The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-06-14

the other. giving 1t over 22,ooO times; portraits of her as the tragedy queen in Macbeth" "Becket." "Lucretia,' Henry XVIII" and other plays. At times as she told the sad story she te- came a veritable queen of tragedy her self.
 "The beginning happened many years ago. was just 16 and was at Nice with my mother. She was the daughter of Gideon Lee, at one time Mayor of New York, and she lived much in Paris, where the famous men and women of the day came to her salon. My father had been the American Consul at Bristol and my brother had held various consular and diplomatic positions in Europe. It then happened that at Nice we knew all the great society people and there was a rumor-which we knew nothing about until later-that was an heiress. You know, the European nobility think every American girl abroad is enormously rich
 Well at Nice that season the social lion was County Guerbel. He drove mag nificent horses. gave splendid dinners. was one of the handsomest men in Eu- rope, and was a brilliant talker. His family was 6 noted one in Russia, Qon- nected with the royal family. The Count himself had been a playmate of the Czar. Alexander H., and one of the pages of the Empress and his brother was at this time a member of the Czar' s household.
 Every woman at Nice raved over Count Guerbel and 1t was natural that should have been hattered by his atten- tions and finally infatuated with him. He asked my mother for my hand with an old-world courtesy we thought very charming. accepted and the mar riage was arranged. When my mother suggested the American consulate at Nice as the best place for the wedding he made no objection. It was in the midst of flowers and sunshine, with de- lighted friends surrounding us, congrat- ulating us. The Count appeared deeply in love and was devoted to me, But the Austrian Ambassador, a friend of my mothers. went to her after the ceremony and told her very gravely that 1t was not legal marriage. The Count could not be married without the Glars consent and according to the rites of the Greek Church
 You see, the Count had discovered was not rich He had plenty of land, but no money. and he wanted to marry me because he thought I had money.
 This was like a thunderbolt from a clear sky. He consented readily enough to meet us in Paris and have the cere- mony performed there in the Russian Church. But when he arrived certain re- lig1ous ceremonies of his church were being observed and we could not be married immediately. One day he found me alone in our apartments and tried to get me to elope with him
 "A few days later he tried to poison me gentle devil He handed me a glass of wine. but as I was about to drink 1t my mother dashed it from my hand. She had seen him put powder into It. He was so disconcerted that he fled"
 (''What a terrible man. the corre- spondent exclaimed.
 NO worse than many other American girls meet at fashionable resorts in Flu rope and marry for the pleasure of be- ing called countess or duchess and liY- ing in an ancestral palace the actress replied. He was accepted by all so- ciety in Nice.
 He had embedded money and eloped with another mans wife when he was IS, his relatives in Russia told me after ward. His Russian friends at Nice prob- ably knew 1t, but such men are always protected by their aristocratic friends | who would never dream of warning an American girl against them.
 After the poisoning scene he disap- peared from Paris. We heard nothing | from him until a year later. when a friend at Naples informed Us that the Count was there with his yacht and ex- pecting to marry the daughter of the | Russian Ambassador in Italy. The next | day I was on my way to Russia witt | my mother and brother.
 Governor Seymour was the American | Minister then in St. Petersburg and called there upon him. The czar heard