St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-03-13
GOLDEN CORA PEARL.
Startling Memoirs OF the Blond
N5arisian siren.
A History of Reckless Extravaganza
and RUM Flight and Poverty.


of pleasure, locked himself up with his
horses in the stables of his cOuntry-seat
near Alencon, in Normandy, and set the
place on fire. 4 very rapid sort of exist
ence had the Marquis led. He had backed
a theater of the variety type in the
interests of certain young women towards
whom he was philanthropically disposed;
had fought duels and owned race-horses,
and had now and again won or lost at
single sitting what might be termed quite
respectable fortune at his favorite game OF
loo. in fact. the respectable sums OF
money the marquis handled may be SAID To
have been about the only respectable things
with which he was ever known to have
been connected.
The last twelYemOnth of his career was
largely taken up in attentions To n certain
blonde Englishwoman, whose ripe physical
charms and arch cOQuetrieS were leading
subjects of interest in fashionable lotteries
in Paris. After his acquaintance with this
young woman had been formed the mar
guis' previously smooth amble along the
ROAD TO RUIN
was increased to a 2:10 gait. \ few more
mortgages were piled up upon the Nor
mandy estate, couple of mines in Brit
tany disappeared from the list of his pos
sessions, some forests in the ArdenneS
country were swept away and the broad
acres upon which they had held root, passed
from the ownership of the aristocrat to that
of a Partisan money jobber, plethoric both
in person and in purse. BY that time the
Marquis fortune was, 10 use lOcaliSm,
pretty well done for and he concluded that
in the natural order OF things. it was about
time to do for himself. Evidently a man
OF strong perceptiye qualities was the Mar
qUiS.
Thus it was that on a windy morning in
March he locked himself i'm his stables and
applied the mcendiary torch, or rather
lucifer, to the straw prefering to perish
among rather than part with the horses
that had cost him so much and that he had
loved 50 well lie had earned a pretty
good reputation of making a clean sweep of
things during his career. and in this final
effort OF his life he fully sustained that
reputation. The stables were burned to the
ground and the fast horses and their still
faster owner persisted in the flames. For
many years afterward the peasants of the
district told the story of how the last of the
MarQuiSes of Cargniac-Riault had died. with
the shriil cries of his horses ringing about
him as they persisted in their stalls amid
the flames dashed into fury by the wind.
When that evening blonde Of
DAZZLING BEAUTY
who sat in a box at the BOutfes ParisienneS,
watching Uortense Schneider, then at her
best, was told of that tragedy in the stables
of the Normandy estate, the usual languor
OF her manner relapSed and she listened
with interest to the details. At the close OF
the recital she was silent for moment.
But just rs the curtain went up upon a
new act she turned from the stage and
said:
"Oh. it was just like him. He always
hated the commonplace. 1t was character
istic Of him that the finale should be so de-
Ightfully original"
And this woman for whom the French
marquis had FASTENED his pace toward ruin
and death; this fair commentator upon the
final episode in that eventful career was
Cora Pearl, the beautiful English blonde.
over whom the gilded youth Of Paris were
then enthusiastic.
In fortnight. almost upon the eighteenth
anniversary OF the Marquis tragic exit
from matters mundane, the publication is
about to take place of the memoirs of Cora
Pearl. The announcement of the event
has created quite a stir in those circles OF
Partisan society upon which the fair Cora
had been wont in the past to exert inhu-
ence. The interest awakened is even said
TO have spread further in view Of the fact
that the promise is given that the memoirs
shall deal with all the episodes in her career
frankly aad fully. One gentleman, whose
name rs great parsonage is known
throughout Europe, is said to have paid
$4,000 for the omission in the memoirs of
letter written by him in days when he
had more hair over his scalp and less
knowledge Of diplomacy under it than he
POSSESSES to-day.
The memoirs start out with the frank
ayOwal that the authOress is the daughter
of Mr. Crouch, an English gentleman of
some fortune. and known TO the world as
the author OF Kathleen Mavourneen."
CORA PEARL,
or Cora Crouch, as she then was. had
barely passed her 14th year when she was
already dissatisfied with the quiet Shrop-
shire home, and filed with dreams of wild.
vague ambition. She was then tall and de-
veloped beyond her years, with large, clear
very llght-blue eyes and masses of golden
hair The only outlet she could find for her
ambition was 10 go upon the stage.
1t was in this frame of mind. the memoirs
relate that she formed the clandeStlne ac.
Quaintance of theatrical agent. The en-
thuslaStIc view which this person took of
her talents convinced her that her ideas as
to going upon the stage were well conceived
Taking advantage of her condition he in
duced her to flee with him and crossing the
channel to France they proceeded to Paris
Arrived in that capital of pleasure and
dramatic art, COra's companion showed no
eagernesS to place her before the fOotlghts
and reap the benefits of that talent he had
so loudly eXtoled amid the grasses and the
woods of the pretty English shire In re-
Spouse to her persistences in this connee-
ton he now preached quaint little homilies
upon the joys of retired domesticitv.
The girl urged her companion more and
more eagerly to introduce her to some man
ager until finally one day, in
FIT OF ANGER.
he told her bluntly that she knew nothing
about acting; that he did not believe she
could ever learn anything about it, and
that she could not sing a note. That set
tied it, She said nothing. But two DAYS
later she had deserted her companion and
she forthwith presented herself before The
manager Of the FOlies Dramatiques. She
detained something for him; he smiled.
she sang chansOnnette and he laughed
very audibly. But, with his ewes riyeted
upon her form, he engaged her, and two
weeks later she made her debut i'm bur
lesque. As her guardian admirer had said.
she had not the slightest pretension TO
being either actress or singer: but never
theless her every appearance on the stage
in a costume which, it is obvious from
the description, began mdecently late and
ended shockingly eaIly-was received with
rapturous applause. She scored an une-
quiyOcal success.
As the results of her triumph she soon
established an acquaintance with a number
OF men prominent under the Third Empire.
These characters, whose names figure in
her book under thin DISCUSSES and their
peculiartles she sketches in a free off hand