The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1902-10-04

curt, unsympathetic little dispatch
from Vienna gave the final chapter 70
It few days ago, but left, the, rest of
the story untold. Through a friend ia
vienna; l have now obtained 1t in fill,
with all its details verified, and with pho
= tographs that lend additional interest to.
the remarkable narrative. Is
The Baroness Maria Baldwin, the hero-
fne of this romance of real life belonged
TO an ancient family OF the Bavarian no.
blity, and. as an only daughter, was
IRON her earliest childhood accustomed
to have her every w:lim humored by her
doting parents. Her infancy and girlhood
were spent principally at the old feudal
castle near Hohenst aufen, ON the borders
of Bavaria and Bohemia, which had teen
the seat of the Baldwin family for three
centuries past. -..'s. p -e.~t A.. u Is. .,
At the age of IS. when she was intro
duced into the society Of the Bavarian
fa g TAFT at WITS ib she tan a d
a girl who has been born and bred in a
quiet country nook She was the ac-
knoWledged beauty of the season. and
wherever nnaI r,, she appeared at the balls and
rounded by an admiring throng Of young
officers in the dazzling uniforms CT the
smartest cavalry regiments and loble-
men whose rent rolls rendered them the
choicest parts of the country. z s.rs
The Baroness showed no signs Of being
spoiled by the social honors showered on
her, and her unassuming manners and
extreme modesty gained her the respect
as well as the admiration of the gay
circles in which she moved. But though
there were so many suitors for her hand,
her parents were in no hurry to see her
matrimonially settled. 4 : ~. A. O..
Her Strange~Infatuati - .-G..
It was about three years ago. Just a
year after her entry into society, that the
barOness's parents took her to circus
performance, where she saw a remarkably
with him at first sight, fascinated partly
by his undeniable grace and shapelness,
partly by his physical strength and agility
md Cv~ttx
which he went through performances in
volving a grave risk of life or limb at eV
cry movement made.
He was rather a handsome fellow, but
coarse looking and dissipated. Strange as
it may seem, the girl of high birth, good
breeding and exceptional refinement, went
SO far in her love sickness as to write to
the circus rider, telling him of her admi-
ration for him and her desire to make the
acquaintance of such brave man. ZigOra,
though used to the admiration of women
of his own class. was naturally fiattered
at the receipt of a love letter couched In
these enthusiastic terms from a baroness,
A maid in the employ Of the baroness and
in receipt of heavy brides from her, acted
as go-between. and soon meeting was
arranged between the lovelorn aristocrat
and the circus rider, who calculated that
blackmail or some kind of profit could be
made out of the affair." apart from the
pleasure that he derived from it. ~
The baroness, who had never been par
ticularly devout. now became a regular
attendant at Roman Catholic church at
some distance from her fathers residence
at Munich, where, she said, she liked best
of all to go through her devotions because
of the unusual stiffness and solemnity
met lZigora day after, day and allowed
him to make love to her in a quiet corner
of the sacred edifice, while her maid kept
watch in the vicinity.
Zigora's lack of breeding, his coarse
manners, familiar way of speaking, and,
for persons of normal Judgment, abso-
lutely repulsive, characterlst1cs, were
overlooked by the infatuated baroness,
who became more and more deeply IN love
with the fellow each time she met him.
Adsag Oh for fs
suaded the baroness to Visit MIN III ais
own apartment. ~
A Victimized Count.
TT was at this stage of the affair that
the lady's maid, alarmed at the situation,
caused information Of the sirls lntatua,
ton for the circus rider to be convsyed
out how far things had gone. The horrl-
fed parents at once placed their daugh57
ter Under the strictest SUPERVISION, ana
determined to marry her as soon as pos
sible, before the story of her love Tor tne
circus rider leaked out and destroyed her
reputation in society. ., -: :, :
Baroness Maria's hand was Count Stet-
tinhausen, nobleman of ancient lineage
and great wealth, who was the owner OF
over 1000 acres of land He - was not not
particularly young or good looking, put
these were minor considerations for the
practical parents. who thenceforth dld
their utmost to bring about a match pc
tween the count and their daughter. aIhe
girl was obstinate, and the parents were
forced to resort to al sorts OF medn loas
was tried. and then harshness: and once
she was placed in solitary confinement IN
the turret of the ancestral CASTE Whe ERE
a fortnight.
The contest between parents and child
went on for a month, by which time the
girls consent to a marriage with Count
Stettinhausen was obtained, and the prep,
arations were hurriedly pushed forward. Z
After her apparent submission the par,
oness was not supervised SO closely, and
she found means to communicate with
Zigora again, her infatuation having been
through on account of her love for him..
Flight, however, was impossible, and so
the wedding day arrived and the marriage
ceremony was gone through in the pres,
cnee of a distinguished company. AT noon
fast had been eaten and the bride and
the honeymoon All a quiet spot not far
from Munich. where they arrived early
in the afternoon.
A few hours later the countess of half
a days standing fled from her: husbands
house and took the train back to Mt
Mich. Here she went straight to Zigora's
apartment. told him that she had run
i
to take her over the frontier into Aus
tria. Zigora, seeing that she had over
$4,000 with her, and seeming chances of
blacknail and hush money from the hus-
band or relatives of the bride, readily
consented, and early the next norning
the guilty pair left Munich for Budapest,
which was Zigora's birthplace.
Count StettinhauSen informed his wife'S
parents Of the facts of the case, and
neither he nor they ever attempted to
ascertain what had become of her. She
was dead for them. and a month or Two
later Count stettinh ausen obtained a zd IL
y desertion. 5f }S5sS
AS long as the countess.s money lasted,
) Zigora and she lived together in Buda-
pest and spent It recklessly; They occu.
of everything. zigora, too. ran through
large ums in playing games of cards
which he did not in the least sunderstan
and engaging in specuiatiOns OF which he
was utterly ignorant. ans 81
Thei result was that in two months
time there was not a penny left, and
the couple were forced q to Jeaye their
rooms at the fashionable hotel They
took room In one Of the cheapest parts
of the city. The countess fully expected
that zigora, who could easily earn &.
hundred dollars week in his profession,
would at least provide for her nlainten-
ance. She was, howey err, soon snlight-s
ened as toathe futility of this hope. liz
CORA was already tired of her. and the
moment her money was gone. sheeeeaSeds
they removed from the hotel to the hum
Bile lodging he accepted a touring engage
ment and deserted her. She was utterly
daSfif11te being unable even tt, nav the