The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-11-16
The TRAFFIC In TITLES.
AN INDUSTRY WELL KNOWN BE-
FORE THE PRESENT SCANDALS.
Some Cases In which the Girls Fortune
Did Not Come Up TO the Expectation
Of the endOr-The Society
Matchmaker Of Paris and London.

Did Not Come Up TO the Expectation
Of the Tttie.v endOr-The society
Matchmaker Of Paris and London
The anxiety Of foreign noblemen to
| sell their titles to American girls Of wealth
was well known to persons who had been
In Europe long enough to become acquainted
with social conditions there before the re-
cent revelations on the subject. There
is nothing surprising to them in the fact
that men with very old names have been
quite willing to negotiate with marriage
brokers. Nor are they able TO understand
why these conditions seem SO remarkable
to Americans. Traffi,king in titles is ac-
cepted as n matter OF course in most Of
the Continental countries.
Many an American has felt the color
rise To his cheeks when German has glibly
referred to his intention Of marrying
'reiche Anerikdnerin" rs If she could al
ways be had for the asking and would
willingly lay her fortune at his feet
As matter Of fact, Germans have
high admiration and respect for American
women. They have every reason to he
surprised At some Of the specimens they
meet, notably in such "A city AZ Munich
where many go to study art. But the quail
ties of our women are well enough known
abroad for Germans to recognize as an
exception all Of those who are not credit
to their country
One inst ance Of German marriage that
failed had for its heroine young New York
grl OF lees talent than she was supposed TO
POSSESS. She went to Suits CART to study
because she had friends there who had made
their home In the city. Her devotion to
painting was solely due to desire to culti-
waite her talent and she was not dependent
on 1t for her livelihood,
She met a young officer in the army, who
supposed that she was at least az rich as the
family in which she made her home He
seemed TO be very much in love and probably
he was in his own way. The girl who had
at first taken little interest in him. began TO
reciprocate his apparent devotion and was
in love with him herself before she realized
There was no announcement Of the fact 4,
although after six months they were en-
gagged. In their talks over money, ii was
agreed that the wife should pay the sum that
the ruler 81 the army required before the
officer could marry. In his case this amount
ed to SO, 600.
His American sweethe was by this time
so much in sympathy with the social ideals
Of his count ~ that she was quite content
| to do this, but she neglected to tell her
husband that II would take half her fortune.
He learned that after a while, however. and
did not fail to express his surprise that the
young woman had not acquainted him more
| in detail with her financial standing He
| told her that his dear mother and father
whom she had already met, were also sur
prised that she had not before told him how
much smaller her fortune was than they had
believed.
In the end the girl was as happy as the
Baron to break the engagement: Through
| out the time OF their relations, after he had
learned the amount of her fortune, he acted
a, if he had been mace the victim OF heart
| - plan to get possession OF his title with
out paying for it.
Another class OF German marriages in
cludes the unions of titled officers with
the daughters of German Americans who
| have made their fortunes here. These
marriag es are III a ma jority of cases happy,
and they are often accomplished through
some other fundamentally than the casual
| Incidents Of ordinary social life.
Several women in Paris have made most
| Of the atch.,s between Frenchmen and
American women that have taken place
during recent yeaIs, and there has never
been any intirnation that this was done
| for financial reward. The American end
| of the matches arranged by tins amateur
bureau il looked after by ali American
woman who has long been Conspicuous
member of the American colony III Paris.
Two or three very brilliant alliances al
| ready stand To the credit of these women.
Ii is needless to say that they have lived
long enough abroad 10 have acquired
the EUROPEAN viewpoint in regard to such
matters. There attitude was plainly shown
several years ago, when pretty woman
from a Western city went to stay In Paris
| for several months, She lived in good
style and madc the acquaintance ol anumber
La. n IL
| can colony. An elderly. Frenchrnan of
| title devoted himself to her and after
short time their engagement was announced.
Her betrothcd title was an old one.
She was certain 10 have good position
and her compatriots were most enthuSi-
| astic in their approval of the match. But
their sentiments underwent change when
the American woman frankly told her
prospective husband that her incoIne was
very small.
The indignant Frenchman withdrew i'm
medlat.ly IRON the engagement. lie de-
nounced the attempt to entrap him as a
swindle. The deserted American returned
to her countrymen for sympathy. She
was in a strange land and wanted their sup
port.
But she found them altogether on the
side Of the Frenchman. They thought she
had acted in the most disgraceful fashion.
She had in their eyes disgraced the colony.
And for the poor dear count who had been
MADE the Nlclull Oh SUCH hSitllie, lntTe
was nothing but the deepest compassion.
There was nothing left for the woman
to do but TO leave Paris. And to this day
the American colony talks Of the awful
trap she laid for title.
Some years ago when another American
woman refused on the eve Of her wedding
to deed the control Of her entire fortune
to Napoleonic relic who broke his en-
gagement TO her for that reason, his own
family could not have symMthized more
sincerely with the nobeman than did the
Americans in Paris. They were indignant
at the American and never entirely forgave
her until she married another FTenchman
who was moro reasonable than his prede-
cessor in the matter Of her fortune.
English marriages are regarded as the
most brilliant that American heiresses
can make to-day. And there has so far
been no intimation that professional mar
riage brokers have been called In to see
them through But the names Of English
men-and Of some Americans married to
Englishmen-w are willing to bring
titles and money together for reasons not
entirely unselfsh. are known to many
persons familiar with London and New
II. H.