The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-09-25
ROMANCE OF AST0RS
WILLIAM WALDORF MAY MARRY
 ENGLISH PRINCESS.
His Son Pays Great Attention To Be- atrice of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha-- Daughter Pauline Engaged to
 Wed a Rich Commoner.


 Chicago Chronicle.
 All Europe Is talking about the TO- nance of the Astor family.
 Its three interesting members are en- gagged or 'as good as engaged" as they say in New England. And London IS chattering its busiest.
 If began with Miss Pauline, who an- nounced her engagement to Captain spender Clay. or whose father announc- ed 1t for her.
 The captain Is a tall. slender young fellow, good-looking, rich and romantic. He has had an affair or two, but Is pretty well unscarred, when one consid- CTS his income and his temptations. He gets $150.000 a year clear. It is said that MT. Astor was not wholly in favor of the suit and sent Miss Pauline back to the States, two years ago, to forget the captain. or to put her feelings to the test.
 They bore it wonderfully well and. immediately upon her return. the en- gasement was whispered about-only to be announced later.
 Then came the news that MT. Astor. senior, was visiting the Isle of Wight and that he was not unknown at Os- borne house. the residence of the Prin- cess Beatrice of Battenburg, a widow since 1896.
 And now there is the tidings that young Waldorf is engaged to the Prin- cess Beatrice of Sake -Coburg -Gotha, or would be if he and the princess were the only ones to be consulted. and that both of the Astors, father and son. were moving heaven and earth to have the arrangement ratified and thus secure l the happiness of two young souls. Is it any wonder that al, London is | gossiping?
 Waldorf Astor. senior, wears a carna- | tion in his buttonhole. Young Wal dorf has donned some very gay En- gIish apparel, while Miss Pauline drives | daily with her hanson heaped with or | chids Things have come to a pretty pass with the ex-patriots.
 They went abroad to escape gossip, and now they are the very center of | 1t.
 A Romantic Father.
 William Waldorf Astor. the senior left New York in huff a few years ago never to return.
 He took his wife and family with him. l And he bought a handsome house in | London and another on the Thames. l Winter and summer they would stay in the new land
 To cement the foreign tie he bought a magazine and a newspaper and many l cans and he took great pains to tell all who came within hearing distance that he would not come home again. | Americans are money makers" he is reported to have said "and even in their marriages they show greed"
 Now, after few years abroad, MT. Astor himself acknowledges that there is such a thing asmaking good match. and he does not hesitate to ad- | hA hoe kIn,y
 Yet MT Astor's first marriage was a love match, pure and simple. He fell In love with Mary Paul of Philadelphia and married her. It was his first love affair and hers The Paul family did not wholly approve, for they did not think a New Yorker quite good enough for a Philadelphia girl. But Astor persisted.
 He married Miss Paul and when hls elder brother died he insisted that his | wife should succeed to the title of Mrs. Astor" This made Mrs. William As- tor furious Words followed and the result was that the Waldorf Astors de- | parted to live on the Thames. Mrs. Astor died soon after. MT. Astor was inconsolable and to this day he has his wife's grave covered daily with Ill., les of the valley spread on like a great white blanket,
 But MrS, AStOr uleu SIX yedrS ago and William Waldorf began to go in society He was invited to Windsor where he met the kings sister. Beat rice, and soon he followed her to her home on the Isle of Wight. Princess Beatrice is a surprisingly lovely wom- an. She has four children. all partly grown and she is the owner of a very handsome town place. one of the bunch of royal houses not far from London.
 The princess lost her husband. the prince. during the boer war. And this. followed by the death of hei mother. made her very sad and threw her into a state of mourning from which she Is only just emerging.
 She is about forty-five years old, is accomplished and s a fad she collect. old brasses and old furniture.
 Romance of a Princess.
 If she marrles William Waldorf As tor she will be following the exampl, of her sister Louise, who married the talented marquis of Lorne. The mar quis enters Windsor by one door ana the princess by another. She also outranks him at the state dinners. Il