On March 16, 1898, Paul Laurence Dunbar appeared at a church benefit in Washington, D. C., ten days after secretly marrying Alice Ruth Moore in New York City.
The Metropolitan A. M. E. church will give a grand literary and musical entertainment Wednesday evening, March 16, for the benefit of the church. Senator Mason, of Illinois, will deliver an address. The U. S. Marine band will furnish the music while Paul Laurence Dunbar, Mrs. Alice Strange Davis and Miss Sarah E. Sanders will render selections. The public is cordially invited.
"City Paragraphs." The Colored American (Washington, D. C.). March 12, 1898. Page 6.
Paul was ill during the event, as he described in a letter to his new wife. Alice was a teacher in Brooklyn and she wanted to wait until the school year ended before joining her husband in Washington. That meant the Dunbars had to keep their marriage a secret since married women of the era were not allowed to teach school.
The cold I took in New York merged into grip. For nearly a week I have had to have my eyes sponged open every morning. I am chock full of cold and scared at the prospect of pneumonia. I made a hit at Metropolitan the other evening when Senator Mason spoke. He expressed himself as very much pleased with Yours Vainly, but immediately after, all the marplots and killjoys came up and told me how badly I looked and worried me to be careful as they didn't want to lose me. I thought of a little girl in New York who would say the same.
Paul Laurence Dunbar to Alice Moore Dunbar, March 18, 1898. Paul Laurence Dunbar Papers, Ohio History Connection (Microfilm edition, Roll 8).
Alice told Paul she wished she could be there to take care of him during his illness, and promised that their separation would seem to pass quickly.
I know you are tired and sick and need your wife to nurse you and give you that mustard foot-bath that her heart yearns for. Paul, my husband, I do love you more than you believe and I would like to come to you at once, but can't you see, dear, that honor, duty, will keep me here a month or two longer. It sounds awfully, but we will write each other every day, and the time will fly. I close my eyes and fairly tremble with expectant ecstasy when I think of the day when you and I can at last shut the world out, and clasping me in your arms, you will say -- trite, but oh so beautiful -- "Alone at Last."
Alice Moore Dunbar to Paul Laurence Dunbar, March 16, 1898. Paul Laurence Dunbar Papers, Ohio History Connection (Microfilm edition, Roll 8).
On the same day as Paul's recital and Alice's letter, an unidentified man wrote to Alice from Washington. He knew details of Alice's romantic history, but was unaware of her secret marriage to Paul.
I heard that you have been very ill. Is that really so? I know your dear boy went up to see you a few days ago, and he came [back] with all sorts of things. Your illness was transmitted to him. A few days ago I saw him for the first time in my life. You know how surprised I was? I thought of you immediately. He is a raw genius. Well, this is your thousandth love affair. Your love is like the chaff which the wind driveth away. I shall never forget the day at Soper's Park. That was a day of days. I have often repented for my folly, but how could I resist the action when I loved you so much and was so very jealous?
That fellow Steward said how well you loved him. I told him, wait and see. It is only a matter of time. Time changes all things. There must be some new attraction. Hugging and kissing gets to be monotonous. You must either marry or you must do something. I suppose that you are giving Steward a "heart depressant." I suppose he thought that you were loving him blindly. Yes if you had a southern boy stuck to you like Steward and he knew that you were engaged to someone else, why he would ask both of you for your cards for a duel.
Say dear, you must inform me whether you are going to tie the knot at an early date or more remotely, so I can save up for [a] present. I don't see what you want to marry for. You can last without love. I'll love you for just a little while until you can get someone to take my place. How will that suit?
Dolph to Alice Moore Dunbar, March 16, 1898. Paul Laurence Dunbar Papers, Ohio History Connection (Microfilm edition, Roll 8).