The southern sentinel. (Winnfield, La.) 1883-1910, 1904-07-28
HER HIGHNESS
IOriginal.l


who had made fortune in organizing
wrecked railroads appeared nc Bauen
p,san Germany. Baden Baden III
/ ,,at fine was what Monte Carlo Is
now. the gambling resort Tor all Eu'
rome The American. Benedict Wuf-
eas was in fact a smart fellow. tic
had unlimited means. with which n'
set TO work to break the Dank III
BADEN Baden. and it was not long De
fore he found the secret OF how I'D oo
so. His play soon attracted uhi'ers"'
attention. and his operations were
watched intently by every one present
till he had accomplished ms opJe'''
! Then Mr.. Wuhies suddenly sank into u
condition of cnnui awaiting some otii-
or point OF attack for his tremendous
brain.
One morning he was sitting on u
bench in the grounds where the casino
stood, when Il lady with her hial"
came and sat on Il neighborinS behcii-
The women spoke in the French IAN
| g,Iage. and Mr. Wutlles did not undef-
! stand what they said, but there was
one word he had learned while gaping
at ROYALTY in Paris, the prefix nigh
ness or ..a!tesse," in French. WuiiieS'
noticed that the lady's maid constantly
addressed her rs ''altesse. The iirsi
time she did so Wuflies pricked up his
ears. The second time he moved rest
lessly i'm his seat, and after that he got
IN and walked before the lady IN or
der to observe her face He saw q
very beautiful woman. Then he sat
down again. Presently her 'highness
arose and moved away. leaving her
handkerchief on the bench. Wufiies
| seized IL and followed her. appearing
suddenly at her side holding his hat
! i'm one hand and in the other the hand
kerchief.
"Oh. monsieur. exclaimed The lady
and followed up the exclamation by
rafting off lot of French.
Il don't understand. altesse- don't
speak French. / am an American"
..Oh, / see," replied the lady in bro
ken English "I am much obliged for
my handkerchief, but / am troubled
that you should know my rank. am
travelling incognito-"
Well, to make long story short, the
lady turned out to be the Princess Ma
ric Ernestina Amelia Wilhelmina OF
Sake Weimar- Iolstein - that Is, she
was the princess to Wufiles and her
maid, though to all else at Baden she
was plain Fraulein Won Witzenburg.
She was stopping at hotel, but soon
after WufIles met her rented for a
month small furnished villa. She had
heard of SVuffies' coup at the casino,
and, all Europeans being either gam
blers or Interested in gamblers. she
conceived great admiration for the
American. She invited Wuffies to her
villa. and Wuffies plumed himself In
the anticipation of love affair, but
she soon showed him that. although
she permitted him to call OH her. she
did not forget the difference In their
rank. An attendant of some sort was
always present Mt their meetings.
Her higlness desired to know Wuf
fcs' method of breaking the bank. and
he tried to explain 1t to her. but she
couldn't understand it. and. to tell the
truth, the success was largely due to
his unlimited means, which he knew
by instinct how to handle.
.'You shall break the bank again"
said the princess Il will be there to
see, and after it is all over you shall
come to sup with me. and we win cele-
brate the event.
WufiIes agreed, ard the next evening
he appeared mt the gambling tables,
while the princess sat behind watching
him. lie would bet on one card. losing,
and continue to bet without change on
the same card. doubling the amount,
till he won. This was all of his plan
that was apparent. the rest of it being
based on certain mental calculations of
probabilities. Nevertheless he seemed
confident that he would break the bank
and did SO about o'clock In the morn
Ing. He stuffed his winnings in his
pockets. The princess slipped her little
hand within his arm and led him to
her carriage. In ten minutes they
We're in her supper room before table
loaded with delicacies. Two or three
acquaintance were also present for
propriety's sake.
Whites was in glory. Once he forgot
the difference in rank between himself
and his hostess and squeezed her hand.
but was sharply recalled to himself by
hauteur that chilled him to the mar
row.
Pardon me. your highness.- he said
II forgot myself
The princess smiled kindly and in
token of her forgiveness offered him
her own unfinished glass of wine.
Wuiiles drank it OF in an ecstasy.
The next thing Wutiies knew it was
morning He was in bed, and d man
was standing over him with paper in
his hand. 1t proved to be an unpaid
bill for rent for the villa, made out in |
his name.
But where is He must not Give
up the princess and hesitated.
"Oh. they've gone. The woman took
the house In your name She said she |
was your wife. but knew better than
that She's been here before
Wuflles stirred at the man a few mo-
ments- Then 1t rushed upon him that
ne had been DONE But he was good
grit. and his pride kept him up.
"AIl right" he said. .rll paw
He knew well enough that hts win.
n1ngS OF the night before wcrr ro,,o