German Count and Actress.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 12 February 1913, Page 4

German Count and Actress.

Count Albrecht of Hohouau, a grandson of the morgantic marriage of a brother of Emperor William J. ■with a daughter of General von Ranch, was last month a Avitness in ai charge of forgery, hoard' in tho criminal courts of Berlin. Defendant was a women named Marie Esperadt, originally a dancer by profession, with whom ho had long been on terms of intimacy, which were in tempted by the project of his relatives to marry him to a lady of good family ,'ind wealth. The offence lai.l to her charge Avas that of having counterfeited his signature to a bill for £1500. and she pleaded in her defence that she had done this under general permission Avhich shehad received from him to make use of his name in such .a way if she ever found herself in dire financial straits. As Avitness. the Count said Tie had been exceedingly fond of the accused, wild had had meetings with her in Paris and Titaly on several occasions since his engagement. It was true that he had told her that he "would never leave her lying on the streets." hut at tho same timo ho h.ad made it quite clear to her that had not large sums of money at his disposal, and that he would'hnve to help her out of his monthly altoAvance. He had never given accused permission to issue bills in his name. Count Hoheuau further took tho a importunity of stating tbnt there was no truth in the report that he had married a Russian Countess with a fortune of thirty or forty million marks. If he had been jjossesßed of this sum, he added, he would not have hesitated to giA'e accused tAvo or three millions. Accused was found guilty, and sentenced to nine months' imprisonment.