The Advocate and news., 1899-03-01

~ AVA gANo 4Anv AAAAAes
III have not, " she flung back At him
dehantly, land IL / have is IL not my
pFivilegeI IL iS no affair Of yOursP'
''NO; you are right II is no affair
Oe mine. hO replied sadly.
The tears wglled up anew In tho for
getmenOt eyes OF the Princess Gratia.
but she would not let them fall
''FOrgive me, 7" she said. with q gem
erodty which was truly royal. forgive
me, my one friend in this wretched
place but am very unhappy"
The young man looked down into
her wet eyes and paled a little
"It is that brute Of a Schoenfeld,
he said in q low voice "He has been
harsh to you again.
The princess head dropped. "Ah, II
he were never anything but harshl"
"Whatl Has he dared
"It is not 30 much what he dsres ~
what he looks-and-and what fear.
Her voice fell to q whisper, and she
glanced unessily toward the door.
which stood ajar
The artisan saw the crumpled paper
lying on her dresser '"There is q letter.
He has written to your he exclaimed
The princess snatched the paper as
though to conceal it, then on second
thought extended it toward him.
1T is not what you think You may
read it if you wish, F" she said
The young man glanced at the scrap
Of writing and Redeemed. From the
doctor-your sister So it is money
after all. My poor girl, forgive me for
adding to your distress. "
"Do you wonder now, she said,
''why am heavy Of heart and why /
hate this place, this life; to stand be-
decked in this attire and these jewels
beside that tawdry throne, surrounded
by falsely smiling faces, listening and
seeming to reply to hollow words while
my heart is at my sick sisters bedside,
where l myself should bel who for
all my efforts and all my trials in life
l loathe cannot command enough money
to supply my poor Mary with proper
food and medicinesP But / will leave
here. Yes, / will gol There must be
something better Heaven will show
me the wayl"
The hapless girl lifted her beautiful
eyes aloft, her hands pressed to her
bosom The young man, who had lis
tened eagerly to every word. paused a
moment, breathing rapidly Then he
said in a tense voice
''Nanniel''
The Princess Gratia dropped her eyes
to his They were filled with wonder at
the sound Of this strange diminutive
never heard before in this place. ''Nan-
ME, " he repeated. ''you are noble and
beautiful girl, far too good and beauti-
full for me to think of raising my eyes
to; but, Mamie, from that night, six
weeks ago, when you first came here /
have loved you. l, too, want to leave
this house. / am capable Of better work
than / do here, for / am skilled cleo
trician. l only took this as a stop gap
until / could find better place. Now /
have something else much better in
prospect l can now afford to ask you
to bring all your troubles and lay them
here" he placed his hand on his heart
where they may DO my troubles,
too or rather where they may dissp-
pear entirely from both our lives. Nan
ME, dear, princess is not royal enough
for you. You are queen among women.
queen Of my heart Mamie. / love
your
BE knelt at her feet.
The Princess Gratia did not petgify
him with a look. She did not even
sweep in majestic indignation from his
presumptuous presence. She only
clasped her hands tightly together,
looked around little helplessly, and
then--oh. sovereign power Of love- oh,
royal grace Of womanhood bent
har iavryalad baod ap1 hluahiuO hoauti