The Dermott news. (Dermott, Ark.) 1910-1977, 1915-06-24

ably settled in the smoking room of
his luxurious mansion, and King Viii
iiam's first wife was still alive You
are aware that it was his second wife
who is the mother of Wilhelmina?'
Il had forgotten it. but no matter.
1T is, on the contrary, fact which
must be borne in mind retorted his
Excellency. Il was returning home
from the theater, past midnight. AS |
approached the Madeleine. l saw a
small crowd collected at the foot of the
steps. Crossing over to find out what
had taken place, found myself on the
outside of ring of women. the most
abandoned wretches of the quarter,
who had gathered round the figure
of man lying on the bottom step of
the flight. apparently intoxicated be
yond the power to move.
The spectacle of this unfortunate
seemed to have strangely excited the
women, who were hurting at him the
vilest insults in their horrible voCabu
larry licensed at the behavior of these
hays, l roughly pushed my way through
them to the side of their victim. whose
clothes. disordered and covered with
mud. as they were, seemed TO be those
of man of position The wretched
creature was lying on one side, his
left hand outstretehed. with which he
seemed to be trying feebly to ward
of the foul epithets Of his tormentors
| stopped down over him, and lifted
his head to the light.
1T was Prince Citron
You will easily figure to yourself
the horror of discovering the heir to
\ famous monarchy the descendant
OF William the Silent, in this deplor-
able situation | had not failed TO
hear some of the dark reports as to
this young mans career; nevertheless
at such a moment the only sentiment
which inspired me was that of the
most profound pity.
"Sternly rebuking the filthy hays.
who SUNK away before my reproaches,
! raised the prince to his feet, and
supported him down to the edge of the
pavement. where perceived an empty
fiacre coming up. Into this | assisted
Alexander-to give him his proper
name-who instantly fell like a log
upon the cushions. Then l gave the
driver my own address. and We pro
ceeded to the house near the Rue de
Rivol, in which at that time oe-
cupied a small fat.
During the short drive. Prince Alex
ander lay absolutely motionless, and
without uttering a sound But from
time 10 time l caught n CLEAN of dull
intelligence in his blOodshot eyes;
which were turned to me. as if he were
trying to comprehend who | VAS. and
what accident had brought him into
my company.
when we got to the house, it was
necessary for me to engage the ser
vices of the concierge TO get the TN
fortunate youth upstairs to my apart
ment, which was on the third floor.
There | found that my valet had re
tired. a circumstance which did not
regret l got my strange visitor com
fortably settled upon couch; |
loosened his collar and necktie for
him, removed his boots, and spread
a warm rug over his feet Then | sat
down to wait till he should recover
from his lethargy.
while l watched his uneasy repose,
/ strove to recall the various things
which | had heard about the heir of
William III He was of course we'll
known to me by sight. for the Incl
dent | speak of took place at time
when | was attached to the stan OF
the foreign office in Paris, and when.
as you may have heard, there was
some talk OF making me deputy and
minister
But / preferred diplomatic career
to a parliamentary one. and do not
regret my decision. In a country like
France. which is ruled over by the
bourgeoisie politics reduces itself
TO terribly prosaic level | can only
find the romance for which my dis
position Graves in the courts of those
countries where the will of monarch
still counts for much, and where the
course or the greatest events may De
decided by nod given at the right
moment, or by a sentence whispered
in the intervals of a waltz.
Though I never before had any in
tercourse with Prince Citron. was
familiar with the stories in circula-
ton about him. 1t was generally be-
lieved that his residence in Paris was
not altogether voluntary-that, in fact,
he had been compelled to leave the
Hague in consequence of some ter
rible Misunderstanding with his father;
and there were those who asserted
that the old king of the Netherlands
had sworn that his son should never
return so long as he himself was alive.
But, though there were hundred diff
ferent versions of the cause of this ex-
lie. the truth of the matter had re-
manned secret from every one, and
even in his most reckless moments
no allusion to 1t ever passed the lips
OF the prince.
In the meantime. the manner OF