The Savannah morning news., 1903-05-31
GENEVEVE WARDS ROMANCE
Married Count and Her Love Turned to Hate

A London dispatch to the Chicago
Chronicle says that the only known
case in which an American girl mar
ried to a foreign nobleman has never
used her husbands title is that of Gen
evieve Ward, the eminent actress. She
lives now in London in retirement, SO
far as the stage is concerned, but all
the artistic, literary and fashionaoie
London world fiocks to her Mondays
at home" She is called the "grande
dame" of the English theater, so state
ly is her presence, so irreproachaole
has been her life.
Wonderfully beautiful she is still, with
a perfectly nodded figure, hands that
many a famous artist has reproduced
in marble, big dark eyes that fash nre
or bubble over with fun as she talks
a delicate complexion and masses OF
white hair piled high on her shapely
head.
Genevieve Ward is Countess Guerbel
by right of marriage, but no one dares
call her countess. She hates the title
has never made theatrical capital out
of it, as many actresses would have
done, and does not use it under any
circumstances.
Now that her husband, Count Guer-
bel, is dead there are family estates IL
Russia she might have-broad acres OF
land, vast forests and palaces. Hei
husband had been won to passionate
regard for her simply because snt
would not tolerate his wicked life anc
he 20 ho his nrOnQTtX
But she would not accept it. She nae
worked hard, had lived simply and hat
accumulated wealth. But If she hac
been poor it would have been the same
Genevieve Ward has never allowed
the story of her romantic marriage Z
be published and her most intimate
friends know very little about 1t. Many
of them do not know that her HUSBAND
is dead now. But, sitting in the coy
drawing room Of her picturesque villa
in Regents Park, she told her stor!
for the Chronicle as she knitted on
pair of socks for her gardener-she il
always knitting and makes dozens o
pairs of socks for her servants and TN
poor of her neighborhood The room
was full of souvenirs of her man.
stage triumphs of the days when sn
played 'Forget-Me-Not" from one EN-
of the world to the other, giving 1t owe
--sOVV lllilSSs pOIll dAI5 VI hSA oS -
tragedy queen in Macbeth" Beckett
'Lucretia." Henry XVIII and othe
plays. At times as she told the sal
story she became a veritable queen o
tragedy herself.
The beginning happened many year
ago. 1 was just 16 and was at Mic
with my mother She was the daugh
ter of Gideon Lee, at one time Mayo
of New York, and she lived much i
Paris, where the famous men AM
women OF the day came to her salon
My father had been the American
consul at Bristol and my brother ha'
held various consular and diplomat
positions in Europe. IT then happen
ed that at Nice we knew all the grea
society people and there was ru
norwich we knew nothing abou
until later-that / was an heiress. 70
know. the European nobility thin
every American girl abroad Is enof
mously rich.
We'll, at Nice that season the socia
lion was Count Guerbel He dToP
magnificent horses. gave splendid ain
ners, was one OF the abandonment me
in Europe and "a brilliant talkef. ~
family was "a noted one 10 ktlesli
connected with the royal iamiif ~
Count himself had been A platflat
az the Car, Alexander II, ana On