Dora Williams

When Reuben Painter ran away and threw me
I went to Springfield. There I met a lush,
Whose father just deceased left him a fortune.
He married me when drunk. My life was wretched.
A year passed and one day they found him dead.
That made me rich. I moved on to Chicago.
After a time met Tyler Rountree, villain.
I moved to New York. A gray-haired magnate
Went mad about me--so another fortune.
He died one night right in my arms, you know.
(I saw his purple face for years thereafter.)
There was almost a scandal. I moved on,
This time to Paris. I was now a woman,
Insidious, subtle, versed in the world and rich.
My sweet apartment near the Champs Elysees
Became a center for all sorts of people,
Musicians, poets, dandies, artist, nobles,
Where we spoke French and German, Italian, English.
I wed Count Navigato, native of Genoa.
We went to Rome. He poisoned me, I think.
Now in the Campo Santo overlooking
The sea where young Columbus dreamed new worlds,
See what they chiseled: "Contessa Navigato
Implora eterna quiete."

Dora Williams Questions:
1. Describe her lifestyle.
2. What is suggested by her seeing "a purple face for years"?
3. How did she die?
4. Explain what was chiseled for her.

Dora Williams

This poem may be based on the experiences of the Masters' sister, Madeline Masters Stone (1870-1932). Her first husband died in 1907. Later she traveled a lot in Europe, where she married a fortune-hunting Danish diplomat.