THE RICHEST WOMEN IN THE WORLD.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 295, 7 September 1908, Page 5

THE RICHEST WOMEN IN THE WORLD.

"M.A.P." has an. article on the world's wealthiest women, from which it appears that the fortunate ladies who possess such stores of everything thatWomen'can want, do not know'always how to value their possessions. IV is all very well for a wonian to havo the domestic instinct so developed that she ylikes to provide her loved ones with every comfort, but it'is not easy to understand'■ why' she : should choose to ccok and sew when, there are so many much moro beautiful things to bo dono. Who is the: feminino Croasus of this ago of colossal fortunes/: of magically-acquired wealth? asks our 'contemporary. Among Americans Mrs. Hetty Green has as,good a ' claim to the distinction as anyone else, and no wonder, for until -'recently'-,this-shabby old woman of seventy,;.the- greatest .mistress -of finance that the world has ever seen, with a. fortune of between twelvo and sixteen million pounds at her' command, but a bankrupt in her wants, was content to live a life of genteel poverty. Mrs. Russell Sage, the next richest'woman in America,, came into a; fortune of £17,000,000 last year, but lias made big in- ; roads t into it by • her distributions in the cause of charity. Mrs. Anne Wcightmari Walker, who declares that all: her' time is . occupied in keeping track of her.investments, is like Mrs. Green, in that she has not yet shown any tendency towards charitable disbursements. ; She possesses an estimated fortune of .£12,000,000. i' . - But it is not in America that you'will find the world's richest woman. Frau von Bohlen, formerly -Bertha Krupp, has .an income of £40,000 a month,. and property valued at £16,000,000.. It is a • significant fact that this lady, head of tho greatest gun works in the'world,',and :in a position to ' keep the leading European modistes in continual employment, ,maKcs all her'own clothing.- .She admits with-pride' that her trousseau was entirely tho work of her own hands, and cost less than. £50. Frau von Bohlen's household is conducted with considerably more simplicity than that of many middlcclass German families. Sho is thrifty and orderly, and often goes, into tho kitchen to .do the cooking for her establishment. _ Madame Creel, ; the' beautiful- Mexican lady, derives 3ri annual income of £1,000,000, chiefly from her mines. She owns 600,000 head of cattle and 280,000 acres of very good land. Madamc'a.hats aro her only.-.failing; for while she is content with threo dresses a year at a cost £3 . apieco, she pays as . much as £75 for each of her hats; She,attribute's her economy — in everything but headgear — to the fact that when her father, had 400,000 cattle on the plains of Chihuahua and a dozen 'silvor mines, he allowed her only fivo shillings a week for. pocket-money. The; richest British-bom lady is the' Marchioness of Graham, who on the death of her father, tho twelfth Duke of-Hamilton, became mistress of tho Islo of Arran, with an incomo of £114,000 a year. Princess Georgo of Greece, who was Princess Marie Bonaparte, has an enormous fortune, which descended to her from her grand-. father, M. Blanc, of Monte Carlo fame. Princess Mario is ; a remarkable linguist, a, skilled astronomer, an exquisite singer,''and' a member of many European scientific societies."' ' . ' ' j

EMOTIONALISM ON' THE STAGE. The term " emotional actress " is likely to , conjure up a vision of a woman bearing on. her features tho imprint of many soul-shak-ing feelings, says an Australian ■ paper. Miss-Margaret Anglin bears no such badge of her profession. Sympathetic, warm, and ingenuous, she leaves you in no doubt as to the source of her influence, over practically every theatregoer in America. She is essentially human, and her'humanity beams from a delightfully comely countenance. She has worked hard to achieve a most enviable hold on _ public regard, and much of her charm lies in the fact that no evidence .'of that work is visible about her. The daughter of the Speaker in the Canadian Parlia-ment,-she was born in the Speaker's house at - Ottawa, and she inherits nothing , connected with theatrical 'life. V

On the subject .of her Anglin talks with enthusiasm. The modern drama, as she says, has broken new ground. It depends not on great spectacular effects, not on strong contrasts, not on high tragedy and comic relief. It makes a subtle demand: on the sympathy, and attention of the audience, for. the simple reason that the modern . drama is in itself a subtle thing. ' For that reason, says Miss Anglin, it demands infin-. itety more' listening to 'than the older and more artificial sort.; It demands much from the actress herself. She must at all times have : herself in hand. '

" I do not believe in realism," she says, decidedly. "It is death to reality, and I am certainly not one of those who come off the stage after a strenuous scene gasping ,for breath and utterly unstrung. That is either mere affectation or reveals a class of temperament that should have no placo on the' stage. On tho other hand, a woman who 'is in' no 'way. moved by the portrayal of. intense passion—whether of love or hatred, jealousy or pathos—runs tho risk of leaving her audience cold and unsympathetic. She will not, in short, 'carry across the footlights.' Tho happy mean between these two extremes is the woman-who, while the scene is in progress,feels the emotions in every fibre of her being, lives for the moment absolutely in the atmosphere of tho situation's she is depicting, or helping to depict. She should forget, or at any rate merge, her own personality in that of the character tho is undertaking, but only until the curtain falls —and then sho should remember herself.

"This is all the more necessary in modern Elay.4." A school of dramatists is growing lto prominence now which is discarding tto old rules and regulations altogether. To my mind that srort of treatment makes for stronger and better plays. But it does not give any actress who is playing an impgrtant part any opportunity for indulging herself with fainting fits or exhaustion as soon as sho i soff. Instead; of relief and sandwiching in lighter with tho heavier scenes, sho must go from climax to climax, from situation to situation, with an eye to the proper value of each, holding herself thoroughly in hand throughout. In return sho aslts from her audienco what I saw described fee other day as 'economy of attention.' The new style does not give them in their tern a chance of relaxation of interest. They Must follow closely and clearly the whole action from rise to fall of the curtain."