The Washington herald., 1912-02-29
The Baroness de Vaughan

II " 3
One OF the most conspicuous figures
upon the promenade" OF the Avenue de
Bois de Boulogne.. in Paris. Is the
Baroness de Vaughan In q rich gown
OF royal blue with a furbeIow OF no less
rich fur fully deserving its name OF
''fur below" inasmuch as 1t trails on the
ground. As a rule she Is accompanied
by her two little sons OF blood as royal
blue" as the color OF her dress, who
are flying small kites or balloons and
are attended by n maid or valet They
are IN law as well as in name-they must
ever remain so. Durrieux. their step
father, as a preliminary TO HIS marriage
with the baroness" about eighteen
months ago, having publicly and on
ciaIly declared that he Is their father.
These declarations. by his request were
inscribed on the margins OF the birth
registries In two different mayoralties In
France. at Viilafrance and at Longport.
near Montlhery, both in the Rivera.
Thus, to all legal intents and purposes.
both are his sons. but should she sue
coed In her present effort TO divorce him
they probably vii! be placed perma-
nently under her guardianship. he being
given the right to have them with him
four hours each on Thursdays and on
Saturdays as arranged temporarily by the
court that has to decide her petition.
During the hearing of the case thus
far Mr.. DurrIsuNs attorney disdained
to go into all that had been said of
the overbearing and harsh temper of the
lady, of which even the late King Of the
Belgians, her protector" stood in awe.
But what he tried to prove was CON
Donation" and to that effect he read
the dates of dinners zen partie fine at
N.-.~l N.EN
to Mr.. Durrieuxs bachelor apartments
in the Rue du Bois de Boulogne. and
many days, and even nights, spent there.
The court did not refuse to treat the
plea as a fim-ham, but ordered an in
quiry.
The baroness" married in apparent
haste seven months after the death Of
the late King OF the Belgians. and at
a time when one OF his heirs-the Prin-
cess LouIse-and still more her creditors.
were keen in pursuit OF proof that a
great part OF his personality, had dis
appeared from the late Kings bachelors
fiat in the Avenue de Victor Hugo before
the Belgian Legation had put seals on
doors and desks. In that interval the
baroness, accompanied by NJ. DurrieuN.
paid long visits to the fiat-so long that
they could psrtake OF luncheons ordered
At a neighboring pastry cooks and Ital-
ian warehouse.
However this may have or may have
not been, the marriage provided NJ. Dur
rieux with ample means. as the wife
as we must still call her-has obtained.
pending the proceedings, an allowance
from him OF 5000 francs, a month for
her personal expenses and those OF the
children. With this there has been the
decision OF the Belgian judges in refer
ence TO the Niederfulbach affair. King
LeopoId's Niederfulbach investment OF
about JOOO0. 600 francs was for her benefit.
Princess Louise went to law to obtain
third Of the assets locked up therein.
and the Belgian state intervened as the
only legal claimant. and won its suit.
This decision. l may add, diminishes the
fortune of the baroness, and II reduces
the heritages OF each of the three Bel
gian princesses to about 100000 francs
After all. this Is a handsome compe- |
tency. though. perhaps. insufficient for
the political purposes OF the clique who |
want to push the pretensions to imperial
power OF the Napoleonic prince whom
the youngest Of Leopolds daughters. in |
1910. married at Montecauerf. The Bona |
partists In Paris expected that the mar
francs in the hands OF their leader. |
Prince Victor, the husband OF Princess
ClementIne, the late Belgian Kings
''best-hated" child. Their hopes in this
direction now center in the vast wealth |
OF ex-Empress Eugenie.
The Durrieux divorce suit presents a /
queer mix-up OF things in present-day |
history in the various connections OF the l
petitioner: the legal status Of the young /
l,.ty, he lntPrllnk-
ing Of the Niederfulbach property mad |
through IL with the heirs of King Leo
pold; the new position OF the Bonapartist 4
agitatoTs, and so on.
The word chichl, which the Paris \
gamins apply 10 this condition and the
various phases of the case, Is derived
from the curly hair fringe invented
thirty years ago by Albert, coiffeur at
the Varieties Theatre. to hide the harsh /
line of separation between wig and fore
head Albert meant II to harmonic with
some madcap arrangement OF the Golf
fure. 1t has been continued ever since
with most kinds OF hair arrangement.
and is most pronounced. with the classi-
cal one or with the side bands now COM
ing In, those Of the Italian Renaissance
and of George Sand in her Couture por-
trait.
I read in a London daily that the lord
has been considering as to
whom he shall appoint as royal censor to
succeed Mr.. Redford." This is mislead-
ing. The lord chamberlain cannot posi-
bly, have been thus engaged. simply be-
cause that position is not in his gift.
The filling Of the once Of examiner Of
plays in England is the personal preroga-
tive of the King. When il was last va
can't some seventeen years ago. the
then lord chamberlain. Lord Darlington,
was instructed 20 send list of eligible
names TO Queen Victoria. who would
make a selection from It, Dramatic crit
les were excluded. When Lord Caring
tons list reached the Queen she found
that she had no information concerning
the individuals who had been selected. SO
she sent the list to Sir Theodore Martin,
whom she often consulted confidentially
on all sorts Of affairs, desiring that he
should advise her.
Sir Theodore knew nothing of the can
didates, but. as he had been asked for
advice by the sovereign, he was obliged
was familiar with the routine Of the
work, so he wrote a strictly private" let
ter TO friend whom he considered in a
position to give a reliable opinion and
asked whether Mr.. Redford would be
likely to do credit to the Queens choice
Z he were appointed. The reply was In
he affirmative, the friend. as II turned
nut later. really knowing no more about |
ne candidates than Sir Theodore Martin |
llmsef. The Queen was advised to select