FORTUNE IN A FACE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20229, 13 April 1929, Page 2 (Supplement)

FORTUNE IN A FACE.

PASSING OF MRS. LANGTRY. FAMOUS QUEEN OF HEARTS. SOCIETY'S SPOILED DARLING. WOMAN'S WONDERFUL CAREER, Those tens of thousands privileged long ingo to look upon her beauty and admire her art mourn with real sincerity tho death of Lady de Bathe, better known as Lily Langtry, in her Monte Carlo home rt the ago of 75. Long before she turned to the stage for a profession Mrs. Langtry was the spoiled darling of society, and tho most discussed woman on two continents. Iler beauty, her grace, and her intellectual attainments attracted to the side of " tho Jersey Lily," nr. she was known, all tho notabilities of her time—kings, princes, statesmen, painters, and poets. Driven to the theatre by sheer necessity, says the News of the World in an interesting character sketch, this amazing woman reigned for 40 years a queen cf hearts over an all-adoring populace. Her histrionic gifts were limited, but the theatro was kind to her, and she made a fortune, on the stage, as in later years she made another one on tho turf. Lily Langtry became famous in a night. Unlike that of other spoiled darlings of society and tho stage, her fame endured for 50 years. What is more, her memory perchance will survive the memories of emperors and statesmen and builders of Empire. Which means that the mustinejs of the grave can never destroy the fragrance of "the Jersey Lily." Fart-Owner of Racehorse at 14. Mrs. Langtry was born in the detached seclusion of a clergyman's homo in the Channel Islands in 1854. Iler father was Deim Le Breton, of Jersey, and the infant girl was christened Emilie Charlotte Lc Breton. Tho remainder of the family were boys—four or five of them—highspirited youngsters who found in the little sister a willing pupil at football, cricket and rough-and-tumblo games. This, wonderful woman, destined in after years to write history afresh on the English tyrf, was part-owner of a " racehorse " at 14. The girl who was destined to become so famous and one of her brothers bought a broken-down jumper for 30s, stabled him in secret, trained him by stealth, and won a race worth £3O. The venerable—and horrified —dean positively knew nothing at all of the exploit until the result of tho race was made known the next day. That was Emilie Le Breton's first great adventure. The heroine of this story was 20 when the next befel her. Courtiers in abundance had worshipped her from afar; others, more daring, had openly pleaded for her ,/hand and heart. Then one day there sailed into the island a well-to-do Irish landowner, Mr. Edward Langtry, yachtsman and lightning lovemaker. He saw Emilie Le Breton as he landed, surrendered to her amazing beauty, interviewed the dean, and carried her off to London as Lily Langtry—his wife. Within the month England was aflame with the stories of her wondrous face and figure. London Taken by Storm. No one could possibly havo forseen the astounding destiny of Lily Langtry born in her simple introduction to London. It was a formal " At Home " given on a Sunday. evening by Lady Sebright. As soon as • she entered the room Lily Langtry became the centre of attraction. There she met Millais—who was to paint " The Jersey Lily " masterpiece in after years—Whistler, Henry Irving, and other notabilities, and on the following day her table was heaped with notes of invitation to dine, to lunch, to dance, from distinguished people utterly unknown to her. Photographers pleaded with Mrs. Langtry 'to sit for them. They made the public so familiar with her features that wherever she went she was actually mobbed. People even stood on chairs in crowded drawing-rooms for a glimpse of her. The windows of every studio in Bond Street were overloaded with her portrait; the shops she patronised were literally stormed by frantic crowds counting nothing undignified so long as they stood in her presence. Kings, princes, peers and politicians all sought this wonderful woman's society. For Lily Langtry had brain 3 as well as beauty.' Gladstone read Shakespere to her, Oscar Wilde —before the evil, degenerate days—was content to be a sort of lackey to her; she rode in Rotten Row with the Prince of Wales, who afterwards was to be King Edward the Seventh. King Edward and Queen Victoria. Unquestionably King Edward liked Lily Langtry. Apart from her personal beauty and brilliant conversation, lie knew her as a woman of great common sense and business ability. If " the Jersey Lily " could have had her way the then heir to the throne would have bought the immortal' Sceptre at a figure infinitely less than the sum he gave for a racehorse of no achievement. Il was really the adoration of Prince Leopold, Queen Victoria's youngest son, that/first brought Lily Langtry into touch with the Prince of Wales. Prince Leopold hung her photograph over his bed, lint the Queen got to hear of it and had the portrait removed forthwith. 1 Shortly afterwards Lily met Edward Vlf. •'it, a supper given by Mr. Allen Young, the Arctic explorer, and their friendship developed so that he was frequently seen in her company thereafter. Even Queen \ ictoria, it is permissible i" write at this distance of time, was frankly curious to see tho woman over whom her kingdom had gone wild. On flic night Lily Langtry whs presented at Court the Queen remained late—so late indeed, as to arouse comment. " I was enlightened as to the cause of the Queen's remaining," once wrote Mrs. Laugh-v. " Jt, 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." Mrs. Langtry also knew the Empress Eugenie aiifl 1/cr son, the Prince Imperial. Saved by tho Stage. Through theso early years in London this amazing woman lived on a scale of extravagance that undoubtedly mined Edward Langtry. Sho herself made no secret of that fact, for, on her own confession, she said: " Our financial position bad grown from worse to worse. Creditors became stony-hearted and deaf to our entreaties. At last the crisis came. Bailiffs invaded tho little Norfolk Street housj}, and Mr, Langtry frequently found it convenient to go fishing, leaving mo to deal with the intruders as best 1 poulcL"

So Lily Langtry turned to the stage to live. The public learned of her decision with a frenzy of delight; society with an emotion altogether different. No longer was it necessary for the woman—or tho man—in tho street to stare the celebrated beauty out of countenance or rudely tilt the rim of her parasol in order to gaze upon her face. The charming actress had come to the stage, for all and sundry to see, prepared to paint the lily with lipstick and rouge, and throw into relief tho statuesque countenance with scarlet lips and blackened Jbrows. And tho glorious crown of chestnut hair she sacrificed to tho true actress manner, tore awav the mask of cold impassivity, ceased to be distant and disdainful —like on an occasion when she politely showed a King of the Belgians the door because bo bored her—and took her part on the stage of make-believe. Mrs. Langtry bad had a little experience of tho theatre in amateur entertainment, and Mrs. Labouchere, wifo of the well-known M.P., and herself an actress of repute, undertook to pilot tho Jersey Lily into the professional waters. It has never been argued, even by fanatical admirers, that Lily Langtry was a great actress. Yet she prospered exceedingly from tho night she first stepped on the Haymarket stage in 1881 until she bade the theatre a definite good-bye in 1918. It would bo futile to attempt the enumeration of tho many plays in which she appeared or actually produced in her stage career ot nearly 40 years, or dwell on tho variety of characters assumed by this lovely woman. It ought to bo written, however, that sho laboured under two disadvantages. When she began to •jet at 29 sho bad already achieved distinction as a " professional beauty."

Society papers had more to say about her than about her shop-window rivals, Miss Maude Bransconibe and Mrs. Corn-wallis-West. The English do not take kindly to anybody who has done ono thing well attempting anything else, and as soon as curiosity was satisfied interest flagged. Not only was Mrs. Langtry the first woman of social eminence to go on the stage, but sho did so at an awkward moment.' Tho older drama was already on tho decline, and the new drama had not yet found its feet. Cdhld she have gone on the stage to-day, even at 29, and untrained, she would certainly have more than held her own With most of the leading ladies. Her expressive beauty of face, her grace of figure and movement, her chant,, her clear and musical voice, and, above all, her intelligence, must have prevailed. In America Mrs. Langtry was a greater furore than in England—if that were possible. Two States named embryo towns after her; but again she drew people with greater facility to the sidewalk to see her pass than to the theatre to see her act. The old Imperial Theatre in Westminster was once the dream of her life. It cost a great deal of money to build and equip, and it was the most beautiful playhouse in Europe. Lily Langtry lavished upon it all her great taste, and spared no money. When sho opened it, ho .'."ever, it was a failure. The Wesleyans bought tho site over hei head, and it was pulled down to become part of the Central Hall. Mr. Langtry died in 1897, and at the pinnacle of her theatrical popularity Mrs. Langtry married again. In 1899 she became Lady de Bathe, wife of Sir Hugo de Bathe, but declined to leave the stage. Meanwhilo, she had made money—and went on making it. An inborn love of horses turned her thoughts to the turf, and

•f'.Ji astonishing facility she combined I In; pleasures of racing with the exacting labour of th«j theatre. Her training establishment at Newmarket, Regal Lodge, was a mode! in its way, and with characteristic thoroughness she herself supervised the purchase and placing of her horses, which were trained successively by F. Webb, F. Darling and Captain McCabe. Twice Lady do Bailie won (he Ccsarevvitcli, with Merman as " Mr. Jersey" and with Ycnloi as Lady do Bathe, and the Ascot Gold Cup with the first-named h use. Merman's Cesarewitch, on (he owner's own admission, increased (lie fortuno she then possessed by £39,000. At long Ins! —fairly old in years, but young si ill in spirit, and her beauty undimnied—Lady do Bathe made up her mind to finish both with the stage and (lie turf. The wrench, of course, was terrific, but courageously she took I lie siep and turned her face to the sunny South. For years she bad lived a quiet, serene life in a villa at Monaco, happy in the association of old friends and stage colleagues of former days in London, amusing herself with trifling sums on the tables of Monte Carlo and pointing with gladness to her prizes for the prettiest little garden on the Riviera. Lady do Bathe had a serious illness in London last October, but just when it was thought that she had completely recovered from it, she was stricken by influenza at her home at Monte Carlo. She died after an illness of three weeks' duration.