Evening star., 1924-02-07

pany was nothing less than 4 dis
grace. And as recently as in 1895.
wnen Princess Helene Of France was
married at Twicke kenham near London
to the royal Italian Duke of Aosta
her eldest brother, the Duke of Or
leans, who gave her away, created u
scene by ordering Arthur Meyer to
be elected from the church as un-
worthy to figure among those present.
Undismayed by this treatment. Ar
thur Meyer and his newspaper, the
Gaulois: continued to support the
monarchical parties in France. divid-
bons and the Bonapartes, and Incl
oentaIly undertaking the manage
ment of the publicity of all the phil
anthropic and charitable entertain
ments organized by the members Of
and ane t%o W., formerly tnaiey sovereign houses
scarcely a day passed without his
winning the usually reluctant friend
snip OF the leading persons of the
Partisan great world. He was most
obliging and useful.
Finally. one day, the old French
aristocracy awoke to the fact that the
young and handsome daughter of the
Comte Leo de Turenne had been forced
by the terribly straitened circum-
stances of her father and mother. to
accept a position as reporter on the
iaulois and that she had thus been
brought into contact with its editor
in-chief, Arthur Meyer. He learned
through her that the total income of
her parents did not exceed 1000
francs ($S00) a year, On which they
found 1t almost impossible to bring
up their children. He also learned
how she had been forced to break Off
her engagement to a man of her own
rank owing to her poverty. Becom-
ing more and more interested in her,
he at first proposed to adopt her. But
he found 1t would present no end of
difficulties. and, moreover, that it
would naturally give rise to malevo-
lent gossip. owing to the fact that he
was an aged bachelor of particularly
stormy antecedents and she a lovely
young girl. SO, he finally offered. at
the age Of sixty five. to make her his
wife. at any rate in name and in law,
with the avowed object of providing
for her welfare and protecting her
from the financial difficulties that
were crushing her.
The announcement Of the projected
marriage aroused no end of indigna-
tion among the members of the old
aristocracy. especially when it was
learned that she was virtually driven
into the union in order to proyide
mother, her young sisters and for
herself. She had some enormously
rich relatives. among them the MEM
bers Of the ducal houses of uzes. the
NoailIes. the Wagrams, the Fitz-
Jameses. the Gontaut-Birons. etc. In
deed. her mother was daughter of
the late Duke of F'itz-James.
They were assailed with re-
proaches for their lack of generosity
toward the old comte de Turenne
thereby, first cousin. the Marquis de
Biron. started a subscription list
among the near relatives to provide
an annuity for the de Turennes. he
scription Of 1000 francs a year, which
was a good deal for him, since he
was not rich. But none of the others
would consent to contribute cent,
and so his marriage to Mile. de Tu-
lieved in Paris that Arthur Meyer
treated his wife in the most chival-
rous manner and that his relations
with her always remained those Of a
father rather than Of a husband:
and mother were able to pass their
declining years free from monetary
troubles and in relative peace and
comfort, while Arthur Meyer also
took charge of the education and of
the future Of his wife's young broth
ers.
This conduct on his part finally won
over to him those who still had re-
ansd sy up hs9 e ns
When the relatives of the de Tu-
rennes remained a1oof he had stepped
forward in the most generous and
withal chivalrous manner to protect
from complete destitution and from
the poor house the heirs Of one Of
the most i1lustrious names of France,
namely, that of the great Marshal de
Turenne, who drove the Germans
from AIsace in 1878, defeating the
great Elector Of Brandenburg at the
battle of Turkheim, and who lies en-
tombed in the Palace of the Invalides
That is why Arthur Meyer is now
widely regretted, in the odor If moi
of sanctity, at any rate, In that OF
what is next best namely. that oi
charity