The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1912-06-19
WOMAN'S TARGET
IS YOUNG ASTOR
Soon to Come Into One
Hundred Millions.
GETS LETTERS OF ALL KINDS
Which Tell of Ardent Love
and Regard for Young
Millionaire.
BUSHELS OF LETTERS BURNED


of great solicitude to several thous-
and correspondents. Letters by the
bushel have poured in upon him.
The epistolatory efforts have
ranged from scarlet-hued missives
of passion to sober illusions of ad-
vice as to the best manner of spend
ing his money. In the latter in
stances, the writer has always been
willing to immediate himself upon
the shrine of self-sacrifice and gives
his personal aid, regardless of the
hardship, to the proper distribution
of the Aston wealth.
Old women and young women,
brazen and demure, thin and fat
ones, pretty and ugly, have taken
their pens in hand, not without
hope of gain. Some have pretend
ed to bespeak Mr.. Astor's interest
in behalf of causes other than pure
ly personal ones, but most Of them
the letters from the women
have been frankly and avowedly
written in the desire to call the
young mans attention to certain
persons that he otherwise might ov-
erlook.
Any young man, fairly good
looking, possessed of a competence
and single, might expect to become
the center of feminine attention.
And in the case of young Aston,
who is each of these things, only
more so, the attention amounts al
most to hysteria.
Those of his friends who know of
the letter writing industry that he,
against his wishes, is fostering, are
having a lot of fun at Astor's ex-
pense, but the youth doesn't appre-
ciate it. He is retiring almost to
the point of shyness and this sudden
wave of proffered affection, when it
isn't stronger, has overwhelmed
him.
Almost all of the writer's have de-
clared that the photographs they
saw in the papers of their hero
have made them quite enamored of
him, and generally they wind up by
begging that his picture be sent to
them.
Some of the writer's have waited
in front of the Aston estate Offices
in Twenty-sixth street for glimpse
of the boy. Most have mistaken
the handsome Mick" Biddle for the
object of their curiosity, much to
Biddle's embarrassment. He is an
executor of the Aston estate, is
about thirty-four and looks younger.
And it isn't only through the me-
dunn of letters that women have
pressed their suits. The telephone
has been kept pretty busy both at
the Offices and at the Fifth avenue
house, with girlish voices whose
owners were anxious to have oppor-
tunities to meet the heir of mil
lions. The reasons assigned were
as many as the letters contained.
Almost all the letters from wo-
men told of suddenly conceived love
for the young man, of course, Who'll
ly apart from any money he has or
expects to get. Some were struck
by his face or manly figure; others
by his manner and character as de-
scribed in the newspapers. Many
ignored the cause of the abrupt pas
sion and. instead, told how good
they could be to him.
One or two elderly ones wanted
to adopt him. Here and there were
those willing to be sisters to him,
but most we're willing to marry him.
The styles of the writer's were
many and varied. Aucassin to Mic
olette, Abellard to Heloise. "Ruzzie-
lamb" to his lady friend, or Mayor
Gaynor to some one he didn't like.
never dared the flights attempted in
some of the letters that pile up
weekly for Mr.. Aston. The spirit of
the missives varied from bursts Of
Sapphic passion to the directness
and simplicity of a Mary C. Burke.
Some we're reserved almost to
the point of GOODNESS. These mis-
tered" him. Others feared that
would get them
nothing, so they leaped into endear-
meents in the first line. Some
showed a high order of inventive
faculty. 1t seems almost an injus-
tice that at Mr.. Astor's orders. these
letters are burned weekly in big
bundles; 1t seems loss to litera-
ture.
Some of his writers want the
young man to do something wor-
thy OF his name" There have been