i Cxijrt-ht 1909,' by Americaa-Eitiutiier. , Crest Etrlula flight! nesefMd.
C House Near Vicnna'Where Stolen Child Was Taken. A nd The JM
Two Automobiles with Six Men Which Were Hidden on the Road by
; the Countess. D Rear Gate Through Wfcch the Child Waa Hurried
' ' A way.1 : . ; ' ; . ',- v !
for:
n Witt
If
v
h,7
7
TAe Pitiable Plight of the American IrVife '-o the Russian
Count Gizycki, Who Knocked
Their Little Girl, and Is Now Holding the Baby, Just Like
a
"I
STOOD all 'kind of tnsults and
neglect for a long tlms In
llonco, but when he (truck roe
'..'' In' the , face -no Ameclcan girl can
. stand that I picked up ray child and
. ' flod." .., ;. '..
.' Tblsls the reason eo her friends
' declare the Countess Gisyckl rave for
quitting her " noble husband. , and. she
- addeil tTi despair: "Yrtr though-I wilt
never live with hlra again, what ter
rlble whip ha hold over ma the
child!" , . .' ,,...
For. pitiably as It' Is. In moat rup-
- t urea of this kind between husband
'. and wife it H the child that is made to
- really suffer most, and. so it Is In this
: case. , 1 ; ! ' .
This poor little sport of fata, this
' : little Countess Gizycki, la a pathetlo
figure in the bitter quarrel between
, her Polish papa on the one band and
her American mamma on the other.
Her sordid father a veritable Ralsull.
actually holds the girl In ransom and
unless her mother's parents consent
. to rise up something like 1 .000.000
he will keep tjje little, maiden as
securely hidden as any bandit In Sici
lian tomance docs in a cave.
The situation In this newest interna
tional story of disillusionment just at
present I particularly distressing.
Robert s M, Patterson, the millionaire
: newspaper proprietor, of Chicago, who
from tho first did everything In his
power to prevent the marriage" of his' '
daughter Eleanor to the Count, avows
, that he will not pay one cent of tribute
, to the rapacious rascal, and the mother
of the Countess, who vas an heiress to
:, the Media fortune of Chicago, and who
furnished her daughter's dot for the
union 'when her father refused to do
it. Is either indisposed or unable to
buy oft the little- girl In the mean-
' tirae her .luckless mother la frantically
rushing from one European capital to
- - - another Ua-a- vain ff ort-ta. secure her
baby But the crafty Count la still
holding that terrible whip over her
head. And to her last desperate over
ture through her ' lawyers to- barter
the child for a cash consideration if ahe
' could secure the money, this grandilo
quent answer comes from 'his lordship,
y the Count:
' "I would not sell my own flesh and
blood for less than a million dollars."
The Dilemma of the1 Frantic Mother.
The 'dilemma of the woman who as
Eleanor Patterson a half dozen years
. ago waa the toast of St. Petersburg and
a belle of Washington Is In many phases
one of the most painful among the many
In which American girls who. have dls-
astrously married European coronets
have, found .themselves. In the first
: place, the Count la a Catholic not a very
edifying one. It may be added In paren
theses; and therefore there can be no
divorce on his part. If she divorces htm
in her own country, such a divorce would
.. not be valid in Russia, and even If an
. American divorce were secured, it would
not in any way affect the validity of the
authority of the father over the child.
In Austria, where the Count and the
- Countess had their residence between the
time of their marriage and their separa-
- tlon. the same condition of affairs exists.
So, too, in Paris, which the Countess is
making her ostensible home now. The
marriage can not be annulled in the
Catholic Church, for there are absolutely
' no grounds whatever for nullification.
Bo, no matter which way the unfortunate
.mother turns, she runs face into a stone
wall.
For, since In Vienna even the Austrian
police and the Austrian law seem alike
, powerless to help her in her extremity.
an& In Russia they seem little Inclined to
Intervene In her behalf, what is there
left for her but to yearn. It's a dis
heartening prospect before her at best
..." And the innocent little cause of all
this heart-burning, they ray, asks "why
doesn't mamma come and take me for a
ride In a great big automobile, like papa
did."
It was this ride, which the child al
ludes to In her lisping, which has so sad
dened the life of Eleanor Patterson.
When ahe Ced In disgust and In
dignation from the presence of the
Count, taking the child away with her.
she little dreamed of the long series of
misfortunes that were to follow her
' hasty act She was not, as a woman
under the aame circumstances would b
In her native land, unfettered and free
te leave her husband's roof-tree If she
. pleased, but was part and parcel of her
husband's goods and chattels, and was
under his whip-hand, as she was soon to
realise most cruelly.
As ths Countt-ss has dismally admitted,
she bad stood all kinds of hurts and In
d.lTereoce silently, till one evening It
was at Pan in ths month of February.
IMS. The Count like most of his kind. Is
a reckless gamester, and while she was
reproaching aim for his card playing and
tils dissolute habits, ths brutal Count so
tar forgot himself that he rose up from
sila chair and struck hr with his clenched
knocking her dowa Packing up her
tr.tr ka thst ntgfct sad catching up the baby
girl ana 0d to Londoa. and sanctuary
Pat the ' long arm sf the Count
rearbed aui. The Couatese. thinking
herself safs la her rsfaga, beg a a prs
rr1s? for a w Ufa and plaaalag for
tht futsra af the child, la which ths
V.-ont was Is plsy as part
lot day a week or so later, white
mUntilHe
Extort a
Itansom
from the
Moth
A
er.
i . A A
-51
7 S't, -l
r r -
ITie little girl was out for an" airing
with her nurse, a big touring automo
bile which -was seemingly speeding:
along came to a sudden halt. The
Countess, while making her headquar
ters at the Savoy In town, had seques
tered the child in a cottage at Hamp
ton Hill, one of the suburbs of Lon
don, in charge of the nurse, .whom she
trusted implicitly. Three men Jumped
out of the auto, and one of them en
gaged the maid with some questions
about the routes In the neighborhood.
The two other men one of them
locate the baby, and the poor young
mother's distracted efforts to have, her
little one restored to her. Is a long
story. Cables to America brought her
only brother, Joseph Medill Patterson,
quickly to her side, to be followed Im-.
medjately by her father. Lawyers
were secured, all Influence possible to
secure was'brought to bear on the case,
and all Russia. Poland and Austria were
ransacked by searchers to find the
baby's hiding place. The Countess,
who Is passionately fond of her baby,
at last was "at her wits' end. Every
wrapped up In a big motoring -coat" resource that had been suggested had
i V
" cap. wnose race was nalr con
cealed by a motoring mask Interested
themselves with her little charge, and
set the "choo choo" going to amuse
her. While the nurse was good na
turedly trying to explain to the very
agreeable stranger the little she knew
about Hampton Hill, and while the
baby was gleefully chuckling over the
noise the motor made something
strange happened.; The agreeable man,
without so much as an apology, made
a sudden Jump and leaped Into the
automobile, and before the poor, dum
founded nurse gjrl could rub her eyes
the big machine was speeding over the
hills and far away with him. the
other two men and the baby.
Detectives under the Immediate guid
ance of the Count had tracked the
Countess at" every step she had made
since her flight, and the man In the big
furs and the motor mask who had kid
napped the baby was the Count him
self. Since that day the mother has
never laid eyes on her child, nor does
she know, except from hearsay, 'ust
where the child Is or Just who Is at
tending to Its wants.
The va,in and wearisome hunt
been tried but hopelessly.
Then came a bitter p"fll. to swallow.
In her intense love and longing once
more to hug the child to her bosom, the
miserable mother finally consented to
the humiliation of promising that she
would go back to her husband if only
he would share the baby with her.
Inuring .these negotiations in which
the Count pretended to be agreeable to
a reconcllatlon, arrangements were made
by the lawyers on both sides for the
mother to see the child, first, in a hous?
near Vienna. The Countess, her heart
beating " high with expectancy, arrived
Robert W. Patterson.
aroused. The cljlldthey swore had been
kept In the villa three hours in the be
lief that tho Countess, In her anxiety to
"So we are invited to the spec
tacle of a beautiful Ameri
can girl down on her knees
jjefore her bandit of a hus
band, imploring for her child
. while he mocks at , her
abasement and brutally de
mands ransom." -
her father's splendid' house In Dupont
Circle, and where she repented tha social
success of the Russian capital.
When the parents of Miss Patterson
discovered that the pursuit by tha
Count was encouraged by their daugh
ter, and that she was serious in her
acceptance of his apparent admiration,
every effort on her father's part at any
rate was made to put an end to the
affair. The Count finally made a bold
proposal for the hand of the girl, which
was refused for her by her wise father.
But the pretty heiress was1 determined
to have' ber own way, and one day.
after his rejection, the Count appeared
again suddenly in Washington. So
ciety In the Capital experienced a sur
prising sensation when the determine
young lady made a round of visits t
her various friends and announced her
' engagement to the Count herself. Hr
narenta. keenly distressed about tha
see her baby, would return. But when wnoia thins;, could do nothing but fol
after a wait of three hours she failed to low Miss Eleanor's lead by a formal
appear again the little girl was finally announcement Of the betrothal,
smuggled through a back gate-way and tj,, wedding took place very soon
again hidden somewhere in the country, afterward. Curing his . whole visit
-Recriminations and charges of break-' t0 -Washington tha Count was not ln
lng faith, were bandied between the vlted to the Patterson home.' but lodged
Count's party and his wife's. The-Conn- t the New "Willard, where he occupied
tess swore that never again, after this one room, way up high
in an automobile at the place at 2 o'clock display of deceit to Just torture and In- least desirable sections
In the afternoon, the hour appointed.
But the child was not there. The
suit her, would she think of a reconcilia
tion or ever see his face again. The
Countess, torn between conflicting anger Qpunt retorted that he was the father
and chagrin, saw In this cruel episode
another wound from the Count to tor
ture her. and hastily ahe rode away
again to hide her anguish.
The Count, however, declared, when the
fiasco of the arranged meeting between
mother and child had caused a decided
unpleasantness between the opposing
lawyers, that he had acted In good faith
but distrusted the motive of the Coun
tess. Representatives of the Count, his
lawyers explained, had been warned to
take every precaution against a plot, for
ills wife would resort to any trick 'to
I , . , i ; f -f V
of the child and Its natural guardian,
since Its mother had seen lit to leave his
protection, and that he would keep It tilt
he saw fit .for sufficient reason, to
change his mind; while the American
father, who despises the Count, called' his
noble son-in-law "a conceited, over-bearing
scoundrel, utterly devoid of any
ideals of manhood.
But the plight of the Countess after
all this torment of heart and soul what
last hope was there left to her In her
complete wretchedness? Only the sordid
Intimation that tha Count hungry for
kidnap the baby herself, Just as he had money, would consider barter and sale If
dn AH the roads leading to ine ren- hkj ransom were Handsome enough,
desvous were Inspected with" the utmost And so we are invited to the spectacle
care and It was found that back In tho of a really beautiful and gently nurtured
avenues there were two waiting automo- American girl down on her knees before
Idles containing six men. ndit of a husband, lmplorjng for
Later when - the child reached the ner child, while he mocks at her abase
tha sreatest possible care wss also ment and brutally 'demands ransom, "for
fZ'nto guard against surprise, since the delivering the goods.", -i
I . of the spies had -been keenly "Your people have the money." he ln-'
.usplclon. of the P sir.uates, "l have the child. How much
will you pay for j-our baby flrl? If
get down to business."
This ili-assorted marrlasa. with Its
oiry wreckage, is only one mora to be
added to the dreary catalogue of tha dls
asirpus unions of American money , with
European titles. When Miss Patterson
waa Just out she made a visit' to her
In one of tha
of the hotel.
He was attended by a man who cams
to tha-hotel when needed.
. Following the wedding, tha Count
left the Patterson home directly and
returned to the Willard to get bis
small luggage, and he did not go
back to the Patterson house even for
his bride. The, family had suffered his
presence only for the. necessary cere
mony. Instead, he telephoned to his
wife, that he would meet her at tha
station.' Society In Washington never
much fancied the Count, although Miss
Patterson herself waa one of its great
est pets, and they .were not much sur
prised at tha outcome of tha union. But
those who distrusted and disliked him
most . -were . unprepared to learn of tha
bitter ordeal to which he has subjects
this beautiful young woman. '
Besides his unwjslcome appearanoe in
Washington, Count Gisyckl made ana
other visit ta America, when ha ac
companied Count Cantacusene here to
marry the daughter of General Grant
He attended a dinner and dance at Mrs.
Deschamp's In Newport one Saturday
night, and ' afterward he happened to
be standing la a balcony, while be-
nim waa stationed a group or
low
dark and hungry Magyar musicians.
' Suddenly they began to play an Aus
trian gavotte. Tha Count was enchanted.-
Removing from various pockets
beautiful clusters of greenbacks, Bsnk
of England notes and French currency,
'he tossed them over the rail, and
smiled happily as they wafted down
ward. - The aavBtm: waa nniv hiIl.
uncle, Mr. McCormlck, who was the'ral. came to a sudden conclusion, as
American Ambassador to Russia. In St. ' u manifestly Impossible for stooping
Tha, Count
brass
3 less an exalted parsonage than . Tha count- discovering that Ms
KMial Highness, tha Grand Duka nvallabla funds were ruaalng short..
sinrllne- her out for tha markad aB w'blng ta distribute his wealth
singling ner out ror wa marked pro rmt- for a f t twenties and
p.ih.i. - ?" ia pimj on rasa ana
,uauv m aiiiurci mavwm my Harmonious effect
couri, no less an exalted parsonage than
His Imperial
Michael,
distinction of dancing with her twice dur- fifties In- halves and softly Wew them
big one evening. , from the' palms af his hands into
fc. wntnet tney uiumateiy reachad
thelr desired destlhatlon.
Tha Count tbea retired, entirely sat
fsA.d with the bllf that be had
brought long glesma of sunshtaa Into
The Younc Countess Joseph Gizycki. Who Was Miss Deanor Patterson, of -Washington and Chicago.
She was of the type Which Russians
admire greatly tall and slim with fins
eyes sod a glory of reddish-golden nfclrY
Alas for ber. she attracted the attention
of another titled personage, the Count
Joseph Gisyckl. a Russia subject, but a
native of Poland, where he awned many
estates and much horseflesh; but as It
turned out. wttn no snore Income than ha
could easily spend an his awn entertain
merit - - . '
Tha Cowat fallowed her ta Washington,
where sha made bar America debut tn
. '.--.
many - a- darkened yy Ufa. Tk
torn bills were subsequently glaed to
gether, and aumeroua aeakera af rara
old Tokay wins were drank ta tha
af Ulkt.
This elevating little Incident Is a s!s
ti It cant sidelight ea tha iret-BP af tha
ansa who married Eleanor Pattereoa,
and waa la torturing the heart af a
mother with all the ranqJsg arts af a
real brigand, ta skilfully extort a hues
ransom for bar kidnapped child,
J.