Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1889-02-01
BEAUTY VS.. UGLlNEsS.

One Time When the Latter Had Very
Much the Bette of 1t.
The late Lord Pembroke was one CT the
most eccentric of men, and his vagaries some
times made one doubt his sanity. Some forty
years ago Doche, the great French actress,
was at the zenith of her beauty and fame,
and all London had gone mad about her,
Both Louis Napoleon -afterward Napoleon
III-and the late Lord Pembroke were in
love with her, and it is recorded that the fair
enchantress did not know which to choose.
"You must do as you like, of course" said
the prince; II cannot marry you, because my
name does not belong to me, but to a dynasty;
nor can l afford to lavish SO much money on
you as Lord Pembroke can; but l can tell
you what | will do if you will consent to re-
fuse his suit. l will promise you never to
marry, even if become emperor, and | will
Httle 81, 900 year on you for life now, and
make you countess and millionaire if ever
| become emperor"
That was not good enough for Doche, who
| had no belief in the imperial dreams, and who
gambled to such terrible extent that
thousand pounds, and double that sum,
would slip through her fingers in week. So
she said no. and gave Lord Pembroke to I'M
derstand that if he were inclined to be gen
erous, she might not turn deaf ear to his
sighs The capricious Frenchwoman had,
however, heard of the extravaganza of the
lazy English Milford, whom she knew to be
madly in love with her, SO she thought it
polite to play fast and loose with him, in
hopes that he would, in moment of passion
ate evaporation, lay something like half
his fortune at her feet
She went too far, however. Day after day
she would accept his lordship's invitations to
supper, and always at the last moment send
| an excuse. AT last" Lord Pembroke one
day said to the late Lord Clanricarde, who
| used to tell the story, 81 am tired of this
| folly. am giving supper to night at Rich
mond. and l have invited Doche. If she
comes before IL | will give her 10000; if
she comes before II will give her g., 900,
but if she comes after II | won't receive her,
| and if she does not come at all l will give to-
| morrow 100000 to the ugliest woman in
London, and the one our Doche hates the
| most-Schaeffer, the dauseuse." -YF-%
Doche never came to the supper, so the fol-
| lowing morning Lord Pembroke sent one Of
| the leading Bond street jewelers. to her house
| with the message that as his lordship had de-
| cided on offering diamonds to the amount of
100000 to Nile Schaeffer, and as he knew
| Nile. Doche was connoisseur in diamonds,
| he would be obliged if she would select up to
| that amount such stones as size might think
would suit her friend. Doche, when she had
| heard the man out and fairly grasped the sit
uation, boxed the jewelers. ears and had hys-
| terics. But this did not prevent the trades
man from clambering up the four pairs Of
stairs of little house in Leicester square,
| where he found Nile. Schaeffer washing her
stockings, and telling her Of the golden shower
| which was about to fall upon her. She
| tainted.
Schaeffer was hideously ugly and very
stupid, but she managed to entangle Lord
Pembroke's heart, somehow, and he gave her
all the money he could, and had not the prop
erty been entailed would have given her
everything. A distinguished French family,
ode Montgomerie" earl of Pembroke and
Montgomery the members of which are
| well known in the ''high life" of the French
capital, is the result Of this strange infatua-
ton. So poor Doche lost both her French
and English lover. Had she accepted Prince
| Louis Napoleon's offer it might, perhaps,
have made difference today in the map of
Europe; had she not trifed with the English
| earl it certainly would have made con-
siderable difference in his fortune.
| Topics.