The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1897-10-01

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woOer was most grateful and would
come after his business was transacted
that afternoon. But Osra, having given
her hand, would now admit no fault in
the man she had chosen, and thanked
the king for the message with great dig
nifty. Then the king came to her, and,
sitting down by her, stroked her hair,
saying softly:
you have had many lovers, Sister
Osra, and now comes a husband.
Eyes, now husband, +" she murmur-
ed, catching swiftly at his hand, and
her voice was half caught in sudden
sob.
$50 goes the world-our world, :"
said the king, knitting his brows and
seeming to fall for a moment into a sad
reverie.
81 am frightened" she whispered.
"Should / be frightened if l loved
him?'
81 have been told So" said the king,
smiling again. "But the fear has way
of being mastered then" And he drew
her to him and gave her a hearty broth
er's kiss, telling her to take heart.
You'll thaw the fellow out, )" said the
king, though 1 grant you he is icy
enough" for the king himself had
been by no means what he called an icy
man.
But Osra was not satisfied and sought
to assuage the pain of her heart by
adjoining herself most carefully for the
princes coming, hoping to fire him to
love, for she thought that if he loved
she might, although since he did not
she could not. And surely he did not.
or all the tales of love were false. Thus
she came to receive him very magnifi-
Gently arrayed. There was a flush ON
her cheek and an uncertain, expectant,
fearful look in her eyes, and thus she
stood before him as he fell on his knee
and kissed her hand. Then he rose and
declared his thanks and promised his
devotion, but as he spoke the flush faded,
and the light died from her eyes, and
when at last he drew near to her and
offered to kiss her cheek her eyes were
dead and her face pale and cold as she
suffered him to touch it. He was con-
tent TO touch it but once and seemed
not to know how cold it was, and So
after more talk of his fathers pleasure
and his pride, he took his leave, prom
Using to come again the next day. She
ran to the window when the door was
closed ON him, and thence watched him
mount his horse and ride away slowly,
with his head bent and his eyes down
cast, yet he was a noble gentleman,
stately and handsome, kind and true.
The tears came suddenly into her eyes
and blurred her sight as she leaned
from behind the hanging cur
tains of the window. Though she dash !
ed them angrily away, they came again
and ran down her pale, cold cheeks,
the golden vision that SEEM
I'D gone without fulfillment
That evening there came a gentleman |
from the Prince of Glottenberg, carry
ing most humble excuses from his mas
ter, who, so he said, was prevented |
from waiting on the princess the next |
lay by very urgent affair that took |
him from Strelsau and would keep him
absent from the city all day long, and
he gentleman delivered to Osra letter
rom the prince, full of graceful and
profound apologies, and pleading an en-
that his honor would not let
him break, for nothing short of that,
'aid he, should have kept him from her
tide. There followed some lovers
phrases, scantily worded and frigid in
IN assumed passion. But Osra smiled
and sent back a message,
'eadily accepting all that the prince
Urged in excuse, and she told what had
passed to the king with her head high
n the air and careless haughtiness,
70 that even the king did not rally her
Tor yet venture to comfort her, but
Urged her to spend the day in riding
With the queen and him, for they were
citing out for Zenda, where the king
vas to hunt in the forest, and she could
ide some part of the way with them
md return in the evening. And she,
Wishing that she had sent first to the
lrince to bid him not come, agreed to
20 with her brother. 1t was better far
o go than to wait at home for lover
Who would not come
Thus the next morning they rode out
he king and queen with their retinue,
he princess attended by one of her
uard, named Christian Hantz, who
vas greatly attached to her and most
ealous in praise and admiration of her.
his fellow had taken on himself to be
cry angry with Prince Ludwig's cold
ess, but dared say nothing of it, yet,
npelled by his anger, he had set him
elf to watch the prince very closely,
nd thus he had, as he conceived, dis
Overed something that brought a twin
lie into his eye and triumphant smile
} his lips as he rode behind the prin-
ass. Some 10 miles she accompanied
i'm and her brother, and then, turning
18th Christian, took another road back ,
} the city. Alone she rode, her mind
Ill of sad thoughts, while Christian
ehind still wore his malicious smile.
ut presently, although she had not
him, he quickened his pace
nd came up to her side, relying on the