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Show MISS JOSEPHINE DREXEL: Heiress to Million, It Is Said, "Will Give Life to Church. (Correspondence Intermounlain Catholic.) 1 Nev York, Dec. 1. Miss Josephine Drexel is to retire into a convent, her friends tsay. They speak of this regretfully, regret-fully, because the thought of a young woman's abandonment of fashionable society's 'festivals implies an idea of sacrifice, in their view. . To her that abandonment, ,made complete, com-plete, would be 'a joy. She is the daughter daugh-ter of the late Joseph W. Drexel. Her income is $80,000 a year now. Her legacy leg-acy is estimated at $10,000,000. She is 19 years old, beautiful, learned, an accomplished ac-complished musician. She plays the harp, the piano, the guitar. She studied harmony from excellent teachers. She does not like fashionaible society's vanities. She lives in the perpetual admiration of the Ultan-ies of the Virgin Mary, the Golden Legend, the marvelous marvel-ous of the srpouses of Jesus Christ, who wore gowns of martyrdom. Rather than ajl the poems she prefers the flowery sermons, in which the sons of St. Francis Fran-cis exalt poverty, candor and innocence. Her retiglous devotion is intense. Two years ago, when her mother gave at Delmonieo'9 a sumptuous ball in her honor, and Mr. and Mrs. Anthony J. Drexel' transformed, for her, Horticul-tural Horticul-tural hall, in Philadelphia, into a fairy palace, hopes were expressed that she might conciliate her piety with the manners of the -world. But they were vain hopes. :: -; -- - She had no ambition to be a drawing room sovereign. Three bunder and fifty -persons were nt the ball at Del-m'onico's." Del-m'onico's." She wore a pafe green moire velvet gown, trimmed, with. Bruges Jace and pink roses. Her eEeter Mrs. John Vinton Dahlgren, in light blue satin.; embroidered with silver, took great' pains to make her enjoy the conversation conversa-tion of the cleverest young men. She was charmingly affable, but she was not charmed. '.,..., . In Philadelphia's Horticultural hall, wehere' the favors of the cotillon were gold-handled , riding whips, jeweled purses, muffs and boas of .carnations and the decorations roses, azeiias. lilies of the valley and orchids in profusiori, the zeal .of every one to, make her love life in merriment astonished her. - ' Miss. Drexel has not often "accepted invitations to receptions here. She has evaded the necessity of declining them by, visits abroad to her eldest sister. She has, when fashion was at its height in the city or at the seashore, always preferred to be in the company of her aunt, who is, in religion, Mother Catherine. Cath-erine. In the latter's convent Miss Drexel finds her happiness. She was educated as a Roman Catholic. Catho-lic. Her father was a communicant of the Church of the Transfiguration in East Twen'ty-ninth street; her mother 'was converted from the Protestant Episcopal church into the Roman Catholic Cath-olic at the time of her marriage to Mr. Drexel. He was the eon of the founder of the banking house that became famous fa-mous as Drexel. Hayes & -Co., and later as Drexel, Morgan & Co. Miss Josephine Drexel's two sisters are Roman Catholics. They are married to sons of the late Admiral Dahlgren. They are. like her, well acquainted with the, poetic legends of their faith, .and tfcll them enchantingly. Miss Drexel has the most charming manner imaginable imagin-able Of reciting to children the tales of the fhebald and the achievements of heroines like Joan of Arc. Miss Drexel modernizes the phrases that are retained of Joan. They are peiarls and jewels of the purest Frenvh lancnage. She modernizes them for the children's, sake. '. She says. "Old .w.ords on young lips are odd." She has the' temperament of the gentlest religious teachers. j |