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dottier Love Ordbnf)ifion?A Has Mrs. Astor No. 1 Returned to America ''*W Jo W ; . I urallßßf Wf - X Jliw’M" ? ' - W BX * I Wr Xtsß. wk ■ mSv . ' .IB '"''■">•« ;'/ - ff Wit wlrM ;i| -Xd® ■ vU' ; <« FW'^'»»’ fif ' 4 W» MB&.*4 ', ,sw4i IIHW-X t ®l «*' BMiBl ■ : '- ' i’» , '"'W*’C , Ww i fw lb IJ&Sj Mrs. Orme Wilson, Youngest Sister of the Late Colonel John Jacob Astor Who Never Recognized His Sec ond Wife—Mrs. Madeleine Force Astor. THE return to Nev York of Mrs. Astor—as the late Colonel John Jacob Astor's am wife desires to be called —and her active preparations for the com ing social season have added com plications to an already extremely complicated social situation Mrs, Astor's determination to take part again in American fashionable ac tivity was quite unexpected. After hr ■ divorce she went to England to live She said that nothing could ever induce her to return to this country to stay. She bought a house iu London and spent fortune on its decorations and furnishings. It was to bo her permanent home and there she would bring up her only daughter, Muriel, as the typical English girl is brought up. Is Mrs. Astor’s return prompted because of mother love or ambition, asks fashionable society. Is it a fact that, always deeply resentful of Colonel Astor’s marriage to Mad eieine Force, she considers herself the only real Astor widow and has made up her mind to act accord ingly, forcing all her world so to accept her? Or does she feel it her dut. to direct personally her son Vincent’s love cruises to some per fectly satisfactory matrimonial ha ven. and so avert any mesalliance which would make even more com plex the Astor family relations? And in the former event what will be the social standing of young Mrs. Astor No. 2, who was Made leine Force, and who. since the tragedy that made her a widow, has become a mother? As all the world knows Colone. Astor married Madeleine Force.went to Europe on a postponed wedding trip and was drowned on the Tl tan’c. From the day of the mar dage a great part of New York and Newport society has Ignored the new Mrs Astor. She is to-day hardly more than a very rich young woman, living In the magnificent mansion on Fifth avenue built by the late Mrs. William Astor and her son for their joint use. This will be her home until she marries again lot even her tragic widow What Mrs. Astor Gave Up When Divorced—AND MOW GETS BACK 1. —Ferncliff, the magnificent 2,000 acre country estate on the banks of the Hudson (R Mrs. Astor, as Vincent Astor’s mother is now reigning over this great estate, iust th,, l . never had left it.) Ugh she 2. —Beechwood, the handsome Newport estate on Bellevue avenue, where the lat M Astor entertained royalty. (Mrs. Astor, as Vincent’s mother will reign there next Summer 8 ‘ though she had never divorced his father.) ’ JUBt 41 3. —The town house on Fifth avenue that cost $3,000,000. (This belongs to the second M Astor until she marries, then it goes to Vincent. In that event the first Mrs. Astor would ' r eign over it, iust as though she had never given it up. again ' 4.—The superb steam yacht, Nourmahal, valued at half a million. s.—The Astor Jewels v-dued at $5,000,000. (Mrs. Astor can now wear these wond - f gems, whenever Vincent wants her to.) <r J 6-—Her only son Vincent Astor, the richest man of his age in America. (Mrs Astor has him with her, just as though she had never given him up.) ° r now 7.—A wife’s share of a fortune of One Hundred and Fifty Million Dollars. to File Her Claim on Social Leadership as the “Real Widow” of Col. Astor —Or Just to Keep Vincent from Some hood won her the friendship of so ciety She is as much apart from the fashionable world as though she had not married one of its most im portant men. She lives alone in her superb home, unsought by so ciety—and not seeking it. There is no doubt that the most important factor in the affair is the returned exile horse!.. Her attitude will settle a part of the vexed prob lem. If she succeeds in breaking off all communication between Vincent Astor and his stepmother there is no manner of doubt that society will continue its present policy of neglect ing the young widow. Many bf Mrs. Astor’s friends say that this is her sole reason for re turning to New York. One promi nent matron says that Mrs. Astor doos not intend to let the young widow and her family carry things with a high hand: that Vincent is not to be allowed to be on friendly terms with the new connections brought into the family by his father's second marriage, that he is to b<’ a stranger to his baby step brother ‘This?’ said the matron, “is Ava's sole reason for coming back, and a very good reason, too.” she finished. But an equally important matron says that mother love is the reason for the return. "Ava.” says this matron, “is devoted to Vincent, and when he appealed to her to come and assume charge of his home she gave up her most cher ished plans. It Is mother love that brings her back. Why, Ava might marry into the English nobility. She is on the most frlendlv terms with the ‘Court Circle,’ even Queen Mary has singled her out for attention, and no American has a more valu able position in London. But for Vincent’s sake she gives all this up. Only mother love could make such a sacrifice.” On the contrary, several of the women who have known Mrs. Astor for many years say that mother love was never her strong point and that it has nothing to do with her re turn. They call attention to the fact that she gave Vincent to his father at the time of the divorce and made no effort to hold him. ''Ava, - ' say these critics, “is not guided by mother love, but by social ambition She has never given up her right to use the name of Astor and calls-herself either ‘Mrs. Astor’ or ‘Mrs. John Astor' She has abso lutely refused to add her maiden name as so marly prominent divorcees have done. This shows clearly that she realizes the social value of her late husband's name and family and does not mean to give this advan tage to her successor. It is social ambition, pure and simple, that made Ava come back.” Who shall de,clde when society disagrees? Whatever Mrs Astor reasons, the fact Is that she is here and that she will be much in the public eye all Winter. By virtue of her beauty, her family and her wealth, she will naturally assume her old-time position in society. She 1 ; Jk zJk lx~ ■U/> k!\ w 1&! W /Ma ZF / \ ■ bh® z rwo u 3— —- — “Fashionable society imagine, Mr,. John Jacob Astor No. 1 standing at the beginning of two widely different road,. Has she chosen the one that leads to social supremacy and will enable her to extinguish all the social claims of Mrs. Astor No. 2? Or ha. ,he chosen the one that leads to a happy home for her son Vincent?” 111-Advised Marriage? can no longer reign in. the three million-dollar mansion fronting Cen tral Park where her former tri umphs occurred. But. the women who will flock to her in her new home further down the avenue will never call on *he second Mrs. Astor. In her Winter’s campaign Mrs. Astor will have the moral support of her sister-in-law, Mrs. Orme Wil son, who was Colonel Astor’s young est sister. Mrs. Wilson never ac cepted thq new wife. She has never spoken to her. When the baby was born Mrs. Wilson made no friendly inquiries. She did not even send her new nephew a pair of baby sox! Society has watched Mrs. Wilson closely, and undoubtedly has been guided by her. Last Winter when Colonel Astor appeared in his box at the opera with his pretty bride, Mrs Wilson sat in the next box and did not turn her face once toward her brother or his wife. She openly cut them before the crowded opera house. Not even her brother’s tragic death won a kind word from her She has not entered the great mansion where her mother died since Madeleine Force entered it as a bride Mrs. Astor will therefore have ■Mrs. Wilson’s help in keeping Vin cent among his old friends and in furthering her plans for marrying the hundred-million-dollar heir to a girl of family and high social stand ing. There must be no mistake made in Vincent’s marriage The Astor line must be perpetuated, as it has been in the past, by a care fully arranged marriage. Young Mr. Astor undoubtedly needs a mother’s care. He is one of the richest young men in the world and his path will be beset with temptations. He is not par ticularly capable of managing his great estate and he is just at the point where he might make a most serious mis-step. His mother, by surrounding him with her friends and by keeping him in the rut carved by th- Astor family, will he of incalculable service to him. Os course there will no entertaining this winter, for in spite of her di vorce Mrs. Astor is observing a period of mourning. Shq is refusing all invitations to formal affairs and is wearing black. The very quiet ness of their life makes it all the more necessary to surround the heir with family friends. Was there ever a more peculiar state of affafrs7 The wife, wearing mourn! ny, refusing all social engagements, and insistin’ on her right to be “Mrs. Astor” The second wife, wearing deeper mourning living quietly and with dignity in her husband’s home caring for her baby, and evidently content to be known as Mrs Made liene Force Astor! What will hap pen when her period of mourning is over? Wil) she then make an effort to conqtter society for the sake of her small son? Or will she marry one of the friends of her early life, giving up the five million sionV herltage and the sreat man There is a side to the problem confronting society that is much discussed behind closed doors. Wha imni K e first Mrs Astol “can ?o hS of a x um i ng f n , the right « ° f nead of the family? Doe« si>» nm alt bel h Ve tha! her dfvorc e did not alter her status as the wife <>f the late Colonel Astor? Does she mean to imply that she is the real wife, the real widow? Does mean to imply that Mrs. Madeleine Force Ascor is only an episode that sJclMly” b entHled ‘° SeC ° nd P ,ac '- Colonel Astor was forbidden tn marry again. His divorce w»2 granted in the State of Ne ® York and there is but one reason for Inch a divorce. In the decree he was told ffi .« .Madeleine Force and Colonel Asto were legally married in his win Colonel Astor made suen . Lil ' merits for his bride as the L? men have always made for .hL women they have married h headed by Mrs. Astor aml Mrs. Madeleine Force A«» <Mr. John J." C b ' ■’• ?l w 2 k> ,s Nc > r<=X nized by the Majority of Fa shionable Society as the Leader of the Astor Family if •* b,.f; .. ..z..', ' i-t .t'- w Hr I mwB 1 jwai I ■ ■j '‘ I I i ■ ' "MS I I - ■ -e» B 1 3 S,;„ jg XL z <A w; v-. x ‘X _-^ssitfifilMKKSß* a" -w x ■ ..*$ *■■ > '■' •• . - «X < AelMB O X*Mw» ’' WS$Hh& f ' . •• * '‘W <X' lr J r e^;< ■** /• r ■ > Ei&jpgwW W c - S& <XW> iw - - & lov« ; F- fcx!ir -xJSfe ; * Wl '<* M i ; Ww»' ; - 4mSrW / ‘ sslb ' MMMmB : 4. 4zwre fc '“ , ; < »’- i F' I x .... y ■WSfew Wsl i 5 ' *>v’- - k-£< ii-e ■?*'■. 1C 5i !•.?•■ ilk*. '•' mw%lß® J? ‘ iwßito' ■■ ■■ ' ’i »b! . >W’ . * ' Wli .S'/.S I .' yr ■ flWilEZrtF . >£s£jy i SfeS3St' ft • - ‘ s W®Otfl x v a wlml ' * 5 s f Ik -' - O ?-' : ---; r; ; r '- ; ■■ ' , wi }m||Wkk; ‘ -Tww- t - ■ ' s SagLg&.as Awb l^ atv?‘4 ;; '■ ■ t • /I'*’./'■ J- .q fz >%tevt-.f ■■ <..*•:• •”* , t ...{.*x<i si >.r,W- .2SrS*wQCSsws9s 2mßsW* , t knivw Bfek- < ; Jff®lw ' ; ' ~wb \ w s;- ’ ?: Z” < '■-: ' ..Z . : ■'' - ,Z ‘ vaEWMgrebd>» c * '^T-z’jy W" ‘ '&>,. '‘“■y' ' t e eW Lulled 0 on P Her° f F MrS q- ohn A3tOr N ° - ls SiiOwin « the Weariness Which Has ettled on Her Face Stnce Her Divorce from the Late Colonel Astor. UU, caunot aiieci lßt , Uu . A 8 legal -anding. it can and does make her very unhappy, but that ; society’s own prerogative. Ai rs. Astor dis P ayed into, <, , !i; . l kp , 0 N S e “’ r Y ™ Si h F F f’ lv ° r f e Alving up her social leadership here, she went to London and there had many social triumphs She was a guest at many dinners where King George and Queen Mary were guests A Few Things That Mrs. Astor Gives Up in Order to Live in This Coun try with Vincent Astor. The London house that she spent $300,000 to make one of the handsomest “American - ’ homes in Mayfair. 2. The friendship of Queen Mary. 3. Royal dinner parties and bails. 4. One dozen perfectly good noble suit ors, including Lord Curzon. 5. Her ambition to eventually succeed Lady Paget as the leader of the American et in London. 6. A fir mly established position in the Court Circle,” where the most excius.ve members were her friends. 0- Honor, aud dhe was com too oy a uozen men of title She spent nearly half a million dollars in establishing her place in English society. She transformed an originally plain house into one of the handsomest places in Mayfair. England will be rnv future home," she wrote her friends All this she has ;iven up Her London house is for rent and to day she aays, ", shall live in this coun try until Vincent marries.’’ Deep in Mrs. Astor’s heart, whis pers the one friend who knows her best, is a great sadness. A sadness caused by the marriage she con tracted when a debutante. It has been a silent sadness, but it shows in her face and in the new photo graph here shown the artist has caught ft unawares. A Few Things That the Second Mrs. Astor Has and Which She WILL HAVE TO GIVE UP IF SHE MARRIES AGAIN. 1. The $5,000,000 dollar house on Fifth Avenue. This includes all its wonderful furnishings. 2. $50,000 worth of motor cars and 4 her vehciles. 3. $5,000,000 left to her by her hus band for the up-keep of the town house and her own expenses. 4- ihe steam yacht Noma, the vessel bat Colonel Astor bought to replace the ourmahal.