Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1901-04-25

not only vouchsafed Frau Schratt. who
! was accompanied by Countess de
TRAM, sister Of the late empress, a pa
! ter~2! recepticc. but that Le even
/ granted nullity to her marriage TO Ba-
! Ion kisch, by whom she has q son.
The retirement of Frau Schratt from
i the stage and her divorce are by all
| accounts preliminaries to her marriage
with the emperor, who, it is said, has
( signed a breyet raising her to the rank
| OF nobility under the title of Countess
Hochstenberg.
A Half Hours Bride.
Many marriages., says a Vienna
contemporary, have been of short
duration, but even the shortest union
generally lasts longer than half an
hour. A few days ago marriage
soIemnized on September 50 last, at
St. Johns church in Vienna, was de-
clared null and void by the civil
court here. While the priest was ad-
dressing the couple in the church the
bride tainted. AS both she and the
bridegroom were kneeling this was
not remarked, but the priest and the
wedding guests noticed that the lady
did not answer yes to the priests
question. At the conclusion of the
ceremony the bride was taken into the
sacTisty, where she shortly after re-
covered. She was astOnished to hear
that the ceremony had been finished
without her knowledge and assent and
returned at once to her parents, Ieav-
ing her husband at the church door.
The family lawyer was commissioned
to dispute the validity of the mar
riage, and declared in court that the
lady had been almost forced into the
union, as for two years the bride
groom had followed and prosecuted
her until he had obtained the consent
of the family. AS the lady was of a
highly nervous temperament she was
at length persuaded, unwillingly, to
yield. Counsel for the bridegroom
denied all prosecutions and requested
the court to declare his client free, as
without the yes Having been uttered
there could be neither a civil nor a
religious marriage. Counsel represent
ms he church asserted the exchange
of the rings and the covering of the
hands with the stole formed a suf-
fciently valid marriage. The court
finally decreed that no marriage had
taken place, as the civil code express
ly demands the assertion on both sides
of willingness to the union. The
marriage was therefore declared null
and void, to the satisfaction of both
parties"
Paris Fashion Devotees.
Enormous sums are spenr each year
by Fashions devotees in that region
of Paris bounded by the boulevard
Haussmann, the Rue de Richelieu, the
Rue de Rivoli and the Rue Royal, an
irregular square of which the central
point is the famous Rue de Ia Paix. A
writer in an English paper states that
Lame de Pougy, Cleo de Merode, Nile.
Narsy, the Countess de Castellane
the Duchess d'Uzes and many other
ladies belonging to very different
worlds in the gay city meet on COM
mon ground in their passion g. for the
latest creations of the great modistes
They are the women who pay $1,000
for dress, $500 for a silk petticoat,
$500 for an opera cloak, 500 for
robe de mutt. $25 for a pair of stock
ings, $500 for a corset. Their other fur
bellows, dainty, mysterious, awe-in-
spring, are paid for in proportion
There are q number Of Parisiennes
whose rare beauty demands $4,000,
1000 and even $4,000 per annum
for it's adornment The actual labor
involved in the making Of $500 dress
after it leaves the cutters hands is
said to seldom exceed $40. Where
does the rest of the money go? In the
first place, quite 500 must be al
located to the chief for his originative
genius and his administrative talent
He must provide an expensive estab-
lishment, luxuriously furnished, in the
heart Of fashionable Paris. He must
surround himself with an equally ex-
pensive staff. These items would
absorb another $3.50. Interest on cap
ital and money outstanding would rep
resent another $40. Considering that
bad debts in these smart establish
ments are officially declared to amount
to II per cent. of the annual turnover,
about $40 must be allowed for that
eventuality. Adding S140 for the ma
terial, the total cost would be $50,
leaving Is per cent, or $50 profit.