Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1877-04-05
RO3LANCE1N REAL LIFE.

ROMANCE1N REAL LIFE.
TRUTH STRANGER THAN FICTION.
While the most prosaic of people
are ready enough to concede in terms
that fact is often stranger than fiction,
some of the least exaggerative writer's
In the school of literature known by
the latter designation have hard work
to convince their readers that the
strangest portions of their nominally
fictitious narratives are founded upon
truths in real life. Yet the skilled
professional romancer, in basing his
story upon we'll attested realities, fire.
quently deems it prudent to make his
work q modification of the original
facts in order to escape charge Of ex'
travagance; so that some such syllog'
ism as the following might be justly
used to illustrate the old ad0ge: Fact is
the basis of all fiction; the seemingly
most extravaganza fiction is but a vers.
ion Of facts 80 artistically moderated
as to be less apparently strange than
its original; therefore fact differs chief
" from fiction in being merely the
stranger aspect of the same subject.
In the year 1929, some time after his
Bride of Lammermoor" had been
published, Sir Walter Scott thought 1t
necessary to prove in a new preface
that the tragical aud supposedly incred.
IDLE story Of the novel was rather un.
derwrought delineation of the life and
fate of the beautiful and unfortunate
Janet Dalrymple, whose sad history had
ample certifcatiOn in unquestiOnable
family records.
The maturest literary genius Of 1.-THE
Great Unknown was requisite to make
the softened fiction Of the Inflated
bride OF Lammermoor acceptable in
any relation of possibility, though the
real life and death of the hapless Janet
had been even stranger and more ter
rible; yet here we have coming
through the California papers of only
a few days ago, the facts in a personal
history more extraordinary and 70.
mantle in some particulars than either
SCOTS novel or its Dalrymple original.
A bride of Lammermoor has cOnsum.
mated the tragedy of her fate in our
Pacific metropolis, and from the sew.
eral sometimes conflicting reports of
the San Francisco journals may be
gathered a consecutive narrative to
the ensuing effect.
About twenty years ago a young
German nobleman, whose titieis given
as Count Won Apponig, living upon his
estates in East Prussia, some fifty miles
from Koningsberg, ''ranged' himself
as the French say, in marriage with
lady of his own degree, and thence
deemed it incumbent upon him to de.
strOy or remove all traces of earlier
sentimental episodes. Amongst the
the latter had been a youthful attach.
ment and clanuestine wedding to the
pretty daughter of his late fathers
steward. That union. resulting in a
son and then a daughter, had been so
carefully guarded in its legal integrity
from public recognition that the wife
and mother fairly died broken-hearted
under the reproaches of her family
rather than imperll her husbands sue
cession to the paternal estate by avow-
ing herself his lawful wife. And with
the death of this too loyal creature
passed away the Counts last compunc-
ton in the matter. At his fathers de-
mise he removed the steward, whose
name was JosephsoL; and while keep.
ing the two children within scope Of
his own surveillance, allowed it to be
supposed that their dead mother had
left them an inheritance of no lawful
name but that of their plebeian grand.
father.
The relative in question, who was,
OF course, the displaced steward, felt
helpless to do more in vindication of
his own wronged household than set
his nephew Carl, mere boy, to watch
the dlsowned babes of the Count, and
keep him informed of their disposal.
Too young to understand all the facts
in the case, yet instinctively compre-
hending that the nobleman was equally
to be distrusted by them and by him.
self, this Carl Josephson was tireless
in lowering about the remote cottage
where his departed cousins SON and
daughter had been immured for pres
ent private keeping. Such was the
situation when Won Apponig, as noted
above, entered publicly into a mar
riage equitable to his rank, aud be-
came anxious to be rid of all prior in.
cumbIances and claims upon his con.
science or his heart. Possessing neither
of these human qualifications in any
very generous development the Count
arrived at determination no less dar-
ing and heartless than that he would
deliberately carry forth the little
Frederick and Antonio into wild for
est bordering the most eastern line of
his estate, and there leave them to the
mercy of the beasts! This he actually
did with the girl the boy being for.
tunately absent from the cottage by
the connivance of the suspecting and
vigilant Carl Josephson when their
pitiless father called there to take
them, as he said, upon ga little excur.
sion" with him.
And the girl, Antonio, is the heroine
of the story now coming to US from
San Francisco. The Count, after tax.
ing her a journey by carriage, finally
placed her upon a saddle with him for
horseback.ride. and having galloped
with her deep into the appointed wood,
dropped her to the ground, and with.
out word rode away from her forev.
er. She was seven years old at that
time. and intelligent enough, when he1
first terror was over, to seek some es
cape from the darker and wilder part
OF the forest. Childlike fear of shad
ows and sensibility to light directed
her flying footsteps instinctively to-
ward the point where the trees were
fewer and 50 she presently emerged
upon an old bridle.path leading to the
Russian frontier, where she was prov
identially found, almost Immediately
by a travelling Jewish trader on his
way homeward across the border
The man belonged in Taunozen, and
after listening with amazement tc
the crying child's disjointed story took
her forward to Russia with him because
not knowing what else to do, humane
-