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Show M "---"--- s a iH i i iaa - : 9- faBBsni H -. aggie Teyte's Wonderful Leap Year Romance I Bewitching Maggie Teyle, known as "the daintiest prima donna in the I world," announced a short time ago jj that she is to marry a "war cripple." I Now comes his identity and the revelation of a romarkablo romance. f Right at the beginning of leap year, j and less than two months after a j Paris judge had divorced her from I I M- Eueen Plumon, a handsome ! j young French lawyer, she proposed If 1 by cable to her army hero, whom I she has known since childhood. And -. straightway, by cable, he accepted I the grand opera singer's proposal with profuse avowals of undying de- Totion and gratitude. Seymour Robertson is his name. He is a lieutenant in the EngKsh army. In the fighting near Loos he was wounded so severely that it was necessary to amputate his right arm l and left leg. Because he" lost those two members Maggio Teytc declares I she loves him with all her heart and soul "Ho is my child," she says, "lie I always will be my child. The churqhf and the state will make him my I husband. But to me he always will I be my child. I shall lovo him and ft nurse him and care for him. You v call that self-sacrifice? Ah, no. That J is true love nothing more." iUXIIAPPV FROM TUB START. Here. then, is the strangest and most appealing love story of a modern mod-ern prima donna that ever has been recorded. It reeks with romance. It is contradictory. It is an absorb-Bing absorb-Bing study for experts in psychology. -( But for tho plain, honest, everyday !"; person who knows love only as a h divine emotion comiug straight from J the soul it is a story that will cause i ihe throat to swell and the eyes to F glisten. Why? Fiist of all, Maggie Teyte ; is a woman of the world. She is young not yet 25 yet she has seeD life in its. sordid as well as its beou- : tiful phases. She has worked hrd ' and suffered much. At 17 she made her debut m grand opera. At IS she w as the operatic idol of Paris In that year she was married to Plumon. They were unhappy from tbe beginning and the divorce that I followed last November was incvit- able a Now what of Seymour Robertson? J: He was born near Wolverhampton, England. It was in Dunstall House, , on a country estate near Wolvor- '; hampton, that Maggie Teyte came ' into the world. Her father was a a musician, not overburdened with I wealth. Young Robertson's parents j were refined country people. They J planned great things for "their buy." I The wanted him to be of service to JS the British government to become : a diplomat and ho was educated ;$ with that end in view. ' WEXT TO SCHOOL TOGETHER, As children Maggio Teyle and Sey mour Robertson went to school together. to-gether. All of this, by the way, is Maggie Teylo's own story as she rc-: rc-: lated it a few days ago in her luxu- ' rious apartment in the Hotel Van- derbilt, New York. In those days they merely were school friends. Seymour was a quiet boy, studiously inclined. Maggie Teyle was viva-' viva-' clous, full of the joy of living. She cared more for skipping rope or trilling trill-ing a ballad than bIio did for tho "three Rs." All of the boys In the Stafford- i shire school, savo Seymour Robert- Hon, were "fairly wild" about her. j On school desks, fences and oven tho staid old schoolhouse were ) carved hearts with the mystic in 1 itials "M. T." and thoso of tho ju- '' renile knlfo sculptors adorning tho : boyish emblems of love. ivj As for Seymour Robertson, he was 1 ' "shy." He would walk homo from ' school with Maggie occasionally and ) always he talked of books, horses or hunting never of love. And all the ) tlmo the unseen hands of destiny 1 wero moving the two young people j. liko pieccB on a chess board. i" HE DIDN'T ). FORGET MAGGIE. V Papa Tate the family spelled tho namo that way and Maggio only changed it after Bhe entered grand I opera believed his daughter would 1 make a great singer. Ho bundled I her off to Paris when shq was 13. Thero, at a great financial sacriCco 1 to the family, it was arranged that i Jean do Reszke, tho great tenor, should teach her. "Sho will become one of tho greatest prima donnas in Europe r within four years," said De Reszke. j "But she must work; that is tho one II thing necessary to her success." So B t. she worked worked until at times K I her head would swim and her appe-I appe-I t tito desert her. All of thoso lusty 9Hf boys of Wolverhampton who had B' parred- "Mr- TV' -inside tho wooden P IB hearts forgot Iter completely and found new loves Seymour Robertson, who hadn't carved the heart, did not forget her. He wrote to her occasionally. His letters were full of encouragement, brotherly in tone. Ho knew sho would succeed, he ' told her. and t wasn't it "ripping" that she was planning to go into grand opera? "Thero are no events of interest to recoid at home." would be. his perfunctory per-functory form of closing. "I am studying, and pater and mater have great hopes for me." Tho situation thus presented xis that of a girl full of energy working prodigiously to reach a great goal, and a boy in England peacefully pursuing his studies with the general gen-eral idea of "helping the government." govern-ment." One knew just how she expected ex-pected to attain her cud; tho other had no deflnito object in sight. THEIR LI YES WIDELY SEPARATED. Ono worked amid turmoil, temperament tem-perament and men and women who were steeped in the lore of'worlrili-ness; of'worlrili-ness; the other lived in a sphere of quietness and simplicity. And destiny, des-tiny, that great master of the game of life, kept moving both forward slowly and deliberately toward the climax of tragedy and romance tiint was in store for them. When the four years of study allotted al-lotted to Maggie Teyte by Jean do Reszke had expired he sent her to Monte Carlo, where she sang the prima donna role in "Don Juan ' a few days after her seventeenth birthday, birth-day, and scored a gieal triumph. J'Moweis poured in upon her fiom statesmen and millionaires on the succeeding nights of her successful beginning All she got from Sry-mour Sry-mour Robertson was a simple letter of congratulation. Next she sang at the Opera Comique in Paris and in the following follow-ing season made a success in "Pel-sleas "Pel-sleas ct Melisandc." It was while singing in that beautiful and romantic roman-tic opera that she met Plumon, fell in love with him, as she thought, and they wero married. - Tho simple folk of Wolverhanip-to'n Wolverhanip-to'n were stunned by Maggie Teyte's success. But more successes awaited' await-ed' her. At 19 she sang at Covcnt Garden in London. One of tho first Lieutenant Seymour Robertson. Hiss ' lust as he looked before ho fell, handsome enough to loe then, but part of Lis beauty iras gone. to congratulato her after her first appearance thero wan Robertson. "I say, lBn't it jolly?" ho exclaimed. exclaim-ed. "I never thought you would do it so quickly." It was a real brotherly attitude. Sho introduced him to Plumon, and that was the last she saw of him during 1910. JSarly in 1911 sho mado her American debut in Philadelphia. Her success hero was as great as It had been in Europe. Then Bho returned re-turned to Paris and her triumphs were renewed, Plumon trareled with her. They did not get along well together. He seemed Jealous of her success, she says. Then, too, he thought ho was playing "second fiddle" fid-dle" in the matrimonial orchestra. When she planned to return to America' In 1913 he "laid down the law" to her. "If you go," he said, "you go alone. And 1 will file suit for divorce against you." Here is a naturo that i does not tolerate opposition. Sho snapped her fingers at him and sailed. sail-ed. Plumon sailed, too sailed into court with papers in his divorce suit." , OESTI.W MOVES , ' 41 OXCE JIOKK. ' ' And now destiny moved mild oung Seymour Robertson forwaicl. Came the great war in Europe, Hie r. call for troops by England, and the .)? boy who' had been trained so cam- cstly for tho diplomatic sen Sec & entered the army with a commis- a sion. Over to France went Lieuton- a ant Robertson. Ho fought quietly 1 and ho fought bravely. -I The end of the engagement at Loos found him terribly maimed on the battlefield. He lay out In tho open 1 for twclvo hours before ho was found and carried to a hospital. Gangrene set in. Amputation of one , : ' V7 a 1 MMSs?3TiP 1K-ln!jwCSi t-ri lli tttfflpwKaa l 4QJi-'(i7RSsSr ii8ifi& 1M M SfSIyLM HNWii$rl ? Hm I III I I II III IsH Nx:s ' ''.. ' illllll llllllllllllllllllllll - Ml''''i lP!2ii - rQR l V- am IK' A jc. K x ' !t-A f ' , . v x'y,&3iSz -l -- . t k. W 'vv '5PJSs v , " W sJv - ?" 2, ' ,i Teytc's boyliood cJiuni nnd sweetheart, maimed, in the battle of Loos. Ho was iiss Teytc didn't discover it until a log and arm were imperative. Tho surgeons aBked for his consent to tho operation. "If it must be done," he said, "why, flro away." S'o they gave hJm an anaesthetic and Avhen ho regained consciousness this youth of 5 had only ono leg and ono arm. They' sent him back to England. Thero he wroto to Maggio Teyte and told her all about himself. Her reply must havo mado him feel repaid for his great misfortune in battle. Tfy N I' jt5M:'''; J ZJM: m- 'wJB8bb&wz$: ' ' w;' 1 IIHS . s - m m' IMiwMSW' ' ' f- .t- : A- - m&' -' r''.-JiYrM-m'- .1 : " - iP' ',i3r N-V' i, . s . - ---f 'irWmm H li '$y ; r . ";:MCTflB3 :fl llllllllllllllllllllllllllll -, S- v rHif'S m& S 1'$J$M ! fl illllllllllllllilllllllillllilK 'M? ' " v 'y4' T w ? iCv' x Lf -- k5" Zs$& . tl M H III III I II HI II I III till' II R ' M' ' ' 'w "' 'k' " ( ' '"yC yy '' v' , ''F- j Jff ; -. -' AW - -- 1 ' f' 3 "Why did I never realize you wero a hero?" she wrote. "Ah, dear, dear man! You havo braved everything for your country. Thero are women whoso hearts are with England who lovo you for what you havo done, and I am ono of them." Shortly after this destiny mado another move. M. Plumon won his divorco on tho ground of desertion. Tho news was flashed all over tho civilized world. Robertson, in England Eng-land read of it, and cabled to Maggio Mag-gio Teyto, then In Pbilaelphia. Thoro was only ono word In tho message. It was: ' xJ'Con&ratulatlonB." 4 3raggip Toile, (he "daintiest prima donna in the world," is so exquisite that many a brave soldier in the trenchej I H und in the diamond horseshoe, too, for that matter would be srlad to have an arm and a leg amputate, I S just to win her loic. Her photograph, above, is proof. y S Sho says that for many days she carried tho message next to her heart. Then, with tho dawning of tho now year, she cabled to Robertson. Robert-son. Her messago was: "Am ready to wed you. Answer." The answor camo quickly enough. "What a noblo man ho Is!" said tho dainty littlo blue-eyed, flaxen-haired flaxen-haired prima donna. "When I received re-ceived tidings of my divorco I felt at onco elated, and miserable. I was elated to feel that I was free of ties that pained me and miserable to think of that word 'Divorce.' It seemed to me that I was all alono in tho world that I had nothing to livo for but my work. "I remember a newspaper writer called on me In Philadelphia to ask about tho Paris decree. I told him I never Intended being married agnin that art and marriago would not mix. After ho had departed thero camo tho messago from Seymour. "I understood all at once understood under-stood that beneath his brotherly ox- iorior a pure lovo had burned.. Yot MmwUmMwi'J!QUm3kJ!-Em&VJS'3Mmmmm I did not want to bo hasty. One should understand that an opera singer must havo her career. Hers is the llfo of a slave a slave to her work. "If she marries her husband usually usual-ly will exploit her If not for money, then for glory. If a woman who is pursuing a career intends making that sacrifice, of being a slave to her husband as well as hor art, all very well and good. I am not capable of self-sacrifice to tho extent that 1 would not seo tho faults in" my husband hus-band if ho tried to exploit me for his own welfare. ETERX WISH TO BE GRATIFIED. "Sinco this torriblo war began It has been my ambition to become a nurse, and to help thoso poor men who havo been maimed for their country. That I may do if Seymour agrees to IL" "But what of yourself? Will you not haVo something to say about your own wishes?" "You do not understand," sighed .' jH Miss Teyte. "Men never do. Sey- li 'j9 mour is my child his every wish j ijH shall bo gratified." ,3 Whereforo destiny, having thui H brought Maggie Teyto and Lleuten- ,1 jBM ant Robertson together, might well ' 'JtBM write: H "All yo who think yo know a wo- aM man's heart would do well to gaza , M searchingly hereon and then find an- ' ,iJBM other answer to the riddle ya think vH ye have solved." ' Bl For Maggio Teyte, young and i rfl beautiful, who might command, a no- ,gjH blcman, a millionairo or an Adonia j H to become her husband, has singled j H out a wan "war cripple." H Is It becauso of woman's natural lH desire to "mother" some ono in mi- ' IH cry? . wjMM Is it patriotism? WM Or is it as Sbakespcaro says: jH "Sho loved mo for tho dangers I BM had passed; j Bm And I loved her that she did pity; l H them." . BM UC0DyrighW1916. M |
