Franz Liszt and his Carolyne

In the famous Wagner-Liszt correspondence, Liszt writes from Weimar, under date of April 8, 1853, “Daily the Princess greets me with the lines ‘Nicht Gut, noch Geld, noch Goettliche Pracht.’” The lines are from “Goetterdaemmerung,” the whole passage being—­

  “Nor goods, nor gold, nor godlike splendor;
  Nor house, nor home, nor lordly state;
  Nor hollow contracts of a treach’rous race,
  Its cruel cant, its custom and decree. 
  Blessed, in joy and sorrow,
  Let love alone be.”

The lady who according to Liszt daily greeted him with these significant lines was the Princess Carolyne Sayn-Wittgenstein.  Since 1848 she and her young daughter Marie had been living with Liszt at the Altenburg in Weimar.  She remained there until 1860, twelve years, when she went to Rome, whither, in due time, Liszt followed her, to make the Eternal City one of his homes for the rest of his life.  His last letter to her is dated July 6, 1886, the year and month of his death, so that for a period of nearly forty years he enjoyed the personal and intellectual companionship of this remarkable woman.  Their relations form one of the great love romances of the last century.

[Illustration:  Franz Liszt.  Painting by Ary Scheffer.]

Liszt’s letters to the Princess, written in French and still untranslated, are in four volumes.  They were published by the Princess’s daughter, Princess Marie Hohenlohe, as a tribute to Liszt the musician and the man.  They teem with his musical activities—­information regarding the numerous celebrities with whom he was intimate, the musicians he aided, his own great works.  But their rarest charm to me lies in the fact that from them the careful reader can glean the whole story of the romance of Liszt and Carolyne, from its very beginnings to his death.

We know the fascinating male figure in this romance—­the extraordinary combination of unapproached virtuoso, great composer, and man of the world; but who was the equally fascinating woman?

Carolyne von Iwanowska was born near Kiew, Russian Poland, in February, 1819.  When she still was young her parents separated, and she divided her time between them.  Her mother possessed marked social graces, travelled much, was a favorite at many courts, and, as a pupil of Rossini’s in singing, was admired by Spontini and Meyerbeer, and was sought after in the most select salons, including that of Metternich, the Austrian chancellor.  From her Carolyne inherited her charm of manner.

Intellectually, however, she was wholly her father’s child; and he was her favorite parent.  He was a wealthy landed proprietor, and in the administration of his estates, he frequently consulted her.  Moreover he had an active, studious mind, and he found in her an interested companion in his pursuits.  Often they sat up until late into the night discussing various questions, and both of them—­smoking strong cigars!