Los Angeles herald., 1909-07-29
FavOrites OF King Midas

that was a wedding gift. 1t included
$50 stones, picked with most Jealous
care for their shape and color, the gin
of the Peabody Kidder Banking com
pany of New York. Mr.. and Mrs
George A. Huhn the former promi'
nent banker of Philadelphia, presented
a rope of pearls, which can be used in
stead of the diamonds when the whln
of Mrs. Taller so dictates.
There We're all kinds of costly rugs
from animals killed in all parts of the
world: there is a gold service complete
in every detail, and costlier than ore
| of the two or three that are the boast
of American hotels and there was a
virtual avalanche of silver.
Silver services of various kinds, silver
salvers and silver platters, silver COM
| potes silver candlesticks, silver dinner
| dishes, silver baskets, silver boxes,
| silver trays, antique silver pieces, a
! case of fiat silver containing thirty
dozen pieces of the old Mayhower pat
! tern-it was as though examples of all
! the silver in the world had been as
sembled to make this particular bride
certain that no emergency or occasion
| could arise that would find her lacking
in equipment for a setting of silver
appropriate to it.
The experience of Mrs. Taller and
/ Mrs. Mitchell is duplicated in the gen
erosity with which Miss Beatrice Mills
was treated when she became the bride
of the Earl of Granard.
D. o. Mills, her grandfather gave the
bride a check for 100000 and house
in the most aristocratic section of Lop-
don. The earl gave his bride a valu-
able collection of diamonds Mrs.
Whitelaw Reid gave her collar or
diamonds to the value of $50, 900, Mrs.
John Jacob Astor gave diamond and
/ Il THFpf. n
the average man can earn in whole
| lifetime Of effort, and from variety of
other sources were gifts that carried
the total to something not far removed
from the million dollar mark.
Another wedding of persons well
known in society that had the effect of
causing a big loosening of aristocratlc
purse strings was that of Mary Astor
Paul to j. Antelo DeverauX.
Her gifts represented a fortune, but
the one of all that undoubtedly had the
most value for her was that of superb
old colonial mansion and estate that Is
worth in cash perhaps 100000, but in
| view of it's historical value could not
| be bought from the family for a far
| greater outlay, for it is the Aiman
| house. which was once the headquar
ters of Gen. George Washington during
| the revolutionary war.
| Miss Jean Reid, daughter of the
American ambassador to the court of
| ST. James, was another fortunate bride
who Jared we'll in the matter of gifts.
| The king of England presented her
| with a diamond necklace, the queen
gave a rope of pearls her father pre-
sented her with country estate, and
there were infinite valuable gifts from
the groom and his wealthy connections.
The custom of wedding gifts goes so
| far back that none can trace 1t, but in
it's modern phase it is largely Ameri-
| can. 1t was the American millionaire
who first set the example of generous
| giving, and it is safe to say that not
even at the unions of kings and queens
/ is money spent in such reckless meas
ure as when the son and daughter of
wealthy families are brought together
in matrimony.
France treats the whole custom in a
more businesslike manner than any
other nation. The bride must get 4
dot, but it has taken the American
millionaire to show what is real gen.
erosity in the treatment of brides.