Mower County transcript., 1871-07-13
which had entirely withdrawn him from


his surroundings.
Suddenly, rs if by mighty effort of his
will, he turned to his lair ncighhor, ard
whispered 50 as only TO be understood. lv
her
So shall leave Berlin to- .,orr,w,"
Tic paused abruptly az. lnn\sr,l at the
Princess KS if he was waiting for an AZ AZ
swcr which express".,l "a Sorrow aal rritr on
her part. But ..c Princess wus fullv M
pr""u as 'n' Grand Duke, and overcoming
inc ''"'. Int thUbbing of her heart, she
s"'u politely 10 him:
! We are very sorry to sec your Imperial
! ltlg''ncSs leave us 80 soon. Would it not
tav" been possible for you to defer your
dcpar'nrc?' ,
on Will all be very sorry ! muttercd
the Grand Duke, not entirely satisfied with
the vagucncss of sorrow which these
words Of the Princess implied "But you
in particular, madamcy" he added, after
some hesitation. "For it will depend on
you alone whether shall stay here or
depart"
"Ah!" replied Charlotte, with her sweet
est smile, land what have to do to keep
your Imperial llighness here!"
You must permit me to address my ad-
miration and homage to you"
Is IlldL 0lI
And you must encourage me to please
you.'
THAT is much more difficult" said the
Princess, with deep blush, but at the
same time her eyes beamed forth so much
affection and delight that the Prince could
see at a glance that his fondest hopes had
been realized beforehand.
"During my short stay in Berlin" the
Grand Duke continued in the same tone
of voice, II have taken pains to study
your character and your affections, and
this study has satisfied me that you would
render me very happy, while on the other
hand have some qualities which would
secure your own happiness"
The princess was overcome by emotion,
and in her confusion did not know what
to- answer. At last she sail. But here,
in the presence of the whole court, at
the public table, you put such question
to mc?"
"Oh," replied the Prince" you need not
make any verbal reply. 1t will be suth-
cient for you to give me some pledge of
your affection. see there on your hand
a small ring whose possession would make
me very happy. Give it to me-"
"WhAt do you think Of? Here In the
presence of a hundred spectators ?"
"Al, it Can be easily done without be-
! ing seen by anybody. Now we are chat
ting so quietly together that there is not
one among the guests suspects in the least
what We are speaking about. Press the
ring into morsel Of bread and leave it on
the table; 1 will take the talismAn, and
nobody will notice it"
This ring is really a talisman."
~ expected 50. May hope to hear its
history"
"Why not? My first govcrncss was Il
Swiss lady by the name of Wlldermatt
Once she went to Switzerland in order to
enter upon all inheritance which had been
brVueathed to her by distant relative
Whom she came back to Berlin, few
weeks afterward, she showed me quite a
collection of pretty and costly jewclry,
This is curious old ring said l to her,
as put this Old-tashioned little ring on
my finger. Does it not look queer and
cunning? Perhaps it is all old relic or tai
isnlall, and may have been worn centuries
ago by pious lady who had received it
from her knight, starting for the Holy
Land tried to take the ring from my
finger again, but I could not get it Off; for
l was a little tleshicr then than now," said
Charlotte smilingly.
"My gOverness insisted on my keeping
the ring as a souvenir. l accepted her
present, and the ring has been on my
finger ever since. Sometime afterward,
when I was contemplating its strange
workmanship, I succeeded in pulling it
from, my nngcr, ana was much surprised
at seeing engraved on the inside some
words which, though nearly rubbed out
by The wear Of time, were still lcgiblc.
Now, your Imperial Highness, what do
you think were the words engraved upon
it? I think when you hear them you
will take some interest in the ring"
"Ah! and pray what were they?"
"The words engraved upon the inside
were, 'lYnlp7sss Of Russiu.' This ring has
undoubtedly been presented by an Empress
of Russia to the relative Of Mrs. Wilder
matt, f"r I was told that both this lady and
her mother had formerly belonged to the
household of the Czarin;l, your august
grandmother.
"This is really remarkable" said the
Grand Duke, thoughtfully. "I am quite
supcrsti'ious, and am really inclined to
regard this ring, if I should be- happy
enough to receive it from you as pledge
Of your love, us an omen Of very auspicious
significance.
In answer to this second and even more
direct appeal to her heart, the Princess
took small piece of bread, played care
lcssly with it, and managed to press the
ribg into the soft crumbs. Then she
dropped it playfully on the table quite
close to the plate of her ncighhor. And
after this udrnit exhibition of skill as an
actress she continued to eat as uncon-
cerrcd as though she had performed the
most insi igniticant action of her life.
With the same apparent GOODNESS and
Indifference the Grand Duke picked up
the bread enclosing the ring, took the lat
ter out of its ingenious envelope, and con
ct;lcu it in his breast, for it was too small
to tit any Of his fingers. 1t was this ring
-bnrh the pledge Of Charlnttcs love and
the auspciuus omen of his own elevation
to the imperial digni1y-which Nicholas
wore on a golden chain around his neck to
the very lnst day of his life, and which,
if We are not mistaken, has even descended
with him into the vault of his ancestors.
Three years after, in 1917, Princess
Charlotte then only nineteen years of age,
and in the full splcndor OF beauty and
happiness, made her entry into St. Peters
burg by the side of her husband, whose
eye had never looked prolulcr, and whose
Olympian brow bad never been more Sc
rene than at this happcst moment Of his
life As.hc looked down upon the vast
multitude who had tlockcd together from
all parts of the vast Empire to greet the
young Princess with shouts and rcjoicings,
and then again upon his fair young bride,
perhaps tho inscription Of the ring rrc,,r-
red to his mind for, bending his head
quite close to Charlotte, he whispered,
Nov Empress of the hearts, and some
day, perhaps, Empress of the realm"
At this moment the procession reached
the main entrance of the Winter Palace,
where A cxander the First the ElnncrOr
surrounded by II brilliant suit of generals
and colr'irrs, came to meet his beautiful
sister in law, and conducted her into the
sumptuous drawing rooms of the magnili:
cent palace OF the Cars. Who would believe
that e ght short years aftcrward the bril-
liant young Emperor had brcathcd his
last, and that Nicholas and Charlotte
would snccced him on the throne OF Rus
sia? Truly the incription Of the cngas.c-