Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-11-19
THE MYSTERY AT THE GABLES

of Baron Reisch, one of the foreign Am
bassadors, had availed himself of the oppor-
tunitv to see the inside of one of the famous
Venetian palaces when in gala appointment.
"At first | did not pay much attention to
him. SO many Others crowded about me; but
as the evening wore on | found | was never
out of his sight. He was then but twenty
two years old, very tall and straight, with
broad shoulders and an alert air about him,
as if he thought as quickly as he moved. He
had too an air of great distinction for one so
young, and with it a tender, gentle courtesy,
which, | think, was what impressed me more
than anything else. l noticed this particu-
larly when, instead of bringing me back to
my sister when the dance was over, he
made excuse to drag aside the heavy silk cur
tains, and led me out on the balcony, from
which we both looked down on the wonder
full city, with the moonlight flooding every
thing. l was afraid to stay, of course, shut
from everyone's gaze by the portiere; but it
gave him an opportunity to whisper IN my
ear, l am coming tomorrow, and you must
try to see me, for leave Venice at night.
when you are seventeen, my child, and
for the first time in your life man you do
not dislike seeks an appointment, you go
to bed with your heart in wild alarm.
THE next afternoon he came in his own
gondola, his men in scarlet and gold,
and we all went-ny sister acting as chap
eron-out of the lagoon and watched the sun
set behind the hills Padua way. And that
night he came again, saying he had post
poned his departure until after the Festival
of the Redentore, which was to take place
the following week. And then there were
more talks on the balcony in the moonlight
and soon began to lie awake in the night
and watch for his gondola rounding out of
the little canal up which the Ambassador
lived; and my sister began to laugh and say
l was in love-I, who was only child!
when the night of the Redentore came
we dined in our gondola, the tenda decorated
with swinging lanterns, the whole Grand
Canal, and all the city for that matter,
brilliant in light and color. After feasting
and singing all night, we waited for the first
streaks of dawn, and were rowed over by
our gondoliers to the lido, the seashore, to
see the end of the festival, when everybody
jumps overheard into the water as the sun
peeps above the horizon. l wanted, girl like,
to see the others Jump, and in my eagernesS
lost my balance and was f1oundering in the
water before anyone knew had slipped.
@The next thing felt was an arm under
my neck; then | was lifted bodily in the
dark my head clear of the water. He had
sprung overheard, had gathered me to his
breast, anu WIFI lllc Quiet dIIll Was IdlSlllS
us both to the boat. Then, waving the gon-
dolier back, he grappled the side, threw one
leg over the edge, and dragging me clear laid
me dripping wet in the gondola, and then,
still in the dark, bent down close and kissed
me-the first kiss of my life!
THE next day he wrote to my father ask
ing for my hand.
@Now came my first surprise,-ny lover
was not Count Fogelletti, son of a man of
rank and heir to his estates in Hungary; but
a Crown Prince, heir to a throne in the Bal
kans His incognito and the facts we're
known to my brother in law. That it had
never been told me was because, as he said,
no one could Suppose for an instant that
a man of Count Fogelletti's experience and
obligations could possibly make so great
fool of himself as to offer marriage to the
daughter of Genoese banker. Anyhow, it
must be stopped, and at once! Even if the
ceremony took place, it could only be NOR
ganatic marriage, ending in misery and per-
haps disgrace. No! He would inform the
Count at once, without even waiting for my
father to act. Furthermore, the unsettled
political conditions in his Kingdom made it
all the more dangerous. 1t was only ques-
ton of time before his father would be de-