NOTRE ROI S'AMUSE.

NZ Truth, Issue 124, 2 November 1907, Page 8

NOTRE ROI S'AMUSE.

, HIS ROYAL NIBS ANNOYED At a Nasty, NmgSrty Show. "Ned" Quits Abruptly. ■Fashionable Marienfcad was pat m a flutter of excitement over the ac> ition of King Edward last month, m abruptly leaving the theatre owing tto the scandalous nature of the performance, The authorities promptly itook the matter up, and next day fche chief offender. Mdlle. Mella Mars' la comedienne, was fined at ithe Police Court. His Majesty ihas made it his cusftom to go tft the theatre nearly every evening during his stay, and that night a Viennese touring ■company was advertised to gsy« a. miscellaneous programme. Although dt is recognised that on the Continent one must expect a little more (license than is permitted m . this country, the performance on", this occasion absolutely exceeded* the 'limfits of decency, the songs and xecrtaitions being of a character that jwould not be tolera-ted m a thirdjciass Paris theatre. The King, had only listened to a few Items on the programme when. Ie reirfarked, "This is horrible ! It s appalling !" A moment later his equerr^ Major Ponsonby, informed Herr Laska, the manager of • the King's great displeasure. The Major said his Majesty was exceedingly annoyed. "He" understood 'be was goSng to see an amusing, witty performance of a high class, and he concluded that "some mistake was made m drawing up the programme. (What he saw was unfit for presenitatibn* on any stage.' The terrified manager hemmed Major Popson-by to persuade the King to (listen to more of the programme. •He sasd the next ' song sung by Mdlle. Mars would fee sure to please him. As a matter of fact, it was a sonp; jtist given by this lady .which proved, the .last straw. The 'King rose abruptly, before she had concluded,. ' and, followed by. the (Duke of Teck, his other guests, and bis suite left the theatre. ENGLISH AND AMERICANS LEAVE. . The Koyal box was scarcely empty iwhen the English and Americans m Ithe other parts of the theatre, realising what had happened, also talked out as a protest against the indecency of the performance. Great excitement was caused by Jfche King's protest, and a crowd assembled outside to discuss tlie mci Sdent. Late at night the manager drove to the Weimar Hotel to apologiso to his Majesty for not having informed him of the nature of the entertainment, but. the King intimat-J that he would go no more... to the fchea'bre. The objectionable song whicH Mdlle. Mars: sang was not mentioned on the programme at all, because it had been prohibited by the Austrian censors. With the idea of makin~ her turn more attractive she had sandwiched the forbidden song between two others included m t*ie nrlnted programme. Both she and Hetr L/aska were on Friday summoned before the policy, iwho have powers to deal summarily /wrth such cases. Herr Laska nroved lie d:(d :■ not know that Mdlle. Mars intended to sing that: sonjr, and iwas discharged with a , caution. The sieger was -sentenced ifco.a fine ot £2

10s foi* contrav/eninp; <ths legal order issued h'j t-he official censors m the interest of public inor&li'i Mdlle. Mars appealed against ■ the fine, which was nominally imposed 1 upon her for singing a song entitled, "Abbott arid Countess," which the prefect, Prince Liechtenstein, had 1 strictly prohibited last July when Mdlle. Mars first appeared m Marienbad and submitted her pro- , gramme. The song was prohibited m view of the great influence o! the Abbot of Tepl, who is the paramount local person-age, and as tho head of tlie Tepl monastery is almost Marienfoad's landlord. Herr Laska, manager of the local theatre, has issued a statement to the effect that he cannot he blamed ■for the incident ol last Thursday ni£lit. He declares that the programme which the King found so objectionable had * been approved by the Prince Liechtenstein, t3te. prefect, m his capacity as censor. ADVICE TO GERMAN MUSICIAN, i Duosi'g the service at the church oh Sunday, M-dme. Nordlea sang <!(.Re- i jojee greatly, O Slaughter of Zion," from Handel's "Messiah.*' In the afternoon his Majesty attended an open- - air Wagner concert at the Cafe Bellevue, and at the end of. the con- ; •cert sent Sir Stanley Clarke to call , Herr Schreyer, the conductor, to , whom he expressed the pleasure the ; concert had given him. ! ... The* King asked Herr Schreyer I where he wintered. Herr Schreyer ! replied . that he ,went to Vienna, Berlin, -and Paris. *6 hear, the new productions. "Why do you npt include London ?" as"ked the King. "Dr, Richter's productions are excellent; you should also heair Henry Wood's concerts..'.'- , i •His Majesty 'continues to increase his popularity hy little acts of kindness. The other day he. gave some relief to a crippled organgrinder, who had gained, an Austrian medal similar to the V.C. He rescued Ms colonel from the enemy, m <t'he Austro-Prussian war of 1886. 1 While he was walking past the Kurhaus on Monda.y he noticed a ctipple some distance away. His Majesty immediately made a wide detour m order to hand a coin to the cripple, who is a Polish Jew named Selig Kuwnik, from G-alicia. KING'S TRIUMPHAL PROGRESS. .Mrs Leslie Cotton, an American lady, has been commissioned by the Kino- to paint his portrait. As yet she has had only three sittings. The picture portrays the head and shoulders of -the Kin-er. Ms Majestjr wearing a blue serge yachting suit, with i>he blue and crimson tie of the Household Brigade and a crimson carnation m his •b'utton-li'ol'e.. A shooting, party was arranged m King Edward's honor on Wednesday, at Bichofteinitz, Prince Trauttmansdoif's estate, thirty miles from 1 Mar ienbad. As lie motored through the pretty villages all the country p.eoDle turned out to cheer him, and the children by the roadside waved toy Union .Jacks. The King shot well, the total bag including 718 partridges, 57. pheasants, 16 hares, one quail, one black squirrel, the last-named extremely rare. His Majesty shot both the quail and the squirrel, and took them back to Marienba^. The King also shot 210 partridges.