The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1882-04-30
THE GOSSIP OF PARIa
NINE. de BalaAc-- ii artin, the Lion Tanner
The POLISH Dancing Ma.ter-zsla's New
nnd worthless NoVel-Pieturs Talk

Nine, de BalzAc- II nrtin, the Lion Tamer-
The Polish Dancing Ma.ter-zsla's New
nnd WORTHLESS Novel-Picturs Talk
PARIS April 14.--The neurology Of the past
week contains some names. celebrated in very
different spheres. which the attentive observer
az pu-isinn life cannot allow TO pass unnoticed.
r,r,nr n, 20 Of Nine. dc Balzac. Henri Martin.
the lion tanner, and Markowski. the dancing
master The collocation seems curious; 1t Ia
ono Of those odd condolences due to tho irony
nj events In recent letter / spoke at some
lon,gfl OF the marriage OF Nine. do Balzao with
,h, ilmstrous novelist and OF the financial en-
hnrrn,slucnts which harassed her later years
eubarrns-mon II must be added, due entire
|, to tho lndys own imprudence and to that OF
hnr DAUGHTER Nine. dc Bazac died on the
night II April 10. after a long illness in the
house y Rue Baizac. whore the author OF the
"Cor6iio Humane" died less than ak months
after hs marriage with the widow Of the Count
de Hanski. nee Countess Rzewuski. @ descend
ant of the illustrious family that numbers
among its members Wenccsas Rgewuski. Het-
man and Grand General OF Poland under
stanslaus Augustus. and Marie Lcsczcinska.
Queen OF France. Mmo. de Balzac now lies In
the cemetery Of Pore Laehaise. In the same
~ 4 Hs her husband.
Ever since the death Of Balzac his house at
the corner Of the Faubourg Saint Honor6 and Of
tho street that bears his name has been shroud
ed in mystery None but n few very intimate
friends Of tho family have entered 1t. Exteri-
orly the house presents the appearance OF
half-hnished building that had been abandoned
for want Of funds. Some OF the windows are
simply boarded up and the lower part is COW
cred with posters and pacards Of all colors. the
deposit Of years OF neglect In tho Interior
several OF the rooms arc uninhabitable and fall
Ing into decay. The salon alone. with its dome
roof. formerly n chapel. was kept with jealous
care by Mme de Bazac.
A curious story Is related OF the arrival OF
Balzac and his bride In this house. The mar
rlage. as the reader may remember was cele-
brated at Berdltcher. and it was night when
the couple arrived at Paris. When he got out
OF the carriage at the door of his house. Balzac
was aston shed to find all the windows brightly
lighted. He Knocked. There was no answer
He knocked again and again. but in vain. In
despair Dalzac climbed over the wall. and W hat
did he seer His valet, gone mad, was dancing
through the apartments. which he had illu-
minated wtn as many candies as ne could
were the circumstances in which Nine. de
Balzac entered her husbands house. We're
they not, bytheir romantic stranseness. worthy
OF the masterf
Nine. de Ba ,zae must have been some y years
OF age. The testimony of all who have had the
privilege Of approaching her goes to show that
she was remarkable woman. Indeed. she
must have had rare qualities to captvate a
with that boundless admiration which he has
expressed in the letters published IN the two
perhaps hope that now her daug liter, the Count
ess MnisEuch. will make 1t her tlliai duty 10
publish her mothers letters to Ballac. SO that
we may complete the portrait of the woman
whom BaIzac called the Jewel OF Poland"
Henri Martin. whose name chance has caused
mo to couple with that OF Nine. de baizac. was
great man in his way. He, was the first who
yentured 70, enter cage OF wild beasts. and
IN oy i6rSs oi energy Of an
and tigers TO his own will. Martin never em-
ployed any oil those fantastic means which
and which Balaac himself has 50 POLITICALLY de-
yel0oped IN FRAGMENT called Cns passion dams
and Impressed them with a sense oil his supe-
riority He was a yeritable king of an mais.
and Il was, not without. reason that Charles
Nodier said one night as he came out OF Mar
Martin would perhaps have been Bonaparte.
Chance has made OF man oil genius director
Martins memoirs. written from his notes by
AL 6e P wsre tbe eT
and sincere books OF the kind that have read.
Henri Martin was born in 1893. His father was
Massina, Duke of Riyoii., When no was 10
years OF age he was engaged in travelling cir
Martin had remarkable success as q horse
tanner Then the idea struck him that he could
tame tigers by the Same means. He spent
then he tanned hyena and then a lion. lie
used to boast that he had never been seen with
in Paris and London in the Lions of Mysore."
dates away back from 1880. when he was in
deed the Lion Of the DAY" Is 5ef5
gene sue show what an impression WAS made
upon his contemporaries by this man. who.
passonp Of peril of daily a2 pl
speak; from the jaws of lion. BY wonderful
k s M o S he 69 rstsa Sn5 so p hs
greater part OF his menagere to the los logical
Garden OF Rotterdam. of which establishment
tired into private lie. to the village Of Overs
chic. near kotterdnni, whore ne devoted his
He deI at ovsrschie last WeeR u e Of yesrs
The present year has been disastrous 70 the
remnants OF the gay Paris Sc q the early i'm,
shared the fortune Of Frascati and Valentino
and become prey to the picks and spades Of
Moulln Rouge " has disappeared from the carte
at tend'e 4 day or two ago the renowned
MarkowsSi died in extreme distress in an
obscure lodging house where you pay six cents
Markgwsk. was IN his time one OF the ceebri-
ties of Paris, and his name occurs frequently
he was Polish Jew, by name Joseph Mayer
and by trade book6inder who came to Paris
Of the s pub aHo balls on A the borders Of
Paris he danced national Polish dance
with immense success. The idea then struck
up as Il dancing master in the Rue Saint La
zare, and took the sonorous name OF Markow-
sSl II 1913 he opened a dancing class at the
cd Hotel de Normandy, aspired to the success
son OF the elder Mabie, who had hitherto
been the fashionable teacheT and made money
The same year ne obtained the management OF
the balls al Enghen and began that system oil
fstes that We're the delight of the young folks
under the Empire. Markowski was the fashion
He had invented the schottische. he had intro
duced the mazurka into France. He then fur
Their augmented his titles to immortality by
composing the FT,skd and the LsDOmieine
In those days Of fertility of invention how many
dances did not Markowsk compQse-tho tango
the Impsrae danced by C5lcste Mogador. now
Countess de ChabriIlan. and Adele Page. who
died in the odor OF sanctity few weeks ago.
the c,dssH'esse. the quadrille OF the So"perduts
So Markowski conquered his place among the
first dancing masters Of the day.
But unfortunately for himself Markowsk
was a Bohemian. One day he lived like @
prince. had fountains of eau de Cologne flow
Ing in the midst Of his salons. and invited al
the minor journalists 10 marvellous suppers
The next day he was in the debtors prison, OF
obliged to play the part OF what used to be
called in England the Sunday gentleman,
MarkowsEs days OF glory We're when he hat
three great bathrooms. Of the day-ifor the demi
monde-were those OF Cellarius, Laborde, anC
harxowski Markowski was the fayorte, be
cause all the vaudevillists actors and sournal
lists had their entries FREQ; the men did not pay