River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1882-01-26
A PRETTY ROMANCE.
How a Poor Girl Captured Million
aire.--A story Often Told in New
York Upper Tendon

How a Poor Girl Captured Million
aire.--A story Often Told in New
York Upper Tendon
A New York correspondent tells this
story of how William III. Vanderbilt,
the railroad magnate, won his wife:
There is very pretty romance about
the marriage of William III. Vanderbilt,
Jr., 10 Miss Alva Smith, the story OF
which is oftea told in upper tendon.
The young lady and her sisters were
attending school at Pennington, Mass,
in Miss Porter's academy, whence Nell
lie Grant was expelled for insubordina-
ton. While at school Miss Smith
suddenly received word 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, ahen near its close, go at
once to the home of their grandmother
in Virginia, there to remain until their
father could summon them North again.
This was not suited at all TO the tastes
ola mademoiselle conscious of her own
attractions, 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
few weeks, so that when she appear
ed there she had as duenna we'll
known instructress, and this piqued
the curiosity of the young men about
the resort. There was a coterie of
New York girls there. A Miss t.,
daughter of a broker, Miss
O., daughter of rich brewer, and
several others, who knew of the misfor
tune of the Smiths, and who also tried
to make it appear that the young Miss
Smith no longer deserved place in the
ranks of the nouveau richie. as her
father had "gone up" Mr.. William
Vanderbilt, Jr., came up to the Springs
to attend ball, and the New York
girls were all in a futter, because each
one desired to capture the son of the
great millionaire. Miss Smith took in
the situation at glance, but she had
nothing to wear, and she had only $40
in her purse. She proposes to Miss
T. to buy dress, and Miss t, hav-
ing big stock of dresses and small
amount of pin-money, was ready to
oblige her. She wasn't, however, in
clined to part with anything that would
be becoming to Miss Smith, and accord
ingly she selected yellow silk with a
wine-spot in front, and offered to sell
that for Miss Smiths forty dollars, be-
ing assured that Miss Smith, being
more of a blonde than a brunette,
would look "horrid" in yellow. But
Miss Smith paid the price, and the fair
dealer in secondhand clothes chuckled
over the bargain she made. Her
pleasure was turned to chagrin that
evening when Miss Smith appeared
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 and big
black fan, she came out the picture
of a bewitchipg senorita. Her coy
chances shot into the Vanderbilt heart.
She tossed the soft ends of the mantilla
over her shoulder, as she strolled the
piazza, and used that fan most be-
witchingly. The New York girls stood
aghast, and Miss T. shed tear over
the loss of her yellow silk, and felt that
she had been cheated, for she never
thought that the dress looked so well.
The result was that Vanderbilt fell des-
perately in love, pressed his suit, be-
carse all the more ardent because of
the lady's studied hesitapcy, and was
the happiest young millionaire any
where when he gained kiss and the
privilege of putting on the finger of
the senorita a diamond engagement
ring. Mrs. Vanderbilt at once visited
Rchfeld Springs, was charmed by her
prospective daughter-in-law, and in
vited her to spend the summer with
ner. The smart young girl, however,
pleaded that she had dear, sweet
grandmama in Virginia to whom she
owed duty visit. and she said she
must go there first. Thither she went,
and taking an account of stock, inn
proved her wardrobe as 8 smart girl
with little money only can, and
then she accepted the invitation
of her prospective mother-in-law.
She confided to her the story of
the bitterness of the fashionable New
York girls who were SO anxious to get
her expected husband, and the result
was that her mother had her pride
touched, and she at once cut the rs
and O's, much to the CONSERVATION of
the families aforesaid. Well, all went
WELL The millionaire married the
pretty girl of the yellow silk dress and
the black lace mantilla, and they are
now living happily upon the avenue.