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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 13, 1904)
cN&w cftlystery Baffles cN&bport STRANGE STORY OF A BANKER'S DAUGHTER. Groom Aged 94; bride's Age, 61. ONE WEEK'SCOURTSHIP ' ENDS IN A WEDDING. JMYSTERVof the VENUS OF MIIJD EWPORT ha a new mystery mora baffling Nl than the famous Goelet jewel case, for It near I 1 concern! the tragic love Ptor? of a beautiful I and Intellectually brilliant daughter of James M. Drake, aenlor member of the rlcn banking firm of Drake, Maatln Co. of New York. Ilia summer borne, Reu Cross cottage In Bellevue place, Is one ot the most splendid of the show places of Newport, There during his holidays be lives In solitary splendor, surrounded by the costliest fur nlshmenta and attended by a score of silent, dexterous serv ants. In vain be pleads with bis daughter, Edith Drake Mc Oibney, to come to live wltb him. She lives a few blocks away In a dingy room over a butcher shop In the most repulsive section of Lake View. Dressed like the heiress she Is, her splendid beauty unim paired, laughter on her lips, and the unspoken mystery of her life shinning from her great eyes, she prefers the reek, the loneliness of her squalid room over the butcher shop to the aristocratic environment of her old father's princely home. If he were a tyrant, If some Irreparable estrangement had come between them, if they had quarreled, or If she bat) been banished from his household fur som dreadful sin, the mystery would resolve Itself to a curious question as to why she chooses Newport of all places to lead the singularly con tradictory life which she has chosen. But her father Is a tender, loving, generous man, whom) one great sorrow seems to be his failure to hold Edith within his home and heart. He visits her In her shabby room, he lavishes money upon her, he pleads with her to come back and be the Edith her mother committed to his care. The finger of scandal has not been pointed at her, and, so far as the world knows, there Is no scar upon her heart except the hitter wound left by her first, ber only, her absolutely wretched marriage. Shuns Friends of Her Youih. Locked up In her unattractive quarters she spends hours j lone. When she comes forth It Is to walk alone by the sea shore or to stroll upon the board walk, or ramble around the stately estates of her father's wealthy neighbors. If she chose Jo return to the brilliant life of Newport society not a door would be closed against her. The mistakes of her girlhood have long been forgotten or condoned. And yet, for reasons which none has been able to fathom, she shuns the smart people who cultivate her father, refusing to recognize even the friends of her youth. Her story, as It Is known and stripped of all mystery. Is sad enough. Her mother dying when she was a child, she became the pet of her father and the Idol of the Drake house hold. A native talent for music, her beauty, her naturally vivacious temperament, her quick Intelligence, and her love for everything that was beautiful, prompted her father to en courage a growing desire the girl displayed for an artistic education. She was sent to Paris to study music and art. She not only attracted the attention but elicited the wonder of ber masters on account of the unusual receptlveness pf her facile mind and the wayward, undisciplined manner In which she approached, and, without effort, conquered the rudiments of the most difficult arts. Her teachers classed her as a genius but unmanageable. Her girlish beauty and her Imperturbable amiability won, them all. Teachers and students In the Latin quarter still talk of Edith Drake as the, sum and crown pf young Amer ican womanhood. She lived the life there with no hint of scandal, but she expended money as none jbut a rich Amer ican can, and when the cam away to America the students of the Boaux Arts and tha old masters of tba Parisian schools grieved for her and loved her from afar. ' Becomes Queen ot Bohemians. She was not more than 18 when she returned to New ' York. Hsr youthful fancy was ye charged with the quaint, romarttlo care tree life of Paris and the dull routine, the everlasting practicality of life In New York must have palled upon her ardent spirit Coming downtown ope day In a Broadway car she fell into conversation with an attractive yfung woman ot the stage. They chatted freely and the stranger convinced Edith Drake that New York has us owfl romantio world and that In the bohemla of Gotham all of ;he gay life of Paris, with some extras, could be found tor the seeking. Ths spoiled darling of (he wealthy widower agreed to go with her new found friend to a grand ball of the Bohemia club. 80 splendid was her beauty, so gorgeous her raiment, o free was aha with the money, the value pf whloh she knew little and cared, less, that she sprang at once Into the ready favor ot the wanton but brilliant crowd she met at that first night in New York bohemla. Actors, writers, sportsmen, .artists men and women of great talents and lit tle character were there, and the heiress of the Drakes, still a neophyte in the ways pf the world in spite of her brief novitiate lr Paris, was fascinated with the false glamour ot her novel surroundings. Regardless pf expenditure, she quickly became the queen of bohemla. Gambling on. the rapes was ops of the staple, pastime of the, habitus pf the club- She gave racing parr ties. She got up. excursions to the Coney Island, Qravesend, and Mprrls Park race courses. She paid the bill and loaned money to her Irresponsible friends. She played herself, and when she won wine was the beverage, of her followers. She found that Sam McGlbney, a stage carpenter, whose for tune had Placed hint below his rightful station, was tha man. who knevy moat about tha horses, Hi "tips" always won, Handsome, well poised, deferential, dignified, she began by liking h'lfl and ended by loving him. Marries 9 Stage Carpenter. She even loaned him. money to play his favorite horses and to recoup his losses. When he asked her to marry him she said yet because she knew be was in hard luck, she felt sure he was the makings of a hero, and, above all, he was the shining light in that world of bohemla which had fasci nated her, She told her father that she wanted to marry McGlbney, but the Indulgent old man, balked at that. Fo tha first time be tefused, to grant her wish. She flew Into rage, carried oft her Jewels, marrlec the stage car penter, and went to live in a Prooklyn flat The father agreed to da the handsome thing by them if McGlbney would, how himself worthy of Edith Drake. But he didn't He pawned her jewels, went into debt " followed the ponies " to the limit of his credit and, his wife's, reaouroea, and then deaerted his home. Unreasonably aggrieved against her father, Mrs. Mc Glbney refused to return to the. palatial home on Fifty-fifth Street and Broadway. She gained an obscure place In the chorus of a mediocre opera company and set out to 'make rut own living. She waa beautiful and her voice was fresh and cultivated. ' But chorus work and foolish dancing did notitalUfy her mental capacities. The New York news papers, commenced to receive anonymous letters In which it wag suggested that a dramatlo genius of the first flight was In need of a capitalist to make possible a tour In Camilla " and " East Lynne." The letters Mated that tha new found theaplan wonder was a woman and asked that all communications be sent to James M. Drake. The wan dering, Incoherent terms In which these letters were written gave the Impression that the writer's mind was unbalanced. Banker Drake was notified and ha quickly traced the author ship to hi daughter. JUysfery pf Ail Newport, Ha besought her to coma home. She seemed 111, over wrought, and her kind old father was pesld himself with .anxiety to have her back (n hi desolate home. But eh f ould not consent. On night locking out of his study win dow, he saw her in the street, bare beaded, pale, staring at his window. He ran Into the street and caught her and with th aid Pf a policeman carried, her forcibly into be? own home. Th nxt day he convinced her of the necessity of re tirement lie suspected that her highly nervous organism had been shattered by the chagrin and sorrow of her un happy marriage. He suggoatud that she go to Newport to llvs with some old friends of hla Broken hearted, emaciat ed, and without money, she agreed to follow his wishes and did so. For a time she lived at Newport wltb her father' friends. Then, without warning and tor no apparent reason, ah withdrew from this horn and established herself in the dis mal room over the butcher shop, where she still Uvea Her father cam down tu Nuwixirl lat tunuuxr full of plant tor the future happiness of his wayward daughter. Uul sh would not go to his house. She is so- handsome, so clever, o cheerful, so lonely that lh gossips of th famous spa can not forbear speculating about "her. Some say that she ls writing a novel or that she is 'correspondent for a society paper or that she is insane. Whichever gueaa Is right she continues to be the mys tery of all Newport OVE has two Bides, and on of them Is better LI looking than the other, And so it Is with the I statue of love In the Lpuvre, the famous Aphro I dite of Helos, known popularly as the Venus of Mllo. Look at hes from the front or from JSCS! 5 1 the le"' and Bne ,s somebody's Idea of a goddess. Look at her from the right, however, and she Is undoubtedly " Immortal Aphrodite of the broldered throne, daughter ot ?eus." This profile view of the statue Is the correct view. Edmund Vn Mach, the arohfeologlst, affirms. The theory about th figure's original position which Dr. von Mach advances Is so simple, and so satisfactory, that It Is surprising that no one has thought to suggest it before. The Greek sculptor meant, he thinks, that the Aphrodite should stand either In a, niche, with her right profile outward, or else close to a wall with ber left side turned toward it That this was her maker's Intention appears from the fact that the figure Is not perfectly finished In the round. Tha front view, which Is th one most generally known, " exhib its the beauty of Aphrodite's right side, and at the same time. Shows an unpleasantly straight line and Impossible hip on her left." The technique il excellent only on the right side of a plane erected on a line connecting the right heel with the left ankle. Seen from Its right i'de. however, the statue's perfection both pf form and of fea la Indisputable. The superiority of this view of It I apparent not only In the contours and the attitude of the hody, and In the nobility of the features, but also In the arrangement Of th hair, with its dainty lock at the nape of the neck. Looking at the figure thus you certainly have before you th goddess to whom Paris gave the prise for beauty, though, the fair queen of gods and men stood by " Clear eyelids lifted north and south, A mind of many colors, and a mouth Of many tunes and kisses." Von Mach's theory explains competently the probable posN What Wits OULD you hurt a woman most aim at her af fections. Wallace. The more Idle a woman's hand the mora occupied her heart Dubay. Let' woman stand upon her female charac ter as upon a foundation. Lamb. Women cannot see so far aj men can, but what they da see they see quicker. Buckle. If men knew all that women think thty would be twenty times more audacious. Karr. A woman's hopes are woven as sunbeams; a shadow an nihilates them. George Eliot Beauty Is worse than wine it intoxicates both the holder and the beholder. Zimmerman. ' Nelthervalls, nor goods, nor anything 1 more difficult to be guarded than woman. Alexis, W only demand that a woman should be womanly. That is not being exclusive. Hunt Modesty In a woman Is a virtu moat deserving, sine we do all we can to cure her of It Llngree. Women ar never stronger than when they arm them selves with their own weakue. Mme. du Peffand, It is no mor possible to do without a wife than it Is to dispense with,, eating and drinking. Luther. ' 1 w tlon of the statue's arms that question which has made the marble goddess best known throughout the world slnoe her appearance Into the light of modern day, In Venus' legendary character of " tnsplrer of feuds." Both arms of the statue are gone, and there is not on the whole figure a single piece of attachment from which originally they could have been supported. Yet, made of marble as they must have been, they were quite too heavy to hang unstayed by some means or other. A short time ago (t was proved by Robinsqu that the right arm must have crossed the body at a right angle, with the hand held downward, for in no other attitude would the biceps of the upper arm' Press the side closely enough to cause that little muscjp to stand out which appears, pn the statue's right breast. The position of the left arm I en tirely problematic. If the sculptor Intended to place the figure In a niche, or against the' wall. Vun Mach contends, th dis position of the arms would be a matter of no difficulty, for ir either case the background, would, offer ample, opportuni ties for Invisible places pf attaphment That this suggestion should, pome so late In the day 1. remarkable from the fact that the Aphrodite, found In py the peasant Baton!, at work in his field clearing away the debris of the walls and, terraced structures of f-jcient Meloa, was discovered hidden in a niche. This niche has been described by W. J. BUUman, who had it pointed out to him when he visited the island In 18fi2, by M. Brest, son of the French consul, who bought the Aphrodite for the Louvre from, the man whq found it M It was a rudely built work, of the, height, as nearly as I can remember, ot ten. or at most twelve feet, and about eight wide." writes Mr. Stlllman. " It formed a part of an old boundary wall of the field on which It opened, and above it the ground was level with the crown of the arch of the niphe." This niohfl, ho goes on to say, had the appearance pf hay ing been made for purposes of concealment. It has been supposed that the Aphrodite found within it was once a tieasur of Athens, and was brought to Melos and1 hidden ' av a id .About Women When joyous, a woman's license Is not to be ensured; when in terror, she is a plague. vKscbylus. It wpmuq d'd turn man out of paradise, she bos don her best ever since to make it up to him. Shilden. Men always say more evil of a woman than there really s; and, there is always more than s known. Mezeray. Lovers have In their language an infinite number ot words (n which each syllable Is a caress. Rochefedre. A heart which has beep domesticated by matrimony and maternity Is as tranquil as a tame bullfinch. Holmes. A beautiful woman pleases the eye, a . good woman pleases th' heart; ope Is a jewel, the other a treasure. Na poleon I. , A man cannot possess anything that Is better than a good woman, nor anything that Is worse than a bad one. Simon IJes. How wisely it Is constituted that tender and gentle woman shall be our earliest guides, instilling their own spirits. Cbannlng. It Is generally a feminine eye that first detects the mora) detleleucles hidden under th " dear deceit " Of beauty. George Eliot. To educate a man la to form an Individual who leaves nothing behind him; to educate a woman is to form future there at some time when the Greek capital was in distress. There are two reasons for the supposition. The sculpture la plainly Attic; and the coins of all the latest coinages of Melos "bear upon them the owl of Athens, and show thereby that Melos belonged to that city as long as she bad any Greek alliance. Pr. von Mach Identifies the Aphrodite of Melos with the' autumn days ot Greek sculpture, the centuries which Imme diately precede tho birth of Christ. This period has generally been considered as one of decadence In art largely because ot Pliny's erroneous statement that Grecian art came to a stand still at 800, B. O. As Von Mach regards it, this was, Instead, a, season of " ripe fruit" The Aphrodite, he declares, was the product Pf just such a season; It was the work of an age that " knew how t adapt and how to combine Into one har monious whole the pose ot Lysippus, the charm of Praxiteles, and ft hit of technique from the Parthenon." This, opinion Of hie recalls the tradition that there was found, over the niche in Melos, in which the Aphrodite was concealed, an Inscription Identifying It with the first century before Christ. The Aphrodite I not. then, a Victory, as Mllllngen and his followers, would have hod the world believe; she was not meant to be one of a group, she dues not depend upon any exteror phject for completion, as so many archaeologists have ftrgued- She Stands alone as aha was meant to s'and, majestic. Inspiring, the goddess daughter of Dlone. And when One View1 her from her right side, as her Grecian sculptor planned, he 0s her in all her legendary beauty, as the tender Aphrodite, the blissful Aphrodite, the beneficent Aphrodite, to wham unhappy Sappho prayed for peace. Like another Venus, by th Arno dwelling, "The goddess loves in stone and fills The air around with beauty; we Inhale The ambrosial aspect, which, beheld. Instills Part of It Immortality." SSSSSS3SSSC9SSSSC9 generations. La boulaye. " It is not easy to be a widow. One must resume all the modesty of girlhood without being allowed even to feign Ignorance. M me, de Girardin, Beloved darlings, who cover over and shadow many ma llcliui purposes with a counterfeit passion of dissimulate sorrow and unquletness. Sir Walter Kalfigh. What is It that renders frUndahlp between women so lukewarm and of so short duration? It Is the Interests of love and th jealousy of conquest RousHesu. To give you nothing and to make you expect everything; to dawdle pn the threshold of love while the doors are closed this la all the science of a coquette. T. Bernard. Women have perpetual envy of our vices; they are less vicious than we, not from choice, but U cause we restrict them; (hey are th Slaves of order and fashion. Johnson. I am a strenuous advocate fur liberty and property; but when these rights r invaded by a pretty woman. I am neither ol to defend my money nor my freedom. Junius. Women speak easily of platonlo love; but while they ap peur to esteem It highly, there la pot tingle ribLou of their toilet thst does not drive platoplwn from our hearts. Rlcard, FTER a werk's courtship Wolf Berepson of Worcester, Mass., an ardent and quite frisky wooer, who will be a hundred years old If ha lives till 1011, has JuFt bf-n married to Annie M. Goldman, a coy and blushing widow of three score and two eventful summers. Al though the bride is moro than thirty years younger than the groom she knows her own A mind, and In spite of the short courtship Is convinced that she will " live happy ever after." The combined age of the couple Is l.Vi years; If their chil dren, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren by former mar riages wtre assembled for the wedding breakfast l.'tl plates would be necssary. Yet there was no opposition from either family. Mr. Herenson and Mrs. Goldman met In October for the first time and fell mutually In love. The wooing was swift, tealous, and devoid of all that foolishness which char acterizes bashful youth. He Is a retired merchant of some means; strong for his years, alert In carriage, clear minded, and healthy, the groom sees nothing extraordinary In the motive or manner of his marriage. " I have good children," he explained, " but children can not take the place of a good wife. I am old In years, but I feel as young as I felt fifty years ago. Years do not make age. Yes, I fell In love at first sight, you may say. Annie Is fine woman and we will be happy together for the rest of our lives, I'm sure. How long? O, tha''s another question. I feel as If I might live to be 150 or so." The bride's pride and satisfaction over the wedding la ns evident as her husband's. She Is a well preserved, buxom little woman, with a kind face and a gentle, motherly way. "We will be happy and contented," she explained. "The minute I saw Mr. Berensoa I knew I liked him. and when he asked me to be his wife It was only a few days later I was glad. I only kept him waiting a day or two after that. O. I think I am young yet I have been tuken for a sister of my children. Then look at my husband; he Is thirty-one years alder than I and what a fine, lively gentleman he is." Reecf a Dozen Women Wooers. The newly wed couple have twenty living children, ninety-four grandchildren, twenty-two great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild by former marriages. " We didn't Invite any of them to our wedding," says Mrs. Berenson. " There were a few grandchildren about the house and they peeped into the parlor and thought It a wonderful performance. But wedding suppers and grand suppers don't make happy marriages. We notified our children whin we had been married and they all sent us congratulations. They approve of our wedding. And why not? Look at me." The old man, with head erect and arms swinging, steppid nimbly across the room. His hair and beard are gray, but his form is straight and agile, his eyea are bright and merry. "And you musn't think that Annie was the only woman I could get. I didn't make up my mind to get married again until a few weeks ago. A woman I have known for many years told me that she would find me a wife. She found a dozen who were willing to marry me, but I knew the moment I met them that they would not suit me. At my age It Is not hard to judge of character. You young shavers need a year or two to study out tbe sweetheart you want, but with us It is different " We know human nature at a glance and cannot be fooled by the good looks which conceal an ugly temper or a wasteful disposition. Then we have no time to waste. When a man Is nearly a hundred years old he must make hay while the sun shines. He has no time for a long courtship; he knows his own mind and he can tell what sort a woman Is the minute he meets ner. Conceals His Real Age. " When I saw Mrs. Goldman I knew right off that she was the girl for me, and only 62 years old. Why, I could be her father. She liked me, too, I saw that Immediately, and I made up my mind to propose. No, no. No such foolish business as candy and flowers. I didn't gel down on my knees to her and we didn't turn down the gas to do our courting. I Just told he,': ' Annie, I want you to come and be my wife. Our children are all grown up and we are get ting old. I am lonesome and I have plenty to support my wife. I loved you when I first saw you. Is it a go?' That's what I said and she agreed." When Mr. Berenson applied for a license he gave his age as 75. He says that was on account of the feelings of his . bride-elect, who said she preferred to escape criticism for marrying "an old man." He was born in Poland In 1811. Two of his sons remain in the fatherland and two of his grandsons are in the garrison at Port Arthur fighting for their lives against the Japanese. The other children of the old couple have their homes In the United Slates and they are all prosperous. Instead of objecting to the marriage they unite in commending it "I think father did what was exactly right," said his oldest son, a merchant of Roxbury. " Tho children of old parents cannot give thera the same care that wife or husband can. I believe my father and his wife will be happy. I'm sure we all hope so." Mr. Berenson and Mrs. Goldman were brought together by tha schatchen. a woman who for a fee makes a practice of Introducing persons who ere matrimonially inclined. " It is a fine system the schatchen," says Mr. Berenson. " Look how much time It saves, I might have spent the rest of my life looking for th-j right kind of a woman. But the schatchen has her Inside of a week. You have no Idea, you young folks, bow valuable time seems when you are past 00," Wed Under Fed Silk Canopy. The wedding ceremony took place in the home of tho bride, Rabbi Herman Silver ofllulating. At 8:30, fulluwed by a few friends, the bridal pair entered tho parlor, walking beneath a red silken canopy carried by four men. A score of Children followed thera to the door and peeped cautiously be tween the curtains as the Rev. Mr. Melnlck lighted the cau dles and placed them In the hands of the attendants, Mean-' while the rabbi had filled out the marriage license and the Jewish, wedding ritual was chanted by the men. Th emulat ing clergyman then opened a bottle of wine, poured some into a glass, and handed it to the groom, who sipped of it and then threw the glass to the floor, crushing It with hla foot He then read the Hebrew services, to which the bridal couple replied. That completed the brief ceremonial. No body Hissed the bride except Mr. Berenson, but the few guests participated in the Informal luncneon. The groom was not attired as gayly as some of thr wed ding guests, preferring to wear his old gray business suit, and not departing from his long cherished dislike for cuffs, collars and necktie. The old bridegroom la something of a philosopher, and he is pot averse to giving counsel to others, young ur old, who are eligible to marry. Jt J How to Choose tht Right Wife. Bad he: "After all the best, the most lasting value of marriage' Is the companionship of the couple. Beauty Is a poor sub stitute for a good temper and wastefulness will soon make away even with wealth. I am not rich now. I never was rich. Mrs. Goldman, my new wife. Is my third. I never looked for my wife to bring me money, and if she Had it would not have added to my happiness. I don't think any of my wives were what you might call beauties, but they were all good, careful, affectionate women, und 1 always lived happily with them. 'What good Is it to have a rlcn, pretty woman who doesn't understand you at all? Old as I am, I could have married a younger woman than my Annie, but I wouldn't have them. I don't care to give the reason, but I bad no trouble suelutf through their faults and 1 knew we couldn't be happy. 1'nB persun of considerable age I more likely to pick a good partner than the youngster. Vou boys and girls all go Into matrimony excitedly and you art apt to forget that In married life there must be two a, id not only one sat isfied. I never could see that It would be pleasanter to have a pretty woman throwing dishes at you than to have a homely wife for your friend. "And then. If you marry the wrong person, money won't ' help you a bit. You can't buy peace If you get a virago for a partner. Then the Idea that a costly wedding, a honeymoun tour, and a housewarmlng are necessary to make a right start Is the worst kind of folly. I have known young mur rled folks' to go without necessities fur months after their wedding bocause they had speut all their savings to make a splurge at th beginning. It's too bad. Tru friends do nut look for such unnecessary display, and the sooner you gu( frt from the false trlends of youth the better for yoursvll and your wife. Everybody finds this out In old age, but nut many men of my years have ohano to put to th test the, wisest and simplest plant for a tappy wedding." I