UNSOLVED MYSTERIES OF COURT LIFE.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 148, 23 June 1923, Page 19

UNSOLVED MYSTERIES OF COURT LIFE.

THE MURDERED DANCER. ! A MYSTERY OF THE BELGIAN , COURT. 1 (By FRANK EDWARD FARNCOMBE.) i 111. The circumstances surrounding the mnr- ( dpr of Lolo Defrage. the pretty dancer, 1 who was found dead in her flat in Brussels , not lons before tbe death of the late King Leopold 11., of Belgium, ranks high as one ■■ of the great unsolved mysteries of Court \ life. For the first time the connected nar- |, rative is given, although the main question | must still remain unanswered: Who killed Lolo Defrage? The present Belgian Court is a model of decorum and right living. It contrasts! 1 very sharply with the moral tone of the ! Court of the late Sovereign, Leopold 11.. I of Belgium. This monarch quarrelled with his Consort and most of his children, while in his old age he Contracted a morganatic ' alliance with the Baroness Vaughan that estranged him very much from his people, i i But as a shrewd and calculating business . man among the monarchs of Europe he had no equal, and by his consummate skill in I developing the Belgian Congo he amassed | a vast fortune and raised the commercial status of the nation over which he reigned, j . When, therefore, he passed away, the pre-1 I vailing opinion was that he had been a sue- j cessful Sovereign, a bad father, a worse 1 husband, and an inveterate lover of the I opposite sex. I Unless this character of the late monarch jis realised, and the reputation which he I bore among his contemporary Kings, it is I hardly possible to appreciate the story! j which is now to be unfolded. Indeed, it is safe to say that the narrative of intrigue, i culminating in murder, here detailed, would be utterly impossible to-day, for King Albert has purged his Court as completely j as Queen Victoria's youthful influence and innocence cleansed the corrupt circle of her predecessor, William IV. j

• • # • King Leopold was extremely fond of Tisiting Paris privately. His tall flgnre, | spade beard, and lons nose was very familiar to the Parisians, and it was an open secret that he maintained a luxurious set of apartments in the Kue La Fayette | under an assumed name. Some few years before he died. In the early spring, he left Brussels one evening, and arriving in the French capital, went to his apartments. He did not desire publicity in any form, and was therefore considerably annoyed when the "La Presse" newspaper announced in a paragraph that His Majesty of the Belgians was amongst them once more, and mentioned that his | visit coincided with that of King Carlos, j of Portugal—the unhappy monarch destined to Boon perish at the hands of assassins. ] The following evening King Leopold occupied a box at one of the chief music halls. One of the items upon the programme was a young dancer, passing under the name of Lolo Defrage. This was not her real name. After her untimely death it was established that her father was sl Bavarian subject, bearing the name of Kloppenfeldt. She stated that she was of Belgian extraction. This, as has been shown, was untrue. About twenty years of age, she was celebrated more for her uncommon beauty than for her art, which was mediocre in the extreme. One of those magnetic women born to influence the passions of men, she drew after her all sorts and conditions of admirers, and treated most of them with indifference so far as her heart was concerned; but to extract money and trinkets from them was her chief aim. But this was not all. Death revealed another phase of her life that must be touched upon presently. Amongst her admirers was one that calls for special notice. He called himself Count Larta, and spoke of himself as belonging to an old Italian fami'y. A cosI mopolitan to his finger tips, speaking many languages with facility, well dressed, plentifully supplied with money, the Count was often seen in the company of the fascinating little dancer. It was generally understood that he was her special friend —and whatever their relations, it was easy to see that this tall and distinguished-looking man of mystery wielded some great Influence over the butterfly of the footlights. His Majesty of the Belgians became interested in the dancer. He sent a trusted emissary round behind the scenes and begged the favour of her company at supper. The dancer knew well whom the invitation came from. She affected to be coy, and refused on the ground that she was tired. The next evening the monarch was again in his bos. This time she per mitted herself to smile roguishly at him, and when the invitation was repeated she permitted herself to accept. But sht made a stipulation: Her special friend Count Larta must be present "for th< sake of appearances." To this Leopold was obliged to agree. A meeting thus tool place between the Belgian Monarch anc the mystery man who posed as the especia friend of the dancer. For some days the flirtation proceeded and at length the acquaintance was sufß ciently advanced for the mutual friend t ibe dispensed with. Paris began to be ful Jof gossip of King Leopold's latest attrac j tion, while the Boulevard papers containe I many mysterious paragraphs and inuet j does. Then suddenly the dancer dis I appeared from the programme of the musi 'hall and the King returned to Belgium. At'this period the monarch was engage .in a very delicate piece of diplomacy i i Theoretically a constitutional King, as I matter of fact few Sovereigns were mot 1 autocratic. He practically acted as h i own Foreign Minister, and drafted di patches with his own hand. The partici . lar piece of diplomacy that was engagir [ i his mind while flirting with Lolo, tl , dancer, was an understanding with tl j Dutch Government on the question of tl t j passage of the Scheldt—a matter th: - might become of supreme importance su 3 posing Germany was at war with a Com nental Tower; for already the shadow i