Interpreting the Style of Joseph De Grasse: Decoding The Rough Lover

Richard Bolton, a timid bookworm, is too shy to declare his love for the beautiful Helen. While she remains unimpressed, however, the Countess Wintershin pursues him relentlessly, to Richard's embarrassment and her jealous husband's dismay. On a seaside vacation, Richard is floating peacefully until the countess surprises him, whereupon he dives under water and does not come up. When the countess reports him drowned, Richard's Aunt Mary, a spiritualist, prepares to contact him through a séance. Meanwhile, Richard swims to an island where he meets fighter Spike O'Brien, who resembles him exactly. Spike is sent to fetch Richard's clothes and arrives just as Aunt Mary's ceremony reaches its climax. Possessed of a deep admiration for beautiful women, the pugilist first romances the countess, which so enrages the count that he challenges his rival to a duel, and then Helen, who, upon realizing that her overzealous lover is not Richard, begins to scream. In the end, the mix-up is straightened out, and Richard successfully defends Helen, who realizes that she prefers him to her rough lover.