The Mineral argus. [volume] (Maiden, Mont.) 1883-1886, 1885-01-15
THE QUEEN OF BOHEMIA.


Her Majesty the Queen Of Re hemia-
there will always he kingdom Of Bo-
homia for story tcllers-was travelling
in strict incognito and in humble fash
ion under the nome of the Countess des
Sept Chateaux. She was accompanied
by the old Baroness GeOrgenthal, her
companion, and Gen. Horschowitz. her
cquerry. In spite of furs and foot
warmers, it is very cold in the reserved
compartment; and when the Queen,
growing weary of her English novel.
and worried by the Generals knitting
for the General knitted wanted to
look ont on the snow-covered country,
she was obliged to rub the glass OF her
carriage window for minute or two
with her handkerchief, the frost hal
covered it so tlickly with glittering
tracery AMI delicate ferns of ice. 1t
was a strange caprice. certainly, and
worthy of her Majesty, twenty years.
to set out for Paris in mi1winter to
Join her mother, the Queen of Moravia,
who was to have visited her in Prague
the following spring. However, moth
ing would do but she must start on the
journey. with the thermometer sixteen
degrees below freezing point. Tho baro-
ness lad to shake up her old rheuma-
tism, and the General in despair had to
leave behind magnificent counterpart
he was knitting for his daughter-in in law,
and to content himself with working n
simple pair Of worsted stockings by way
of occupation on tho road. 1t WAS q
rough journey. Tie whole Of Europe
lay covered with snow, and they had
come half way across it, and all sorts
Of difficulties and hindrances, by rail-
ways that were disorganized by the
hard weather.
Now they are getting near the end Of
their journey. At nine o'clock they
dinel ut the buffet at Macon, and al
though this evening the foot warmers
are again hardly lukewarm, and outside
great -snowfiakes float about in the dark
ness. the baroness AMI the general
both slnmbering in corner under furs
and railway rugs-are dreaming Of their
arrival in Paris. The good old lady is
full of the advantages she will find
there for special religious exercises
and the old soldier, Of certain wool
shop IN the Rue Saint Honorc, TO which
he means to pay an early visit. the only
H. ~~,I.s IL. nA..l, Ia,
Berlin wool skeins satisfactorily.
The queen is not asleep. Size sits
there buried in thong ut. with her eyes
wide opcn in the shadow, fevcrish and
shivcring in her blue fox furs, with her
elbow leaning on the window-sill and
ono hand clenched in the beautiful ruff
fed golden hair that has fallen looss.
from her coquettish little travelling cap.
listening mechanically to the vague,
distant music that the tired ears of the
travellers seem to hear in the iron gallop
of the express. She is looking back
over her whole past life, this poor young
queen, and thinking how miserable she
Is.
She saw herself rs she used to be,
when she was little princess with red
hands and an Uniformed figure, playing
with her twin sister, whom they had
married far away in the nortll-thc sis
ter she was so fond of and who was so
like her. that when they were dressed
in the same way they had to put RIB
hons Of different color in their hair that
they might not he mistaken one for the
other. That was before the revolution
that overturned her parents's throne.
She had loved the calm and sleepy at
mosphere of the little court OF Olmutz,
where etiquette was tempered by such
easy-going good nature. In those DAYS
her father, good King Louis WHO
since then had died in exile Of broken
heart Used to walk through tho park
with her and her sister. in his court
dress every afternoon at o'clock,
to take cafe an lait in the Chinese pa.
vilion, covered with ivy vines, looking
ont On the river and the far off circle of
hills red tinted in the autumn.
Then came her marriage and the
presentation ball one beautiful night in
July, when the n,urmer OF the crowds
in the illuminated gardens had como mp
through the open windows. How she
had tremblcd when she was left alone
moment IN the conversatory with the
young king. She loved him already;
she had loved him from the first mo-
ment she had seen him. as he came for
ward, with the white plume in his cap.
so graceful and elegant in his blue uni
form and diamonds. with the gold spurs
on his small gray boots ringing at every
step. After the first waltz Ottokar had
taken her arm. and. strOkino his LONG