The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-12-11
And Marie Viola Keller
Then Became Very,
Very Angry.
Because a Man Old Enough to
Be Her Father Had
Deserted Her.
She Is Smart and Knows II, She Says,
and Her Ancestors Reach Back
to the Fifteenth Century.

Hastings (?) added spicy chapter TO the
literature of her contest of the late Judge
Hastings will yesterday. She was testi-
flying all the afternoon in the office of
S. NJ. Shortridge, rafting on in her vol
ube and IRE pressible way, every question
suggesting to her battery of incidents
and side issues that she undertook to ex-
plain.
She went into the story of her very re-
markaple career with evident relish, point
ing with pride to a pedigree" that ran
back to the fifteenth century with "bish-
ops and courtiers' on one hand and
"knights and warriors" on the other en-
bracing no less than five coats of arms"
Her own nativity! II claim French,
German and Scotch blood" was the quick
reply. II am French first, SIS smart and
l know it. The trouble with you, who
have Irish blood in you"-referring to her
own counsel, Matt l. SulliVan-'is that
you are smart and don't know it. l am
as good q lawyer as though wore trousers.
I'm as good lawyer as any one. know,
for instance, that a woman cannot sue her
husband for alimony while she has money
in bank OF her own, and as / always had
lot of money and have some still, |
couldn't bring suit of that kind. The
fact is, l was a money maker, l was born
agent, lecturer, stock gambler and other
things besides, having kept lodging
house. Why put $4,000 in one specula-
ton in cotton down South. 1made SIS, 900
in a gold speculation, buying in Tennes-
see and selling in New York, and didn't
have a seat in the exchange either.
"When did l lecture? Oh, studied
elocution in New York. Booth told me I
was one of the best he ever heard and that
| would make a success if | tried the
atricsls. But hadn't time. l was always
so busy. Preferred to work as an insur-
anee agent2 On, that was after my hus-
band deserted me and not wishing 10 live
on the money / had saved l went to work
again. The lecture? Oal I lectured on
hygiene to women only Travelled all
over the coast doing that and was very
successful. You old bachelors were not
permitted to hear but had to learn from
others what SAID"
II was in this style that the witness un-
dsrtook to ''depose'' before Notary Levy in
the matter of the contest of Judge Hast
ings' i'll.
MIR. Shortridge demonstrated, but with
little effect. The notary warned the wit
ness to stick TO the text, but her counsel
smiled and insisted that all the lady's
rsmblnzs should go into the record.
Getting down to the case in point she
said that she wrote letters to Judge Hast
ings right along until 1884, when things
began to become unpleasant" She dis
covered that tbs Judge was then travelling
sround in the East IN company with this
Knnst girl" She wrote to him to know If
be was going to desert her for an ignorant
servant girl. She advised him that he
had better set the girls real lover up in
business and be done with them, for the
lover would probably kill him.
~ knew nothing about this Knust girl
7 I'D IL T.
Giselman that she had followed him t.
town. was then aroused and went look
ing for her found where she was stop
ming, and more than that, [ found the
Judge there. l listened at the door and I
heard the Judge doing q dance that was
peculiar to him" The witness looked
round at her taudience, smiling intelIi-
gently.
II never had anything to 90 with him
after that-never except once or twice.
when he was feeling penitent and SORRY"
What did you do when you found that
your husband had given himself TO an
other?" asked Mr.. Shortridge.
81 was wild with cbagrin to think that q
man ola enough to be my father should
desert me-"
"How did you subscribe yourself when
you wrote to himp"
"Oh, as Your Loving Mary or Your
Devoted Mary Sometimes Your lea r,-
stricken Mary when he was not behaving
himse
when you heard that he had married
this other young woman-what did you
do then?"
II don't admit that it was marriage.
II was bigamy. DO you suppose Judge
Hastings would have committed a peni.
tertiary offense unless he had softening of
the brain? l brought this thing to the
Supreme Court, and in my answer there I
said l was his wife. He thought / would
sue for divorce. but fooled him. He nrst
beggared himself by putting ali his prop
erty out of his name ana then com Ditted
bigamy. Why, when l first heard of his
relations with this girl / went o see her.
/ asked her il my husband had betrayed
her and she said He ought 10 know
which l think was very clever answer.
] told her | would give her $50 month il
she would not 70 low him any more /
offered also to send her to school, for she
had no education"
The witness explained in answer to
close questioning how she came by the
name of Keller. Her maiden name was
Lake, which she sometimes used even in
these later days on visiting cards. Her
married name was Marehener, but it was
a foreign name and she didn't like it and
so asked the Legislature of Illinois 10
change her name to Keller. She had rea-
tives OF that name. she said. She also
gained something of an inheritance in
that name. Did she have any other rea-
son? She might have, she said, but these
were good enough and she would have to
mediate long time to tell about the
"other reasons"
Mr.. Shortridge told her to mediate. but
she would go no further in this line.
Those letters which were required to be
produced by the order OF court were not
forthcoming. She said that she had b.en
Ia her attorneys Office that very morning.
They had been in the safe, but the firm
had been moving. and they see med TO be
mislaid-they could not be found.
Mr.. Sullivan stated that he had had two
papers supposed to be signed by Judge
Hastings, but he could not lay his hands
upon them. He would make a search.
howeYer The hearing was then adj