The Linda Wolfe Collection

by Linda Wolfe

  89 Covering the mirrors with white cloth: I’d always thought this a Jewish custom, but Larkin cites it as a New England one as well. See his Reshaping of Everyday Life, p. 100.

  CHAPTER 6 BETRAYAL

  91 Lucretia’s remark that even the sun looked gloomy to her: TLC, p. 37.

  92 According to Lucretia, it was Lino who proposed: TLC, p. 53; see also TLC, p. 75.

  92 “Lino never forgets a favor. If you will marry me … shall share a part of them”; “Would it not be more proper for you to marry my daughter Mary”; “No, it is you … not knowing who I was”; and “It would be thought nothing of in Mexico”: TLC, p. 39.

  92 “Lino, I want you to marry me,” “Not till I ask my father,” and “I love you so much”: STMC, p. 3.

  93 “My Dear Lino … Lucretia Esposimina”: July 5, 1831, letter, Lucretia Chapman (Albany, N.Y.) to Mina, M-CMCP.

  93 It was a crude conveyance … mere twists of irregular-shaped logs: See Hand, From a Forest to a City, Personal Reminiscences of Syracuse, Syracuse, NY, 1889, p. 36; see also Franklin H. Chase, Syracuse and Its Environs, Lewis Historical Publishing Co., Inc., New York, vol. 1, p. 306.

  94 My description of Lucretia’s ride from Albany to Syracuse is drawn from the July 7, 1831, letter, Lucretia Chapman (Syracuse, N.Y.) to Mina, M-CMCP.

  95 Comstock’s Hotel: see Syracuse Courier, Syracuse, N.Y., March 15, 1880.

  95 “I have not lain down one minute … dear companion for life” and “I very well know … without resting on her bed”: July 7, 1831, letter, Lucretia Chapman (Syracuse, N.Y.) to Mina, M-CMCP.

  96 Lucretia’s ascetic lunch: It was probably just as well that she didn’t take the time to eat a big meal. Charles Dickens, who dined at Comstock’s some years later, complained, “I have tried all the wines in the house and there are only two wines, for which you pay six shillings a bottle, or fifteen, according as you feel disposed to change the name of the thing you asked for. (The article never changes.) The bill of fare is in French, and the principal article … is ‘Paettie de shay.’ I asked the Irish waiter what this dish was and he said: ‘It was the name the steward giv’ to oyster patties—the Frinch name. These are the drinks you are to wash it down with: ‘Monseuz,’ ‘Abasinth,’ ‘Curacco,’ ‘Marschine,’ ‘Anise,’ and ‘Margeaux.’” See “Dickens’ Correspondence,” Syracuse Journal, Dec. 8, 1879.

  97 The property of married women: In 1831 all that a married woman possessed belonged to her current husband; New York, the first state to pass an act protecting the property of married women, did so in 1860. See “The Married Women’s Property Act,” in Miriam Schneir, Feminism: The Essential Historical Writings (New York, 1972), p. 122.

  97 Early feminists … were already denouncing such laws: Frances Wright called the laws governing married women’s property “absolute spoilation” which permitted “robbery, and all but murder, against the unhappy female who swears away, at one and the same moment, her person and her property.” Cited in Tyler, Freedom’s Ferment, p. 428.

  97 “They’ve moved ten or fifteen miles into the country,” “Spend the night with us” and “I should not be able to sleep”: July 7, 1831, letter, Lucretia Chapman (Syracuse, N.Y.) to Mina, M-CMCP.

  99 “My pretty little husband,” “be careful, my dear, and not spill and so lose our precious love,” “let our children see the nonsense I have written,” and “Goodbye, goodbye, dear Lino … as is my young General Esposimina”: July 8, 1831 letter from Clay, N.Y., included with July 7, 1831, letter, Lucretia Chapman (Syracuse, N.Y.) to Mina, M-CMCP.

  99 “As a memento,” “the black woman took them,” and “I followed her … pay the rest”: TLC, p. 39.

  100 Lucretia’s clothes: see “London Female Fashions for May,” Godey’s Lady’s Book, Philadelphia, June 1831, and “Philadelphia Fashions for the Month of July 1831,” Godey’s Lady’s Book, July 1831.

  100 Two new girls: TLC, p. 37.

  101 “But you have William’s already”: TLC, p. 39.

  101 “My Beloved Wife … Repay you with ingratitude”: July 18, 1831, letter, Mina (Philadelphia) to Lucretia Chapman, M-CMCP.

  102 “The whole house is dull … with melancholy”: TLC, p. 44.

  103 “Those stars … given to me without stopping”: TLC, p. 44.

  103 Receiving forty dollars for them: Receipt, Lino to Samuel Miles, n.d., M-CMCP.

  104 Heat wave: Philadelphia Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser, July 22, 1831.

  104 The resorts of Cape May and Long Branch: Oberholtzer, Philadelphia, pp. 50–51.

  104 The resorts of Sweet Springs and Niagara Falls: Philadelphia Poulson’s American Daily Advertiser, Friday, July 22, 1831.

  104 “They’ve gone to the Falls of Niagara”: July 31, 1831, letter, Lucretia Chapman (Andalusia) to Mina (Washington), M-CMCP.

  105 Gone for quite a while: Cuesta left the city long before Lucretia’s visit. He departed on June 20, 1831, TLC, p. 84.

  105 “Señor Espos y Mina has not been here for a long time”: July 31, 1831, letter, Lucretia Chapman (Andalusia) to Mina (Washington), M-CMCP.

  105 The United States Hotel: see Hamilton, Men and Manners in America, p. 215.

  105 “I went to inform you … duty to inform you of this,” “I think your Señor Lino is as great a scoundrel as ever lived,” “I hope not, Mr. Watkinson,” “I sent to the consul’s to inquire … to be an impostor,” and “You have acted perfectly right”: TLC, pp. 26–27.

  107 The bill directed to the attention of “Mr. Amalio”: Lucretia included this bill in the letter she sent to Lino on July 31, 1831.

  107 Lino had left the bill instead of a dagger to pierce her to the heart: TLC, p. 48.

  107 “His excellency the President”: July 28, 1831, letter, Mina (Baltimore) to Lucretia Chapman, M-CMCP.

  108 “expressed great desire” and “speedily”: July 26, 1831, letter, Mina (Washington) to Lucretia Chapman, M-CMCP.

  108 “I find your presence so necessary … insupportable to me”: TLC, p. 44.

  108 “As often as I remember your caresses … most soul-shed tears”: July 26, 1831, letter, Mina (Washington) to Lucretia Chapman, M-CMCP.

  108 “When I left Baltimore … one long embrace”: July 25, 1831, letter, Mina (Washington) to Lucretia Chapman, M-CMCP.

  108 “The translator of the above … He is the lady’s slave”: July 25, 1831, letter, Mina (Washington) to Lucretia Chapman, M-CMCP.

  109 “extensive robbery,” “horse and carriage … cake basket,” “You say in your last letter … Duke of England,” “perfectly happy,” “But no, Lino … happy this side of the grave” and “Lucretia”: July 31, 1831, letter, Lucretia Chapman (Andalusia) to Mina (Washington), M-CMCP.

  CHAPTER 7 DEPARTURES

  111 Philadelphia’s police force: Report of Committee on Police, p. 1.

  111 The hardships of work in nineteenth-century print shops: See the reminiscences of Horace Greeley and William Dean Howells, cited in Larkin, The Reshaping of Everyday Life, pp. 41–42.

  112 One of his underlings, thinking the widow’s letter insignificant … discarded it: Philadelphia National Gazette, May 1, 1832.

  112 A peculiar web of underlined words … narrow margins: An original of Lucretia’s July 31, 1831 letter to Lino, which shows her emphatic style and distraught-looking handwriting, can be found among the papers in M-CMCP.

  113 “I’ve been to New Orleans”; “I went all the way on the railroad”; and “Traveled night and day—at the rate of thirty miles an hour”: TLC, p. 50 (italics added).

  113 “Leave me”: TLC, p. 40.

  113 “What’s the matter … believed it”; “The chain you gave me is not gold”; “If your affections are so slender … might have been deceived himself”; “I ran under the arcade … umbrella”: TLC, p. 40.

  114 “I was up all night … go home the next day”: TLC, p. 51.

  114 “My sister is not at all satisfied with this conduct” and “We had better be separated then—I find I have m
ore wives than one to please”: TLC, p. 40.

  114 “The sooner, the better”; “Remember, Mrs. Chapman, before I go I must tell you something [italics added]”; “What is it”; and “I cannot tell you … I will tell you”: TLC, p. 40.

  115 “something between ourselves”: TLC, p. 40.

  115 Lino’s request that the letter not mention their marriage: TLC, p. 87.

  115 The Winslows’ purchase of wilderness for the purpose of farming: Holton, Winslow Memorial, p. 74.

  115 Brewster’s prosperity: Schneider, The Enduring Shore, p. 224.

  116 Elijah Cobb’s history: Cobb, Elijah Cobb, pp. 8–9, and Schneider, The Enduring Shore, pp. 171–75 and 252.

  117 “I saw Robertspiers head taken off by the [infernal] Machine”: Cobb, Elijah Cobb, p. 9. Cobb’s terseness about the death of Robespierre, a man he had actually met, is remarked upon by the editor of the captain’s memoir, Ralph D. Paine.

  117 Lino and the high sheriff of Barnstable County: Philadelphia Saturday Bulletin, Nov. 5, 1831.

  118 “I understand that a person calling himself Mina spent some time in your house” and “He said he was going to the north”: TLC, p. 49.

  118 “I have in my possession … suffered from his impositions”: TLC, p. 49.

  119 “I’d supposed from his account … traveled night and day at the rate of thirty miles an hour” and “There is no railroad to New Orleans”: TLC, p. 50.

  119 A railroad train started running to New Orleans in November 1831: see Chronicle of America, Chronicle Publications, Mt. Kisco, N.Y., n.d., entry for November 1831.

  119 “From my knowledge of the character of this man … that he administered it”; McIlvaine’s surprise at Lucretia’s sudden paleness; “Did anything occur … that I suspected”; and “No, I saw nothing of the kind. Lino was Mr. Chapman’s kind nurse during his illness”: TLC, p. 49.

  120 McIlvaine takes note of Lucretia’s reaction; “I have no knowledge further … to the north”; “If it is possible … punished for his crimes”; and “a mystery upon my mind”: TLC, p. 50.

  120 Lino’s courtship of Lucretia’s niece: TLC, p. 52; see also Philadelphia Saturday Bulletin, Oct. 22, 1831.

  121 “Dear Madam”: TLC, p. 53.

  121 The details of Lino’s letter to Lucretia from Brewster: Sept. 1, 1831, letter, Mina (Brewster, Mass.) to Lucretia Chapman (Andalusia), M-CMCP; see also TLC, p. 53.

  122 “nearly a hundred ladies of the first families”: Philadelphia Saturday Bulletin, Oct. 22, 1831.

  122 Ballroom etiquette of the day: The Laws of Etiquette, pp. 57 and 113.

  123 Cotillions: Americans, observed Fanny Trollope in 1832, in her Domestic Manners of the Americans, “call their dances cotillions instead of quadrilles” (p. 130). Today, many of the figures of the cotillion, including the grand chain, the ladies’ chain, and the promenade, are still danced by square and contra dancers. See Elizabeth Aldrich, From the Ballroom to Hell, Grace and Folly in Nineteenth Century Dance (Evanston, Ill.), pp. 141–45.

  123 Lino’s ball costume: Philadelphia Saturday Bulletin, Oct. 22, 1831.

  123 “I have been deceived and injured by Lino Espos y Mina”: TLC, p. 50.

  124 McIlvaine’s thoughts: TLC, p. 50.

  124 “I cannot promise … rescue you from those consequences”; “Fictitious”; “Did Mina palm upon you any other documents or papers”; “For what purpose was this paper obtained”: TLC, p. 51.

  125 “Señor Mina’s health is fragile … no means of claiming my rights to his properties”: TLC, p. 52.

  125 “I want to obtain a divorce from Mina”; “I can offer you no opinion on this”; “You must give me that paper … forgery committed in Pennsylvania”; “Will these communications get me into trouble”; and “You have come to me voluntarily … It is for you to decide whether the papers should be left or not”: TLC, p. 51.

  126 Lucretia’s agitation: TLC, p. 51.

  126 Deputy attorney general: At the time, instead of a judicial district’s electing a district attorney as prosecuting officer, the attorney general of the state appointed a deputy to fulfill this function. See Philadelphia Saturday Bulletin, March 6, 1928.

  126 He had a case to turn over to him … possibly of murder: TLC, p. 51.

  126 Philadelphia National Gazette article: Interestingly, the story had already appeared the day before in a New York newspaper.

  126 “A Villain Arrested”: Philadelphia National Gazette, Sept. 17, 1831.

  127 “I hear Lino’s been arrested in Boston! On suspicion of poisoning William”; “Is it possible”; “I hear you married him”; “Of course not”; “Was my name in the paper”; “Oh, Lucretia. How could you have been so imprudent as to many that man”; and “It must be a fact. Or they wouldn’t dare to publish it”: TLC, p. 36.

  127 “I thought he was very rich. I thought it was best for me—and for the children”: TLC, p. 51.

  128 “Mrs. Chapman, I shouldn’t be surprised if the fellow had poisoned your husband”: TLC, p. 39.

  128 “Do you think so, my dear? The police have intimated the same thing”; “Hearsay is not proof”; “Are you going somewhere”; “On a short trip. I’m going to town to sell some books”; “Don’t you think you are wrong to go off at a time like this? It looks like running off”; and “I’m not running off. I’m just going a short way to sell some books and get some money. I’m badly off for money”: TLC, p. 39.

  CHAPTER 8 FRIENDS AND FOES

  131 Brown’s appearance: See his portrait in Jackson, Encyclopedia of Philadelphia, p. 343; see also DPB, vol. 1, p. 119.

  131 Brown’s autobiographical work: see DPB.

  131 “Hortensius was a lawyer—Cicero an orator, the one is forgotten, the other immortalized”: DPB, vol. 2, p. lv.

  131 If you asked him, David Paul Brown: My introduction of David Paul Brown is drawn from DPB’s “Biographical Memoir,” a lengthy tribute that is more autobiographical than biographical, for it consists chiefly of passages written by Brown himself and quotations from his speeches and from remarks he made to friends. I’ve used Brown’s words, condensing them somewhat, as he was even wordier than he sounds here, and tried to give the flavor of his voice.

  132 The story of the composition of Sertorius: DPB, vol. 1 p. 70. 132 “Composing upon all fours … profitable”: DPB, vol. 1 p. 70.

  132 Legal work had made him even richer: In DPB, p. xxxi, Brown says he made one hundred thousand dollars in his first fifteen years of law practice—i.e., 1816–1831. Very few lawyers earned this much at that time. “A typical income seemed to be something less than $1, 000 a year in 1810 or 1820,” writes Friedman in A History of American Law, p. 306. But there were, he points out, a few big moneymakers, one of whom was the extraordinary Daniel Webster, who “usually earned over $10, 000 a year after 1825; in 1835–36, he earned over $21, 000 in fees.”

  132 He spent money as fast as he earned it … was his spur: DPB, vol. 1, pp. 32, 120.

  132 When he was a child … made himself master of all within: DPB, vol. 1, p. 120.

  132 His early days as a lawyer and orator … eager to enjoy his erudition and his passion: DPB, vol. 1, pp. 40–49.

  134 The very essence of the term “gentleman”: Anne Royall says of Brown, “He is in the prime of life, of middling size, handsome person, and elegant manners.… If the appellation of gentleman be confined to personal appearance, Mr. Brown well merits the epithet.” Royall, Mrs. Royall’s Pennsylvania, p. 60.

  134 All our days are anxious … knowing no end: DPB, vol. 1, pp. 123–24.

  135 The poor thing … had come inquiring after her fiancé’s whereabouts on the day after his arrest: see McIlvaine’s testimony, TLC, p. 52.

  135 “I wish to make some confidential communications to you,” “On what subject,” “On the subject of Mr. and Mrs. Chapman,” and “I don’t wish to hear anything. Better keep it to yourself”: STMC, p. 3.

  136 “That he and Mrs. Chapman were married. And that before they were married she us
ed to come to his room very often”: STMC, p. 2.

  136 “Mrs. Chapman came to me … Mr. Chapman’s death”: STMC, p. 3.

  136 Blayney’s spurning of Lino: STMC, p. 3.

  137 “So you’ve intimated two or three times,” “If you’ll answer two questions for me, I’ll listen to you,” and “Nothing you say to me will appear against you if you’re indicted for the murder of Dr. William Chapman”: STMC, p. 3.

  137 “Have you ever been in jail,” “No,” “Have you ever been a pirate,” and “No”: STMC, p. 3.

  137 Reynell Coates: His first name is spelled “Reynell” in The Trial of Lucretia Chapman, but “Reynall” in Jackson’s Encyclopedia of Philadelphia, and “Reynold” in Green’s A History of Bristol Borough.

  138 Coates’s wife: Green, A History of Bristol Borough, p. 184.

  138 The condition of William’s face and body: TLC, pp. 55 and 57; see also Philadelphia Saturday Bulletin, Oct. 22, 1831.

  138 The graveside autopsy: TLC, pp. 55 and 57.

  139 “Have I missed anything? Should I cut further?”, and “I’d compare it to pickled herring”: TLC, p. 55.

  140 “the smell of a dried Scotch herring”: TLC, p. 59.

  140 Collecting the mucus: TLC, p. 60.

  141 “the ‘Domestic News’ of every journal … which the public appetite demands with a gusto”: cited in Reynolds, Beneath the American Renaissance, p. 173.

  141 Orson Squire Fowler: Interestingly, in The Dictionary of American Biography, published in 1937, Fowler’s theories are treated with scorn and only a few of the many books he published are noted. But in Appleton’s Cyclopedia of American Biography, published in 1888, before eugenics fell into disrepute, Fowler’s theories are treated respectfully and a great many of his books are listed.

  141 “the disposition and mental powers of mankind are innate—are born, not created by education”: O. S. Fowler, Hereditary Descent: Its Laws and Facts (New York, 1843), p. 4.

  142 “mode of moving … tone of voice, manner of laughing, form of nose and mouth, color of eyes and teeth, and other peculiarities”: O. S. Fowler, Hereditary Descent: Its Laws and Facts (New York, 1848), p. 23.