Fhe Omaha Sunday Bee Magazin
ePage
Copyright, 1912, by American-Examiner. Great Britain Righti Reserved.
THE LOVE RIDDLE
TIT DROVE III
TO DEATH
'lie gazed into three pairs of beautiful eyes! The
imp of indicision in his brain developed into a monster I
How was it possible for him to decide? Each seemed to
him more beautiful than the other! And so he shot
himself !"
Vienna. Aug. 11.
THE suicide of the handsome, , the
rich, the noble Lieutenant Adolph
X
to
von Hoffschneider has ceased
be an enigma. The mystery that puz
rled smart society In Vienna and Paris is
no longer a mystery. It is solved by
friends of the three beautiful originals
of the three photographs which stood' on
the mantelpiece In the sitting room of the
unfortunate young army, officer, before
which he was standing as developed at
the Coroner's Inquest when he blew out
his brains.
Those " thre8 photographs , are repro
duced on this pagethey serve to illum
inate the story which accompanies them.
The originals are: Mile. Renouardt, one
of the chief beauties of the European
stage; Mile. ' Lorraine, another ' Paris
stage beauty of hardly less celebrity;
Countess Irma Potacka, the charming
member of an old Polish family whose
beauty has only recently brought itself to
the notice of Vienna society.
Lieutenant Hoffschneider was one of the
very first of the eligible bachelors in the
Vienna army set to fall before the fascina
tions of the little Countess. This was
nearly a year ago, before he had met either
Renouardt or Mile, Lorraine. She was
in every way suited to the position in
which the Lieutenant was able to place a
wife. If she had yielded promptly to bis
wooing there would have been no suicide
and no story. ' , ' t
"Oomtesse, ' he pleaded, "have tne com-
mon humanity to end this suspense. Can't
you see that it is killing me by inches?" , t
. "Ha, ha," she laughed. "For a dying man ,
you look very healthy and so fine, so f
handsome, so bravel" )
He could not see that the vivacious little
woman loved him, was merely prolonging
the delight of keeping him in ignorance of
the thoroughness of his conquest. He im
agined that she was laughing at him, and
demanded, almost roughly:
"Will you marry me? It is the third
time that I have placed my heart, my for
tune at your feet I crave your answer."
Lovingly, but impishly, she made a little
avv w mavm mv ww b vvr vu
the Impishnessy Before she could utter a
word, the foolish young man had rushed
angrily from the room, from the house. On
the following day, believing himself to be
a deeply Injured person, he was off to
Paris, swearing to forget perfidious Polish
' beauties In whirl of gayety that would
astonish even the Parisians.
His very first evening of mild amuse
ment led him to the theatre, where Re
nouardt was playing. Ah, here was some
one who could make him forget the little
dark sirens of Poland! He got himself
presented to the actress. He showed his
metaL Who were small fry Trench noble
men to stand In the way of the head of the
ancient and most noble house of the von
Hoffschneiders! He erbowed them out of
the presence of Renouardt. He even
challenged the perogative of an exiled
Russian Prince and got away with it.
Renouardt found herself amuBed by
the fiery young Austrian. Besides, he had
the price of many little Jewelled trinkets
which she had long desired to add to her
collection of such trophies. She did not
even mind the impetuousness of the Lieu
tenant's love-making so .unlike the un
ceremonious French way. Also, It was so
refreshing, his desire to maka hnr hi
wife! -v "
"Mile. Renouardt," he would say several
- times every night, after the play, "you say
that you like me. Is it not possible for you
to love me enough to marry me? Other
wise I feel that I am not long for this
world." .
For a week or so Renouardt would
young officer was serious.
"But look how foolish," she would say.
"Foolish foolish to become the wife of
Lieutenant Adolph von Hoffschneider"
and there the youth would choke with in
dignation. "Oh, no, no, no but no, no! You do not
understand. I mean how foolish to marry
one man who will drive away all the
' others. If I give myself to one man, the
others are hopeless; if I give myself to no
body,' then every man who loves me still
has hope and when they hope, -they can
be so thoughtful, so nice!"
"But I love you," at length the Lieuten
ant ma with finality. "Love like that is
more than all else In the world. Madam
olselle, is it not possible for you to love
me enough to marry met" ,
Understanding now that he 'was-absolutely
serious, and would make her undis
puted mistress of his life, of his estates, !n
short, his wife, she confessed that
he wns very dear to her well, she
would consider the matter. In the
meantime, he must not for one In
stant, cease to hope! In the mean-
ttmo Mile. Renouardt had to go
away, for a week to visit friends In
the- south of France,
For twenty-four hours the Lieutenant
was disconsolate. Then he chanced to meet
Mile. Lorraine. It was a supper party, and
the surroundings and the atmospliera were
conducive to rapid acquaintance. There
was something about Mile. Lorraine that
touched a chord in the young officers
bosom which had failed to vlbrats In Ihe
presence of Renouardt Just as Renou
ardt had given him palpitations which
he had never experienced when gazing into
the melting orbs of the Countess Irma Po
tacka. Charmed with this fresh experience of the
possibilities of love's uncharted emotions,
is It any wonder that the little Countess
Irma and Renouardt wens, for the mo
. ment, swept from the consciousness of the
impressionable Lieutenant? It was not
three days after the date of that little
upper, 'that the young officer found him
self xn his knees at the feet of Mile. Lor
raj'.ie, imploring her:
"Mile. Lorraine, most beautiful, most en
chanting of your sex, behold me at your
feet. Unless you bid me rise to the levI
5w
Mil. Renouardt, the
Fascinating Young
Pari Actrei No. 2
of Lieut, von Hoff
tchneider'i Fateful
Love-Trinity.
for me
l desert
Mile. Lorraine, the Parts
Stage Beauty and Third
of the Fatally Charm
ing Trio.
of your heart, life
henceforth will be
waste."
"Oh, Monsieur-'" exclaimed
the actress who had liked the
Impetuous youth immensely
from the start, and knew all
about his rank and his fortune.
"Oh, Monsieur, quel honneurt
I I am overwhelm,. You must '
rise from your knees Immedi
ately." "To the level or your heart? Do you like
and esteem me it is yet too soon to expect
you to acknowledge love well enough to
become my promised wife?"
Mll. Lorraine was deeply touched. She
admitted it "Give me three days for to
consider," she said. But she said it in
tones, accompanied by the softest glances
from her lovely eyes, that satisfied Lieu
tenant von Hoffschneider he need not wor
ry during the next three days. She gave
him a fine, large photograph of herself
almost the mate to the one which he had
J M JWl I I, Wl TSk " I '
The Countess Irma Potacka, Who Was the Begin
ning of the Austrian Army Officer's
Y
received from Mile. Renouardt.
Back In his apartment at the hotel the
Lieutenant placed the two photographs
side by side. In the smiling faces of both
he read the same promise the promise to
make him. soon, unutterably happy. And
right there and then was born in his brain
that imp of indecision which was to become
the master of his destiny. How would it
be' possible to choose between two such
types of incredible loveliness?
Coincident with the birth of thlB dis
quieting thought, entered a hotel servant
with a letter bearing the Vienna postmark,
and the superscription in the familiar hand
writing of the brother officer who was his
closest friend and confiant. He tore open
the envelope and read:
"Lleber Adolph You were wrong to run .
away to Paris as I told you at the time.
The little Potacka is inconsolable. She
locks herself In her room, refusing to see
any one. My man has it from sher maid
that she sits all day looking at the photo
graph you gave her, and sighing in the
most pttepuanner.
Fatal Love-Enigma.
"Lieber Adolph, must I say it? But it is
true, and I say it for your own good to
sting you into action." Lieber Adolph, du
bist eln dummkopf ! Come home at once
to your languishing little Potacka."
The Countess Irma loves me. Her heart
Is mine! Fool, fool that I am, to be shilly
shallying here In Paris!" And, summoning
his valet, the Lieutenant packed up in such
haste, in such feverish eagerness to throw
himself again at the feet of the Countess
Irma, that the midnight train started him
whirling toward Vienna.
The Lieutenant reached Vienna without
accident Being in the ordinary details of
life, an orderly person, he drove directly to
his apartment to unpack, to attend to press-'
ing business affairs, and to plan the details
of his appropriate re-entree Into Vienna
society. Considering the circumstances of
his departure for Paris, he could be guilty
of nothing so gauche as rushing unan
nounced to the Countess Potacka.
14 this case it was the fatal mistake of a
super-fashionable young man. Because of
that aiistake tie Countess Irma. never
Charmed
Equally by
Three Famous
Beauties, Each
Ready to Be
His Bride-Un-able
to Choose
Between Them,
and Crazed by
Indecision, the
Lieutenant Had
to Blow Out
His Brains
again saw Lieutenant von Hoffschneider
among the living. He was not seen that
evening by any of his friends. After un
packing his trunks and rearranging his
wardrobe, his valet was dismissed for the
night.
Next morning the Lieutenant's lifeless
body was discovered lying full length on
the Persian rug before the mantel in his
sitting room. Near it had fallen the re
volver with which i he had blown out his
brains. As mentioned at the beginning of
this account, the 1 photographs of the
Countess Irma, of Mile. Renouardt, and of
Mile. Lorraine, stood side by side on the
mantlepiece.
A quantity of cigarette ash littered the
mantelpiece, and was trodden into the Per
sian rug. The Lieutenant was an inveter
ate smoker of cigarettes. It was plain, by
these signs, how he had spent the evenisg,
after unpacking and restoring to the man
telpiece his photograph of the Countess Ir
ma, now flanked by those of Renouardt and
Mile. Lorraine the three most beautiful
women in the world, each of whom he
loved to the point of madness and each
ready to become his wife!
As he gazed into the three pairs of pic
tured eyes smoking furiously and drop
ping cigarette ash. on the mantel the imp
of indecision in! his brain developed into a
monster. How was it possible for him to
decide? He loved them all equally, each
was ready to give herself to him. How
could he renouce the other two? He paced
backward and forward, treading cigarette
ash into the Persian rug.
When the Lieutenant realized fully that
a decision was Impossible, the one possible
solution of his difficulty occurred to him.
His revolver was handy, and he did not
hesitate to use it.
For some reason best known to them
selves, the relatives of the unfortunate
young man have not favored the publica
tion In Vienna newspapers of the above
details of the cause of the suicide. The
official explanation, "while temporarily
deranged," has sufficed. '
The Counteas Potacka left Vienna Im
mediately, going to her country estate la
the neighborhood of Warsaw, where she
denies herself to, all visitors. It is whis
pered in Vienna society that she is
broken-hearted but that her pride will
eventually come to her rescue, for she is
one of those who cannot deny the evi
dences furnished by the suicide chamber
that either one of two famous Paris
actresses might have become her success
ful rival. And that is a reflection which
would hardly permit a spirited Polish
noblewoman to .languish very long.
There is no doubt that Mile. Renouardt
arid the charming Lorraine were sincerely
shocked by the news of the tragedy
though they have since endeavored to
create the impression that they never seri
ously considered the impetuous matri
monial propositions of the young officer.
They are consistent in this; otherwise
they would naturally resent his uncere
monious departure without waiting to
learn their decisions.
Students of psychology, both in Paris
and Vienna, who have the outline of the
story as told here, agree that any per
fectly sane young man of the tempera
ment of Lieutenant Hoffschneider, in
similar circumstances, would logically be
expected to solve his problem in the same
tragic manner. A prominent biologist, in
this connection, is quoted as observing a
: fresh and emphatic suggestion of modern
physical decadence among the leisured
class, due to the exaggerated importance
"given nowadays to the subtleties of the
tender passion. Over-trained minds and
nerves sap the physical bulwarks pos
sessed by savages and by those who lead
the simple life, and leave sensitive organ
izations open to just such tragic episodes
as ended the career of Lieutenant von
Hoffschneider.