The Washington times. [volume], June 29, 1919, NATIONAL EDITION, American Weekly Section, Image 29

About The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
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THIS is the age of the new woman.
She works in factories, runs cars
and ships, pilots aeroplanes and has
fhe vote is, in fact, on full equality with
man on every plane of material endeavor.
Miss Alice Drexel, daughter of the very
rich and fashionable John R. Drexels, of
New York, Newport, Philadelphia, London
rt and Paris, has just proved that the new
woman has also reached full equality in
the matter of running an elopement.
For lo and behold, instead of waiting
demurely in the traditional fashion for her
Romeo to come in the night with his
scaling ladder, carry her palpitating down
it and away to the minister, Miss Drexe,
splendidly equipped, has her own big tour
ing car brought to her own door, pitches
In It all the things she needs, drives it off
herself, picks up her timorous lover from
behind the tree where he has been wait
ing for her, carries him off to the minis
. ter and is wed!
And what makes this triumph of new
womanhood even greater is the fact that
the man she married is a soldier and an
officer. Captain William Barrett, of the
United States Air Forces, wounded twice
in France and by reason of his training
supposedly versed in campaigns and
stratagems against the enemy, whether the
latter be armies or a sweetheart's recal
citrant parents.
What a change from the olden days of
romance! What a demonstration of
the advance of women since the time
when the knights rode around in armor,
fighting and enjoying themselves! At that ,
time the burden of the elopement was all
on the man and was attended largely by
what to-day we would call police court
incidents. While Lady Claire, the fair
young demoiselle, sat in her bower she
would hear a clash of arms, and what the
Elizabethan dramatists call loud alarums.
Eventually her headstrong lover would ap
pear in the bower, clasp her against tiis
shirt of mail, stride away over the pros
trate bodies of her relatives and retainers,
set her on his warhorse, leap in front of
her. and with her arms clasped about his
middle Jog away to domesticity.
If he did not appear in the bower it
meant that the Lady Claire was minus one
suitor and was probably In for a disciplin
ing. Later on, as armor was discarded,
swords, rapiers and daggers had their day.
Then rope ladders were popular. With
mechanical progress the ease with which
an elopement could be carried out became
greater, and parents had more cause for
anxiety. But always and ever it was the
man who devised the ways, carried them
out, was the party of the first part, as
they say in the legal contracts. Running
true to custom, it was the duty of the de
sired lady to take little part in the pro
ceedings except to be acquiescent She
was supposed to sit demurely, maybe pro
test a little now and then, at the most do
no more than slide down the ladder "Into
her suitor's waiting arms. After that, as
before that, it was all up to him.
Let us consider now Miss Drexel's first
equal suffrage elopement. Miss Drexel is
a granddaughter of the late Anthony J.
Drexel, of Philadelphia, who left a fortune
of $30,000,000, of which her father got the
most Mrs. Drexel, her mother, is one of
the most famous of American beauties and
one of the proudest. Her cousin is the
Viscountess Maidstone Margarita Drexel
and the Maidstones are noted, even
among the English nobility, for their ex
clusiveness. She has known and been ad
mired by kings, princes, dukes and such
like all over the world.
But most important, during the last
seven years, the daughter of the Drexels
had specifically, and with intention
matrimonial, been courted by at least four
sterling joung American men of social
position and wealth, and by one French
gentleman without much of either. And
always. Just as the interesting "moment
drew near when she would have the op
portunity to say "yes" or "no" as the
case might have been she was suddenly
and unexpectedly whisked away beyond
the range of her wooer. It might have
been coincidence each time, but Miss
Drexel suspected it wasn't. Indeed, it is
entirely permissible to say that she more
sthan suspected it' was mamma.
Therefore, after taking tea not more
than two months ago with the Princess
Murat, the Princess Rospigliosi and a few
other of her titled friends now in New
York, she did not tell mamma that she
had met a man there who had interested
'f her greatly. Yes, this man was Captain
Barrett
The captain
came from Washington
Unlike the
1 At Ten O'clock in the Morning Miss Drexel Calmly Super
intends the Moving of Her Gowns, Hats, Etc., "For a
WeeWs End Stay with Friends in Tuxedo." Behind Her
Is Seen Her Unsuspecting Maid.
2 On the Road to Bronx Park Mtss Drexel Informs the Maid
That She Had Better Go Back Home, and This Surprised
Young Lady Is Seen Obeying.
3 At the Appointed Place in Bronx Park Captain Barrett and
His Best Man Emerge from Concealment and Are Wel
comed by the Resourceful Juliet.
4 Whizzing Along thf Roads to New Rochelle Miss Drexel
Drives the Gallant Captain to the Minister, Where They
Are Married.
5 And with Trousseau and Bfidegroom All Safely
Together She Whirls Away on Her Honeymoon.
originally. His family was one of those
perfectly good ones society never heard
of. He had been educated in England and
had tutored young sprigs of the nobility
there and, later, young sprigs of the Amer
ican autocracy in New York and Newport
When America went into the war he joined
the aviation forces, serving
largely In France as in
structor. Miss Drexel liked him. The
liking grew apace. But with '
vivid memory of what.had so
often happened before when
she found herself growing to
like certain men, she did not
. ask him to call at the Drexel
home In New York and
scrupulously forebore almost
even to think of him when in
Mamma Drexel's company.
"Mamma," she had been
known to remark, "is un
canny about some things."
So the daughter of the
Drexels and the gallant avia
tor met here and there at tea
rooms, saw each other as fre- .
quently as possible at the
homes of sympathetic friend3,
ran into each other in the
Park and managed to be to
gether just as much as it Is
possible under the rose.
Then came a time when
each knew the other's heart.
And Miss Drexel very firmly
and decidedly said "yes."
But the question remained
"How?"
She was under no illusions as to what
would happen if she told papa and mamma
what she had agreed to do. No, it would
have to be an elopement But manifestly
Captain Barrett couldn't scale the front of
her house, draw her half-reluctant out of
the window and down to any waiting steed.
It can't be done in New York with the
police walking by every few minutes. Be
sides, there were a lot of pretty dresses
she wanted to take with her otherwise, of
course, they could Just go and get married.
How could she get those dresses out?
Quite suddenly Miss Drexel blossomed
into the new womanhood, a wave of re
sourcefulness swept through her.
"Don't you worry," said she to the im
patient captain. "Now, here's what we'll
do"
They whispered.
It was next morning that Miss Alice, at
tired in a bewitching negligee, looked
languidly over toward her mother.
"I think, if you don't mind, I'll go up to
Tuxedo for the week's end, mamma," she
said, and mentioned as her destination
there a family which Mrs. Drexel knew
would be entirely free of suitors, prospec
tive or otherwise a completely safe fam
ily. Miss Drexel knew it, too; that was
why she had picked that particular family
out ""
"Why, of course," agreed mamma at
once.
"And I think I'll just drive up myself
with Heloise." pursued her daughter. "I
want to take quite a lot of things, for I
may stay a little longer and I'll need a
maid."
All of which sounded so entirely reason
able to Mrs. Drexel that she hardly even
thought about It. But Heloise, who wasn't
at all in the secret, wondered a bit how
long she was going to be away from New
York, for the dresses and things Miss
Alice was picking out to pack looked like
a whole season.
Promptly at- ten next morning Miss
Drexel's own big imported touring car
rolled up to the door. Down the steps
came servants carrying what is called a
week-end trunk capacity three suit cases
four actual suit cases and a valise or
two. Behind them was Heloise, almost
completely surrounded by hat boxes.
Old Days When Timid Maids Awaited Masterful Romeos, This
Drives tierselt Away, ricks
Up Her Waiting
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Mrs. John
R. Drexel,
Whose
Sustained
Objections
to Various
Other
Suitors, '
Caused, Her Friends Say, Her Daughter to Elope When
the Right Man Came Along.
And after all these things had been ad
justed in the back, down the steps strolled
Miss Alice, outwardly, at least, calm and
care-free and dressed in one dark blue
satin gown, one blue tulle hat, trimmed
with flowers, and jacket of moleskin.
The chauffeur relinquished the wheel to
her for, in the phrase of the chauffeur,
"Miss Alice is a bearcat of a driver"
touched his hat, grinned at Heloise and
disappeared. Under the hand of the
Drexel daughter the big car gathered
speed, wound around in traffic for a while,
shot over the northern tip of Manhattan,
and began to purr along toward Bronx
Park.
And right here Heloise, the maid, got
the shock of her life. The- car stopped
and Miss Drexel turned to her.
"Here, Heloise," she said, "is where you
get out," or words to that effect
How can one deserihe the emotions of
a perfectly trained maid, who, while think
ing she is going to Tuxedo for a pleasant
visit, is told to get off on a side approach
to Bronx Park? it's impossible!
Nevertheless the fact remains that
Heloise untangled herself from the lug
gage and got off. And there she stood,
thinking who can say what thoughts as
she watched the big car whizz on and
vanish In the distance.
Not far did it go. Only to Bronx Park
Itself. And there an eager gentleman in
the uniform of a captain of the air service
disengaged himself from the shrubbery
and leaped jubilantly to the auto. It was,
as you have suspected, Captain Barrett.
Copyright, 1919, by Star Company.
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Behind him was another young man, Stan
ley Bargo, a New York friend, who had
agreed to be witness and best man at the
elopement.
"Everything all right?" carolled the cap
tain as he approached.
Did Miss Alice fall fainting into his
arms, relinquishing here the conduct of
the expedition and thus resume the old
fashioned manner? Not at all.
"Jump in, Billy," she commanded. "Come
on, Mr. Bargo. We've got to pick up Peggy
Graydon now."
Peggy Miss Margaret Graydon one of
Miss Drexel's intimates, was just w'here
she had been told to be.
Whizz went the big car again, straight
on to New Rochelle, and drawing up in
front of the home of the pastor of the New
Rochelle Methodist Episcopal Church, Miss
Drexel slipped the gears into neutral,
turned off the spark, put down the brakes
and went in and was married!
The first historically recorded new wo
man elopement was an unqualified success!
Later, Mamma and Papa Drexel were
notified. It is certain that for a time things
must have been very distressing. They
even issued a statement An unheard of
thing in Drexel circles so far as purely
personal matters are concerned.
"Mr. and Mrs. Drexel have not had the
pleasure of meeting Captain Barrett and
know nothing whatever about him. Their
daughter's wedding is, therefore, both a
surprise and a shock to them."
But a day or so later all four spent an
evening together, and every one supposes
Great Britain Rights, Reserved.
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Above Is Mrs.
William Barrett
Formerly Miss
Alice Drexel Heiress of the
John R. Drexel Millions Who
by Her Elopement Proved That
the Juliets of Fiction Are Old
Fashioned and Must Be Modern
ized. Below Is Captain Wil
liam Barrett, of the Upited
States Air Forces, the Romeo
in the Romance.
that everything is all right For the for
mer Miss Drexel's sake every one hopes
it is. She has no sources of income of
her own despite her family's enormous
wealth.
Captain Barrett has no money, either,
but he says he can easily earn all that he
and his wife will need, which is decidedly
optimistic on his part, as his bride has
been reared in the most sumptuous lap of
luxury and has no more Idea of the value
of a dollar than an unborn baby.
Soon as certain tiresome business de
tails are settled the pair are going to Eng
land to live.
But there the proud Maidstones and
Margarita Drexel, the Viscountess, is said
to have grown prouder than the traditions
she married are not likely now to accept
the Barretts as equals.
Nevertheless, society wags wise heads,
and those who remember it quote, "As ye
sow, so shall ye reap.''
Mrs. Drexel, they feel, turned her back
on so many absolutely acceptable possible
sons-in-law that, really, now it is difficult
to extend her much sympathy.
Modern Juliet
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