A DASHING ADVENTURESS.

Evening Post, Volume XLVI, Issue 19, 22 July 1893, Page 1 (Supplement)

A DASHING ADVENTURESS.

For some time past a mysterious woman in black, with a long and sweeping dark veil, has been staying at the Palace Hotel, San Francisco. Her widow's weeds, together with her youthful and comely appearance, caused many a person to stop in the corridors to take a second look at her, and to wonder who she was. The lady registered as the Countess Vesta Hastings, of Paris, and pretty soon letters and telegrams began to come freely to her under that name. A little later they were wont to come addressed to the Viscountess Henriot. Packages also came to the hotel, as well as private notes, addressed to these names. It soon became noised about in select circles that the Countess, though clad in widow's weeds, was quite wilful. This only made her the more in demand. Of all those who sued for her attention none was more fondly received than John Bradbury, the son of a Los Angeles millionaire, lately deceased. The young man had plenty of money, and, according to the stories told, he spent it upon her lavishly. However, hearing that during his absence the Countess was in the habit of receiving attentions from a wealthy broker, and also from a banker, John Bradbury got tired of his infatuation, after having expended about £2500 upon the lady. The mysterious woman was credited with having come up from Southern California, whore she had been some time, with the son of the millionaire. It was stated also that he had paid on an average 50 dollars a day for her support. After the Countess had shone about the hotel for some time, and dazed her admirers and the hotel people with the wealth she displayed, she packed up suddonly and went away. It was not known certainly where she had gone. There were opinions that she was in Southern California, again in Paris, and again in New York. However, to one person she stated that she had been in Paris, and that the Grand Hotel there was where she made her headquarters. Anyway, when she got back, she blossomed out in a broader way than ever. She had a lively coloured maid with her, and the Countess took a fresh hold on her admirers. She visited the races, scattered her money royally, and swayed the hearts of those who worshipped her in a more magical way than before. She paid her bills like a lady, and not infrequently displayed a roll of bills. Every night, too, the mulatto girl tripped down from the second floor with a great tray of diamonds and other jewels, which were regularly locked in the safe. Soon after this great consternation was occasioned among the select coterie of admirers on learning that the Countess was no countess at all, but a plebeian girl of the name of Riley, of Portland, in the Webfoot State, and that sho was little else than an adventuress. CAREER OP TIIE " COUNTESS." It seems that above eight years ago she was a student at St. Helen's Hall, in Portland, a popular school for young ladies. Her father, who "iß.lt- Riley, was the proprietor of a wortd yard. It was just after the Villa?d,.or Northern Pacific, boom in the northwest, and aa_fee_had from time to time put a little money in town lots he found himself in rather comfortable circumstances. The mother of the young woman was a German. It appears that the girl, whose full name is Bonnie Vesta Riley, grow so wild while in Bt. Heleu's Hall that she refused to be restrained at all, and, as is told, her mother died, largely of grief for her eccentricities. At any rate, about two years after she had entered the institution she was put in the care of an elderly lady who had been her tutor, and sent east to Harrisburg, Pa., to a ladies' seminary. The elderly lady was her guardian in the matter of an estate which, it appears, had been left her by her mother. Some placo the value of this estate at 75,000 dollars, and others at 13,000 dollars. However, it had been specified in the will that only a portion of it was to be paid her each year. The amount was not enough for her ideas of what she should spend. She grew discontented at Harrisburg, where it appears that she had abstained for a good deal of the time from studying, and had pursued her usual lively career, and returned to Portland to break the will. It never took the nature of a lawsuit, but she alternately pleaded and declared she would bring suit if her wishes for the payment of the whole, or at least a good part of it, were not met. She could do nothing, however, and finally she gave the matter up. Apparently she was chagrined, however, or else she had become attached to someone whom she considered had not rendered her full devotion, for, one night in a lodging house of not very good repute, she took some chloroform, and her dashing caroer came almost to an end. Luckily, she was discovered in time, and was hurriedly taken in a carriage to a local hospital, where, after considerable effort, she was revived and recovered. Then the dashing woman concluded to leave Portland and go on the stage. She went to New York, and became an understudy with Nat Goodwin in one%f the theatres there. But her experience on the stage appears to have been short. It was thus, after having led many men captive, that she concluded to go to Paris. How long she stayed in the gay French capital is not known, but by the time she had finished her tour of the East and the part of Europe she] saw, she had learned in detail how to charm, and how to hold the wealthy men whom she charmed. It is not stated when she first met John Bradbury, but the spell she has cast on him seems to have been unusually powerful.

M. Waddington, who is in his sixtyseventh year, still rejoices, singularly enough, in the name of " yellow boy," which his mates gave him at Rugby in consequence of a very remarkable waistcoat of black and yellow stripes which he wore in those days. His wealth, which is considerable, is derived from vast spinning-factories in the Department of the Eure-et-Loire, established a century ago. i Greek girls are generally dressed in white. A marchioness died in Revenna lately, leaving an enormous fortune to the Society of Jesus. The heirs-at-law of the mar- ' chionesti allege undu* influence on the. part of the Jesuits, and will dispute the bequest. The hairspring of your watch weighs But one-twentieth of a grain per inch. One mil* of such wire would weigh much less than half a pound.