The morning call., 1895-01-06
THEY WERE RICH.
Fortunes of the Worlds
Famous Singers.
Some Whose Vocal Notes Brought
Them Golden Ones-They Made
and Saved Money.

When lawyers meet in festive sympo-
stun the profane vulgar have been given
TO understand that a favorite toast is,
"Here's to the man who makes his own
will" A grimly humorous Illustration of
the idea embodied in the inference OF
testamentary incapacity of the laity is af-
foIded by the remark of the learned Judge
who, in upsetting most of The legacies be-
aueathed by the famous landscape painter.
Turner, remarked that the deceased artist,
no doubt, drew very we'll. but that there
was one thing which he could not draw,
and that was his own will
Whether the delightful cantatrice Maria
AlbOni, who died in Paris last June, her.
self prepared the documents disposing of
her fortune it is unnecessary to inquire.
but there can be no doubt that
the equally charitable and sensible
character of her will was due to
her directly personal inspiration. A
sum of 100000 is expected to be
realized by the sale of the great artists
house property in Paris, and this large
sum is to be given uver TO the munich
pality in trust for the benefit of the most
deserving scholars in the communal
schools, each of whom, on attaining
certain age, is to be presented
with a savngs-bank book. in which
the sum of $50 francs. or $40. has been
entered to tue pupils credit. 10 the
course of frequent conversations with our
Paris correspondent on the subject Nine.
Alboni said that her obj ect in making his
disposition of her property, subject to a
life interest in favor of her husband, was
to prevent any portion of 1t from being
wasted in the costs of ADMINISTRATION. Size
had, therefore, after long elaboration,
adopted q scheme which would xclude
the possibility of litigation, and her expla-
nation of her motive in bequeathng what
NAV be called start in life To meritorious
young people was as philosophical as it
was knd-hearted.
''If they are inclined to save" she re-
marked, ''they will add to the trlf1e l
leave them; and II they are too poor to
economic they will find the smallest doBa-
ton Of some use to them" Maria Alb0nl
Countess Pepoli, may not have been mill
ionaire in the English and American sense
Of the term. but she realized handsome
fortune in, comparatively speaking.a brief
period. She made her first appearance II
the theater of La Scala, at Milan, In 1841,
and she finally retired from the lyric stage
in 1868.
SO early as 1S4S, when operate artists
rarely received the prodlglous remunera-
ton which the elite of their class can now
demand, Mime. Aiboni had saved enough
money to buy.a plat of ground 1.-THE Cours
la Rhine of ABOUT 1000 sQuaI yards. 1t was
the year of the revolu ION and house prop
erty was as cheap as diamonds were
On the tract of land which she had pur-
chased the renowned contralto built a
large mans ion, in which she resided from
1849 to 1862; but then, finding the estab-
lishment too large for her requirements,
she built another and much smaller one,
and here she died. The freehold may
probably bring four times as much as " as
originally paid for 1t.
1t Is curious TO remember that AlOonl
had celebrated predecessor on the oper-
attic stage who also specuiated in land, but
with results which in the end were dis
astrous. This was the beautiful and witty
Sophie Arnould, who was born in 1744 and
died In 1903. She was the heroine of Ra-
meau's opera OF Castor and Pollux" and
of Gluck's "Iphigenia in Aulis." Her voice,
her beauty and her boum0ts brought her
wealth as well as fame and at the height
of her pros nerity she purchased large es-
tate: but during the commissions OF the
revolution the Grand Opera came to grief;
the great singers titled admirers had
either persisted on the scaffold or had emf
grated; she was obliged to sell ner estate.
from the tenants on which she could get no
rent. and with the proceeds OF the safe
she bought small nunnery Of Franciscan
penitents at LUZarches. But she grew
poorer and poorer, and at last. almost
destitute, came to Paris, in the faint hope
OF finding among her former worshipers
some sympathetic heart and some helping
hand. She found both. strangely enough.
in Fouche. the sanguinary Terrorist who
had become Minister of Police.
va. Sophie," observed the ostensibly
heartless politician; "thou shalt not want
fer bread in thine old age" ami from the
funds at his disposal he conferred small
pension on the INDECENT artistic. Alto
gether an inquiry into the varied fortunes