davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-08-17

Francisco, and asking for money to return
to BROOKLYN.
That night Johns wife set out 20 Call
fornid. commissioned by Johns mother to
lose no time in bringing home her boy.
Annie Mayer spent seven weeks searching
for her husband. He was no lolgsr known
at the address given in the letter. She in
serted an advertisement. with his photo
graph. in all the San Francisco papers, End
at last thus found him and took him home.
He had been "shanghaied' again and
shipped on a freighter to San Francisco by
way of Cape Horn. and suspicion was d.
rected to Mrs. Mayors grandsons, the chill
den of John Mayors only sister.
Less than six months after his second re-
turn John Mayer died, on December 81, 1884,
and was followed by his mother in Feb
ruary. 1895.
Upon the death of their grandmother the
Flammer boys came into possession of her
estate by right OF descent. The widow was
left destitute, save for q life lease in the
Flushing avenue home, which her husbands
nephews conceded her in lieu of the widows
dover which she might have received had
her husband ever come into formal posses
sion of the estate left to him by the last
will of his mother.
Seven months after John Mayors death
and just after the settlement OF Mrs. Eliza
beth Mayors estate had been concluded a
rather unusual event occurred. To the
widowed wife of John Mayer a girl was
born. Annie Mayer Immediately begun suit
to recover the patrirnony of John Mayors
posthumous child.
In the legal contest which followed, and
which was heard by Surrogate Abbott OF
Kings County. the Planners declared the
child to be spurious. The case occupied
three or four days. and, despite the efforts
of the defense to prove that Annie Mayer
had foisted a spurious child upon the court,
the suit was decided IN favor of the inno-
cent baby, which cooed In Annie Mayors
arms during the proceedings.
Annie Mayer was appointed guardian TO
her little heiress daughter, on whose behaif
she proceeded to bring suit for recovery of
a number of pieces OF property which the
Hammers still refused to relinquish.
Before these suits had been settled Annie
Mayer died. and BIZ her will her sister. Mrs.
Margaret Smith. was appointed executor of
her small estate and guardian of the little
daughter. Margarita.
Immediately after the death Of the mother
the child was taken to the home Of Mrs.
Ann Kelly. her mothers first cousin. Here
Marearet Smith and her niece spent a large
portion of their time. Mrs. Kelly was
doubly fond of the child for the sake of
her mother. who had been her favorits
kinswoman.
Knowing little or nothing about such COM |
plieated matters, Mrs. Smith was not ag- |
sressive In prosecuting the claims of her
ward. The claims Of Margarita Pearl May |
or remained dormant until June. 1su. AZ |
The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-08-17

I 10 the piarc. 1t IS as If an invisible powe.
were Juggling at ME. Sometimes I go, but
more often l disobey. I have never been
punished for my waywardness by losing the
cunning of my fingers.
Il am impelled TO play at night more than
at any other time and my friends say that
l am at my hest at midnight. That sounds
grcv:sOme. but l think the quiet evening
hours. when there are not so many o~Istract-
ing influences, are the most congenial for
any musician"
Mrs. Spencer said all this in the most
modest. unaffected and matter-of-fact way.
Her relatives sat in the room and offered
suggestions in a jov!al vein about the gift
CT this strangely endowed woman, but in all
tEeir testing there was a serious stain AID
= NANTES feeling of pride and wonder.
Mr.. Spcncer's family is more or less Illus
troGs in Illinois history. Her father. VIII
liam King McAliistcr, was a member of the
Supreme Court bench for nearly a quarter
OF a century. He was an eminent jurist. a
logical rcasocer, who dealt all his life In
the practical phenomena of cause and effect.
He did not concern himself with the occult.
In this respect Mrs. McAliister was like
HIN. Her mind and Thought worked in ra-
t;onal grooves. She loved music and could
sing. but she was not 4 dreamer. She was
fine -g:ained. but not visionary.
Some of her friends who have heard her
play tell her she is Mozart reincarndted.
that the great master uses her as an in
strumert through which to speak his soul
and perpetuate lis creations in these latter
DAYS.
Mrs. Spencer wonders II this may be so,
but lays no claim to the distinction. She
does not look like Mozart. Her eyes are not
so luminous. Her mouth and nose and
brow are different. She is not more inter-
csted in the creator of the Twelfth Mass
than she is in Chopin or Beethoven or
Schumanh. and she boasts familiarity with
the works of none of them.
NY musical friends tell me-" she said.
that what 1 play savors more OF Mozart
The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-08-17

New York. The Coroner was caIed IN and
an Inquest held, and the Coroner's verdict
q duly certified copy of which accompan MED
the affdavits OF Mr.. Warehouse and the
undertaken. attested thai Margarita Pearl
Mayer. daughter of John and Annie Mayer.
aged II months, had died of cholera in
between Trenton and Philadelphia.
Mrs. Smith accepted the evidence. The
pretty. affectionate child which her sister
had bequeathed her as her own flesh and
blood must henceforth he regarded as an
allen so far as her rights IN the MAYER es-
tate were concerned. OF that mysterious
journey to Philadelphia, OF the death OF the
baby on the journey thither. of the alleged
substitution by the dead baby's mother of
q living child to succeed as heir to John
Mayors fortune. of the motive for all these
alleged irregularities and the reasons for
keeping them carefully concealed from
those naturally most interested-well. those
were secrets which Annie Mayer had taken
to the grave with her.
While these revelations were amazing
Margaret Smith. there occurred another or
the fatalities which seem to be inalienable
TO this case. One of the Planners, VIII
liam g. died. and in his place John j.
Flammer succeeded as defendant In the nu-
merous suits still pending.
An OrCer was DkeW Sc entered In the
court substituting Margaret Smith as plain
tiff. Under the will Of her sister, who, &C
cording to recent revelations. had died
without issue. ard according to the logical
Interpretation OF the law, she became
he,ress to the Mayer legacy. and as plain
tiff and defendants were now all adults he
case could be settled without application to
the court. The parties to tire suits formed
among themselves. as II were. a judge and
jury. and gave a verdict mutually salts
factory to the plaintiff and defendants. 70
the effect that the real child was dead and
that the little girl in possession OF the
plaintiff was q spurious child.
Upon this assumption a compromise was
agreed upon. In return for n quitcisim
deed for the Flushing avenue property ard
several thousand dollars in money. Mar
garet Smith signed a REIMBURSEMENT OF all
other properties and benefits accruing from
the Mayor estate, and AT last the Flam-
mers came into possession of what they, at
least, had long regarded as their own.
All unconscious. too. were her other rela-
tives, the Kellys. OF these secret proceed
ings. In the Kelly household little Mar
garet ruled all this time with the despotism
that belongs TO six Joyous. happy years,
and the rights that were conceded to be
hers as the motherless baby of pretty Ar
ME Mayer. II deception there had been. It
was indeed q clever piece of work. or else
the loving eyes of Ann Kelly and of her
daughter Mary and her sons, Charles and
John. must have easily been blinded by
The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-08-17
MONTANA RlNCHMAN WHO
CAUGHT DUCKS WITH OIL.

Special correspondence OF The Sunday Republic.
Helena. MCnt. Aug. L. Architect
Joseph Smith OF Helena, Mont. who
has jest returned from the Big Hole
country. tells of a most remarkable ana
successful method Of securing game by a
| resident OF that section. despite the fact
that he has neither powder nor shot, and
the probabilities are that he will make no
such expenditure as long as the ducks
! show no more chariness.
\ great deal Of excitement exists over
the oil discoveries In that section, and in
| many places the land has been tapped and
prospecting carried OF without regard to
| the results should the oil be found in pay
ing quantities. In some instances, because
of the premature work. great quantities OF
the songht-for fluid are spouting out and
going to waste before the eyes OF those who
were so anxious to ascertain whether their
land was rich IN deposits OF petroleum The
rancher who startled Mr.. Smith, as well as
his neighbors, was in just such a quandary.
He had oil, end It was going to waste,
while he made almost s~uperhuman efforts to
control it or dispose of his lands to those
who had the capital and were willing to
90 so. IN the meantime game became
scare and his appetite was on edge
Ducks were moving north. and the ranch
er longed for a pair. that he might have q
feast. but he was short. extremely short, OF
ammunition. His thoughts reverted TO the
wasting oil.
An idea came to him and was put IN ac-
ton. He dug a trench from his oil well to
a nearby gulch. and soon had the oil run
ming into the depression in the earth's sur
face. Once the gulch was filled the rancher
waited for his game, and he was not dis
appointed. for before the setting of another
sun a large flock of ducks circled about the
gulch and soon alighted IN tho veritab!s
oil river.
No sooner had the birds arghted han
they discovered their fatal mistake. They
were powerless to withdraw. as the oil
weighed heavily on them. and the ranch
man found little difficulty in securing
enough ducks to last several weeks. He
says he will keep the oil pond replenished.
as the ducks will bring In g handsome rev.
eEre from the market this season.
The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-08-17
BOARD and the harmony came. and that's all

BOARD and the harmony came. and that's all
there was to 1t.
II had taken n few lessons from an IN
structor, bu: was by no means an apt
pupil. On the contrary. 1 was a very dull
student. My progress was slow and my
playing labored. / read the simplest scores
with difficulty. No wonder was amazed.
then. to hear myself executing pieces IN the
classical style and never repeating q single
passage!
Il was afraid to quit the piano lest The
gift should leave me as strangely as It came.
i went TO bed and lay awake for hours
thinking Of what l had done. Repeatedly
1 was on the point of getting up and going
again to the parlor to see IL the magic SIX Il
had flown with the night.
Finally | tell asleep. but as soon as I
awoke in the morning l hurried to :iie
piano. To my great delight. l could play as
well and as easily as 1 had the evening
before. That vas wenty years ago, and l
am still playing. In all these years | have
never played the same piece twice. l could
not repeat il l wished. Orce a selection 3
rendered 1t is gone forever"
Mrs. Spencer Il no: a Spiritual!st. she at
tends no seances, never has posed as Il
medium and belongs to no society which
interests itself in the occult. On the con-
trary, she has a disiaste for these matters.
She is Intensely sensitive and Of a retiring
disposition. Size never las played for money
and has appeared in public only a few lines
for charity. She imSressas one who talks
witt her as q woman without fads or &C.
centricities.
Were II not for her remarkable gift, she
would be taken as an average woman with
average a~ttainments. Her face Is not Of the
~spirituelle type. Her eyes do not suggest the
poetical temperament. She is as practical as
her neighbors. doing her share of the house
hold duties ard thinking it a natural part
of her lot in life.
"Oftentimcs when I am working about the
house." she said. I feel an almost uueor-
trollable impulse to drop everything and go
The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-08-17
ROMANCE AND MYSTERY
OF BABY MAYER.

WRITTEN FOR THE SUNDAY REPUBLIC
Unparalleled outside the pages OF a
penny dreadful" romance is the story Of
ntue Margarita Pearl Mayer. who will play
the leading part in the most complicated le-
eal drama that has ever taxed the judicial
faculties Of the New York Supreme Court.
In this strange drama OF real life smile
tneidious comedy and subtle humor cheek
by Jowl with psthos and tragedy. Here run
riot plot and counterplot intricatelyI and. It
would appear. inextricably involved. Here
are introduced climaxes and anticlimaxcs
with a p~rodigality which the most liberal In
depreciation Of man-made dramatic laws
dares not countenance. Here occur. in most
unexpected places. denouements 30 iilogi-
cal that the most imaginative playwright
would scout the idea of their adaptation IN
anything save opera bouffe. But, after all,
IS not truth always stranger than ftotiono
What Is II all about? What Is the lead
ing motive Of the dramatic legal battle
which will open shortly before the Supreme
Court. and in which a small. blue eyed,
golden-haired girl Will be the central hg-
ure?
It Is indeed an anomaly. summed up brief
ly and categorically. the answer. is. to
prove:
First-whether or not MarGarits Pearl
Mayer was ever horn al all.
Second-Granting Marsa-ita Pearl Mayer
might have been bora. whether CT not she
died when II months old. and whether or
not the bapy girl has been Sleeping all
these seven years in a little grave in peace
ful Greenwood Cemetery.
Third-The bestowal upon the lawful heir
ess or heirs OF the boarded fortune left by
the late Mrs. Elizabeth Mayer.
Needless OF the rdrt sfo plays in the con-
troversy over the name she lears and the
fortune her relatives claim Cor her. little
Margarfta leads a SIMPLE, happy existence,
under the care of The gentle French. nuns in
the somber convent Of st. Vincent de
Paul. in West fhirty-ninth street. New
York.
1t is indeed. well for the Engineered.
laughing mite of a girl that she Is too
young to fully understand her unique situa-
ton and that her baby head lie not In the
least concerning itself IN vain efforts TO
solve the mystery of ner name ano Identity.
That task has been assumed by Mrs Ann
Kelly, a first cousin of the child's decea sed
alleged mother. and VINO IS the orphan girls
nearest relative. Through Attorney Edward
Riegelmann and Special Counsel John ].
OConnell. Mrs Kelly, in behalf of Margari-
q Pearl Mayer. has brought suit against
The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-08-17

Charles Arthur Flammer and William G.
FIammer to recover property valued at S50.-
600. which. IL is alleged. belongs to this
homeless Walt by right of descent.
The suit marks the beginning of the end
of a litigation which began shortly before
the more or less mythical little Margartta
was born. L Is, according to the plaintiff,
the denoueinent of a long series of in
trigues.
According to Mrs. Kelly. these intrigues
began about a dozen years ago, when the
Flammer boys commenced TO look with
covetous eyes upon the valuable possessions
of their grandmother, Mrs. Elizabeth
Mayer. Mrs. Mayer was n thrifty, indus
trious old German housewife. who had so
well invested the fortune left 10 her by
Grandfather Mayer that three score years
and ten found her the possassor of valuable
houses and lands in Brooklyn. as well as
the three-story busirss building at No. 6S9ss
Hudson street. New York.
Grandmother Mayer, for so she was
called In the neighborhood of her home, at
No. 500 Flushing avenue Brooklyn, was the
mother Of an only sCr. Mrs. Mayer dotted on
her son John, and none the less upon johns
wife. that was the pretty Irish girl, Annie
McCooi. Mrs. Mayer had special reasons for
being fond CT her daushta:-in-law. as few
sons mothers are. John Mayer. well tdu-
Gated and clever, was. at the same time, 1t
is said. a ne'er-do-well. and had always
OeSA an ODJeCl OF anxiety anu OFTEN OF gTlet
to the fond white-haired mother. Annie Nc
Cool was the most ~salutary influence in his
life; more SO than his own mother, and the
latter wisely recognized this fact. and
where Jealousy might have been expected
there was established a bond of love snd
sympathy between the women.
Unusually strong did this bond become
when one day n Mayer disappeared, not
TO be heard of again for more thai q year,
when be walke Into the house with a
strange story. He had been '~'shanghaied,''
he said, and carried or a prisoner on a mer-
Chart vessel bound on a years cruise to
Australia and the East ILdies.
job Mayer had not been home more than
a year when he disappeared again In an
equally mysterious manner. One, two.
three long years passed by. but no ~prodigai
returned.
The good old German mothers ltlus eyes
grew dim with watching. and the silver
hairs began to creep into Annie Mayors
dark hair. The son and husband was given
up for dead. when the postman delivered a
soiled and much worn letter, with a post
mark six months old. 1t was from John,
saying he was sick. poor n alone In San
The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-08-17

Special correspondence Of rhs Sunday Republic.
New York. Aug. l5.-New York has q talk
ing dog!
Petit takes because he cannot help Il, and
into his limited vocabulary puts more mean
ing than all the wordy elquence Of half q
hundred orators. He does not concern him.
self with the parts OF speech. but he has
| grasped the three cardinal principles of ex-
istence-he knows what he wants, knows
how to ask fer II and never gives up tin he
gets it.
Petit Is an English greyhound and q sew
enth son. To the latter fact he ascribes his
unusual gIfts, though he Is properly modest
In their exploitation, for he is a devoted
brother.
His mother. Daisy, is a lady Of high de-
gree. and his father. Dewey. boasts q
lengthy pedigree to prove his worth.
The dominance Of the seven in the fate
of the dogs is remarkable. Daisy's seven
children were born June q. 1901. One died
seven days later. On the 9th day of July
they opened their eyes. One was given
away, two were later poisoned through
malice and three brothers alone remain.
These are Sir James. Collaret $50 called be-
cause he came Into the world with a COM
plete white collar Joined by q V at the back
Of the neck. and Petit. the last and small
est OF the litter.
They have been cared for Ike babies, and
the constant federation from Mrs. Blunt
that would do this or that Is
propably largely responsible for Petits de-
but as a speechmaker. One evening when
hts brothers had gone for a walk and I
lad exhausted all expressions of loneliness,
he laid his pointed nose between his paws
and gave vent to u loud wall Of "Mammay'
that would have melted a heart Of stone.
The effect was instantaneous. Petit was
caressed and taken out to join the others.
He remembered the lessor. and now when
all else fails Petits cry CT in
fo-r,. ryru I11ru1 that hpr Immediate nTea-
ence is required. His one other word is
'.es'm.'' and when. after some persuasion,
he condescended to show of his accom-
plishments for a World reporter yesterday.
both words came forth in a voice and ac,ent
so absurdly childish as TO be hardly dis
tinguishable from a human tone. His in
teuigerce Is unfailing. and Petit brings out
his two remarks with an aptness that In
something uncGnny.
The shapeIy greyhound has as well q Pc
cuIiar degree of magnetic force. Held in
the arms he is said TO have q soothing ef-
feet on tired nerves, and more than one OF
Mrs. Blum's friends claim for him the
power to Danish headache.
The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-08-17

WRITTEN FOR THE sUNDA REPUBLIC.
cr ISTEN to a woman playing difficult
music on the piano, not of her own
~ volitton and skill. but as the moro
physical agent Of a genius outside of and
beyond herself. and you have the anom-
ally which Mrs. Ellen Spencer of Ravens
wood, Chicago. presents TO the musical and
scientific world.
Yes. I play said Mrs. Spencer, but
don't know how or why I do It. 1 am a per-
petual enigma to myself. 1t would be q
great relief to ne II some scientist or ex-
pert IN psyohical research could point out
definitely tho source OF my gift 1 do not
understand it.
Il have tried to reason It out these TWEEN
ty years and have failed, so I have coma to
believe that In some way tho dead may in
huence or inspire the living to do things
which they could not do of their own ef-
fort"
Quite as strange as Mrs. Spencers gift IT.
self are the circumstances of its coming to
her. When she was II years old the family
lived IN Wsukegan, a small town forty
miles north of Chicago. One afternoon she
and her sister, together with two or three
girl guests. went to a darkened nom IN
their home. moro in a spirit Of mischief
than otherwise, to see II they could not
make themselves mediums for calling I'D
spirits"
1t was a popular psstime in those days for
youni people to st around a table. their
hands forming a circle and their minds
concentrated on the purpose to make the
table move or to produce 'rapping Of the
spirits" It was with this diversion the Strls
were entertaining themselves, when Mrs.
spencer's sisters hands began to move like
those Of . plano player.
According to her account of the experi-
ence, she could not hold her hands rtil.
Laughing and Testing. Ehe hurried to the
plano and tried to play. while the others
waited eagerly. She made a miserable fail
ure- Thereupon Mrs. Spencer, who was
then Miss McAllister. lifted her hands and
expressed a fervent wish that she might be
inspired to play.
sit down at the piano and ~" said her
mother. Maybe you can"
No sooner had Miss McAlister ssated her
self on the stool than her fingers began to
ny over the keys in a way that made her
self INA the others gasp and marvel
II don't think anybody was SO much Er-
prtsed as I myself" said Mrs Spencer. In
rscounting the experience OF that night. "T
played for hours and did not become a Bit
tired from the exertion. Everything I
played was entirely new to me. 1 had never
heard Il before I do not think 1t was muso
OF my own creation. My muscles and fingers
were irnpelled by q force distinct and apa-t
from myself. My hands few over the key
The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-08-17

fairs then took upon themselves a most re-
markable turn. and II the news of the
baby's birth was a shock to the FIammer
faction the belated intelligence that the
same baby had died in Annie Mayors arms
years before created a perfect cyclone of
CONSERVATION IN the ranks Of the little
Margarita's constituents.
1t was Mrs. Smiths own lawyer who
vouchsafed to his client this Information.
which purported to come from Philadelphia.
When informed that the little girl whom
she had thought of and loved as her own
blood niece, the daughter of her dead and
only sister, was of utterly strange blood.
Mrs. Smith was torn with an emotion half
anger, half grief.
At first she refused absolutely to listen to
the story of the deception of which her sis
ter was accused. BY and by. however. she
heard the strange story and was at last
forcea, by the evidence put before her. to
believe that her real baby niece which she
The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-08-17
had cus5rsd % fsF rsarf frorn ~, s,v ne

had cuddHed g fsf fsarf nom the day she
was born was long since dead. Her own
lawyer showed her the evidence. Margarita
Pearl Mayer had undoubtedly died in Phila-
delphia. July 81. 1896. The papers spread
out before the incredulous aunt were afH-
davits signed by Philadelphia friends OF
Annie Mayer. friends who had attended the
funeral OF her child from the house Of
George NJ. W~aterhouse. at No. 1903 South
Thirty-fourth street.
There was also the affidavit. of Mr.. W.
terhouse. who told therein how Mrs. Water
houses friend. Mrs. Mayer. had carried her
child into their house OF the afternoon of
July 81, 1896. She had just come from a
train OF the Pennsylvania Railroad, for a
weeks rest, and when they examined the
little bundle of humanity in her arms 1t
was discovered that the baby was not
sleeping, but dead. TIL grief-stricken and
Mortified mother then told how Ill the little
ono had been during the hot journey from