The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-06-02

shout with the s~aved-that cheer with the
victor and weep with the vanquished-that
run the gamut of human hope and mortal
accomplishment-tbat burn their way
through class and convcntionality TO warm.
mayhap TO scar. the very heart of the
listener.
1t was such music that the hunchback
Gypsy drew from his v~ioiin-music that
caught the ear. the fancy and the tickle
heart of the American Princess-that whis-
pered to her-and captured her.
So. one day. Mime. Grundy had a choice
morsel to teil-the American Princess had
deserted husband and children and gone
away. And for what? a mere fiddl.as
Gypsy. who had a hump on his back and
was as poor as a church mouse. with not a
gold piece nor a bank note to his name.
save such as he could attract by scraping
the strings OF his miserable violin!
And they did say that the fiddler was al
ready married-that somewhere-thc saints
knew w~here-the-e was a swarthy little
Gypsy woman who bore his NAME. and that
she was foolishly crying her eyes out and
hugging to her breast two or three brats.
likewise swarthy. who had called the. fiddler
father"
Really, It was quite a tax on Nine.
Grundy's temperament! Should she laugh
at the quaintness of a Gypsy woman hav-
ing a heart. or be Mortified at the thought
Of the wife OF a Prince clipping with a
poor fiddler?
Away to Egypt went the American Prin-
cess and the ~hunchback Gypsy-to Egypt.
where once upon a time the scepter of the
wanton Cleopatra waved. ana unrestrained
love was riotous king. The Princess scat
| tered her American dollars with a ~prodigal
hand. Rich jewels. magnificent robes. roy
| ally grand equipages were bought with a
recklessness which the barbaric Queen OF
| Sheha could not have rivaled: there were
! feasts which Nero could not have equaled:
| and wine from wherever the best was 10 be
found.
And music such as the Gypsy fiddler had
drawn from his violin when he was weaving
the spell about the Princess!
| Strangely homogeneous revel was that.
Back Of them was the tragedy of broken
marriage VOWS and deserted homes: around
them. in all the narrow. vile streets of the
ancient town. was that terrible scourge.
bubonic plague. reaching out with its tor
turing fingers and clutching victims by the
score between each sunrise and sunset,
After awhile. when the details could be
arranged. the Prince de Chimay was given
| a divorce from the Princess. and the Gus
/, tody Of the children. upon whom was set
tied 5000 o Of the Princess's money. And
the swarthy wife Of the fiddler was also
divorced. So the Princess and the fiddler.
freed. were married.
Still the riot of extravagant living con-
tinued. The woman's vast income was
spent before 1t was received; she squan-
dered thousands with the reckiessness
which characterizes the street gam:n who
finds his sport IN tossing pennies at a
crack. She spent tens of thousands for
jewels. which in a few days she pawned for
hundreds: she paid thousands for gowns
and hats which she wore for an hour or not
at all. and gave to her maids. She made
huge debts. and left the creditors to multi
| ply them and get their money from the
trustees OF her estate In America-if they
could.
OF course. there had to come an end to
this. 1t would have come naturally-in
bankruptcy-in time: but man and the law
stepped in before that stage could be
reached. The uncle. who was also trustee
OF the estate. made a trip to London
whence the Princess and the Gypsy hal
gone. He took with him a petition which
recited that the Princess was a spendthrft
and incompetent to manage her income;
which recounted her deeds of prodigality;
and which took from her all right to control