The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1888-03-21
PALACES OF NEW YORK.
THE WAY IN WHICH AMERICAN
CRGSUSES ARE HOUSED.

CRGsUsEs ARE HOUSED.
The Dwellings of People Who Have Near
ly .sll the Money they Want-some Inter-
esting Facts.
Special correspondence OF the American.)
New YORK, March 15.-The other day
L met gentleman who is an authority
on a subject OF peculiar interest. "You
see how many foreigners" he said, 'tare
coming over Lere every year to marry
our young American heiresses. You
hear Of American millionaires buying the
antique and historic furniture and decor
a5ions Of Europe. You see men of
wealth living here in New York in a
style that few OF the nobility Of Europe
can emulate. What does it mean? It
means that the drift OF wealth is towards
this country. It means that the star not
only of political empire but of financial
power Westward takes its way.
In Ireland, in England and on the
continent the nobility are going to the
wall. The feudal system was like
great comet; it disappeared centuries
ago, but it's luminous trail was stretched
across the intervening epochs to the
present time, and even this IS now dying
out.
D. O. Mills, the well-known million
aire, paid more than $500, 900 for the in
terror decorations of his New York
palace, with its inlaid woods, mosaic
work, carved woods of every description,
ceilings of painted canvas and hundred
other items of luxurious ornamentation
which would have astonished a Doge of
Venice or Lorenzo de Medici.
Among the other notable mansions,
which, indeed, are veritable palaces, are
*hose of VIM. K. Vanderbilt, Cornelius
Vanderbilt, John D. Rockefeller, who
ma !e his fortune by driving everybody
else out Of the kerosene oil business;
Judge Henry Hilton, who owes his
fortune to the late A. T. Stewart; Mrs.
". II. Vanderbilt, Robert and Ogden
Goelet, descendants Of a successful mer-
chant; John Jacob Astor, VIM. B. Astor,
Henry CleWs, whose palace ranks fourth
among the dwellings Of New York mil
lionaires; Mayor Abraham s. Hewett,
who lives on Lexington avenue, in
house inherited from the late Peter
Cooper, and which he has converted into
palace; Mrs. r. L. Stuart, the widow
of the millionaire sugar-refner; Henry
G. Marquand and Secretary of the Navy
Whitney, not to mention others.
And, by the way, there is little story
connected with the house occupied by
Secretary Whitney which illustrates
peculiar phase of New York life. It was
formerly the residence of Mrs. Frederick
W. Stevens. She is the daughter of one of
the old auctioneers OF New York, named
Sampson, who died years ago, leaving
her an income of 100000 a year. She
married Frederick Stevens, who was a
poor lawyer, and several children were
born to them. They lived in compare
tive happiness until IL an unlucky mo-
ment she received visit from the
Marquis de Talleyrand, grandson of
the celebrated political trickster OF the
great Napoleon's day. The talk OF so
ciety concerning the sentiments enter
tanned by the auctioneers daughter for
the titled Frenchman, need not be re-
peated, bnt the gossips did not fail to
remark that not long after the return OF
the Marquis de Talleyrand to France,
the acctloneer's daughter decided that
there was something in the climate OF
Europe, especially OF I rance, absolutely
essential to the preservation 81 her
health. She went to Europe, leaving
her husband here; and for several years,
it is stated, maintained relations with
the sweet-scented sprig of French noblll-
ty which need not be particularized.
Then she came back to this country, and
in wonderful court at Newport, OBJ
taincd divorce from her husband on
the ground of ':neglect and incompati-
bility OF temperament. )" This legal
miracle accomplished, she returned to
France and became the wife of the Mar
quis de Talleyrand. The father of this
model French guest, to introduce into
American homes, was too poor to prop
erly maintain his ducal title, and he
therefore re- inquished it in favor OF his
son, who had been SO successful In
sparing rich and ambitious woman In
the matrimonial waters, and now the
auctioneer's daughter is Duchess OF
France. To be sure, the title only goes
back to the First Napoleon, who manu-
factured titles in order to fill up his
par7enue court, but the lady is never
theless Duchesse.
Her New York palace occupied four
lots at the corner Of Fifth avenue and
Fiftv-seveneth street, where ordinary
gravel is about as valuable as gold dust.
When she finally took up her abode in
Paris, she offered the residence for sale,
and it was bought by O. R. Payne, one
OF the Standard Oil corporation, for
S6OO,OO He presented it to his sister,
the wife of the present Secretary OF the
Navy. And it may be added that on the
birth of Mrs. Whitneys first child, he
presented to the mother, to be held IN
trust for the youngster, the sum OF one
million dollars. Secretary Whltney's
palatial home in New York is said to be
furnished in princely style.
The most luxuriously furnished house
on the continent, however, is that of
Wn. X. Vanderbilt, at the corner OF
Fifth avenue and Fifty-second street.
The houses of the Astors, in respect to
artistic decoration and refined luxury,
are distinctly inferior to those OF many
people of far less wealth. A few years
ago there were only two or three notable
dwellings in New York. They were
JlJ, ,,onejone-that is houses with 8