St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-03-18
WHITE HOUSE QUEEN.
Dame Rumor Asserts That the President
Will Take as His Wife Miss Van
Vechten,
A Charming Young Miss Who Moves in
the First Society Circles of the City
of Albany.
The Romantic Story of Her Tardy Ac-
ceptance of the Hand OF an AL
bany Youth.
Mr.. Cleveland Celebrates His Forty
Ninth Birthday Former Presi-
dents Ages.
To Wed the Chief.
Special to the Globe.

Special to the Globe
BOSTON, Mass, March 17.-The story
comes from Albany, says the Herald. that
President Cleveland is engaged to marry
Miss Van Vechten, young lady who may
justly lay claim to being the social leader of
that city. The young lady is tall and most
beautiful in face and figure, and she has
many charms and graces of manner. The
circle In which she moves is one of the
most exclusive in the United States. The
nigh society Of Albany is unquestionably
the most difficult to penetrate of any in the
country, and Miss Van Vechten is its CEN
tral star. She lives in a splendid house
that IS situated directly across the street
from the executive mansion, where M.
Cleveland, when he was in Office. could
without difficulty have looked into Miss
Van Vechten's window. The lady has a
rich complexion, dark eyes and wealth of
waving blonde hair. There is a quite strik-
ing resemblance between her and
MISS JENNIE CHAMBERLAIN,
the beautiful Cleveland girl, whose personal
attractiveneSs has been the talk of Europe
tor year or two back. When Mr.. Cleve-
land was governor of New York state. he
frequently met Miss Van Vechten at the
various receptions which occurred in
the executive mansion and elsewhere
IN Albany, and he exhibited a
marked preference for her society. 1t is
indeed, said that he took every possible
occasion TO be at her side, and it is now
noticed that she is spending great deal of
her time IN Washington, where few, if any,
OF the special gatherings of which the pres
ldent IS feature are allowed to go by
without her presence. She is the lady who
VIII be remembered as one of the personages
concerned in curious story, which had a
tragic ending only a few months ago.
Ihere is IN Albany young gentleman OF
great wealth, named Pruyn. Miss Van
Nechten was at one time apparently much
attached to him, and when she went away
to the Adirondacks for the season he
PROPOSED FOR HER HAND.
She considered the matter for day. and
then, wishing to take plenty of time for ths
tnal making up of her mind on a mattes
destined to affect her whole life, she asked
Mr.. Pruyn to wait for his answer until the
end of the summer season. He
urged her to consent without
further delay, but she was firm in
her decision on that point and passed on
her way. Mr.. Pruyn went to the White
mountains to spend his summer, and while
there he met the family of a New England
S4OASy mall w NItn Ou6 OI luS TWO charming
daughters he fell desperately in love, and
meanwhile, it is said, Miss Van
Vechten accepted his proposal of marriage.
In reply he wrote a frank letter, telling
here of the change that had come over him.
and she, with wOmanly generosity, released
him from his bargain. Thereupon he be-
came engaged to the clergymen's daughter.
THE ENGAGEMENT
was most desirable one to the minister's
family by reason of young Mr.. Pruyn's
wealth, social standing, and pleasant per-
sonal traits. The young lady seemed to be
highly pleased with the situation and her
father, mother and sister most
cordially urged the suit of the
young Albanian. A day was
finally set for the ceremony. Just on the
eve OF its approach the prospective bride
eloped and went to Europe with a young
cotton broker of New York, with whom She
had fallen desperately in love. The
results of that act have beer
extraordinary. The clergyman il
reported to have become a mental wreck,
and l believe the mother and second daugh-
ter are both dead. Young NJ. Pruyn was
terribly broken up by this series of events,
and the talk at Albany socially is that he is
going through life at gait not calculated t(
extend the term of his earthly career. The
part played by Miss Van Vechten in thif
tragic affair was at all times dignifed anG
womanly, and if fate has been unkind to
Mr.. Pruyn, it appears at least to have cons
tented itself with treating him to dose OF
his own medicine.