Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1895-11-30

married some day-when he Is richer
and am older"
Her youth and freshness were ire
sistible. and the Grand Duke, now
thoroughly awake, began to enjoy the
piquuncy of the situation.
"And if Hans Is going to marry you
what is your name?" he asked, lean
ing on his elbow and regarding her
graciously.
"Maleen," she answered, frankly.
"And what is yours?'
Augustus Frederick seemed pomp-
GUS before the simplicity of Hans and
Maleen, and he hesitated.
"Mine s-.er-er-Fritz," he stam-
mered, for he had almost forgotten
that he bore any name besides that of
"Your Serene Highness.
"Fritz-hem !-that'sa pretty name,
I think"
"Why are you going to marry
Hans?"
Maleen's eyes opened widely. "Be.
cause love him. You are stupid. 1"
'But love is never sufficient rea.
son for marriage" he returned, sen.
tentiously, quoting the argument used
by mis- FIRST Minister at their interview
that morning. "there must always be
some reason, some matter of policy"
Maleen stared. "What funny boy
you are. 1 never saw anybody like
you before. ] can't understand IL
word you are saying"
The Grand Duke smiled loftily, 81
mean," he explained, "that Hans will
probably be able to give you COM
Portable home, and that you will great
ly better your position by marrying
him."
81 shall tell Hans that have met
somebody much sillier than he IT,"
Maleen answered her eyes belying the
gravity in her voice. "You talk just
like book. Poor Hans hasn't got
kreutzer to bless himself with, and l
only have the geese, 80 we must wait.
But we love one another dearly and it
doesn't matter"
Glove one another dearly?"
'Do you mean to say that you don't
know what love is?" Maleen asked in.
credulousIy.
"What is love?"
Glove? Oh, 1t is something here,"
and she put her hanl to her breast,
her assumed gravity becoming pretti-
ly real. cit comes to you quite sud-
denly. 1t came to me the first time l
saw Hans gathering rushes in the
marshes. Your heart throbs for
moment, then it almost stops beating,
and then-love is with you. Every
time You see the one you love, your
heart beats more quickly, the birds
and the flowers seem to smile at you
and when your hands meet you feel
both happy and sad-and You can't
tell why. I want cry out as follow
my geese. 'Haus loves me! Hans
loves mel and to dance and sing with
Joy because 1 love him. The days
seem endless until your lover comes,
and if he stayed with you year it
would only seem an hour. That is
how 1 always feel" she concluded,
gently. plucking tufts OF grass and
scattering them around her. "Hans
does, too he told me SO Have you
never felt SO for anyboay"
The Grand Duke sighed and lowered
his head. "No," he said, sadly, fall
ing into Maleen's manner OF speech
81 have never felt so for anybody"
The feminine instinct is strong in
the peasant as in the Princess.
"Come and help me to find my
geese" Maleen cried, gayly, when she
saw the gloomy look on the young
Princes face. "lhey will have strayed
into Marsbach by this time"
The Grand Duke started. Mars
bach was the principally OF his future
wife, the Princess Wilheimina Sophia.
He rose stiffly and followed his
merry companion, who was shrilly
calling to her vanished flock.
ut is useless for you to call,
Maleen said, when futile search had
brought them to the edge of the wood
where the towers and turrets OF the
ducal palace were cleaning in the sun
shine; "they only answer my voice or
Hans's."
The Grand Duke shivered, elf I
could only live and love with Ma
leep," he said sadly to himself, and
then aloud:
"aave you ever been to Marsbach,
Maleen?"
eyes, last year. with Hans. We
went to see the fireworks on the
Princess's birthday. The Princess
herself stood quite close to US with
he- ladies, and I nearly cried; was
SO disappointed with her. She is quite
ugly" she went on, as if making
statement which she expected to be
disbelieved. land her face is the color
of suet, with funny little holes all
over it. Ifeel so sorry for our Grand
Duke"
"Wby?"
ooh! don't you know he is going to
marry the Princess? He can't love
her, can hep
princes rarely love their wives,
Maleen."
"Hans said The same thing. and my
cousin Gretchen, who is in the kitchen
at the Castle. says the Grand Duke
must marry the richest Princess he
cau ituu, Wuetucr ne ioSeS her VI Hot.
There's never any love-makiny be-
tween them, she told me, only bowling,
and kissing of hands, and even that
before lot of people. I'm glad I'm
not Princess. Ugh! How horrible
to be told one fine morning you must
marry somebody you have never seen,
and go to II strange country. where
You don't know anybody, not even
your husband. The Princess will have
u great fortune, but I'm SO sorry for
the poor Grand Duke; Gretchen says
he is SO handsome" and her eyes filled
with tears.
At this moment there was sound