The Morning News

A Society Funny Story.

They tell a funny story here to explain why William Waldorf Astor went over to London to live and buy a daily paper and monthly magazine for only the nobility to read, says the Newport correspondent of the Chicago Record. He is a son of the late John Jacob Astor who, like him, has written a book. So long as William Astor the father of Mrs. Leland lived his wife and her mother was the Mrs. Astor of Newport. There couldn't be but one, but when he was gathered to his fathers and his widow went into retirement during the mourning period, Mrs. William became the Mrs. Astor pro tem., and had her cards so engraved. The dowager, however, being still a youngish woman and fond of the gay world, re-entered the social arena when she dropped off her weeds, reassumed all the responsibilities and claimed all the prerogatives of her position as the head of the family. She brought out her old card plate with plain "Mrs. Astor" upon it. As there couldn't be two people accorded that distinction there was a merry war between Mrs. Willie Astor and her aunt. William Waldorf, as the senior of the male line, had his cards read "Mr. Astor," and his wife insisted that hers ought to correspond. He even went so far as to give orders at the postoffice to have all letters addressed to "Mrs. Astor" delivered at her house, and she instructed the newspaper correspondents to write up social doings for the New York and Boston papers to mention her, and her only, by that term under pain of excommunication; but it was no go. Society decreed with a judgment from which there was no appeal, that the dowager might retain the title, and the niece shook the ungrateful dust from her skirts, and dragged her husband over to London, where no elderly aunt could stand in her way.