Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1902-06-12
CECIL RHODES RELATIONS WITH
PRINCESS RADZlWILL.
A PAGE FROM ROMANCE
The Beautiful Woman Who Fascinat.
ed the Napoleon of the Cape" Was
Afterward Repudiated by Him
Now She Is Convicted Of Forging
His Name.

| Ike page lIOm i1ou VI OuudS
and having for it's scene OF action Rus
STA, Paris, London and south Africa
| M. de Blowitz has communicated over
his signature to the Paris Matin what
he describes as The Living Enigma
| that fastened the death of Cecil
Rhodes, writes the Paris correspond
ent of the New York Tribune, under
| date of April Is, before the trial which
has just resulted in the conviction of
Princess Radziwil1 The statements
made by M. de Blowitz attract wide
spread attention. 1t is known that the
prince of foreign correspondents was
at various periods of his life on terms
of close acquaintance, if not friend
ship, with the leading personages that
figure in the tragedy which, with due
apology to NJ de Blowitz, l summar-
ize and transcribe, retaining as far as
may be the glowing phraseology of the
French original:
Shortly after these lines shall have
appeared" writes NJ de Blowitz, '|the
body of Cecil Rhodes-the Colossus OF
Rhodes-will lie buried in the heart of
the land of Rhodesia on the hill OF
Matoppo, which he wished to make
the Walhalla of the future south At
rican federation. Something
beside fame, immense fortune and an
imperial legacy rivaling that of Cea-
sar's have been left to humanity by
Cecil Rhodes, for at the threshold of
his tomb stands living enigma. per-
sonified by woman of exalted birth
This woman assumed a place beside
Cecil Rhodes during the later years
OF his life, and has now sunk into the
lowest depths of judicial abyss.
''The scales in which the law courts
will soon weigh the action of this wo-
man will also serve to weigh the rep
utation of Cecil Rhodes, for if this
woman comes forth innocent from the
ordeal of the south African tribunal
the scOurge raised or lowered for or
against her must strike and tarnish
the renown of her dead accuser. 1t is
for this reason, before the clamor now
resounding about the conqueror be-
comes silent, that I wish to make
known the salient features of the life,
the hopes and receptions of Princess
Catherine Radziwin, whose name
clashes in such bitter irony with the
bleating trumpets that proclaim the
fame of Cecil Rhodes.
Princess Catherine Radziwill is OF
Polish origin. She was born Countess
RZewuska and she is the daughter of
that Countess Rzewuski whose maiden
name was Dachoff Her mother, when
little over Is years old, fell in love
with Count Rzewuski, who was in his
fiftieth year, and. notwithstanding the
opposition of her parents, she married
him. Princess Catherine Radziwill
was born Of this marriage. When
very young she married Prince Will
lam Radziwill, of the Prussian branch
of that family. By this marriage she
has had three children. One of her
daughters is Princess Butcher. Her
husband, for whom Princess Gather
inc never entertained any affection,
lives in obscurity, which was not re-
moved even after their separation
and it is only the stroke of lightning
that has now fallen upon the princess
that can shed light upon the gray
shadow in which Prince William is en-
veloped.
I'm the district of Poltava. at the
time when Mile Dachkoff married
Count Rzewuski, there lived boyar
whose ancestors dated from the earli-
est period of the Russian empire. This
boyar's name was Pachkoff. He led
a royal and extravagant life on his
magnificent estates. He had his own
regiment of cavalry, his own must
clans, his private company of actors,
actresses and dancers, and the nobil-
ity for 100 miles around flocked to his
castle to participate in the magnifi-
cent festivities. Pachkoff had a serf
who, like all serfs, had no proper
name, and to whom he intrusted the
management of his estates. This serf
was married and had SON, who was
just the same age as Mile. Pachkoff
the boyar's daughter. The children
used to play together, and Pachkoff
caused his serf's son to be educated
with the same care as his own daugh-
ter. The serf's son passed his exami-
nations with great brilliancy, and to
insure his admission into the Imperial
Cadet college, Pachkoff gave civil
freedom to the father and named him
Poltavtzeff, that is to say, the man
from Poltava' Young Poltavzeff en-
tered the Cadet college, and soon after
his graduation selected his regiment
and became a captain He returned
on leave of absence to Poltava to see
his father He also saw Mile. Pacfl-
koff. Shortly after his arrival Pach-
kof gave a grand fete, to which 10
families of the district were invited.
'Tt is necessary to explain at this
point of the narrative that for 25 years
each time that the steward brought
to Pachkoff the accounts of the estate,
the old boyar invariably replied, No!
No! l don't want to be bothered with
accounts. Supply me- with the money
l require, and never mind the ac-
counts
'"The day before the grand fete Cap
tain Poltavtzeff said to his father, L
am going away tomorrow
Why asked his father, are you
not going to the fete?'
ono
"'You make mistake. You are a
/ captain, you are handsome, you are
free, and 1 am sure that some attrac-
tive heiress will be glad to marry
yOu'