The San Francisco call., 1903-01-11

determined to learn the dance. She was
an apt pupil and soon glided softly and
gracefully around the room with an un-
feigned delight, yielding to the new sem
ssauo1 more easily as she became accus-
This dance was livelier exercise than La
Galliard, and Mary could not talk much
for lack Of breath. Brandon kept the con-
versation going. though. and she an;
monosyllables-a very good vocabulary in
us way, and a very good way, too' FOR
voice. which brought a flush to her
cheeks and caused her to glance quickly
up into his face. BY the time her answer
her say: 'I am afraid I shall have to
forgive you again II you are not careful
Let me see an exhibition Of that modesty
flash of the eyes went with the words and
took all the sting out of them;
Mary, with flushed face and sparkling
eyes, sank into chair, exclaimlng: The
new dance is delightful, Jane. 1t Is like
Wha wS9d agtnsE Ss helps s%d s0 sps
Queen? She would simply swoon with
horror. 1t is delightful, though" Then,
with more confusion in her manner than
lightful If one chooses her partner
This only made matters worse and gave
Brandon an opportunity.
entail bow.
"Oh, yes; you may hope. I tell you
frankly 1t was delightful with you. Now,
are you satisfied. my modest one? 5ane,
| see we have a forward body here; no
6NeliIng telling ,f what he VIII be at next" said
swaying her fan. She spoke almost sharp
ly, for Brandon's attitude was more that
OF an equal than she was accustomed to,
tfficiaI part Of her rebeIed % against it now
and then In spite of her real inclinations.
The habit of receiving only adulation, and
living on pinnacle above everybody else,
was so strong from continued practice,
that it appealed to her a duty to main
tain that elevation. She had never before
been called upon to exert herself in that
direction, and the situation was new. The
servfle ones with whom she usually asso-
ciated maintained 1t for her; so she now
felt, whenever she thought Of 1t, that she
was In duty bound to Chamber back at
least part of the way, to her dignity. how
ever pleasant it was, personally. down be-
low in the denser atmosphere of informal
ity.
In her heart the Princess preferred upon
proper occasions. such as this. to abate
dispense with ceremony, as, in fact she
had done with US earlier in the evening.
But Brandon's easy manner, although
perfectly respectful and elegantly polite
was very different from anything she had
ever known. She enjoyed it, but every
now and then the sense of her Importance
and dignity-for you must remember she
was the first Princess of the blood royal
would supersede even her love of enjoy
ment, and the girl went down and the
Princess came up, Besides. she half fearrd
that Brandon was amusing himself at her
expense, and that, in fact. this was new
SOM Sometimes donbted II It We're eay Worm Sae at
all, and did not know what to expect, nor
what she ought to do.
She was far more girl than Princess.
and would have preferred to remain mere
ly girl and let events take the course they
were going, for she liked 1t. But there
was the other part Of her which was Prin-
cess, and which kept saying: Remember
who you are so she was plainly al a
loss between natural and artificial incli-
nations contending unconsciously within
her.
Replying to Mary's remark over James
shoulder, Brandon said:
Your Highness asked US to lay aside
ceremony for the evening. and If have
offended can but make for my excuse
my y desire to please you. Be sure I shall
ously that his meaning could not be mis-
understood. He did not care whether he
pleased so capricious a person or not.
Brandon had the worst of it.
. We sat few minutes talking, Mary
wearing an air Of dignity. Cards were
gradually unbent again and became as
affable and familiar as earlier IN the
evening. Brandon, however. was frozen.
the ladies, but the spirit of the evening
was gone, since he had furnished It all
with his free. off-hand manner, full Of life
After short time. Mary..s warming
mood railing to thaw our frozen fun
make max and IN n her d,9t heart nhney MIR prefer
this is wearisome. Your game Is far less
. entertaining than your new dance. Do
something to make me laugh, Master
Brandon"
II fear you must call in VIII sommers. -
he replied. II you wish to laugh. can
not please you In both ways, so will hold
n fha Prf7
cess"
Mary's eyes flashed and she said ironi-
''That sounds very much as though you
cared to please me in any way" Her lips
parted and she evidently had something
unkind ready to say; but she held the
and, after one or two false starts in as
many different lines, continued: "But
perhaps l deserve It. 1 ask you to for
upon all proper occasions, when we are by
ourselves, to treat me as one of you-as
a woman-a girl, mean, Where Is the
virtue of royalty If it only means being
pleasures Of life, like foolish old Styiites
preaching to me about the strict mainten-
ance of my dignity royal as she calls 1t,
and perhaps she is right: but out upon
dignity royal say l. It is a terrible nut
il is to be a Princess and not a fool.
There" And she sighed in apparent re-
lief
Then turning to Brandon, "You have
taught me another good lesson, sir, and
from this hour you are my friend. II you
will be, so long as you are worthy-no; I
do not mean that; I know you Will al
ways be worthy-but forever Now we
are at rights again. Let us try to remain
so-that is, l will" and she Iaughlngly
gave him her hand, which he. rising to
his feet bowed low over and kissed rther
fervently and lingeringly, l thought
Hand-kissing was new to us IN England
excepting in case Of the King and Queen
at public homage. 1t was a little start
ling to Mary, though she permitted him
to hold her hand much longer than there
was any sort of need-a fact she recog-
nized, as I could easily see from her tell
tale cheeks, which were rosy with the
thought nf X.
So 1t is when a woman goes on the de-
fensive prema turely and without cause; II
: makes 1t harder to apply the check when
the real need comes.
After a little card-playing I expressed
regret to Jane that 1 could not have a
dance with her for lack OF music.
"I will play, II the ladies permit" said
Brandon; and he took Lady James lutte
and played and sang some very pretty
, love songs and some comic ones, too, in
a style not often heard in England, so far