The evening times., 1900-04-12

NEW YORK. April IA Waterbury
/ Conn, despatch, published here this morn
ing. says:
! A secret supposed to have died with
| Commodore William X. Mayo was revealed
| this evening by Miss Jennie Elton Stevens
who asserts that she was hypnotized into
marrying the commodore who. in 1892. al
the age of sixty-two years. won her for
| his second wife. They separated on the
J evening Of their. wedding reception and
never saw each other afterward.,
/ The young wife was taken to a private
asylum. and for two years her reason tot
tered. The commodore obtained a divorce
from her in a South Dakota court. and af-
terWard married a Mrs. Hall. his house
keeper. Concerning the estrangement be-
tween Commodore Mayo and his second
wife Washington society and the world at
large has been curious all these years
Miss Stevens. for she resumed her maid
en- name, has ever since her release from
the asylum been living here Her health
has been restored. and she has taken a
deep interest in the work of the church
and has sought in every way possible to
divert her mind from dwelling on unpleas-
ant memories.
She believes that Commodore Mayo had a
remarkable occult power. She had heard
th0J he had somewhere in his travels III
the far East, from a Yogi or from a Brah-
mlu. learned The secret of exercising 4
strange and irresistible fascination over
his fellow-men. She and her parents Were
travelling in the White Mountains in 1851
when she first met the commodore
His eyes seemed 10 possess some strange
power" she said last evening. They
were great blue. fearless eyes. that seemed
10 draw one TO them. never could under.
stand whence came that influence which
completely took me captive.
Miss Stevens had never dreamed of mar
Tying the commodore. She was only twen-
ty-fiye years old. She feared him and low
ed him by turns. When she was away
from him his influence over her waned. but
IN his presence she was powerless.
He actually commanded her to marry
him. she says. and she obeyed. Three
times before the marriage ceremony she
declared to him that their engagement was
broken He paid no more attention to her
than he would to the expression of a child
ish whim
Only a few DAYS before their marriage
she told him that she dreaded that he had
some strange influence over her. and said
that she feared he would make her subject
10 his caprice and Will. He told her that
he truly loved her and that her fears were
groundless.
. Then there was the wedding. with its
bridesmaids and roses and jubilation of
guests. and the drive 10 the railroad sta
ti0n in d shower OF rice. Ii all seemed 10
her confused dream. She could not un-
derstand why she had married the old
Commodore, and she now attributes the
whole affair TO hypnosis.
Miss Stevens says that she did not
leave the Commodore of her own free
will but that he drove her from him. She
alleges that he seemed TO tire Of her and
treated her cruelty. They went to New
York on their wedding journey and then
to Washington, where the wedding recep
tion was held.
The Young wife was disinclined to re-
ceiye the guests and yainly begged TO be
excused. Commodore Mayo commanded
her 10 descend the staircase to the parlor
and she did so. She became ill. and ac-
cording TO her story the Commodore grew
tired of her. and sent for her father to
take her home.
Miss Stevens AYERS that she would
gladly have returned to her husband after
her release from the sanitarium where
she was placed by her father. but that
her parents would not permit her to do
so. She later began a suit for divorce
against the Commodore and only last
week the case was decided against her.
Persons in Waterbury who knew Miss
Stevens at the time of her marriage say
they could not then understand the
strange influence which the Commodore
seemed TO have over the young woman.
Her family is Socially prominent here.