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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 30, 1904)
o She forgot the young man Who saVed her from drowning: She failed to remember one Who bore her in his arms from under the hoofs of a herd of Wild cattle: She broke faith With a loVer Who rescued her from a lion's den: 'BUT She finally fell into the arms of a boy Who saVed her from a mouse. "" 1 O L A MACINTOSH, a pretty Texas girl V whose sparkling black eyes, lithe form, and roue colored cheeks Indicate that she has Just about enough Indian blood In her veins to account for the recklessness. Indifference, and iiEvSAiH desperate vicissitudes that have characterized trCiiSa? her short career as a " man killer," has at last mmmm been captured or cnjitlvated and safely married to a gallnnt, audaciously Intrepid youth by the name of Barney Buford. This affair Is of more than passing Interest In western Teias, where this remarkable young woman Is well known and seriously regarded as one of the strangest characters that ever lived. It Is said that she never met a man who did not fall In love with her. Every young man she looked at wanted to become her husband and hundreds threw them selves at her feet, begging her to marry them. According to her own story she has been engaged to be married 139 times. Can't Keep Them Away. The experience of a hundred belles has been crowded Into her short life. It Is natural that she should have the reputation of a coquette, but she firmly maintains that the word conveys no meaning to her mind. " I could not keep the boys from falling In love with me," she says. Strange and Interesting stories are told concerning these 13!1 love affairs. "One day not long ago," says Old Man Macintosh, " forty-two lovers of all ages and sizes crowded Into this house. Every one of them claimed my daughter and they wanted me to make her stick to her engagement. I could not make her marry forty fools, and I told them so. Some of them shed Jears. others walled as If they were being scalped, and others bellowed like cattle. While some of them were fighting nnd scratching out In the yard Viola was fixing It up with the others. Somehow the little witch pacified them all and before night she sent them home rejoicing, each and every one of them doubtless believing that he was the favored suitor." " Old women say that I am a witch." says Viola, ' while others Insist that I possess some magnetic power. That Is all nonsense. I am simply Impressionable nd good hearted. When a boy cries and begs me to marry him I feel sorry for him and I Just can't help promising to marry him." From All Walks in Life. This strange girl has treasured but few recollections of her many affairs of the heart, but her sisters can talk cease lessly of Viola's army of lovers and the many pathetic scenes witnessed In their home before Barney carried the erratlo beauty away In such a hurry, and they can call the names of more than a hundred men who asked her father for, Viola's hand In marriage. Some of these lovers were wealthy -one at least Is a millionaire others wore from different walks of life. She has been sought by lawyers, preachers, doctors, ranchers, cowboys, rangers, and fiddlers. A few fortunate or unfortunate admirers won a sweet " yes " from the beauty's rosy lip by risking their lives to save her own when she was In t peril. These she promised to make happy, " feeling bound," as she said, by the laws of romance. Peoplo of the community familiar with Viola's unexam pled career pity Buck Hawks. Buck was lover No. 1. He carried books and dinner baskets and he fought for the little minx when she was a schoolgirl. He staid In the race, dis playing commendable persistence, until he was pushed aside by No. 40. Old Dan Stohblns, No. 4!, was a cattle king with almoleons galore. Two days after he thought he had won Viola, No. 4!) let his horse run away and the Infatuated cattle king and his promised bride were thrown from a buggy over a bluff into the Colorado river. No. 49 could not swim and he went to the bottom, sixty feet below the surface, like a rock. No. 1 Is No. 50, Too. Dou fabled green eyed monster could account for the prest .'. Buck Hawks. He was riding along the river road whe .e saw Viola floating In the muddy waters. For getting hei faithless vows he plunged Into the stream,, de termined to save the frightened girl or perish In the attempt. When the drowning girl felt her first lover's strong arm about hor neck and her head was raised above the waves she eagerly, and, perhaps earnestly, exclaimed, "Pave me, Buck, and I am your girl forever. I'll never go hack on you again." It was no easy work for the brave youth to breast the waves of the Colorado with the struggling beauty cling ing to his neck, but the heroic lover triumphed over the flood. Lying on the sands with her nrms about her rescuer's neck ecsssss9ssssssessssssss The Flirtations P those who vigorously accuse the girl of today of being a flirt, of deliberately playing the co quette, and trifling with the heartstrings of two or more men at one and the same time, had lived In the days of " Good Queen Bess " It Is quite certain that their tender sensibilities In regard to theBe matters would have been shocked beyond expression. While the modern girl may flirt with a youth or two while she is in the age when young men are extremely attractive to her, this is soon left behind. The modern girl generally marries, and with he marriage the Innocent flirtations of girlhood are left behind. But even against girlhood's Hghthearted coquetries the croakers And cause to protest, and they bemoan the fact that the young women of the day think nothing of flirting. But what would they have said had they lived contempora t eons with Elisabeth? This queen, by all reports the most beautiful and nimble witted of the many fair and shrewd women who have ruled at the court of St. James, began to flirt at the age of 11. She lived to be something over tS5 years old and she never quite outgrew her early acquired predilec tion for exercising the power bf her beauty and graces over the men about her. Every Man Her Target. Every man with whom she came in contact was apparent ly only another mark for her at which to direct the sharp arrows of her personal charms and attractions, and she wa never satisfied until she had tied him in the long string of broken hearts gathered in her days of conquest. The desire fur homage from the men about her and all with whom she came in contact was an Insatiable passion with her. Prom the day when her girlish charms first captivated the Lord High Admiral Seymour, who- was then double her age and married, to the time when in ties age she sat a painted old vixen on the throne, the desire to coquette, to make men. willy nilly. her abject slaves, never left her. One of her last acts was to captivate a young Scotsman and laugh at him when he fervently declared his Jove and asked the royal hand In marriage. So strongly was the desire to have at least one man sup pliant before her charms fixed in her that even with one fool ,lr the grave she persisted In striving to break hearts. In this she outrivals the many great flirts of historical fame. (Mttny women of note and notoriety have kept the heartstrings ,of more than one man continually between their Angers but li.vuriably with Increasing age the sport of the heart chase ,hus died out Catherine de Mtdlci, Du Barry, and many other .women famous for their affairs d' amour broke hearts right and her eyes swimming In tears of gratitude Viola again and again promised to be true to her first love. Mr. Hawks should have hurried her away to the nearest priest or parson. The next day a traveling menagerie exhibited In the town and the lion tamer fell In love with Viola. The man who conquered lions thought It would be a light affair to bind the soul of the Texas beauty. On this eventful day the strange girl was eager for an adventure. She walked with her latest conquest to the cnge where fierce African Hons were fretting behind iron bars. " Such beauties," exclaimed Viola. " Do you really go In there?" " I dare face the ferocious beasts In their den," proudly replied the professional. " I don't think they look so very dangerous," said Viola. " Do not allow yourself to be deceived," said the trainer. "They would tear a stranger to pieces." Rescued from Lions by 5i. No one understands whatever possessed the strange girl. When the Hon tamer sprang Into the den the daring Texas girl slipped through the door behind him. The aroused beasts no sooner saw the Intrmler than they began to roar and gnash their teeth as If they scented prey and were loose in their native Jungle. The amazed lion tamer nearly lost his head. The beasts were crouching to spring. The people rec ognized Viola and they' rushed toward the cage of Hons shrieking and shouting as If mad. When the Hons sprang upon the keeper prods, guns, and revolvers were thrust be tween the bars. Bullets rained upon the enraged beasts and sharp pointed steel was forced between their Jaws and driven Into their hides. The tamer was crushed and man gled and the wounded lioness was In the act of striking the venturesome girl when John B. Honda, an old admirer, seized her and drew her from under the wide open Jaws of the howling mad brute. Mr. Honda was a happy man; he had often dreamed of the opKrtunlty that had come to him at last. He almost carried Viola to her home and there he poured out his long pent up passion In burning words, imploring the trembling girl to make him happy forever. " Why, I suppose I will have to marry you," said Viola. " Tou saved my life, didn't you?" When he went home one of Viola's sisters said to another, " Is Mr. Honda No. GO or 51?' Upsets Whole College Faculty. When Papa Macintosh beard of his daughter's narrow escape he packed her off to a boarding school. " Thank you," said Viola. " There are some little arts 1 ii m deficient in. I especially desire to learn how to say no." Viola had only been away from home two weeks when her father received a letter from the president of the college. " Come and get your daughter at once," wrote the Irate offi cial. " The professors are all fighting about her and she Is engaged to every man about the place except the Janitor, and he tried to commit suicide with one of her gloves pressed against his heart." "What on earth Is to be done with the girl?" exclaimed the puzzled father. " Every man falls head over heels in love with her and she won't have any of them." After a family consultation It was decided to put the erratic girl under the wing of an old aunt who lived In a sparsely settled mountain region, where she could cultivate the acquaintance' of the birds and flowers, and, as she sala, enjoy the solitudes of the forest. " Good-by," said her perplexed father when Viola was ebout to depart, " May the Lord take care of you and keep you out of mischief. I can't. You won't find anybody but InJIns and cedar choppers up there, who say we'una ' ana ' you'uns.' I don't think you will be promising to marry any of that sort of human cattle." J Captures Fourteen in One Evening. Ten days after Viola had retired to higher altitudes;, where marriageable young men of her rank and station In life were supposed to be scarce, one of the Macintosh sisters received a letter from Aunt Sally Potter which furnished .he family some amusing and Interesting Information. The in nocent old aunt wrote: " Viola Is surprising, to say the least. She Is certainly beautiful, and If the boys of this neighborhood are to be be lieved she Is certainly the most accomplished ' heart smash er ' and ' man killer ' that ever lived. I was foolish enough to let her persuade me to give a little ' rag ' In honor of her appearance In the neighborhood. A ' rag Is simply a dance of Queen Elizabeth of England, and left and kept a score of men dangling upon their words for years at a time, but never did any of them exhibit the degree of unsatlety shown by Queen Elizabeth. Too Fickle to Marry. Catherine de Medici eventually married, but Elizabeth remained single to her death, owing undoubtedly to the fact that she knew that a husband would seriously inconvenience her In her multiple flirtations. Also It Is possible that she found her affections so Ackle that she never was able to Ax them upon one man long enough to consider him as a matri monial possibility. Then again, as her many enemies charged and as was undoubtedly true, many of the love affairs of tills queen were only affairs of political expediency. New and Interesting light is shown upon this phase of her career by the new work of Martin Hume, "The Courtships of Queen Elisabeth " (McClure, Phillips & Co.). Mr. Hume's sympa thetic previous volume, " The Love Affairs of Mary Queen of Scots," put that queen In a new light before the world, and In the book Just Issued he has done the same service for Elizabeth. The list of heart conquests which Mr. Hume finds In his Srarch through the Elizabethan documents available to him brings to light many hitherto unsuspected love affairs and puts a new phase upon many of the old ones. He finds abun dant proof of the theory that In the maelstrom of seething political Intrigues which surrounded the court of Ellzabetn the oft told amours of the queen with prince and with minis ter, with Englishman and Frenchman, were often nothing lut the simulated passion of a woman using her feminine powers of attraction to further her own and her minister s schemes. Her Beauty a Power in Politics. Filled with the desire to establish Protestantism as a supreme power In England, the prime minister uaed Eliza beth and her beauty to the utmost. Every possible advantage was taken. Not a point was overlooked. If a young unmar ried man wavered In his allegiance to the throne and his good will was desired it was easy for Elizabeth to cast her sway or beauty upon him. Fancying he was the favored one In her affections, many an enemy of Burleigh and his Protestant ising schemes was turned Into a stanch friend and ally. In many other cases neither the wooer por the wooed was In earnest, the rumor of a love affair between a courtier and the queen being frequently given out only for the Influencing Of the man's following or Immediate family. m on one or two occaslonijjtjg true, Uie flueen aa forced I If '2l!5L In a mountain home. Viola thought a 'rag' would Interest her, but she was so awful timid and she appeared to be so much afraid of the boys that I doubted whether he would enoy a regular 1 rag.' I only Invited fourteen young men and a few of our girls. What do you suppose hap pened? Viola danced every set, and although bashful enough at first not many hours passed before I saw that my pretty niece was getting along. Before midnight she had promised to marry every young man in the house except the fiddler, and, believe me or not, he proposed the next morning be fore breakfast and was accepted. These hotheaded moun taineers often shed blood about less things than a glance from the bright eyes of a pretty girl. Perhaps the atmos phere of her old home would better agree with Viola." Papa Macintosh no sooner heard that his daughter had either by her feelings or by circumstances into positions where it seemed absolutely Inevitable that she must wed ot mortally offend the family of the suitor. But In each of these instances her Innate caution and the wit that made Elizabeth the shrewd ruler she was, brought her through hand tree, without causing any serious Imbroglio. To the end of her days, even after the marvelous beauties of her face and figure had faded and given place to the artificial aids of paints and powders, she was able to coquettlshly play the part of the Blren, whose smiles and blandishments kept many of the members of her court and ministry faithful to her unto death. The bartering of her beauty and promises of her imnd btgan when she was but 0 years old, when her father offered her In wedlock to the son of Arran, head of the house ot Hamilton, and, after Queen Mary, next heir to the Scottish throne. This project was thwarted by French Intrigue and French money, but even then, through the furore created by the proposed marriage, the future queen began to realize the power that lay In the promise of her hand In wedlock. Two years later It was suggested that she be wedded to Philip of Spain, then 15 years old. So affairs of the heart and pall tics combined came to be known by Elizabeth at the age when most girls are entirely uninitiated In such things. V"as I'. any wonder that upon her accession to the throne and su preme power she Bhould begin to exercise the power of her personal charms to advance her political ambitions? Of her early relations to Lord H'gh Admiral Seymour, which began when Elizabeth was only 14. there is a cloud of doubt which never has been satisfactorily cleared. Qoms to live at that early age under the protection of Seymour, It la certain that the young girl was subjected to much more than what might be accepted by the most liberal minded as propriety. It Is claimed by some that Seymour was actu ated by a desire to secure such influence over the prospective queen that upon the demise of hla wife he could mount the throne as utr consort. Against all the bitter accusations hurled at her by Father Parsons and his followers concern ing her Intimacy with the admiral, Elizabeth protested most vigorously, as she did, In fact, whenever her morals were assailed, and swore that their relationship might be searched to the bottom and nothing offensive or discreditable found therein. ' The vlciousness of the attack of Parsons resulted in a vast number of people who had hitherto remained neutral on the subject rising to the queen's defense, denouncing the at tack as a malicious and unfair slander of a woman's charac ter. As to her fetlings toward S ymour, it Is possible that Elizabeth was In love with the showy admiral, but even ot this there is some doubt, as soon afterwards the same rumors nerejcurre&t concerning her and htr relations with the earl " roped," as he said, a bunch of fourteen mountaineers than he set out In hot haste after her. " I am going to yoke her to the next fool that goes crazy about her, whether he be a prince or pauper or I wfll make her wear a mask." Decides She Must Wear Mask. The last idea tickled the Irate father, and when he heard that Insanity had broken out In the ranks of Viola's lovers and that seven of them had been taken to the asylum In a bunch after she left home, he determined to utilize it. The girl whose beauty struck all men senseless should wear a mask. " That Is settled," chuckled Mr. Macintosh as he set out to rescue his daughter " from the fools and fiddlers." The Idea of wearing a mask pleased Viola. " It Is a com- Who Played Itoith cMens Hearts. of Leicester. If there was any one of the many affairs In which Elizabeth was named with a lover In which there was any real sentiment on her part, it is undoubtedly this one. If the fickle queen was able to sincerely love any man she must have loved Leicester. Reported Wedded to Leicester. At one time it was reported that the two were married, but this was never extensively credited. However, the mat ter was seized upon and the conservative political party, ene mies of Leicester, made the most of it until It became an ar ticle of faith with Elizabeth's enemies. The spread of the rumor resulted In making the earl the most liberally hated man in England, for the men who longed for the queen's hand were legion, and the thought of Leicester defeating them aroused their anger. Along with this tale comes the Btory of Arthur Dudley, the young man who wandered through the different courts of Europe declaring that he was the son of Elizabeth and Leicester. Whatever the truth of this young man's claims It Is cer tain that he told his story In a manner that Indicated that he, or the person who constructed the story for him, was intimately acquainted with the Inner life of some of the most famous persons in England of that day. Hut the story, on the whole, Is Improbable, It Is certain that Leicester, the shrewd and unscrupulous schemer, would never have let the bearer of such a tale wander over the face of Europe If ther had been any truth to fear in his narrative. And the son bf a queen would be hardly put to such extremes. Mr. Hume In his resume: of this tale decides that Arthur Dudley wa only a base ImpoBtor and one of the many who sought to reap advantage by using the universal suspicion of the queen's character as a lever. All the while the public was linking her name with those of Seymour and Leicester, Elizabeth was dealing heart stabs to all the susceptible men with whom she came In contact. She did not count her coquetries by ones or twoa, but by the score, and she flew Into furies If It appeared that her powers were waning or that men were growing Indiffer ent to them. She purposely appointed as maids In waiting and court ladles the plainest among all the legitimate ap pointees, and constantly kept one or more by her side in or der that her own beauty might appear the more marvelous when compared to the charms of other women. Heart Conquests Her Monomania. It has been argued that the conquests of men's heart was a monomania wltli htrt slmllartohemanlafor petty pllment," she said, and she determined to do It In self defense. " I don't suppose that It would be any use to talk to you.M said her father as he drove slowly along a mountain trail with Viola by his side. " Why don't you draw the line some where? It seems that they are nil fish when they c ime to your net. Your mother drew the line at fishermen and fid dlers. She says to me. 'Mack, you may hunt coons, rope mave'rleks. or swap horsis. but If ever I ratrh you sawing on an old fiddle cr frolicking along the river after catfish, right there I will quit you sure.' Two lovesick Idiots are considered sufllelent to set an ordinary girl wild and how on earth you manage to get along with m re than a hundred is a problem fit for tho kind of men who make 'rithmetlcs and count the stars" " Well," said Viola. " I don't understand It. The boys appear to lose thrlr senses as soon as they come near me. Now, I am not a witch nor do I make nn effort to win every heart, but these lovers are certainly in dead earnest. They all weep and wall and " hang on ' and ' carry on at such a frantic rate that there Is but one thing for me to do. Why, papa. If I were to any 'No.' lots of Hum would fall dead and you would be kept busy burying your unlucky daughter's levers. Bin I am going to be good " "And bewitch the first man we meet," exclaimed the doubting father. 0 Saved from Stampede. The gift of prophecy had certainly entered the old moun taineer's soul, for ten minutes had hardly passed before Viola was dragged from beneath the hoofs of a herd of stam peded steers with one of the buggy wheels about her neck. The heroic rereue was accomplished by a handsome young stockman who w:is actually struck speechless when the beautiful girl he carried In his arms looked In his eye and whispered, " You have saved my life. How can 1 ever re pay you?" " Stop right there." shouted papa. " Don't say It, young man; don't say It. She will forget you before the sun sets and maybe promise to marry a half a dozen more of your kind before the morning." "Are you her father?" moaned the young man with tears streaming over his face. " She Is an angel. I saved her life. I can't let her go. I'll fall dead right here if you tuke her away from me." "You have got It pretty bad," said the old man as he drew Viola up on his shoulder nnd started along the road, hoping to overtake his horse. There was great rejoicing In the old home when the pretty sister returned. It was decided Viola should stay inside of the yard and wear a mask until she determined who of her 138 admirers pleased her best. Viola was in downright earnest, for those who know the strange girl well say that she Is good hearted and that her pillow was often wet with tears. " I would make them all happy," she often said, "but to be candid, I think I regard them all alike." Community Proud of Masked Beauty. The people of the community took It as a great Joke and were proud of the fact that western Texas could boast ol a young woman who possessed such a charmdng form and face she had to wear a mask to prevent men from be ing struck lovesick, Insane, or dumb of Infatuation. , With the mask and the troubled girl's determination to be good came Chance and Cupid as factors In her career. One fine evening a short time ago Harney Buford, a young gallant who had long worshiped Viola from a distance, hap ptned to be passing the Macintosh home when his attention was attracted by screams and shrltks that chilled hla bloody A woman Is being murdered," he thought as he sprang from his horse and ran into the house. Wild, blood curdling cries were followed by loud appeals for help. Barney saw members of tho family coming from every direction, but he could see no one about the house. Locating the trouble In the parlor, Barney threw the door open, fully expecting to see a monster cutting and slashing a woman to fragments. One can imagine the youth's surprise when he uw Viola standing upon a chair In the middle of the room with hey skirts drawn closely about her ankles. " O, thank heaven," she moaned when she saw Barney. "Come quick and rescue me from that awful thing before fall dead. Look, It is going to Jump on me now." Again she began to scream, wildly holding her hands, Imploringly towards the amazed youth. " What is It? Where; Is It?" shouted Barney. . " Look In the corner. See It. Hear It gnash its teeth. Look at Its awful tail. It Is about to spring. I am lost" With a wild wall she threw up her arms and began to fall towards Barney. Then Cupid Appeared as a Mouse. " Hold on, Viola," shouted the boy. " I will slay the mouse." " Kill It quick and I will love you forever." The girl's face was colorless and she was shivering as It ' she had an ague. Barney advanced a step. " Come on, come on, darling, and save me." "Will you love me, Viola?" " Yes, yes, forever." "And will you marry me, Viola?" " Yes, Indeed I will, Barney. Hear It gritting Its teeth, and fixing to choke me to death with Jts awful tail. Help.) I am lost." ' Will you marry me now this very day?" " Take me quick." " May I hold you until we are married?" The mouse ran across the floor and Viola fell into Bar ney's arms, earnestly shouting " Yes, yes." "Don't let her get away, Barney," yelled Papa Macin tosh. "Hold her hard and fast until I hitch up the carriage and we will go to town on n gallop." " O, I won't let her get away." repllod the happy youth. The whole family accompanied Viola to the residence of a minister. Papa Macintosh stood close to his wonderful daughter and he made her say " yes " three times loud and clear. As they were returning home In the family carriage one of the Macintosh sisters Imprudently said, " Barney, you are No. If)." " Shut up," exclaimed Viola, throwing her arms about the neck of her happy husband. " With all my soul and heart, Barney is No. ONE." theft which occasionally In this day and age evidences Itself In certain members of the best society. Substance is lent to this theory by the fact that Elizabeth's only reason for making conquests was apparently for the sole purpose or seeing men led captive to her charma. If the first Instinct of womankind Is to charm man, then tho queen had the In stinct developed to the last degree. As the ancient Roman emperors delighted to see their prisoners of war led In a long chained line behind their war chariots, so Elizabeth loved to see men of all kinds and classes trailing after her. The Romans made their prisoners the slaves of Mars; Eliza beth enslaved her victims in the chains of Venus. With her position in life what It was, In the beginning nature provided woman wltfi the powers to charm man and also the desire to do so. For then It was necessary that eacn woman win a man her own, and hers only, to build with his strength the rough cave In the hillside, to protect her wltn his strength from the saber toothed tiger and the cave bear, and to slay with his strength the food for the two. So It Is natural that a woman should forever since consider it one of the prime objects of her life to charm one man and to make that one man hers, to have and to hold. But with' Elizabeth the instinct was perverted. Like the butcher bird, who slays only for the fierce Joy of the kill, she made men love her only because of the desire to enslave them. Vanity Her Strongest Characteristic. Vanity and self-love, the marks of the real coquette to this day, were Integral parts of Elizabeth's character. She appreciated more than any one else her own supreme beauty, and she was at times fairly frantic that others, especially men who had taken her fancy, should not do the same. When once she had fully led a man into love with her she was satis fied. She wished hn, however, to go on loving her, but she turned her own attention to other and newer fields, WTien one ot the many men whom she had atone time or anothai played with married she promptly went into a fit ot temper that brought woe to all about her. It seemed Incredible to her that 'fter having loved a woman of her beauty any man should ca.e to wed a "common woman." In the choice of the men whom she marked as her victim tn matters of the heart sht was nyithtr finical nor critical. Of course the mujorlty ot her affairs were with men of the court, but it she saw any man without, be he commoner or prince, who stru her fancy, she promptly arranged to lay siege to him. Sometimes she evi n went so far as to appoint men to positions of trust In the kingdom that she might have them at court, and so have more opportunity to complete, her conquest I-HHI J ii.iiil '