The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1869-10-28
AsPUSKY pRIsEA DONNA.
A Love Romance and an UnkinG
Father.

| Father.
In April, 1860, while the young and love
| " daughter ofthe Earl OF D. was ENJOY
ing her usual afternoon airing along the
Lady's Mile" her fan dropped from her
hand over the side ofthe carriage, and she
| ordered her coachman to stop and recover
| it. Coachy curbed high-steppers to halt
as quickly as posSible.; but before he could
descend from his perch gentleman re
| Splendent black whiSkers and immaculate
costume appeared at the side of the vehicle,
and with courtly bow presented the fam
A blushed "thank you, sir, rewarded the
act, and the coachman was directed to head
! his horses for Belgrave Square; but the
Earrs daughter carried home in her bosom
vivid mental photograph OF the knight OF
the fan, and could not help tancying that
something in the expression ofthe fine black
eyes had silently pleaded for further &C
Qlaintance. 10 employ the term best un-
| derstood by her sex, she was, in fact,
I" struck" with his distinguished appear
ance, and couldn't get him out OF her head.
| 1t was one Of those cases Of instantaneous
| infatuation which are quite as common with
the gentler as with the Sterner sex. The
Young lady drove in the park at the same
hour on every succeeding afternoon Of the
week for the particular purpose OF catch
ing another glimpse of the elegant stranger.
! An her efforts to that end. however, proved
| vain until one evening. at the Royal Italian
| opera, where she accidentally dropped her
| lorGnette from her box. Upon that excl
| ting occasion several white-cravated gem
tlenen sprang to pick up the pcarl-and-gcld
biou but there was quicker before them
all, and the 'lorgnettc was presented by the
| whskered unknown of Hyde Park. Our
susceptible heroine blushed celestial rosy
red rs she received it, and the daIll-eyed
cavaliers gave her such look Of homage in
the act that her own eyes dropped prettily
under the ardent glance. Bowling grace
fully, the unknown retired to 4 station at
the back Of the box, and there worshippcd
with his look until the performance was
over. For a month after this, several
silent interviews Of the kind took place, I'M
til at length the peers daughter felt her
right hand slightly ciaSpcd one evening as
she was stepping into a carriage from the
opera-house, and on recovering from her
alarm found sealed note in the hand thus
abaSed. In q moment she had guessed who
the writer was, and had scarcely patience
to gain the privacy Of her own room before
ascertaining its contents. The miSSive was
written in fine Italian hand, and the wri-
| ter avowed his honorable passion in the cX
aggerated style natural to felow-country-
man of the CcnciS. He called her his idol,
| the light of his soul, the star to be worship
| ped from atar by the idoatrous wretch who
dared not to draw near. The English of the
wording was justly eXecrably bad enough to
heighten the romance and suggest angeli-
| cized marble villas beside the murmuring
Pc. He should "kill HIMSELF" said the
knight, if mladi did not conceal a " leetle
nota " for him in the folds of her fan, on
certain night, and manage to drop it for him
as she entered her box ut the opera. She
did so a2d thus began secret correspond
ence which ended in her promise to elope
with the man. She had repeatedly cndea-
yored to gain some information respecting
his rank, though not until it was too late to
save herself; and when he assured her that
| peculiar but not dishonorable circumstances
rendered can open courtship impossible "
she could only give him his own way. An
other month passed on, and upon certain
afternoon the young lady's carriage return
ed to Belgrayia without her. For better,
for worse, she had joined her adorer at IL
railway station, and gone with him to the
nearest Gretna Green. They knew each
other very intimately in sentiment, but now
the fond foreigner had such hard facts to
disclose US came near throwing his lovely
captive into swoon. Sinking upon mis-
knees in the inn Of the village TO which they
had come, he confessed that he was hirer
out of hand-organs to the more needy of his
countrymen about London In horrible
English he abused himself unstintedly for
daring to pretend to so fair and noble hand,
and offered to escort his victim back to Lon
don, if she desired, and then cast himself
headiong from the top of the monument in
Trafalgar Square. The Earl's daughter was
shocked, but had gone too far to recant so
| she gave him absolution from his sins against
her, and went with him to a clergyman.
Next day there was q sensation in tashiOna-
bic circles because the Earl Of DIS
daughter "had run off with an Italian
Count whose membership in the Roman
Catholic church had made him diStastetulto
her noble parents" Such was the Court
Journals neat way of putting the case. Al
ter writing a friendly account of her mesal-
lance to her family the young wife made
hasty sail with her dotine husband to Italy.
She found that her new relatives there were
not all patricians, by any means but they
received her with great respect; and as
the eX-organlzer was the tendereSt of liege
lords she managed TO pass joyous honey
moon. Before . setting down for good"
however, she wrote another letter to her
father for forgiveness, and thereby threw
that noble lord into fresh paroXysms Of
wrath. lie sent i crushing answer, refu-
sing to longer recognize her us 4 child ofhs,
and heaping curses upon her and her Italian.
Like sensible English girl, our heroine
took this all very philosophically, and sang
merrily ira, Ia, Ia, to the music OF guitar
until the peculiar purity and freshness Of
her voice attracted the critical attention Of
her husband. He called in Il celebrated
maestro to hear her sing, and was rejoiced
to learn that his wife had voice worth Il
fortune to her. A good master was ut once
secured for the lively lady; she studied the
Italian language and artistic method with
ayidity, and, at the request of her lord, con-
sented to sing in public. As 4 result, the
whole city went wild with enthusiasm over
a new diua, and she received an invitation
to become second chanteuse at La Scala. Ac-
cepting, she gained such series of triumph>
that her husband was frantic with mingled
pride and joy. On the occasion Of her ben
/ eft he eyineed this spirit by giving grand
supper to the diiettant Of Milan, retired to
| his bed inra exalted state Of intoXication,
and died OF apopleXy before morning. His
lady buried him with sincere sorrow, and
was hardly conscious of what would be her
next step when she received an offer of an
i ON OF he I,,xorl ali