davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-07-04
WHO CARES AFTER DEATH?"---MRS WOODILL ASKED
In
Letter

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The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-07-04
Gives Her Thanks
For Kind Thoughts.

IT am glad that you have in reserve
a tiny drop of kind thoughts for the for
lorn little castaway- There is
little left IN life for me now. Yesterday
] dream at sunset every evening, and
when I close my eyes at night it is not
20 dream Of a tomorrow. II tomorrow
comes. live 1t simply. When 1t does
not some day I will be quite ready to
greet whatever is IN store behind the
mystery of that unknown land. Yester-
day you made glad for me and so it
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-07-04

all Innocence, perhaps, and yer / more
often forget the bad, I know, than re-
member. Love is a strange thing. It
either gladdens one until they are at the
very throne of absolute jor OF it mad
dens until there Is no sorrow so great as
that of Loving. There is, of course,
secret reason for everything, as there
are secret chambers.
But this is why I write, to say that
regret having hurt you in my last
letter. It was my intention that you
should have a corner on the ma rket OF
weapons-arrow points and daggers and
singing, maddening. rricking burrs,
etc.-so l am much surprised that any
thing in my letter could have been con-
strced as irony. But then, you know,
written words always 81 SAX more coldly
than those which we utter face to face
So you viii allow for those, won't you?
I'VE are at present iiving on Point
Iona. which is eight TILES round or
four miles across up fro m San Diego,
but have a house there
Don't fear that 1 do not study also
odd as it may seem-that per cent Of
the world with which I come in contact
is ''at my feet" as you expressed
it.
but really I seem to have the faculty
of bewildering people. One man wrote
and asked me which was my true self
the laughing superficial heiress (for I
appear to be SUCH counting admiration
and indignant when it is expressed, the
lover of sports and the killer OF time
as the other girl?
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-07-04
What a Sunset
Really Can Be.

you never know what sunset can
be until you see It in winter behind the
Ieafless trees. There were just clouds
enough to make it beautiful. Gold and
purple and crimson and azure changed
TO opal and gray. It was as If the
gates of light had opened out upon
earth And at last. when it seemed
as II I must turn to see that wondrous
glory reflected in your face-something
blinded my sight and in flood OF
molten glory which my wet eyes could
not see the sun went down.
II feel very much aggrieved that L
cannot have you here, even for a few
moments. buN on the whole I am pretty
brave about it. You were nice to say
you liked my letter. always fear Dor
ing you, for I am a great chatter box,
ant am apt 70 ramble on quite forget
fllI of the bored expression on your
face. my dear That is the worst Of
talking. or even attempting TO talk,
with a dreamer-they are no respecter
of another's nerves
IT have had more than my legitimate
innings. so I am going TO ask how you
are and what you are doing; how busi-
ness IS going 1 do want you TO sue
coed. TO vim. Success is a thOrny path,
know. It's points and brambles were
| left on purpose to deter those who are
not brave from continued skirmishes
with fortunes pickets. None but men
Of pluck deserve success, as none but
/ the brave deserves the fair,
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-07-04

sion or Jea lousy. There is more HkeH-
hood IN TIE theory that he was des-
perate for want OF money or for fear
Of betrayal.
I am unable to understand it. The
more / think Of the mans kind DISPOSE
ton the less can I believe he could have
been guilty of such an atrOcious crime.
u would like to see some ore
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-07-04

went the same way. No one asked him
for such help as he was able to give
without Bob Eastman extending It. In
turn, he could have gone TO any num-
her Of his friends and secured enough
n more than recompense the two per
sons DESTROYS OF prosecuting him
There must be something unusual
about a man for him 10 be known
nv nickname In the street
said broker to me. Bob Eastman
was such jolly. peculiar felloW ina
he received a nickname-an unusual
distinction. He was called not Eastman
the curb broker. but Lame Bob
or Smiling Bob" as the case might be.
No 7 have never. seen him mad, have
never known him to Intentionally harm
anyone. can't conceive of him as a
6end incarnate who would beat out the
brains Of a lovely woman in lonely
bungalow and then drop her lfeless
bodv in creek
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-07-04
Had Deep Fear
of Prison Life.

There is something wrong. Per
hans II was his secret, perhaps the
haunting fear of facing trial had driv-
en- him temporarily insane. For some
reason he seemed afraid eff the courts
of prisons.
Draw the veil of charity over this
last deed OF Bob Eastman. 1t wasn't
the real Bob. He might have had his
escapades with women-he is not the
only one-but he would never contem-
plate the elimination Of an intrigue by
a dastardly crime like this"
I heard a chorus of praise like this
all TO the credit OF smiling jovisI.
kind-hearted Bob Eastman. The little
things indicate the real character Of
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-07-04

Here is one of her letters, to this
man I'm Baltimore she said she loved
1.-THE postmark has a familiar look.
The ehirogrs ply speaks before the en-
velope is torn off a letter from You
With eager, trembling hands the well
come token is drawn from its office
marked wrapper, and then how the half
stffled heart drinks the contents! Each
line breathes the spirit Of love, care,
friendship, and affection so deeply grav-
en- on the tablet of memory. And how
visions of days with you come crowd
ing uni All my dear. your letters are
indeed precious! More precious than
gold. more priced than hopes. ! close
nv eyes and put my face close to the
mage your hand has written-and be-
hoIdt If is spring and I am standing IN
the woods with you Alasi my dear, a
letter Of yours is a Eindlier power than
Aladdin's lamp. for his talisman brought
him nothing but gold. while mine, with
untailing tenderness, brings me the Wis
ion Of youl
To-day 1 wandered through the woods
and fields and along the shore of the
stream. You might as well have been
with me. dear. for tha place was just
meant for you 10 walk in. It seemed
eloquent with your presence. maybe
you were thinking of me)
There were little webs in the grass
close to the stream where no snow has
fallen, marked out with silver and set
with stars Of frost. There was no weed
that did rot have its panOply Of silver
and its attendant train of tiny pages
stumbling along behind. There was a
naughty burdock, pompous in his new
majesty of ice and snow-and long,
struggling line Of train-bearers grown
sleepy with their task. I fingered by
the river until sunset.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-07-04

shall live as long as I do. though God
knows am glad to deem 1t joyous
''fhese days are all so strange. though.
/ feel like a vagabond soul. I want to
run away from everything and drown
if need be in a maelstrom Of dreams.
am restless. I seem to be chOked in this
strange world of the actual-this world
of suffering. I want TO forget. There
should be some place where the veil Of
eternity is thin, where one can see God
As It goes now I know not whether
shall fight during many years more or
sink down exhausted.
Can you forgive me for writing in
this fashion to you? Indeed, I meant
TO write nothing but a commonplace
thank you when I sat down"
s.
There were regrets in her Hfe-for
wasted opportunity and sunken as
piration. Perhaps these moments
were feeting, bur they came. She
writes:
This Is the first day of the young year
that has been brought to Us by Time I
have been sorry TO greet IL. for I do
not know whether 1 am ready to make a
properly high character by which to live
it through. Last year, as l look back
upon il. was so uselessly spent that l
almost dread beginning a new lap on my
life road. For you, though, 1 am sure
it will bring very much happiness and
you have my every wish for joyous
DAYS
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-07-04

pale of sea beyond; at the wonderful
purple mountains that rise like a great
wall, shutting in the beautiful picture;
at the whole situation, in fact-and a
little bitterness came into the smile and
a big shadow over my eyes from the
unshed tears when I thought how little
il all meant to me now. But such
is life. To me il is wearing off part of
its gloss; and in the meantime the years
go by. Who knows what tomorrow or
the next year may bring? Quien sabe?
You know how silly / am about
fairies? 1 have always had my own
not Water Baby fairies or Hans An
dersen's-so / never become frightened,
for they do not outgrow me. They are
really Kobolds of the rocks and pixies
of the wood. Well. out here in this en-
chanted land they have all hocked
around ne; so I seek people In roses,
and voices in groves and rocks, just as
some folks do in the clouds.
Yesterday ] saw an old man at a dis
lance I know he beckoned to me. He
was at the top of the oldest. taIiest rose
bush. So I reached up and scratched
my fingers and picked him. He wanted
to say something. ard I put him to my
lips and kissed him, Jecause he seemed
so lonely and so tired. Not knowing
what else to do, and knowing he wanted
companionship OF his own seeking, ]
undertook TO bring him congeniaI COM
pany.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-07-04
Old Woman's
Profile II Rock.

The coast formation out here is very
rugged and very woaderfuI. Not far
from our house is the strong profile OF
an old woman cut by the master surf
in the granite ledge. AS though reclin-
ing, the old lady looks out to sea with
eternal vigilance and patience. What
does she see? For whom is her vigil2
The spume and ths @rack have been
her mates Tears have dropped from
her eyes in storm and wreck. Who can
say that granite orbs do not see2 Long
before the lighthouses came to bear her
company she guarded this desolate
tongue in meSely silence. So took the
old man over and paced him in the old
lady.s nSlts> mouth When 1 looked
back, ItLought her stern profile had
Softene9 a little at this sacrifice. and I
know IL : I'D man eurled longingly to-
ward II E old lady's beetling nose that
she migl scent ags.n the spring she
had not known for the thousand years.
Am I foolish? I am sitting on the
piazza and I listlessly watch and write.
Ny seribble is as desultory as my OBJ
servations. Out in the harbor is Coro-
nado. and little yachts like butterflies
are escoTting big schooner. The water
looks like blue plush brushed the wrong
way that fades away In angles of the
shore 20 battle the water silk.
II am alone. p 6. is East. In spite
of protests I refuse to go. because ]
somehow did not feel quite strong
enough yet TO face your land It has
been lonely. = Again goodbye, and
may you find Eden in every weather
and all down the calendar see Joy smile
EDITH MAY T"
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-07-04

But love was always in her
thoughts, and it was the inspiration
of most of these missiyeS-its ten
derness. its pathOs ana its joys.
Thus she writes of 1t:
"A little word, act or look, when the
heart is sore fingers as does the fra
GRANGE OF the rose In Boston spring
has been moving onward with steady
tread. The flowers peep out from be-
hind rocks, lift their dewy faces to the
light and nod to each other. Nature
everywhere; there seems 10 be a mate
for everything save despair.
THE drop failing in the river weds its
mate and passes on. The breeze froI6
the bower bearing away the zephyr is
content with it's choice. The ivy cliag-
ing to the oak is satisfied, for the oak
viii uphold IN every storm. The willow
bends low to toy with the bird, each
to the other a friend. The grass stoors
to kiss the stream.
1T kisses it again and again. It pill
lows itself on the icy shroud in winter;
Il retires from the world in January
AID drinks from its hidden light Of hap
piness. It throws its points of love far
over and into the ripping wavelet ir
summer again, and each lives IN the
other constantly The stream gives life
to the blade; the blade shields its pet
ripple from the glare of the sun as the
love OF a true woman shields and pro-
tects the heart Of Kim chosen beneath
the trysting tree from all his fellows.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-07-04
Constant References
To "Papa Gage. f"

There are constant references to the
kindness of Papa Gage" like this one:
Christmas 1 remained in Boston, and
came here the day following. Wish
could have made it otherwise, but my
grippe attacked me severely, centered
in my lungs, etc. 1 thought and feared
I would spend Christmas in a pine box
unless precautions were INDUCED. Papa
cage was kind to ne. took me TO a
dinner party tonight and was immense
ly proud of me.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-07-04

law located him, the bondsmeB would
never see him alive. Eastman dreaded
the publicity of a trial Not on account
of-the trial itself, it is now believed
but because of the possible unwilling
of hidden past
THAT vas the kind of man ray hus-
band was" said Mrs Eastman. The
Bob Eastman 1 married could nOl nave
killed Mrs, WOOdill. He cOuIC1't have
hurt an insect. 1t was foreign to his
nature. If he did this awful deed It
was an insane Bob Eastman-a man
bereft of reason perhaps on account OF
the constantly haunting fear of capture.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-07-04

In april last, from Philadelphia, he
sent the wife a hastily scrawled note.
II breathes of the fear of capture, the
strain Of constantly being on guard, the
nerve-racking experiences of all those
VINO see in everything about them the
lurking form of some officer Of that
thing called law. It tells also Of hope
for the future and in simple language
asks the wife to see his bondsmen and
tell him that time will yet prove him
to be 'On the square
She showed it to me. this last letter
from her husband, excepting the one he
wrote in an attempt to lay the Eastern
Shore crime on the shoulders of another.
II the hope that IL might show just a
little Of that other side of Lame
Bob Eastman, the wife allowed me to
cOpv if
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-07-04
Wonders If Absence
Would Be Felt.

Remove the plant and the life of the
rill dies by evaporation; its voice will
never be heard in the great roar of the
sea Turn aside tie stream and the
blade W;thers and sinks IN sorrow to the
earth ( sometimes wonder If you could
ever feel so about your little girl 1
wonder il her absence for always would
make you i'll and despairing. / am,
after all, but a child peeping out at the
world from behind a rosebud. 1 am not
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-07-04
Frank In Everything,
Save Secret of Life.

He was "A noble. wh2le-souIed fellow,
frank in everything except the mystery
of his past. 1 never knew about that
No one else does. Whatever secret he
had was buried with him.
Our marriage was a secret One-he
told me that we had better keep it 50
for a few months on account of BUSH
ness. Then the failure came, and nc
was arrested. / never saw him again
except the three times that he came
just for a little while
Yes, he spoke of suicide II was no
more than I expected IL he was ever
brought to bay. Often he had said t.
me: I had rather go down the river
than up. He told me that he never
/ expected to go TO prison. It seemed 10
| be his one dread in life. just why / 90
not know.
He was not the kind of man, at his
age, TO become infatuated with any
woman. He had had enough of romance
/ in former years. He couldn't have
killed Mrs. Woodll through mad pas
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-07-04

a man. Here is a little index 10 the
mild temper of Lame Bob"
One day IN New York's busy subway
step lively guard slammed the car
door on Eastman's hand. II made an
ugly bruise and such a wanton bit of
carelessness might yell have angered
any man. Smiling Bob. his face los
ing its genial expression just for a mo-
ment, merely turned and said:
You ought to be a little more care
ful, old man. You might hurt some
body badly some day" Then he turned
and joked with a friend.
Paid Hurried Visits
To Wife and Child.
1t has been said, since the crime Of
the Eastern Shore shocked an entire
country and painted Eastman's heart
black, that he was a man who didn't
care for home, for his actress wife, and
for the little boy who came just eight
months ago. II must not be true. A
fugitive. hunted at horne and abroad.
Eastman has slipped irto New York
three times since he became a trailed
/ man in order that ne might see his own.
He had never been 4 religious man; in
fact, some OF his remarks indicated that
/ he might have been an infidel, but his
wife says that when little Robert, ir.,
came hts father. accused criminal and
| fear-ridden as he was, took the tot in
/ his arms and said
| God bless my little boy"
| Since that time, with a boldness
! amounting almost TO recik!essness, the
| father has eluded the watChful eye OF
| detectives. their task made the easier
| because the hunted man was a cripple
Z and sneaked in and out of his New York
home. The last visit was in February
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-07-04
thoughts theh-
Nights Alone
Il D-..-.I---.

With this so far partial insight into
the nature of Lame Bob" Eastman. 1t
is not impossible to be with him IN
spirit upon one OF these many lonely
nights upon the isolated shores OF 1T
tie Broad creek. He sat alone, his
round. joviai. smiling face for once
wearing a look Of reflective serious
ness. Across the dank. muddy sWamps
came floating the sound OF myriad in
sect calls, the eroak Of, the bull-frogs
and the warning of the rain crow. The
rustic of the underbrush denoted the
scurrving of some form Of reptile-his
only companions. The light in the bun
galow behind was turned low; another
night, aneveItful, peaceful, monoton-
Gus. was settling upon the Eastern
| Shore.
Crppled Bob Eastman, stock broker
mar OF the world, fascinator Of womea'
fugitive from justice, was alone with
himself.
He Iapsed into one OF the reVeries
mat had often mystified his wife. He
pictured Broadway, his sojourns in 9th
{ or lands. the traveI-stained bag within
with its earmarks OF European cities,
| the faces of strange people he had met,
Continued on Fifth Page-)
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-07-04
Writes Of Things
In Her Home.

To-day I looked through the house.
taking note of the wonderful china, Of
the ivory carvings (some of them worth
Il 800 apiece. the hangings. the rugs
and paintings, the fine library and an
cient volumes that would do your heart
rood-then out at the flowers.
ssThere are about 200 rose bushes in
bloom in addition to other flowers
sweet peas that reach the top of my
hair; violets. heliotrope and other Won
derful flowers; then over at the great
bearded waves warning with their pas
siye foe, the shore. and on to the calmer
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-07-04
Hoped to Pay
Back Every Cent.

Here il Is, published for the first time
and showing that after all the enforced
wanderer longed for better things:
If you see the bOndsman, tell him
that I am out OF the Jurisdiction OF
the court If he viii Just let things
drop, l wiz pay every cent and COM
rnence paying at no distant date and
at least $2,oO0 year.
Or, if he can settle with the people
who bring the charges / am willing
to come back any time-but | must
be shown first.
This concerns only we three, you,
the boy. and myself.
Remember, / am working for you
and yours. / am at an awful dis
advantage in my work, but / will
get there somehow All you have to
do is the best you can until / can
turn around. If ] can save what l
now have in view a nice nest-egg
has been gathered for us three
There was also a yelled threat in
postscript that If the officers OF tn
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-07-04
SECOND MYSTERY
IN WOHAN'S LIFE
Percentage and Early Years
of Mrs. Woodill Are
Yelled.
| FICTION-LIKE STORY
OF STRANGE COUPLE
Silence of the Former Broker
Parallel TO That of His
Victim.

straighten it all out-for the sake of oIx
boy. Perhaps II I had those letters ~
wrote me-the ones telling of others X
the party, the midnight feast at the
bungalow, and the person whom he says
really committed the crime-I could un-
derstand better.
Tells Why She
Didn't Attend Funeral.
There has been some criticism OF me
because l didn't go TO his funeral at
St. Michaers. I wasn't recognized
there. No one paid any attention to me.
I wanted to take charge of the body
and bury it at ? o'clock Sunday after
noon 1t was buried in the early morn
ing hours-and there was 70 one TO
mourn. Had gone, perhaps. the ordeal
would have been too much. I would
nave been the only one to care / cared
for him as much as a woman could 20
have seen him so nttle-he was ths
father of my child
Mrs. Eastman viii return 20 the stage
unde- the name Of Winnie Bradcome.
It fs a case Of necessity. Eastman left
littIS property, but greedy creditors
were on the spot before his self-murder~
ed body had been committed to the sod.
The "nest-egg'' he refers 10 in the last
letter TO his wife probably means the
twenty acres of ground he had bought
near St Bfichaels. Here IN the bayOus
the creeks and the Shiny swamps Of
the Eastern Shore he felt secluded He
told his wife that he would bring her
there this summer aid that far away
from the detectives he WoCid begin all
over again.
The bungalow, in reality mere one
/ room shack, was but partially finished,
however. Lack OF funds had stilled the
sound of the hammer and the saw.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-07-04
Says Society
Blurs Meanings.

Perhaps not in these words you
know, for folks generally veil their re-
marks under society blur, but he really
meant this This was rot done for ef-
feet, for ne is not brilliant, ard is pretty
honest, I think. The ccrruscations of
conversation, those fireworks of the
shallow mind that claim and exhaust
our applause, always faq into the water
with a swish and are gone.
''He merely voiced some Of the bewii-
derment which really know most peo-
pie feel these days when they are near
me very much. Ny voice is being train
ed. Ny modesty wi1hholds repeating
to You the abs OF admiration which
generally greet my vocal performances.
On the piano 1 am surprising myself.
Bach, Rubinstein, McDOwell-lOts of
things that really represent advance
ment
Yes. am actually studying French
and Spanish, and for you alone I fur
Their admit I have been doing dramatic
work and have played in two roles with
success-Titania in A Midsummer
Nights Dream and Mrs. Page in The
Merry Wives of windsor. The most
fetching thing / did was when I made
love to the ass. It brought down the
house. You remember those lines:
Come, sit thee down upon this flowery
bed
While I thy amiable cheeks do coy,
And stick musk roses in thy sleek.
smooth head,
And kiss thy fair large ears, my gentle
JOY.
Sitting at the donkey's feet and put
ting absolute alteration in my voice. you
can imagine the charming scene
really fitted the part very we'll