The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1894-02-20
Fleeing from a Dago.


--c-------
Fleeing from a DagO.
And now comes the Princess COlOnna,
fleeing from France to her friends in
America in order to escape a rascally
rake and gambler who is supposed to be
q prince in his own country. And so he
is a prince-a prince of frauds and ras-
cals-a dago prince from the crown OF
his head to the sole of his foot.
Thus it happened that the Princess
Colonna, the wife of a dago prince, was
compelled to kidnap her children and
flee with them to her American friends.
But this lady, the step-daughter of John
w Mackay, the California millionaire,
still clings to the title, in spite of the
fact that it has an OdOr Of stale vermi-
celli and garlic about it, and she would
no doubt resent any failure on the part
of her friends to bestow it on her.
But what q pity it all is! What pity
that any self-respccting American girl
should so far forget her training and her
self-respect as to marry d man for his.
title-especially {, man of u different
race! Alas! Il young girl who has been
reared in the lap of luxury, rarely learns
the value of other things. She knows
that money will buy everything she
needs, and she has Il vague idea that it
will buy content and happiness.
When q rich American girl goes to
Europe, word goes around among the
rakes, roues, dag0es and broken-doWn
vagabondS who have their habitation in
the lands OF fraud and misery. Where
upon they swarm around her and pay
court to her-princes, earls, marquises,
and whatnot-an igDoble gang with no.
Bile pedSrees and titles made to order.
Money will buy an American girl any
kind of Il title in Europe, but she must
take a vagabond with it as lagniappe.
And it always happens that when the
vagabond goes with the tide, the rich
American girl gets more than she bar
gained for The money that bought the
title cannot buy love, or happiness, and
the title without these is not worth a
handful of American mud.
All things considered it is q pitiable
spectacle the Princess COlonna makes in
fleeing from the dago who has abused
her, and who would now seize her chill
dren as 4 part of his scheme Of black
mail. 1t is Il spectacle that ought to be
q warning to all American girls whose
minds have been perverted by false ideas
in regard to the dignity of European
titles There is not Il WashcrWoman in
New York who has love in her house that
is not happier than the Princess Col
onna today.
1t may be said of John w. Macllay that
he is a very manly man in all respects.
With millions at his command he has
never deceived himself in regard to the
advantages of the shams and frauds of
European society. lie has never ming
led in the vulgar show and he was new
err for u moment deceived as to the char
acter of the dago prince. He warned
his wife's Notwithstanding to ali
accOunts-that the man was vagabOnd,
u gambler and an adventurcr; but the
girl said she loved the creature, and this
settled the matter. Mr. Mackay paid
the dago's gambling debts, and settled
d princely income on his step-daughter
1t is greatly to his credit now, after
the Princess Colonna had rejected his
fatherly advice, that he is ready to re-
ceive her with open arms when she
comes 10 New York a fugitive from the
titled dago
There ought to be a warning in all this
for American girls who look with long
ing eyes on the titles that are for sale in
the European shop windows. AS q
matter Of fact. however. the foolish girls
who inherit American fortunes will not
be warned. Mr.. Macl1ay's stcp-daugh-
ter was deaf not only to the advice but
to the entreaties of those who knew bet
ter than she did the real character of the
vagabondS who wear titles in Europe;
and now the inevitable end has come and
her misfortunes are dragged up and
down in the columns of the newspa-
perS of the civilized world.
Naturally the young woman is unhap-
by, but her condition might be far worse
than it is, and aSSuredly it is now far
better than it has been. An American
girl who escapes alive from a titled dago
ought to consider herself extremely for
tunate.