Holbrook argus., 1909-01-12

boring potentate, and demand the daughter of the latter King Nihla- Ketcn followed the custom. He had beard of the beauty of certain prin- cess of Pattaly-Poura. She must be the bride of his son. Troops were gathered in the city of Barty-Poura, and the supposed prince was ordered to lead them to the neighboring capi- tai, to marry the princess, and to re- turn for the royal blessing.
 With a faint heart the poor prin- cess of AngaDessa determined to carry out her part as best she might, to save herself and her mother from exposure and destruction. But the premier must go along with them. This was granted The Lord Vahaca had his own head to save, and must make a success of the expedition in some way. And as the army set out, at its head and arrayed in the garb of a prince, rode the luckless maid, while all Bary-Poura rang uith cheers, and only the poor king was denied the pleasure of seeing the adored leader. As they drew nigh to Pattaly-Poura, the premier was at his wits end What was to be done? Luckily, fate offered him a temporary assistance As they passed through the deiiles of craggy forest, they came upon a great giant of superbu. man powers This giant had the pre-. rogative of being at any time either a man or a woman, at will. But he could change himself temporarily into a woman only when some woman, oD agreement, would suffer herself to be, for the me, transformed into a nan, so that the balance of the sexes might be preserved.
 Here was an opportunity. Could the premier relsUafe tEe gia-t to ax- cha ~-r saXes with the p.ipae3s! The great Lord Vahaca set himself to the task, explaining the necessity of the case. And the giant who was not bad fellow, gallantly agreed to make the exchange for six days only. to please the fair princess. Bear Tn mind, the giant did not become princess, nor the princess a giant There was no exchange of personality, only in- stead of a princess and a giant there were now a genuine prince and a giantess. There was little change in the appearance of the two, and no one suspected anything of the strange compact between them.
 The light-spirited prince now led his soldiers into the city of Pattaly Poura and up to the royal palace. The king was impressed with the formid- able character of the army, and espe- cially with the appearance and de- pertinent of the manly young prince. The latter fell in love with the prin- cess at sight, and she lost her heart as soon as she beheld him. There was a bold, passionate demand for her hand, which was conceded at once. But the wedding must be celebrated on the morrow. How very sudden! What an ardent wooer! Could he not wait at least week or two? The prince shuddered, but stood firm. Not days delay would be permitted.
 All things are allowed to lovers. The city of Pattaly-Poura improvised a wedding of oriental splendor. For four days it was mad with delight Illuminations, music parades, dances and feasting filled the hours. The prince determined to leave the do- minions of his fatherin-aw in short order. No, no. It was useless to talk. Not another day could he remain; not another day t
 From the ecstasies of those days he turned to his dark future On the sixth day he found himself, with his sweet bride, in the rocky forest where the giantess was awaiting him. Would hia hridn hp q nartV tO the toTrih1p Se-