St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-09-03
JUvENILITY LOVED BY AGE
The Darlings Embraced by the Old
Men.
THE SHOWER OF GOLD.
Beauty, Innocence and Youth Remorse-
lessly Sacrificed to the Al
mighty Dollar.

Long before and since old Sir Peter
Teazle in the comedy bewailed the fate
of an old man who marries a
young wife, society has been startled
from time to time by such unnatural
unions, writes David Wechsler in the
Kansas City Journal. But now there
appears to be an epidemic of such mar
riages. Within the past two weeks an
old man has died, leaving beautiful
widow of twenty-three with fortune
of millions. He was Christopher Meyer,
of New York, the great rubber manu-
facturer. He was seventy-six years
old. Coming to this country from Ger
many poor lad, he managed to accu-
mulate fortune of from SS,000,6OO to
Sl2,0OO,OOO. His family numbers seven;
the eldest son is forty-fve.
Old Meyer was by no means pleas
ant person socially, but after his first
wife's death he was considered great
catch, and many were the schemes OF
maneuvering mothers to catch him for
their daughters. But the young and
lovely Miss Effice Chase. the daughter
of New Yorker, with Baltimorean
connections, appeared on the scene and
at once captured the millionaire. Miss
Chase was poor but beautiful. She was
ga poem" as she appeared raviShlngly
attired in white at fashionable churcn
in Madison avenue as maid of honor
at a friends wedding. She was
but twenty then. A year afterWard
she became Mrs. Meyer, with palace
on Fifth avenue and superb country
house at New Brunswick, n. j. Now
= hot ha hnc ha nd ic 1aoH and she has
the command of millions, she will prob
ably go abroad and marry, la Mrs.
Hammersley, some prince or nObleman.
While not in society here or recognized
by Mr.. McAllister's 400, with her beauty
and accomplishments, apart from her
wealth, she would be an ornament
to the most fashionable and re-
fined circles. The Earl of Dudley,
whose late father, by the way, at
seventy years of age, with a grOWn-up
family, married a girl of eighteen, has
expressed his intentions of wedding an
American woman. The earl is wealthy
young man, who has just attained his
majority. and the widow Meyer would
make a very suitable countess. When
Miss Chase became engaged to Mr..
Meyer, his sons and daughters were up
in arms, and to add to the old Creus'
lUISGIN Miss AnllClbC OtilCHShs iiNNS
of General ''Poker" Schenck, formerly
United States minister to Eng
and, commenced suit for breach
of promise of marriage, asking 100000
for damaged affections. The Schenck
party did not hesitate to inSinuate that
Miss Chase married to save her father
from ruin, and that the union was in
the nature of business transaction.
The ancient Meyer had shown Miss
Schenck some attention, although she
was almost ION the SHELF" and not a
raving beauty. Her woes are said to
have been sOothed by the payment OF
$4,000. The welded life of Mr.. and
Mrs. Meyer was measurably happy, al
though he was inordinately Jealous OF
his youthful bride, and is said to have
kept confidential servant i'll livery as
her constant attendant.
Another notable unequal marriage in
New York is that of Andrew q. Coffin,
who lives in a handsome house on Clin-
ton street, Brooklyn, with mis- young
wife. He is said to be eighty-siX years
old, is millionaire three or four times
over and is head of the large drug firm
of Coffin, Remington IL Co., of New
York and San Francisco. His wife is
handsome, stately brunette. She
is about twenty-three. Her grOwn-up
stepchldren call her Mrs. Coffin" and
they are, of course, old enough to be her ]
parents. All the world says the union
is happy one, but In the natural order
of things the aged merchant cannot be
long for this world, and then there will
be another wealthy young widow in the
matrimonial market.
But decidedly the most striking of re-
cent instances of a May and December
- %I,at Of hn how = .
Blanche Aspinwall, of West New
not two weeks ago since this
young lady was married to DR..
James Clarke, of the same place.
He is a half-millionaire, over seventy
years of age; she is but nineteen. He
has known her since she was baby.
Like most other rich old men, DR..
Clarke has a grown-up family who are
much opposed to their fathers taking
to himself so youthful wife. In this
case, however, there is perhaps some
excuse for such an alliance. Miss
Aspinwall is the daughter of the late
Thomas Aspinwall, an Englishman
of good birth and an importer.
On the death of his first wife, by
whom he had several children. he
married a Miss Lane, an American.
MISS Diducllt ID VIC IL ulI VI Vic uliOH'
The family separated when Mr.. Aspin-
wall died, and Blanche was left alone
with her mother, whose income was but
limited. The old doctor loved the girl,
and the widowed mother gave her con-
sent. Another rich and beautiful young
widow will thus be looking for a young
husband within a few years. Mrs.
Clarke is of the ideal type of
English beauty-blue eyes, fair COM
plexion, golden hair, in combination
with that nameless American grace
which she inherits from her mother.
These marriages point to the fact that
the poor and beautiful girl can always
look forward to becoming rich and
dashing young widow, providing she
marries wealthy old man. She is de-
cidedly ahead of the maiden who is an
heiress. AS for love with youth and
struggling poverty, that, apparently, is
not Ouita n0Dular . IL ncp6 m bp