The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1901-03-28
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; 1heWon1an!
By Harold MacCrath -

she was not at nome. l answered.
threw my coat and hat on the sofa.
balanced the. envelope in my hand.
drew forth the contents and read it.
| Herr Winthrop-Forgive the indiscretion Of q
princess. On my honor ! am sorry for having
made you believe that you inspired me with the
! grand passion. Folly finds plenty to do with idle
minds. 1t was a caprice of mine which ! heartily
regret. There Is nothing to forgive; there ID
much to forget. However, ! am under great obi.
cations to you. am positive that shall love my
sister as l have never loved a human being be-
fore. She is adorable, and can well comprehend
why you should love her deeply. Forgive me for
playing with what the French call your summer
affections. l am about to leave for Hohenphalia
to prepare the way for the new sovereign. Will
you kindly destroy that one indiscreet letter
which l, in tho spirit of mischief, wrote you last
autumn The PRINCESS HnDEaARDE.
The envelope reminded me Of rusty
scabbard; there was very keen weap-
on within. l lit my pipe and pulled for
awhile.
Cousin" said l. 81 have Fremont
ton that / shall not kill Prince Ernst
Of Wortumborg at 6 o'clock tomorrow
morning"
"What put that into your head? You
are not going to back down after all,
are you"
Decidedly not. Something strikes
me that shall miss fire."
"Pshaww exclaimed Pembroke. Il
have been thinking it over, and I've
come to the conclusion that it would
not be bad plan to rid this world Of q
man like your prince. It'll all come
out right in the end. You will wed
the Princess Hildegarde just as sure
as-as l will not wed her sister," He
spoke the last words rapidly, as though
afraid of them.
81 shall never marry the Princess
Hildegarde," said L. "She has gone"
"Gone? Where"
cit matters not where. Suffice it is
that she has gone. Pembroke. you and
l were very unfortunate fellows. What
earthly use have princesses for you
and me? The little knowledge Of court
we have was got out of cheap books
and newspaper articles. To talk with
kings and princesses it requires an in
nate etiquette which commoners can
not learn. We are not to the manner
born. These princesses are but can
dies, and now that we have singed our
notify wings and are crippled so that
we may not fly again let US beware.
on earth. Let us go to the opera. Let
us be original in all things. l shall
pay prima donna to sing my requiem
from the footlights before l am dead"
"Jack" cried Pembroke anXiously.
ooh. do not worry" said l. 81 am
only trying to laugh. but l can't"
care you truly serious about going
to the opera?" he asked.
eyes. Hurry and Dress" said 1.
So we went to the opera. They are
full of wonderful scenes, these CONT
mental opera houses. Here and there
one sees the brilliant uniforms, blue
and scarlet and brown, glittering with
insignias and softened by furs. Old
men with sashes crossing the white
bosoms of their linen dominate the
boxes, and the beauty Of woman is Of
ten lost in the sparkle Of jewels. And
lowering over all is an oppressive fra
GRANGE. Pembroke's glasses were row.
ing about. Presently he touched my
arm.
''In the upper proscenium." he said.
1t was Phyllis. The chancellor and
the Grand Duke of s. were with
her.
1--WE shall visit her during the first
.ntermission." said l.
"You had better go alone" replied
Pembroke. Il haven't the courage"
The moment the curtain dropped I
left the stall. l passed along the cor
ridor and soon stood outside the box
in which Phyllis sat. I knocked
gently.
"Enter!" said soft voice.
"Ah," said the chancellor, smiling as
he saw me. Duke, believe their
majesties are looking this way. Let us
60 to them. am pleased to see you,
Herr Winthrop. Duke, this is the gen.
tleman who has turned us all upside
down."
The duke bowed, and the two left me
alone. with Phyllis,
There was an embarrassing silence,
but she surmounted it.
"Why have you not been to see met"
she asked. Are you done with me
now that you have made me prin-
cessw
81 did call, but was told that you
were indisposed," said 1.
"It was because did not see your
card. shall never be indisposed to my
friends-the old ones. However, they
will be crowding in here shortly. Will
you come AID see me at 4 tomorrow
afternoon
ais it importantT' I was thinking Of
the duel when said this.
"Very-to you. You have strange
funeral expression for a man who Is
about to wed the woman he loves"
"Your sister has left town. not
knowing what else to say.
"Only for few days. At least SO
she told me. Have you seen her"
3, mo, have not. A princessv'. drop
ping into lighter tone. "You carry
your honors well. It was to be ex.
pected Of you. might have made
you a queen, but that would not have
changed you any" r..
'Thank you. Do you know, a title is
a most wonderful drawing apparatus?
Sfncp Thursday II has hepn a continued