Jasper County Democrat, Volume 1, Number 36, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 December 1898 — Yankee Gold for Titles. [ARTICLE]

Yankee Gold for Titles.

M. de Royer, who is recognized as one of the leading authorities on questions of heraldry and genelaogy in France, draws a fantastic picture of the millions of American dollars which find their way each year into France by means of marriages between American heiresses and Gallic nobles. In one year alone —it was not the.year of the Gould-Castellane wedding—he demonstrates how 100,000,000 francs, that is to say $20,000,000 found their way in this manner into French pockets. If M. de Royer is, however, to be believed, heiresses always get their money’s worth. For he asserts that although there are about 50,000 French families who make use either of titles or of the nobiliary particle of “de,” there arc less than half of that number whose claims to any nobiliary prefix are genuine. Nor does M. de Royer stop here. How many of the families with authentic nobiliary prefixes, he asks, have remained really noble in the sense of descent ? Each masculine Introduces into the noble family 50 per cent, of plebeian blood, and when in a number of following generations there has been a sequence of unions of this kind, how much of the blue blood is there left at last? American women, therefore, marrying French nobles would do well to make sure that they get the bona fide article before parting with their money or risking their future happiness.