“In the city and county of San Francisco, State of California, on the 25th day of August, A.D., 1880, I, Sarah Althea Hill, of the city and county of San Francisco, State of California, aged twenty-seven years, do here, in the presence of almighty God, take Senator William Sharon, of the State of Nevada, to be my lawful and wedded husband, and do here acknowledge and declare myself to be the wife of Senator William Sharon, of the State of Nevada.

SARAH ALTHEA HILL.

AUGUST 25, 1880, SAN FRANCISCO, CAL.”

* * * * *

“I agree not to make known the contents of this paper or its
existence for two years unless Mr. Sharon, himself, sees fit
to make it known.

SARAH ALTHEA HILL.”

* * * * *

“In the city and county of San Francisco, State of California, on the 25th day of August, A.D. 1880, I, Senator William Sharon, of the State of Nevada, aged sixty years, do here, in the presence of Almighty God, take Sarah Althea Hill, of the city and county of San Francisco, California, to be my lawful and wedded wife, and do here acknowledge myself to be the husband of Sarah Althea Hill.

WILLIAM SHARON,
Nevada.

    AUGUST 25, 1880.”

In his testimony Mr. Sharon contradicted every material statement made by Sarah Althea Hill.  He denied every circumstance connected with the alleged drawing up of the marriage contract.

He testified that on the 7th day of November, 1881, he terminated his relations with and dismissed her, and made a full settlement with her by the payment of $3,000 in cash, and notes amounting to $4,500.  For these she gave him a receipt in full.  He charged her with subsequently stealing that receipt at one of two or three visits made by her after her discharge.

It is unnecessary to review the voluminous testimony introduced by the parties in support of their respective contentions.  The alleged contract was clearly proven to be a forgery.  A number of witnesses testified to conversations had with Miss Hill long after the date of the pretended marriage contract, in which she made statements entirely inconsistent with the existence of such a document.  She employed fortune-tellers to give her charms with which she could compel Mr. Sharon to marry her, and this, too, when she pretended to have in her possession the evidence that she was already his wife.  Not an appearance of probability attended the claim of this bold adventuress.  Every statement she made concerning the marriage contract, and every step she took in her endeavor to enforce it, betrayed its false origin.