The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-08-08
HIS LADY OF DREAMS.

PCtllklS HIS DIOWn STUDY ana 1nLGfTuDL-
ing his pipe. She stood beyond the table
beside the door. tall and Slight in a
white gown that chung to her arms and
shoulders and rounded waist, and swept
about her feet in heavy folds. A cross
swung from her neck by a long silver
chain. and she wore broad brimmed
hat with a gauzy white veil, so her face
was in shadow. She leaned Slightly tow
ard Ashe as he clutched the arms of his
big chair and sat forward in amaze
ment.
Il am the Princess Constantia Gregg
RUS, she said gently.
-Of-of Russia? % he asked stupidity,
trying to fan away the haze of tobacco
smoke.
There are other lands she said in
differently. And not so far away"
Great Caesari" he breathed, bewil-
dered. and his pipe dropped from his
that it was the only bond between him
and nationality. he stopped to pick it up.
and as he rose he struck his head
sharply against the corner of the libra
ry table Dizzy from the blow, he stag
gered to his feet and looked towards the
door She was gone, as mysteriously as
she had come He rushed blindly
around the table and across the room.
stumbling over easy chairs and foot
stools, and sending a revolving book
case spinning round. The hall was bril-
liant after the smoky library, and it was
also empty. No trailing gowns had turn
ed up the edges of the rugs, nor could
| he hear any hurrying steps on the pol
iShed stairs He blinked at the sun pour
1 ing red and purple through the painted
! window for a moment, and then turned
back and sat down on the nearest chair.
| Good heavenSi what dreami Who was
she? What was her motive in appearing
| and announcing herself in that royal
| way? And he hadn't seen her face!Well,
| if it was as pretty as her figure-oh,
| confound his head and he was still
feeling of it gingerly, too dazed to think
of more than one thing at time. when
he heard his friends cheerful whistle in
well, old chap" said Thurston, COM
ling in. "Phewi but that pipe of yours
is fright If we don't air this room
before the mater gets into it, your
goose is cooked"
why, what will she do?'' inquired the
other, uncertainty
| You'll never get another bid for
Sunday" said the first, throwing open
one of the windows. ''Geel 1 didn't re-
alize how rank Cissie is getting Retire
her Billy, and get another. But, say,
what's the matter, old man? 1 left
you composing sonnet and going to
sleep over it. What's wrong?"
| Ashe looked down at his maligned
pipe, and then up at his friend.
Say, do you suppose she thought IL
was rank?" h asked
/ THE mater?" said Thurston, puzzled:
If so, we'd better go back tonight Did
she wake you up?"
mo. Just dreamed it, said the own
err of the pipe, and began to feel OF ms
friend looked at him for a moment cur
iously, and then aimed heavy leather
cushion from the nearest Morris chair
at him. unit.
Wake up. you idiot" he said. This
is no sleeping car The idiot parted
the cushion.
ssDick. has your sister friend visit
ing her?'' he inquired.
mo" said the other.
well, there was one IN mere Ahy
way" pursued Ashe-
asOne what" demanded Thurston
cone princess" said the other. his
host surveyed him in silence for mo-
ment. ,.z+
E"Come out and take a walk"
Uiluerding Ashe was making Tor
himself a rather neat reputation with
readers of current magazines as
writer of clever little occasional vel 80 80 :
Among his friends at his clubs he was
considered a good fellow. and they cnoSe
to assume that somewhere he KEPT nio~
den away the person who Wrote MS
| verses for him. His mothers frlendS
approved of him because he paid ms
calls and he was chiefly famous with
the young ladies of his rather genera
! acquaintance as a master OF the arts
! OF welsh TdI6Dltly anu
no one was prepared for the almost
| Oriental beauty and mysticism oil ms
latest verses, which appeared IN one OF
the best of the monthly periodicals un~
der the name of MY Lady of the Realm
of Dreams" and which would have done
! credit to a much more ambitious poet
than Billy AShe. Ashe himself tnousnt
rather well of them; he felt that II IN
some way compensated for the very
nasty knock on the head that the Lady
had been the means of giving him. ana
| that he had turned most perplexlne
firearm to very good account. IL was
better than taking it to the Society OF
| Psychical Research, which he mao
thought of doing in the vividness of his
first impression, but six months without
any further developments, waking OF
sleeping had dulled his keen conviction
of its psychic value. Meanwhile, a
comfortable check from the magazine
had seemed to take the thing out OF the
province of psychic research.
| Ashe was a modest man, but not too
much so to find a little lionizing quite
to his taste. and he went to afternoon
/ teas and cotillons with feeling that
tomorrow would be someone else's day.
and he must gather his roses while he
might So he entered Mrs. Fosters
| long drawing room prepared to smile
as he listened to his verses misquoted
by fair fiatterers; he retained that Sc
rene attitude of mind while he shook
hands with Mrs. Foster, and not one
minute longer. For beyond Mrs. Fos>
ter, and standing just outside the ring
of light from tall lamp, was the Lady
of his dreams, with her white gown
that chung to her shoulders and round
waist, and fiared with heavy folds at
her feet. This time she wore fan on
the long silver chain around her neck.
and she had no hat nor veil, so Ashe
could see that she was regarding him
with the frankest interest from a pair
of most attractive brown eyes He
flushed with surprise, and his remarks
to Mrs. Foster died on his lips She was
not a dream. then, his princessi A
sudden recollection of the check from
the Hundred Years made him warm.
and as a corollary came the realization
of his narrow escape from the Society
of Psychic Research-good heavenSi