The herald., 1898-12-26
cent of the entire fortune Of the future
wife,
HOW THE THING rs DONE

The acquaintance of such agents is easily
made. Some good friend introduces the
candidate to the agent, who is generally a
woman. The start is the borrowing Of
money through the agent, when the can
didate has pressing debts. which he has in
creased very often through gambling. Then
the agent proposes to him to marry and
names directly such and such a lady. The
story of the agent is always the same. The
officer is assured that this certain lady has
given orders to provide her, under the
strictest discretion, with fitting husband
out of the members of the first society.
She has so many millions cash (the agent
does not trouble himself much about stat
ing the real sum-, and the lady demands
only that the introduction be made in the
strictest secrecy.
In this very difficult position the candi-
date has to agree, by signing paper, to
pay per cent of the fortune of his future
fancee, generally on the day after his we'd
ding. After signing this paper, the candi-
date waits, full of hope. The principal
part Of the work of the agent is to get the
candidate introduced and to provide him
with money. If the family of the future
fiancee is living in the city where the Off
Ger is garrisoned, the introduction is very
simple, especially if the family moves 1T
tie in society. Then the officer has only to
put his helmet on, according to German
fashion, and leaves his card with the certain
family, in order to get an invitation. He
has to look out for the rest himself.
But if the lady does not live in the same
town, the thing is much harder, because
there is not only the question about getting
furlough, but in this case the money ques-
tion is of Importance, too. If it is intended,
for instance, that the introduction is to
take. place at some watering place, the
officer will say, with greatest pleasure,
my dear, but unluckily 1 have not the
money to go there and to stay"
GETTING IN THE CLUTCHES
"Don't trouble about that, baron," is
the answer he gets, and in trice the son Of
Mars, after signing note for $1,000, re-
ceives perhaps $500 in cash, and for $500 some
kind of merchandise, for which he never has
the least use. when you are married and
pay me, certainly shall take the amount
from the money due to me as my agreed re-
ward, so that You don't lose anything by it..
You don't believe me? (The unfortunate
candidate has not uttered'a word) Such
ingratitude! I am lady, but shall give
you q receipt" And straightway the can
didate has paper in his hands, which is of
no value at all to him.
A great number of the marriage agents in
Berlin live only by money gained in such
way, and are only pretending to be agents
for marriages. know of one case where
one of the richest heiresses in Germany was
engaged to be married to an officer in Ber-
lin by the help of Mrs. Won Lepel. If they
had married Mrs. Von' Lepel would have
received $l25,000 She needed money, and
borrowed it on promissory note signed by
the officer, which was not to be circulated
before the wedding had taken place. The
thing became known, and the engagement
was broken off.
If the candidate would be satisfied to en-
ploy only one of these agents, thirty to forty
engagements out Of one hundred might end
before the altar where ten is the limit under
general conditions. But sometimes the
candidate thinks the time too long. He
goes to second, perhaps to a third, one.
He naturally has to sign paper for each of
them, and never sees those papers again,
and now hel is at the mercy of those people
for the rest Of hisi life. If he gives the af-
fair into the hands of an attorney general
the whole business becomes public, and he
has to resign from the army. If he pays
those extorters he never can get rid of them,
because in after years they will come with
new demands.
THE ALTERNATIVES
There are only two possibilities left to
hin-either to confess everything to his
future father-in-law, which would result
most proabbly in a breaking off Of the en-
gagement, or to give the affair into the
hands of an attorney general, which would
mean being dishonorably discharged from
the army. know captain of the cavalry
who, when quite young lieutenant, signed
two such papers. About twenty years
passed, and he never even thought about
the documents. Then he became engaged
to be married. This was a love match
One day he received letters from both agents
reminding him Of the papers he had signed
years before. Had he not been an officer
he would have denounced those two ex-
torters. Being an officer he had to pay
| high amounts to get the papers, and was
glad in the end that nothing worse had hap
pened.-New York Herald.
The Value Of Good Taste
There is a young woman 'suggester" r
Washington, who, while she does no actua