The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1885-05-23
REMARKABLE BALLS.


press Upon History.
If we are to place reliance on the
novelists who have described the secret
machinery Of political events both in
France and Italy, it is plain that from
very early days down to times so recent
as that of the second French Empire
balls and the making of history are to
be closely associated. There is at least
one bah, however. which has an indis-
putable claim to be regarded as his
torical. We refer to the tragic festival
at which Gustavus Ill, King of
Sweden, was killed by Captain Ankars-
from. This gloomy event took place
at masked ball held in the opera
house on March 16, 1892. The subject
is one which has furnished materials
for the operate librettist and two we'll
known operas-one by Auber, the other
by Verdi-have rendered the public
familiar with the occurrences. 1t is
needless to observe, however, that his
tory has been trifle perverted in order
to meet the requirements of the lyric
stage. Both in Gustave and the Ballo
in Maschera love is made the pivot on
which the tragedy turns, and the death
of the Kingis ascribed to the vengeance
of an injured lover and husband In
Verdi's beautiful work we have. indeed,
the King of Sweden (under the stupid
disguise of Richard, Duke of Boston,,
presented to us as perjured friend
and adulterer. Captain Ankerstrom,
on the other hand, or Count Renato, as
he is named in the opera, figures as a
manly parsonage endowed with every
virtue, whose crime positively appeals
to sympathy. Though, of course,
there is nothing in his story to show
that Gustavus LII. made love to Captain
Ankarstrom's wife, or that the assas-
sination of the King was connected
with anything more than political mo-
tives, it is certain, neverless, that
Ankarstrom showed himself most eager
to perform the foul deed. He was as
ISOLATED with three other conspirators,
Ribbings, Horn and Pechlin, and
begged hard that the task of putting
an end to the Kings life might be COM
mitted to him. The rest, however, in
sisted upon lots being drawn, and by
remarkable coincidence it fell to the
man who was most anxious for the
work to accomplish it. That Ankar-
strom was animated by some powerful
reason for hatred is sufficiently evil
dent from the manner in which he met
his subsequent fate. Though publicly
logged on three successive DAYS, and
condemned to death, he bore his pun
ishment with untlinching courage and
composure, and mounted the scaffold
rejoicing.
A ball less terrible as regards cir
cumstances connected with it, yet quite
as well remembered, is that given by
the Duchess of Richmond on the eve of
the battle of Waterloo. This gather
ing took place at Brussels in the house
in the Rue Royale nearest to the old
Port de Schaerbeek, and was attended
by the Duke of Wellington. who,
though presenting on that occasion a
cheerful countenanee, knew alone of
the merry throng assembled that the
scene of gaiety, which he was behold
ing, would be speedily changed for one
of fearful carnage and strife on the field
of battle; the event celebrated in
verse by Byron is, however, so familiar
to all that more than the briefest allu-
sion to 1t Is unnecessary. In the Cos
slipping pages of the diary of Samuel
Pepys several accounts of remarkable
balls are to be found. On one occasion
it seems that the merry Monarch"
startled his courtiers in the middle of
their dancing by bundling Lady Gerard,
wife of Charles, Lord Gerard of Bran
don, out of the room. The lady, it
appears, had displeased the sovereign
by speaking i'll of ''my Lady Castle
maine" to the Queen and provoked in
consequence passionate outburst of
anger on his part which led to her
forcible expulsion. Other scandals are
also related by Pepys, but they are of
so gross character that their repro
duction in these columns would not be
decorous. 1t was at bali, if we are
not mistaken, that Lord Townsend and
Sir Robert Wa1pole proceeded to per-
sonal abuse, and seized each other by
the collar. Macaulay tells us that
"the women squalled and the men
parted the combatants." BY friendly
Intervention the scandal of a duel be-
tween cousins, brothers-in-law, old |
friends, and colleagues was prevented,
but Lord Townsend after this naturally
declined to form part of Walpole's |
ministry and retired to repose among
his trees and pictures at Rainham.
Among balls attended by out-of-the-
way circumstances is to be included
the Bal Masque given by Anderson,
''the Wizard, at Covent Garden The |
ater in 1856. Scarcely had the ball
come to an end when the theater was
discovered to be in flames and was
few hours later completely destroyed
Newcastle Eng Chronicle.