A Romance in Real Life.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 130, 26 February 1887, Page 2

A Romance in Real Life.

The question is whether the event will take place in St Petersburg, Vienna, Paris or Florence. What event ? The ohastieement of Prince Serge Galitzin by his angry cousin, M. Wladimir P n, who is a lineal descendant of the great favourite of Catherine U. and a well known Parisian. Prince Serge Galitzin is a crazy boyard, who married a Bohemian girl whom he found in a cafe-cbantant at Moscow. After a few years ot married life he grew tired of her and wished to obtain a divorce ; but this fascinating and intelligent lady insisted upon an arrangement favourable to herself and to her children, and accordingly Prince Serge agreed that he ah uld be oaught by her and her witncsse° in /lac/rante delicto. The divorce wa3, therefore, pronounced against Prince Serge, and his wife was allowed to retain the title of Princess Galitzin and to keep the family jewels and the Galitzin palace, and received withal an Indemnity of two millions of roubles. This lady is still living in Moscow. Prince Serge married a second wife, from whom he also obtained a divorce, and who now lives in Paris with an indemnity of one million of roubles. He even married a a third wife, with whom he now lives at Florence in the winter and in the Government of Toula in the summer. It is needless, howover, to add that the two latter wives are not legitimate according to Russian law, which does not allow the party agaiDst whom the divorce has been pronounced to marry a second (ime, much less a third Prince Serge Galitzin i?iherited a splendid c Election of pictures, objects of art, manuscripts, and books, the origin of which dates from the French Revolution, when two nf his ancestor?, according to the famiiy tradition, took part in the capture of the Bastille, and afterward* brought many treasures from Trianon, Louveciennes, and othor ransacked places. This collection has for the past twenty years been nominally open to the public under the title of the Mu°eura of Moscow. Prince Serge, however, took no pleasure in his treasure?, and paid reluctantly the yearly expense? of keeping up the Museum ; and, therefore, one day he otfeied the whole collection to the Czar for four millions of fiance?. The Czar refused. Then cousin Wladimir P. wae called in", and a contract for three years was signed with him on condition that if ho could find a purchaser for the Museum he should have twelve per cent, on the t^ie price. This cooti act expired last month; but already in the month of August Prince Serge telegraphed for bis cousin to come to see him. " Lot us tear up this contract," said Sercre ; " I have changed my mind. I will pay you 00.000 franc? down in consideration of tho time you have spent and the expenses you have incurred in trying to find a purchaser." So the contract was torn up ; and a few dayfe later, M. P. found that when he had sent for him and proposed to tear up the contract, Prince Serge had already sold his collectiou to tho Czar for two millions of franc, and furthermore that he had concluded that sale indirectly through M. Phillippo Sichel of Paris, a purchaser whom M P. had found. And, to crown all, he discovered that Prince Serge had concluded the sale to the defr.ment of M Sichel and with guile and deceit. Thereupon M. P., who considered that Prince Serge owed him rightly a commission of 24,000 francs s proposed to submit the question to arbitration. Prince Ssrge consulted lawyer.?, who warned him that the arbitrators would certainly condemn him to pay, and so he rafused, and went to ihe chief of the terrible third section nf ?ecret police to demand the expulsion of his" cousin from PuiSeia on the ground cf chantage. M.P. was summoned before the successor of Goneral Loris Melikoff, who informed him of Piince Serge's demand, and, instead of sending him at once to Sibeiia, offered him a cigar, and said: "I know, of cotir^, about Galitzin ; that is all right ; only if you do intend to give him a good thrashing, oblige m<3 by performing that ceremony beyond the frontiers of Russia " And that is why M vVladioiir P n is promenading through Europe after Prince Serge, who fiiea before him like the timid hare, knowing a3 he dues the C/"»r i-< nware of his curious conduct both towards his cousin and towards M. Sichbl. In the Russian colony here in Paris, and al.-o in Florence, where Prince berge live?, there is much gossip about the matter, the more so as Prince Serge only narrowly escaped Siberia some vear3 ago. During his marriage with his first wife, Prince Serge used to amuse himself with lead soldiers, but finally he got tired of toy?, and the Princess, his wife, wi-hing te get him some occupation to keep him cut of mi'chief, appealed to the good offioos of hi* uncle, Prince Dolgorouky, Governor of Mos cow, who gave Princa Ssrge a po.^t on a commission destined to discover the forgers who were then inundatms; Mo«cow with spurious paper monoy. Wishing to give proof of zeal and to obtain a decoration as a reward for his pains, tho ingenious Serge simply bribed four peasants to accept the accusation, promising that he would q t then olf with only a few months' imprisonment The bargain was natural enough, for it appe.us that for a few roubles in Russia a poor devil will Bell his liberty, just a« at Constantinople you can tempt a boatman to risk imprison ment for a medjidieh However, the four peasants were condemned to Siberia for life, and when thay saw that matters were serious they told" the truth, and Uucie Dolgorouky had the matter hushed up.