The Washington weekly post., 1900-12-25
CHAT OF GAY PARIS.


conqueror 10 appear heavier about the
face and neck thaa the public we're ac-
| customed TO believe him. IL Is a well
known fact that he did become positively
| gross about the neck and shoulders. This
look. however has been rec,ified In the
| ofiicial statues In order that it should not
/ pass on 10 future ages. During the time
/ Coquelin was giving this play at his the
ater. the Porte ST Martin visited him
one evening In his loge. where found him
armed with abundant proof that his was
| the correct impersonation OF the first Bo-
naparte. Among other things he showed
me a miniature OF the Emperor, which he
/ said had been given by his majesty 20 a
/ Nile. Georges a well-known French act
ress. This gift was presented TO the lady
uDon the occasion OF the Emperors last
! visit 10 her. This same actress has now
4 become the heroine OF a play running at
the Theatres des Varieties. on the Boule-
ward.
Two portraits lately exhibited al George
Petits gallery showed to play-goers OF to-
I day two contrasted pictures In the life OF
| Mile. Georges. One was a miniature Of a
beauty in the dress Of the first empire
/ The other was a sktch in which the mer-
! ciless pencil OF a caTicaturist had drawn
with Implying insistence the outline OF Il
woman grown in degree of stoutness be-
| yond all grace and shape The first pict-
ure was Mile Georges in her triumph
when the Emperors Napoleon and Alex
ander OF Russia laid fortunes az her feet;
the second was the actress after 1870 poor,
old, and laughed at. when a well-known
| critic wrote of her that she was tragic
| fat" But Nile. Georges in her days Of
poverty. and amid the slurs and ridicuIe
of the public, had the consolation. IL con-
| ISOLATION 1t be. 20 look back upon years OF
dazzling celebrity.
| At the age of sixteen this young actress
sprang into fame. Before she was twen-
~ she was recognized universally as the
greatest tragic actress of her time The
power of her beauty was equally as con-
vincing SIS her dramatic qualities. All the
| leading men of the empire were at her
feet. Size counted among her admirers
many royalties, conspicuous among whom
was Luclen Bonaparte. the Emperor Ma
poleon and later Alexander. who induced
her to live for a time In Russia Upon her
return to France she had second period
of triumph. and reigned supreme in the
drama OF the romantic school. as she had
been first on the stage of classic tragedy.
Tudor in Victor Hugo's plays were lauded
to the skies by Theophle Gautier, as her
Clytemnestra. in forgotten tragedy.
some forty years before. had been FRO
nounced perfect by the equally forgotten
critics Of that period OF literary medioc-
rity, the consulate. But a few years later
Nile. Georges was poor wrote begging
letters to old patrons. and was remem-
bered only to be ridiculed by caricaturists.
+ am told that Mr. Kruger's wedding
present TO Queen Wilhelmina OF Holland
viii be a thim5le artistically engraved by
a French sculptor. The design round the
edge represents a beYy of youthful Paris
ian seamstresses at work in a dressmak-
er's shop Among these young ladies Dom
Paul was very popular during his stay
here. They used TO flock from the big
dressmakers' workshops In the Rue de la
Paix during their lunch hour TO go and
cry "Vive Krugerl'' under the windows OF
the Hotel Scribe. and clap enthusiastieal-
ly when their hero appeared on the bal
eony. MIR. Kruger has carefully specified
that he does not wish 10 retain rights or
ownership over the design drawn for his
thimble This hint Partisan jewellers have
not been slow to take In a few days
time their windows will be stocked with
Kruger and WiIhelmina thimbles. which
they expect will be the fashionable trim
ket for the coming jeur de ran.
DR.. A. S. Clark is sailing from Havre on
the Champagne Saturday. December s. He
will visit his daughters in America acd
anticipates remaining for a month or six
weeks. Dr. Clark has been overworked
during the last year. and well deserves
holiday. Dame RumOr attributes the doc
tors visit to quite another cause. Nous
Verronsp'
The recent marriage Of Nine Maurice
Steers to the young Count de Rodelec du
PorZic has created no end OF a sensation
in the American colony. The bride Il a
daughter of the Countess de Trobriond
and a granddaughter ~ the late Mason
Jones, the weil-known New York banker.
The bridegroom Is a son of the Marquis
and MarchiOness de ROdellec du Porzic. OF
Brest. who have been lifelong friends OF
the bride. The bridegroom has just reacn-
ed twenty five, the age OF majority re-
quired in France. The affair began about
four years ago. when the young count was
ill in a hospital in Paris. His mother.
then at Brest. wrote asking her old friend,
Mime. de Steers, If she would go and see
her son in the hospital. Sympathetic
visits followed, with the result that the
young man fell desperately IN love with
his mothers friend, and neither force nor
reason would swerve him from his chosen
course. The Count de Rodellec IS man
of very good fortune and declines any Of
his wifes money. The marriage settle
ment gives all Of her large fortune to her
three children, each Of whom Is mar
ried. The new Countess de Rodeiee du
Porzic is several times a grandmother,
and her most charitable friends do not
give her less than fOrty-nine sImmers.
Young CORVALLIS West also seems to be
living In sort OF trance. 4 lady who
knows Mr. and Mrs. CORVALLIS West
G>ady Randolph churchilD very intimate
~ told me that whenever Mrs. cornwal!ls
West was talking II any one yentured 10
speak. her young husband at once raised
his finger and said: Hush, Jenny Is
speaking" caliow youth and ripe age
seem 10 furnish the FIN de steele" mar
riage.
The exposition decorations OF the Legion
OF Honor which IL was expected would
be announced long before this are stllI
unknown, and, therefore, causing anxiety
among those who have been spending
time and money In order that they might
be able to wear the LITTLE red ribbon in
America, 10 the envy OF their less for
tunate compatriots. II has been a sorry
sight 10 witness the scramble which Peek
and his followers have made, ana this IN
holy spectacle Of men dining. wining, and
feting those members of Frances official
family who might have some influence 70
bear upon The ministers controlling the
donation OF these decorations has left a
very unsay0ry impression. The average
Frsnehman believes that this decoration
should come voluntarily, as a reward u
merit, and have yet 10 learn that ap-
with the American the way 10
reach man - the classic road Of Shake
speare, through his stomach"
IL Congress deives into the affairs Of
our commission. ! am badly mlsinforned
II condition n not revealed which for
the sake Of the opinion that foreign Ea-