The last surviving niece of Heinrich Heine, the Baroness Regine Heinrich-Geldern, has been saved from starvation by her former coachman, it has just been learned here.
The Baroness, once one of the most wealthiest women of Vienna, and before her marriage a shining star of the Vienna Royal Opera House, was discovered by her former coachman in a dingy little room, in abject poverty and in a state of starvation.
The coachman invited his former mistress to live as his guest in his little cottage, at least for the Summer months. Deeply touched by the fidelity of her former servant, the Baroness gladly accepted the offer.
Reminiscing about former happier times, the old white-haired lady says: “When I married I left the stage and gave my pension to the pension-fund of the Royal Opera House. At one time, the Princess Metternich and I made collections for the poor of Vienna. Going from house to house in my own coach, I collected 43,000 Gulden within two hours … Once I was happy …”
She also relates that when she was young she heard much about her uncle Heinrich Heine, and his wife “Aunt Mathilde”, who had died in loneliness.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
