The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-04-21

series OF the most remarkable letter from
the woman he loved. He had asked her to
be his wife. She anticipated opposition
on the part OF her family on account OF
Of his Hebraic origin and told him so in
letter address Friend Satan" She would
be his wife. she said. for she loved him.
and added that IL necessary, for your
sake I will be bad"
The missive are strong, frank and even
brutal. but they turned Lassalle's head
completely.
A week later LassaIle went to Wabern to
visit the object of his affections, and pro-
posed immediate marriage. Helene Won
Doeningen assented and went TO her
mother 70 ask for her consent A stormy
interview followed and on the next day
the girls brOther-in-laW ana her cousin
called upon Lassalle TO ask him 10 -elin-
quish all claim upon their relative This
he positively refused to do. An hour later
the girl herself arrived, ana walking IN
annunced into Lassalle's room, threw her
self upon his bed and exclaimed:
Here I am"
mon sense asserted itself and he bowed pO-
litely and escorted his beloved home 10
her mother, with the remark that ne
wanted a wife" Then the truth Of the
old adage Of "a woman scorned," etc, was
proven once more Helene Won Doeningen
became Lassalle's bitterest enemy The
same day she wrote to him announcing
her engagement to Janko Won RackOwicZa,
a young Wallachian ofheer-
Lassalle was dumbfOunded and pleaded
for an interview. She denied his request
Lassalle acted like a mailman. He as
serted that the girl was detained by force,
that she still loved him. and that he would
abduct her. Matters went from bad 10
worse, until finally Lassalle challenged
both Rackowicza and his ex-love's father
TO combat. Rackowicza accepted and in
little over month after the meeting at
Rigi-Kulm the duel was fought at Car
rouge. one Of the suburbs of Geneva.
Rackowicza fired before the word. and
Lassalle dropped, mortally wounded in the
abdomen. He was taken to Geneva,
where he died three days later. His fu-
neral was attended by 1900 labor men,
representing as many distinct organiza-
tons.
Six months after the tragedy at Geneva
Helene Won Doeningen became Baroness
Won rlackowicZa. In five months she was
a widow. Consumption and remorse car
ried off her husband.
When next before the public she posed
as the wife of the great German actor,
Friedman, travelling with him all over
Europe. Early in the seventies Friedman
obtained an engagement at the burg the
alter in Vienna, at salary OF 1000 gul-
den per annum. All doors were open 10
Mr. and "Mrs." Friedman, until one cpl
sode changed their social status in short
order. The couple were invited to re-
ception at the home Of the wife of we'll
known editor. They came, but in separate
carriages. The hostess asked the reason
Of Mrs. Friedman, and was astonished to
ION. we have quarreled and are now d.
vorced."
AS Austria is, however, a Catholic
v. AZ
ton, and the truth Of the couples rela-
tionship was the talk of Vienna Wlthln
week
Raclxowicza. as she was most generally
known, next became the friend of Fried
mans leading man, boy of %: shortly
after, when she was seriously Ill, Fried
man paid her expenses. Her recovery was was
followed by period of such wild escapades
that all Europe was aghaSt
Finally her conduct became such that her
relatives Offered her pension, to leave
try
St. Petersburg, where she resumed her
career with redOubled Zest.
In 1873 she sighed for new fields and
came to this country as the wife of Ser
gius +. Schewitsch, who, while in this
city. posed as a radical socialist. with nj
hilist4c tendencies. Her arrival here
caused a futter of excitement. which was
intensified when it became known that the
famous Rackowtcza was to appear at the
rhalia theater ON the B@wery in a n1hl-
hstic play written by her husband, enti-
Local theater-goers of the German per-
suasion remembered that Rackowicza had
made her appearance at the Karl Thea
ter in Vienna for one consecutive night
in the part of Stella in "Pariser Leben."
In that play she had to appear as a bal
let girl. Ridicule killed her chances for
htstrionic fame. The upper part of her
figure was perfect, but alas her limbs
were both attentuated and thin and bowed
toward different parts of the compass.
When she appeared the audience howled
with delight.
'Tania" proved a tremendous failure,
ana Rackowicza wrote her memoirs under
the title, My Relations with Lassalle."
Schewitsch became editor of Henry
Georges paper, after debating with the
apostle of single tax at the Grand opera
house during the campaign of 1886. Henry
George upheld the doctrines of Lassalle;
Schewitsch, Lassalle's eventual success
or in Helene Won Doeningens affection,
opposed them.
The subsequent history of Rackowicza
was without incident. She lived in Hobo
ken, writing novels for German publica-
tons. About four weeks ago Schewitsch,
who had become editor of the Socialistic
Nolkszeitung, returned to Russia, having
recanted his theories on the questions of
Russian freedom and kindred subjects
Schewitsch and Rackowicza went to Riga
And now Helene Won Rackowicza, the
famous beauty, once the talk of Europe, is
GnrinTIGlW nd rsia To-.