The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1884-06-18
He was an American Senator -
A Specimen of Higher
Civilization"

Civilization
SAN Francisco, June !. -During
the last two or three days we have had
the testimony of ex-senator Sharon IN
his own behalf, in the suit which Miss
Sarah Althea Hill, who asserts that she
is lis wife by virtue OF a civil contract,
has brought against him for divorce.
The first time | ever met Miss HILL
said he, was in August, 1850, in my
Office. She made some little inquiry
about stocks, evidently wanting 10 90
into a deal of some kind, but as my e1-
perience with women is that when they
win they never divide and when they
lose they never pay, | changed the sub
iect. She remained about half an hour.
/ saw her again in a few days, just be-
fore going to Nevada, and on my return
she called at my office once more. On
this occasion she told me she was hv-
ing at the Baldwin, and invited me TO
call on her. | did 80, making a purely
social call. a few weeks later she call
ed at my office in a sheepish way and
asked for money, saying she needed
$50 to paw her board az tie Baldwin.
| let her have it. The second time l
called on her at the BALDWIN | asked
her TO dine with me, and she accepted.
We had dinner together IN my rooms.
When she entered the rooms she de-
posted her outer garments on the bed
in one of the two bedrooms OF my suite.
We dined together, and then passed the
hours merrily until II or | o'clock. She
seemed to be so agreeable that i offered
her a salary of $3.50 a month. she re-
fused. and in an instant | had offered
her $500 a month. She said she want
ed the money badly, but she did not
care to be my mistress. l said, All
right. Miss Hill it IS too late for you
to return to the Baldwin. You take
that room and | will take my own, and
you will be perfectly sate.' then
walked into my room and retired, and
about half an hour later she came in.
After that l paid her $500 a month, be-
sides giving her presents
While this testimony was being Civ
en-, Miss Hill, with face afiame, but
partly hidden by a huge fan, never took
her ewes off the defendant. Resuming,
Mr.. Sharon said:
Il neve at any time discussed family
ludIltkS Mllu llCIs bCllC az NV AhoAoL
that | should lave a priest to marry my
daughter to Sir Thomas Hesketh. She
received an invitation to the wedding,
and was present, but not as my wife.
The card was given her at her soli;ita-
ton. She said that if she was not in
vited she would be a marked woman,
beng the only II in the Grand Hotel
not present. She insisted on being al
lowed to go, in order to protect her
from criticism. She was living then at
the same hotel / was, and | had made
arrangements with the management for
her board. | paid her no attention at
the wedding such as she has described.
| introduced her to MY son, Fred. and
may have bowed to her once or twice,
but that was all. When L was in New
York seeing Sir Thomas Hesketh and
my daughter, Lady Hesketh, off, l sent
Miss Hill $500. On my return | had
some trouble with her, and, as she eX-
pressed a desire to go East and study
for the stage, 1 agreed to help her just
to get rid of her. Once when / was
sick and busy she came into my room
through the ransom and dropped to the
floor very heavily, disturbing me great
ly. Then she came into my and
annoyed me by walking up aud down,
until finally, in speaking of her fall, /
said L wish you had broken your id
neck She continued to annoy me.
and L finally pushed her into another
room. Here she threw herself Oh the
floor, mule like, and l poured a
pitcher of cold water owe her. Then
she came to her senses, and | said ::
Miss Hill, if you act like this | shall
call the watchman. Get up and 60 to
bed.' l never took her by the throat in
nv life. A few days after this | had a
talk with her about a settlement. She
wanted to 90 East and wanted to have
her. L offered her $1,000 for a quit
claim Of all demands on ME. She said
it was not enough she must have &c.
900. The matter was finally compro-
missed by nv paying her $500 to let
me alone. Her stories about giving me
money are all false. The money vas
paid to her in order to purchase my
peace of mind. l took her receipt in
full and she left me, but two or three
days later she came and begged to stay
in my room a while. i then began to
miss things from my pockets, and final
ly her receipt, which | had in my coat,
disappeared. | called her a thief.
charged her with having stolen it, and
warned her never to come to my rooms
again. Then | had her ordered out OF
the hotel, and she went off to live with
Nellie Bracket, a young friend of hers"
In further evidence the Senator denied
ever addressing Miss Hill in conversation
or by letter as his wife, and contradicted
nearly all the stories which she has told
concerning his treatment of her. The
letters produced in evidence in which he
appears to address her as his dear wife,
and the alleged marriage contract, he
pronounced forgeries, declaring that he
had never seen them before, and had
never heard of their existence until the
beginning Of this action. The cross
examination of the Senator by Judge
Tyler was very sharp and interesting.
Sarah has sworn that Sharon used to
sing love songs to her. Tyler, In qucs-
%tioning him about his first dinner party,
asked: Did you sing. Aud Lang
Syne' to ber?' II don't think | did,"
was the reply.
Q-Yoa DO sing "Auld Lang Syne,"
don't you? A.-Sometimes [ hum a
few bars of it for my W amusement. l
did not sing for her, though.
Q.-How about the maid Of Athens?'
Do you sing that? A.-No, sir | some
times quote the Maid but | do not
sing it.
q What else do you quote? A
Oh. most all the standard poets-Burns,
Moore, Byron, and others.
Dwell, what sort of quotations did
you make that night? Al don't know
that | made any. If did they were of
the sentimental order, probably may be
something in relation to friendship, the
divine noHer. or something nf that sort