Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-08-04


ID who was befeaded in 1899 for having helped get
her own father out OF the way, angel. BY
comparison, Lucrezia Borga, whose numerous gentle
adventures familiar ALL nothing but "piler
By comparison Catharine H.. who got the throne OF
Russia for herself by the gentle expedent of throwing
her husband into prison and having him killed
pure ami shrinking little violet. BY comparison,
Charybds whom Jupiter turned into whirlpool
because she too naughty, and Aecto, Tsiphone,
and MegRra the three Furies, simple little board
ing-school girls BY comparison, you ask, "by
parison with whom And boldly, brazeny, | pro-
claim, "By comparison with mel For l have
nitted crimes than all these dear girls put
setner-and have reveled in my work.
With the utmost nonchaance with the careree at
ttude OF girl a picnic ! have committed crimes
that would make the warden Sing Sing prison up
in his chair OF sheer establishment and take off his
hat to And am quite sure he would say, if he
me, Il have heard of lot OF bad records but,
believe me- yours makes all the Others look like the
weekly report the parents of youngser by his
kindergarten teacher" have done almost everything
on the crime calendar and pile of things it.
And-ah how | have smacked my lips and gloried in
what overprim prudes might call my dirty work
Dirty work? Indeed, it is nothing of the kind. have
made it a study and guarantee you that commit my
crimes in polished, debonair, well hammered way As
| murder, for instance murder becomes not dirty
work, but rather fine art. DIRTY work'-luh,
/ for your SNUG ignorance your naive pro-
vinciaism. You fools who believe crime is only
animal and crude Crime, when INDUCED in by the
expert, is the craft transcendentall
YOU NAV be interested to know how first went
astrav how | started my nefarious campaign.
I'll tell YOU 1t was forced upon me-this wicked you
may call it, life-by Curses him. He
UP to me two DAYS after had him. and said to me
in artess way, "You willing to help put
something big, aren't youo' | didn't know what he
meant. | questioned him in all innocence. Begin
ming three weeks from next Monday night he said
slowly, looking at steadily with baleful glance,
@you to be under my power. You to be a bad
woman
He already had me in his power! That | realized
then and there. What could do. "Plcasc please"
mpored with yelling into my eyes, "please let
be good woman. | don't want to be bad" He
gave whitening glance, and | quivered and paed
before it. "You-are-to-be-a -bad-woman7 he
repeated, measuring each word And he strobe from
the scene.
So, of course, became a bad woman. | had to- I
could not dictate | could not guide my future. For
he theatrical manager; the heroines role had
already been filled; the only role left that of the
adventures; and, if | wanted go on the stage, |
had to take it nothing SO did take it, dsmissng
all my dreams to start out dear sweet, virtuous
soul; and since that distant day. | might. have
been able get back the paths of rectituc
You see unuclily made such a good impression
bad that first piece ("The Crust of Society,",
it called, that forever after that, however much
yelled and fought and kicked and screamed and pro-
tested, they persisted in casting for bad women
roles. As consequence | have spent the majority of
years before the theatrical public in the guse of
deep-dyed vlainess. And, gaging my character from
what have perpetrated in my many adventures parts,