prove it.
Moreover, never saw Perley in my life
to know him. When / returned to San
Francisco Josie told me all about it, and
said she relied on me for protection that
she did not first know her step-father and
mother were trying to make money off
Perey by using her, told her did not
know how was going to protect her
without marrying her, aud that was un- |
Ible to do. She Insisted, and finally did |
marry her TO save Ter from the evil inhu. |
noes of her own parents.
R-Then you did not reside with her
lother after marriagep
Mr.. L.--No. From that day 20 this
ave never spoken to Warren, nor did
low Josie 10, and she never saw her
mother but once after that, and that was
usi before we left California for New
FORK. tried to keep her good and pure,
nd for two years,I will say this in her be-
all, no wife ever conducted herself more
roPery toward her husband than she did
, me. Before we married / told her that
he might lind some one richer than me,
nd, indeed, she might have married al.
lost whom she pleased in San Francisco
that time, but she declared, she had
,thsr live In cottage with me than in q
alace with any person else. was fond
her but never cared for her SO much but
nat | could give her up easily when i
0Isd she was going astray.
When was that2
-, o VT ,h-ltwas after we had arrived an d
' o ii'ing in New York. I had some rea-
g W suspect her, and told her one day
'u' u'd wrong should have nothing
moro TO do with her. I saw thai ia was
determined to do wrong, and thu, 7 could
ioI stay with her longer wi,hout hao,,
hg The laughing-slock for ey.rybod, vV NJ,
knew us, SO l left o''y 'hal
h.-W hen was that
Mr' L'-Sonetime in 1868.
h--how long did you live apart before
Dir. L.-Several months. Altar Ian
ner Continued TO send her $40 week f,r
yer support until had POSITIVE proof ,ba,
"e Ind gone aslray, and then | stoned
: o,u u, hs long as she would liy. a vir'
'uDu' rhs would send her money for her
'upPort' and should have BEEN duiny So
hnu, now probably, If she had behaved
yorce7 '''' u'' ,
NrL,--I have not, and have alwsy.,,i.a