Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1905-07-01
THE PRINCESS IN SPRING.

There was once in a distant land a
princess who gave a great deal of trouble.
She was beautiful after the manner of
princesses in stories, which is saying a
good deal. She was young and she was
not unkind. 1t was really not her fault
at all that some Of the men committed
suicide and some went abroad to shoot
big game, and some lost their temper and
married their cooks. She was quite UNI
able to look at il in their light. That
they should adore her seemed to her per
fectly natural, ard that she should love
seemed impossible.
Overcast days, cold and rainy, had
shuflied heavily past one after the other;
then early one morning the princess woke
with the sunlight in her eyes. Away in
the garden below and in the woods be-
yond she heard the birds calling. She
arose and went out alone. Yes; the
spring had come. Through the simmer
ing light she could see colors bright yet
tender. The new green came as hope
fully into the world as that which had
died last year; this. too, would die, but
was so clearly not thinking about it. The
princess was conscious of strange
strength and a strange WEAKNESS battling
together within her. Her heart was ex-
allied. The desire to do some mad thing
filled her. She flung herself OH the grass
by the edge OF the lake and looked at
her face in the dark water. You beau
tiful creature" she said. Her head bent
lower. Her lips Just touched the cold
ripple on the surface. Quickly she
started to her feet again and looked
around No one had seen her This
morning so early she was quite alone in
the world She heard no step on any
path, no human voice near or far. This
was new world and her own.
And now she passed out of the bright
garden and walked ON the velvet track
that led through the forest Here the
light grew dim and all was mysterious
Her eyes followed The shafts of the tail
trees in an upward aspiration. This for
est was temple not made with hands,
and temple to some pagan god at whose
shrine she had never before worshiped
Now in bursts from the trees about her
and from dark bushes far withdrawn she
heard his anthem. and for the first time
she knew what tie birds said.
This was very strange. She had slept
well and she was young and healthy
There was no reason whatever why she
should feel this strange sense of weari-
ness. Still less could she understand
why the WEAKNESS should have in it
something pleasurable. It seemed quite
good thing to be tired and in an open
space where the sun shore through to
lie down and watch the drifting clouds.
Presently she gave = little start ana
listened intently. Yes; the world was
no longer her own. 1t was invaded. She
could hear quick, firm step that seemed
to be coming toward her, and for this
only time in her life she felt the beating
of her heart. She knew who it would
be. She could close her eyes and picture
him. And because he was just like that
and because she was beautiful in Just
that way, this man would stop and they
would speak together He would take
her in his arms and kiss her on the lips
and she would be quite powerless. Thus
with closed eyes she lay for a moment
listening. The steps grew fainter away
in the distance.
She rose to her feet in angry contempt
of herself. Doubtless it was some laborer
going to his work. A chilled wind
rustled the trees She turned homeward
again. AS she walked the clonds drifted
over the sun and the appeal died out of
the voice of the birds So she returned
to her palace and ate very good break
fast, observing that she had had quite a
nice walk and she supposed that had
given her an appetite.
Once in her life for one hour she might
have lived and made her history differ
ent. But the springtime never cane
again for her, and after time people
ceased to commit suicide for her or to
make absurd voyages, and if they did
marry their cooks it was entirely on ae-
count of the cooks and not because of
their alteration for the princess. Beauty
fades and tempers grow sharper. and in
time she ceased altogether to be ador-
able.
But it is pity that the footsteps did
not come her way that morning.-Barry
Pain in the Tattler