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Very Refreshing and Unusual
Real Love Match Between Two
Young Members of Fashionable
Society Not Remarkable for
Love Matches) That Has
Survived at Last Even the Loss
of Two Family Fortunes
IF his parents were rich, and her pa
rents still richer; and If they had
been playmates from childhood, and
this companionship developed naturally
into love on both sides so that both
looked forward to marriage with tho
cheerful consent of both sets of parents
Then, If hl parents lost the bulk of
their fortune and her prudent parents
rushed her off to Europe In search of a
"better match;" and it her parents pres
ently lost the bulk of their fortune and
his prudent parents urged him to forget
her and pick out a "safety first" heiress
for a bride; and it each of them dlscov-
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Miss
Clallin
Posed as
"Artemis"
and Above
Her the
Windmill
That She
Made Into
a beautiful
Little
Home.
Am Dirof4x.
cred bo lack of
"eligible opportunities"-
Tet If both ha
and ehe, in their
comparatlye pov
erty, continued
blind and deaf
to the aforesaid
eligible opportu
nities: and if. An
ally, they vowed
to marry each
other, poverty or
no poverty, and
the auspicious
day was set, and
both pairs of par
ents bestowed
their blessing
Now, wouldn't
you call that a
good, old fash
toned, strictly
made - In -America
romance? And it
lias all actually
happened to
.Miss Beatrice
Claflln and Hob
ert Breese, of
New York, New
port, Southamp
ton, Iy. I., and erst
while of "Easy
street." ,
Seldom, Indeed,
does a girl so
beautiful as Miss
Bratrlce Clallin
and of such so
cial prominence
decide to marry
Just "for love" a
man whose good
looks are his for
tune. Seldom, in
deed, does so pop
ular a youth as
Itobert Breese de- y
cide to marry f
Just "for love"
the girl of bis
boyhood dreams, after tne girl has lost a
really large fortune. Is it any wonder,
therefore, that Newport and Southamp
ton, where the young people are well
known, are all agog with interest over
this delightful made-in-America ro
mance? In this romance figure foreign
noblemen who yearned to wed the beau
tiful Miss Claflln, and charming French
and English beauties who made a hero
of ."Bobby" Breese this Summer when be
served in a French ambulance corps.
It all began so long ago! Fifteen
years or more ago the Arthur B. Clafllns
built themselves a beautiful Summer
home at Southampton, Long Island.
Their Winter home was at Lake wood,
N. J. Their one child. Beatrice, was not
strong and they had to live away from
the city. Mr. Claflln was tbe younger
son of II. B.' Claflln, one of New York's
earliest merchant princes, and is a
brother of John B. Claflln, formerly one
of our multi-millionaires. Mrs. Claflin
was Miss Minnie Alexander, a slater of
A. A. Alexander, the artist In Lake
wood the Clafllns were the leading resi
dents; they were very public-spirited
and did wuch for tbe town. Little
Beatrice, although growing up in an at
mosphere of wealth, was taught that
wealth had Its responsibilities and also
that there was much in life that money
could not buy.
She was a beautiful child, with great
dark gray eyes and black hair. Her
uncle painted a portrait of her. when
she was ten years of age that created a
furore when exhibited at the National
Academy. This portrait hanss in the
great hall of the Claflln's Lakewood
manor house, but It does not figure in
our story.
When the Clafllns first joined the
Southampton colony they found the
James Laurence Breeses there before
them. Mr. Breese was an intimate
friend of the late Stanford White and
was a man of wealth, high social stand-
:7
'
yy. ink -'
Pmto a v
Miss Beatrice Claflin, Who Has Picked Her Old
American Sweetheart and Rejected, Finally,
Titles and Wealth.
Is
ing and a most rare artistic ability. His
Southampton home was and still
veriuble museum of wonderful things
collected by Mr. White and himself dur
ing their years of friendship. The
Breeses were to Southampton what the
Clafllns were to Lakewood "first citi
zens" and general mentors.
The children, of course, knew nothing
of all this. The four or five Breese
youngsters took the little Claflln helreBS
Into their fold, and right there began the
love story of Bobby and Beatrice. In the
beginning they played together, pairing
off in the most natural way. Later they
danced together, and still later they
swam, motored, hunted, golfed and
flirted together, he two sets of parents
looked on the growing romance with
high favor.
And then it came to pass that the
Breeses lost a large part of their wealth
and the Clafllns lost heavily in the John
B. Claflin financial smash-up three years
ago, and everything changed for the
young lovers. The parents of both urged
them to give up each other and marry
for wealth.
Miss Claflln was taken abroad and
Bobble Breeso took a Job in Wall street.
In Europe the Clafllns were eagerly wel
comed. They were by no means stran
gers in exclusive circles in London and
Paris, for Miss Claflln's beauty had cre
ated a sensation over there when she
was a debutante. She had been pre
. sented at court in London in fact, was
the American beauty and belle of that
season. Among the men who bad ad
mired and courted ber were two sets of
brothers, tbe Grenfell twins and the
Beresford "boys." This all happened
eight years ago. The handsome and
popular Crenfell twins were killed in ac
tion rast Spring, and shortly after, find
ing Miss Claflln cold to his advances, the
senior Berefcford, now Lord Decies, fell
in, love with and married Miss Vivien
Gould.
In France a noble duke, the debonair
de Richelieu and halt a dosen counts
had besieged the fair American, but
they, too, went into the discard. What
chance had they against the lithe-limbed
American youth, whose dancing talents
were just then addlnsto his popularity?
When the crash came, it was na'urai,
"erhaps, that Miss Claflln's parents
jhould desire a wealthy husband for
their daughter. They recalled ber for
mer triumphs in Europe, but, realizing
that foreign noblemen seek onlyAmer
ican dollars, not hearts, they did not
take ber abroad again to win a huttband,
but to forget her lover. Then, they rea
soned, with Bobble forgotten, it would be
easy to persuade Beatrice to accept one
of tbe several home-bred millionaires
who bad hovered about ber since her
debut.
However, in these days Miss Claflin
vas a great heiress and Breese had an
assured Income. Therefore their love
met with no great obataclea. But when
times changed, was it not natural that
Mr. and Mrs. Claflln should look back
and recall with pleasure young Gould's
devotion? 1'arents usually winh to see
their daughters protected from the hard
ships of poverty. This is a deeply in
grained and perfectly human trait In
parents, and in mothers particularly!
Hence the trip to Europe for change
of scene as a first aid to forsettiuK.
They rented tbelr beautiful Lakewood
place and sought distraction abroad.
Then war broke out and Miss Claflin
wanted to go as a nurse, but this ber
parents absolutely refused.
"Then, If I can not do that," she re
torted, "I shall return to America and
marry Bobbie."
In the end the parents consented to re
turn to this country; indeed, they were
glad to, for it now seemed the right mo
ment for the renewal of young Mr.
Gould's suit.
In the meantime the devoted Bobble
had not been Idle. He tried his best to
make money, but there wire few for
tunes to be made at that time in Walt
street. He did not try to forget his
sweetheart; be knew perfectly well that
nothing would change either one of
them. He was not afraid of the effect
of tbe trip abroad any more than Mis
Lucky Mr. IJreese Skating witli
Miss Claflin.
Claflln was! Letters passed between
them as regularly as was possible under
the chaotic war conditions, but finally
the separation got on his nerves. He
would go to Europe, too. The day after
he received a long letter from his dis
tant sweetheart In which she told him
she wanted to Join a nursing unit In
France young Breese gave up his Wall
street Job and enlisted in the American
ambulance corps.
He Joined a unit then about ready to
leave for France, and the steamer that
carried him toward Paris and his sweet
heart passed the steamer bringing bis
sweetheart to New York, and, as she
thought, to him.
This was eight or nine months ago.
Miss Claflln wanted to return to Paris,
but again her parent refused, and then
for a few weeks left ner in Mrs. Tony
Drexel's capable hands. Mrs. Drexel,
who was Marjory Gould, has been as
anxious as her brother Klngdon to bring
her lifelong friend into the Gould fam
ily. Beatrice, it will be recalled, was
one of Marjory's brvllesinalds, and would
have been one of Vivien Goulds, but
fate, in the form of scarlet fever, inter
fered. Mrs. Drexel, as always, did her best to
further her brother's love affair, but
nothing availed against the man who
was now not only a lover, but a hero!,
Ills few and infrequent but ardent let
ters told of dangers undreamt of; of hun
dreds of wounded soldiers being cared
for by his unit, and finally, of personal!
praise bestowed on lm by General!
rrencn niuiseu: uven Miss Claflln's Da
rents realized that they could do noth
ing, ine war was turning their little
battle into a perfect rout. And so thev
surrendered, and tbe day came when
Miss Claflln cabled her lover to return
for the wedding! He returned a few
weeks ago and hurried to Southampton,
.where bis fiance and, her parents were
spending- the Summer. The engagement
was announced, and now the wedding
follows close on 1U b-
Corvlght. lftt.l, by the f:ir Campiny. Crt rtrluin flight, Ferrrl.