Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-09-14
PATTI AND HER HUSBAND.
How They Were Regarded in St Peters
burg-A Description OF Their Lift
There.

PATTI AND HER HUSBAND.
How They Were Regarded in St Peters
burg-A Description OF Their Life
There.
Tae following is from private letter
printed in the Hartford Times. 1t is a
long time ago, so my recoIlections may be
somewhat faded, but / remember to have
spent very pleasant evenings at st. Pc
tersburg with the Marquis de Caux and
his very amiable and charming LADY, I
knew bu this name first, for with the mcst
inenable conceit he never seemed to doubt
that people came to mis- house to see him.
without thought of the fascinating diva.
for Patti is PROFESSIONALLY fascinating
woman, and at the period / speak of,
young, unspoiled to considerable degree
and full of spirit and gayety, ishe was,
perhaps, at Der best. Nothing, however,
put the Marquis in such rage as for per-
sons to be Introduced to him and then
Immediately asa or an Introduction to
"tae Patti as he was always called Il
St. Petersburg. But it happened yery
often. In these days they were newly
married and appeared to be very happy
couple. ut. Petersburg society, then the
haughtiest and most exclusive in Europe,
was not sufficiently amiable to accept the
Patti as Marquise as long as she sang in
public. In England people were more
good-natured. The Prince of Wales set
the example of admiring the Marquise,
and the fashion became catching.
De CauX, who as everybody kroWsi
highly connectedin France, was equery to
the Emperor. He had to give up his postIn
marrying, however, as even that parvenu
court turned up its nose at public sing
er. The Empress would probably have
been glad to receive her, as she is said to
have urged the match, but de Caux's re-
lations, at the head of whom was his sis
ter, the proud Duchess of Valmy, led
regular crusade against poor de CauX and
his wife after they were married. They
had influence enough to affect very sensi-
bly, PATHS position at st. Petersburg.
The intense cold during the gay season
was the ostensible reason that kept the
de C2uXs from going out in the evenings
when Patti did not sing, and the result
was that they led the quietest possible life
at the Hotel Demuth. Only intimate
friends, and very few of them, would drop
in to tea about s O'Clock in the evening,
and then, as soon as the tea things were
cleared away, an exciting game of lotto
would begin and be carried on with great
animation for couple Of hours. Each
player would put twenty copecks into the
pool, and there were first, second and third
prizes to be shared among the five gam
blers, who were usually the Marquise de
Caux-I put her first this time because
she was always the widest and most ex-
cited of the party; her English compan-
ion, Miss Lauw, who, by the way, is to
publish book OF "reminiscences about
PATHS st. Petersburg residence shortly;
the Marquis de CauX, Hamper an myself.
/ must note here that there were the
most extraordinary rumors at the time
about the gambling pYcpensities Of the
Marquis, who was accused of wasting in
riotOus living and play all the money his
wife could earn. The truth is he was the
most thoroughly domesticated husband
ever seen, scarcely ever leaving his wife's
side. except to sit opposite her in front
seat at the opera, where he never omitted
to clap his hands violently and applauded
her Vociferously whenever he got a chance.
AS for spending money, it was, perhaps.
the other way. He was, perhaps, g little
too close. His supreme desire was to be
able to save money enough to retire his
wife from the stage, but sac said, with
some reason, that it would be no use re-
firing with moderate fortune, as he must
be able to live in very good style to make
his wife any equivalent for the extraordi-
nary applause with which she was greeted
every night of her life and whenever she
appeared in public.
Although "society" IL St. Petersburg
would have nothing to say to Patti, as
member of its Gordon bleu, yet her recep-
tiOn by the public was something phe-
nomenal. The prices paid for seats at the
opera the night of her first appearance
were fabulous, OF course Winans had TO
have the best box that could be had for
money, and believe he paid 1000 rubles,
or about f200, for it that one night. AS
Russian aid-de-camp remarked, he might
have made trip to Paris and heard her
a dozen times for such a sum OF money,
but fancy that would not have been at
all in his way. Other boxes sold in pro-
portion, and Franz, one of the commits
sioners at our hotel, was nearly crushed
to death and had his pocket picked of all
his money in the crowd besieging the
opera, trying to get tickets to sell for fifty
times what was paid for them.
After every season that Patti was in st.
Petersburg, the Emperor made her mag
nifcent present of diamonds, and the
''abones" Of the opera did the same. The
list Of subscribers to the latter used to be
at the English club, and if l remember
rightly, 5000 or 1000 rubles was the sum
usually subscribed. The value of the
bouquets thrown (or rather handed her
by the chief of the orchestra) during the
season must have cost nearly as much
flowers were dear in st. Petersburg.
Nicolini sang with Patti already in those
days, and always in lovers parts. People
used to remark that it must be rather I'M
pleasant for the Marquis to be always
looking on while such affeetionate scenes
were passing between them, but always
thought that the Marquis was great deal
too well persuaded of his own superior
merits to imagine it possible that the Patti
should prefer any one to him. When the
catastrophe happened, de Caux expressed
himself as being ''yery mu@h disguised"
That his wife, he said, should run away
with somebody else, he did not so much
mind, but that she should prefer such a
BLACKBOARD as Nicolini to him was really
humiliating. All the mspneeit, however,
was not on the side Caux. Patti
Applause when visited on her made her
supremacy happy, and on anybody else
supremely miserable. Those days are
over, but often think of that bleak st.
Petersburg winter with delight.