The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1895-11-20
ARTIST @
WAINWRIGHT.
The Adventures Abroad OF 4 Painter
From America.
BY SIDNEY USKA.
CHAPTER III.


That afternoon I again found myself
In the Bischofsplatz. At Y one is
constantly finding ones self in the
Bischofsplatz. Nearly all the streets OF
the little capital give upon it; and the
cathedral is there, and the Bishops pal
ace, and the Mormorhof, and the princ;-
pal cafe; and it is there that the mill
tary band plays Of pleasant evening.
At one of the open-air tables OF the
cafe was seated, when a man passed
me, clad in the brown garb Of Fran
ciscan monk. He had a pointed BLACK
beard, this monk, and a pair OF fashlng
dark eyes, and, though he quickly drew
his head into his cowl at our conJunc-
ton, I had no difficulty whatever IN
identifying him with my queerly hirsult
fiddler friend and prison mate, Sebastian
Roch. -.
Dear me! he has become q monk. 1t
must have been a singularly swift con-
version" thought I, looking after him
with some wonder.
He marched straight across the
Bischofsplatz and into the courtyard OF
the Mormorhof, where he was lost to my
view. -
: "The beggar! He is one Of Conrad's
spies," concluded. And I searched my
memory to recall il I had said anything
Of q nature that might compromise me
in the course of our conversation.
A few hours later sat down to my
dinner in the best parlor Of the Hotel de
Rome. 1t is small hostelry, though
the biggest that Y possesses, pat
ronized chiefly by commercial travellers
and special ENJOYS. Baedeker COM
mends it with an asterisk, which it de-
serves, being both cheap and good.
Mine host rejoices in the name Of Hide
brandt Strumpf, and on the occasion in
question no less person than hlmsel1
was serving me. Scarcely, however,
had he lifted the cover from my tureen
OF noodle soup, when, sudden y, and
without breath OF apology. he dropped
the cover upon the table cloth, and
dashed in mad haste from the room.
Wondering somewhat at this precipitate
conduct, I was about to fill my plate,
when I was arrested in the act by a
great noise Of hurrying feet upon the
pavement without. People We're run
ming and calling to each other, and al
together there was so much tumult that
] said to myself, "Ah, another mob"
Then I, toe, left the parlor, and hast
ened to the street door Of the inn.
There I discovered honest Strumpf
and honest Mrs. Strumpf, supported by
the entire personnel OF their establish
ment, from the boots to the billiard
marker, all agape with astonishment, as
three loquacious citizens poured news
into their ears.
lotto is dead" said the first citizen.
He died ut sixteen minutes past six
more than an hour ago."
But that is nothing" cried the Sec
ond citizen. THE great news is this.
Listen to me-"
mo, to me-" interposed third. Il
have it directly from one Of the senti-
nels at the palace. The pretender, Con-
rad, has been knitted like pig; and jolly
well he deserved it, too. 1t was be-
tween four and five o'clock this after
noon. A monk, a young monk, Fran
ciscan, presented himself at the Mar
morhof, and demanded an audience OF
the Prince. The palace guard-and it
is straight from one Of them that have
the story-of course refused him ad-
: mittance; but he was determined, and
so at last the Princes chamberlain gave
him a hearing. The upshot was he
wrote a word or two upon slip Of pa
per, sealed it up with wax, and begged
that it might be delivered to his high
ness forthwith, swearing that it con-
tanned information of the utmost impor-
tance to his welfare. The chamberlain
conveyed his paper to the Prince, who,
directly he had read it, uttered great
oath, and ordered that the monk be ush-
cred into his presence and that they be
left alone together. Alone accordingly
they were left. More than an hour
passed. At little after six arrived the
news of the death of the old Duke. An
officer entered the Princes chamber to
report it him. There, if you please, he
found his highness stretched out dead
upon the floor, with a knife in his
heart; the monk had vanished. They
could find no trace whatever of h S
whereabouts. Also had vanished the
paper he had sent in to the Prince, but,
what the police regard as an important
clue, he had left another paper, twisted
around the handle Of the dagger, whereon
was scrawled in disguised hand: In
the country Of the blind the one-eyed
men may be kings, but Conrad only
squinted!'
"The grand point of it all you have
omitted" put in the second citizen. 1T
is this. Shut up in an inner apartment