DAZZLED SOCIETY

Waikato Times, Volume 112, Issue 18809, 3 December 1932, Page 14 (Supplement)

DAZZLED SOCIETY

Forty years ago fasTnOnable society in two continents was dazzled by the lavish expenditure and princely hospi-. tality of the Marquis de Castcllane., Mow, after having lived in retirement for many years, lie has died in Paris at, the age of 65, the last of the “ Grand Seigneurs ” of France. A member of an ancient house, the marquis—“ Boni," he was universally called—created a sensation in 1895 by bis marriage to Miss Anna Gould, an American heiress, whose fortune was reputed to be of fabulous dimensions. In the years which followed his marriage until ills divorce, In 1906, “ Boni ” spared neither trouble nor expense in maintaining a style of living reminiscent of the brilliance and extravaganee of the 18th century. “A millionaire should know how to spend his millions, and no one knew better than I how 1o handle a fortune," lie once wrote. In the Avenue dc Bois de Boulogne he built a pink marble palace, and here, at splendid fetes, he often entertained a couple of thousand guests. A sailing yacht of 1600 tons, the Valhalla, with a crew bf 100, was bought in England, and sumptuous

Death of the “ Prince of Spendthrifts.” Birthday Fete Which Cost £12,000.

cruises were arranged, which on one occasion involved the chartering of a special train to carry the party from St. Petersburg to Moscow and back. A Gilded Coaoh. When King Edward paid his first visit to Paris “ Boni " spent an enormous sum on a fireworks display. At the Cowes regatta in 1899 he had 4000 roses set out as a carpet. The fete this “ Prince of Spendthrifts ’’ gave to celobrate his wife’s 21st birthday was reputed to have cost him £12,000. It was held in a private club in the Bois de Boulogne. Nine miles of carpets protected the feet of his 3000

guests from the damp of the lawn and from the trees hung 80,000 Venetian lanterns. As the Bengal lights flared up 25 white swans were let loose, making, as they fluttered in the glare to the sound of hunting horns, what the host described as a “ fairv-like spectacle.” The coach “ Boni ” drove in was gilded like a king’s, and it was said that his bed cost £30,000. Ills debts amounted at one time to £850,000. The end of iris life was a contrast to his former magnificence. The financial crash came with his divorce, and in recent years he had suffered from creeping paralysis.