MRS LANGTRY

Hokitika Guardian, 3 April 1929, Page 7

MRS LANGTRY

DEATH OF .JERSEY LILY

A FA MOTS BEAUTY. MONTE CARLO, Feb. 12. I.iul.v do Rathe (.Mrs Lily Langtry) died this inoriiin<r at d.lo at her villa Los Ly.s, Monto Carlo, from heart fail, aru Pillowing influenza. She had lieeti ill for throe weeks. She loaves one daughter, Lady (lan) Malcolm. who is on her way here. The Inneral will take place in Jersey, whore Lady do Bathe was horn 74 years ago. illness after a party. Mrs Peat, who for LO years has boon I.any de Bathe’s constant friend and companion, said a low hours after tiro death : Three weeks ago she gave a little party to some friends, Sir Walter and Lady do Frece find myself—just a little iamily party. The day afterwards she began to look ill. In a day or two she got worse, and she had to he put to bed. Vt lien she knew that she had influenza wo talked together, and she felt then that she would never get out ol that bed. She knew her heart was weak. Only last night she said to me: “I am going dear. I. am very, very sorry hut I am going. Go)d-bye.” At two o’clock this morning she became very bad, and when I spoke to her she could not answer. She had become unconscious. The death of Lady do Bathe—known to the whole public as Mrs Langtry, “the Jersey Lily”—closes the career of one of the most famous beauties of the nineteenth century. In more modern times it was her acting that brought her renown, but in her youth she took London by storm on account of her dazzling loveliness, and wit that enabled her to go on the stage when her first husband lost his fortune. Lady de Bathe, who was born on October 13, 1804, was the daughter of toe Very Rev. W. C. E. le Breton Dean of Jersey. She was brought up in that island and in 1874 married Edward Langtry, an Irishman of good family and modest fortune. On her first introduction to London society, about 1878, she became famous in a night. As she wrote herself: It was very embarrassing, and it had all come about so suddenly that 1 was bewildered If I went for a stroll in the Park and stopped for a moment to admire the flowers, people rah after me in droves, staring me out of countenance and even lifting my sunshade to satisfy fully their curiosity.

' To venture* out lor a little shopping was positively hazardous, for the instant I entered a shop to make a purchase, the news that J was within spread with the proverbial rapidity of wildfire, and the crowd about the door grew so dense that departure By the legitimate exit was rendered impossible. in a very short while Mrs Langtry knew almost everybody in society, including the then Prince and Princess of Wales. She was painted hv Sir John Millais as “The Jersey Lily” and she even attracted the attention of Queen Victoria. On the night she was presented at Court, the Queen remained particularly Into—so late, indeed, as to arouse comment.

I was enlightened ns to the cause of Liu* Queen’s remaining, it seems that she had a great desire to see me, and had stayed on in order to satisfy herself as to my appearance. It was even added that she was annoyed because I was so late in passing. She also knew the Empress Eugenie and her son, the Prince Imperial, of whom she tells the following story, concerning a spiritualistic seance in which both took part, together with the Prince of Wales (King Edward ViT) :

At the appointed hour we assembled hut immediately after the lights had been extinguished there was such violent upheavals that they seemed too good to be true, and on someone’s striking a light, Prince Louis Napoleon was discovered hard at work throwing the furniture about. Perhaps 1 was not so surprised as the rest of the investigators, for I felt him let go of mv hand and thus break the “chain”.

After this philistine interrupter had been respectfully nut out of the room the door carefully locked, and calm re. •lored, we again waited expectantly in absolute darkness and silence* for something to happen, and in about ton minutes it did. Once more a “manifestation” occurred. uncanny but tangible. Then mulches were struck again suddenly disclosing the undefeated Prince Imperial, who had climbed the sido of the house with the aid of a wistaria growing thereon, and re-entered the room thr ugh the window! There lie stood with several empty paper hags in his hand, while ino-t of the “investigators” especially the Prince of Wales were literally snowed over with Hour. About this time Mrs Langtry wsm in trod need, at a Foreign Reception to lord 1 jcaconsficld, then Prime Minister

He remarked quizzically: “What can I do lor you?” As it happened to he just before the Ascot races—a meeting where women all like to wear fresh beautiful frocks, I answered jokingly. “Four new gowns for Ascot.” on which lie laughed, palled my head and said. “You are a sensible young woman. Some of your sex would have asked to have been made a duchess in her own rbdit.” GL'DSTONF.’R ADVICE.

At a rather later period sin* was also on friendly terms with Air Gladstone wiien he was Prime Minister

Sometimes he read aloud his favour, ite passages from Shakespeare. Then again he would bring me books. He was truly religious, believing, he told mo “with the simple faith of a child.” He gave her some excellent advice: “In your professional career you wili receive attacks, personal and critical, just and unjust Bear them, never reply, and above all, iie»er rush into print to explain or defend yourself.”

It was in 1881 that Airs Langtry made her lirst appearance on the stage. She owed her chance to Mrs Labouchcre. wife of the well-known M.P., who having been an actress herself, had considerable inlluoiuo. She acted at lirst with the HanciVil't.s, but scon organised her on company. In 1884 she toured in America with great success and was frequently there in later years, filially becoming an American citizen. Two towns were called after her in the United States, one in Texas and one in California.

Mrs Langtry’s stage career lasted for almost 40 years and she played innumerable parts. Perhaps she was at her host as Mrs Trevelyan in “The Degenerates” and as Airs Tanqueray in “The Second Airs Tanqueray.” Her mingled beauty and intelligence long made her a popular favourite, and if not a really great actress she was a very accomplished one. RETIREMENT AT MONTE CARLO. Her closing years she spent in retirement in her villa at Alontc Carlo. The last article Airs Langtry wrote appeared in the Daily Mail on October 13 last—her 74th birthday. She compared the girls of to-day with the beautiful women of her time saying: You never see a radiant beauty nowadays; it is difficult to explain what I mean by radiant, out I remember Lord Rosebuiv using the phrase when lie was explaining that a woman he knew seemed to bring sunshine into the room.

To-day women are becoming so standardised in figure and dress that they all seem to look like each other. . . .

Fifty years ago there were more bean, tics but far fewer pretty women. . .

On the whole, women and men are nuien more attractive to look at, however, than they used to be . . . But women used not to have such hard faces as they do now.

Her daughter who' was formerly Miss Jeanne Langtry, married in 1902 Sir Tan Malcolm who now represents the British Government on the Board of the Suez Canal.

No mention of Airs Langtry’s life would bo complete that did not contain an account of her activities as a racehorse owner.

That the interest in racing dated from her earliest years the following story of her first success will show: When 1 was about fourteen arid my brother Reginald a year younger, we wont halves in a weedy English mare that run at the Gorev annual meeting without distinction. Flirty was put to auction in the Jersey cattle niaiket, whore she was knocked down to Reggie’s bid of thirty shillings! He brought her home and -stealthily installed her in a disused outhouse, and we fed her as far as possible from the family stable bin.

Her poor legs wore in a sad condition. hut with blistering and patience we got her fairly sound. I hacked her about the roads to divert suspicion, while my brother gave here a real pre. •laratorv work, and we managed to land a selling plate of £3O with hoi the first time, of asking—Peggie, of course being “up” The dean, always unobservant, actually new nothing of the proceedings until he read of our triumph in the local paper Her colours were registered under the name of “Mr Jersey” and she was ini the whole, very successful and is believed to have made a large fortune hv li’ad, king winners. She admitted that she gained £39,000 when her horse Mermain won the Cesarewitcli in 1897

Just ten years later Airs Langtry who had since become Lady de Bathe — she married again in 1899—won the Cesarewitcli once more with Ycntoi. But probably Merman, who, besides winning the Cesarewitcli. also won the Ascot Gold Cup a few years later, was the finest horse she ever owned.