Dora McDonald, in a state of serenity and composure that is baffling
even to those who are nearest her, was surrounded after her acquittal
by friends and relatives, who were weeping for very joy at her
acquittal.
She seemed quite unconcerned about it all, but when they took her
to one side and asked her how she felt about it, she said, in the
amazingly simple way she has:
"I am pleased. Do you want me to tell you the five reasons why?"
They said yes, and though she lost herself several times in the
attempt, for she was very tired--these were the reasons she gave:
1--Because no Jewish woman could ever do a deed like that
of which I had been accused.
2--Because it removes the stigma from dad's (Michael C.
McDonald's) name.
3--Because of my boy.
4--Because of my darling old mother.
5--Please believe it, last and least--absolutely least of
these--because of myself.
"The only real disappointment to me is that dad did not live to hear
that verdict, and that is my bitterest disappointment."
It had been the belief generally among those who followed the case
that the woman would not outlive the verdict long, no matter what
it might be. The original plans were that she would be sent to a
sanitarium in case of acquittal. She herself is said to have planned
that if let go she would make a journey to Jerusalem, and there end
her days in prayer with her chosen people, in an effort to blot out
her past. "Life can never have any more meaning for her," Colonel
Lewis said when the jury first retired. "No matter what the verdict,
it is of little consequence to her, though she will die happier,
maybe, if she is acquitted."
In Jerusalem there is what is known as the "Wall of the Wailing of
the Jews." In the Valley of Tyron, at the foot of Mount Moriah, on
which now stands the Mosque of Omar, but where formerly the Temple of
Solomon stood, there are five enormous stones built into the foot of
the hill. A little courtyard beside these stones, which Solomon laid
as the foundations of his Temple, is set aside for the Jewish race.
Each Friday this courtyard is filled with Jews wailing for the sorrows
of Israel. Every type of Jew, from the hunted Russian to the wealthy
American, may be found there, reading from the Book of Lamentations,
and sending the cry of sorrow to the skies. It was here that Dora
McDonald proposed to weep out her ruined life.
But no, it is not the Place of Wailing in Jerusalem to which Dora
McDonald has gone. Hard as it is to believe of the woman who so
bravely passed through this tremendous ordeal, she has stooped,
stooped lower than one would believe humanly possible. She has
returned to the stage. She is now engaged in attempting to have a
play based upon the tremendous tragedy of her life placed on the
boards in New York.
She is attempting to lay bare to the gaping audiences of cheap
theatres the sores upon her soul. She has been calloused to publicity
to such an extent that she now hungers for the public eye. She has
placed herself in the same class with the lepers outside the walls of
Jerusalem who display their horrid sutures and demand a penny before
they replace the bandages. To this petty end has come this greatest
and most spectacular of modern trials, this heart-shaking romance of
love and life.
[Illustration: THE VAMPIRE