The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1892-10-28


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 naughty hope. For those
two other heirs, had they not been sick
ly from their cradles, and was not one
of them fragile girl with a pulmonary
i'll of stubborn menace?
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 a
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
a mingled amazement and disgust.
Il 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 sonl He will
bring Saltravia to the verge of ruin; he
viii infuriate the emperor; he viii 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 throne has
cast its shadow. and if she had chosen
to organize political party in opposi-
| ton to her son the tasl, would not have
been difficult But in spite of her in
/ dignant disapproval she shranis from
| such a course. After all. though q
! cousin twice removed Of the emperor
whom she protested to vcnerate, her
new greatness had come to her from
Clarimond alone. For a good while
she remained in Saltravia. treated with
faultless though somwhat sarcastic
Difference 10y the son whom she had 50
long neglected. and then, angered into
hysteria by his new Intimacy with
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 long sigh OF relief
''She is incorrigible," he said to Eric,
land find her as hard to argue with
as if she had been figure that had
stepped forth from one OF my precious
bits of antique tapestry, Golf on head
and hawk on wrist. l shall continue
to act just as il she had never annoyed
me by her curious worrn-e2tcn preju-
dices and l shall write her regularly,
once a month, letters full of the most
dutious filial sentiments"
This resolve Clarimond faithfully car
ried Tout. The princess, meanwhile though
she had retrested, had not given up her
n 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 ard 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 comingto
sec the new palace. Her son had given
courteous assent to this arrangement,
while inwardly groaning at the parade
OF ceremony and punctilio which it
would be certain to engcnder.
Now, at last, after many false alarms,
a telegram had abruptly come to hin
stating that she had reached a small
town about three miles distant, and
there awaited his presence. 1t was
then a little after nightfall. The king.
who was just seating himself ut dinner,
gave despairing sigh. There seemed
to him the most studied kind of mis-
chief in this entire proceeding. But OF
course her entrance into the kingdom, |
after SO long an absence, must be |
greeted with due and prompt honors- |
As for honors military, these, at such |
an hour, were next to impossible. 4 |
cortege OF royal coaches and q fairly |
copious escort the annoyed Clarimond |
soon caused to be prepared. But as a
consequence of what she chose to con-
sider his Notifying rudeness, the
princess was driven to the palace in one
of her most supercilious furies.
At first, during the homeward drive,
she would scarcely speak to her son.
Beside her sat beautiful young girl of
n very pronounced blonde type named
Blanca d. Este, allied to the illustrioUs
race who bear that name. The princess
had recently induced this young lady to
become her chief companion, and with
what motive it was only too plain. In
one of her recent letters to Clarimond
she had openly written:
II have added to my household the
most charming of girls, Blanca d Este.
In lineage she is your equal, for her
blood is not merely royal, but very
ancient as well. l should love to see
her seated at your side on the throne of
Saltravia; and it is high time You mar
ried, as you must surely admit"
Clarimond was not the man to be
either coerced or counseled on matri-
monial questions. He had never yet
seen the woman whom he would have
taken any great joy in making his wife,
but he had seen at least four or five
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 BIZ
anca d. Estes plTrnu. vet identified. fiT-