Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-07-08
A DETHRONED DYNASTY.
Mrs. sprague's sAmbItIon-Her Expec-
fatiOn of Being the First Lady In

Mrs. Sprague's AmbItAOn-Her Expec-
tatiOn of Being the First Lady In
the Land.
The New York correspondent of the
Louisville ColTier-J Journal writes as TO-
lows:
1 saw yesterday q corres pondent's de-
scription of Mrs. Kate Chase Sprsgue's
house at Narragsnsett, the fashionable sea-
side resort in Rhode Island. l. con-
tains eighty rooms and is mag
n.fcently furnished, and is Of course
filled with choice works of art. Mrs.
Sprsgue has all which ought to make life
uesirable-weslth, beauty, grace and sc-
complisbments yet | doubt not the May
morning on which her father was found un-
conscious In his room, with no hope Of
his recovery possible, has darkened
her life forever, and though
time may alleviate her gri
at the loss of her father, Of whom she was
so proud aud to whom she was so de-
voted, yet nothing can ever cure the pain
from the mortal wound her ambition has
received. Mrs. Sprague is thoI Ioughly su-
bilious. It has not been because of mere
personal vanity that she has perfected her
self as q woman of tEe world and q
queen of society. 1t WAS not the desire
to facinate and deli2ht merely for the sake
of the homage it brought her that induced
her to study every graceful pose, and school
herself in courtly language and brilliant re-
partee. She for years prepared herself,
using al the advantages wealth gave
her TO cultivate her really
remarkable talents for a social ruler, in the
fond expectation of being one day the pre-
siding lady at the White House. Mr.. Chsse
was credited with an overweening desire TO
be the Chief Magistrate, yet believe that
this was less due to his own ambition than
to his eld=r daughters. a gentleman who
acte as one of Mr.. Chsse's chief agents
during the campaign prior to the nomina-
ton OF Seymour in 1858, has told me how
throughout Mrs. Sprsgue was taken into
consultation, how high were er hopes, and
how constantly her father spoke of her In
connection with his success or failure. When
he thought success certain, as he did until
tue very day Seymour received the nOmina-
tiOn, be rejoiced most of all for the JOY it
would give Mrs. Sprague, aud, when the
certainty Of failure was made known to him,
his first words were: "Does Mrs. Spragu4
know ? " When told she did, "And how
does she bear it , he inquired. He seemed
more relieved that the bad news did not
overwhelm her. When Mrs. Sprague WAS
told che manifested wonderful self control,
but evidently the blow was severe. She
said little, but that little, albeit it was calmly
spoken, showed the violence of the shock
she had received.
With her father, Mrs. Sprague's ambition
to be The lsdy of the White House must ne
cessarily have died. She can not hope to
have her husband place Der there. Not
even her powerful personal influence and
talent for diplomacy, added to his unbouTd-
ed wealth, can procure the Presidency for
Senator Sprague. | doubt il Mrs. Sprague
passes much time in Washington hereafter.
For nearly three years after The disappoint-
meBt wrought by Seymour's nomination
she was there but seldom, and, even when
her days Of mourning for her fathers death
are ever, it is scarcely probable she will care
to resume her cid life in the city where she
had hoped to be the caief lady. She is a
wonderful woman. There are few women
of whom history tells Us who, united with
so much beauty and grace, have had so
powerful 3 mind and so much genius for
ruliug,