Sullivan republican. [volume] (Laporte, Pa.) 1883-1896, 1891-01-23
EVA WAS ON THE STAND.
She Denies Positively That She Was
Ever Mrs. Mann.

NEW YORK, Jan 17.-The event
which has been expected for several
days in the contest to break the
will of Robert Ray Hamilton hap
lpened yesterday morning when Mr..
Fuller called Mrs. Evangellne L..
Hamilton to the witness stand in
the Surrogate's Court. When the
hands on the big clock ON the top of
the City hall pointed to twenty
minutes to ten there were by actual
count fory-one persons in the Sur
rogate's Court, nine of whom were
women. The two women dressed in
mourning who have been present
since the Hamilton will case has
been going on were on hand as usu-
al. The suit for divorce instituted
by Josh Mann against Eva seemed
to be the all absorbing topic of con-
versation, and it appeared to be the
general impression that it was
move on the part of the lawyers of
the legatee to prejudice the case
against the contestant.
As early as ten o'clock the cor
ridor leading to the Suriogate's
Court was lined with curiosity seek.
ers endeavoring to obtain peep at
fair Eva, and the members of the
Hamilton family. People almost
fought for points of vantage, and
after the Surrogate had taken his
seat, it was almost impossible to OBJ
tain standing room.
The first witness examined was
DR.. Frank H. Rice, who deposed to
attending Mann for three weeks at
Passaic Bridge, and being introduced
to Mrs. Mann as his cousin. Mann
was in a semi-comatose condition
when he attended him.
There was q buzz of excitement in
court when Mr.. Fuller announced
that the next witness would be
Evangeline L. Hamilton. When
she was called there was great
craning of necks and shifting of
positions as the crowd surgeG for
ward just a little, but with q great
deal of angry jostling. The court
officers had abandoned the scene
long ago and had given up all hope
OF holding the curious ones in check.
| On previous days Eva impressed
those who sat near enough to see
her as a woman who is under tear>
full strain and who was nervous TO
almost the point of breaking down.
Her foot-not small one by any
means, if the shoe fts--kept up a
ceaseless rat-a-tat on the floor under
the counsel's table and q cut-glass
bottle Of smelling salts made frequ-
ent excursions under her veil.
When called to the stand yester-
day she was an almost entirely diff
terent person. Perhaps she had a
premonition of the uncomfortable
questions Lawyer Root would put
to her on the cross-examination-
But she had evidently nerved her.
self and was prepared for anything.
She removed her veil and arranged
it so carefully that it made a very
defective frame about her head.
| Then she posed back in the chair.
If there is any one thing that claim
ant can do we'll it is to pose.
1t was very easy work answering
the questions put to her by her own
lawyer and she sailed smoothly along
until the snag of cross-eXamination
was reached. Then the tapping of
the buttoned boot upon the floor e.
gan and her manner became slightly
Iirritable,' but not noticeably SO. 1t
was fair battle between a shrewd
lawyer and sharp woman.
| The voice of the witness was
|stmined and thin at times, and her
eyes looked as if they were burning.
Difficult or knotty questions which
looked like traps she answered with
a rising infection, as if she wanted
to emphasize them.
/ Eva's evidence was a flat denial of
the statements of Jorhua Mann.
|She said that she never introduced
him as her husband to her brother
or any other relatives and denied in
the most positive manner ever having
entered into a marriage contract
with him.. When she went to her
uncle's house in Pennsylvania she
said that Josh was friend of hers
who came out to- pay visit for a
Icouple Of days. She went to To-
wanda in September, 1883, to help