Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1899-06-01

the marriage of Prince Julian, Sir
Henry Shum's baronetcy and the COM
plete renovation of Lady Craigenoch' 8
town house. Its other effects if any.
were more obscure
BY accident of birth and of political
events Prince Julian was pretender,
one of several gentlemen who occupied
that position in regard to the throne of
an important European country BY a
necessity of their natures Messrs. Shum
d Byers We're tinanciers Thanks to a
fall in rents and a taste for speculation,
Lady Craigenoch was hard put to it for
money and had become good friend
and ally of Mr.. Shum. Sometimes he
allowed her to put a finger IN one OF
his pies and draw out little plum for
herself. Byers, hearing one day of his
partners acquaintance with Lady
Craigenoch, observed, "She might in
troduce us to Prince Julian" Shum
asked no questions, but obeyed. That
was the way to be comfortable and to
grow rich if you were Mr. Byers part
ner The introduction was duly effect
ed. The prince wondered vaguely, al.
most ruefully, what these men expect
ed to get out of him. Byers asked him
self quite as dolefully whether thing
could be made out of an INDECENT, ar
tistic lazy young man like the prince.
Pretenders such as he served only to
buttress existing governments.
Eyes, +" agreed Shum "Besides, he's
entangled with that woman.
''Is there woman?'' asked Byers.
II should like to know her y
So, on his second visit to Palace
Gate. Mr. Byers was introduced to the
lady who was an inmate in Prince
Julian house, but was not received in
society Lady Craigenoch, however,
opining, justly enough, that since she
had no girls she might know whom she
pleased. had called on the lady and was
on friendly terms with her. The lady
was named Mrs Rivers and was under
stood to be widow
"And surely one needn t ask for his
death certiticatel" pleaded Lady
Craigenoch. Byers. as he took tea in
Mrs. Rivers boudoir. was quite of the
same mind. He nursed his square chin
in his lean hand and regarded his host
ess with marked attention. She was
handsome-that fact concerned Byers
very little; she was also magnifcently
self conhdent-that trait reused his in
terest in moment. He came to see her
more than once again. for now an idea
had begun to shape itself in his brain.
He mentioned it to nobody, least of all
to Mrs. Rivers But one day she said to
WI ho 4 l.
admired
IF had all Your money. should do
something with it.
Don II" he asked half liking, half
resenting, her manner
''Oh. you make more money with it,
suppose.
She paused for moment, and then
leaning forward, began to discuss Eu-
ropean politics with especial reference
to the condition Of affairs in Prince
Julian country Byers listened in 81
lence She told him much that he knew.
a few things which had escaped him
She told him also one thing which he
did not believe-that Prince Julian's
lndolent airs covered character of rare
resolution and tenacity She repeated
this twice, thereby betraying that she
was not sure her first statement had
carried conviction Then she showed
that the existing government in the
princes country was weak, divided, un-
popular and poor and then she ran over
the list Of rival pretenders and proved
how deficient all of them We're in the
qualities necessary to gain or keep a
throne At this point she stopped and
asked Mr.. Byers to take second cup of
tea. He looked at her with interest and
amusement in his shrewd eyes, She had
all the genius, the native power, with
none of the training, none Of the knowl-
edge, Of men He read her so easily, but
there was a good deal to read In one
point, however, he read her wrongly
Almost the only mistakes he made were
due to forgetting the possible existence
of unselfsh emotion
Prince Julian had plenty of imagina-
tion without any difficulty he imagined
himself regaining his ancestral throne
sitting on it in majesty and establish
ing it in power This vision Mrs Riv-
ers called up before his receptive mind
Byers. ''You want nothing but money
to do it,i' she said. And Byers had
money in great heaps; Shum had it,
too, and Shum was for present purposes
Byers; so were number of other per-
sons, all with money 81 believe the
people are devoted to me in their
hearts, said Prince Julian; then he
caught Mrs Rivers by both her hands
and cried. "And then you shall be my
queen
Indeed won t. said she, and she
added almost fercely: ''Why do you
bring that up again now? 1t would
spoil it all For. contrary to what the
world thought Prince Julian had offer
ed several times to marry the lady who
was not received or visited. except of
course by Lady Craigenoch. Stranger
still. this marriage was the thing which
the prince desired above all things, for
failing it he feared that some day.
owing to conscience and other consid-
erations. Mrs Rivers would leave him.