The herald., 1895-03-10
The Aftermath of Miss GOuId'S
Purchase of a Title
ALL PEDIGREE AND NO MAN
Some SOrrowful findings of Brilliant
Marriages
The Beautiful Holiday Girls In San Francisco
and Their Mercenary
Spouses


methods we're those of pirate. brings to
mind several other mesalliances by hand
some American girls who sought the
empty bubble of fame at the glittering and
corrupt courts of Europe. In all the cases
that have come within my own knowl-
edge, the case has simply been mere
matter of purchase, the exchange of a
large fortune for an empty title in the
possession of penniless and unscrupu-
lous adventurer.
An anecdote is told of John Harper,
the noted Kentucky horse breeder, who
was wholly illiterate, but full of good
judgment and hard horse sense" Some
horse from England for breeding purposes.
The animal was related to all the great
conquerers of the English turf, but was
lacking as an individual. His fore legs
cut off badly at the knee and he showed
decided disposition towards cuby hooks.
Old Harper looked at the horse about five
| minutes and then turned away. The i'm
porter asked how he liked him and the
aged turfman said:
II don't like him at ALL sir,
But he is as purely bred horse as ever
crossed the ocean," said the gentleman.
"Ye-e-s, that's true" replied Harper,
but the trouble is. he's all pedigree and
no hoss.''
This remark applies very well to the
greater portion of the foreign noblemen
ESQ called) who have married American
heiresses in the past quarter-century. L
was at one time member of a club in
Melbourne where l used to breakfast at 10
a. m. All those who sat at my table were
men much younger than myself. Occas-
ionally you would hear them talking
about young ladies OF prominence in anti
podean society, and there was one ques-
ton that was always forthcoming
Jaw, doosid clevah girl, you know-has
she any money!
l became so disguised at hearing this
change my seat at the table, However, l
do not know that it is any worse for men
to sell themselves for money than for
women to do the same thing. 1t attracts
attention more from its infrequency,
presume. How many American girls have
thrown away their beautiful girlhood
without receiving any compensation what
ever? Does any one recall beautiful Con-
suelo Yanaga who married that corrupt
brute, Lord Herbert Vaudeville? That
precious scamp ran through all of his
wife's money that he could lay his dirty
hands upon and died as the pensioner of
a variety hall singer Then there was
stately Genevieve Ward, who married an
Italian scamp named Guerrabella and had
to go on the stage to support him. 1t has
been a case of marry in haste and re-
pent at leisure" in most instances. The
only Pacific Coast girls that | know of
who made such ninnies of themselves
were Miss Flora Sharon and the two HOl-
laday girls. Miss Sharon married Sir
Thomas Hesketh, who owed so much
money that his creditors sent-him out in
a yacht to California to capture an heiress.
To his credit be it said, that he treats
her well and does not make ducks and
brakes of her fortune.
About the saddest case OF this sort was
the two daughters of old Ben Holiday
who established the Pony Express across
the plains and afterwards the overland
stage line between Virginia City and st.
Joseph, No. Both of these girls had
typical Latin faces and would have passed
in any crowd for Spanish or Italian bellies.
Jenny, the elder, was pretty and rather
petite, but the younger, Pauline, partook
of her fathers grand physique and was
one of the most magnificent looking
women | ever remember to have seen.
She married the Baron de Bussiere, who
made her virtually step-mother to a half
ers were to be found in ''the world to
which nobody goes She is long since
dead of grief and disappointment; and if
he is not dead, he ought to be. 1t is
needless to say that Mr.. Holiday opposed
the match, but was overruled by his vain
dilU Sllly VILE. IlOildudy uIlduCeS were
in very shaky condition at the time of
the marriage and as soon as the Baron
found that his wife's fortune was not
what he had, expected he submitted her
to no end of personal indignites.
Jenny, the elder, will long be remem-
bered in San Francisco for her beauty and
her wit. She married with her fathers
consent by singular mistake Her hus-
band was the Comte Arthur de Pourtales-
Gorgier, whose brother was man of high
scientific attainments. Old Ben inquired
about the Comte and was told he was one
of the ripest scholars in Europe, so he
gave his consent. You can imagine his
a weakly looking, yellow haired fellow
with milky blue eyes and green spectaces.
Old Ben had removed from San Francisco
to Portland, Oregon, and was engaged in
building a railway up the Willamette
valley when Pourtales and the Countess
came out to see him. One day he came
home unexpectedly and found the Count
seated before an easel on which he had
piece of canvas stretched and beside him
lay some fifty odd skeins of variously
colored worsteds. The old lion looked at
the outfit moment and then reared:
What the hill is this?"
''Eh bien, Mestare 'Olladay, Eat ees nv
samplais to make re tapestree.
''Oh, to the ID with all such trash as
that! Amt there women enough in the
house to do such tlapdoodle work as that?
Here's $40; for Gods sake, go out and get
drunk like man.
Now, Monsieur, it ees eemposseble
Re French zhentleman jamais nevair get
dronque," replied the Count
The next week Mr.. Holiday bought the
franchise for the Oregon Central railroad
from Thompson, Reed and Ainsworth,
and made the Count president of it. In
1873 Holidays creditors dispossessed him
of everything in the way OF railways and
steamers and his sonin-law started for
France, accompan ed by his wife. She
had but recently rallied from severe ill
ness and the trip was too much for her.
One morning as the train was going east
ward through bleak forest in Wisconsin, |
a dying mother pressed her lips to those |
of her baby for the last time on earth; |
and all that was mortal of pretty Jenny |
Holiday waited starward to commune |
with the angels.
One would have thought that the grief |
stricken husband would have paid some
little reverence to the memory of the
lovely woman who had borne the holy
agony of maternity for his sake. But at
the end of less than two years the dapper
little Count found another bride. She
had Just been divorced by her husband, |
the testimony against her being such that
the case was tried with closed doors. The
Count one day walked into Ben Holla-
days New York office, where he met
George K Otis, Mr.. Holladay's confden-
al oolyo |