The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-01-15
Burial of a Rothschild,

inand de Rothschild-.poor Ferdie,' as
| the Prince of Wales called him-took
| place as quietly as was possible under the
circumstances.
! Previous TO the funeral the body lay at
las Picadilly, encased in a coffin of plain
| oak, with brass fittings, and without an
Inscription of any kind. Round it had
/ lain large number of wreaths. but some
| time before the funeral these had been
removed and taken 10 the cemetery in
! two private omnibuses.
| Notable among these tokens of respect
was one Of lilies from the Princess of
Wales. which bore the words in her
royal highness' own handwriting:
In memory of lost and valued friend
Alexandra Princess of Wales.
One from the Prince and Princess OF
Wales was composed of white roses and
| lilies, the inscription running:
As token of sincere friendship and re-
Sret-Alexandra, Princess Of Wales.
Seven' gigantic floral tributes came
from members Of the French branch Of
! the house, while among other tributes
was one from the Earl of Roseberry.
In the first carriage were Lord Roth
schild and Baron Albert de Rothschild f;
in the second. Baron Edmund de Roth
schild, Mr.. Leopold de Rothschild: in the
third. Baron James de Rothschild, Lord
Battersea. and Mr.. Gildsmith: in the
fourth, the minister and reader of the
Great Cathedral Synagogue.
Lord Rosebery was next. in his own
carriage, a number Of other coaches
containing secretaries. personal atten-
dants and members of the household of
Waddesdon Manor and the deceased's
Piccadilly home
The mausOleum stands in the centre
o. the ground. On the Sunday before
his death the deceased baron visited H.
bringing with him two floral tributes. A
stool on that occasion was carried into
the mausoleum, and after depositing the
wreaths upon the marble slab which
covers the ground of his wife he remain
ed in meditation, sitting upon the very
spot where his grave was afterwards
dug.
Almost everywhere in the mausoleum
is the word Eva" in English and He
brew, and above the door on the out
side are the words Eva, the daughter
of Asher, the Levite." Between the
graves of husband and wife there is
marble tablet bearing the following in
scription::
If l ascend up into Heaven. Thou art
there; if L lie down in the grave, behold
l find Thee; even there Thy hand leads
me and Thy right hand supports me. She
opened her lips with wisdom and in her
speech was the law of kindness-My darl-
ing wife.
At the mausoleum the service consist
ed simply of a short prayer: Blessed be
the Lord our God. King of the Uni
verse" followed by the words: May he
come to his place in peace"
Passing out of the building the mourn
ers returned 70 the chapel, where the re-
m a Of he al .ola
brated.
The business of his life was in large
measure the exercise of benevolence; his
principal relaxation for the hast twenty
years had been the creation of the mag
nificent chateaus of Waddesdon and the
beautiful park Of 5000 acres that now sur
rounds it. He had long ceased TO have
any active connection with the great firm
in the city. Like his elder brother
Baron Nathaniel of Vienna, his inclna-
tons were not bent in the direction Of
france, so, Ike him, after few years
IN the city he became q sleeping partner
in the house
Waddesdon. as it stands today. is one
of the greatest achievements of its kind
accomplished in the same time by any
one man. The place struck Baron Ferdi-
nand's fancy once when hunting; he
bought it some years later, and with inf
mite patience he transformed its vast
acreage of tillage land into a sylvan
paradise. and erected a house upon it
indeed, a palace-which has attained al
most classic fame for its beauty in his
own lifetime. The house is the reprodue-
ton Of a sixteen-century French cha
teau. modelled under the Baron's own
direction by very talented French archi-
tect. the late VI. Destailleurs. 1t stands
upon lofty hill. and is a striking object
in the fine landscape Of the vale Of Ayles-
bury. Its proportions are extremely
graceful and. being built of white stone,
it glistens in the sunlight like a fairy pal
ace, its delicate outlines being thrown
into relief by the dark foliage of the
trees that frame ii In at either end. The
two spacious spiral stairways-On one OF
which the Prince of Wales met with his
unfortunate accident of last summer-are
copied from the famous open staircases
in the chateau Of Chenonceaux. and form
one of the most effective architectural
beauties of the house
For years the Baron had agents work
ing for him abroad. collecting old furni-
jects for the interior. Not the most
trifiing article was acquired until IL had
been submitted for his approval. His
judgment was rapid. and almost unerring
Mistakes were inevitable. but they were
always detected by him and rectifed. The
fine old oak panelling and tapestries We're
taken bodily from ancient French cha
teaUX and transferred TO the rooms at
Waddesdon. The taste and knowledge
displayed in their adaptation have been
source Of unceasing admiration to con-
n0isseurs The rooms are delightful pic |
lures Of refined. mellow decorative /
beauty, whore historic pictures Of the /
Dutch, English. and French eighteenth |
century masters. priceless Sevres. bibeiots /
and old French furniture are combined /
with exquisite effect. The Baron always /
prided himself that Waddesdon was not /
a museum. There. every object fulfls
z fitting decorative function; nothing was /
acquired unless an appropriate place /
ould be found for IL IN The general schema
~ form and color. The rooms are not /
crowded with pictures or with furniture
There is enough and not more Of either
than was required TO make an artistic
whole. and everything Is the best Of as
kind that could be obtained
The Vienna branch of the R0thschild
family have always had It seems. . pre-
election for building together with
faculty for being dissatisfied with what
they have built. Baron Ferdinand was
1erpetually making alterations al Wsd-
&c sdon-aIteratlons which we're always
The large green drawing
room he added 20 the west wing four or
I've years ago was his greatest triumph
It's proportions are faultl@ss- It's pic
ure-wi,h Sir Joshua's gioTously vivid /
That's over the fireplace and several
inc examples u the Dutch school or the
vaIlz-are selected and disposed with the
Utmost Judgment and saste while u con
ans a suite oF Re,ssn@r furniture Wh.c1
stands second Only. if a. ala 20 the fam
,us one Ar Her,f9-d Horse SeFera. ~
he rooms and most ~ The fzrsiture have
q er-zti-g historical assac.ar-11s Th-