The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, October 28, 1900, Page 9

ISS MARIAN WATTS of San Francisco is one of very few American girls who has visited the Countess wvon Waldersee. It is claimed that many of the high honors earned by General von Waldersee, now in command of the allied forces in China, is due to the tact of his American wife. The Countess von Walderses is so influ- ential with the Emperor and Empress that she is often called “the power behind the German throne.” lly known that shs is an Ameri girl whose father was & New York grocer. The Countess von Waldersee has been twice mar- ried—the first time to a prince who gave up his original title to wed her, but received from the Emperor of Austria the title of Prince of Noer. The Countess von Waldersee is ac- counted the most ambitious woman It is not gen 4§ ‘n Burope, and does not lack Yankes push and her plans. perseverance to further Her influence with Em- iam is stronger than that rded diplomat in the realm. ier to meet Queen Victoria untess von Waldersee. Americans have had the indeed, very few of them extraordinary woman s Watts was accorded the priv- to family friendship and flege owin she has itten an account of her meeting with Countess von Walder- see for T Sunday Call. Miss Watts and her sister Gertrude re both San Francisoo girls who e been abroad some years study- have visited the German ® the way the Germans Countess von Waldersee. N s of the world are focu: « nt von Waldersee, ef of the allled the llon’s share of ' n Berlin the ! vershadowed by re powerful p ty. It i the Waldersee, whose every ed with breathless interest; ched. rsee is an der over that ew York grocer, she the lity. Her the title of stein In order to s a press of Germa: move was to per- 1ished H marriage she ror, Froncis Joseph, to the title of Prince of ie her a Princess in her er died, leaving her his rs later the widowed Princess Noer married Count von Walder- Bee. She became the personal advisor of the Emperor and Empr s of Germany. She help ush the power of Bismarck Her influence b »out Coun Waldersee chlef of gllied forces in Ch These are & few of the things which this daughter of an American grocer has accomplished. Small wonder that she is ed the cleverest and most au ambitious woman in all ¥ er that it is the ambition of erican girl in Germany to be re- her. k, however, that I may sa ry few American wbmen bave er joyed the rare privilege of meeting Coun- Waldersee. You must disen- rinth of red tape to get at ehind the German thrcne.” e Countess von Waidersee in of Emperor William’s birthday. As & pup the Koenigiiche Hochschule (conservatory of music) I was & member of the orchestra. At the right of the Empress of Germany sat a dis{inguished- ng elderly lady. “The Countess von some one whispered as the y were leaving. “pension” where we were then there were few other Americans— and Germans for the most part. t discussed at sup- per. An i bout the Countess Waldersee brought an avalanche of which swept all other toples ot know the Countess!” and French looked incredulous and the s reproachful. Then they pro- in Franco-Prussian to tell us all ew about the Countess, the French Iy say i first saw at the last musical festival arranged giving one version of her life and the Ger- ns another, and both talking at the e time—a cheerful custom encouraged oreign boarding houses, as time ent in talking appreciably lessens the nt of food eonsumed, ore we had been in Berlin another €ix months we realized how important & Tole the Countess von Waldersee plays in court circles. Ter movements were as ceremoniously recorded in the papers as those of the Kaiser himself. My sister and I often wondered about this famous countrywoman of o From a reliable eource we learned of her first marriage. Prince Frederick of Schleswig-Holstelne Sonderburg-Augustenburg met and fell n love with an_ American girl—Mary Esther Lee. He first saw her in a hotel In Paris. He was old, but ardent, and wooed her with a persistency that won c As a member of a German sover house he could only marry an Amertican, not “born” in German law, under one of two condition There could have been a morganatic marriage, perfectly legitimate, but fin which the wife and children can have no share in the husband’s rank and its ap purtenances Or the Prince could abdicate both name and renk and wed the American girl on terms of equality Esther Lee would not listen to a morganatic marriage. So Prince Freder- ick of Schleswig-Holsteln-Sonderburg- Augustenburg consented to have all these high-sounding Hoch Deutsch titles am- putated and become plain Herr Freder! But this did not suit the ambitious Amer- fcan girl. It was not that she loved roy- alty less, but that she wanted to shave it more. On September 24, 1864, Herr Frederick, who had duly made his renunciation, re- ceived for himself and his future wife Auvstrian collation of the title of Prince of Noer, and as such he was married in the following November. Imperor Fran- cis Joseph bestowed the ticle upon them ry because of the irresistible persuasive powers of this charming American woman. Many American girls have won—or boughtx-titied husbands, but the Princess of Noer is the only one who ever had the title of Princess in her own right When Prince Noer died, shortly after their marriage, he left his American bride his fortune, valued at $4,00000. It was rot until ten years later that she mar- ried the Count von Waldersee. This and the fact that the Countess was “one of the celebrated Lees of Virginia was T fcally all the Information we gleaned about the most powerful woman in the German empire. Some months after our Interest had firsg been awekened in her we saw the Coun= tess dining with the Empress. It was our day for writing home, and my sister Ger~ de in a letter to my aunt gave a little rlketch of this famous American who 1s without honor in her own land. Imagine ir surprise when we received the follow- ing answer. I quote directly from my unt’s letter, which I have saved: dears, I am sure you are mistaken about the Countess von Waldersee. She does not belong to the Lees bf Virginia it she is the Mary Esther Lee who married a Prince somebody or other. * * * If my memory does not fail me she re- celved the title of Princess of Noer or some such name. “1 had a letter from her at the time, but it was destroyed in the fire. Yes, my dear nieces, your aunt was once a very dear friend of this Countess von Waldersee. Eut she was plain Mary Lee then, and we lived in neighboring houses here in New York City. What gay frolics we have had together as children and how long ago it all seems. Mary Lee must be near 60 row—you see I cannot call her the Coun- tess von Waldersee—she is just Mary Lee to me. “She was a little dictator even in those days, and ruled us all with an iron hand. They were people of s=ome means, her father being a wholesale grocer. “There were'4wo other girls in the fam- fly. The father dled when they were all quite young, and Mrs, Lee went to Stutt- gart to live and educate her children. They were accounted wealthy then, but it would be & very modest sum indeed in these days of gigantic fortunes. “I corresponded with Mary for years, but gradually we ceased writing. <At the time of her first marriage I recelved my last letter from her, Mary Lee must g gre »@’ have been in the middle twelLows ther. * * * If you should come to meet the Countess von Waldersee I am sure she will see you for the sake of the little girl who was the dearest friend of Mary Es- ther Lee. * * *' Imagine our surprise! Countess von ‘Waldersee, ‘“‘the power behind the German throne,” the daughter of a New York grocer! Perhaps Aunt Alice was right in believing that the Countess would receive us for her sake; but we decided not to venture it just then. Berlin was in a fever of excitement over the expected departure of Count von Waldersee for China. On the morning of August 20 the Count left Berlin. The streets were thronged with people eager to catch a glimpée of the departing general. “The s Rma s ambition of his wife has been realized. Von Waldersee s the successor of Von Moltke,” were the oft-heard remarks. At the raflway station. the curlous throngs were barred out. But, thanks to an influential official, we were allowed in the inclosure and stood within a few feet of the great general and ‘his greater American wife. Count von Waldersee stood on the steps of the car, bidding a final farewell to his friends. He wore the uniform which Emperor William wore on his voyage to Jerusalem and which was presented to the Count by the Kaiser. The general has a pleasant, cheerful face, with a merry twinkle playing hide and seek in his blue eyes. The twinkle d1d not seem to have the uppermost that day, for whenever he glanced at his de- e FIRAGAD 3 e voted wife the blue eves grew miotst. Of the Countess von Waldersee we did not see 80 good a view. She was dressed very plainly in black, a little black bonnet on her snow white hair. Her face was buried most of the time in a big bunch of flowers, and we imagired that many a teardrop glistened on the petals. Count von Waldersee seems to be as popular with the people as with their Emperor, for they cheered themselves hoarse as the train pulled out. The Count- ess was hurried into a carriage and whisked away. The next day the papers had it that she had gone for a brief visit to her home near Hamburg. A day or two afterward my sister Gert- rude and myself left for Hamburg to pay & long-deferred visit. In the hurry of the sudden leaving we gave no especial thought to the fact that we would be negr our famous countrywoman. In Ham- burg the Von Waldersee name Is as po- tent as in Berlin and our hostess was more than Interested when she heard that the Countess had been a playmats of our aunt. “Send her your car@s and an extract from your aunt's letter,” in- sisted Frau von R—, and before we could change our minds she had hastily dls- patched a man with them. Frau von R—— added bits to our store of information concerning Countess voa Waldersee. ‘The Germans have it that this American woman gained her power over Emperor Willlam by rounding out the angles in his young bride. When Willlam married the Princess Augusta Victoria she was a simple, bashful girl with little knowledge of the ways of court. The young Empress was a grand- nlece of the Countess von Waldersee by her first marriage. Countéss von Waldersee was acknowl- edged the most brilliant and polished wo- man in Berlin. She queened it over a ealon where the aristocracy of brains and birth met. Among the guests who came frequently was Emperor Willlam. Count ‘Waldersee, always a favorite with the Emperor, grew In popularity, thanks to the cleverness of his wife. At the expressed wish of the Emperor the young Empress was put in charge of her grandaunt, the charming Countess. The Countess proved a most kind and Judictous adviser, Instructing the Empress in the devious paths of Prussian court etiquette. The Empress is to-day one of the most suave and polished women In Europe, and neither she nor her royal husband have ever forgotten how much of it is due to the Countess von Walder- see. ‘There was one man who did not visit the salon of Countess von Waldersee. Prince Bismarok frowned upon her grow- ing power and never lost an opportunity to frustrate her plans. It was war to the knife with them and the Countess usually won out. Ier influence grew as hs waned. When the “iron hand” had lost its power her woman's hand showed more strongly than ever in imperial pol- ftles. Honor after honor was bestowed upon her husband. He was made the director of the German army, and last honer of all, commander in chlef of the allled forces. The day after our cards were sent to the Countess von Waldersee we recelved, a kind note from her asking us to luneh- eon on the following day. She sent ons of her ewn carriages for us and we were driven outside the eity limits over a de- lightful winding read u quite unex- pectedly the driver whe his horses and we bowled briskly along a shaded avenue stretehing for a mile or so to the delightful old castle which Is the favorite residence of the Countess von Waldersec. The Countess herself welcomed us, her English flavored with a decided German accent. After a few gracious words that made us feel as though we had known her all our lives she left us to the care of the maid. We then joined the Countess in the library for a ten-minute chat before luncheon was announced. The Countess a a distinguished looking woman, with e erect carrlage of a young girl and the snow-white hair that becomes her years. Bhe really looks more German than Amer- fcan, foreign residence having ently affected her looks as well as her speech. The Countess plied us with questions con- cerning our aunt and the other playmates whom she bad known befors power and fame were hers. She was as interested as a German haus frau In the number of children they each had and their mode of living. The Countess has a very ecasy, unaf- fected manner of talking, and when hee face 1s animated she is decidedly hande some, with something more than merd doll-like beauty distinguishing her, Hee sense of humor, noticeably lacking In German women, betrays her Yankee an~ cestry. She has the brain of a man and the sympathy of & woman, the tact of & diplomat and stmpllcity of a child—a rare combination, but remember the Countess von Waldersee is no ordinary being. At luncheon she led the conversation into musical channels, proving herself & genuine lover of musig. So skilifully &id the Countess steer the talk that we never once sighted any of the deeper problems of the day. Evidently she does not talk lightly upon questions of moment. China was mentioned but once, and them only to regret that we could not meet her hus- band, “As he is in China.” “I have lived here so long,” sald the Countess, “that I have a very thick Teu- ton coating, but underneath it there is still a layer of Americanism. You do not know how I love to see an American ship with the dear old stars and stripes float- ing on the breeze. And I always have an American flag In my house. . “I do not sce as many Americans as T shotild like to, but there are penaities one must pay In officfal life. However, I am deeply interested In the American gir! and her progress. I am glad to see so many of them are developing the artistic side of their natures. What superb creatures the American girls are after all! I can always pick them out from other natiom- alitles, There is a swing and indepen- dence about them that stamps them as Tnecle Sam’s daughters. “T used to plan t visit my old home. shall now, and I know grown beycnd any have of it. I mever thought in the days when I played with ur ot that my Iife lines would be ¢ in Germany.” After luncheon ntess tock us through the castie A is as flne and Interesting a Schloss as Germany boasts of. Everywhere e t es that show how close the ¥on Wa s are to the Emperor and Empress. Photographs and tnnun 1 all attest- ai parti to the Vomn Wal- t some day I would I am afraid I never New York has ition I could v T have enjoyed meeting you irls " sald the Countess. “You mus: think that T haven't a very soft spot for my mother country. I never forget to celebrate the Fourth of July.” Before parting Sistcr Gertrude asked the Countess for a photograph. She most graciously acceded to the request, giving us one also for my aunt. A mald brought pen and ink and in beautiful German script she wrote on them “Countess von Waldersee.” “T feel like Mary “But,” she sald, Esther Les to-day.”