The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1912-12-06
Foreign Gossip.

The late Baroness Gustave de Roth
schld is extolled in obituary no.
tees for beatty, accomplishments,
taste in forming art collections In
her town palace Of the Avenue
de Marigny. Paris, and the chateeu
de I.aversine, where she died. The
former was a pendant TO the Elysee,
which IL on the opposite side of the Ave
nue. de Marigny. but without the gracious
eighteenth century gallantry that Nine.
de Pompadour's architect infused into the
garden front of &, the latter palace. II
rather expresses the serious, stolid Roth
schild wealth in which, from youth TO
venerable age, the late baroness lived,
moved. and entertained. for she was fond
of company, but without ostentation, and
never crossed the homely taste Of her
husband, the late Baron Gustave.
She brought Alsatian and quite new
blood into the branch OF the great bank
ing family that she entered, and her
patriotism was Alsatian French, and
more Israelitish than that of most MEM
bers of her powerful connection. Beauty
she had even up TO a comparatively ad-
yanced period. and she received an eN-
ceIlent education Gor the time In which
she was at school. What was more i'm
portant, she belonged TO a clever family
ed a high post in the judiciary and rose
to a seat in the Cour de Cessation Su-
preme Court. In art she had more con-
noisseurship than artistic instinct, and
so kept on the safe side In collecting. as
do, indeed. most wealthy presentNday COL
leetors, and as did the English milors
who, in the eighteenth century. bought
up those ancient masters" which their
descendants put up at auction now and
then.
The hunting parties at Laversine used
to be a great country feature in the De-
partment of the Disc before the fatal ac-
cident that befell the Baroness Leonino
at a stag hunt in the nelghborhood. That
daughter of the late Baron and Baroness
Rothschild, in taking a short cut at a
Eallop 10 see a stag at bay. struck her
forehead against the branch of a tree.
and was found senseless beside her hunt
er. She never regained consciousness and
died some hours latd. The stag hunts
were revived after the mourning period
hut 1t was done as a sort of duty 10 the
district.
The sudden death OF another daughter,
Lady SassoOn. seems to have quite broken
down the late baroness Besides she lost
a sister 10 whom she was attached, Nine
Emile Dreyfus, The funeral, according
the Jewish ritual. plain, the hearse-wlth
four skimp plumes, a skimp pail. and
slimp housings on two horEes-Was still
more ornate than that of Baron James
de Rothschild. whose coffin was placed in
the extremely plain hearse of the Jewish
Congregation that used to be furnished
gratis to poor people for their dead. Incl
dentally. in no wise did it differ from the
"Corbillard due pauvre' that took tho
remains of Victor Hugo to the Pantheon.
save for the black band on which one
read in white letters. 'Je crOis en- DIeu"
London. with its forty-six miles Of hooks
on shelves in the British Museum. thinks
no more highly of literature than does
Leipzig, with a much smaller collection.
This German city has arranged to spend
$4,000 on a new library. and, with tho
state Cf SaXony. Leipzig Is to contribute
$4,000 annually for its maintenance. II
ever there was a booksellers town, II Is
Leipzig. In the middle of the eighteenth
century its book trade dominated that of
the rest Of Germany. Fifty years a6o its
relative Importance had increased. It's
book trade then was valued at nearly :ialf
million pounds yearly, and neariy 80
booksellers had shops and thirty printers
had presses in the city. Long before that
there was the Book Publishers Exchange.
which managed a booksellers fair at
Eastertide. when five hundred or six hun
bred German booksellers would come 20
buy the novelties Of the day and settle
up their accounts.
To-day the spread Of popular education
has given the Leipzig book trade almost
gigantic proportions. There are between
800 and 1000 book publishers and book
sellers in the city. and at least $50 book
printers. The booksellers fair continues
every year with increasing success. Leip-
zig is one Of the Centers OF cheap books,
and here is issued the remarkable REX
lam series. of pocket size. sold according
to thickness, at a price OF cents each,
and including unpublished novelties such
as modern court memoirs and TRANSACTIONS
from the Greek and Latin classics. as well
as a full selection of German literature.
So far. Leipzig has possessed only a
small book industry museum. a handsome
but rather small building, near the Book
sellers Exchange. Here, with a statue of
Gutenberg at the entrance. is a collection
of examples OF ancient and modern print
ing and representations of the thousand
and one processes connected with book
and binding, which make the
second only TO the famous Plan
Tim Museum at Antwerp.
1t has long been believed, however. that
this was not enough TO demonstrate the
importance of the industry and commerce
OF Leipzig Its booksellers are determined
to go farther, and, rather than look back
on the past. they have decided to under
line their importance Of to-day by form
ing n library that shall contain a copy
of every line OF reading matter. he it in
German or in foreign tongue. that may
be printed and sold within the German
empire from January l. 1913 onward.
One point of special interest is that ths
library will not be used for several yearS.
except in a very slight degree. Nothing
but -Rew publications will be stocked. SO
that the stan will be able to begin their
catalogues on a clean sheet This Royal