There's a thin line between tragedy and farce, and
in 1888, it was crossed by two love-struck
teenagers with racing hearts but sluggish wits.
He was 17, she was four years younger. With the
itchy impatience of youth, they couldn't face the
wait to marry, and decided death would be
preferable.
Behind the custom house in Budapest they
embraced and kissed their goodbyes, then headed
for the Danube for the wretched last act in their
passionate tale. Steeling themselves to act, she
threw herself in and he pulled out a revolver.
But after plunging into the river, the girl
remembered she could swim. Just as she reached
the shore, her heartbroken lover turned the gun on
himself, pulled the trigger three times and
managed to miss with each shot.
A quarter of an hour later, the Tamworth Herald
reported, the hapless pair were handed over to
their (presumably thin-lipped) parents.
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