The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-08-06

change of heart was not long in being
brought to light. The duchess has a
brotherhood Frederick Hamilton.
Mr.. Astor appeared upon the scene
with his Pail Mall Magazine, and 1t was
a veritable boom to the Duchess of Buc-
cleuch when he made Lord Frederick
Hamilton editor of the Pail Mall at an
absurdly high salary.
If there was business arrangement OF
which this move was part 1t is but JUS
tice to the Duchess of Buccleuch to say
that she conscientiously carried out her
part of the compact.
AsTOR STAR IN ASCENDANT.
Mr. Astor's social star began to shine.
Both he and his daughter were taken
up generally. The duchess even presid-
ed over every enc of the magnificent en-
tertainments which Mr.. Astor gave.
On the other hand both Mr.. Aston and
his daughter were sure to be found at all
thesocial functions given by the Duchess
of Buccleuch
Now on various of these occasions Mr..
Aston had the felicity to be presented to
the Prince of Wales Amiable and easy
going as the prince is, the one thing that
he canont endure is being bored. He per-
petually wishes to hear something new;
in which he Is not unlike other people
But as prince he can make his wishes
law.
All London knows this, and all London
has laughed more than once, even before
the last episode, at the adroit manoeuvres
by which his royal highness has avoided
being left exposed to the conversation of
Mr.. Aston, Of any one else whom he has
heard sufficiently often.
So nobody was in the least surprised
to know that the prince had at last def
nitely and distinctly turned Mr.. Astor
down.
1t is whispered that throughout the
present season the descendant of the
house Of Astorga has endeavored to COM
init the prince to being the star guest at
Cliveden on the Thames, or, failing that,
to visit the Aston house in town.
But to all of these the prince turned a
deaf ear. He Is kindly in temperament
and obliging to the last degree, but his
time is much occupied, he has seen and
heard many men and things and is as
easily bored by the familiar as he is
eager for the novel. He simply could
not and would not agree to be Mr.. As
tors guest of honor, with all that i'm
piled Of exposure to the Historian CONVEX
sational gifts.
And now it is the common talk of Lon
don that he has put the climax on it all
and definitely closed the Astor chapter
for once and all. 1t happened, accord
ing to the stories current, in this way:
When 1t was announced recently that
the Prince of Wales would be obliged to
proceed to Edinburgh in order to pre-
side at some public ceremony there, the
Duke and Duchess Of Buccluech, as the
principal persons of the district asked
tho future king of England to honor them
by staying at their palace of Dalkeith
during his sOjourn in the north.
IN
on the occasion of such visits of royalty,
the duchess drew up for the inspection
of her distinguished guest a list of the
persons whom she had asked to help in
the entertainment of the heir apparent.
MANY DUKES AND AN ASTOR.
The list comprised the Dukes of Mont
rose, Abercorn and Athole; the Earls Of
Rosebery, of Stair, of Mar, of Grey and
of Leven; the Marquis of Lothian, Lord
Balfour and the Countess of Hopetoun,
wife of the lord chamberlain. The Ouch
ess had likewise, in furtherance of her
sponsorship of Mr.. Astor, added the
names Of William Waldorf and Miss As
tor to the list.
This submission of the names of the
guests to be present, either at ball, a
dinner or house party, to a royal per-
scnage who is invited is the inevitable
custom in the old world. Usually the dis
ttnguished person makes no alteration.
AS rule he or she merely writes to the
hostess that the composition of the party
is admirable. Occa sionally the royal per-
sonage will add the names of one or two
more persons, but very rarely indeed will
he erase any name from the list submit
ted to him, thereby expressing his dis
inclination to meet the person in Ques-
ton.
The object of this arrangement, of
course, is to avoid meetings with the
royal parsonage which might be in them
selves personally disagreeable, or which
might give rise to undesirable political
influences. It is taken for granted that
no matter how great may be the knowl-
edge of the world possessed by the host
ess, she canont always be sufficiently in
the political secrets of the day to know
whether it is judicious for the distin-
guished guest to meet this or that par
ticular person whose stay under the same
root with royalty might give rise to mis-
Interpretation.
The fact that 1t is almost solely upon
political grounds that the royal guest
ever bars a person whose name is in the
list submitted to him, makes the snub
reported to have been given TO MIR. Astor
the more cutting.
When the list of guests whom the
Duchess of Buccleueh had invited was
submitted to the Prince of Wales his
royal highness merely glanced carelessly
over them in his easy, amiable way and
was about to pass them as being persons
whom he would be charmed to meet,
when he happened to notice toward the
end of the list the name Of William Wal
dorf Aston.
In an instant as the London story has
it, the royal blue pencil slashed through
the name and obliterated it.
mot Mr.. Aston" his royal highness is