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Show Startling Story Regarding Madam' Nordica's Jewels Tho following Interesting item regarding re-garding tho lato Mndamo Nordlca, a singer of much popularity throughout through-out tho country appears in the last lssuo of Musical America: Did you soo the story that the Jowols and pearls which Nordlca left as security with Mrs. Busch, tho wife of tho millionaire brewer of St. Louis, had been found to bo false? Thero is n tragedy behind that. It seems that Just before sho was about to leave on" her last and dls-nstrous dls-nstrous concert tour to thonntlpodos Mmo. Nordlca needed ready cash. So sho went to Mrs. Busch who was n very dear friend of hero nnd who Is n broadmlndcd and kindly disposed dispos-ed woman, nnd asked her for tho loan of $10,000. This Mrs. Busch icadlly gavo her. Then Mme. Nordlca, It seems perhaps per-haps with n presentment that something some-thing might happen to her, Insisted upon Mrs. Busch taking as security somo vnluablo diamonds as woll as pearls that sho had with her in n box. Mrs. Busch protested that sho desired de-sired no security, but flnnlly consented consent-ed when sho found that Mmo. Nordlca Nor-dlca was insistent in tho matter nnd would feel hurt If sho did not ac-copt ac-copt tho security. After Mmo. Nordica's death, when her executors straightened matters out, of courso this lean turned up, with tho Jewels nnd pearls as security,. secur-ity,. It was found that tho pearls wero gonulno, but that tho splendid tlarrns of diamonds and other diamonds dia-monds wcro simply paste. Tho circumstances of tho caso show of themselves that there was no question but that Mmo. Nordlca bollcvcd. this Jowelry to bo absolutely absolute-ly genuine, for thero wns no necessity neces-sity for her to glvo any security whatever, with tho kindly attitude of Mrs. Busch. Now arises tho question whether tho Jewels when given to Mho. Nor-Ilea Nor-Ilea or bought originally by her were paste or real. Knowing something of tho nrtlstlo world, It is my belief that the Jowols Jow-ols whether sho bought thorn or thoy wero presented to hor, woro originally origin-ally genuine, nnd that someono per-haps per-haps someono whom sho trusted had cooly taken thorn nnd hnd them replaced with paste, and profited by tho net. I say this for tho reason that I hnvo known of several instances whero this has taken place. Thoro Is a great singer today, living in retirement, re-tirement, who believed, for years, that sho was in possession of at least half n million dollars worth of vatu-nblo vatu-nblo Jowelry, which had been presented pre-sented to her by friends, ndmlrors, nnd by somo of tho great personages beforo whom sho had sung, and yot nearly four fifths of all that Jowolry was found, when sho needed money and wanted to roallzo on it, to havo beon false fake I Tho person who was suspected of this cruel wrong was ono whom she had trusted for years. I often wondor how the thousands of young women who aro so ambitious ambiti-ous of operatic famo nnd who bollovo tho llfo of a great prima donna Is n bod of roses how thoy would chango tholr minds, perhaps If thoy know tho parasites that surround such a woman; if thoy know of tho cold blooded treacherlos to whom sho is often subjected; if thoy know of tho robberies that aro mado of her properties. And how often, In her old ago, sho is forced to give singing sing-ing lessons, when nil that she has earned In her llfo time Is wept nwny cither by mismanagement or bad investment in-vestment on tho part of thoso who wero closest to "norl m |
