New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-03-24
NOBLE NAME DISGRACED.
Whg the PrinceEy House of Gortcha.
kof Is Barred from the Gotha.


~ tbe s,rimean War, and by Prince Michael, the
~, ,oorox OF Poland. has disappeared from the
Al,n.nach de Gotha. it is largely owing to the
5,sc-soa brought upon it by the Princess Con-
,..ire s5ortchakoff. whose stormy life has Just
heen brought TO a close at Monte Carlo through
s,rnntion. True, her brother-n-aw the late
Ior5noe Michael decentralization, contributed in
measure 20 drag the name in the mud, and in
5.sted for his post as Russian envoy in Switzerland
mi IN Spain to the power and prestige of his
fsther, the Chancellor. conducted himself in both
these countries in such fashion that Of his
colleagues of the diplomatic corps We're willing to
shake hands with him. But the member of the
family most 20 blame for the wane Of its grandeur
vss his brother Constantine wife. Marie Stourdza
daughter OF that Michael Stourdza. who was one
Of the most rapacious OF all those Hospodars or
Christian governors, of what is Rumania
IN the time when it still subject TO Turkish
sovereignty. Some faint notion of the career of
the late Princess Constantine Gortchakoff may be
gathered from the facts that she has been charged
in court with the crimes of robbing her mothers
corpse. Of defrauding her brother Gregory stourd-
20 the Rumanian general end statesman, with
conspiracy. perjury and Heaven knows what be-
SIDES.
From the very outset OF her married life the
bonds of matrimony proved exceedingly CALLING to
her. and she determined TO rid herself of them at
the earliest opportunity after the death of her
father-in-law. the Chancellor OF the Empire of
whom she stood in great dread Within a few
months after his demise, and with the avowed OBJ
,ect Of provoking her husband 10 demand a d-
vorce she associated herself with Englishman
Of mental antecedents and travelled all over El-
rope in his company under her own name. Great
ing great scandal everywhere. Neither this nor
other provocations Of similar nature We're how
ever successful in driving her husband to sue for
divorce In fact. the more she displayed anxi-
ETY. TO secure the dissolution of marriage. the
less inclination did the prince show meet her
views in the matter In despair at her failure
she actually went 10 the length of lodging petit
tons against him at ST. Petersburg and Bucha-
she was able TO bring against the prince did not
furnish sufficient for decreeing the dissou-
ton Of the marriage. At STEAMBOAT however she
was more successful. and by dint of enormous
brides. able to induce the Orthodox Patr-
arch at Constantinople to pronounce the annul-
rnent Of her union with Prince Constantine Gort-
schakOf. II is needless to add that the decree in
question treated entirely invalid both in
Russia and Rumania, the Synod OF the Bosporus
having no legal competence to deal with the
HOW SHE GOT HER MOTHERS JEWELS.
few years later her mother, the widow OF the
Hospodar, died at Baden Baden, leaving property
valued a few weeks prior to her demise at the
colossal Of slS,000O00. The only member of the
family with her the time of her death was her
daughter, the Princess Gortchakon 1t well
known 20 the family that the old lady was in the
habit Of wearing day and night soft leather belt
strapped around her body, containing her most
valuable securities, precious and title deeds
That this belt was there In its place at the mo-
nent Of her death is shown by the sworn evidence
OF the two Sisters of Mercy who tended her
throughout her last illness. During the night which
followed the death of the aged princess no one had
access to the room in which the corpse lay except
her daughter, Nine de Gortchakoff and on the
next day when the body placed in the coffin
the Sisters OF Mercy noticed that the belt had dis
appeared.
Nor was this eIl For it subsequently appeared
that at the very moment when the death agony
nnenced Nine. de Gortchakon had dispatched tele
gram 10 Paris surnmoning a remarkably clever
l-17Ou
70 have designed the locks OF the four steel safes
in which the old princess had boarded all such Of
her valuables she unable to get into her
leather belt. Landry arrived few hours after the
80 atl and spent greater part OF the night with
&c Gortchakoh in picking the locks OF the
s.e- The keys 10 which had been carefully hid
l.I ayay by the old lady that 1t impossible to
ind them. the duplicates being in the hands OF her
lawyers When at length the local authorities pre-
scented themselves at the villa make the duly
prescribed inventory Of the property left by the
deceased her legal representatives discovered that
over a4OO3.0o0 well all the jewels had disap-
peared
On being notified Of the fact Nine. de Gort-
chakohs brother commenced proceedings against
his sister for the purpose Of Furnishing her for her
violation Of the laws by Selling mothers jewels
and property, and also with the object Of compeli
ing her disgorge the proceeds of what he termed
her ghoulish robbery of her mothers corpse.
CHARGED WITH ROBBERY
Besides the two Sisters of Mercy there three
other witnesses of Nine. de Gortchakoff's cold
biooded dishonesty the night OF her mothers
death. They were her maid, the confidential
maid Of the Old princess and the latter's house
steward. Nine. de- Gortchakof. Of course, took her
mothers two retaners into her employ and reward
ed them handsomely When, however, she found
that they had been cited to appear and give evil
dence IN the proceedings brought by a Gregory
Stourdza against her she took them off with her
10 Germany. On reaching Frankfort she suddenly
caused their arrest by the German police on charges
of having stolen her Jewels. and. the gems which
she had given them insure their silence were
found IN their possession. the case looked very
black against them. In fact. IT not until many
months had passed that they able to succeed
IN proving their innocence and in recovering their
liberty. Meanwhile the trial Of the princess in the
French courts had been adjourned owing to the
absence Of these two important witnesses, who, on
returning 10 France initiated on their account
proceedings for conspiracy and false Imprisonment
against her.
SETTLED BY COMPROMISE
There were also accusations Of perjury. and even
Of forgery-in fact, for a number OF years the
busy dealing with all these many charges laid at
the door Of the princess. whose great name.
well as her vast wealth, enabled her to escape any
such indgnity imprisonment. Eventually the
matters settled by means OF a compromise.
and. although the Russian great world always re-
NAMED aloof from the princess yet her mansion in
the Rue de Farennes. in the Faubourg ST. German.
al Paris and her villa at Nice the scenes Of
many splendid fetes, to which not only foreigners
but also any OF the leaders OF the French great world
would flock. The princess had quite large circle
OF American friends among the cosmopolitan colony
on the banks OF the Seine. and, aside from her
moral eccentricities, very brilliant and orig
mai woman, whose delinquencies perhaps
more attributable nationality and to heredity
than TO any actual viciousness.