Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1915-11-26
IA Secret
! Marriage;
1t Was Between a Prince and
a Girl In Wooden Shoes.
By r. A. mitchell

VVVVNVVVVVVVVV
II see In this proposal, your males
ty," said the prime minister, Van der
Donken, to King Hubert, "a scheme
to unite our kingdom of Lituria to that
Of Pomaria Your majesty is well
aware that the area of Pomaria is
three times that of Lituria. If the
Princess Catherine marries your son II
will result in the annexation Of your
dominions to those of your hereditary
enemies"
"That shall never be-" said King HUI
bert, grinding his teeth.
UNFORTUNATELY, the prince has met
the princess, and she has captivated
him."
"What sort of woman is sheY
Unfortunately ambitious She is de
scribed by those of her suit as being
avaricious, selfish and cruel"
"What can we do to turn the prince
from her? l fear that to attack hel
will only enlist him in her defense"
"Your majesty is right. We mus
accomplish our ends by diplomacy
The princess has your son in thrall
To win him from her we must invei
gle her into trap, and once she has
entered it we must exercise all our I'm
genuity to prevent her getting out"
"Have you plan?"
II have. 1t Is this: Let us give ou
that your majesty has been attacked
by a disease that must prove fata
within d few months; that you desir,
the prince, who will inherit the thron,
after you, to marry at once on painso
your naming his cousin, Oscar, to sue
coed you in his stead. Catherine vii
not marry him without his inheritance
But she will not hesitate to permit hin
to sacrifice it for revenge upon you
majesty for not consenting to tn,
match. l shall endeavor to make som,
compromise with her by which we ma,
rescue the prince from her"
Van der Donken was marvel %
astuteness, being regarded as equa
In chicanery even to a woman. TIL
king gave him carte blanche to d,
as he liked, and he set out at ono,
for the capital of Pomaria, where h,
found Prince Carl I'm dalliance with tn,
Princess Catherine. The minister an
nounced to the young man that hi
father had not long to live, that i;
proposal had been made by King Ott'
Of the neighboring kingdom of Bren
tlno that the two Kingdoms should b,
united by the marriage of Carl an(
King Otto's daughter, Xenia, and tina
the marriage should be celebrated a
once. If the prince refused the crow
should pass at his fathers death to hi
cousin.
This interview between Van der Don
ken and Carl took place in the pres
ence Of Catherine. The prince looket
at her for instructions as to his reply
She replied for him by stating that HI
was betrothed to her and would marry
her. If any usurper took her placesa
his fathers death the king of Pomarit
would send an armed force to Liturit
to seat It's rightful sovereign on tht
throne.
Now, the kingdom OF Brentino wa.
even more powerful than that o.
Pomaria. The hand of the Princess
Xenia had indeed been offered to Carl
and doubtless If Carl had seen her n,
would have obeyed his father. On re
ceiving n refusal to King Huberts
plans the willy Van der Donken pro
posed to Carl and Catherine a com
nrounfaa Ha cuUUactad tbot Co,I no ..
ry some girl Of low degree. His fh
Their, to withdraw him from such &
union, would consent to divorce ant
his marriage with Catherine. Agar
the prince looked at the princess fol
instructions. She agreed to take thu
matter under consideration and aftel
long reflection consented to the plan
making 1t a condition that she should
approve of the girl the prince married
Van der Donken agreed to this, though
he well knew that Catherine would
not consent to the prince marrying, any
girl who was capable OF drawing hin
away from her
The prince returned to Lituria will
Van der Donken, It having been ar
ranged that the princess should follow
to Inspect the girl he would marry az
soon as one could be found to do so or
receiving price and giving her con
sent to a subsequent divorce. In due
time the princess was called for and
introduced into the home Of a pool
widow whose daughter had consented
to the terms.