The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1913-09-19

ices to the state fNNN
won him much w
honor from his royal master.
When the late king succeeded to
the throne there were three who
knew of this passageway. The king
was one; Giovanni Strozzi was an
other, and the wife of Giovanni Stroz-
ri was the third.
Now, in those days and in the half
savage little countries upon which the
Carpathians look down it was pre-
eminently the duty of prime ministers
to find out the secrets of other people.
So it came to pass that once the
king, coming all unattended, passed
through this secret passageway, and
entered the boudoir of the fair lady
who preferred handsome young king
to a rather elderly prime minister.
And the king, finding the lady wait
ing for him, indeed, but quite dead,
fastened with all stealth back to the
royal palace,
Strozzi, it was declared by his en-
emies, held that all true statecraft
was embodied in MachiavellIs
Prince" This had been told the
king, and it increased his respect for
his minister. Moreover when he read
"The Prince" quite through and alb
sorbed all of the chapters on the
rights of vengeance and the best
methods of obtaining the same, it
made him just little bit afraid. The
face of Ser Giovanni was always
smiling mask and one could never
guess what knowledge his fertile
brain might own.
Thus for a time the king feared a
little and then less, and then not at
all.
And in the due course of time,
thanks to the willy diplomacy of this
model prime minister, whose devo-
ton to his country and his royal mas
ter was the talk of the chancelleries
of Europe, the many troubles of An
coma came to an end This took twen-
ty years, and the king was very tired
of being a king. So he consulted with
his prime minister and decided that
he would abdicate in favor of his son.
In these later years the secret OF
the passageway had been discovered
by very discreet and devoted lackey
in the service of Strozzi and was, OF
course, duly reported by the prime
minister to the king. So it was nat
ural that it was now used by the
two.
On the eve of the day upon which
the abdication was to be announced
to the people, the king came through
the passageway and talked long with
his prime minister This was in the
room which Strozzi called his library.
The king noted that it contained but
two volumes. One of these was "The
Prince" the other purported to be
the secret history of the Medici He
remembered that the Medici had been
very skillfu1 in the art of administer
ing poison and the juxtaposition of the
volumes was unpleasant to his nerves.
He noted with pleasure that tonight
the smile of the prime minister had
in it less of that chill for which it was
noted.
Talk of the future leads ever to
talk Of the past, and they drank much
wine. But, presently, the king es-
sayed to rise nd found that he could
not do so. Nor could he speak. His
brain was quite clear. and he could
hear Strozzi distinctly.
Complete paralysis" the manner
of the prime minister was that Of
scientific experimenter who has ac-
complished his desire The eyes of
the king were piteous.
Twenty years I have waited" said
the old statesman. His smile was ac-
tually warm now There was real
benevolence in it. "Twenty years. my
liege. You were necessary to Ancona,
and you cannot say, sire, that / have
not always served my country to the
best of my ability. 1t is but right
that I take interest for those twenty
years. gave her death-gentle, mer-
ciful death. You see, loved her well,
sire, and would not cause her pain.
But you-why, sire, it may well be that
you will live twenty years more.
Twenty years of a living death, sire.
No voice to betray the secret you and
/ must share between US, no power of
hand to write out an accusation!
think that even he who wrote 1.-THE
Prince" would approve my ven
lgeance!'
So the prime minister passed out
of the chamber to summon the serv-
ants who would bear the king into his
own palace, first emptying the wine
from the goblet Of the king.
Copyright, by Daily Story Pub. Coz