The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-07-09
XII. ,- An Interview With the Prince.

which he requested her to name the time
 visit. She replied thai she would re-
 ceive the Prince the following day al
 the hotel. between the fifteenth hour
 and noon. provided. however, he came
 alone. Every other visit she referred to her lawyer.
 The Prince came punctually at the hour
 named. Within the first fifteen minutes
 Of the time appointed by Blanca. his or
 ange-colored carriage. with coachman In
 scarlet livery drew up to the hotel, and
 the Prince. leaning upon tea-tree cane,
 ascended the stairs. Only his right foot
 performed its functions; the left was of duty. but this could be noticed only when he was ascending steps; in the salon
 he knew how to hide this defect by a cer-
 tain dignified aplomb. The Prince was grayish hair betrayed his age; his smooth ly shaven face was red: his eyes spark ling; his forehead void of wrinkles his i heavy eyebrows still quite black, and
 around h.s finely-cnt lips played per-
 petual smile.
 The chief waiter lost no time in an- l nouncing his arrival to the Princess. who ! advanced to meet him in the ante-cham- Der and extended her hand to him. While with his right hand the Prince presses | that of Blanca, with his left he holds
 his cane horizontally in front of the wait l er so that the latter was compelled eith-
 CT to jump over it or to acknowledge him.
 self a. prisoner.
 l Are these still the apartments of the | Princess?''
 The person addressed had nothing to | say: the Princess, however, immediately l came to his relief.
 T myself desired to remain here."f Upon this the captive was immediately 1 released. and the Prince was conducted | into Blanca's room. which. although com l fortable enough, was not luxurious. '1 regret very much, my dear Blanca,
 that you refused to accept my offer. Tn l kind of life Is not suitable to your rank. hNy nhr a4v1er DrNtn fo o1f Ia u you make 1t appear as though you were | inexorable towards me "
 You do not believe this of. me-" said
 Blanca. in dignified. ,reproachful tones. l No, I do not. And for this l am cer- tainly not indebted to your lawyer. It was the prompting of your own noble heart that led you to deal gently with me | You did not take advantage of the time when it was a moral impossibility for me | to come to Rome; when my pen.poten- 1 tiary was prevented from appearing in | person, and when every important place l in the curia was filled by my political I pushed on the battle, the result would have been against me. You have not | done this; you have acted the part or
 mercy. and now We do not appear as | fighting opponents. but as two heirs, each of whom has agreed to restore what does
 not belong to him to the other. Prince Cagliari docs not now come to reclaim his wife. but his daughter. Will you ac- cept me as your father?' Blanca almost believed him sincere, even in this. But fortunately, the pain he had caused her was too great to be effaced from her memory by a theatrical scene. She remained motionless.
 Consider. dear Blanca, that the key to the situation is now my hands. Changes have taken place in the great world-moving events which make me welcome in the Vatican, and which put an end to riots. Your protectors are pre- pairing to flee. The first condition i'm pose is, that you accept the arrangements by which l may take paternal care of you during your stay in Rome. If we desire to settle our business amicably, we must take care to avoid every appearance of animosity. But when the Princess Caeliari Is seen taking drives in Rome in a numbered droshky. the coachman of which has a dog sitting beside him. and when for herself and two other persons she rents apartments consisting of but four rooms it will be supposed that she Is hostile to me- It would have been at least my duty to offer you the use of the Palace Cagliari, which consists of two wings, with separate entrances and separate stairs, and even the garden of which is divided into two distinct parts. But I am convinced that you would have refused such an offer"
 Certainly.
 Then no other choice remains but for me but to place at your disposal the apartments of this hotel which are re- served for foreign princes. This Is not a ably. I will see that the money paid for it is deducted from your alimony."
 Elan "a was of contiding disposition, and believed even those who were un- worthy. This was excusable in a woman what at such a tender age had experi- enced so many sorrows. Her husband be- longed to that class of men who are not trustworthy. She had learned that not word he spoke should be regarded as sincere. The question of rooms was such an insignificant one that she could not understand why so many words should be wasted about 1t. Let the wishes of the Prince be fulfilled. But there must be some hidden motive in connection with them.
 T am very glad. my dear Blanca, that you yield to my wishes. The manner of the maitre d'hotel. He will also procure the servants, who will wear the livery of our house. How many do you wish? Two?'
 One will be sufficient"
 If he displease you, dismiss him and engage another. You shall have no cause to suspect that I have engaged a ser
 i He Y would find no no occasion for acting the spy in this house."
 Dear Blanca. one never sees ones own face without mirror. But others see 1t
 DO you find anything in me deserving of censure?"
 T? Not in the least. I Nhow your firm nrincipieS. 1 do not sec you through the green glass which jealous men use in looking at their wives. but through the rose-colored one, which loving fathers use in looking at their daughters. If you travelled with another, It might have been by accident; if you suddenly lost your way. vou might have done so to avoid a dangerous route. If in Rome the same fellow traveller was again at your side, | see nothing in it except the plain duty of a gentleman familiar with the locality, toward his less fortunate countrymen: if you took his arm, it was on account of the surging crowd, in which situation any lady Is allowed to cling to the arm of any gentleman she finds at her side. and to ask his protection.
 Blanca was supplied with amazement. From these trifies weapons were being forged for her destruction. She remained silent Her glowing face would have con tradiCted the assertion on her part that all this was nothing but calumny And could she dare say that seductive phan- tom had for days accompanied her like a shadow, that she had dreamed of this, that she had sighed Tn secret; but that by praying and weeping she had succeeded in breaking the spell? It had vanished and nothing had remained of 1t but the shadow of a remembrance, the outlines of empty space She preferred suffering in silence.
 Wen parlons plus?" said tho Prince. seeing his victory. NO one. not even his own wife, shall have occasion to boast that he has surpassed the Prince Gag liari in magnanimity.
 That which I have felt on your ac- count, you shall feel on mine. As you fell on your knees to implore mercy. l mon father. What you said In your pe- tition, to that l subscribe We are not man and wife; we are father and daugh- | ter. And you will learn that this is more