Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1910-08-03
RECENT hUPTIALS
|. OF PORT|A SPRAGUE
BRING TO MIND TIE SAD.
ROMANCE OF HER
MOTHER.
lFATEFuL CAREER or BEAUTIFUL
KATE CHASE. WHO SOLD
YOUNG LOVE.


New York, July 24-GotLam's so
cial circles are discussing the mar
rage OF Portia sprague, daughter Of
former Senator Sprague, of Rhode
Island, and grand. daughter of the late
salmon 2. Chase, secretary of the
treasury under Lincoln, who was
senator from Ohio and later governor
Of the buckeye state and finally chief
justice of the United States.
Miss Sprague was welded few
days ago to Joseph \. Whitney. a
man OLD enough 10 be her father. The
marriage brings to mind one of the
saddest rurnances either in or outside
Of fiction. 1t is story well known
te the generation just passed, but
those Of today can hardly understand
the tragedy which resulted from the
ambition and vanity OF d beautiful
woman, for Kate Chase Sprague was
the most beautiful woman of her time.
Slender, graceful and sinuous, the
neck that rose from her queenly
shoulders was as graceful as swans
and The head it bore exquisitely love
ly with a loneliness that turned men
into slaves TO do her bidding. Her
brilliant father worshiped her for her
beauty and her wit and did everything
TO further her limitless ambition
To make that father president and
herself mistress of the white house
Kate married William Sprague. the
rich young senator from Rhode Is
land
The marriage was a loveless one
and when the project for which it was
undertaken failed, endured with a bad
grace until four children were born
to them, Governor Sprague and his
wife separated. They were finally d.
vorced, and Kate Chase, as she there.
after called herself, went to live in
Europe with her children
Mrs. Chase came back to her old
home in Washington about 80 years
ago, and at that time Roscoe Conk-
ling was at the zenith of his power,
one of the most if not the most, con.
spicuous figures in the senate.
| Mrs. Sprague was still beautiful
cieverer and more brilliant intellect
tally even after her long residence in
Paris than she had been as q girl,
and the long and short of it was that
these two interesting people. Roscoe
Conkling and Kate Chase, fell in love
with each other, and their friendship
platonic or otherwise. furnished COS.
sip for more than the accepted nine
days.
The gossip never ceased, in fact,
until Senator conl1ling's death, nor
I lid the friendship. 1t was touching,
the bond between these two rare
souls, and those who knew of their
sympathy and interest in each other
regretted that it was not possible for
them to marry. since theirs was one
of the great passion, of which there
are so few.
Mrs. Sprague died, too, finally in
sorrow and want, deserted by all but
few loyal old friends, chief among
them whom was General Miles. She
left her children penniless. but they
took up their lives cheerfully and
hopefully. and uncursed by such
beauty as their mother possessed
have earned their bread in compare
tive comfort
Mr.. Whitney's bride, Portia, is the
youngest one of the family, and as a
child promised to inherit her moth
er's beauty. but she grew into a
pleasant nice looking woman and
that is all and it is well that it is all:
it is well that she did not inherit the
beauty which was her mothers un-
doing, for Portia Sprague has had a
stern, hard life in which personal