St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-09-07
MIR. LANGTRY.
The Husband of the Actress Finds
Champion Vulgar Gerhard.
New York letter in Detroit Times.

The Husband of The Actress Finds
Champion VulDar Gerhard.
New York letter in Detroit Times.
Society over this way is thrilled by the an
nouncement that Mrs. Langtry is going to
become an American citizeness, sue her
husband for divorce, and come here to live
permanently. The inference is that she
means to get married TO Mr.. Gerhard.
Mr.. Langtry, so say the gossips, has at last
consented that such programme shall be
carried out, up to the divorce part of it.
He is not, of course, expected to know any
thing of the Gebhard item upon the pro-
gramme. So much for gossip, which, as is
often the case, knows nothing about it.
Mr.. Langtry would have been heartily glad
if his wife had sought her freedom long ago.
He has generally been held in rather light
esteem by reason of the lady's curious con-
duct. AS matter of fact, there are points
which ought to bring him some degree of
sympathy. When Mrs. Langtry's beauty
first became known her husband, who vas
passionately devoted to her, had an income
of about ZOO year. The fiattery of the
titled snobs who surrounded her, quite
fly beyond her husbands means. He was
weak enough in his affection for her to let
her go her own way, and she practically
ruined him. But out of the wreck of his for
tune he has pulled enough together to get
along upon in comfort, and the story that
she sends him $15 a week to live on is only
another of the lies that are spread about to
beget sympathy for the precious creature
and contempt for her husband. Long, long
ago Mr.. Langtry became convinced that his
wife was not behaving in manner exactly
wifely, and since then they have not been
together. But all this time, while his name
has been on every tongue, while all sorts OF
vile insinuations regarding her good name
and his manhood have been rife, even IN
der the evaporation of the miserable Geb-
hard business, he has remained silent and
reserved. too proud to make a sign, too
full of chivalry to strike at the woman he
once called his wife, and too manly to call
attention to the ruin she had wrought in
his fortune, his position and his honor.
He would have been glad if she had
sought to be clear of him before now,
though he would take no step toward that
end on his own account. Freedom from q
woman whose vanity, whose love of adulta-
tiOn, aud whose utter QlSregaru OF anything
but the qualification of her petty whims
which have estranged her from him in spirit,
would now be a very welcome thing. l
happen to know these things are true. Mr..
Langtry is an amiable but rather thick
headed Briton, with good deal of strength
of character, very much spirit and great
amount of personal pride. So far as Mr..
Gerhard is concerned, 1 fancy the divorce
proceedings will be somewhat likely to cool
his ardor. To be the partner of woman
| like Mrs. Langtry in a national scandal is
one thing, to marry her is quite another.
Mr.. Gerhard likes to be the head of the
clubs, where a notrious liaison Is a big
thing. But to marry the other party is not
so fine among club men, who in New York
seem to rather like that which is dishonor-
able and to frown upon anything SAVIOR
! ing of better stuff. 1t is dollars to cents
that Mrs. Langtry never becomes Mrs.
Gerhard. Meanwhile, don't let any enthu-
siastic newspaper correspondent stuff you
into believing he is a genteel, elegant
young man. / see that one or two writers
have lately started out on that lay. Geb-
hard is a vulgar, hashily-clothed, pimply,
self-assertive, noisy dude. He never was
anything else, and he never can be. 1t
isn't in him