Orange County observer., 1894-11-10

come days afterward I was in the
: '7.ho nj Dierpe With some jolly CON-
fai-.oh%, ant took part II an anima-
- di-cnssion npou music. praised |
popular airs, which spring spontane-
onsiy from an innocent sentiment. In |
all oi my theory, related my adyen.
tufr.
y hat 90 You think Of tais air ?" | |
hsLti Prince khaloi. young Rus
e.an "lfh whom | was very intimate.
shall never forget II, ! said warm |
Is. | proceeded to sing it indiferen,ly |
well
Well, replied the young prince,
you can congratulate yourself, my
dear sir, IN having hal such d rare
treat. That melody Is a song OF the |
-ailors Of Dronth-iIn, away ont in
Norway, aud the beautiful voice must
have been that Of Stolber-, with whom
We were all III low. two years ago. .
when she nude her debut in st. Peters
bur9-that Stolberg was the rival OF
her couEtrywoman Nilsson, and who
would have become one ot-thc great
est singers of the century IL she had
not been suddenly snatcnel from art
from tn. stage, from success OF all
kinds by her love for Count Basil
Io3anof, ut tha. time my COM
ra'c III the Guards, when we
were both cornets IN the cavalry
Yes, tor two years We were without
news OF Basil. He had given up his
commission and loft Russia without
saying adleu TO any one. And We
only knew vaguely that he had hidden
himself in Paris with his wife; but
we were Ignorant OF the pace Of his
retreat TIL yon now revealed it by
| chance"
SO, snil ], ''the wonderfully
| gifted artist hus renouncel everything
for little love affair."
''oav rather for great passion."
CRED the prince. although very
young, Stolberg had had numerous
tlirtations when she met Lobanof l
! was there in the green room on the
evening when Basil--who, ! should
tell you, is as handsome as a gol-was
presented to her, and l saw the diva
pale with emotion, even under her
powder and paint. Oh, it was start
ling, and | thought that she would
carry off our young friend that same
evening, pell with the trium-
phant bouquet after the fifth act.
But Immediately he became ae jealous
as Mussulman-yes, jealous OF the
J very public when she sang. He WAS
always there in the front seats Of the
orchestra, and at each burst of APP
plause he turned abruptly, and cast q
4
That look seemed to express
desire to slap tue whole
audience in the face. Everything went
wrong, Even when the Gar was pres
ent, the prima donna hal eyes for no
one but Basil sang always to Basil.
That caused tronblc behind the scenes,
an! the poor girl decided to leave the
stage She did SO at the end of three
months, at the close OF her engage
ment He married her and since
then they have hidden themselves in
Paris, in the retreat which you dis
covered. They must be dead in love.
But ] will wager that Basil will get
over it. He is built like the Farnese
Hercules, and they say poor Stolber5
is consumptive. They pretend even
that it is disease which gives her voice
its wonderful power AMI extraordi-
nary sweetness and pathos. Her gift
is the result Of disease, like the pearl.
All tho same, no matter how much IN
love with Lobanof the poor girl ls she
will die of WEAKNESS III that cage IN
which he keeps her Then she must
sing very rarely, since IN the many
times you have passed before their
house YOU have heard her but once,
that night OF the storm. Well, it Will
end badly
The conversation turned to other
things, and the next day l left Dieppe
to go with some friendsto Lower Nor.
mandy. l had only been there ter
days when read accidentally in the
a.r:cal paper the following notice
eve announce with sorrow the leatt
Of Mile Ida Stolberg. the Swedish
cantatrice, who shone So briefly anc
brilliantly on the stage IN Germany
and Russia. anil who renounced bel
lyrical career IN the midst Of her sue
cess AMI has been living quietly II
Paris for two years past. She died OF
! pulmonary consumption
+ had never seen Stolherg. Once
5 only had hearl that Incompatible
: voice. Sttll, the rea.ing OF this com
. monpiaea notice, which announced t
ne the fu;ilment OF Prince knalof
Q dismal prophecy, broke my heart.
: knew now the whole mystery OF th'
y closed house 1t was there that tn,
t poor woman hal languished and beer
i ex,insn.shed. deeply in love, no doubt
l. but stiti.d also by the captivity t
S which she was condemned by th
l jealousy OF her husband. No doubt
b also, sho was full 0; regrets for tn
L former ,riumphs OF her abandone'
4 arr. The fate OF Stoloerg seemed S
9 sal to ne ,ast fairly hs,ei the maj
S who hai sacrificed her whole life
l. He seenel - 1e Top, al egot.st,
.t brute. ! WAS certain that he vou
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