A ROMANTIC CAREER. The Late lima de Murska.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 360, 17 April 1889, Page 3

A ROMANTIC CAREER. The Late lima de Murska.

With reference to the death of the illfated lima de Murska, ' Truth ' gives some additional particulars respecting the painful and romantic career ot the great songstress which may perhaps have a flavour |of novelty for Australian readers. She was, as, is well known, the daughter of an Austrian officer, another Austrian officer, as may not be so well known, being at this moment her widower, her two Australian marriages, so called, having therefore no validity whatever. To quote • Truth,' which is not always truthful, do Murska had only two children, both by her Austrian husband. One of them was a daughter, who also married an Austrian officer. That officer died in 1876, and his brotherit) law (Madame de Mui>ka's only son) committed suicide immediately afterward.*. According to the same authority. Mt.dame de Murska cleared over and above all expenses some 1 9,000 by her Ameiican torn in 1874, and .€16,000 by her Australian tour in 1870-76. Of these amounts she i emitted to her daughter in Vienna not le-s than £20,000, for the puiposo of investment against a rainy clay. How it came about is not exactly known, but the entire Mini passed through the daughter'? hands like a and instead ot being invented wa -s to spent as to return neither principal noi interest to the untortunate pnma d a 'in. ' Truth' then narrates tho Anderson ' incident,' which, a -a alleged, involved a fui t her loss to de Mur^kaof £4,0000i\C5.000. To lesumo ' Truth's ' narrative :—: — Madame de Mursk.i returned to America in October. ]876. But it seemed that the bloom had then depaited from her celebrity. She lost nearly i.5,000 in California, | and just about that time she learned of the i death of her son-in-law, and the suicide of her Ie h possible that nobody will now know what has become of her £20,0U0 and moie. But at any rate this* money was gone, and Madame lima de Murska, at a period ot life when most mairied operatic stais seriously think or tetiring, found herself, trom no fault of her own, practically destitute. A piivate letter from New Yoik, from anot-ior source, gives a sad account of the straits to which she was eventually put. As we know, she failed latterly aba concert singer and a teacher. It seems that she aftei wards lived in a gariet, and was discovered ill and almost starving by Mi Silas G. Pratt. The Austrian consulate were applied to for help to ship tho }>rtma donna back to her native country, and they oilered the muni ticent donation of odol., or £1, which was forthwith returned. It is only lair to say i that the Austrian consul himself shortly afterwards contributed £20 from his own pocket. But meanwhile, Mr and Mrs l'ratt took poor de Murska into their house and tendeily nursed lev until M-r '-Villiam Stein way, Mrs Thurber and other good souls raised the money for her journey homewaid, the steamship company on learningthecircumstancesalso kindlyallowing a substantial rebate on thei<" usual fare 5 ?. We know the last sta^o of all. Almost starving, the once petted prima donna leached her daughter in Munich, only to find no money leftaiid the cupboard bare. She fatiil forboie to apply to her h'rst husband, whom she had maritally injured. Eventually =he died. As for her daughtei, I for one am not astonished that a brain po weak that ie was unable to pieserve her mother's httle capital was not sufficiently strong to withstand the suicidal tendencies developed in her brother. Mother and daughter weie cremated to-, gether. One last touch was added to a drama so eventful and pathetic that if it appeared in a novel ie would have been dubbed impossible. The cremation of mother and daughter was attended by the i long- su tiering first husband, who knew nothingwhatevevabout his wife's sad financial i>itu ition, and who would, despite his matrimonial troubles, have willingly taken steps, to sa\e his former spouse fiom such a, fate. It is a pity that de Murska, ever a woman of high sensibility, did not make her poverty public property. London music lovers idioticalW paid Mauo's gambling debt?, and they h-.ve even more recently placed a tombstone on the giave of a wealthy English tenor. They would assuredly have been generous to a piima donna who had done nothing much worse in her life than imprudently trust her savings to her own iiesh and blood.