The San Francisco call., 1896-06-21
No Make.Believe About Twas
Not a Simple Shoulder
Clasp.
MRS. ALvERs0N is EXAMINED.
She Had Forgotten the Name of the
Second One of Her Four
Husbands.

while she was staying at the Hotel Oak
wood in Southern California, of which
Lawrence was the proprietor.
The recital of his huggings of Miss Ash
ley furnished an interesting story to the
few favored spectators i'll Judge Slack s
court yesterday.
Lawrence is evidently quite an expert in
the hugging line, for he declared there was
no make believe about his embraces-he
had his arm about the waist, not the
shoulders of the blonde.
The matrimonial ventures of his sister,
Mrs. Nellie Lawrence Frisby = Comstoek-
Reisner-Alverson, also furnished an inter-
esting diversion from the main issues of
the case. In her confession over her e1-
spouses she te mporarily forgot the name
of No. 2, but atterward remembered that
it was Comstock-"Joe" Comstock she
thought. Her testimony was mainly
corroboratlve of what her brother had
sworn to.
The cross and redirect examinations of
Witness O'kefe were completed at the
morning session of the court. Nothing
new was elected in the examination,
tiresome.
At the opening of the afternoon session
Melville Lawrence, the proprietor OF the
Tallac House at the southern end OF Lake
Tahoe, was put on the stand.
In the early months of 1S93 he had kept
the Oakwood Hotel at Arcadia, Los An
geIes County. He had met Miss Ashley
and introduced her, among other guests,
to Mr.. Baldwin. He never saw Miss Ash
ley and Baldwin together except in COM
pany with the other guests of the hotel.
Miss Ashley used to ride horseback great
deal with her brother, E. Porter Ashley.
Lawrence had also seen her out riding in a
buggy with ]. f. Falvey. Quite often she
went out ON horseback, but would return
with Falvey IN the buggy later on.
There were also amusements in the
evening, dances, card parties and other
gatherings. One evening when there was
a little card party In progress in the room
in back of the office, Lawrence heard a
commotion going on in the office. He
heard noise and laughter and also heard a
Mrs. Harold laughingly calling Mr.. Fal-
vey and Miss Ashley, and asking them
what they were doing together upstairs so
long.
Besides the rides which Falvey and Miss
Ashley used TO take in a one-seated buggy,
there was theater party organized among
the guests. The members OF the party
did not come to Los Angeles together, but
were to meet at the Hollenbeck Hotel
later. Miss Ashley did not arrive on the
train she was expected on, but came in
later.
Lawrence admitted he had tested with
Miss Ashley about Mr.. Falvey. When he
saw Mr.. Falvey coming Lawrence used to
put his arm around Miss Ashley because
he found that teased her more than any,
thing else. On such occasions Miss Ash
ley begged him to desist. There was a
croquet ground where Baldwin and Miss
Ashley, among other guests, used to play,
but Lawrence never noticed that Baldwin
paid any particular attention to Miss Ash.
ley.
On cross-examination the witness said
that he leased both the Tallac and Oak
wood hotels from Nj. Baldwin. He had
been proprietor of the Oakwood for six
years and OF the Tallac for eleven or
twelve years. He had first met Baldwin
some twelve years ago at the Baldwin Ho-
tel. Before he came 20 California he had
been in the hotel business in Ontario,
Canada.
He first met Miss Ashley in March,
1898. He had received letters from her
from the Westminster Hotel in Los
Angeles, and thought she had not come
to the Oakwood from Coronado. Miss
Ashley had come alone to his hotel. He
didn't remem ber whether or not Mr.. Bald
win hao come on the same day as Miss
the same train. Miss Ashley remained at
the hotel about a month, and Baldwin re-
manned for several weeks. He mad seen
them together a number of times, but
never alone together.
In regard 10 the occasion on which
FaIvey and Miss Ashley were together in
an upstairs room, Lawrence testified he
saw them coming downstairs together. He
made no objections to such conduct,
although he declared that he never al
lowed anything improper in his hotel.
He supposed that the two were going to
be married, so he did not think anything
of their intimacy.
Lawrence had never seen anybody else
riding with Falvey. He thought nothing
of Falvey and Miss Ashley riding to-
gether; it was quite a common thing and
not improper. Falvey's interest in the
hotel increased greatly during Miss Ash
leys stay. Lawrence thought his visits
during that time were four times as fre-
quent as before. Lawrence had seen Miss
Ashley return with Falvey after starting
out with her brother, several, perhaps half
dozen, times.
Mr.. Crittenden asked Lawrence further
about the commotion caused by Mr.
Herold's question on the evening when
Falvey and Miss Ashley came downstairs
together. He admitted that there was
piazza upstairs where gentlemen might go
to smoke, but they very seldom did so.
There were parlors upstairs which were
always kept open for the guests. These
parlors were not kept lighted, but any body
might light them.
When he lad put his arm about Miss
Ashley, Lawrence had done it openly in
the presence of other guests. There was
no make believe about it-he had put his
arm about her waist, not her shoulder
He had done it to tease Falvey, and at the
same time when he pressed her waist he
whispered in her ear: "Falvey is coming"
This was another little pleasantly of the
genial host.
Lawrence came down from Tallac last
Tuesday to testify in this case. He was to
receive no compensation from Baldwin.
He had not come merely to testify-he had
business in this City as we'll. He admitted
that he was indebted to Baldwin on ac-
count of ranch near Arcadia, in which
Lawrence and his sister had an interest
Mrs. Nellie Alverson, a sister of Mr..
Lawrence, was next sworn. She admitted,
with smile, that she knew Mr.. Baldwin,
She also knew Miss Ashley and had met
her often at the Oakwood Hotel. She had