Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1892-11-03

1OSt LIB ACH Oy d SG1OhC u
disease, and when only two other lives
could be counted on between himself
and the succession, Hildegarde, princess
of Brindisi, began to feel her spirit di-
late with a naughty hope. For those
ly from their cradles, and was not one
of them a fragile girl with pulmonary
i'll of stubborn menace2
The girl died within year after her
brother, and the old king, who deeply
loved her, become almost an imbecile
through this double bereavement Then
tidings were brought the princess in
Naples that her SON might soon inherit
the rule of Saltravia, as both the reign
ing monarch and his last left child were
at the point of death. 1t was now that
she hurried to her own child, whom she
had seen only at intervals, and in
bored, perfunctory way. during the
past decade.
But Clarimond, taking the reins of
government at an age when his wrists
were quite sinewy enough to hold them,
had no sympathy with his mothers die
tates and desires. To the princess his
views, his tendencies, his avowals, were
q mingled amazement and disgust.
ST am covered with remorse and
shame she would say to her intimates,
''that this rebel against all the most sa-
cred customs and precedents of royalty
should actually be my son! He will
bring Saltravia to the verge of ruin; he
will infuriate the emperor; he will COM
promise himself past remedy and plunge
me into untold embarrassments.'
Her new position had caused her to
surround herself with a suite of
ladies and gentlemen in waiting. There
are always people ready to play syco-
| plants for those on whom a throne has
cast its shadow, and if she had chosen
! to organize a political party in opposi-
| ton to her son the task would not have
been difficult. But in spite of her in
| dignant disapproval she shrank from
such course. After all, though a
| cousin twice removed of the emperor
whom she professSd to venerate, her
new greatness had come to her from
| C1arimond alone. For good while
| she remained in Saltravia, treated with
faultless though somwhat sarcastic
Difference by the son whom she had so
long neglected, and then, angered into
| hysteria by his new intimacy with a
young adventuring American architect
who was to demolish all the old time
! hallowed structures and rear horrible
brand-new ones in their place, she gath
cred her little household about her and
fed to her beloved Italy.
The king, who had remained courte-
GUS as he was obdurate, simply shrugged
| his shoulders at her departure, and
breathed a long sigh of relief.
''She is incorrigible,' he said to Eric,
| land / find her as hard to argue with
as If she had been a figure that had
stepped forth from one of my precious
bits of antique tapestry, Golf on head
and hawk on wrist. / shall continue
| to act just as if she had never annoyed
me by her curious worm-eaten preju-
dices and I shall write her regularly
once a month, letters full of the most
dutious flial sentiments"
This resolve Clarimond faithfully car
ried out. The princess, meanwhile, though
she had retreated, had not given up he1
battle. She was secretly agitated by
dread that her son would make some
terrible democratic marriage; for he
had already shocked her by asserting
that he thought inorganic unions re
voting and even criminal, and there
| was no written law in his little realm
against a sovereign marrying whomso-
ever he chose.
Repeatedly Of late months the princess
had written her intention of coming to
sec the new palace. Her son had given
courteous assent to this arrangement
while inwardly grooming at the parade
of ceremony and punctilio which il
would be certain to engender.
Now, at last, after many false alarms
telegram had abruptly come to him
stating that she had reached small
town about three miles distant, an6
there awaited his presence. It was
then little after nightfall. The king
who was just seating himself at dinner
gave a despairing sigh. There seemed
to him the most studied kind of mis-
chief in this entire proceeding. But o.
course her entrance into the kingdom
after SO long an absence, must b
greeted with due and prompt honors
AS for honors military, these, at sucl
an hour, were next to impossible. A
.cortege of royal coaches and a fairly
copious escort the annoyed Clarimone
soon caused to be prepared. But as {
consequence Of what she chose to con
slider his notifying rudeness, thu
princess was driven to the palace in ONT
of her most supercilious furies.
| al urSU, during tue uOIuo"dru OfIVo
she would scarcely speak to her son
Beside her sat a beautiful young girl o
very pronounced blonde type named
Blanca d. Este, allied to the illustriou.
race who bear that name. The princes
had recently induced this young lady tx
become her chief companion, and will
what motive it was only too plain. IL
one Of her recent letters to Clarimont
she had openly written:
81 have added to my household tn,
most charming of girls, Blanca d. Este
In lineage she is your equal, for he
blood is not merely royal, but yer,
ancient as we'll 1 should lpve to SCI
her seated at your side on the throne o
Saltravia; and it is high time you mar
ried, as you must surely admit"
Clarimond was not the man to b,
either coerced or counseled on matri
monial questions. He had never We
seen the woman whom he would hav,
taken any great JOY in making his wife
but he had seen at least four or fv'
who might, even to his fastidious taste
have worn the crown of queenly con
sort with satisfying distinction
, AS he now let his eye rest on Bi
; anca d. Estes plump, yet dignifed, fig