The comet. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1877-1882, 1881-12-03
A PRETTY ROMANCE,
How Poor Girl Captured % MiIiion.
aire.
MY. Cor. St. Louis Republican

| lncfc DItttJ uDOul
marriage OF William II. Vanderbilt,
Jr., to Miss Alva Smith, the story of
which is often told in upper tendon.
The young lady and her sisters were
attending school at FarmingCon Mass,
in Miss Porter's academy, whence
Nellie Grant was.expelled for insubor-
| dinatiou. Nellie Grant had counted
little too much upon the power of
the name Of her father whom she al
ways called Ulysses, and Miss Smith
first gained reputation by one of the
spirited girls who recognized no differ
ence between her father, very smart
speculator in New York, and the Ga
lena tanner, and she was the recog-
nized leader in the agitation which re-
suited in Miss Grants retirement, and
there has been ever since between the
two such II feud as very charming
women are capable Of.
While at school, Miss Smith sud-
denly received |ord that her father
had made an unlucky venture, that
his fortune had gone up in a balloon,
and that she and her sister must, at
the end of the term, then near its
close, go at once to the home Of their
grandmother in Virginia, there to re-
main until their father should sum-
mon them North again. This was
not suited at all TO the tastes of a
'demoiselle conscious of her own at
fractions. and she determined to
make venture for her own account.
She borrowed some money from her
teacher, and made an arrangement
with her to go to Richfield Springs for
u few weeks, so that when she appear
ed there she had as a duenna we'll
known instructress, and this piqued
the curiosity of the young men about
the resort. There was coterie Of
New York girls there.
A Miss t., daughter OF broker, a
Miss O., daughter Of rich brewer,
aud several others, who knew of the
misfortune of the Smiths, and who
also tried to make it appear that the
young Miss Smith no longer deserved
a place in the ranks of the vouvedu
richc, rs her father had 'gone up"
Mr.. VIM. Vanderbilt, Jr., came to the
Springs to attend ball, and the New
York girls were all in fiutter, because
each one desired to capture the son OF
the great millionaire. Miss Smith
took in the situation at a glance, but
she had nothing to wear, aud she had
only $40 in her purse. She proposed to
Miss T. to buy dress, and Miss r,
having a big stock of dresses and
small amount Of pin-money, Is ready
to oblige her.
She wasn't however, inclined to part
with anything that would be becom-
ing to Miss Smith, aud accordingly
she selected yellow silk with a wine
spot In front and TO sell that for Miss
Smiths $40, being assured that Miss
Smith, being more OF a blonde than a
brunette, would look "horrid" i'm yell
low. But Miss Smith paid the price,
and the fair dealer In secondhand clo'
chuckled over the bargain she made.
Her pleasure was turned to chagrin |
that evening, when Miss Smith APP
peared upon the ballroom floor queen |
Of beauty, and In that yellow silk, too. |
Instead Of putting white upon her face,
she had made her complexion brown,
and having borrowed lace mantilla |
from her teacher aud big black fan,
she came out the picture Of a bewitch- |
ing senorita.
Her coy glauccs shot into Mr. VAN
derbilt's heart. She tossed the soft |
ends of the martilla over her shoul- |
der, as she strolled the piazza, and |
used that fan most bewitchingly. The |
New York girls stood aghast, and
Miss T. shed a tear over the |
loss of her yellow silk dress, and
felt that she had been cheated,
for she never thought that the dress
looked SO well. The result was that |
Vanderbilt fell desperately in love,
pressed his suit, became all the more
ardent because Of the lady's studied
and was the happiest young |
anywhere when he gained
a kiss and the privilege Of putting ON
the finger of the senorita a diamond
ring. Mrs. Vanderbilt
at once visited Richfield Springs, was
by her prospective dsugter-
in-law, and invited her to spend the
summer with her.
The smart young girl, However,
that she had q dear, sweet
to whom she owed q
duty visit, and she must 60 their first.
Thifher she went, and taking an ac-
count Of stock, improved her ward
robe as q smart girl with little
money only can, and then she accept
ed the invitation Of her prospective
She conhded 70 her
the story Of the bitterness Of the fash-
Ionabls New York girls who were %
RnxIuus 10 get her expccted husband,
md the result was that the mother
had hef pride touched, and abe af
once cut the Is and O's, much 10 the 4
Of the families afore-