THE CLEVEREST CONTINENTAL AMATEUR.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 51, 23 November 1907, Page 13

THE CLEVEREST CONTINENTAL AMATEUR.

Tho most aristocratic, the most brilliant and tho most'profligate court of the world i that of Vienna'. There society, envious o its blazons and' its blue ancestral blood, i ruled over bya< woman orcr 70 years of age but whose eyes-still glitter with the fires o youth, who at'ili'Uuglis and jokes, can treat a stage and play a part of mimicry or causti comedy aa well as any Roj&ne, who organise great entertainments, .and whoso splendii tetes outrival "in magnificence and ' magne tism of pleasure'-thoso of'all other hostesses and who also,bn'moro than one occasion; ha had a deeply stirring finger in European poli tics. . •' ■ . Princess Pauline Metternich, .wittily name) by horsolf, on.acpouiit,.of,her homely feature "Singe a la Mode,,", .was,born in : Hungary but, in every city she has visited beei able to adapt'herself most 1 -readily to its' life In Paris she is,a true Parisian,.. hi .Loudon i typical Englishwoman; in,Berlin. j;he: soul o tho people, and in Vienna,-for more than hal a century, has epitomised home arid abroai tho characteristics of Vienna court life, li tho Austrian' capital she, still, rules societ; with absoluto sway. There her whole life be longs to tho public, there: she will bo dis cussed and patterned .after, as.Jong. as'.shi lives: after'slie dies will probably cpntinuo t> be quoted; and.in time./it may be, because of her many kind and charitable deeds,, a ,1c gend will bo woven ;abouti her.name.' Sho i a woman who has experienced-so much,soei and lived in the midst of so.mnny excitini events, that she can not .only turn back ovo vory many pages of-history, hut might also if she felt disposed, relate many funny am ' interesting incidents' that'Jmvo never yet beei recorded. The first' timo "Tho .Motternich' (as she is usually called in- Vienna) ,appeare( prominently before .tho publio cyo was. ver; many years agoJ in a .performance arrangei by some aristocratic'ladies for a public cha nty. Tho play, a'one-aot comedy-written b; Wilbrandt, took place in the Ring Theatre then known as the. Opera Comiqno .arid, tin Princess's performance of her role, that of i chambermaid, was so perfectly given thatsln was the acknowledged star of ; the evening and the famous' Sonnbthal'was her fellow actor. After.this successful dobut at thi Ring Theatre she took part for-several sea sons in numerous other charitable perfor mances, and from.this time on'thelove of tin stage seemed to take entire-possession other Comedy, however;'was her forte. Her grea grief, though, was that her singing could no compare with her gift'of acting:' She wante< to have a voice like Patti's, and this sho one confided to tho great- prima Vdb'riria'; bu Patti know that, oven on the "amateur stage she need not fear her, as a rival, for-she hat simply what the .French call" ; 'un- filet d voix," and only in'ii"drawing room could sn< make much success with' it.. But tho'Prin cess could bo: extremely .funny.; Fow cotih surpass her in this respect, and so in othe lands besides her bVn "sho continued ti amuse the public with her acting and he Later on, in Franco, "Tho Metternich" be came a conspicuous figuro at''the'Court of'Na polcon 111., and''here her different expen ences might 'furnish "material for a ' vol unio of ' If. was 'clur ing this period especially that .she showed her self to bo a clever and apt politician, provet ' by the fact that, it was she. without doubt who lured Napoleon on to his unlucky wa with Mexico, and then, with a'.cleverncs quite equal to'the occasion,' 'managed' later ti reinstate good "relations between Franco "ani Austria. But, clever nssho might be as a po litician, which talent she came by naturally being the granddaughter of the great Ana trian Chancellor' of. State, she loved art bet tor. Through her, influence, in 18G7, Johani Strauss was introduced to tho Parisian pub lie. Sho first got up a concert for him in he own palace, and shortly after succeeded ii opening the doors of the Grand Opora Housi ,to him, where were gatheredfogother .on thi occasion an audience which included some, o the greatest .lights'of the ;French musica world—Marsfeldo, - Massenet, Bizet, Delibes etc. And Gounod'.also said that he was glad ti listen to Strnuss's "Blue Danube Walts. 1 ' Si: years previous,to this sho had.also paved.thi .way for Richard. 'Wagner.(which sho alwayi said was one ofher proudest acts), and whiol was nothing less'than tho first production ii the French capital of f'Tannhauser." . This she also • brought- about in a mosl ' amusing way,, it'being the prize sho claimei for a philopena present, she had won fron : tho Emperor. But sad to. say, tho first re presentation of "Taunhauser" in Paris, not withstanding the, efforts of its noblo patro ness, did not prove a great: success, and th< Princess, to soothe Iter feelings, turned her at tontions once more to private theatrical entertainments. ■.":.-From this' time on, wit! greater zest than over, pleasures of this type whirled in qniok succession from palace tc ' palace, where -. comedies, charades, proverl: ' actin", and oven.light tragedy were undertaken, and in 'all of which Pauline Metternich took a proihinent part. This state ol 1 things continued .'until the war cloud whicli ; had long been threatening broko over France and brought about the separation of these pleasure seekers. - - - Tho Princess now returned to Vienna, aria '. for a short timo lived'much moro quietly 1 than was her custom.. It. was not long, how- " ovor, boforo the lovo of the Btogo once more 1 oxercisod its old charm over her, arid her 1 energies bocamo again devoted to it, as well ' as to"tho ball rborii and other social functions. " A wave of her hand seohiod to be all that was necessary-to .collect-a gay crowd together.' The Princess recently celebrated her 70th birthday at Vienna, and although her hair may now have grown quite white, her j vitality seoniß to : bo quite undiminished.'