New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-05-05

MARRIAGE LAVA DIPLOMATIC HtccEas
Paris. April a.
Author. painter. sculptor. politician cham.
,,,,r, manufacturer and Nlmroi tho D0wager
nuchesso dt'zcs IL certainty the most conspicuous
and most widely known French woman Of the age,
aud there Is nssurcdly no one, not even Nine.
Adam or Roea Bonhcur who commands the same
degree of public attention. fact all the more
astonishing since. excellent and gcod-hearted
woman though she be, she cannot be said to ex-
col I'm anything that she has undertaken Her
poIitical ventures. especially In connection with
General Bouanger. were particularly unfortun-
ao since they cost her several millions OF francs
ord lost To the ROyalist party incalculabe
nrestige Her feats as an author are equally
omen TO criticism, since In her novel julien Mas
"" she speaks on the first page OF the hero fall
ing overheard in the Pacific Ocean, and then on
the third page states that on the day Following
the accident the ship In question cast ancnor IN
the Spanish port Of Cadz. Her paintings are not
ohove the average. while her sculptures 1t must
be said make up in size what they lack IN quaii'y'
u is IN connection with one Of her scuptura feats
that she has once more become the universal sub
,ect of discussion Some time ago the town Of
vaIence. seized with the prevailing mania Tor
erecting statues to everybody, known and UNI
,,rou,r decided TO raise a monument 10 one OF its
most distinguished sons, Emil Angler. the great
5ramatist When il asked for design, the Duch-
esse d'I,zes Joined the ranks Of the competitors.
o,d cent an enormous plaster cast, the five ng-
ures OF which were no less than eleven feet hgh
The municipality Of Valence with commemorate
canniness selected the design or the puchess'
we'll knowing that her wealth ana generosity
rendered Il probable that she would decline 10
accept any payment whatever for her work. ana
that the city would get the monument Tor hoth-
ing Nor was this mistaken assumption tor
the Duchess was so pleased when she heard that
hers was the accepted design, that she not Only
undertook to present the monument 10 the 'o"n
free OF cost but also to provide worthy pedestal
and pay for the laying out Of beautiIul puoho
so,ora with gardens and fountains around the
site OF the monument. AT the suggestion Oh
friends and at the request Of the municipality Of
Valence she sent her cast for exhibition at inc
Salon in the Champs Elysees. To her intense dis
gust and to the dismay Of the good people OF
valence. the Committee Of Selection absolutely de-
,,,d :, admit II to the show This, OF course
caused great sensation here and the press I'M
modiatelv published interviews with the members
If the Salon committee, whose vote appears 70
have beeu unanimous. Some Of them gave al
their reason for excluding il its SIZE others again
asserted that it was absolutely impossible that
even professional sculptor could nave moudeo
those figures himself within the time Claimed ny
the Duchess, and that 1t was therefore IMPOSES
bic that IL could be an authentic piece OF her
work In its entirety. The majority, however uld
not hesitate TO declare that while IT was all very
well from an amateur point of view. the monu-
ment was Of no account judged by a strictly pro-
fesslonal and artistic standard. the truth 49,
remarked one OF them 1--WE artists do not like the
amateur The amateur can never be sculptor.
TO become one he must go through the same eS-
tensive study. the same education ana the sths
long apprentlceship which we have undergone.
Now. this exclusive application cannot be carriea
out. unless one ceases 10 be- an amateur and 10.
votes ones whole life e. the art"
The town Of Vaience il. however. convinced
that tho true reason FOR the exclusion Of the statue
Is attributable to politics. and has now app"aled
10 the Project ~ the Seine 10 authorize the ex"
hlbi,on OF the statue In portion ~ the falais q"
rfnduatrir not monopollzcd hy the salon. ana
whore the general public viii have nm opportunity
Of deciding upon ia merits should he gran, this
request the monument will certainly have euc>
ccs dc crioHt6 for everybody IL talking about II
Tho Duchess is small I'm stature and her face
though far from beautiful. IL refined and aristo-
cratic She Is perfectly Indifferent TO her toilette
md 10 her appearance, although she still has
beautiful figure She looks most 70 her advantages
I'm the riding habit and the saddle. being probably
the finest equesirienne In France.
II IS certainly an odd combination Of cIrcum-
stances that tho landlord Of the mansion JUST
leased by the Italian Government for it's Ambas-
sador I'm the Rue de Grenec should bear tho
name Of the Chancellor Of the German Empire.
and that the mansion itself should be known by
the name Of Frances most famous and popular
general De Galliffot. Hitherto. the Italian En-
bassy has been most incOmm0diously located IN
three or four different houses In the Rue de rEy-
see in n manner altogether unworthy of the ds-
nifty of a great power such as Italy claims II Ia
BY migrating to the Hotel de Gallsfret the Italian
Ambassador transfers his quarters not only 10 tho
noble faubourg where the embassies OF Germany
Austria and Russia domiciled but likewise
provides himself with an establishment in every
sense Of the word beftting his rank and that of
his Government. Ii is grand old house some
two hundred years of age. and replete with his
torical and even dramatic associations
Until the close OF the reign of King Louis PHI
lippe IL was inhabited by the father of the General
Marquis de Galliffet. When he died and his fort
une was divided among his three children. II was
his eldest daughter married 10 General Count
Louis dImecourt. who inherited the mansion
The Countess d'Imecourt has only one daughter.
who, after somewhat sensational escapade with
Paul Musurus Bey secretary OF the Turkish En-
bassy In London. married Prince Kraft OF Hohen-
lobe. The latter. on the death Of his mother-n-
law, has become together with his wife, the
proprietor of the Hotel de Galffet.
The episode to which have just made allus!on
Is which serves u illustrate the peculiarites
OF French marriage law. raul Musurus Bey, who
was a Christian. had made the acquaintance 81
Mile. dImecourt while she still at school,
and taking advantage OF the taste for romance
which seems 10 be inherent in most schoolgirls,
induced her To elope with him to England. The
couple were duly married in London and about
four weeks ltter returned u France. with the
object II making their peace with the girls Wild
owed mother They had counted without consid-
erlng French law The latter provides that any
marriage contracted without the consent Of the
parents Of both bride and bridegroom shall he
invalid Taking advantage of this. the COmtesse
dImecourt caused her daughter although She
was over eighteen at the time. to be seized by the
police at Amiens. taken away from her husband