Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1900-05-09

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eyes.
! Under the circumstances, prin'
cess
"What2" she queried
"Under the circumstances, princess
Il made bold to touch her hand-'I
may not speak my own petition.
had ridden and suffered and bad
lost hope of touching a lady's hand
again. and the scent of her hair held
the danger of lotus She smiled-her
eyes and her lips-but her white brow
rose serene,
"We are glad of your return. she
said
And now my fingers held hers. |
thought of my good sovereign away in
Wassmark. and laughed little
"Sir. whispered the princess.
MADAME. | replied-''little prin-
cess. my heart presumes far. " slipped
on to one knee. holding both her hands,
and the Princess Barbara leaned and
kissed me lightly on my lips
When | returned and found Tom
waiting patiently before the pier glass;
I thought me of the court gown.
"Where is itl' he asked
shook my head
"Ho. ho Isstensl So you are no Ion
ger pet. he jibbed, "even unable to
borrow little apparel.
did not speak. but turned to the
wardrobe and smiled.
So poor Tom was forced to appear in
| his court suit of pale green silk. his old
Flemish lace and his English sword.
He led off the queen and the Prin-
cess Barbara in the opening quadrille
NV partners hand trembled in mine
Our eyes met and held We seemed TO
be gliding there alone And at one time,
in crossing, | sighed into her powdered
hair, Now | will dream of another
until l get it.
Then the grand quadrille ended. We
leaned over the ladies hands. and the
music ceased with clash.
saw little of the princess during the
remainder of the evening, but the other
ladies of the court were very kind and
pretended not to recognize any of the
other gentlemen, They were good
enough to say that not my arm, but
my manner of dancing, made plain my
identity
There was little rest for me when !
returned | watched the bright sun
come in at the curtains and the shadows
slide along the floor Thus lay until
high noon In the clear light of day
how my freedom of the night appalled,
mel The fumes of the wine, the scent
of her hair. had left my brain now; but,
curse it. the memory of all this was
still deep in my heart Oh. princess.
princess!
Looking over at the corner of my
chamber. where the tapestry took only
little of the light and the shadow of a
pier glass fell. could see her slight
figure standing-the red brown hair all
powdered as it had been in the dance.
the gray eyes questioning, the pale
face kind and queenlike
1T is worth kings game. i" NUT
tered. land the king may hang me
for il. but love a princess do. so God
help mel
Then cursed myself for fool
might have lain all day. picturing
the lady face and figure and building
topping air castles, had not Tom burst
into my room. looking for his sword
After the barber had done with me
| ordered Hagart and rode out in the
autumn forests The little wild flowers,
the odorous ferns and the red and yel-
low leaves futtering from the trees
all laughed at the song in my heart
And so staid in the greenwood until
sunset. listening to the scurrying of
partridges, the whispering of the brown
oaks and the occasional and faroff
bugle calls in the city AT the end Of
it | united Hagart's bride from a
sapling and. mounting, vowed that
would forget the princess and leave
Cloburg for Flanders or any place where
one might die fighting This | had
vowed when leaving Marion The
thought came to me, and | laughed
"Hagart. | said to my black horse.
81 will stay. for the princess is so far
above me, and | am her very humble
cavalier And should have been
woefully cast down at the hopelessness
of it. but instead went whistling up
the avenue that runs through the park
For what is there that man feels far
beyond his reach when his best horse is
under him and his tried sword swings
against his leg
After that | became SO good a court
ier that our ambassador in Clc burg
begged me to become his secretary So
| stained my fingers with ink. drew
double pay and wrote two letters day
very badly The receptions at court
were seldom without me, and. though
the princess and spoke little. our eyes
tcld many things
Tom Beverley was high in favor. and
his majesty decorated him with the
white star of the Order of the Royal
Hunters One night. when Tom way
sitting over the wine with me, he said
Did yon ever notice, lsstens, how
small thing lies between the deed for
which one man is hung and another
crowredT