The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-08-20
THE STRINq OF PEARLS.
A ROMANCE OF THE STAGE.

l
| Paris boards. The visit made bv tn,
| Empress Elizabeth to the beaUtifu
castle of lake. Stalmberg, where the
newly married couple resided, became
! the talk of every green-room in Europe
It was reported in the cOuijSseS of the
theatres that her Austrian majesty was
the great promoter of the marriage, the
story commenced with her brothers
courtship being romantic enough tC
excite the strongest interest in her kind
womanly heart, and making it forgetful
| OF all distinction of rank. where an
equal share of love and delicacy had
been displayed by both the lovers.
Mademoiselle MeDdel, who had pre-
served her reputation unsullied amid all
the perils and temptations of theatrical
life, was considered the most lovely
woman iii Germany, and in her private
circle, as we'll as in her public lie, was
the admiration of all who had the pleas
ure of knowing her. Her beauty is of
the true German type, of the peculiar
fairness beheld in no other country
golden hair sRa s5fS silky masses, with
out the smallest tinge of anburn-pure
gold, unburnished ; q complexion deli
cate as the inner petals of the rose-paIp
pink, scarcely ever seen IN nature, and
almost impossible to produce by arti-
fetal means; lips of deep carnation
teeth small and exquisitely white, and
eyebrows of the darkest brown, with
eyes of the deepest blue.
All this made such an impression on
the heart of Duke Louis, that, from the
moment he first beheld her at the
Munich Theatre, he vowed himself to
the worship of this old idol. But Made
moiselle Mendel was valiant in defence
of her reputation, and, aware Of the
responsibility incurred by great talent.
esisted every overture, even that of
marriage, on the part of the duke, we'll
knowing, as she did, that it was entirely
ont of his power to contract any alliance
of the kind, as much was expected of
him by his family.
At that time, Mademoiselle Mendel
was in the habit of wearing a velvet
collar with a clasp, ornamented by a
single pearl of great value, which had
been presented to her by the king of
Saxony and in order to quell all hope
of success in the bosom of her royal
admirer, she declared to him one day
that she had made g VOW to bestow her
heart and hand on him alone who could
match this single pearl with as many
Others as would form the whole neck
lace. The declaration was made laugh
ingly, for the fair creature knew well
enough that the duke, living fully up to
the whole of his income, which was but
mediocre for his rank, could never ac-
complish this herculeGn task and she
laughed more nerrily still when she
beheld the expression of his counte-
nance at the announcement she had
made. But soon afterward she heard
that the duke had sold his horses and
broken up his establishment, and had
gone to live in the strictest retirement
in quite a small cottage belonging to
his brothers park.
That very night, when about to place
the velvet band upon her neck, she
found to her great surprise, that a sec
ond pearl had been added to the clasp.
She knew well enough whence it came,
and smiled sadly at the loss Of labor she
felt sure that Duke Louis was incurring
for loves sake. By degrees the velvet
band became covered with pearls, all of
them as fine as the one bestowed by the
king of Saxony, until one evening great
was the rumor in Augsbourgh. The
fair Mendel had been robbed while on
the stage, diveSted of all ornament in
the prison scene, as Bettina Won Arm
stedt, her dressing-Toom had been en-
tered, and the velvet band, with its row
of priceless pearls, had disappeared
fl ON the toilet table. The event was so
terrible, and her nerves were so shaken,
that in spite of the assurance of the
chief police magistrate, who happened
to be in the theatre at the moment, that
be was sure to find the thief in very
short time, for he had the clue already,
poor MademoiselIe Mendel vas so over
come by grief that her memory failed
her entirely, so that returning to the
stage not word could she remember of
her part.
The audience waited some time in
at the silence maintained
by their favorite actress; the actress
gazed at the audience in piteous en-
barrassment, until, by a sudden in
spiration, and almost mechanically, in
deed, she remembered that she had tie
rehearsal copy of the play in the pocket
of the apron of her costume. She drew
it forth without hesitation, and began to
read from it with the greatest Self-pos-
ence knew not whether to laugh or be
angry but presently memory, pathos,
of all but ker art, returned
to her, and, III the utterance of one of
the most impassioned sentiments of her
speech, she flung the rehearsal copy
into the orchestra, and went on with her
part without pause or hesitation until
the conclusion of the piece, the prompt
er's aid even not being once required.
The applause was so tremendous on
her recovering her memory, that the
great monster chandelier in the centre
of the roof swang to and fro with vibra-
ton. But on her return to her dress
ing-room the excitement proved too
much, and she tainted away, On com
ing back to consci iousness it was to find
DRke Louis at her feet, and the chief
officer of police standing at her side,
bidding her take courage, for the pre-
cious pearls had been found.
"Where are they?" she exclaimed.
&C Are you sure that noue are missing ?
Have none been stolen ?"
Duke Louis then clasped around her
neck the string of pearls, complete at
last, no longer sewn on the velvet band,
but strung with symmetry and fastened
with a diamond clasp. What more |
could be done by the devoted lover |
He had spared neither pains nor sacri-
fee to attain his end, and Mademoiselle
Mendel consented to become his wife.
The empress of Austria appears to have
been so much moved by the story, that
she suggested the nomination of the
bride elect to the title of Baronesse de |
which thus equalized the
rank OF the lovers, and enabled to marry
without any difficulty. They live the
most happy and retired life possible in
their pretty little chateau on Lake
where the empress of Austria
lately visited them.
They say the Duchess Louise OF
Bavaria never puts off, night or day, the
of pearls, the clasp of which
she had riveted the morning after it's
presentation by the duke, and that in
of this peculiarity she is
known all through the country round by
the name of the Fairy Perlina, from
the old German tale of the Magic Pearl.
Curing Headache with a Six-DenDy
Nail.
A strange and remarkable case was
brOupht under the attention of DIR Tate