Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-06-26
Comedyyof the Lieutenant
and His Double

Special Correspondence Of The Star.
BERLIN, June 10. 1910.
ct Owe is a kind Of warfare
"Militiae species amor est
sang Ovid. whose reputation as
an expert in certain matters remains SUI
preme. If Ovid survives in Avernus he
muet regard. the German law courts with
gratitude, for this week they brought
overwhelming corroboration of his i'm
mortal maxim.
The protagonists In this drama OF JUS
tice are both men. Herr Lieutenant Pla-
ton Won Groeschel is a stalwart. blue
eyed, yellow haired. clean-limbed soldier.
with an eagle nose. who might have in
spired the panegyric of Tacitus on Teuton
also stalwart blue-eyed, yelow-haired,
clean-limbed and eagle-nosed, but he Diff
fers from Herr Lieutenant in being a
tradesman. and his virtues are valued by
impartial justice at S. and $50. Until a
couple of weeks ago Herr Joel never
guessed that there was cavalry ofhcer
living mile away, who. In face and
stature, was like him as are two drops
of rain. The discovery was agreeably
made As he was walking down Inter
den Linden, thinking innocently of Hal
ley'S comet or the Munich beer war. a
tiny, well gloved hand caressingly patted
his coat sleeve, and coquettish treble
trilled melodiously in his ear:
Herr Lieutenant Won Groeschel!''
Herr Joel turned, and saw at once that
here was grievous mistake. Beside
him, evidently having just descended
from her smart victoria, stood a pretty.
slimmish and bright-eyed lady of twenty
The bright-eyed lady beamed. Evidently
she had somewhere met a yellow-haired
soldier at ball, and was delighted to
meet him again And she repeated still
more coquettishly:
Zach, Herr Lieutenant Won Groeschel!"
Herr .Joefs only connection with the
army Is that his cousin sells it boots. He
vacillated. Honesty babe him explain
the mistake; but when his eyes took in
the ladys kindly smile, her trim figure
and becoming chantecler hat. honesty
went overheard. He fell irredeemably
from grace. Resolving to be a lieutenant
for once in his life, he squared up his
shoulders. and waited till the lady gave
him a clue.
There was no need for explanations.
Before he could utter a word the bright
eyed lady reproached him roguishly for
not coming to tea, asked after the health
of his aunt, and said that his appearance
was admirable in civilian dress. And the
sham lieutenant, completely hypnotized
by the bright eyes, Stammered clumsy
compliments, declared that his aunt was
in excellent health and that he would
come to tea without fail.
Two days later Herr Joel, thoroughly
at home in the role of Guardsman Won
Groeschel, sat in the pretty lady's salon
and drank out of shell-like cups her odor-
Gus tea. The lady, her mother. the count
ess. and other pretty visitors who drop
ped in, were charmed. They smiled Sc
ductively at the good-looking warrior,
agreed that civilian dress. indeed. became
him, and paid him compliments:
Your walk shows that you're no in
fantryman. Herr Lieutenant. It's a bit
ungraceful, but manly!''
Within a fortnight, Herr Leon-Joel-von-
GroeSchel was Indispensable at tea par
list spread. He discussed with equal pro-
fundity the weather and Moltke's
strategy, and when asked about his COM
rades in the Sd Cavalry Brigade, smiled
uncommittingly and slipped his tea. Ac-
quaintances grew and swiftly turned to
friendships He received gifts Of en-
broidered slippers. Charity bazaars in
voked his aid. And as his friends in
creased in numbers and beauty. he plung-
ed deeper and deeper into an abyss Of
lies-and love.
His descent was headlong The bright
eyed lady asked him to dinner. Others
did the same His fathers money-made
in honest groceries-erRbled him to re-
turn their hospitality. Smart little sup
pers were given in quiet restaurants.
AS becomes a soldier, Herr Lieutenant
proved model lover. He was gallant
but not too bold. He spoke simply and
eloquently Of what he should do on fu-
ture battlefields, and more than once at
away tears rose into gentle eyes.
Tho Onlv war was love Among Herr