Los Angeles herald., 1908-01-24

at position, birth, etc, in a different
light from the American theory, espe-
cially where marriage. is concerned.
Most of them think that man who
is born a peasant is bound to be
peasant all his life. But that is not
the idea my father had in view he
had high ambitions for all of us, but l
think he centered good many of
them on me. And it was not my idea
to be a peasant, although it often
seems to me that most of the truest
hearts, the kindest natures, were
among the simple folk in whose midst
1 was brought up.
But they who call them peasants do
not know this, would think nothing of
1t If they did know. SO l imagined L
was asked, not as a friend, but as a
curiosity, in the spirit of what you
call lion hunter. Therefore, 1 refused
their first invitation. Pride, 1 thought,
would not be the monopoly of those
born in castles. l was sure that the
gardeners father was finer man than
the counts, and, indeed, no counts S
father ever showed me the love that
mine did for me. But next day the
invitation was renewed. It was fool
ish pride that I had INDUCED in, for
| had mistaken the intentions of peo-
pie whose nobility was deep in their
minds as well as in their birth.
1 have read so many different ac-
counts of my marriage. OF truth,
there seem to be people, especially
writer's on the newspapers, who know
more about me and my history than l
do myself. 1 have ceen statements in
print that 1 have married an elderly
countess, very plain of face and gauche
of mien Maybe it is natural for me,
her husband, to think that she is beau
tiful. AS for her age, she is certainly
younger than I am, and I am hardly
what you would call a patriarch. But
then I have been obliged to become
accustomed to all sorts of things like
those newspaper accounts. And am l
then to have no privacy?" I demanded.
When first started on my tours l
called my managers to account Il
can see no reason why my life and af-
fairs should be discussed" The reply
that 1 received from Mr.. Frohman
overwhelmed me. you have no pri-
vate life," he said. and I think Mr..
Frohman wanted to prepare me for
the worst by letting me know a little
more than the actual worst.
The Countess Czaky-Szell herself does
not think she has done anything at all
out of the way in marrying the young
Bohemian violinist She thinks she
has fulfilled a prophecy made to her
once Dy GlduCIell6s Iudl olle WOuid
marry a king. The king of violinists
is what she thinks her husband to be.
At party of young people the guests
gathered around the mysterious board
once. Each asked a question, and the
beautiful young countess asked in jest
about a matter that her thoughts
turned to readily enough in her earnest
moments. Planchette made answer as
above. Later on, she consulted the
oracle again; but the same answer
was returned to her and each time she
Joined the game the result was thu
same When she met me she gave but
little thought to the prophecy that
had been made to her but soon she
came to the conclusion that Planchette
had been right after all.
An attempt to prophesy my own fu-
ture was more successful. Returning
from Ireland in 1902, there was a lady
in our party who used to read palms
for amusement. She was a Mrs. Nc
Cord of Shepstow Villas, Bayswater
London. She foretold that I would
be married within year, and that
the first addition to my family would
be a double event. so I have good
cause to remember her. This is a
prophecy that really came true as il
was made.