Evening capital and Maryland gazette., 1913-03-08
&c OF DEATH SHIP
Nahma, q Pleasure Yacht,
Brought Woe to GoeletS
Last Affiietion Caused Family to Deny
Dying Wishes Of One Of Its Prom
inent Members-Nessel Prob
ably viii Sc Sold.

ably VIII Be SOLD.
New York.-The members Of the
enormously wealthy Goelet family of
New York. one OF the most prominent
families OF America, either die on
board their yachts or are taken from
them 10 die, says a writer. For this
reason young Mrs. Robert Wilson Goe-
let. the former Miss Elsie Whelen.
win not let her husband own a yacht
OF any kind, viii not let him 80 cruis-
ing, nor win she go herself And
more than this. she is bringing up her
small boys to hate yachts and viii not
even let them have toy boats of any
kind.
Yachts are evil to the Goelets," she
has said many times. Last summer.
when the news of Mrs Robert Goe-
let's serious illness reached her,
young Mrs. Bobby said to her great
friend. Mrs. Gordon Douglas:
The Nahma wiz claim another vic
tim"
Early IN December Mrs. Goelet died.
not on board the Nahma, as she de-
sired, however, but in Paris, where
her only son, Robert Walton Goelet,
insisted on taking her. Mrs. Goelet's
illness and death is the latest tragedy
of the magnificent pleasure craft that
cost the late Robert Goelet more than
81, 900, 600
So strongly do the whole family feel
on the yachting subject in general
so keen is their dread of the Nahma
in particular that they refused to
comply with Mrs Robert Goelet's last
wishes and have her body brought
back to America on board.
But the Nahma was not the first
yacht to bring tragedy to the family.
Fifteen years ago Ogden Goelet. one
of the best known New York and
Newport multimillionaires died on
board his steam yacht Mayflower. He
had been cruising in English waters
and died at Cowes His body was
brought home on board the vessel that
he loved as he did his life. His widow
and son, Robert Wilson Goelet, would
not keep the Mayfiower Mrs. Goe-
let said that it would always be a
funeral ship to her, and so she sold 1t
to the United States government It
was used as a concerted gunboat dur
ing the Spanish war. and is now the
presidents yacht.
1t is a noticeable fact that Mrs. Og-
den Goelet and her son have never
been interested in yachts or yachting
since Ogden Goelet's death.
Twenty months after putting the
Nahma in commission Robert Goelet
died on board in the bay of Naples,
and his body was brought home to
New York, in the beautiful little
library whose walls were lined with
rare first editions and equally rare
old prints
Robert Goelet left the Nahma to his
wife. with the request that she hold
it until her death. From that day un-
til her death a few weeks ago the
widow lived almost entirely on board
the vessel on which her husband died.
In January, 1902. after a series Of
brilliant entertainments on the Nah
ma, Mrs. Goelet decided to return to
New York and bring out her daughter
Beatrice.
Beatrice was then seventeen years
old. a remarkably pretty young per
son. and one who seemed destined to
make a great match, for in Europe she
was on friendly terms with the
Younger members of the royal families
of Great Britain and Germany. While
speeding across the Atlantic with the
future so rosy before her Beatrice was
stricken with measles. On reaching
New York she was hurried to the
mansion so wonderfully prepared for
her but she died on the tenth of Feb
ruary, the second victim of the Nah
ma.
Even after this tragedy, from which
she never recovered, Mrs. Goelet
would not sell the yacht.
Last winter Mrs. Goelet returned to
New York and was frequently at the
opera in her box, but otherwise she
did not entertain very formally. She
went to Europe last spring and after
the Nahma had been redecorated took
a cruise to the northward Her son
did not go with her. In July Mrs. Goe-
let developed a dangerous illness.
Specialists hurried to the yacht from
London and Paris, said that it was
cancer and that there was no hope"
Let me die on board my boat, 3"
said Mrs. Goelet
Her son hastened to Europe, but re-
fused to grant his mothefs request
She went to Paris, where she had
an apartment, and after several
months of suffering died there on De
cember 5.