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f AT LAST! jflk f/ k".' Copyright y Constance V ' , Lo2<j?2 arl * a Richarason in ’’w 4 ' One of Her Most t irarPAiTcrrxiTPw D,ring LADY CONSTANCE RICHARDSON ttX . . . A 2»Nfe\ v DANCFP! SV ’ I W miYtLK • Jf W pfcT uy- \ y ■ •■■#<'■ •■ T SiAa \ k /4i London, Dec. IS. THE daughter of an Earl, the grand daughter of a trusted friend of Queen Victoria, the descendant of a long line of dukes, appearing nightly at a common music hall for pay! ( That Is the spectacle that greets the amusement-loving populace of London. That Is the spectacle which fills the British aristoc racy with disgust. Lady Constance Stewart Richardson Is the cause of all this commotion. She Is appear ing nightly at the London Hippodome, where she goes through a series of bare-foot dances In the so-called Greek style for the entertain ment of a very mixed public. Among her spectators are racetrack touts, publicans, or saloon keepers, as Americans would say. and sinners of all classes and both sexes They feast their eyes upon the bare and shapely underpinnings of one who has enjoyed the Intimacy of royalty, and is the niece of a live duke. Once before Lady Constance appeared on the music hall stage. But at that time she alleged that It was solely for the benefit of a charity In which she was interested. Society accepted the explanation as saving the digni ty of the peerage. Now there Is no pretence about sweet charity Lady Constance Is appearing for money, and for all she can get of IL Why does she appear for money? Because she needs ft. That makes her case all the more shocking to society They cannot even attribute her conduct to eccentricity. Lady “Connie’s" dancing Is a combination of the methods of Maud Allan and Isadora Duncan. She appears in bare feet; in fact, ’ In bare skin to the knees, and even beyond. She wears very little in any direction. This aristocratic performer has discarded the tights which were once considered quite Baughty. She gives her spectators a most satisfying banquet of legs and arms. In this respect she fully lives up to the example of her distinguished model. Maud Allan, who danced Salome in a little transparent gauze and ( a few shaky jewels. In'one dance Lady Constance wears a little garment of blue gauze reaching down to the knees. Her repertory includes a gay Spring dance to Grieg music, a march-like triumphant movement with Tschalkowskl accompani ment, a funeral dance to Beethoven’s “Fu neral March," and "Ases Death, with Peer Gynt music. Interest was largely concentrated In the aristocratic performer's extremities, that is among those who were not overcome with horror at the thought of her exhibiting them publicly. One thing was certain, she had very fine large feet. Everybody was agreed upon that. They were entirely free from corns, bunions and other deformities. Her skin, moreover, was evidently in excellent condition. Some of the observers considered her feet too large Exacting young men. who liked pink, chubby little feet, were disappointed. That her ladyship should possess good-sized feet is really not surprising, for she has been a great devotee of many sports. Quite a spirited controversy has now arisen among the frequenters of the music hall about The House Where Wicked Agrippina Poisoned Profligate Emperor Claudius Tnrj nanan arcnaeoiogist, Professor Vittorio Spinnazzola. has made a remarkably interesting series of discoveries at Paestum, a city which, like Pompeii and Herculaneum, was a Summer resort o£ the greatest and wealthiest of the ancient Romans. The newest and most interesting discov ery is of a splendid villa, which investiga tion has shown to have belonged to the Emperor Claudius, who ruled from 4i to 04 A. D. It even appears probable that he was living here at the time of his death. This ruler was an enigmatical character. Stories of extraordinary profligacy are re corded of him and yet many great works, such as the Claudiau aqueduct are credit to him. Popular interest m him arises largely from the number of his wives, among whom was the infarfious Messalina, and the vast amount of trouble they caused him. In the cellar of the newly discovered villa they found a statue. It was the statue of the Emperor Claudius. He wore the priestly garments which a Roman Em- r. - . —.■ —J ■ ___ .. _ I /SL/ *•*sl A ■■■'■ -^> J --» -'• ”■""' - "■— -*-.■■ ■ .- ...u.,, - ner ladyship’s feet. Some of them maintain that they are large, bony, unwomanly and flat The others assert that the taste which re quires very small feet tn a woman is a bad one and that Lady Constance’s feet are beau tiful, because they are strong, well developed and proportioned to her figure. If Lady Constance’s present engagemen' proves a success It will be on account of the interest In her feet rather than In her art. Just who is Lady Constance Stewart Rich ardson, that her appearance on the stage should create such r. commotion? the Amer ic "Pder may Inquire. Well, In the first p?ace she Is the grand daughter of the late Duchess of Sutherland who was the mother of the present Duke of Sutherland The old Duchess was at the very top of the British aristocracy She was the most Intimate friend and companlon’of Queen Victoria. The Queen thought so much of th- Duchess that she gave her an honor never conferred before and, in fact, not recognized by law. .She gave her the Earldom of Crom artle in her ov n right, with remainder to her second son. so that the title might not become merged In the dukedom and thus drop out of use. [.adv Constance is a child of this second son. Her older sister is now the Countess of Croniartle. Lady Constance married. In 1904, Sir Ed ward Stewart Richardson, a Scottish baronet, whose title was created in 1630. His family Is an ancient one and he holds a very good social position, but he has no money worth speaking of. The Baronet has paid several visits to the Lnited States. He is not exactly well known there, but Americans must occasional ly have noticed a quiet, dignified-looking man tollowing Lady "Connie'' about with a very worried expression. It is understood that Sir Edward does not approve of his wife’s appearance on the stage I hat does not make much difference one way or the other. He has never been noticed at any of her performances. Lady “Connie” has developed very rapidly since her marriage. Before that she was known principally a s a very dashing sports woman. She was a crack shot, a daring rider and a splendid swimmer. She was the cham pion long-distance swimmer of the Bath Club in London. Her frequent appearance at the competi tions of this club In the very scanty costume worn by English women when swimming ex cited considerable comment, some of which was of a favorable nature. She made her debut as a rifle Bh ot bv en gaging in the pastime known as “deer stalk ’.ng,' on her Scotch family estates. Later she • '' cnt to Africa and shot lions and other fierce beasts, just as Theodore Roosevelt did Texas has had an opportunity to witn„ o . her skill as n horsewoman and a rider of buck ing bronchos She has made several long stays out there. There is a story that a welb peror assumed on certain occasions as holder of the ancient office of "pontifex maxim us.” The statue had evidently lain in the cellar since ancient times. The hands and feet were broken off. It had been treated with indignity. These curious circumstances have led to the conclusion that this villa was occu pied by the Emperor at the time he was poisoned by his fourth wife. Agrippina The ill-treatment of his statue was the last proof of her hatred of him. The first wile of Claudius was Plautia Ij rgulanilla, whom he divorced because he suspected her of designs on his Ute. His second. Aelia Petina, he also divorced. His third was the infamous Valeria Messa lina. Her misdoings were the scandal of the civilized world. At length, according to the account of Tacitus. Messalina went through the ceremony of marriage with one of her lovers, and. urged by her former confederate. Narcissus, the Emperor al lowed her to be seized and Narcissus put her to death. The historian Suetonius, however, throws W;-- K !■ BO mm W Mm Iwi jlm Bin 7 Cwjujy<- j <•*i- • S SaMppjßl' 'v-'.JX ' -'a*utt; i a-'■ A Charming Sketch of Lady "Connie," Drawn by Mi»» Nell Brinkiey Wbea the Titled Artiste Danced for Charity in New York. a somewhat different light on the story- 1 making it appear more probable, for he I tells us that Claudius desired and assisted the marriage, because he had been warned by a soothsayer that the husband of M® 4 ' salina was about to fall into misfortune. He caused this prophecy to come true, tor he executed the husband as well as Mes salina. Thia would seem to be tn accordance with the character of Claudius, who, though undoubtedly fond of his wives, w'aa by no means a fool. The next auu fourth wife of Claudius was his niece Agrippina. He was even more unfortunate with her than with any of her predecessors. She persuaded him to set aside his own son Britannicus in favor of Nero, her son by a former mar riage. As soon as he had issued the de cree she poisoned him in order to place the act beyond recall. Immediately after his death. It is con lectured, she defaced the Emperor's statue in the villa she occupied at Paestum. where I the evidence of her malignity has just I been brought to light after eighteen cen j turles. ■■■■zzzt - - - —y—■ Ihe Statue M th. Emperor Claudius As It Was Found Lymg in the Cellar of the Villa at Pau. turn. English High Society Dismayed by the Spectacle of One of Their Own Titled IVomen Appearing for Money in IVild Dances at the London Hippodrome known Texas raiiroau magnate who met Lady Constance in New York on her way West sent word to one of his managers on the road to look out for her and treat her well. The rail road manager thought the message referred to a horse, and as he could not find any trace of the animal in the freight cars he sent out the following message: "To Station Agents—Missing, mare Lady Constance, if any station agent runs across her feed her and rub her down until you hear from us.” Probably the genesis of Lady "Connie's” present display may be traced to her early ap pearance in kilts. When she was about eighteen she entertained a large house party by dancing the sword dance, wearing kilts of the Mackenzie tartan, to which she is entitled by birth. The kilts then were quite long, over- Janping the tops of her stockings by several Inches. Nevertheless, when her dancing be came lively the sight was quite interesting. The noble and fashlonab’e guests applauded her efforts enthusiastically There were, however, quite a few who recalled .how shocked her gracious Majesty Queen Victoria would have been at the sight of a young lady of the aristocracy behaving in this manner. It showed how the manners of English society had changed since the climax of the Victorian period. After the warm reception of the first effort Lady "Connie” shortened up the kilts per ceptibly. But it was not until after her mar riage that she gratified society with a full view of the extremities with which nature had gifted her. Her performances inspired this lively passage in a very skittish book on Eng lish society by Harry Graham: "Ginger Hazleton had an exciting affair with a Mrs. Carter-Pickford, to whom he made love at an entertainment for the cause of Woman’s Rights, while a professional singer was ploughing his way through a cycle of twenty seven songs by Brahms. "It was only when a lady of title who had thoughtfully divested herself of most of her • lothing started to dance that they began to take an Interest In the entertainment.” One of her dances represented Salome, tho daughter of Herodias, dancing before King Herod. Salome was ror a time the resourcs es every dancer who wanted to be wicked. I.ady “Connie" did a Salome dance at a Duke’s house, before the late King Edward. His Majesty had dined •veil, according to his custom, and doubtless the performance looked good to him. At the conclusion he asked Lady "Connie,” after the manner of King Herod, what reward he could give ner. She bent her knee to the ground and answered: “Sir Ernest Cassel’s head as a charger, Sire.” Now, Sir Ernest Cassel, who was present at the party, was King Edward’s favorite finan cial adviser, and negotiated loans for hint when he needed them badly. King Edward answered Lady "Connie's” jest with his usual tact by saying: "Won’t Sir Ernest Cassel's check as a charger do Just as well?’’ Soon after this exhibition Lady "Connie* went to New York She danced there for her favorite philanthropy. Just what it is nobody seems to remember. It cost ?10 a head to see her. At this stage the general comment was thal her dancing was amateurish. To relieve hep self of this reproach she worked several years with professional teachers of stage dancing. Now she has made her appearance as a regu lar professional dancer. It would be difficult to exaggerate the po sition which I.ady "Connie’s” family has held in British society. Their titles are ancient The prestige of royal friendship has enveloped them. Her uncle, the Duke of Sutherland, is the greatest land owner in the United King dom. He owns 1,400,000 acres oT land. But there have been signs that all is not well with the Duke A few years ago he gave ’in his ancestral palace. Trentham Hall, in the Midland Counties. Within a few weeks he has sold the family residence in London, Stafford House, the largest house in the metropolis. Now it is reported that he may go to live in Western Canada. A good many English people feel that the ad of the world is coming. When the Duke of Sutherland cannot keep up his houses, and his niece appears on the music hall stage for pay. what is going to become of our ancient nnbiltv?