The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-07-31
PAUPER AND PRINCESS.
Story of a Beautiful Dissipated Woman
and Her Little Gray Dog.

Z
and Her Little Gray Dog.
An old woman with a remarkably varied
history died in an almshouse near Graft,
Austria, a few days ago. Some sixty years
since she was little peasant girl in Woer-
gel, Tyrol. AT the age of IS she was sent to
Vienna by her brother, a rich brewer, to be
educated. She was then young woman of
phenomenal beauty. Young as she was she
soon had the reputation of being the hand
soonest girl in Vienna, a city in which few
women are plain. After graduation she be-
came governess in titled family in Bucha-
rest. There Prince Ghyka, near relative Of
the present Roumanian ambassadors at Ber-
lin and London, fell in love with hef. BE
tried to meet her clandestipely, to give her
magnificent presents, and eventually to in
duce her to elope with him.
The beautiful young governess was as
clever as she was beautiful, however. She
knew thing or two about princes and their
love She would have none of his attentions
One evening he came TO her with the story
that his parents had consented to a secret
marriage between him and her, and that a
priest waited to perform the ceremony in a
small village in the suburbs. They were
married that evening, as the prince had
planned, and went to Vienna TO pass their
honeymoon. All went well enough for two
weeks. At the end of that time the prince
got very drunk and told the beautiful young
woman, who considered herself to be Princess
Ghyka, that she was not his lawful wife;
that the priest who married her TO him was
no priest at ALL but his best friend, and that
he was about to desert her.
The prince left Vienna with his new love
the next morning, after giving the woman
he had deceived papers which entitled her to
a small pension while he lived. She began
shifting for herself without delay. She
made the acquaintance of count and rich
banker She had a box at the opera a coach
and four thoroughbreds, the most elaborate
costumes and the most expensive jewelry.
After the first count and the first banker
came other counts and other bankers. For
fifteen years she lived in reckless dissipation.
In the early part Of the sixties, however,
all this began to change. She had bad luck
She sold all her diamonds and fine gowns.
and her carriage and thoroughbreds. She
tried hard to live ON the small income the
prince had left her. She could not do it.
The first day she drew her pension she lived
as of old eating, drinking, and seeing every
thing that cost most. The next day she was
begging money of her friends for he morning
coffee. She was rescued from these straits
by small gray dog called Minos. Minos
was clever dog when she first got him.
Under her instruction he became a marvel
of canine cleverness. He could add, multiply
and subtract, recognize picture and under
stand good bit of simple conversation. His
poor mistress began to exhibit him as soon as
she had finished his education. In Paris he
made great stir at court, and all the news
papers made him the subject of special illus
trated articles. He made money for his mis-
tress as fast as she could spend it. he per-
formed before the English, Prussian and
small German courts.
In the midst of this temporary prosperity
Of his victim the Prince Ghyka died He
summoned the woman he had deceived and
wronged TO his deathbed, and, three hours
before his death, was married to her, She
got nothing more than the title out of the
ceremony, however. She received none of
the princes property. Even the small in
come be gave her when he abandoned her in
Vienna ceased with his life Minos however,
provided for her all she needed in her grow
ing years.
In 1878 Minos died. The princess was
again penniless She wandered from city to
city, living upon the charity of old acquain.
tances She eventually brought up in Grasz,
where she occupied two miserable little
rooms. Half Of the time she did not have
enough TO wear, and rarely enough to eat.
One day last November she died.