OLD BAILEY ROMANCE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 312, 27 May 1911, Page 10

OLD BAILEY ROMANCE.

'i'ALli OF i'lii.Ji uKh. A laie tuld iu Hit: (Jid llaucy recently coiuaiiied all me cichiciiis oi louiaiiti: (writes lUe London curivsjjuiideui ui ilie Wellington Postj. There lovelorn heiress, a, stem mule, lier up, a devoted opera .singer, an l&peiiieui, a secret marriage, and a iiuppj|ciidiug. liie heiress wan Alurilia uiy opera singer was Max Salzingeifjier husband, wlio was accused ui giving in;, wile's age as uventy-iwo wheu tliej were married at Munchesler, wUereus sue was not yet eighteen. Mrs. ftaumger, uu e.v treiiiciy piouy gin, dressed m black, sat ai me soiicHors table. Mr. Campbell, who prosecuted, said'the deieuduul was au Austrian subject ailu an opera singer, and the girl, a German, was a ward of court, ami wlua she attained full age woulu have a lonuiie of some 80,001) marks (£4000). Down to February of this year slie lived with tier • uncle and aunt, the former being licr guardian. In November she left to join the defendant, and they were followed, it being specially brougnt io the defend- ' ant's notice that she was only seventeen years of age. lier uncle tuoii her bucK and the proceedings which had been taken were dropped. In February she again left her 1 uncle's house in Germany, and came to this country in order that sue might get married without the consent of ner guardian, oil February 27ih tuey were in Manchester, and with the assistance of an interpreter named Goldstein they were married at the registry olliee, the age of the gill being given an twentytwo. Mr. Leycestcr, for the defence, argued thai it was not a case for punishment. Salzinger, he said, was an opera singer at Baden, where the young womua lived, fie had a three years' contract at au opera, under which he was making an income of between X3OO and Ji'-kK) a year. That contract he had given up lor the purpose of marrying this girl, and for die time being he Uad ruined his career iu his native country. The girl lost her parents when thirteen years of age, and was placed under the guardianship of her innkeeper at ' Baden.; During the first few months she was there her uncle made lier serve iu the public bar of the house and do a great part of the household work, though "he was drawing au income from her estate out of which he was entitled to keep £4O a year for himself. Counsel explained there were two guardians in Germany.—one a judicial and the other the acting guardian, and the uncle wag the acting guardian. As a matter of ■ fact, the girl was acting us a domeslie servant, but her uncle always told her that he was keeping her out of charity. While at a hoarding school she learned from the head-niistiiss that she had .property of her own, ami on her return she refused to seive any more in the public-House, though she continued to work to some extent iu the house. In September last she met the prisoner. They soon appeared to have fallen in love with each other, and made application to the judicial guardian for leave to get married. But it appeared there was a man—a clerk —in the judicial guuruian's court who had been paying the young woman attention, and as soon as he heard of this application he informed . her uncle. In these circumstances the girl ran away from her home to her lover, and he, as au honorable man, took her to the house of a friend for refuge. She was taken away by the police at the instance of her uncle, who was so abusive that he frightened her into withdrawing her application to the court for leave to be married, fcihe became more or less a prisoner in the house, and her boots and walking clothes were taken away; but from time to time the lovers met by stealth, and she implored him to marry her. Otherwise, she said, she would commit suicide. In these circumstances he did what any man of human feelings would do. He threw up his operatic engagement and sacrificed his career, and they ran away. Unfortunately for him, there seemed to exist a .practice of persuading foreigners that it was easy to marry in England, and he seemed to have come across some circular to that effect. They came here to be married, and they had not the slightest idea they would be committing a crimiual offence. The recorder told the defendant he had' committed a serious offence against the laws of this country, but there were special circumstances which would justify him in taking an exceptional course, lie would be hound over in the sum of C.iO to come up for judgment if called upon.