Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-01-20

stitutionally incapable ofhandlipg money
without saving some Of il, was any
tnlng but inadequate TO the style IN which
she wished to live in Europe. Her father,
In his VIII, gave her out of his vast prop
erty only eight houses in the city of Bal
tlmore, mentioning sternly his reason
her dlsobedient and undutiful conduct.
But by unexpected appreciation of the
property and brilliant tinanciering this
modest estate swelled to $I500,000 when
NINE. Bonaparte died in 1879. In these
last years she used sometimes to exclaim ::
"Once had everything but money; now
l have nothing but money"
her views OF life were invariably pessi-
mistic, but she was not always able to
give up the pleasures she condemned. In
one of her earlier letters she wrote: 81
am tired of living and tired of having
llyed.DO get me string OF white topazes.
She says OF ner son:
They tell him he IS a beauty, which is
a KIND ofpraise that never made any one
happier or BETTER"
Inc woman who could unconsciously
make this epigram in an everyday letter,
"Ihe taY0rites OF nature are seldom those
OF fortune" might be trusted to speak her
mind freely when she meant to. She took
occasion to shock her father very much
by saying OF venerable relative:
Aunt ever was an old hypOcrite, and
her conduct on this occasion proves that
deceit and wickedness will go with her TO
the other world"
Her comments on Americans then in
Paris must be nice reading for their de-
scendants, now people OF the highest fash
ion IN New York. OF the Astors she says:
Mrs. Astor is here, delighted with mat
rimony and French funds. = Mr.
Astor seems, poor man, to be
afflicted by the possession Of a fortune he
had more pleasure in amassing than he
ever can have III spending. He is ambi-
tlous, too, for his daughter, to whom ma
ture has been as penurious as fortune has
been the reverse" Later she says: Mr..
Ast0r has at length succeeded in marry
ing his daughter and mentions $500, 900
as the price paid. OF the Gallatins she
says:
u believe the little prospect they have
OF marrying their daughter in Paris was
the only consideration which reconciled
the ladies to going home"
Ot the Cations, granddaughters OF
Charles Carroll OF Carroiton, one Of whom
married the Marquis OF Wellesley (brotn-
er OF the Duke OF Wellington another the
future Duke OF Leeds, and the third the
Earl OF Stafford, she says: 'Hhe Cations
are not yet married, which, considering
their perseVerlng endeaVOrs and invinci-
bic courage, rather surprises me-" Again
she says:
The Duke [of Wellington is said to be
tired of the C.'s Catonsl, but tired or not
they pursue him, and until he gets them
husbands he never will be rid of them"
After the grand marriages had aiken
place the announcement, which must be
peculiarly pleasing to their descendants.i is
made:"I suppose people viii now see that
Mrs. Cation was right in starving herself
to keep her daughters IN Europep' She
complained that people talked about moth
ing in Baltimore except births, marriages
and deaths, and said that her mind had
long been decided on these three points
namely, that it was misery TO be born,
and that she had painfully experienced
marriage without lessening her fear of
death. She told her father that she had
particularly Jolly time once on a vessel.
There were i've widows on board, aud all
just as well satisfied as If they had been
settled at home with husbands state
ment calculated TO hOrrify Mr.. Patterson.
When her father preached economy to her
she tartly replied that she had observed
all over the globe, and in all families, a
great scarcity OF money.
After her last return from Europe about
1919, a rapid change took place. For a
time she was the brilliant Nine. Bona
last absorbing her. For few years she
loved TO wear her hneTy, and shOne at the
Virginia springs, and occasionally in So
ciety IN Baltimore, and she once paid
Visit to Virginia to her relatives there,
when she was treated with much distinc-
ton, although she gave some offence by
announcing that she had brought only her
old clothes with her, as it was "a good
chance to wear them out. But she soon
came to be a mere mOney-maker. Then
this woman. who had claimed ALWAYS
"the glorious privilege OF charming"
went about Baltimore dressed in shabby
odds and ends, collecting her rents, in
yestlng her money-a mean, sOrdiQ, hag-
gard old woman, She never employed an
agent in managing her vast property, and
she was considered the sharpest bargain
er in the State of Maryland. She ALWAYS
carried in one hand red cotton umbrel-
la and in the other a bag containing her
valuables. She lived for many years with
two ladies, the Misses G vim, who kept "a
boarding house first on Charles street and
afterward moved to tine corner of Cathe-
dral and Reed streets. In this house,
which had once belonged to one Of sthe
Cation sisters, Nine. BOnaparte's early ri
walls, she died. che had one room, and
that not good one, Uttered up with
trunks containing every scrap of finery
she had ever had in her life. She always
wore bonnet at meals, and her general
appearance was that OF a witch of toe
dark ages. Her mind retained It's spright-
Illness, however, and even her shrunk and
withered features showed some traces OF
early and splendid loneliness. She dis
played great affection toward niece OF
hers, widow, not very well off and with
family 10 provide for. She always said:
"Sophy, ! have remembered you in my
will" and repeated this many times IN
her last days when she monOpolized So
phys time and attention. Bot when she
died there was no mention OF SophY, and
the BOnaparte brothers mad2me's grand
sOns) munlhcently remembered S0phy's
long and unrewarded devotion to the
tune OF $500 each out OF the million and
half left them by their grandmother. On
April A, 1879, died Betsy Patterson Bona
parte in her 9jth year-an awful sermon
on the vanity of yanities.
Interesting Lecture.