The Marshall republican., 1908-04-03

s.e tfe,s ~. " 49,
Northumberland exchequer. Afterward
be had freely spent such portion q
that gold as had come TO his Golfers In
trying to keep his little estates intact
Blu o Il was all gone, and long ago
he had died Of grief and bitter disap-
pointment. The hereditary grand duchy
Of Baumenburg- Drippe was ruled by
. cousinly understudy OF the German
Emperor william H.: the one son %
the marriage had been adopted AZ heir
to his crown by the childless king Of
Hungaria: the handsome and lamenta-
bly, e~xtravagaDt old Duke OF North
moreland was dead: his title and vast
estates had passed to n distant and dis
agreeable relative, and the widowe1
grand duchess. with her one fair
daughter. had lived for years IN a pref.
~ old house with a high walled gar.
den at Hampton Court. lent by the
generosity Of the king and queen of
England.
For a long moment the Dresden
china lady thought In silence aud some
| thing Of sadness. Then she reused her.
self again and asked the one and only
royal princess with an American name
what. IN the way OF n match. she real.
iy expected.
what do I ~expectf" echoed Virginia
why. ! wish for the u !
mean the sun. But ! don't expect 10
get IT,"
"Is that a way OF saying you never
intend to marryY'
I'm afraid Il amounts TO that" nd.
mitted virginia. ''since there IL only
one man IN the world ! would have for
my husband"
"My dearest. A man you have lot
yourself learn TO care for. n man lie
meath your How terrible! But you see
no one. r.
"I've never seer this man. And-I'm
not In love with him. That would I've
too foolish. because. instead Of beinr
beneath. he's far. Ear above me-"
"virginia. OF whom n you be talk
ing2 or IN this another joker"
virginia blushei u little aud. instead
OF answering her mothers look of help
less appeal. stared at the row Of tai
hollyhocks that blazed along the ivy
hidden garden wall. She did not speal
for an instant. and then she said. viii
the dainty shyness Of a child pinned q
statement by uncomprehending cid
ers: ut isn't n Joke. Nonsense. maybe
yet not a joke. I've always thought o.
hlm-for 30 many years I've forgottei
when Il first began. He was 80 great
so-everything that appeals to me
How could ] help thinking about hin
and putting him on a pedestalf J.
there's no Idea OF marriage In my mind
, Of course. only-there's no other mai
possible after all the thoughts ~
|, given him-no other man In the world.
my dear. you must tell me hi
name"
, "What! When I've described hlm-al
!. most-do you stu need to hear hi
manner Well, then. lin not asian
ed to tell. It's Leopold"
Leopold. You're talking OF the Q.
, peror OF Rhaetia."
. "As II II could have been any q
else"
. "And you have thought Of bin
you've cherished him. for years ns O
( ideal! Why. you never spoke Of hin
I particularly before"
That's because you seriousl
y wanted me to take d husband until thi
prim. dull French Henri proposed hin
self. My thoughts were my own.
wouldn't have told you only-you -
why"
/ "Of course. my precious child Ho'
b extremely interesting and-and romal
B ticr Again the grand duchess lapse
}. into silence. yet her expression did n
suggest q stricken mind. She mers'
appeared astonished, with an sstonis|
ment that might turn into an emotta
more agreeable.
I'll Meanwhile II was left for virgin
to look vexed-vexed with herself. q
wished that she had not betrayed D
poor little foolish secrct-so shadowy
secret that II was hardly worthy OF q
p name. Yet II had been ~precious-pr
cious since childhood. precious as Il
immediate Jewel OF her soul becaul
L had been the jewel of her soul. M
4 no one else had dreamed OF Its exii
b ence. Now she had shown II to 9th
= eyes, almost Haunted It. Never aga
n could II be y Joy to her.
In the little room, half study, b
bcddolr. which was her own there "
D a desk. locked In her absence, whe
souvenirs Of the young emperer
. Rhaetia had been accommodating
y years. There were photographs whS
at Virginia had c0ntrived to buy sscs'
= ly-portraits Of Leopold from - eel
q age up to the present, when - v
y shown as a tall. dark, cold eyed, wal
q npped. nrm chinned young man
q thirty, There were paragraphs Z
n from newspapers telling Of his gent