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 17  Pearls before Swine: Poetry, Murder, and the McDonalds THE MATURE, GOLDEN YEARS OF MCDONALD’S LIFE WERE AT hand—he was healthy, robust, and going about his business in the usual ways. Dora provided him with marital pleasures he had not known in many a year; the period of loneliness was over, and now came a redemption of spirit and the chance to feel young, vigorous, and alive again. Grandpa McDonald passed away in 1895. Unlike Mary, who traced the downfall of her marriage to the old man’s meddling, the young bride was fortunate not to have to put up with Grandpa’s intolerable habits and persistent demands year after year. The difference in age between Mike and Dora never seemed to be a problem to the love-struck McDonald; it was his personal triumph—the opinions of others were of no consequence. He refused to listen to the malicious gossip of the Ashland Boulevard mainliners who saw in this union a foolish old man embarrassing himself with a West Side Jewess divorcee from amateur vaudeville. The new Mrs. McDonald pretended not to hear the opinions of snobs either as she put on fine airs of her own. A daily parade of delivery men from the Carson, Pirie, Scott department store and the other fashionable downtown boutiques carted boxes loaded with expensive gowns, fur coats, and accessories to her front door. Rich, spoiled, and pampered, money was her god. Her African American maid, Mary Magruder, who dressed her each morning, said she doubted that her mistress even knew how to lace up her high-buttoned shoes if she had to. Most evenings, the husband and wife drove about the city in their handsome brougham; their carriage excursions and the soothing sound of hooves on cobblestone were a part of the simple, unadulterated joys of daily living McDonald had denied himself for far too long. 203 204 Pearls before Swine They attended the city’s annual horse show and opera performances at McVicker’s and were first-nighters at all of the major theatrical performances. The couple proudly rode in the 1901 Derby Day procession to Washington Park— the gala event of the season reserved for the highest order of old-line wealth, the elegant men in high silk hats and beautiful women in dazzling gowns. They earned respectful praise in the society pages for the exquisite appearance of their eight-spring victoria carriage. The mansion was abuzz with gaiety and chatter. The McDonalds entertained lavishly. Performers and politicians sipped cordials before the fireplace and enjoyed the formal dinners and evening soirees. Edna Coblentz, the amazing “child elocutionist” and vaudeville prodigy who, as an adult, was to gain worldwide renown as “Jacques Marchais,” a collector of Tibetan works of art and the founder of a museum on Staten Island dedicated to the art and culture of Tibet, was invited to the McDonald home to entertain and delight Mike’s dinner guests. “My mother brought me down to Chicago for a weekend to entertain a big party of people at the home of Mike McDonald, the millionaire gambler of Chicago,” she wrote in her memoirs. “He and his second wife ‘Dora the Jewess’ became so fond of me that they had me down weekends from school as often as they could secure permission for me to leave.”1 Dora supported all of the major Jewish charities and balls, and with her husband, the devout Catholic, at her side, she made a grand appearance at a retinue of social functions connected to her synagogue and various causes. The society columns reported that Dora wore a white flannel dress with “Bertha of Holly” and made a stunning appearance at the 1895 Rex Masked Ball at the Auditorium Theater benefiting the Jewish Manual Training School. It has long been alleged that Mike converted to the Jewish faith to demonstrate his devotion to Dora, but it seems more likely that the reverse was true. Dora had received convent training at some point in her early life, and she was very impressed by Irish Catholic traditions, the ancient Celtic music, and the rituals of the High Mass. McDonald catered to Dora’s every whim and obliged her parents, son, and siblings. He formally adopted little Harold and secured a position for his new brother-in-law, Harry Feldman, in the office of City Clerk William Loeffler. Harry was in the middle of a number of controversies and constantly under a shadow of suspicion as an...

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