"Roman Scandal," Chicago Tribune, March 3, 1877
Dublin Core
Title
"Roman Scandal," Chicago Tribune, March 3, 1877
Subject
New York World
Gossip--Published
Brewster, Anne Hampton, 1818-1892
Scandal
Rumors
Marriage
Italy--Rome
Italy--Florence
Citation of Different Periodical / Reprint
Citation of Named Entity
Gender Norms
Relationships--Intimate--Opposite-sex
Description
The reprint from the New York World recounts a wedding scandal of the rich Marchese Lezzani family. The incident has been widely discussed among affluent members of the Roman society.
Credit
Creator
Brewster, Anne Hampton, 1818-1892
Source
Date
1877-03-03
Type
Reference
Article Item Type Metadata
Text
Anne Brewster writes from Rome to the New York World: "The Black or Neri Circle--as the Papalini are called in Rome--has been shaken to its very fashionable centre lately, by a most astounding act of one of its members. The affair has been discussed at dinner-tables, served up at receptions, and even in the high and mighty ecclesiastical audience-rooms of the Princes of the Church it has been treated upon with all the notes of interrogation nd wonder that can be thrown into speech. The handling of the incident, too, has proved very damaging unluckily to the 'antecedents,' as we Americans say, of the principal in the scandal. The recent date of his nobility has been disclosed; and members of the same social circle no better off than he is, in date and condition of ancestry, will coolly attribute the shocking behavior of the son to the mezzo-ceto (bourgeoise) blood of the father.
"A fortnight or so ago the daughter of the Marchese Lezzani was married with great pomp and ceremony to Conte Polldori. [...] While the grand company was assembled at the breakfast, after all the ceremonies were over, and the young spos were preparing for their journey to Florence, they missed from the large table-cloth a superb parure of emeralds and a diamond ring of great value,--wedding-gifts from the Marchese Lezzani to his daughter. The whole family, it seems, lost what little head it had, and the father was completely out of himself. He flew into a great rage, sent off for a police-office, closed the doors, and insisted upon subjecting his guests to examination! Think of having a Holy Apostolical Prince--a member of the Sagred College and a grandee of Spain--handled officially, on suspicion of robbery, by a police-officer! The pockets of the Cardinal purple rummaged by a policeman! Had Marchese Lezzani possessed but one-tenth of his reputed riches, he had better have let his daughter lose all her jewels than to have put such an insult on his guests and such an unending shame on himself and his family. Of course, no jewels were found by the police-officer.
"Now comes a mysterious denouement, a strange unraveling of the matter. The bride and groom departed for Florence. When they arrived there the missing jewels were found in one of the young Contessa's travelling-cases! It is said her maid put them in, and did not know that they were the missing ones! The cross purposes of this ill-fated marriage are not ended yet. The young sposi have fallen out with each other while on their honeymoon. They have found stinging bees of discontent with each other instead of sweet honey, and Conte Polidori has written to the Marchese Lezzani to come to Florence and take his daughter!
"Now society opens all its little trumpets of gossip, and as it chases the offending Adams and Eves out of its Edens, it brandishes double-edged swords of sorrowful family scandals. [...]
"Then the bride, they also say, is not fault-less; she has had a love affair, clandestinely, with an officer of the King's cuirassiers. [...]
"A fortnight or so ago the daughter of the Marchese Lezzani was married with great pomp and ceremony to Conte Polldori. [...] While the grand company was assembled at the breakfast, after all the ceremonies were over, and the young spos were preparing for their journey to Florence, they missed from the large table-cloth a superb parure of emeralds and a diamond ring of great value,--wedding-gifts from the Marchese Lezzani to his daughter. The whole family, it seems, lost what little head it had, and the father was completely out of himself. He flew into a great rage, sent off for a police-office, closed the doors, and insisted upon subjecting his guests to examination! Think of having a Holy Apostolical Prince--a member of the Sagred College and a grandee of Spain--handled officially, on suspicion of robbery, by a police-officer! The pockets of the Cardinal purple rummaged by a policeman! Had Marchese Lezzani possessed but one-tenth of his reputed riches, he had better have let his daughter lose all her jewels than to have put such an insult on his guests and such an unending shame on himself and his family. Of course, no jewels were found by the police-officer.
"Now comes a mysterious denouement, a strange unraveling of the matter. The bride and groom departed for Florence. When they arrived there the missing jewels were found in one of the young Contessa's travelling-cases! It is said her maid put them in, and did not know that they were the missing ones! The cross purposes of this ill-fated marriage are not ended yet. The young sposi have fallen out with each other while on their honeymoon. They have found stinging bees of discontent with each other instead of sweet honey, and Conte Polidori has written to the Marchese Lezzani to come to Florence and take his daughter!
"Now society opens all its little trumpets of gossip, and as it chases the offending Adams and Eves out of its Edens, it brandishes double-edged swords of sorrowful family scandals. [...]
"Then the bride, they also say, is not fault-less; she has had a love affair, clandestinely, with an officer of the King's cuirassiers. [...]
Provenance
https://www.newspapers.com/image/349763623. Accessed 15 June 2021.
Location
Chicago, IL, US
Geocode (Latitude)
41.8755616
Geocode (Longitude)
-87.6244212
Length (range)
>1500
Social Bookmarking
Geolocation
Collection
Citation
Brewster, Anne Hampton, 1818-1892, “"Roman Scandal," Chicago Tribune, March 3, 1877,” Archival Gossip Collection, accessed April 19, 2024, https://www.archivalgossip.com/collection/items/show/708.