PHOEBE COUZINS AND JAMES G. FAIR WERE ENGAGED TO MARRY.The Bereaved Lady Declares Her Firm Belief That Interested Persons
Intercepted Their Letters.
The blurred and tear-stained pages ofanother chapter in the life history of thelate James G.Fair are now to be turnedt.i the light of day. The maker of manywills, the creator of a great fortune, lies inhis last resting-place, while the great heartof one of the world's most talented womenachefl with pain.
Miss Phoebe Couzins, the world-famed•woman's rights advocate, orator and au-thor, was the affianced bride of James G.Fair at the time of his death. With theerratic ex-Senator the attachment for MissCouzins may have been nothing morethan a passing caprice of his active, everrestless mind. Itmay have been that thelaw of supremacy of" mind over matterforced him to kneel, a worsniper at theBhrine of genius and intellect before thelady in question and plead for her love,her heart and her hand in marriage, andthat so soon as he was removed from thissubtle and ennobling influence the grossertraits of his nature again resumed ascend-ency, and he either willfullyneglected orstrangely forgot the vows he had made to
papers they should be returned to her.But none came. Ifthe dead millionairehad preserved them, some one quickly putthem out of the way after his demise.
Struggling with her sorrow and her sick-ness, Miss Couzins startedjwestward andarrived in San Francisco shortly after thedeath of the man who had promised to be-come her husband. She came and learnedthat only a few short hours after Mr.Fair'sdeath a document purporting to be his lastwill and testament was filed incourt forprobate. Itwas the document creating atrust
—a document which did not even
mention Miss Couzins' name, althoughthe testator had repeatedly stated in thepresence of witnesses that Miss Couzins
than mutual admiration. In the course of ja few months we parted, as true friends jpart, and went our separate ways. He re- jturned to Nevada and California and Iresumed my work in different parts of jthe world. Thus time went on. Several jyears passed and we did not meet until!some time after mymother's death.
"Inthe meantime Ihad been elected sec- !retary to the National Board of Lady Man-
'
agers of the Columbian Exposition, andhad made myhome in the Grand PacificHotel, Chicago. Ihad served in the ca- jpacity of secretary for a long time, but had jnot received my pay for the work or thetime Ihad devoted to it. Itwas a tiresomeand unpleasant task. There was alwaystrouble brewing and coming up, and Iwas ;
in the midst of itand oftentimes was se- iverely criticized by one side or the other.The worryand labor had seriously affected jmy health, and Ifelt a part of the time as jifIwould like to lie down and die and be ;at rest.
"In1892 Ihad a billbefore Congress thepurpose of which was to secure relief in theway of payment for my services as secre- itary to the Board of Lady Managers. Ineeded all the influence that Icould bringto bear on the measure. While working jamong my friends and lobbying for my jbillIwas at the same time attending by jthe bedside of my mother, who was very Iill. She suggested to me that SenatorPair might be able and willingto help me.Iwrote to him and asked if he had anyfriends in Congress on whom he couldbring his influence to bear in my behalf.
"He promptly replied by writing me a'
very kind letter, but stating that he had nopersona] nor political friends in that Con- j
iPacific Hotel. Shortly after returning toIChicago Ireceived a letter from Mr.Fair,!in which he stated that he would soon see!me; that he wanted our friendship to cul-|minate in a relationship closer and clearer
than mere friendship, and that he wascoming with serious intentions to ask my
J hand and heart in marriage."Well, Mr. Fair, accompanied by his' secretaries, Bresse and Angus, and Ithink
| Mr. Crothers, arrived in Chicago May 7,i 1893, and took apartments at the Grand; Pacific. Mr.Fair immediately sent me his| card. Imet him in one of the parlors and; he expressed great happiness at seeing me
again. He told me then and there that heihad come all the way from California for; the purpose of asking me to become hisIwife. Itold him that Iwould give him a.definite answer within a few days and deli-| cately intimated that he need have no fearlof ray final decision. He seemed very] much pleased at this and we spent thej evening very pleasantly talking of thepresent, the future and old times.
"A few days after that Mr. Fair wasI taken suddenly and violently illin a singu-lar manner. That night he sent for me to
j come to him. Idid as requested. He toldj me lie was a very sick man and begged' me| to take care of him and to call in my|physician. Iimmediately sent for Dr.
Vincent Herbert, who came and examinedj Mr. Fair and prescribed for him. Mr.Bresse and Mr. Angus tried to keep me
\ out of the sick-room, but Dr. Herbertinterposed and directed that Ibe per-mitted to nurse Mr. Fair. Ithen went
!into the sick-room and cared for the sick\u25a0 man until the worst of his illness wasj past. He often spoke hopefully of the
the items of interest with which he wasnot acquainted, from an historical point ofview.
"Andthat was the last evening that we
Iwere together," said Miss Couzins, with adeep-drawn sigh. "On the followingdayMr.Fair was whisked out of Chicago as ifhe had been a prisoner or a fugitive fromjustice. Iwas permitted to see him onlyfor a moment just before he went wentaway. Angus, Bresse and Crothers were
|constantly near him."While Iwas speaking to him, just be-
fore his departure, a man, who Ithink was!a hireling of Bresse, came and interrupted!our conversation. Mr. Fair managed to| tell me that he was called away by veryimportant business matters, but that hewould speedily return and make me hiswife. And so he left. Inever saw himagain. Ireceived one letter from him afterhe arrived in San Francisco. In that hestated that he was well, and begged me towrite often."Idid write, but Inever got an answer
after that. lam positively certain that hewrote to me also, but the letters were un-questionably intercepted. His secretarieswere constantly on the watch. When Iused to call on Mr. Fairin his sick-room atthe Grand Pacific his valet or one of theother attaches used to secrete themselves inthe closets in order to listen to our con-versation. Icalled Mr. Fair's attention tothese things, but he only smiled aud saiditdidn't matter as he was accustomed to it.
Miss Couzins dwelt upon the meeting inChicago with great tenderness. She said:
"Senator Fair wrote to me that he wouldleave San Francisco for Chicago on the15th of May, and for me to expect him inChicago about the ISth or 19th of thatmonth.
"On the Istof May, after returning fromthe exposition grounds. Iwas surprised tofindhis card under my door at the GrandPacific Hotel. Itwas about 10 o'clock atnight, and Iimmediately turned to go tothe office, intending to ask>if the gentle-man was in the hotel and ifhe had per-sonally left the card.
"AsIwas about to get into the elevatorImet him just stepping out. We shookhands, and walked into the parlor. IsaidIwas very much surprised to meet him sosoon. He replied: 'Idecided that Icouldnot wait any longer, and Ihave come tosee you. Iwant your promise. Iknowthat Iam not a man worthy of such awoman as you, but Iwant you to take meif you will.' Ireplied as any womanwould, that he was doing himself an in-justice.
"When he was taken sick he said to me:'Now Iwant you to take charge of my caseand see that 1 am properly attended to.IfIget very sick while 1 am here Iwantyour own physician to prescribe for meand take care of me.'"Isent for Dr. Vincent Herbert, who
resided in the Grand Pacific Hotel, andasked him to call upon Senator Fair. Hedid so and the first question the Senatorasked wasj 'Are you Miss Cousins' phy-sician?' He said, 'Iam,' and the Senatorsaid, 'That then is all right. Iwouldlike to have you attend to my case and seeif you cannot give me relief.'
"Dr. Herburt took charge of the caseand did what he could for him. He re-ported to me that the Senator was suffer-ing from a complication of ailments, andthat he was. not likely to survive the at-tack. He considered it a very seriovissituation and thought the very best ofnursing should be procured. Myattorney,
shape|it was almost perfect, and in that re-gard he greatly resembled my father, whowas one of the noted men of St. Louis. Myfather was one of the committee of sevenappointed by Lincoln to keep Missouri inthe Union. For five years he was actingprovost-marshal and Chief of Police of St.Louis. Mymother was one of the nurseswho cared for the wounded during thewar. She was wounded on the field ofVicksburg and was the only woman whowas pensioned for injuries received duringactual service. Senator Fair referred tothis when writing to me at the time Iasked him for his assistance in securingmy rights as a member of the lady boardof managers. He said that a daughter ofsuch a father and such a mother was en-titled to the best that a grateful nationcould offer, and that he would do all hecould to see that justice was done to me."
Miss Couzins was the recipient of manyendearing as wellas friendly letters fromthe dead ex-Senator. After the engage-ment of marriage Mr. Fair wrote love let-ters like an ardent youth of twenty, andthese Miss'Couzins holds and cherishes assacred relics. When asked for a copy ofone of these she slowly but emphaticallyshook her head.
"No, not for any consideration what-ever," she said. "Ihold them too sacredto be exposed to the ieers of an unfeelingworld. Here are a couple of friendly mis-sives, however, which you can have ifyoulike."
As she spoke she handed the reportertwo letters and envelopes, all written with
the woman who loved him, trusted in hisword and held him sacred inher heart ofhearts as her ideal among men.
}> it the actions of Mr. Fair during theperiod of his courtship, his letters to theobject of his avowed affections, tilled asthey are with the outpourings of a seem-ingly honest and sincere love, the circum-stances that surrounded him and the out-side influences that were brought to bearupon him at all times, indicate that themature lover was not wholly master ofhimself. This is the belief of Miss Couzins.She thinks that he was hedged about withmen and influences, whose persistencyoverpowered his individual will, andswayed his moral entity.
The facts as viewed by her indicate thatin this case Mr.Fair was dragged by aforce he could not withstand from thewoman he dearly loved and had promisedto wed. was prevented from seeing heragain, or in any way communicating withher. To this end, the lady believes, manyfalsehoods were told, and many letterswere intercepted by enemies, whose selfishand sinister motives were threatened bythe proposed alliance.
Whatever may or may not have beenMr.Fair's feelings or ultimate intentionsin the matter, one thing is certain, andthat is that M;?s Couzins' affections werewon by the ex-Senator as completely asever was the love of any fair lady by herbrave knight in the good old days ofchivalry. According to her own state-ments. Miss Couzins had long admiredMjr. Fair, and as the acquaintance grewinto friendship and she saw him oftener,her feeling of friendship grew into thedeep, earnest, sincere love of a lifetime.And she firmlybelieved that she was sin-cerely loved in return. She is still of thatbelief, and cherishes the memory of herdead hero ana mourns as a widow's heartmourns for itsdeparted mate.
But Miss Couzins is altogether different
!should be liberally provided for in a finan-icial way and that she was to become hisIwife at an early date. One of the witnesses
who heard these declarations was Dr.Vincent Herbert of Chicago, who attendedMr. Fair daring a season of sickness at theGrand Pacific Hotel in the spring of 1893.Other reputable and well-known personsheard Mr. Fair make the same statements.
! and now they wonder how it was possible
I that he could have so soon forgotten thej woman for whom he professed the mostsincere love, and calling her "his good
| angel" and "the light and joy of his oldIage," and the like.
When Miss Couzins came to San Fran-cisco she said nothing of her own indi-vidual loss or the pain in her heart. She
j delivered lectures and visited her friends• and suffered in silence. At last she be-!came so ill and weary that she could no
longer go on as formerly with her publicwork. She decided to take a season of
!rest. One of her admiring friends, Mrs.!Knox Goodrich of San Jose, had invitedjher to come and rest with her. Missj Couzins went about two weeks ago and for atime was lost sight of to the busy world.The fact that she had a brother living inthe Garden City was another inducementto draw her there. And there, after along search, a representative of the Callfound Miss Couzins doing the work of aministering angel for her brother, who is
j illat 220 South Ninth street, San Jose.Itwas in the cozy littleparlor ofthe house
where her brother lives that Miss Couzinsreluctantly consented to tell the story thatwillbe read with interest all over the coun-try. But after she had decided to relate
| the facts connected with her engagementto Mr. Fair, she told her story freely,candidly and without hesitancy. Before. speaking about herself she said :"Iwillbegin by stating that there were
many confidences between Mr.Fair and!myself which Icannot touch upon at all.
from other women who once were passton-flames around the dead millionaire's heart.Hhe willask forno compensation, no afterconsideration ;she willoffer no petition ofany sort for a share of the millions thatwere once pledged to her use ;she does notseek lor pecuniar}' balm for her woundedheart. But she says that she does wishand hope and pray that justice will bedone to the children of the man she loved—the children whom she loves for his sake —and that all who would wrongfully enrichthemselves may come to grief.
When James G. Fair died, his affiancedbride was in Salt Lake City. The newswas a terrible shock to her because it wasfirst conveyed to her by flaring head-lines in the newspapers. It made herseriously ill,and hhe lias not been a well,a happy or a hopeful woman since. Sosoon as her dazed senses could fully com-prehend the situation she wrote to one ofthe executors of the will—their nameshaving appeared in the telegraphic re-ports
—and requested that if any of her
letters to Mr. Fair were found among his
He told me all about his life—his suc-cesses, his failures, his joys and his sor-rows. From these confidences Iconcludedthat he had been more sinned against thanBinning. Irefer particularly to his mar-ried lifeand the unpleasant ending of it.Cruel enemies and niiserable
#meddlers had
done their villainous work.'
"IBnt met Mr. Fair in the Riggs House,Washington, D. C, in1883, while he was aUnited States Senator from Ntvada. Itook a liking to him at once. He seemedto me to be the very ideal of a strong, vig-orous and energetic man, who was createdto succeed in life, to be a prince and aleader among men. The evident defects inhis education and manners were com-pletely overbalanced by the natural great-ness of the man, as Isaw him. Isoonadmired him very much, and Icould seethat he also liked to be in my companyand seemed to take interest in my workand my views of social and political condi-tions.
"But this, our first friendship, did notgrow at once to anything more or warmer
She Says That the Ex=Senator Was Actually Controlledby Sinister Influences During the Latter
Part of His Life.
ance, called an 'equipoise,' and instructedhim how to apply it. The next morning,as Iwas sitting at breakfast, he walkedover to me and thanked me for my kind-ness, saying that the application had beensuccessful and that he was relieved frompain and had enjoyed a good night's rest.
"After he became convalescent it wasnay custom every morning before startingfor the exposition grounds to send a noteasking inregard to his health and ifhe hadrested well. He always replied by a verbalmessage or sent me a little facetious notetelling me how he felt and wishing megood fortune in my work."Iwas first attracted to Senator Fair be-
cause he had such a beautiful head. In
most nice and to the point, and dishes up theCleveland matter.IwishIcould write more, butIcannot. Sin-
cerely yours. James G. Fair.The other was a briefnote written at the
Grand Pacific Hotel.Chicago, and addressedsimply, "Miss Couzins, room318," Itscon-tents concerned an ear trouble for whichMiss Couzins had procured remedies. Itran thus :
The Grand Pacific Hotel, )Chicago, May 23, 1893. j
Dear Miss Couzins: Myear broke last night.Iam much better now and have but littlepain. With best and kindest wishes, Iamyours truly. James G.Fair.
Continuing her narrative Miss Couzinssaid :"Ihad a great affection for Mr. Fair and
revere his memory, and Iknow that at onetime at least he sincerely loved me, al-though everything possible was done tocause our separation. Whenever therewas anything mean said about me in thenewspapers Mr. Fair's valet used to markthe articles with blue pencil and placethem conspicuously on a table. Every-
gress on whom he could bring any in-fluence to bear. He gave me some valuableadvice —
as he was well competent to do—
and closed by urgently requesting me towrite to him at once and open a corre-spondence. He also added in the letterthat he was quite illat the time. As Ire-membered him kindly and liked him verymuch Iimmediately wrote him a friendlyletter, incidentally recalling the manypleasant hours wt had passed together atthe Riggs House.
"And this," Miss Couzins resumed aftera' pensive pause, "opened the correspond-ence between us which eventually led toour betrothal.
"For some time after that letters passedbetween us at regular intervals, and thespirit of the correspondence grew warmerand more confidential with each letter. InFebruary, 1893, Mr. Fair started from SanFrancisco to come to Washington and seeme. He traveled by the southern routeand was accompanied by Mr. Bresse orMr. Angus. Ithink by both. AtYumahe was taken strangely and suddenly ill.
"He wrote me one letter from there inwhich he explained his serious condition,stating that he was scarcely able to writeat all. From Yuma he took a trip intoMexico. This seemed to have benefitedhis health verymuch, forhe sooii recoveredhis usual vigor and energy of purpose. Inthe meantime Ihad returned to Chicagoand took up my residence at the Grand
future ifIwould only remain near himthrough life.
"When Mr. Fair had recovered suf-ficiently to enable him to be up and walkaround he called me asside one day. Hesaid that he had decided to shake himselffree from certain influences that constantlyinterfered with his wishes and his peace ofmind. He spoke of the many notes andcards which he had sent to my room afterhe became convalescent and which neverreached their destination. They had beenintercepted by some one who had an in-terest in keeping us apart.
11 'Iwant to settle up my affairs,' he said,'in such a manner that Ishall do justiceto all my family connections. Ilove mychildren and Iwant to make fair provisionfor them. Ilove you and Iwant to pro-vide for youat all hazards so that finan-cial trouble can never come to you. Iwant you to be my wife. "Will you marryme?""ianswered 'yes.' He then said:"
'Thank you, dearest. 3od bless you.We must be married soon
—very soon. I
shall arrange my business and propertyaffairs at once.'
"Buthe was still more or less ill andthis prevented our early marriage. Oneevening, when he was feeling much better,we sat together and talked about theWorld's Fair, and he said wemust see allof it together, and that as 'his own dearand gifted little wife'Ishould explain all
Hon. William P. Black of 108 Dearbornstreet, advised me to take the matter intomy own hands and to see that the Senatorwas properly cared for, but Ihesitated todo so.
"Dr. Herburt reported that Clark, theSenator's valet, was exceedingly diligentand attentive, and seemed to be afraid thathe would be deposed by some one else.He said Clark was doing very well, andprobably itwould be just as well for himto continue as nurse.
"Mr.Bresse and Mr. Angus watched theSenator like a chicken does a hawk, or ahawk does a chicken (which is it?), andallowed no one to see him until Mr.Crothers came, when he seemed to havecharge of the matter, and Bresse andAngus were seldom seen again about thehotel.
"There he was, a man worth millionsand withno one to care for him and noone to do anything for him, exceptingthose men, and they seemed to have himabsolutely in their control.
"On his arrival he told me that he hadstarted inopposition to the advice of hisphysician, Dr. Levingston, and said thathe could not wait any longer, buthad cometo see me and wanted me todecide his fate.A day or two afterward he complained thathe was suffering very much from pain inhis ear, andIasked him what he had beendoing; if he had been outdoors in thatcold, raw weather. He said that hisfriends had taken him for a drive on thelake front inan open carriage. Irepliedthat itwas criminal foranybody to take aman in his feeble health for such a driveasthat in that kind of weather.
"He was suffering so much from thepain inhis ear that Isent to my room andprocured for him a little electrical appli-
lead pencil. The first was dated at Yuma,and read as follows:
Yuma, a. T., April2. 1893.Dear Miss Couzins: Ihave your kind favor of
March 23 to-night. Iregret Idid not write
oftener. Ihave been sick most of the timesince Iwrote to you. lam here now sick andcannot tell when Iwill get away. Ihaveasthma-penumonia. That article of yours ia
thing that could be done to influence himagainst me was done by Bresse and Angusand Crothers. Once a very prominentgentleman, who was staying at the samehotel, in speaking of Mr. Fair and hissatellites, remarked that the lifeof a multi-millionaire isnot altogether a pleasant one.
"Since leaving Chicago Ihave received aletter from Dr. Herburt, in which he states
that he frequently heard Mr. Fair speak ofme as his future wife. And Mr. Fair'swifeIshould have become had not undueinfluence and interference come betweenus. Perhaps he would have been alive andwell to-day had we been united inmarriagebefore he was rushed away from Chicago.Tome his sudden and unexpected deathlooked singular, and—but Iwill notsay any more about it. The chapter isclosed and Iask for nothing now except tobe left in peace withmy sorrow."
FAC-SIMILE OF THE ENVELOPE THAT CONTAINED THE GRANDHOTEL NOTE.
[Reproduced from the original.]
SENATOR FAIR'S LETTER TO MISS COT7ZINS, WRITTEN AT YUMA,ARIZONA.
[Reproduced from the original.]
FACSIMILE OF THE ENVELOPE CONTAINING MR. FAIR'S LETTERTO MISS COTJZINS.
[Reproduced from the original by a "Call" artist.]
John E. D. Couzins, Deceased, FatherofMiss Phoßbe Couzins.
[From a photograph.]
SENATOR FAIR'S NOTE TO MISS COUZINS, WRITTEN IN CHICAGO.[Reproduced from the original.]
Mrs. Adeline Couzins, Mother of MissPhoebe Couzins.[From a photograph.]
MISS FH(£BE COUZINS.[Sketched from life by a "Call" artist.]
THE LATE JAMES G. FAIR.[From a photograph taken a short time before his death.]
TO GO TO THE GARDENCITYAnnual Convention of the State
Sunday-School Asso-CIATION.
Elaborate Preparations BeingMade for the Meeting of
AprilNext.
The next annual meetirlg of the StataSunday-school Association willbe held inSan Jose, beginning Tuesday evening,April16, and continuing through Wednes-day and Thursday, the 17th and 18th.
The members believe this willbe one ofthe most successful conventions ever heldin the State, and an excellent programmehas been arranged for the three days.
The voting membership of the conven-tion will consist of the pastors and twodelegates chosen from each school, and anadditional delegate for every fiftymembersover 100.
This, however, is not expected to be thelimitof those who attend, Dut large num-bers of those interested in Sunday-Bchooiwork willbe present.
The Southern Pacific and San Franciscoand Northern Pacific Railroad companieshave made a two-thirds rate for allwho at-tend the convention.
San Jose, famed as the "Garden City,"willbe at its loveliest, and has extended acordial welcome to allto attend.
On Wednesday and Thursday noons theladies of the different churches of San Josewillserve a luncheon, and the social fea-tures of the convention are to be made aspecial feature.
The French Society's Annual.At the annual meeting of the French Mutual
Benevolent Society the election of officers willtake place, and a spirited contest that has beengoing on forsome time will be decided, so faras the officers of the society are concerned. Theelection ofa resident physician for the FrenchHospital and that of visiting physician, whichhas developed much bitterness, has been post-poned.
THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, MAHCH 24, 1895.5
