The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-07
LOVE LETTERS or P. DURYEA.
RORSEMAN GRINS AS THEY ARE
READ ALOUD IN COURT.
Sarah Madden Says He Vowed to Marry
Her Years Before He Married Viola
AIen-TFOubles With the Dam Mig
; ~GeFs-shied at Mabel Gilman Later on.

The love letters Of Peter Duryea, the
horse breeder, formed the chief part
Of the evidence yesterday in the suit brought
by Sarah Madden, an actress, against him
for $50 900 dana ges for breach of promise
OF marriage. Mr.. Duryea was secretly
married in August last to Viola Allen.
The trial began before Supreme Court
Justice Giegerich and a jury, and before
the adjournment at 4 o'clock a crowd had
cole cted that blocked the corridors.
The suit has been pending about three
years. w. E. D. Stokes, who was Duryea's
partner in the Patchen-Wilkes stock farm
at Lexington, Ky, Is to be a witness. He
was on hand yesterday, looking rather I'M
comfortable.
Other persons who, according to the
defence, will be witnesses are Mrs. Philip
NJ. Lydig, John j. Scsnnell, the former
Fire Commissioner, and Charles Frohman.
George G. Coffin and Louis Cuvillier appear
for Miss Madden, while Nathaniel Cohen OF
Howe 4 Hummel is acting for Duryea.
Miss Madden was on the witness stand
all the, afternoon yesterday. She was
dressed in a princess gown, all black, a v
for a white collar. Her hat was also black
except for a couple of red roses. Duryea,
sitting behind Cohen, wore an almost per-
petual grin. He is a spare, grizzled man,
with a flowing gray mustache. He says
he didn't promise to marry Miss Madden.
e Miss Madden testified that she first met
him in Holy Week, 1893, at Madison Square
Garden, when he was not yet so years ole.
She was playing in MY Friend From India
then, and had a week of. Duryea, she
said, invited her to Lexington to have her
catarrh cured, and she accepted. She went
there in May and was operated on by
DURYEA'S doctor, who advised her not to
return to New York for awhile. While
she stayed she was down with tonsilitis,
she said, and when she got we'll again
Duryea fell Ill.
HE got very siok,' she testified, and
one night it looked as though he was going
to die. l was nursing him, and he babe
mo bring papers and pencil and write down
the combination Of his safe. In 1t, he told
me, I would find some money and jewels,
and II he died I was to take these as my
own. But IL he lived, he said, we would
20 right to Louisville and get married.
THAT was the first word Of marriage he
had ever spoken to me, and l told him that
! didn't want him to die, that l couldn't
live without him. He got well again soon,
and when he did / told him that | wouldn't
marry him without first telling him all
about myself. / wanted him to know all
about me, and then 1 told him everything,
oil l had eve don in my life.
But that made no difference to him. He
said it was nothing. He was only sorry
that he hadn't met me before. Then I
said that l didn't think a man like him
ought to marry a girl like me without q
name or anything. I'd been On the stage
so long and made no name for myself and
1t was my ambition to become a star and
famous
b And then he said that he'd come on to
New York with me and use his influence
with his big friends, Mr.. Stokes and 8 o on,
to get me on the stage and help me make
q big name for myself. So we did that and
the marriage was postponed on that ac-
count.
He told me that we were as good as
man andIwife, and might as we'll live as such,
90 we did. We lived together that way
for three years, and for a while In the be-
ginning he was suggesting a marriage
ceremony every week, but l kept putting 1t
of because l wanted to make a name
Mr.. Colin then introduced and read in
evidence about thirty letters, all Miss Mad
den said she had left. She explained that
they had frequent q~uarrels and would
demand their letters back and teal them
up; Dnryea says he has torn up al the
from these letters follow. They are all
badly spelled and p~unctuated, and were
written in the latter part OF 1899 or the
beginning OF 1900.
LEXINGTON, Ky, Wednesday.
Ny DARLING SALL1E: Your letter Just
received i am greaved to know you are sick
-L-,II -@attAA .aA ~ % az n "a "
nasty things & above all to think when ] was
JokeinR about the Widow that you should
take 1t seriously for God knows 1 was only
jokeing. """ l don't understand you when
you say you are without money. l gave
you $40. the day you left here & you should OF
had $50. in the letter i sent you that you should
of received New Years day. Now II you did
not get it telegraph me on receipt OF this d
/ will stop payment on the check at once q
send you a duplicate check.
/ am almost heart broken TO think you
are so blue. You have no need to be for j
have never seen You want for anything !
could give you 4 you know very we'll / would
not see you want for anything now.
Now cheer up, Sanie, for l love You a love
you very much 4 would go to you at once
Only / am In so much trouble all our water
works are broken & frozen. Not a drop Of
water only what we carry from the clstrens
4 you know what that means, one OF my
best Horses nearly cut its foot off. One OF
my best colts has rheumatism awfully bad.
A weanllng bursted all open in the hooks
from rheumatism a we had to kill him TO put
him out of his sufferings, my hand all burned
from trying 10 thaw out pipes. Niggers steal
ing. Sallie had keys TO all my closets run
in fact everything that / had locked think
it was her not sure if not her Warren. |
have discharged Sallie. You never saw
such a bunch of keys as was In my trunk
they would open all my trunks and closets.
So you see / have had an lot OF trouble and
arm not out of IL yet. 49, Now Darling
Girl cheer up Il If you wish me to / will go 20
you 4 we will try 4 have a good time & |
will try and never say another unkind word
TO you. i would go at once but | would like
to stay & get things in running order d the
dam niggers Strengthened out. Write me a
good long letter tell ne all the news 4 what
you do with yourself etc. ] do hope this
will find you well and happy from one that
loves you 4 you only. With lots OF kisses
from PETER.
Excuse writing hands are 80 bad
Monday night.
MY DEAREST SALLIE: Your letter of Satur-
day arrived this morning l was glad to get 1t
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