The New York herald., 1922-08-27
Katharine Schratt, Show
cred With Gifts by Fran
els Joseph, Now Poor.
"A PICTURESQUE CAREER
Lived i'm Home Beside Palace
After Quitting Brilliant
Stage Career.

Special Gable to THE New YORK HERALD
Copyright. 1899, by TIE NEW YORK HERALD
VIENNA. Aug. 26.-Katharina Schratt-
like many OF the royalties who eagerly
sought her influence for the more than
thirty years that she was the aclSnowl-
edged friend Of Francis Joseph, to-day
is facing poverty, despite the gifts and
n $250,000 bequest left her by the EN-
peror, and has been reduced to selling
some Of her jewels to buy clothing for
herself.
Friends here have admitted that she
has sold for a mere song two hanl
some diamond pendants which were
presented to her by the King of Bull
gaa'ia for service she did him. tThe
diamonds are historical, and first at
tracted attention when Princess Ade-
laide. sister OF King Louis Philippe of
France, gave them to her mother
cesssClementinc. 1t was the son
OF the latter who gave them to Frau
Schratt, and with them he sent note
thanking Frau Schratt for the "tre-
mendous service" she had done him
and his country.
/ The service, it is said. consisted of
Frau Schratt's allowing a certain Bull
garian, who had an immense influence at
the Greek court, to dine at her table and
thus meet Francis Joseph when the old
Emperor's advisers were seeking to pre-
vent such meeting. At least that is the
story that is told, but SO much has been
. nd ugyt ttrn <NfI C.,l,. T.
relations with the Emperor that it is
hard to sift fact from fiction
Many Costly Gifts.
1t is known that Francis Joseph made
every provision possible to assure her 4
life of comfort after his death. He gave
her several estates during his lifetime
and also provided for her i'm his will, but
accof diLg to these latest reports OF the
sale OF her jewels it would appear that
the wave OF hardships which Is still
sweeping over Austria and which has
spared neither the rich nor the poor.
royal parsonage or oommoncr. also Is
striking in the twilight zone of society.
Last fall II was reported that Frau
Schratt was going TO visit the United
States this year and make lecture tour,
and II was reported that she was eagerly
awaited there, as. while America had
heard practically every kind OF lee
turer lecture on nearly every conceivable
subject, 1t had never yet listened to one
of her exact socia. status. However.
nothing came of the lecture trip, and it
was then reported that she was writing
her memoirs. which were awaited also
with eagerness. but which have not yet
appeared.
Whether Frau Schratt really swayed
the late Emporer to the extent some be-
licve she did Is a moot question After
che quit the stage she led a very retired
life and. according to the most reliable
reports. she seldom ATTEMPTED to meddle
jn politics. She lived in an unpreten-
tioua dwelling close by the royal palace
here and nearly every evening the En-
peror visited her and sometimes took
some of his friends there There was
no state or ceremony connected with
these quiet little evenings and II is re-
lated that{the Emperor often made Frau
Schratt bring him a list of the house
hold expenses of the day and that they
often quarreled---or pretended to-ovcr
sums spent for various trihing things.
Introduced by the Empress.
There were those who held that Frau
Echratt was norganatic wife of the
Emperor Francis Joseph once caused TO
Vienna a paragraph referring to "the
perfectly innocent relations between the
monarch and the actress" Countess
Maria Larisch. the niece OF the late
Empress Elizabeth, In her memoirs
writes that 1t was the Empress who in
troduced the actress to the Emperor as
n reader TO entertain him while the EN-
press was away on visit. The countess
said that the Empress encouraged the
friendship because she felt that Frau
Schratt would entertain him without
sccking 10 influence him.
Just what has become OF the estates.
the jewels and the money which the
Emperor left her would probably make
an interesting narrative, but II Is not
known yet. Frau Schratt Is the last OF
her kind. The Dubarry. the Pompadour.
Nell Gwyn, the De Maintcnon and
their ilk are as extinct as the wild
pigeon. Schratt alone Is left. an old
woman. the relic Of an order that hRs
passed