Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-09-28

Then; while Gertrude stood wondering
| and staring with wide eyes in the doorway,
| the princess stepped up to the miller and
| leant over him and cried:
Look at my face, look at my face! What
| manner of face is it?''
ut is well enough" said the miller. But
Gertrude is"
There was a crash upon the floor, and
| the 6uO crowns rolled out of the purse, and
scattered, spinning and rolling hither and
| thither all over the floor. and into every
corner of the room And Princess Osra
cried:
Have you no eyesY'A and then turned
away. for her lip was quivering. and she
| turned from the miller only TO face Ger
| trude, his wife; and Gertrude's small eyes
| frightened with sudden intelligence.
"Ah, you are the other girl!' said Ger
trude, with much amusement. And was
that your dowry? 1t is large. I am glad
| you did rot come in time But see, I'll pick
| it up for you. Nay don't take on. l dare
| say you'll find another husband" And she
| passed by Osra, patting her on the shoulder
kindly as she went, and then fell on her
| knees and began to pick up the crowns,
crawling after them all over the floor, and
| holding up her apron to receive the recover
| ed treasure. And Princess Osra stood look
| ing at her.
"Ay, you'll find another husband" nod
ded the priest, encouragingly.
"Ay, you'll find another husband, as
sented the miller, placidly. "And just as
one girl is pretty nearly as good as another,
| If she is handy and sturdy, so one husband
! is as good as another, If he can keep a
house over you"
Princess Osra said nothing. But Ger
trude, having picked up the crowns, came
to her with full apron, and said:
Hold up your lap, and I'll pour them in.
They'll get you good husband"
Then Princess Osra suddenly bent and
kissed Gertrude's cheek. and she said
gently:
II hope you have got a good husband,
| my dear; but let him do some work for
himself. And keep. the 600 crowns as a
present from me, for he will value you
more with 800 than with two
The eyes of all three were fixed on her in
wonder and almost in fear; for her tone
and manner now were different. Then she
turned to the miller; and she bit her lip,
and dashed her hand once across her eyes,
and said:
And you, miller, are the only sensible
man l have found in all the kingdom.
Therefore good luck and good wife to
you" And she gave a little, short laugh.
and turned and walked out of the cottage,
| leaving them all spellbound in wonder. But
| the miller rose from his chair and ran to
the door, and when he reached it the king
was just lifting Osra ON to her horse. and
| the miller knew the king, and stood there,
with eyes wide and cheeks bulged in WON
| der. and he could gasp out no more than
The Fling, the king!' before Rudolf and
Osra had ridden away. And they could
trude, nor The priest, tell what the matter
meant. until one day King Rudolf rode
| again to the miller at Hofbau, and, having
| sent for the priest, told the three enough of
| the truth, saying that the affair was the
outcome OF a jest at court, and he made
| each of them a handsome present and
vowed them to secrecy by their fealty and
Then she would not have married me-
anyhow asked the miller.
Il think not, friend" answered Rudolf
| with laugh.
Then we are but quits, and all is we'll
Gertrude, the Jug my lassr
And So indeed, it seemed to the king that
Trey were but quits. and he said SO to the
Princess Osra. But he declared that she
had SO far prevailed with the MILLER as to
make him desire marriage as wholesome
and useful thing in itself, although she had
lot persuaded him that 1t was of great
moment whom a man married. Therefore
he was very anxious to give her the brace
let which he had promised, and more than
once prayed her to accept it. But Osra saw
the laugh that lurked in the king eye, and
would rot consent to have, the bracelet, and
for long while she did pot love to speak
of the miller of Hofbau-; Yet once, when
the king on some occasion, cried out very
irnpatiently that all men were fools she
said:
Sire, you forget the miller of Hofbau'
and she blushed and laughed and turned
her eyes away.
And one other thing she did which puzzled
| very greatly Queen Margaret, and all the
ladies of the court, and all the waiting wo-
| men, and all the seSvant maids, and, in
fine, every person. high or low, who saw or
heard of it, except the king only. For in
winter evenings she took her scissors and
Ter needle, and she cut strips of red rib
bon, each a foot long and a couple of inches
broad, and she embroidered on each and
every one of them motto or legend, and
she affixed the ribbons bearing the legend
to each and every one of the mirrors in each
Of her chambers at Strelsau, at Zenda, and
oil thn fhnr
waiting women noticed that whenever she
had looked in the mirror and smiled at her
own image, or shown other signs of pleas
ure in it, she would then cast her eyes up
to the legend, and seem to read 1t, and
blush little, and laugh little, and sigh
a little-the reason for which things they
could by no means understand.
For the legend was but this: Remember
the miller of Hofbau."