The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-06-30
AMERICAN HEIREssES.

AMERICAN HEIRESHES.
D.B Locks Letter from Rome in Toledo Blade.
italy is swarming with nobility, whose
principal business it is TO marry
American and English heiresses. The
mobiles of Italy are, as a rule, poor as
church mice He generally has a palace
in which the Jew who has mortgage
on it permits him to live, and he has the
old family pictures and plate and objects
of art. He lives by gambling partly
and partly by selling the pictures which
his ancestors accumulated, but his final
hope is an American heiress. He knows
that, despite our pretense of democracy
every woman is an aristocrat at heart,
and, like an Englishman, dearly loves
a lord
Miss Matilda Jones, whose papa
made lucky strike in oil or invented a
patent pig yoke, or something of the
kind, made large money and sent his
daughter to Vassar, and subsequently, to
Europe, Now there is nothing under
the blue canopy that Matilda would so
like as to be ''the proud BRIDE of a
Ducal Coronet" 1t would make all
the other girls of Porkville die of envy
should she return a Countess or a
Duchess, or with any handle to her
name So she makes a judicious parade
of her wealth. in which her proud, but
very foolish father and her still more
foolish mother second her, for they, too,
have their pride in the matter.
1t is these Matthias. with their
oil-gained wealth, that the Counts are
after. They prefer Americans to other
nationalities, for Americans of this class
hunger for title, and are determined to
have one and are willing to pay for it.
Miss Matilda had it in her mind when
she set foot upon the steamer that bore
her from her native shore, and it increased
with every revolution of the wheel. She
determined to go home with title. She
cast her net in England, but without
success, for the English are not a
nation of beggars, and with all his fault
the English nobleman is anything but a
mere vulgar fortunehunter. In Germany
they meet with equal i'll success for the
same reasons; but in Italy they can
succeed if theywillc Noblemen are almost
so plenty in Sunny Italy as priests
and beggars, and there are but very few
of them who wouldn't marry 6
Ashantee negress if she had money
enough.
1t commences when they strike Venice
and the speculation is finished by
the time they reach Florence. They
don't have to seek the alliance--it is q
footrace between score of Counts as to
who shall first lay siege to the old mans
money. They make love to the stupid
girl, they fiatter the stupid girls still more
stupid mother-the only being of any
sense in the quarter being the father,
who occasionally has his misgivings, buf
the two woman, and his own pride, ar
always too much for him and he yields.
A bargain is struck, bargain, mine
you. There is no delicacy about it or
the Counts part, He insists upon a Ger
tain sum, $50 600, 500 000, 5000, 600
being settled upon him; not upon the
wife, but upon him, his to do with as hi
pleases, and spend as he chooses. And
the foolish people do it, and the marriage
takes place. The Count pays off sucf
debts as he must, he never pays a cent
that he can avoid. fresh flock of harpise
gather around him, he refurnishes the
palace, he pays little attention to hi
wife, the Countess, for few weeks
and then returns to his designations with
fresh vigor, having money to dissipate
with, and after year or two, the money
being spent, the hearbroken girl returns
to her parents across the water, +
| Countess, it is true, but heartbroke1
abased woman, who has paid very dearly
for her shortlived glory and her i'll judged
ambition -#
Count The woods are full of them
You couldn't throw stone without its
descending upon the head of a Count
and one couldn't put very heavy stones tt
much better use.
They rather prefer an opera singer o.
celebrated actress to an American
fortune provided the artistic has saved
her money and has as much as th'
American girls to start with. Fol
when the American girls dowry is gon
| that is the end of it; but tie singer o
actress talent is mine that may b
worked many years. 1t doesn't matter
that her reputation may be somewha
soiled, and that all she wants husband
for is as protection for lover as muct
as for the title The worst of them cal
marry an Italian nobleman at any time
who will be the most accommodating 0
husbands, so long as he is provided will
money enough. And when she tires Of
him completely, and is fixed on her
position, he is to be gotten rid of quit
as easily as he was taken on. As in tn
case of marriage, it is only question 0
money-a certain sum paid down, and h
consents to leave her to herself and he
last fanco. They are most complaisan
set of men.
1t isn't necessary to inherit the title a
all. You can buy it if you choose, wit
castle and mortgaged estate thrown il
, A real nobleman, an Enlish noblema
who can show descent from long lin
of robbers, is bad enough, but thes
pinchback Italian vermin, thes
mustachioed, scented beringed fellow
who are trying to trade their titles TO
the means to gamble upon, they ar
enough to turn the stomach of almos
anybody's sense. Old Jones, with hi
oilsmelling dollar is Prince beside ther
His money was honestly earned, at a
events, and hehas done the world som
good. What these fellows were create
for is as much mystery as the use c
mosquitoes or rattlesnakes.
|