Evening star., 1923-05-02
Prussia's Richest Noblman, in Fear
OF German Collapse, Becomes Pole

Some years before his death. En-
peror Rudolf had ennobled his ex-
valet and banker, bestowing upon
him the additional nobiliary name of
later his son was made baron of
the holy Roman empire under the
same name. grandson of old Iaz-
arus became Count Henckel Won DON
nersmarGk n,;s in 1851 and in 1901 Count
was created Prussian Prince Of Don
nersmarck and serene highness by
the ex-kaiser.
The present prince, second OF his
line, much of whose wealth consists
OF mines particularly those of
coal and zinc-and whose old father
was until his death the phosphate
king of central Europe. enjoying a
virtual monopoly Of its production, is
married to Princess Anne of Sayn-
Wittgenstein. who has inherited much
Of the beauty Of her lovely and fas-
cinating mother. JuiAe Cavalcanti
d'Alburquerque de villeneuve. He
has two little boys, and that he is
not ashamed Of his semitic descent
from Emperor Rudolfs valet is shown
himself and like his father before
him, includes among his names that
of Lazarus.
The prince is the offspring Of his
fathers second marriage to Gather
inc de Slepzow, a clever and brilliant
Russian, divorced wife Of that Count
Mouravieff who was minister Of jus-
tice at Petrograd, and who died so
mysterious1y as ambassador Of the
late czar at Rome. 1t is necessary
to explain this, for the first wife of
the late prince was a very different
kind of woman; in fact, one Of the
most notorious women of the nine
teenth century, and whose hoodooed
mansion, or rather palace, in the
Champs Elysees is now occupied by
the Travellers Club in Paris. She
was the daughter Of a little Jewish
tailor of the name Of Lachmann, at
Moscow. who had come to Paris in
the train of some Russian nobleman,
was abandoned by him there, and
then. after leading the life of a
woman of the Streets managed to
fascinate the composer and musician
Herr. who had the impudence to pass
vate concerts given by the Empress
Eugene at st. Cloud.
/ Elected from the palace under cir
cumstances of the utmost ignominy,
the sensation created by the affair
gave her vogue among the women
of the half-world, of which she be-
came. in the course Of time, q leader,
accumulatfng the enormous fortune
which enabled her to have built for
herself the mansion Of the Champs
n Tpo l,h
After inveigling a perfectly authentic
Portuguese Marquis Of Paiva to marry
her-he blew his brains out few weeks
later-she wound up by inducing the
then Count Donnersmarck to bestow
upon her his hand and his fortune. She
became, first as Marquise de Paiva, and
then as Countess Donnersmarck, one of
the principal secret agents of Bismarck
before the war Of 1870, and on her ac-
tivities in this connection being brought
to light on the restoration Of peace, she
left Paris and spent the remainder Of
her days at Neudeck, converting the
chateau as nearly as possible into an
imitation Of the Palace of st. Cloud,
whence she had been expelled by Queen
Eugene.
She vented her spite against the en-
press by purchasing many of the latters
finest jewels, as well as the exquisite
furniture Of Eugenie's private boudoir
in the Tuilleries-the furniture in ques-
tion being distributed in the pig pens
of the principal farms at Neudeck.
Abandoned by her husband. though he
left her free to live at Neudeck and to
spend his colossal wealth. she was sud-
denly overtaken by some frightful
malady which, rabbed her. Of all her
famous loveliness and died in 1884.