The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-09-02
DoFF's HER SAINTS ROBE.
End to Miss Kate Marsden's Scheme
For the Relief of Siberian Lepers.
From the New York World.

End to Miss Kate Marsden's Scheme
For the Relief of Siberian Lepers.
From the New York World.
Miss Kate Marsden, who went across
Siberia to establish hospital for lepers
near YakutSk, must lay down her sanity
robes and take back seat. The com
mittee of her friends formed in ST.
Petersburg to inquire into certain
charges that were brought against her
have decided that she must close ner
work, and that the whole scheme for the
relief of the Siberian lGpers must be put
aside.
When it is known that there are only
sixty-six lepers in Siberia, that these
lepers belong 10 a semi-barbarous race,
that they are cared for by the Russian
government and that there are actually
more lepers In London than in the whole
of Siberia, this announcement will per-
haps excite small pity and no wonder.
But what possessed Miss Kate Marsden
with the idea of nursing Siberian lepersl
A brief outline of her history will be
the best answer.
OF cOuse this is no place for the repeti-
tion of the private scandals which have
crystaliZed around tie name of Miss
Marsden. That part of her life which
has been lived before the public will be
| quite sufficient to explain her fOndness for
Siberian lepers.
1t was announced in Berlin in 1889 that
a wonderful woman was going to do a
wonderful thing. The wonderful woman
was Miss Kate Marsden, then residing at
an English boarding house in Germany's
| capital, and IN very straitened circum-
stances. She was a preposSessing woman
of 10, and she had heard that there grew
in Siberia plant which was specific
against leprosy. This plant she intended
to transplant into England, where the
Prince OF Wales was then presiding over
his leprosy commission. LeprOsy was
in the air. Miss Marsden said
she was hospital nurse. She
wrote to the Empress Frederick who
wrote in turn to her mother, the
| Queen of England, and TO her sister-in-
! law, the Princess of Wales, and the
! Princess of Wales wrote to her sister, the
Empress of Russia. The intelligent Miss
Marsden then got tie press to talk about
her. The Graphic illustrated her. The
medical world took an interest in her
| and the Prince of Wales Leprosy Com
mission looked up her record That was
the beginning of the end for Miss Mars
den.
Armed with her letters and with money
provided by charitable old ladies. she
proceeded to St. Petersburg ana was re-
NClNCu ny VIC CEtlA dllu LlduG luCu OF
| by the princesses and countesses of the
brilliant Russian court. Then people
lost sight of her Tor time. It is said
she discovered her plant and found it
wanting.
When she returned she stated that
Siberia was full of lepers, but they " ere
rotting amidst snow and ice, and that
humanity should make start to help
them. This was a sacred duty.
Collections of money were made and
Miss Marsden started for Siberia in or
der to distribute the funds herself. The
Queen of England sent for her and
blessed her, so to speak, and there was a
general flourish of trumEets for her send
off. This was in 1891.
In the meantime the leprosy commits
sion had been investigating her history
and her stories of leprosy in Russia. and
their conclusions were distinctly unfavor
a ole. They even satisfied themselves
that Miss Marsden was an adventures.
On her return in 1892 Miss Marsden
published her book, 'On Sledge and
Horseback to Outcast Siberian Lepers."
II was severely handled by all the more
serious English papers. IL revealed
many signs of eXaggeratiOn, and contained
many Inaccuracies, TO put it mildly.
In this book Miss Marsden advocated
the esta blishment Off hospital in Siberia.
and stated that she had already formed
committee in St. Petersburg for the col
lection of the necessary funds She also
organized meetings IN London and all
over England, and collected considerable
sums of money. 1t is needless TO add that
she was herself to take charge of this
leper hospital, and intended to handle the
money.
But the investigation of the English
leDrosy commission, the denials by the
Russian authorities of her statements,
the unfavorable impression of her book
which was an extremely snobbish produc-
tiOn, filled with portraits of the queen,
the Empress of Russia, archbishops and
other great people and fac.similes of fiat
tering letters by them TO her-all these
things set peoples tongues a-wagging.
The saddest thing of all was that GER
tain old ladies, all from New Zealand,
came forward and made charges of an
unpleasant character against Miss
Marsden, accusing her Of living upon the
charities of others all her life by dint of
misleading stories.
These "calumnies" Miss Marsden was
too proud TO repudiate. Her friends
gradually began TO fight shy of her;
stories were told of elegant toilets
bought 10 wear at the Russian court,
of a lady who had been victimized in
Berlin, of another in England. Finally
the ST. Petersburg committee made an
investigation into the charges against
her, which were in effect that she was
an impositor and adventures, and the
result has already been stated.
il will be interesting TO learn what
Miss Kate Marsden will do next.
II has long been held that incandescent