Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1898-12-15

satisfied to remain In a prccarious stu
alton. and | decided that Ii would be
better to hand in my resignation ut
once. rather than wait for an sgnomin-
ious dismissal.
therefore sent n note to the Prince,
begging for an interview.
The Prince listened 10 me coldly. and
gnawed the cr,l Of his long mo,lstachc
as If in perplcyity. Finally, he shrug-
ged his shoulders. and affected 10 be
occupied with something else before |
had done speaking.
"yyhat is your reason for leaving
me- lie demanded, as / had my hand
on the door handle, in the act of quit
ting the room
/ replied that did not feel sufficient
confidence to 90 on with the work or
restoration and rebuilding in his alb
sence.
"Poof. | settled the plans with YOU
months ago. 1t only remains that you
faithfully carry out my orders. Don't
you see that if you leave me just now
the work must be stopped. and cannot
be resumed Tor a year Or moreE But
don't think that | want to ask you TO
stay as a favor. never ask anyone TO
serve me twice"
IF your Highness thinks that l
should really be safe in going on viii,
the work"
safe? Why not? | see you are UNI
decided. ana | am in a hurry. Think
il over. and tell me in the evening
whether you persist in your resignation
or prefer to withdraw it,
Accepting these words as a dismissal,
1 went TO my own rooms 10 think the
matter. over.
1t was true that l had expected dis
missal, and thought it well 10 fore
stall It. And it was also true that i
did not care for the task of adapting a
castle OF the old feudal type to a mod
ern residence. unless under the eyes of
it's owner. 1t was not a job that was
likely to bring either credit 10 me or
satisfaction TO the Prince. SO long AZ
he was on the spot, directing opera
items himself, he could not blame me
If the result were failure: but / knew
that from the moment he left the "a
sponsibility would be entirely E.lne,
plans or no plans.
But there was Il third reason had
for wishing to quit the Castle OF Low
ma.
For some months / had been suffer
ing fortunes on account OF the Princess
Irene. In making thia confession |
have no desire to smooth over or eX-
tcnuate my miserable weakness or fol-
ly. All | can say is. ii is easier TO talk
OF strength OF character, good sense.
honor and other fine things, in cold
blood. than to practice these virtues in
the presence of n woman like Irene
Kropenski.
We were not lovers, nor anything like
lovers. The few sentences we tx,
changed about Won M%itschka were a
fair specimen OF the kind Of talk we
often INDUCED in. and anything less
iover-like could scarcely be imagined.
And yet. no matter how scornful she
was, no matter how bitterly resented
her contemptuOus tone. trying To meet
her well bred contempt with cool indif-
ference; no matter how hot my anger,
an hour would scarce go by but l was
hungering for the sight of her, thirst
ing To hear the sound of her voice, no
matter what she might find 1t in her
heart TO say TO me
A Thousand times I fought against
this weakness with the whole strength
of my manhood. Sometimes 1 won.
There were times when I would go for
days without addressing the Princess,
unless it were to answer a question. or
so much as looking in her direction
when we accidentally met. l suffered
at these times more than anyone would
believe; but 1t was something to think
that / was behaving like a man Of
sense and spirit.
But alas. at the first words OF genu-
inc kindness, all my defenses were
broken down. and l was ready to per-
suade myself that the scornful looks
and tones that had wounded me so
keenly had existed only in my own i'm
a~gination. The rapture of giving way
-of allowing my thoughts to stray
about this beautiful. hayward, incom-
~prehensible creature as they would; of
building cloud castles, In which the
abyss between Irene Kropenski and me
was bridged over in some miraculous
manner, was a delight so keen. that /
would not have exchanged my dreams
for any other reality on earth.
OF course | am aware that all this
sounds very absurd. A struggling pro-
fessional nan has no business to allow
himself to fall in love with a Princess.
But | was not without Reuse At my
first arrival at the castle. early in the
preceding spring. both the Princess
Kropenski and her daughter had treat
ed me As II | were their equal in rank,
whenever | was invited to dine with
the family. rs I often was: and al
though | had no right to build. and did
not build anything upon their kindness,
TO my peace.
But lately ii seemed as IL Irene had,
1t had an effect OH me which was fatal
liz spite of the care / had taken TO con-
zeal the nature OF my feelings, OWNED
my secret. and wished to rebuke my
pre- assumption, for she treated me with
marked GOODNESS, and more-w.th n &C.
tain s~cornfulness OF manner, as II the
mere suspicion that | cherished q hope
less passion for her was a deadly af-
front.
was not without my share of pride.
and | resented her treatment. l asked
for no explanation, made no ~reproach-
es, even tacitly, unless avoiding her
could be called a %reproach. l accepted
the fact that she was far above me i'm