The daily Alaskan., 1912-09-04
In the Line of
 Succession
By JOHN Q PARKER


 daughters, all tine sons must die or otherwise be removed before even the oldest girl could he queen. Neverthe- tess the king insisted on all his sons and daughters taking mates Of the blood royal
 Now, the youngest oi the king dauehterS. one day looking out through a window of the palace, saw a young baron caracoling by on horseback and was struck by one ot Curids shafis. Remembering that she could marry only prince of the blood. straightway the injustice of the matter struck her. Being a fine scholar, with a taste Tor mathematics. she sat down and began to compute her chances of ever com ing to the throne. After covering sev. ersl yards of paper with figures she arrived at the conclusion that her chances of being a sovereign were but one tn several millions. So she went 10 her father. with whom she was great favorite. and, 6ndlng him in the council room, said:
 Papa. l have seen young man, not ot royal blood. but a baron. whom l wish to marry"
 "No, my daughter" replied the king. won cannot You must marry a prince"
 why is that ueceSsaryy' asked the girl.
 "why Is it necessary Why. because an your brothers and all your sisters might be removed and you would be queen. Tt Is forbidden that queen should have a husband not of the blood royal"
 The princess sent for the papers con timing her computations as to her chances Of attaining the throne and. laying tbem on the council table. which. though ten feet long. was com. pletcly covered. invited her father 10 20 over the figures with her that he might see what chance there was that the people would require her services to govern them. The king put on bis spectacIes and. leaning over the papers, began to study the calculations.
 The princess had assumed there was one chance in five that her oldest brother, the heir apparent, would die and the crown would descend to the next male in line. The king admitted that there was scarcely one chance in five for that. since the crown prince was very strong and healthy, as, in deed. were all his children Then the princess figured that the chances of the second oldest son dying. too. were greatly decreased. And in this way hy a process of arithmeticai progression she went on to figure the decrease of her chances of coming Go the throne. The king took or his spectacles and wfped them with his royal handker- chief aud said:
 These figures, my daughter. are based simply on the lives of your broth CTS and sisters But some Of them are married and have children who will in herit before you Therefore if your chances. figured on the 6rSt basis, ot coming to the throne are but one in several millions, on the second basis they would be only one in several bii- lions or perhaps trillious. think it may be safe for you to marry one not of royal blood, but there is a contin- gency you have not considered. Sup pose there should come earthquake, war or peSiilence that would sweep away our whole royal family except you. Then you would be queen, and husband not of royal blood would be iuadmlSSihle"
 The princess withdrew and in month returned to her fathers with eight strong men bearing roll of pa Ter on which she and hfty assistants had tigured the chances Of all the royal family being swept away by earthquake, war or pestilence, and, placing the roll on the aoor. they be. gan Co uurou it that the king might see the result of the calculation. But the king shrugged his shoulders and asked for the result. The princess told him that the chances against her becoming queen thrnugh earthquake. war or pcstileDce were expressed by thirty-nine figures. which was beyond anything that could be expressed in words.
 Then the king told her that she might marty the baron. and she was 90 happy that she tainted for joy.
 Now, the king loved his daughter very much. though it required thirty nine figures to express the chances against her succeeding him, and. thinking that the young baron whom she loved was necessary to bring her to herself again, sent a messenger posthaSte for him When he came he was ushercd into the presence of the princess. not knowing why be had been sent for
 Now, the princess. though bright at figures. was not equal to the task of telling a young man who had never seen her that she loved him and wish cd him Co marry her. The couse- auence was that after trying for a long while Co find way out of the
 matter she dismissed him without tell tne him why be had been sent for.
 Since she never found courage to de clare her love the affair came to uoth inc. But 1t was fortunate that it did. for during naval review, at which