Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-13
FORTUNE CONE FOR STYLE
Regal -splendorS Abroad Burn Up the
Letter Millions.
BIGGEST sPLURGE OF HE1REssEs
Rivals outshOne while the "Maa. In
Chicago Coin Lasted-soc,aI
Distinctions of the
Cursons.


Hugh crabbe. who had been one OF the
employees Of the Levi 2. Letter estate. a few
weeks ago sued the zeigler Coal company
for the trivial sum Of Sfls. on account OF
services rendered. That pitifully small
claim disclosed. through the evidence adj
duced IN support and rebuttal, for the first
time the inner financial secrets Of the dis
posai Of the vast fortune OF the dead Chi
cago millionaire.
1t revealed, before all the world Of
wealth, fashion and power, the true ex-
PLANTATION OF the grandeurs Of Lord Curzon.
famed as the most splendid vieeroy who
ever reigned over the empire Of India. and
Of the late Lady Curzon. the beautiful and
devoted Mary Letter. as Lady Curzon, In.
her capacity Of loyal wife and daring So
cial leader, SO Impoverished herself that.
after the magnificence OF her reign in In
dia, and while she was on the eve of her
untimely death. she was in dire straits for
available funds.
The curtain drawn upon the Rlories OF
their Indian viceroyalty. the Curzons were
80 poor that they did not dare return TO
Lord Curzon's imposing London house. or
even to his ancestral mansion, Kedleston
Hall. In Derby shire. Apartments in a
modest hotel were all the fallen rulers
could afford.
Division OF the Fortune.
Mary Letter was the daughter Of a hard
headed old father who. with all the affec-
ton and pride in his children that kept
alive the body Of Balzac's Pere Goriot. was
blessed with all the -hrewdne and firm
ness which unhappy Goriot lacked.
When Levi T. Letter lived. he stood by
every one Of his children In their neces-
stiles. even assuming the burden OF his
son Joseph's disastrous adventures In the
wheat pit
But when he died. he charged against
each Of them whatever sums they had
received from him during his lifetime. an
arrangement eminently just to every one.
but as eminently painful to any one who.
like the son. Joseph. discovered he was
charged. out OF his share, with the inter-
est upon 100000 which his father had
poured into the terrible wheat pit before
Joseph could be dragged out with anything
like honor.
50 now Joseph, as the pitiful suit at law
for the pitiful $416 disclosed. receives only
$4,000 a year as his income from the
Letter estate, while his sister. Daisy, who
married Lord Suffolk. and his sister,
Nancy. who is Mrs. Colin Campbell. with
no wheat aIIeTflalnS 10 discount IlelK
shares, get s125.0oO a year each.
About an equal amount. annually, goes
to Lord Curzon and the children who re-
manned to him after the death OF his
beautiful wife.
With Mary. as with her brothers and
sisters. Levi Letter was as just as he was
generous. The marriage settlement which
enabled Mary Letter to make the mattel
she had set her heart upon provided fol
the investment Of 81. 10000 in trust for her
and her husband and children.
When her father died, that 81, 10000 was
as duly deducted from her one-fourth part
OF the estate. and her income, apart from
the interest accruing from the marriage
settlement. was only $4,000 a year.
Back to m Quarters.
Thus It happened that Lady Curzon. re
firing vicereine OF India, and the grea
vfceroy, her lord, must betake themselves
to humble hotel lodgings upon their return
to England. that Lady Curzon. only
short time before untimely death. mus
appeal 10 Hugh Crabble fruitlessly To-
ready cash. and that. when she died, Lore
Curzon was overpaid. in receiving a shar'
OF the estate. to the extent Of 1000, an'
wrote to express his horror when IN
was Informed that the next instalmen o
his income would be minus just S10,To0
Those were the financial consideration
that lay back. unknown, of the dazzling
splendors which attended the reign o
Lord and Lady Curzon in distant india
a reign that. for all the fulsOme prais
and description lavished upon its success
sion OF grandeurs, is still wholly unap
preciated in the marvels that attends
the path of the first American woman I
wear the royal robes of a ruling queen.