The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-06-11
-EMANUEL'S FRIEND.

| Times Whlrllglg never brought in a
revenge neater, or completer than il
allotted to my old friend, Madame de
| Solms," said veteran diplomat who
| had fallen into q reminiscent mood.
Perhaps you do not know her. She
was the Madame de Stael of the third
empire, a republican, and a red of the
reds, although she was close kin to
the emperor. Her mother was a daugh-
ter of Lucien Bonaparte. born, / think,
while that gentleman had residence in
Bordentown. n. j. Her father was a
certain Sir Henry Wise, British minis
ter to the kingdom of Greece. The girl
grew up so full of whims and fancies,
her natural guardians heaved a sigh
of relief when they had her safely mar
ried at IL to De Solms, a German
princeling, who had precious little be-
side his sixteen quarteringS.
Madame, his wife, was cut out for
anything else than an obscure German
/ hausfrau miscalled princess. After she
had borne son, there was an amicable
separation. She left her princelet, and
her title, and went back to Paris
Paris Just then palpably republican,
When it came she Joined with her cho-
sen friends, Victor Hugo, Lamartine,
MaZZini and Alphonse Karr, in de-
nouncing it, and its author. Perhaps
she relied on her Bonaparte blood, to
protect her. More likely she coveted
the picturesque martyrdom of Danish
ment. Whatever the fact, she was ban
ished to Aix-le-Bains. Her menage
there was a fair rival to the de Stael
establishment at Coppet.
I'm those days Nice was Italian,
United Italy a dream mentioned only
below the breath, the pope sovereign
in Rome, and Victor Emanuel simply
the king of Sardinia. Hire Galantuomo
had an eye for a pretty woman. He
made friends in hearty fashion with
Madame de Solms. Not so his court Of
ficials. They could not be persuaded
to overlook her foibles. 1t was her
radicalism, her friendships. her maya
zine, and her habit of writing things,
which those staid officials resented.
THE magazine in especial. Its title
was Matinee dAix. / venture to say
no other publication with only the cap
ital of beauty behind it, ever showed
such a list of contributors. Theophile
Guatier wrote for it regularly-Victor
Hugo pretty often. So did Eugene Sue,
who had written a life of madame.
Ponsard appeared twice or thrice
in each number. Madame was
most fascinating creature, then about
%, and in the early ripeness of full
colored beauty. She was often in Turin
and half the Italian world crowded
into her salon at AK. Plenty of Amer
leans went down before her. One of
them who held high official position
came near fighting a duel on her ac-
count 1t was Alphonse Kari, who had
fallen out of love with madame. He
was then publishing in the safe har-
borage of Nice his so famous Wasp"
Ilrr oil
The American was not used to such
things as seeing a woman stung and
no hand raised in her defense. But
the affair was arranged, l believe, by
madame's own intervention, and an in
ternational complication avoided.
lone favorite diversion with Madame
de Solms was to write plays, and have
them acted by herself and friends in
the theatre of her chateau. They were
clever-clever enough to win. in sew
eral cases, great favor when profess
sionally produced on the boards of
Turin. Indeed, their writer came very
near to genius. The poems and essays
she wrote for her own magazine were
much beyond the amateur level. Yet
she was fond of outdoor sport-rode
and shot like a man, went Devastating
when she had a mind. She danced, of
course, lang fairly, and played on sew
eral instruments, though l think her
favorite was the violin.
yet she could not go to court. Even
the kings friendship did not avail. And
she wanted to go to court, very, very
badly, particularly when her mothers
and the emperor's cousin, "Plon Plon,"
Prince Jerome Napoleon Be- |
came there to marry Victor
daughter, Clotilde. OF
course, that meant court ball-an es- |
pecially splendid function, in honor |
of thus cementing the alliance with |
France that meant so much to Italy. |
Madame de Solms was wild to go to it, |
She besought the king, and actually !
wrung from him a half promise, but |
the day drew on and no invitation 1
came. Then in desperation she ap- |
pealed to the American minister, claim (
ing to be an American citizen. No. it |
was not because of her mother and /
1t is just charming Eu- !
ropean habit. this of claiming American |
without ever seeing our |
shores. l have lived abroad twenty !
years, and in half of continental Eu-
rope. Everywhere l have CHANGED upon |
some individual who gravely asserted |
American citizenship. and claimed that |
it had been conferred special by the |
congress-. OF course, no such claim |
went down with the American legation, |
but as the head of it was a kindly fell
low, he went to Count Cavour, asking
an invitation for Madame de Solms.
"Cavour temporiZed. He would see
what he could see. Next day came a
diplomatic document, re-
GREETING the difficulties in the way. 1t
would give his majesty's government
he greatest pleasure to please so good
L friend as the minister-but court
regulations were like laws of Modes and
Persians, immovable, and as madame
lid not appear there, it would be impos-
;ible to include her among the guests at |.
he ball. That ought to have settled it,
,ut did not. Madame actually went to