Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-03
EARS ALWAYS HIDDEN
Mystery Concerning Cleo de
Merode ExCiteS Paris.
A WORLD-FAMOUS BEAUTY
Left Partisan Opera Ballet to Dance In
New York.
MANY TIMES A MILLIONAIRE
King Leopold Appreciates Her Bust
ness Discernment, Which Has Made
Her a Congo Stakeholder.
MANY TIMES A MILLIONAIRE
Special Correspondence of The Star.

Special Correspondence Of The Star.
PARIS, October 20, 1905
Has certain world-famed beauty lost an
ear? Was she born without ears? Or with
deformed ears? Or with little holes in
place of ears? Or did an accident mar one
or both her ears before her tenth year
from which tender age there are authentic
portraits Of her, in all of which the mys-
terry is already well established.
The world famed beauty is Diane-Cleo-
patro de Merode, called Cleo, once full
sujet or star of the corps de ballet OF the
Paris Opcro, today millionaire in her own
right and soon. perhaps. to be figure Of
world interest for the profits she has gained
out of the exploitation Of the Belgian Congo.
At intervals for fifteen years past the
Parisians have started up the controversy
that seems to have been born with Cleo. as
to the existence Of her ears and why she
hides them under the smooth bandeaux so
becoming to her perfect profile.
In Jules Martins january Of Partisan
stars 1t appears that the lady was born in
Paris, Of Viennese parents, on the 9th Of
September-which permits friends to send
flowers and bonbons on her birthday~with
the year not given.
Certainly however, she entered the gov
eminent ballet school of the Grand Opera
as a child of seven. Certainly there exists
a Degas portrait of her, painted one-third
life size, as a rat of eleven or twelve with
ibandeaux already completely hiding her
ears.
Certainly when in the late eighties Al
fred Grevin designed Behind the Scenes
at the Opera for the waxworks museum
that bears his name. he put a life-sized
figure Of DianaCleap atra there. in COM
pany with Gounod, Rose Caron, Felix
Faure and other great ones-with her ears
concealed Theoretically.
RafwRen these and the date 1S0R
when the sculptor Falguiere almost raised
a riot In the Paris salon with his almost
Efe-sized statue Of Cleo in pink marble, the
bandeaux of this lovely creature became
known to the world entire in countless pho
tographs In not one of them did even
tip of one Of her ears show. Only by in
creaslng watchfulness could 1t have hap
pened that some accidental disarrangement
Of the hair should not have broken he rec
ord.
Became a Petit Sujet.
Cleo became petit sujet, or small star,
Of the Grand Opera in 1893. By 1895 the
mystery OF her ears had raised so many
controversies that she would not appear in
tho Paris Bois or at a vernissage or dog
show without an increasing mob Of we'll
dressed men and women gathering round
her, r,hbbering to catch a glimpse Of what
no known Partisan had ever seen, Of what
did not exist. perhaps!
They never saw SO much as faint out
line Of an ear beneath the famous ban
deau
Once In those days a sporty old Russian
grand duke made bet that he would have
the mystery solved in the full ballet green
room Of the opera. Three nights later
coryphee went into a sort of hysteric fit in
a group where stood Cleo. Clawing the air
with her outstretched arms her finger-tips
lust brushed the hair Of Cleo-who side
stepped as quick as lightning, with the light
grace of specially trained athlete.
On another occasion two girls Of the super
staff tried actually to hold Cleo and exam