The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1900-02-06

princess was not only DeW1tcnlngly
beautiful, but also enormously rich.
The wedding took place with great
pomp and ceremony. The young pair
was overwhelmed with the costliest
presents, among which the most valua-
BILE was that Of the czarina. 1t was q
large solitaire diamond. Its won
drous fire had a beautiful color.
Nothing marred the happiness of
the young couple. and their honey
moon passed In joy and pleasure.
Once In happy hour the young wife
approached her loving husband with
this inquisitive question:
'sTell me, dear, what is the value of
that large diamond which you have on
your fingerY'
Monomof looked upon the czarina's
present and did not answer for awhile.
ssrell me honestly, sweetheart" con-
tinued the princess, "how much was
given for that stoneT
"a kiss" thoughtlessly replied Mono
moff. They both laughed at the joke.
won't you sell it to me? will pay
you double that much for It," And the
charming young woman demonstrated
right away her generosity by allowing
her husband to ''help himself" and
the price, two kisses, was willingly
paid-in fact, overpaid-but of course
that is none of our business.
Alexandra, If you value our lives
you must not tell of this bargain to
any one. You know the czarina."
II do promise to you, dear, that no
soul shall learn from me the price Of
the diamond"
II have also promised to Catharina
and told you just the same"
Eyes, but won't"
And she didn't-until the next court
reception. OF course she didn't mean
to tell it to a soul, and it. was only
by mere chance that the secret es-
capped her lips. During the evening
her most intimate friend, the Prin-
cess Orloff, had admired the sparkling
gem and 1--WE must remember that all
this happened in Russia) inquired
about its value.
Princess Monomoff smilingly whis-
pered into her rosy ears: ut was given
to my husband for kiss. / gave him
double the amount for 1t. But ] said
this only for you and to no one else.
Don't let 1t go farther, or 1t may bring
us into danger"
OF course Princess Orloff did not
want to tell the secret to any one and,
in fact, did not tell it to soul except
to the wife of General Romanoff. but
she was such an intimate friend of
hers that she could be trusted without
fear. And she knew also perfectly
how to guard an intrusted secret. No
body learned it from her but her bosom
friend the Princess Kerchikoff. The
Princess Kerchikoff told 1t to no one
except to the Princess Daskof. So the
well kept secret reached Princess Po-
temkin shortly after midnight, whis-
pered confdentially by an unrecorded
lady's rosy lips under the promise of
strict secrecy.
Princess Potemkin hated Princess
Monomoff, and, being the wife of a
great diplomat, she was herself great
intriguer. She had Unanswered SO
skillfully that she approached the en-
press unnoticed, and when the Princess
Monomoff paraded by she remarked
innocently:
s4Oh, how beautiful is that diamond
the Princess MonomoG wears! Splen-
dtdre
The czarina recognized at once her
gift to her former lover, but neverthe-
less nonchalantly said:
Eyes; it is fine stone. 1t must be
very valuable"
The princess tells everybody that it
was given to her husband for kiss,
but she gave two for it.
After the court ball, in the early
morning, Prince and Princess Mono
moh retired, giving orders to their at
tendants not to disturb them until 2
o'clock In the afternoon.
1t happened, however, that hardly
one hour after they were rudely awak-
ened by somebody who executed live
ly tattoo on their bedroom door.
"Who is that? Who daresY called
out Indignantly from their bedchamber
the sleepy prince.
"His excellency the chief of police
wishes to pay his respects"
In Russia every door must open be-
fore this sesame" and in the next
minute Prince Monomoff appeared in
the half opened door.
The chief of police was polite.
II must beg your pardon thousand
times, your excellency, but must dis
turb you at this unseemly hour. / re-
gret 1t very much, but duty compels
me to do it. My most gracious czarina
has bid me to deliver to you this order
and also to carry it out personally and
without delay. Knowing good man.
ners, do not wish to intrude into the
sleeping apartment of q lady, and l
have brought with me lady attendants
to help me in executing it. I must beg
your kind indulgence to allow these
ladies to enter"
Prince Monomon threw a troubled
look in the direction Of the 'lady at
tendants." who were lined up nicely In
the hall They were all six feet high,
very well built ladies" They were
all richly, although little negligently.
dressed. They wore very large French
hats with large feathers, and their
faces were thickly yelled. On their
large hands the fine suede gloves near
" bursted. But the most extraordi-
nary thing was that instead Of fan
every lady" had rod Of birch In her
hand.
The chief of police delivered his or
7ar 70 fka nr.inoa II WAS a arzroo& IifxIo