The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1879-09-11

charming little Lucca and the fascinating
Patti-for all the world is interested in
the tender experiences prime-donne; but
it is only old folke like myself whose
memories can go back to the hilarious
days of Mile. 6ontag and the Baron
Rossi. Theirs was love-match which
provoked acres of broad German grins and
LOTS or SCANDAL.
TWAS feast which the gossips of 1880
fully enjoyed, and have never forgotten.
Henrietta 6ontag was then in the flower
Of her youth, Of her beauty, and of her
charm Of song. She lad long declared
herself invulnerable to the arrows Of the
cunning little archer, but she was human.
after all. Wherever she went it was no.
ted that Barren Rossi was at her heels. If
she arrived in Berlin by one diligence, the
devoted Baron was sure to arrive by the
next. 1t was precisely the same thing at
Hamburg, the same at Paris, the same at
St. Petersburg-until in Berlin we were
accustomed t. make fun of poor Sontag
and to dub her persistent follower Baron
'Montag.' When, in spite of all precau-
lions, loves secret began to leak out, and
when scandal took place Of heartless Jest,
they linked
LADY SUNDAY AND BARON MONDAY
together; but it turned out that the par
son had joined them in advance, 81 that
all the calumniators and jokers on Sontag
were fguratively knocked into the mid
die of next week. All! she was charm
lng," said the old man, pp,ng his snuff
box: "1n those days she possessed that
kind OF beauty that makes stoics suscep-
tible, heroes melancholy, infldels devo-
tional, and enthusiasts hang themselves.
She gave to Song her smile, and to FASH
ION all her taste. Her voice was indes-
cribably charming. 1t took captive the
soul as her form delighted the
eye. A more angelic embodiment
Of graces and accomplishments never
presented itself before an audience.
She was, in fact, one Of those per-
sonally gifted few about whose beauty
there were no dissentsents. It was Of
that severe unexacting quality which en-
cages female hearts. Her youthful vi
vaclty was so fem nently gentle and 80
tempered by delicate discretion that she
was, withal, so outwardly unconscious of
her surprising loneliness that even envy
| itself was pleased to acknowledge it. All,
yesl Henrietta Sontag had every personal
advantage that genius could covet for
awakening emotion" The incidents
attending her triumphal progress through
the United States we're then touched up-
on. Her dresses, the torch-light pro-
ccssions, the diamonds she wore, the
hearts she turned even in her ferty-seventh
year, the clerical Juror in Boston, the mad
enthusiasm of New York, were lovingly
remembered. The saddcst and most
pathetic scene of all, when the drop cur
tain Of her life fell clouded in mystery
and in gloom, was also discussed. She
died IN Mexico, many of our readers will
no doubt remember, on the anniversary
of Waterloo in 1854. Her death was
separated from that of the favorate young
tenor Pazzolini by only few hours It
has become the fashion to attribute the
sudden taking of of the prima donna
and her gifted companion to Asiatic
cholera. There are some secrets
which Will never be known till
THAT GREAT DAY,
when the judgment shall be set and the
books 5e opened, and when the dark cor
ners of all hearts shall be exposed. The
venerable Berllner above quoted is of the
opinion that on that day it will be dis
covered that she died from the effects of
ONE drug administered by person in
the tram of her husband and herself-a
colored woman Of sanguinary ferocitv
and of tigerish love Of BLOOD. In the cap
ital Of the land of Cortez and Montczu.
ma 1t has been the conviction of few
that sontag died from poison, while 9TH
ers have steadfastly maintained that the
drug was potent narcotic, md that she
was IN reality the victim of premature
burial. 1t is known beyond all possible
cavil that she WAS inferred with almost
indecent haste, as is invariably the fash
ion in Mexico when cholera or yellow f.
yer becomes epidemic.
1t appears that the dead features of
sontag and Pazzolini presented none of
that ag''aized distortion peculiar to death
from cholera. She wore gloritied and
happy look-an expression Of happiness
which seemed to convey to her husband
and the privileged spectators the impress.
sion conveyed in the lords of the Epis.
copal Church Prayer-Boo that 'she rest
cd from her labors." "Decay's effacinR
fingers" never touched that calm, placid.
happy brow. The destroying Angel did
not disturb line Of the still lovely fca-
lures. s lay, as it were, in the beati-
tic rapture of rcpcse--
80 fair, 80 calm, so softly sealed.
The drst last look by death revealed"
More than this, it has been stated that
before the coffin was closed forvver the
mouth Of the corpse relaxed and the two
rows of teeth became visible. The alton
dant who saw the phenomenon was cham
ed to her post Of observation, and it is
said, suggested to Baron Rossi the pro-
priety of again summoning q physician.
The usband placed his hand on the be-
loved forehead and said:
"sHE Is QUITE DEAD"
These speculations are given for what
they are worth, though the evidences Of
premature burial seem very satisfactory.
1t Is said that obstacles have been thrown
IN the way of an exllumation OF the BIO
dies: Until the examination takes place
the horrible doubt will still exist in some
minds that the gifted prima donna died
by lncrcments Of agony in an untimelv
grave, inst as many yellow fever victims
IN the South have since died.
What do you think the beautiful word
wife comes from2 1t is the word in
which the English and Latin languages
conquered the French and Greek. ihone
the French will some get word for it
instead OF that dreadful word fensn,e. But
what do you think it comes from? The
great value of Saxon words is that thew
mean something. Wife means "weaver."
You must either be housewives or house.
moths; remember that. In the deem
sense, you must either weave mans for.
tune or embroider them to feed upon and
bring them tn 1ecav IVharovo, . 49,