The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-02-28
PRINCESS SPENDS
ALL KINDS OF MONEY
Alexandra Won Isenbera Gets
Rid of 100000 in
Five Years.
Special Foreign Service.


monty interesting to see what effect |
her recent narrow escape from impris- |
onment for fraud will have upon Prin-
cess Alexandra Won Isenberg, whom it
is no exaggeration to describe as one
of the most extraordinary spendthrifts
Europe ever has produced. 1t was, of
course, this handsome daughter of one
of the Oldest and noblest of German
titled families who succeeded, after
her romantic divorce and second mar
riage, in getting rid of a fortune of
over $S,000,000 in less than five years.
One might have expected her nighness
to practice economy for a bit after that,
especially as she was heavily in debt,
but instead she realized" upon vari-
Gus historic estates which still remain
ed to her and with the proceeds plung-
ed into the widest sort Of speculation.
Most of her coups failed, and before
long the bearer of one of the proudest
names in Germany was penniless again.
Her position, however, made it COM
paratively easy for her to borrow huge
sums, with the aid of which she went
in for betting on horse races, hoping in
this way to retrieve her fortunes. On
the track, however, the princess lost
more heavily than ever, so she Dor
howed more money and tried her luck
at Monte Carlo, but that venture turn
ed out as badly as the others had done.
There was a sensation when bailiffs,
acting under orders from her creditors,
held up" the princess in the streets of
Stuttgart and took from her what
Valuables she was carrying, and an
other when the noble woman opened
boarding house on the shores of Lake
Constance, and every one supposed
that the princess career was about at
an end when she was arrested not
long ago at the instance of money
lenders in Munich, Frankfort, Kassel,
Stuttgart, Constance and other cities,
from whom she had borrowed, and or
dered to be tried for fraud before the
frankfort court. But the trial has re-
suited in the remarkable decision that
though the princess methods of gain
Ing funds undoubtedly were shady,
she did nothing absolutely illegal. On
TINS ground she was acquitted, and
now German society folk are asking
each other what the next chapter will
be in her amazing life story.
The princess, now woman of forty
eight, is the only living descendant of
the former electors of Hesse Nassau,
South Germany, who lorded it in the
Waechtersbach eight hundred years
ago, and upon whom wealth, titles and
all sorts of distinctions were conferred.
Princess Alexandra inherited a fortune
OF $5,O0O,000. Her first husband was
her kinsman, Prince Adalbert of Isen-
berg, who also was immensely rich.
She married him at twenty, they went
to live in Stuttgart and all the signs
seemed to indicate that their life would
be happy one. They both had youth
their social position was distinguished
and their homes and estates numbered
no less than~nine.
Trouble, however, came almost i'm
mediately in the shape of an infatua-
ton formed by the princess for a mill
tary officer named Pagenhardt. who
was stationed at Stuttgart. What the
attraction was it is hard to tell, for
Lieut.. Pagenhardt was not good to look
at, and, moreover, was poor and no.
body. However, the Princess Alexan-
dra sacrificed everything for his sake,
left her home to live with him, and
did not defend the suit which her hus-
band promptly brought against her for
divorce. This was granted him just
two years after his marriage with the
princess. The noblewoman received
back her dowry of $4,000, 900 and imme-
diately married Pagenhardt, after
which she exerted all her influence to
get him ennObled-finally succeeding
in gaining for him the title of baron
Then this couple started on such a
life of ostentation and extravaganza
as would have beggared a Croesus OF
a Rockefeller. They took a palace in
Stuttgart-in spite of the fact that the
princess former husband still was liv-
ing in the town-Which they made
their chief home, but they had also a
country house in Bavaria, shooting
lodge in the Tyrol, villa in the Ri
viera and a town residence in Berlin
The staff which was required to rur
all these establishments consisted Of
some thousand Of servants, and the
couple kept over three hundred horses
They had q private yacht more mag.
nifcent than that owned by the emperor
and all their travelling was done in theil
special train, which was fitted up through
out with a luxury equaled by few draw
ingrooms in the Fatherland Princes:
Alexandra scorned to wear an evening
gown that had cost less than $780, anC
when she appeared in a playhouse O.
other place of enterta inment she dis
played jewels worth at least $780, 600. TIL,
baron was as lavish. No cigar was gooC
enough for him that had not cost a dolla
or more, and he would buy no cheape
ones for his guests. Perhaps this couples
extravaganza reached its climax, however
when one winter night they banquete,
100 guests on $50 evenings in succession
the VlandS and wines at each OF theS
feasts being literally the choicest tina
money could buy.
At first the princess and her baron trie
to live this Midas-lik existence on tn
interest of the formers money, but it 500
became evident that this could not b
done, so they commenced upon the prin
cipal. Within three years the origins
five millions were practically dissipate6
but, just in the nick of time, the princes
came into three more fortunes, amountin
In all to about 81, 100000. You might hav
thought that the couple would have mad
some attempt to mend their ways an
hold on to this windfall On the contrary
they frittered it away even more reck
lessly than they had their original mean:
and then began to borrow. No on
dreamed that they were ruined, and g
first they got practically what funds the
asked for. Later on, however, their re;
situation became known and then thel
was trouble. Creditors swooped down G
the couple and threatened all sorts of re
venge. Evidently the princess and tt
baron each regarded the other as the al
thor of their downfall for they bega
uuarreling, and soon their relations e,
so disagreeable that Princess Alexandl
sought divorce from Pagenhardt. H,
thirtieth birthday occurred a few da!
before she gained the decree.
1t was after having become divorc,
for the second time in ner life that Il