Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1909-11-25

greatly abused these tnglOriOuS dayS
MY father was cut from the same pat
tern. a wild and reckless spirit in
those crowded times. The two became
friends such as you and Mr.. Merrihew
are. Their exploits became famous.
MY rather was also rich and a man of
foresight His real wealth was in for
elgn securities. mines. oils, steel.
steamships. When the war terminated
the prince prevailed upon my father to
return with him to Italy. Italy itself
was In turmoil. II Re Galantuomo.
that Piedmontese hunter, Vittorio
Emanuele. wished to liberate Venice
from the grasp Of Austria, to wrest
temporal power from the Vatican and
to send the French troops back to
France. Well, he accomplished all
these things. and both my father and
the prince were with him up to the
time he entered the Quirinal After
victory, peace. My father invested in
villas and palaces and settled down to
end his days In the Venetian palace on
the Grand canal.
Then my father, still young, remem-
Der, fell in love with the daughter of
Venetian noble. 1t was happy
union. Shortly after the prince also
married. He was. with the exception
Of my father. the most lovable man /
ever knew-brave, kindly. impetuous
honorable, witty and wise. 1t does
not seem possible that such a father
should have such son.
There came great day. A young
prince was born, and the rough king
stood as his godfather. Later added
my feeble protest. at the cost of my
mothers life AS grew up became
my fathers constant companion. We
were always out of doors. BY and by
he sent me to America to school.
returned from America to enter q con-
vent out of Rome and later went to
Milan and studied music.
One fatal day the old prince and my
father put their heads together and
determined that this great friendship
of theirs should be perpetuated. The
young prince should marry the young
signorina. They drew up the strangest
of wills. Both men were in full con-
troll of their properties. There was no
entailed estate such as one finds in
England. They could do as they
pleased And this was before Italy
had passed the law requiring that no
art treasures should be sold or trans
ported. Fortunately for me- my moth
er's property was cons derable.
The impossible clauses in the joint
will read that if we two young people
declined the bargain the bulk Of the
estates should revert to the crown.
Again, if we married and separated
and were not reunited inside of five
years the fortunes should become the
crowns. If. having separated from
my husband, either for just or unjust
reasons, | should secretly or publicly
occupy any villa or palace mentioned
In the will it would be tacit admis-
sion that accepted my husband. Was
there ever such an insane tangle kind
ly meant? We must marry; we must
be happy. That our minds and hearts
were totally different did not matter
at ALL
Time went on. The old prince died
suddenly; his wife followed. And then
my kind and loving father went the
way. was taken under the wing OF
q duchessa who was popular at court
At this period the young prince was
one of the handsomest men in Europe
He was brave, clever and engaging.
On completing my education l de-
ID ;,, nla 1rrnh oc
sa mothered the rich American gir
gladly, for, though l was half Italian
they always considered me as the
child Of my father. was presented al
court l was asked to dinners and re
ceptions and balls. l was quite the
rage because the dowager queen gave
me singular attention.
The prince by this time seemed
changed in some way. But / was
blindly young. Often l noticed the
long scar on his cheek. He had re
ceived 1t. he said. in some cavalry ex
ercise.
Now, there was another clause II
this will. 1t was the one thing which
made the present life tolerable and
possible to me- We were to be mar
ried without pomp. quietly, first a
the magistrates and then at thu
church. At last the day came.
We passed through the streets II
the magistrates. l did not know thel
that l was not in love. that was onl!
young and curious. l threw roses t
any who asked. The prince sat besid
me in full dress uniform. looking yer.
handsome and distinguished. TIL
prince smiled, but he was nervous ant
not at ease. thought nothing Of thi
at the time. l believed his nervous
ness a part of my own.
The magistrate performed his part
Legally we were man and wife. w
were leaving for the church when a
the very doorway a handsome woman
sad eyed. weary. shabbily dressed
touched me on the arm.
"A rose, signorap'
gave it to her. smiling pityingly.
God pray" she said. that this ma
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