COUNT ERLICH'S INFATUATION.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 11635, 16 March 1901, Page 4 (Supplement)

COUNT ERLICH'S INFATUATION.

I BY ATfIOL FOKEES. • If any woman deserved to b» hnrled from the Tarpeian, it was tho Piiucess Dnieper. Yee,' continued his «race, after a thoughtfnl pause, * irivh-uit onfc donbfc sii«» was the worst woman I ever mot, ami I have met some strange character.*. When women are bad, juon cannot compete with them in devilry. My old chic*. who was our representative then at Vienna, used to Bay «ht» was a laugl>:ng hyena. Iv fact slif> wis not n woman, she wa* a fiend — nothing less. I « Come duke,* put in our hostess. i ' vcu must hay? bpen in lore with her yo'irself at some period, or you could not talk so of one of the weaker sex. Yon must love a person before you can hatfi her like that. We all laughed at this sally. The idea of the old duke cv t r being in !o?e I tickled us imroen.selr, i • Now, Lady Betty, that 19 too bad. I You asked me to tell you about tbe I wickedest woman I erer cam« in contact with, and when I begin to describe her, yon charge vie with being a disI appointed suitor. ' ' You bave not really denitd the impeachment now,' aho replied. ! « Well, Ido deny it ; a young Engj lish attache is not allowed the luxury of falling in love with princesses. You see, it would never do. Tj.ose on the staff of as ombassy are admitted everywhere on a footing of intimacy, which is denied to the highest in the country of their exile, and if we went falling in love with those connected with royal families something like Siberia would be our fate.' • Oh duke, please allow me to withdraw my charge,' cried Betty, who saw that we were in danger of getting a speech in place of what gave promise of being a story. •No, I thii.k it is incumbent npan me to refute this accusation before I go any further. What do you 9ay, Pike ?' • Lord Piketowa twirled his moustache and ventured the opinion, ' That his grace's von\ waß sufficient. « If not,' continued the duke, ' the narrative I have to put before you will entirely disabuse yi/Ur mind of that opinion. The fir9t time I met the princess was at a reception given by Lady Stanhope at Vienna, She had just arrived with her husband, a man \ who played au important part in the affairs of Europe of that date. They were very lich, and spent their money iv a generous and lavish way characteristic of the Russian nobility. There were people who said she was" an adventurers, and that her people had made a fortune by poisoning the inhabitants of tbo province of Kieff with corn brandy. That might, of course, be true. 4 Was she beautiful ? asked Lady Betty, by way of putting him back on tbe rails. 1 No, she was not. Few Russian women are, but she was far below the average, and how she came to make a match with one of tbe foremost soldieri nnd diplomatists of the day is a story in iteelf. Mind you, I am only repeating gossip, but it was commonly reported that she met the prince — her husband — when she was in the employ ot the secret service. He wna very auxions to get hold of some information of a 1 articularly interesting and valuable nature for the Russian Govern- [ ment. She promised it, and the price 1 she demanded wos marriage. The possession of the secret or rather the imparting of it to bt. Petersburg, placed a strong fortress in tho hands of I Prince Dnieper, and included tbe snr- | render to him of a large portion of the Turkish army. This at once gave him a high place in the Czar's estimation, and she did not appear in the transaction. So the prince got all the credit of a grand coup, and she got her pnec, and with it a position which gave her a front rank in society. 4 1 have remarked that she was not beautiful, hut she snng like an angel aud danced like a nytuph. Tbe next time I saw her was in Rome. I was under'Sccretary then. A great friend of mine was tbe unfortunate Count Erlicb. He was sent to Rome to uccupy a responsible position when ho should still havebeon under his mother's care. He was full of genius — of a kind — enthusiastic and romantic, but in epitfl of all tbe greatest asa you could possibly meet with in tbe whole

German Confederacy, and that is saying a good dfal. 4 One day I proposed that wo should go on to Nwzjsari's place ia t'ne Piazza de Spagivi — a cafe of European reputatiou. Yoa cnuld get anything there, [ from a la Mancha ham with parbanzos to the delicious dish of wild boer and sweet sonr Fauce, for which Nazzius were fatnuus. We bud finish! 11 ' 1 , dinner, and were partaking of of < ur curacao, when a band was laid gently on my s'ioul Ur. I glanced np and there stood ' the Princess Deieper. * WouU jou iike one of tbo=e ices — , 'ho arabi-osi* pistachio — ;if the Erst UfTzng Karl in the Kaintbuer strasse at Vi«»nnn,' she asked. *I was so taken by surprise that she should remember mo that I don't know ' what my response v*n. You see, I wus youncr, and rather dittoed that my friend should fife me sp"ken to 60 familiarly by a prince of her repntation. He "nudged me and I hastened to present bitn. 1 Count Erlich, son of the general? Ah, I knew your father, and he is dead. We'), ifc'wa* he who recommended me white truffles boiled in champagne. You must briug your friend to ste me,' she added, and she gave him a ravishing glance. lln an instant ss T >c was gone. My friend walked to the window and gassed after her as *he drove away. 'So that is Princess Dnieper,' he said. l Yon must take me to see her. When can we go ? What a charming creature." ♦ Sit down, couuc, and finish your liqueur.' * Do you think we can go to-morrow night.' . ♦If you are anxipus — yes^ 1 re- , plied, I • How many timos since have i cursed Nazzari's. The story is too lontr to fll you all. We called nex f . night. She told us of her husband's death under tragic circumstancefl in the East. She did not add that she bud been separated from him for three years. She cried, and I saw big tears cotoe into the eyes of my companion as ho I sympathized with her. Then 3he talked j about Germany ; insisted upon our ( dining with her the very next evening, promifiog us some Imperial Rhine carp stewed with button mushrooms. Of course, Count Erlieh was delighted at this manifest compliment to himself, and when we came away that evening he simply raved about her the whole way. ' Have a care, do not go there too much,' I suggested. ' Nonsense ! She is the woman above ah others who can be useful to me. 1 • Well, mind she doe 9 not bleed you.' Ho wa3 a conciited young fool, and be answered somewhat hotly that ho could look after himself. From that moment a coldness « prang uj> between us. But wo kepc the appointment together at the princess' dinner party i next night, which wan rather a grnnd affair. There were about a dozen guests present, and the count bad bis stewed carp with mushrooms. • After that night we met at rare intervals. A coldn^s sprang np, and the old intimacy was at an end. He i fell completely into her toils, and she i twisted him arouDcl her little finger as easily as if he were' nothing more t'»an j a skein of flogs silk. They were simply inseparahle, driving here and there together, and they wern the common talk of the clubs and cafes. She was still received iv good society, for Continental capitals are. not like London. Greater lattitude 13 allowed, especially in regard to Russian puncesses. Every evening they were to bo seen on the Pincio, in a grand barouche and four, with two big, whiskered Russians |in livery. ()»c» I cam** qaite near to them. The princess gave me a beaming smile and he a patroniz'ng bow. * A few days after thia incident the explosion camp. My chief, Lord X — , who represented England when in the { Eternal City, received a cypher tele- ; gram. He was dictating a letter to I me when it was handed iv. • *My God,' he ejaculated. 'Is it ! possible. Put that letter away. No, ! slay, tear it np onl burn the pieces. i I atn off to the Prussian Embassy. 1 'He would not wait for tbo carriagf , ; but tore out of the house nnd hailed a j vehicle, bidding the man to drive for ' all he was wort'i. He was by no means ' »n excitable man, and hi 3 conduct on ! trim occasion caused in» great uneaai- | ness. That night, I was to dine with i some cavalry officers stationed i.i Rome. It rather suited uay purpose, fur the . thought occurred to me that j>ei chance j one might hear f-omethiug w'uiclj would throw light on tbc exclamation nnd nurpiiso of my chief ; but in this I was disappointed, t wm returning to tbe embaspy about half past twelve, when 1

w»p a<'c.)steH by » mnffljd fijfiuo. I recognized Count Erlich by bio German accent. ' Help me,' he cried, ' I am a rained man. He gripped my arm and burst into tears. ' Cjmo with me,' I said. 1 No, no. here, come into the shale ; I cannot tell yon in the light. Have l ymi h«»ard nothing. Well, I may _as I «c)\ tell yoo. My country and Austria will be at war to-morrow, if hostilities have not alrpady began— and it is all my fauli — all through ray infatuation ! for that Jt eebel, the princess whom yon introduced me to. Now that the game is up and tb*> cards known Austria will ■•osh inio war bffore we have mere time to prepare, for Italy is notoriously wtak, and a month would give us a I tronaendous advantage. Austria will h>t wait now and this may meau diaI aster to Prussia. 1 You have parted with some diplomatic sreret?' I paid. * God forgive me, yrs. You know the princpss and I were about .to marry !' I nodded. • Two evenings? aso we were discussing money matters, and she imparted to me the fact that she was about to invest largely in Italian securities. The temptation was too gieat. I knew it had jnst be«n settled that Italy was to bo our a'ly in the event of war with Austria, and as soon as this fact woiil 1 bft out there would ba a general fall in Italian securities. She begged me to tell her wlsy I advised her to sbnn Italian bood3, and fool that I was — wor.-e than fool, traitor • * ° I told her that the coantry had just given a secret pledge to support Prussia. 4 And she communicated thst — ' ♦ To the Austrian Ambassador. Bns- ) picion at once fell on me. Tim night a letter was received from her offering to give up the ntrae of her informant >, to my chief for a stated su>n. A wire J has been received from Berlin and she will get her price. ♦ What can I do for yon ?' ' Lend me some money. I bave ' settled all my states upon her, and she • in turn was to settlfi some securities upon me. I am ruined, not only in honour, but in money. Thank God my , father 13 dead. j And he again burst into tears. ; * file waited while I procured five Knglish ten -pound note?, wbicli I handed him. With hasty thanks he was gone bat he was arrested next day at Naples, I a ud — disappeared from history. Next | day war broke out. Yet the affair of I poor Count Erlich was only one of her . ! many misdeeds.