St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-04-10
DIANA BLAKE'S LIFE.
How a Philadelphia Shop Girl
Rose to the Station of
Peerless.
She Starts Out by Becoming
a Popular Ballet
Dancer,
She Then Marries an English
man Who Is Heir TO a
Peepage,
And Shines as One Of the
LoVeliest Women Of All
Europe.

OIO0Os
Philadelphia Times.
Forty years ago Eighth street, from
Market to Arch, was bordered with two
story houses. most of them contempo-
rary with 1890 and given over to small
notion stores, the propretGrs living in
the second floors. The business done
was very limited, old Mrs. Hanback,
making more money i'll her little candy
store than any merchant on the street.
Miss Rachel Lang kept dry goods and
trimming store in the neighborhood of
Eighth and Filbert. She was kindly
old Scotch lady, who would as soon
have had a man behind her counter as a
German band before the door. So all
her assistants were girls.
Gloves were the only mems wear sold
in this shop. and Miss Lang noted with
satisfaction that her sales in this line
were rapidly increasing, but it never
occurred to her that this was due to any
other cause than the excellence of her
goods, although in fact her gentlemen
customers cared very little for the price
and quality of what they bought so long
as they were waited on by Diana Blake,
who was generally admitted to be the
loveliest girl within the city limits.
Long-nOsed. sallOw-faced ladies with
undeniable social records and pockets
full of money. often visited the store
and wondered by what caprice of fort
une common Irish girl should have
had such dover of beauty which i'll
the fitness of things ought to be the in
herltance of women having Quaker an
cestOrs and big bank accounts, and one
of them went so far as to suggest to
Miss Lang that Miss Blake's good
looks were too apparent for her station
III life, but went away much offended
when the little Scotch woman remarked
that if every one minded their own
business we would all get along better"
Diana was born in Galway, Ireland.
but had come to America when an in
FAINT. She was a type of that Irish
beauty as scarce in these days, accord
ing to John Brougham, as hens teeth.
Dark-blue eyes, like wells of living wa
ter, shaded by long, dark lashes, blue
black hair and a complexion that was
simply marvellous were added to a sweet
voice, graceful form and manners at
once piQuant and modest. Her father
was day labOrer, and the family lived
III Chester street, above Race.
AItilOuSH bldlid luIly dppiCCldlcU Ilc
eXigencies of her position, there was
one temptation she could not forego,
and that was dancing. When only six
years old she had taken lessons from
SCR. Julian, who had school at Tenth
and Vine streets. The fact that he was
an Irishman named McCaskey, did not
make him less efficient as teacher, and
when his pupil was twelve years old, he
secured her employment at the Walnut
Street theater. III one of those elaborate
balletS that SO delighted our unSOphis-
ticated grandfathers Her talent soon
won recognition, andth e dollar she re-
ceived for each performance did much
for the family income.
No whisper of this had reached her
employer, and it was not until she was
eighteen that Manager Wood made her
all offer of SIS a week, and it became
necessary fer her to quit Miss La.
That lady was good Presbyterian, and
looked on the stage as the broad road to
destruction: but Diana justified herself
through the family necessities, and she
now went on the stage as danSeuSe pre-
miere, and took the name OF Sophia Lee.
Her success was pronounced from the
first, and the ''jeunesse dore," repre-
scented in those days of gawky young
gentlemen in gorgeous vests and
CldSiItS ~ llSHG lLIdI iHSy lOOh6u tS IL
skewered onto the wearer, paid the
pretty dancer many squeaky compl-
ments, at which she laughed good
naturedly, though she discreetly kept
her admirers at a distance.
About 1913 one of the Barings,a neph-
ew of Lord Ashburton, visited this
country and was welcomed by the best
society with effusion. With him came
young Englishman named Richard
Hardy.
He saw Miss Lee at the theater, was
struck with her grace and beauty and
secured an introduction. He was
thorough gentleman, and addressed her
not as a professional, but as lady.
startled herself. After a months quiet
attentions Hardy spoke out. He loved
her, and wished to make her his wife.
She spoke to kindly Billy Wood. the
manager. lie played the part OF Leavy
father to perfection; pointed out the
eyaneScent character of success on the
stage, the hardships and perils of pro-
fessionai life, and advised her not to
neglect an opportunity of securing
position at once permanent anu honor
able. as he had no doubt that her aYenir
as wife would be happy one.
Diana accepted Hardy, and they were
L
belin. In society it was regarded as a
distinct meSalliance-th bride poor, an
Irish girl, and stage dancer, but
Hardy and his pretty wife cared moth
ing for the opinions of the broad-brms
and Aminadab SleekS that prevailed
then in Philadelphia, and left at once
for New York. Before the honeymoon
was over the first trouble came. Hardy's
father warned his son that such a mar
riage would end all intercourse with
his family, but Richard had some mems
of his own, and found no trouble in
getting employment.
In less than a year old Hardy re-
Tented, and his son and wife left for
England, only to find the fathers wealth
swept away by reverse in trade. Sir
James Hardy was Richards uncle and
the head of the family. He was enor-
mously wealthy and had but one son.
He also resented the union his nephew
had made, and, dying about this time,
left him out of his will. Between the
Inheritance to his vast Kentish prop
erty and Richard Hardy were the lives
of eight people, and yet, by the caprice
OF fortune, all these vanished in
side of two years, and Richard became
a baronet and his wife Lady Hardy.
She took her place in society with
grace and dignity that were her natural
gifts, and grew more beautiful as time
went by. Her first great sorrow was
the death of herhusband. She was then
thirty with one son. Two years after
she married Count Egmont, Flemish
pobleman of distinction connected with
the Russian embas Y at Paris, and when
presented at the court of the emperor
was regarded as one of the most beauti-
full women in Europe. She survived
1869 in Brussels in the prime of her ma
tured loneliness, having played her part
throughout as shopgirl and peerless
with living grace and dignity.
What Absinthe Drinkers Get.
St Louis Globe Democrat.
A Sixth street bartender says: Five