Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1908-09-03

king was discussed with considerable
frankness.
He has not old Stroebel's right hand
to hold him up" remarked a young
German officer.
Thereby hangs dark tale,' re-
marked Claiborne. Somebody stuck
knife into Count Won Stroebel at a
singularly inopportune moment saw
him in Geneva two days before he was
assassinated. and he was very feeble
and seemed harassed. 1t gives man
the shudders to think of what might
happen if his majesty Charles Louis
should go by the board. His only child
died a year ago--after him his cousin
Francis, and then the deluge.s
Bah. Francis is not as dark as he's
painted He's the most lied about
prince in Europe remarked Chan
venet. He would most certainly be
an improvement on Charles Louis But.
alas. Charles Louis will undoubtedly
live on forever, like his lamented IA
Their. The king is dead! Long live the
king
Nothing can happen.n remarked the
German sadly. 4 have lost much
money betting on upheayals in that di-
rection. II there were a man in Hun
gary it would be different But riots
are not revolutions
'sThat is quite true" said Armitage
quietly.
"But." observed the spaniard, IL
the Archduke Karl had not gone oat
of his head and died in two or three
dozen places, so that no one is sure
he is dead at all, things at Vienna
might be rather more interesting. Karl
took a son with him into exile. Sup
pose one or the other of them should
reappear, stir up strife and incite re-
bellion.'
Such speculations are quite idle, +"
commented Chauyenet. There is no
doubt whatever that Karl is dead OF
we should hear of him"
"Of course said the German. If
he We're not the death of the old EN-
peror would have brought him to life
again.
THE same applies to the boy be
carried away with him-undoubtedly
dead, or we should hear of him. Karl
disappeared soon after his son Francis
was born 1t was said
"A pretty tale it is" commented the
German. that the child wasn't ex,
actly Karl's own He took it quite
hard-went away to hide his shame in
exile, taking his son, Frederick An
gustus, with him."
Tie was surely mad" remarked
~hauvenet. slipping a cordial. He is
much better dead and out of the way
for the good Of Austria. Francis. as |
say, is a good fellow. We have hunted
together. and know him WELL"
They fell to talking about the lost
sons Of royal houses-and a goodly mum
Der there have been, e3en in these
later cent.ries-and then of the latest
marriages between American women
aud titled foreigners. Chauyenet was
now leading the conversation. 1t might
even have seemed to a critical listener
that he was guiding it with a certain
Intention.
He laughed as though at the remem
brance of something amusing and held
the little company while he bent over
4 candle to light a cigar.
with all due respect to our Ameri-
can host, must say that a title in
America goes further than anywhere
else in the whole. | was at Bar Har-
Dor three years ago when the Baron
Won Kissel devastated that region. He
made sad havoc among the ladies that
summer. The rest of US simply had no
place to stand. You remember. gentle
men''-and Chauvenet looked slowly
around the listening cirele-.'that the
unexpected arrival of the excellent
ambassador of Austria Hungary caus-
ed the baron to leave Bar Harbor be-
tween dark and daylight. The story
was that he got off in sailboat. and
the next we heard of him he was mas
querading under some title in San
Francisco. where he proved to be a
dangerous forger. You all remember
that the papers We're full of his per
forInances for awhile. but be was a
lucky rascal and always disappeared at
the proper psychological moment lie
had, as you may say. the cosmopolitan
accent and was the most plausible fell
low alive
IFS my experience that we never
meet a person once only-there's al
ways a second meeting somewhere
and / was not at all surprised when |
ran upon my old friend the baron in
Germany last fall"
cat his old tricks. suppose" OBJ
served some one.
mo. That was the strangest part of
it. He's struck a deeper game, though
I'm blessed if | can make it out. He's
| dropped the title altogether and now
calls himself Mister-I'ye forgotten for
the moment the rest of it. but it is an
English name. He's made stake
somehow and travels about in decent
comfort. He passes now as an Ameri-