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TEBnjerVear.) AN INDEPENDENT FAMILY NEWSPAPER. FJSLfffJZS'
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Vol. VI. New Ilooiiifioicl, J?tx.9 Tuesday, Fnly 3, i&72. WOt 39
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A Romantic Story.
A True Story of Life lu Mew York.
ANEW YORK paper tolls the following
remarkable story of the doings of
Alfred Eugene Lagravo, a man who Las
moved in the best society in that city.
While the business transactions of this
man were of an extraordinary character
and on an extensive scale, it was as a socie
ty man that he reached the limit of his
greatest power. The story of his life is a
romance, and the history of his marriages,
while it stamps him as the possessor of ox
traordlnaty command over the sex, reveals
him as a man of exquisite and devilish
cruelty. With an attractive exterior, his
heart was of iron, and his acts those of a
fiend.
Many in New York wore acquainted with
the Deals family. Mr. Beals, who furnish
ed the granite for the Capitol extension, is
dead. Before coming to New York the
Beals were a very respectable family, living
in comfortable circumstances In Maine.
While there Mr. Beals discovered the de
posit of Granite on Shelter Island. It
proved the best in the country, and there
was great demand for it.
From moderate affluence the family
sprang to immense wealth. After the ac
quirement of an enormous fortune they
moved to New York, and bought an elegant
house in twenty-third street, and there they
lived in sumptuous style. They had three
daughters, all beautiful, and all with good
mental endowments. All the fashionables
envied them. Circumstances compelled
Mrs. Beals to seek a divorce from her hus
band, which she obtained. She afterward
married Mr. William, Mickell, the wedding
being solemnized with eclat in Calvary
church. This marriage proved a very hap
py one. Despite' their disparity in years,
the couple were like lovers for the few years
that Mr. Mickell lived.
After their marriage Mr, and Mrs. Mick
ell, with the Misses Beals, made the tour
to Niagara, the Lakes and Saratoga.
When returning from Saratoga they met
Lagrave. He saw and admired Miss Evelyn
Beals, the second daughter, who was then
about seventeen years of age. She was
a woman of much more than ordinary at
tractiveness. Neither blonde or bruuuette,
her complexion was clear and bright, and
red healthy blood shone through her cheeks.
8he bad a profusion of beautiful dark hair,
charming eyes, and delicate features. She
was an intelligent and refined woman men
tally, and she impressed all who met her
with her great beauty and dashing grace,
After the Beals family returned to Now
York, Lagrave became a visitor at the
Twenty-third street mansion. The family
was living in magnificent style.
Lagrave was about five feet seven inches
in height, rather slendorly built, but a
straight, strong, virile-looking man. He
was of dark, almost olive complexion, band'
some, regular features and a fine, intellec
tual bead and forehead. His hair was
black or a very dark brown, and bis moiuw
tacho was of the same color. lie had, eyes
such as are rarely met; dark brown, large
and wonderfully expressive, and with long
black lashes. His voice was clear, sonorous
and pleasant to hear. He was apparently
well educated, used excellent English,
and conversed as fluently in French. In
deportment he was gentle and courteous,
always in good taste, never flippant, and in
clined to be grave and quiet. He dressed
with excellent judgment, and while ho wore
the best fabrics, and was never flashy, there
was about him just enough of the natty to
make him attractive. Ho talked little, but
bis manners were peculiarly agreeable.
Evelyn Beals was especially pleased with
him, and Lagrave lost no time In paying his
addresses to her. lis saw at , a glanoe the
' wealth by which she was surrounded.
Each of the ladies had a private carriage,
and her slightest wish had ample moans of
gratillcation. Dress, jewels, money, what
ever she desired,she hod in abundance. La-
grave's advances were pleasant to Miss
Beals, who had fallen deeply in love with
him. They were soon betrothed.
Her family were opposed to tho match.
They thought that the handsome man
might not be so eligible as he appeared. He
was so noarly perfect, so .different from the
average man, that ' they almost doubted
him, and inquiry failed to reveal his ante
cedents. They tried to persuade Evelyn
not to marry him; but she loved him, and
was determined. Her family finally con
sented to the marriage, and the ceremony
was performed.
They made a bridal tour to Europe, Mrs.
Lagrave paying all the expenses. On their
return they took a flat in a brown stone
bouse in Twenty-third street, near the
Fifth Avenue Hotel, and began housekeep
ing. By this time the elegant man bad
been partially transformed into a devil.
Preserving the same grave and polished ex
terior, he began to reveal the grosser char
acteristics which made up his nature,
though at this time his wife had no knowl
edge of his truo character. She loved and
trusted him, while he had already begun
to plunder her. He had charge of all the
expenditures, and she responded without
question to his calls for money. Whatever
bills came in she paid gladly. She had
plenty of money, and that was enough.
Unknown to her he multiplied the amount
of bills, paid the original and kept the rest
for his own use. This practice he carried
even to the hiring of the servants. If he
hired a cook at twelve dollars a month he
told his wifo that it was twenty-four. It
was paid, and half the amount went into
his pocket.
Finally she learned that the man she
loved cared nothing for her. Her love he
repaid with contumely, and what she had
thought the pleasant dream of a satisfied
life became a terrible nightmare which nev
er deserted her. By this time he had got
ten from her all her ready money on one
pretext another, either by begging or by
fraud. Her life was embittered, but she
did not turn from him.
She had many thousands of dollars in
bonds. These he wanted. He would con
fine her in her room and not release ber un
til site hod met his demands. His persecu
tions finally resulted in open violence. Dur
this terrible trial Mrs. Lagrave had but one
consolation. She had a sympathetic friend
in a lady who was aontsant visitor at her
house. To her Mrs. Lagrave opened her
heart and confided her trouble, finding some
relief in sharing the story of her sorrows
with another.
After their leturn from Europe Mrs. La
grave had a child, a beautiful boy, the im
age of his father. The babo proved no
defense for ber. The unnatural father bad
even then no instinct which answered the
maternal craving for love, and there was
no change in his manner toward her.
His cruelty, his insatiate avarice, his cold
blooded stoicism, finally drove her to Bick
noss. He was the same to her in sickness
and in health. While she lay upon her bed
he would stretch himself upon a sofa, and
look at hor with his lustrous eyes fastened
on her like a grim, dread fate, until the
sensitive woman was hounded to the verge
of insanity. She would turn her face to
the wall to escape, and if after minutes
which seemed hours, she looked again in
hope that her tormentor had tired, she saw
him in the same position, lounging with bis
head resting on his band, and his baleful
eyes remorselessly fixed. Then be would
threaten ber; call her foul names; fasten bis
terrible presence upon her, and cling like a
leech until she complied with his demands,
She had when married many valuable dia
monds., One by one they disappeared!
Now a necklace, then a brooch, a ring, and
so on, were carried off by the man she had
loved. ,
He pretented that he wanted the money
for the business that he was engaged in on
Broadway, and be doubtless did use some
in that way; but there is reason to believe
that be converted the bulk of the money in
to portable property, and that he was ready
at any moment to fly, and always possessed
of large amounts of funds. , He was rigid
ly penurious, never spending his own
money. He dined in a modest French res
taurant not far from . Union Square, where
be usually paid eighty-five cents for a tablt
it' hto dinner, which included half a bottle
of wine. IU never drank to excess, smoked
in moderation, and was temperate in all
things except ferocity towards those whom
be tortured.
, The wife had finally given up all her
bonds and diamonds. Then he began to
rob ber of her income. Her family, with
out knowing of all her sufferings, tried to
induce hor to abandon her husband and re
turn to them, but she would not. She hod
contracted the marriage despito their re
monstrance), and she was too proud to go
back.
For years she suffered constant torment.
Ho beat her until she feared he would mur
der her, and at times others in the house
interfered to save her. Being of a delicate
and sensitive mind, she was keenly alive to
mental suffering, and he hod a fit subject
on which to exercise his devilish power.
' Lagrave was a man whom God seemed to
have endowed with evory perfect mental
and physical attribute, and yet loft him
without soul or heart; for never a Bhadow
of compassion or one Jot of mercy stirred
in his inhuman bosom. He was a very de
mon. He seemed never to sleep. Ho was
always awake. At dead of night he would
pace the room. Did his wife awake, it was
to find herself constantly watched by the
alert fiend, who never ceased bis persecu
tions. Yet he was the same trim, natty
man, and to those outside the same elegant
serpent. His outward semblance of perfec
tion never deserted him.
At last he maltreated the child the beau
tiful boy in whom was stored all the hope
that; was left the mother. In his quiet, cold
way he kicked it, threw it about the room,
and thus found new delight in torturing
her. This drove the mother nearly crazy,
and she suffered outrages which only a wo
man could receive, and brutality without
end.
One night unusual sounds were heard in
the Lagraves' room, and the servant rush
ed to the apartments of .the neighbors who
lived on the flat above, and told them that
Mr. Lagrave had threatened to murder his
wife. With a natural dosire to avoid inter
ference between man and wifo, the one ap
pealed to paid no attention to the call. He
supposed it no more than a threat. The
servant was frightened, and she listened at
the door.
Lagrave wanted his wife's Jewol case.
She had refused it. He beat the boy, and
Mrs. Langrave screamed. lie demanded
the jewels, and threatened to kill hor if she
did not give them up; and he assured her
that if she made the least noise he would
put her to death by a slower and more ex
cruciating means. He would torture her.
She held out stoutly, and he persisted and
finally grappled her, and a fierce struggle
ensued. Managing to free herself, she
seized the boy and fled screaming from the
room, and locked herself in a rear apart
ment with her servant. Lagrave followed
and demanded entrance It was refused.
Ho sought to force the door. Stepping
back, he sprang against it like a tiger
again and again, while the house re
sounded with the screams of the torrifled
woman.
Lagrave was watched from above by a
man who longed to come down and kill
him. Presently the door began to weaken,
and the man loaped down the stairs. La
grave heard him and fled to his room, fol
lowed by the man, who seized him by the
throat and pinned bim to the wall.
"You devil!" I should dash you from
the window 1"
In the back room Mrs. Lagrave was
found trembling with terror. ' She return
ed to her husband and the next day ' they
were out riding together, for he had again
fascinated her; but she never ceased to fear
him after his attempt on her life. He tor
tured her more terribly than ever. Finally
they removed from Twenty-third street and
took appartments at the St. James Hotel.
Here she felt that unless relief came or she
abandoned ber husband, she must go mod.
Bhe went to the Metropolitan Hotel. He
followed her.
She felt the dread spell of bis repulsive
presence, and so one day when the mon
ster was away she took her boy in her arms
and fled to her mother's home.
During her absence there had been great
changes in ber family. Her step father
had died in Europe, nis wife mourned
bis death bitterly, for she had loved her
youthful husband. His remains were
brought to this country and interred in
Greenwood; the spot being covered by one
of the most splendid and expensive of the
many costly memorials in that city of the
dead.
Mrs. Lagrave's elder sister had married
a very wealthy man who was very popular
and well known In the city, nor younger
sister bod been married to an Italian
prince. The granite mine was still more
fruitful, its product was in great demand,
and the family had as much money as ever.
Mrs. Lagrave' family listened to her
story with horror. Bhe did not know until
after she had left Lagrave how much be
had stolen from ber. The child hod re
ceived a ten thousand dollar bond as a
present from its grandmother. This La
grave hod stolen, as well as all her jowels
and bonds. Mrs. Lagrave had sold a house
for $32,000, receiving checks for $14,000 in
part payment. Having stolen this check,
he forged her endorsement and drew the
money.
On inquiry at ber banker's she learned
he hod drawn a check against her account
until it had been exhausted. Her silver,
which be had once tried to beat her into
giving up, she had sent to the State De
posit Company, and that was saved; and
that was all. She hod been robbed of $70,
000. She afterwards learned that ber
wedding ring had been ber own property
before hor marriage, and that Lagrave had
stolen it and had the stone reset, giving it
back as a wedding gift. She- also heard of
losses of diamonds by others which she
now had reason to suppose had been stolen
by the same fiend with whom she had
lived. Under advice of her brother-in-law,
she began proceedings for a divorce, Mr.
John Graham being retained as counsel.
The lawyer set to work for points on
which to ground his suit for a divorce.
Detectives hunted proof, and the suit was
begun. The proceedings were placed in
charge of a referee, who began taking tes
timony. Meanwhile the detectives kept at
work, and they learned that Lagrave bad
been married before. The clue was traced
back to the record of marriage, and follow
ing it the detectives learned that the first
wife was living. Little by little the story
unfolded itself, and when put to gether ran
thus:
The first wife was Miss Kitty Bird,
daughter of J. D. Bird, the Broadway hat
ter. Lagrave became acquainted with hor,
captivated and secretly married ber. He
persuaded her to keep the fact from ber
parents, and she did so. She lived at home,
and though she was his wife, she never
gave up the secret, for she adored ber hus
band and blindly obeyed him. When La
grave married Miss Bird he expected to
gain a fortune. This he failed to do, for
ber property was so placed that he could
not command it.
It was some time after this that he met
Evelyn Beals. He was struck with her
beauty and covetous of ber wealth. He re
solved to marry her. He presented himsolf
as a single man, and tho success of hi suit
has already been told. To accomplish bis
purpose he must be divorced from his wife,
and he at once proposed to her a separation.
She would not listen to him. She loved
him and could not give him up.
Ho persisted in his request with cold'
blooded pertinacity. Miss Bird was an es
timable woman, but Lagrave's influence
over her was so great that she dared not re
veal the situation to her parents, and so
she suffered in silence. At last the day ap
pointed for his marriage to Miss Beals
being near at hand, he forced his lawful
wife to consent to the separation and to
begin proceedings for a divorce from him
on the ground of adultery. A divorce was
obtained, and Lagrave mafiied Evelyn
ueais a lew auys alter tue entry or. tne
decree.
Here is revealed one of the most inliu
man acts in the villain's career. Miss Bird
still loved bim. She was a weak woman,
be was a powerful man, and she blindly did
his bidding. After bis marriage to Evelyn
Beals, Lagrave brought about un acquaint
ance between her and Miss Bird. What
object could have served is unknown. More
likely the act was prompted by the innate
deviliBbn'ess of the man. Miss Bird visited
often at Lagrave's bouse. Evelyn liked
her, and the two soon became intimate
Miss Bird dared not tell who she was
and if bad dared, her love for her husband
and her dosire to shield him would doubt
less have sealed her lips, Evelyn had no
secret. She was an impulsive woman,
and in trouble. A friend was a boon to
ber and this was the woman to whom she
poured out her sorrows. She nover dream'
ed that Miss Bird was married, much less
that she was the wife of ber tormentor.
In this way the drama was played through
all the acts of the dreary years ; and it was
not until the separation from Lagrave that
Evelyn knew that her companion and con
fidant had been the wife of the man who
tortured ber. The shock was too much
for her, and with shattered health she went
abroad with her mother to seek rest and
new life in Europe. v . ' .
When hor counsel learned of the exis
tence of the first wife, be saw, of course,
that the second marriage was illegal, ; for
the laws of New York provide that where
man and wife are divorced on the ground
of adultery, the guilty partner may not
marry again during the lifetime of the
innocent partner.
The counsel now sued for the separation
of Mrs. Lagrave from her husband, on the
ground that Lagrave effected the marriage
by fraud, since he had been prohibited by
law from marrying when he wedded Miss
Beals. The judgment roll was entered in
December, 1870, and special acts relating
to the case were passed - by the Legislature
in 1871.
Mrs. Lagrave's family at first proposed to
prosecute Lagrave for forgery, which would
have insured him a term in Stale Prison,
some trivial punishment for tho misery of
of which he bad been the author. No ac
tion was taken, however, for thoTjiother-
jn-law objected. He said that they had an
abundanco of money, that they did not
need the sum whicb Lagrave had stolen,
and that now that they had shaken bim off
it would be better not to make the story
public properly.
Meantime Mrs. Lagrave had been tele
graphed to return to New York, as her
presence was needed in some of the legal
proceedings. It is said that Lagrave in
tercepted the dispatch, or that he had spies
in Europe who Informed him of Mrs. La
grave a contemplated return. . .Lagrave
knew by what steamer she started, and he
laid plans to capture the child, hoping
thereby to regain his old mastery over the
mother. The brotber-in-law feared that
Lagrave might try some means again to ,
get Mrs. Lagrave in his clutches, aud so he
made arrangements at the telegraph office
to be informed at the earliest moment of
the steamer's arrival. As the time ap
proached ho kept his carriage at his door,
ready to hurry to the wharf whenever the
telegraph indicated the proper time.
Lagrave learned what move was on foot,
and he went to the telegraph office and
said:
" You have received instruction to tele
graph the arrival of Mrs. Lagrave to
street. I am Mr. Lagrave. I have changed
my mind, and I shall not be there. Please
send the telegram to my place of business.
He indicated the place, aud the unsus
pecting clerk sent him the dispatch.
While crossing the water, Mrs Lagrave
became acquainted with a very estimable
gentleman and his wife, who had treated
her kindly. She was with this couple when
the steamer arrived. '
While ber brother-in-law and his family
were anxiously awaiting tho arrival of the
dispatch, Lagrave and his partner Otis, and .
one or two others, were on the wharf with
a carriage. Lagrave kept out of sight and
sent Otis to find his wife, aud if possible,
entice the ' child to the whaif. Mrs. La
grave was on deck looking for her sister.
The child had been sick during the latter
part of tho voyage, and was then below with
the nurse. Otis briefly conversed with Mrs.
Lagravo, who know him as lier husband's
partner, and suspected a plot. Not seeing
the child, Otis requested Mrs. Lagrave to
take his carriage, which was on the wharf,
as he would like a few minutes' conversa
tion with her before she went to hor friends.
He thought that this would bring the child.
Mrs. Lagrave began to be frightened. She
turned to her lady friend, who was stand
ing near, and begged her to stay close to
her.
Lagrave saw that the plot bad miscar
ried, and he went on deck to meet his wifo.
She saw him with horror, She bad told
Borne portion of ber story to her companion
and now she turned aud implored her:
" For God's sake, take care of my child.
That man is Lagrave, and be has come for
my boy."
To Lagrave his wife denied the presence
of the boy, Lagrave would hear no denial.
He made a movement to seize her, Bhe
retreated across the deck. He drew a pis
tol and followed her. . She tripped and full,
and Lagrave, in eager haste, approached
and threatened to kill her.
The husband of the lady friend witnessed
the scene. . He sprung upon Lagrave aud
knocked him down. A struggle ou the
deck ensued. Lagrave was disarmed and
handed over to the police.
Lagrave's terror-stricken wife was now
doubly alarmed by the non-appearance of
her relatives. Finally she took ber child
and baggage and went with her steamer
friends to the Brevoort House, whence she
sent word to her sister. She ' begged her
friends to stay with her and watch over her
till her brother came, which they did ; and
then she was taken to a place of safety.
And aftor she reached home, the excite
ment which bad sustained ber caving pass
ed, she again broke down, and it was weeks
before she recovered from Lagrave's lost
attack.
Not long after tho separation ' was com
pleted Lagrave was again married and
this time to a celebrated Opera singer
Miss Sophia Bohinetterer.