Lest too mach 20th century mode nity should corrupt the mind of the good city of Berlin, her romantic citizens have been given this week a mediaeval roman en to ponder over. (Ido not mean When Knights were Bold" which has jast sora ita contaryperformance bere—I think 'a record for this king of plays). I regret greatly that the calamus of the" North-Chioa ally News" are hardly long enough to publish the fall text of that romantic melodrama ycleped Lo Marqni" dela Romeo" Loan do no more than epitomize the characters aod the plot The latter is simple. "The son of a Hungarian school-teacher haviog exhausted his patrimony, sets out to eek his fortune. After an adventure with hazel-eyed beauty of the Khedive's harem he arrives in Rome and become a partner of some gamesters. In Paris be is adopted by s marquis ie Inter auch merchant's daughter." So might Boccaccio have headed the tale. The German police epitomizes differently, After marrying and deserting a serving-woman from band of swiodlors whose vi made to decoy. they invest him with a false merqni boxed on a suppered adaption by a French redesman named La Rames, He arrives it Berlin and is married to a Kommerzienrath's daughter named Hecht. He forges her mother's name and escapes to The Hague, where be is arrested for forgery and for bearing a title knowing that he has no right to it.
So mach for the epitome. Shakes-peace would, I thiok, have set all the other characters in the back-ground and concentrated attention on that loaely [figure of Alice Hecht, daughter of a brutally ill-treated her, mot den an extremely courteous well-dressed sod sppareotly wealthy gentleman speaking the most exquisite French and playing to perfection the rels of the preuz chevalier, His quick eye could of fail to detect that she was unhappy, his Freach gallantry could not resist to remove its cause. His intentions were of the most honourable, ab! bat of the most honourable. (He borrowed £100 from one of his lady friends wh to make presents to the millionsire's daughter!) He followed the sorrowful woman to Berlin, paid her jast so much attention as a pobleman should and suddenly psid her no more! In short the old trick (" Absence makes the heart grow fonder had its historic success. Alice was in love with the most excellent knight, Bela Marquis de la Romeo." Kommerzienrath stormed, Frau Kommerienrath mocked, bat Alice was firm. Kommerzienrath's trends made some investigations aod disclosed the resalte.
jim—that isenongh. Hemay wrong in the past, but m; for good women by bad men since the world was young. So the mai took place, and here it may be inert a rorap of conversation overbesrd (it is aid) betwoon the prendo-Mar-Margolin, ceptaia of the band arrested la St. Petersburg for £50,000 worth of fraud.)
Marquis—" And it taroc out the girl bax only £10,000 a year in ber orna right, "Won't begin to pay my Margolin—Yes, bat there's mother and a rich one."
Marquis—Mother, yos—bat she's el and ugly.'
Margolin—"My dear man the important theory They wore not such debts either as a man of bonar ehonld contract, They were of the bad middle-ages type—moneys received, short, from a—well, a Indy lot us say, instead of money borrowed to give to" Indy. (Boccaccio would certainly have disapproved!) And the outcome was an arrangement between Margolin and the Marquis anda. person (Fravensperson) for a little play-acting before a mortgage-broker. The " person" played the role of Fran Heobt and signed bill la ber name, Margolin and the "person" fled with the balk of the proceeds to St. Peters. borg where they were duly arrested. The Marquis sent his wife to The Hague, followed her and was duly arrested also. Meantime the Hechts bad discovered the "lady" to whom the Marquis owed money and invited her to meet—alice! And Alice, fall of trast la the Marquis, consented to the meeting.
io that tragic confrontation of th tr
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.