The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1870-01-15
CHAPTER V.
THE FREaHTFUL CATASTROPHE.

The trial was at hand. Ali the
r- { Lords and barons of Branden-
81 : we're assembled in the Hall of
Justice IN the ducal palace. No
space was left unoccupied where there
was room for q spectator to stand or
cit. Conrad, clad in purple and err
mine, sat in the Premier's chair, and
on either side sat the great judges of
the realm. The old Duke had sternly
commanded that ;he trial of his
daughter should proceed, without
favor, and then had taken to his bed
broken hearted. His days were
numbered. Poor Conrad had begged
~ for his very life, that he might be
spared the misery of sitting in judg-
ment upon his cousins crime, but 1t
did not avail.
The saddest heart in all that great
as~semblage was in COnrad's breast.
The gladdest was in his fathers.
For unknown to his daughter Con
rad" the old Baron Klugenstein was
come, and was among the crowd of
mobiles. triumphant in the swelling
for -unes of his house.
proclamation and the other prelimi-
naries had followed. the venerable
Lord Chief Justice said:
Prisoner, stand FORTH"
The unhappy princess arose and
stood unveiled before the vast multi
tude. The Lord Chief Justice con-
tinued:
Most noble lady, before the great
JUDGES of this realm it hath been
charged and proven that out of holy
wedlock your grace hath given birth
mite a child, and by u ancient law
a penalty is death, excepting in one
.e contingency, whereof his grace.
tIe acting Duke, our good Lord Con-
Isd, will advertise you In his solemn
sentence now-wherefore, give heed
Conrad stretched forth the reluct-
~ant-sseDtre and In the self-same mo-
ment the Womanly heart beneath his
robe yearned pityingly toward the
doomed prisoner. and the tears came
into his eyes. He opened his lips to
sneak, but the Lord Chief Justice
said quickly:
Not there. your Grace, not tberel
ID is not lawful to pronounce judg-
ment upon any Of the ducal line saw
from the ducal thronel'
q shudder went to the heart of
peor Conrad, and a tremor shook the
IRON frame of his old father likewise.
Conrad had not been crowned-dared
he prolane the throne? He hesitated
and turned pale with fear. But it
must be done. Wondering eyes were
already upon him. They would be sus-
pici0us eyes if he hesitated longer.
lie assembled the throne. Presently
he stretched forth the sceptre again,
and said:
Prisoner, in the name of our SOW
ereign lord, Ulrich, Duke of Bran
denburg, / proceed to the solemn
duty that hath deVolved upon me
Give heed to my words. By the an
cient law of the land, except you pro.
duee the partner Of your guilt and
deliver him up to the eXecutIOner
you must surely diel Embrace this
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES yourself while ye'
yOu may. Name the father Of your
childl"
A solemn hush fell upon the grea
court-a silence so profound that meI
could hear their own hearts beat
Then the princess slowly turned, with
eyes cleaning with hate, and pointing
her finger straight at Conrad, said:
Thou art the mani
An appalling conviction Of his help
less, hopeless peril, struck a chill to
Conrad's heart like the chill Of deatf
itself. What power on earth could
save bim2 To disprove the charge, hi
must reveal that he was a woman
and for an uncrOwned woman to 81
In The ducal chair, was death! A
one and the same moment, he and hi
grim old father swoOned and fell t
fThe remainder Of this thrillin
aud eyentful story will NOT be foun
Id the Weekly Buffalo Erpress, not
Outstanding the tact that the pape
an be had of all thoroughly respect
able n~cgsdealers, at the low price Q
ane dollar and a half a year.l
The truth is, l have got my hero Ia
heroine) into such 4 particularly clos
place that j do not sec how L am eve
going to get him Cor her) out of
fgain-and therefore l will wash n
hands of the whole business and leav
that person to get out the best wa
ahat offers - or else stay there.
thought it was going to be ca:
enough to straighten out that lit
difficulty, but it looks different nov
IF Rarper's Weekly or the Ne
York Tribune desire 20 copy the'
initial chapters into the reading co
umns Of their valuable journals. iul
as they do the opening chapters
Ls3ger and Ne10 York Weekly novel
-ey are at liberty to do so at IL
usual rates, provided they " trust.
MARK TWAIN.