The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1905-02-10
xananuy.


S the valley. From tile east tb
red orb began it's attack; out of tb,
west rode the swift moving zepbvrs
and, vanquished, the wavering vono
s.oie' Oh INTO thin air or hung in isolat
Wreaths above the foliage on th,
hiiiside. Soon the conquering light
priehtiy tllnmined a medieval castI,
eopiihandlhg the surrounding country
'ne VICTORIOUS breeze whispered loudl,
at lts gloomy easements. A great Nor
man structure, somber, austere. il was
however, frightened with many mod
ern features that threatened gradually
TO sap much of it's ancient majesty.
= bll up the moat," Francis had or
uereu' Tis barbaric. What love,
would sigh beneath walls thirty fee,
thick! And the portcullis-away with
1t! Summon my Italian painters RI
adorn the walls. We NAV vet make
haoitabie these legacies from the saw.
age, brutal past"
so the mighty walls. once set in n
comparative wilderness, n tanrle of
thlcket and underbrush, now arose
from garden, lawn and park. where
even the deer were no longer shy. and
Ine water. propelled by artificial pow
ef. shot upward in Jets.
Seated Mt window which ovcr,ool-
--ed this sylvan aspect, modified If NOT
fashioned by man, n young woman
win seeming consc.entiousness told
her Deads. The apartment, though
rIchly furnished, was in keeping with
tle ueVOut character of its fnir mis-.
tress. a brush or aspersorium. used
Tor sprink.ing holy water. was leaning
against the wall. Upon table Law an
open psalter, with its long hanging
cover and bail at the extremity of
ahe forel. Behind two tall candle
sticks stood an altar table which. he.
Ing unfo.ded, revealed three comDort.
ments, each with picture painted bv
Andrea del Sarto. the once honored
guest OF Francis.
Inc Princess Louise, cousin of Fran.
c1s' former queen, Claude. had been
reared with rigid strictness. although
provided with various preceptors who
nad made her more or less proficient
IN the proflne letters, as they were
then called. Latin, Greek, theology and
philosophy. The fame of her beautv
had gone abroad; her hand had been
often sought, but the obdurate k;np
nad steadfastly refused to sanction
her betrothal until Charles. tie EN-
peror. himself proposed union be.
tween tie fair ward Of the French
II FPf2.hIiaYEsh .la.Rd and one of his mol. .es. the
lated upon thus drawing to his inter-
ests one of his rivals most chivalrous
knights. while farseeing Charles be-
lieved he could not only retain the
duke. but add to his own court the
lovely and learned ward Of the king.
And in this comedy Of aggrandlze-
ment the puppets were willing, as pup
pets must needs be. Indeed, the duke
was seriously enamored of the prin-
cess, whose portrait he had seen in
miniature. and had himself impOrtuned
the emperor to intercede with Francis,
knowing that the only way to the
lady's hand was through the good Of
g es of him who aspired to the mastery
Of all Europe, If not the world.
Charles. unwilling to disoblige one
whose principality was the most pow
erful of the Austrian provinces he
sought to absorb in his scheme for the
: unification Of all nations. offered no
demur to q request fraught with ad-
vantage to himself Besides. cod and
calculating though he was. tie EN-
peror entertained a certain affection
for the duke. who on one occasion.
when Charles had been sore beset by
the troops Of Solyman, had eXtricated
bia rNyoi 'nodar from thn .,ltaI-,o five
Of ignom!nious capture or an untimely
end. Accordingly. formal proposal,
couched IN language of warm friend
ship to the king. was dispatched by
the emperor. When Francis, with
some misglving. arising from expert
ence with womankind. laid the matter
before Louise, she, to his surprise,
proved her devotion and loyalty by her
entire submissiveness. and the king.
kissing her hand, generously vowed
the wedding festivities should be
worthy of ber beauty and fealty.
Was she thinking of that scene now
and the many messages which had
subsequently passed between her dis
tant lover and herself as the white
fingers ceased to tell the beads? Was
she questioning fate and the future
when the rosary fell from her hand
and the clinking Of the great glass
beads ON the hard floor aroused her
from reverie2 Languidly she rose and
crossed the room toward low dress.
ing table. when at the same time one
of the several doors Of the apartment
opened, admitting the jestress. Jacque
line, whose long, flowing gown Of dark
green bore no distinguishing mark OF
the motley she had assumed the night
before. The dreamy, almost lethargic
gaze of the princess rested for a mo
kl,n nff N n In