The clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1883-1888, 1885-05-20

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charming Princess was reported to bt
~Indisposed." and retired b the seclu
sion OF her own apartments.
a week later. / received a note from
the Baroness. marked private and con
tldentIal.' 1t informed me that she haC
resumed her duties as ladV N waiting
and that she wished TO see me at my
earliest convenience. [ Obeved at once
and naturally asked if there We're better
accounts of her Highuess's ; health.
The Baroness ; reply a iIttleSurpriSe
me. She said. The Princess Is perfect
ly We'll"
/ Recovered already" l exclaimed.
"She has never been III, the Baroness
answered. Her indispositi0u was a
sham; forced ON her 10y me. in her own
interests. Her reputa1 ON is in peril;
and yOu-you hate1ul Euglishman-are
the cause of it,
Not feeling disposed To put mp witt
such language as JHjS. even when it was
used by lady. / requested that She
would explain herself. Size complied
without hesitation. la another minute
my eyes We're opened TO the truth. !
kueW-u0, that Is roo pos.tiva-let me
say | had reason 10 LcdeNe the Princess
loved me.
find it simply impossible TO convey
to the minds OF others ANY idea Of the
emotions that overwhelmed me at that
critical moment OF as lfe. It was al
confusion at the time, AND. when my
memory tries 80 realize jJ. lt is all con-
fusion now. The Cne thing I can do is
to repeat what the Baroness said to me
when | had in some degree recovered
: my cOmp0sure.
! Il suppose You are aware sAe began
of the disgrace to which the Princess 5
infatUatlou exposes her, II IL IS discoy-
ered.7
| l saw my duty as plainly as She did.
Her Ilg1nesS ) secret - a sacred Sc
/ cret,' l said. Il am bound to shrink
from no sacrifice which may preserve
it"
The Baroness smiled maliciouslv. Il
may have occasion" she answered, "tO
remind You Of what YOU have Just said.
/ In the meantime. the Princess'S secret
is in danger of discovery"
BY her father?'
NO. BY the Doctor
At first. | doubted whether she was
in Jest or in earnest. The next instant,
l remembered that the secretary had ex-
/ pressly cautioned me against that man.
1t IS evidently one OF your virtues" !"
/ the Baroness proceeded. ito be slow to
I suspect. Prepare yourself for a dis
/ agreeable surprise. The Doctor has
+ been watching the Princess, on every
/ occasion when she speaks to you, with
t some object Of his own in view. Dur
+ ing my absence young, sir, / have been
/ engaged in discovering what that object
+ is Nv excellent mother lives at the
i Court of the Grand Duke. and enjoys
/ the confidence of his Ministers. He is
/ still a bachelor: and. in the interest OF
/ the succession to the throne. the time
/ has arrived when he must marry. With
~
out that the Doctors medical errand
here is a pretenSe Influenced by the
/ Princess's s beauty, the Grand Duke has
+ thought of her first as bIs future Ouch
/ ess Whether he has heard slanderOus
/ stories or whether he is only cautious
man. | can't tell You. But this know;
I he has instructed his physician-if he
/ had employed a professed dlplomatlst,
his motive might have been suspected
/ to observe her IIighuess privately. and
to communicate the result. The Doc
tor. Mr. Ernest. is not disposed to allow
You to prevent him from sending in a
favorable report. He has drawn his
conclusions from the Princess s extra
ordinary kindness to the second secre-
tary of the English legation; and he IS
only waiting for alittle palmer evidence
to communicate his suspicious to the
Prince. 1t rests with you to save the
Princess"
only tell me how l am to do it," /
said.
There is but one way Of doing it
she answered; "and that way has comic
ally enough been suggested to me by
the Doctor himself"
Her tone and manner tried my pa
tience. Come to the point" / said.
She seemed TO enJOy provoking ne.
NO hurry. Mr.. Ernest-no hurry'
You shall be fully enlightened if YOU
win only wait q little. The Prince. !
must tell you, believes in bis daughter S
indiSpOsiti0n. When he visited her this
morning. he was attended by his medl-
cal adviser. / was present at the inter
view. To do him justice. the Doctor Is
worthy of The trust reposed IN hlm-he
boldly attempted toverify his suspicious
of the daughter. in the father S pres
ence."
How"
"Oh. in the we'll known way that has
been tried over and over again, undel
similar circumstances He merely in
vented report that you We're engaged
in a love-affair with some charming per
son in the town. Don't be angry; there
no harm DONE"
@B1t there IS harm done" insisted
what must the Princess think of me-
@Do you suppose she IS weak enough
to believe the Doctor Her Highnes.
beat him at his own weapons: not tht
slightest sign of agitation on her par
rewarded his ingenuity. All that yoI
have to do is to help her to mislead thI'
medical spy. It's as easy as lying. anC
easier. The Doctors SANDER declares
that YOU have lOye-affair in the town
Take the hint-and astonish the Doctor
bv proving that he has hit on the truth.
It was a hot day; the Baroness was be
ginning to get excited. She paused. ang
famed herself. -Do I startle y0u?" she
asked.
You disgust me-
She laughed.
@What a thick-headed man this isl
she said pleasantly. Must lput il NOR
plainly still? Engage in what your En-
glIsh prudery calls a Irritation, witt
/ some woman here-the lower IN degree
the better. or the Princess might b.
jealous-and let the affair be seen an'
known by everybody about the Court
Sly as he is. the Doctor is not prepared
!, for thatI At your age. and with you
personal advantages. he viii take ap
pearances for granted; he viii cOnclud'
that he has wFonged you. and misinteT
preted the motives of the Princess; ans
the secret OF her HlghnesSs weakness
; will be preserved-Thanks to that sacri
I Utste. III. EElitSN- fOO t14C ~ " III
ing and so eager to make.
4 don't wish to appear yain,' re
: Joined: But the woman to whom | an
to paw these attentions may believe tha
really admire heT-and it is Just posi-
bic that she may honestly return th
feeling which / am only assuming
~WeiI-and what them"
Its hard on the woman, surelyy'
The Baroness was shocked, unaffect
edly shocked.
@Good heavens.- she exclaimed. ~hoy
, can anything that you do for the Prin
cess be hard on a woman of the lowe
orders? There must be an end of thi
| nonsense, sir! You have heard what
J propose. and You know what the Gil
cumstances are My mistress is wait
ing for your answer What am l t
say
J Let me see her Highness, and spea
I for myself" said l.
Quite impossible to-day. with0u
running too great a risk. Your repl
] must be made through me-"
There was to be Court concert a
the end of the week. On that occasio
I should be able to make my own repl,
In the meanwhile only told the Bal
J oness / wanted time to consider.
What timer she asked.
; Until tomorrow. Do YOU objects
4On the contrary, cordially agre'
: Your base hesitation may lead to result