Back of the Book Player Test

Mrs. Astor was always known as a game lady who had a certain way with men. Not long ago, while she was still in her 90s, she fell as she was touring South Street Seaport and tore her stockings, said Liz Smith. Summoning a group of workmen, she instructed them to form a circle around her and face outward. Then she reached into her handbag, pulled out a new pair of pantyhose, and changed on the spot. It is painful for her friends to see her now helplessly dragged into the tabloids. "I think she would have rather died than have these stories in the paper," Smith said. "Her life was such a triumph."

With Lee Hudson Teslik

© 2006