The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-10-30
The Minstrel
By F. A. Mitchell

= !
ereign of which was at a certain period
young girl named EudoXia. She was
twenty years old and very beautiful.
For many generations the royal family
had intermarried among each other
This had resulted in keeping up GER
tain hereditary diseases among them,
and they had been very much thinned
by death.
When the queen was urged by her
mobiles to marry that there might be
an heir to the throne the heralds were
instructed to hunt up some person of
royal blood whom she might wed. 1t
was found that there was no man liv-
ing whom her majesty might marry
who was not tainted with some hered-
itary disease But a man, Uarmodius.
was discovered. who had descended |
from another branch of the roya! fami |
ly, who was young and wealthy. 1t !
was represented to the queen that if /
she did not marcy this per- II she |
could not marry at all, Furthermore.
If she did not have an heiI llarmodiuS
would be the only person who would
have any claim whatever to the throne
Now it happened that not long before
this marriage question came up Eu-
! dOXia had been sitting in the royal
! gardens one summer day when from
, beyond the wall came sounds of music
A man was singing, accompanied by a
\ lutte The princess listened and when
. the song was finished sent an attendant
. to command the singer to come to her
I He did so, and his face and figure
/. proved to be as charming az his voice
:. The queen kept him singing for awhile
# then dismissed him with gift, which
|. he refused
Y EudoXia resented this refusal, though
r in her heart she admired the man the
d more for it. She had intended to com
mand him to come again to sing for
N her, but since he would not take
n pay for doing so it was beneath her
ID royal dignity to accept the service.
Il Nevertheless she could not forget eli
10 Their him or his music. Finding her
q. self pining for him, she tried to drive
n him out of her mind. Not succeeding
in in doing so, she resolved to have him
"a introduced into the palace surrepti-
~ tiously, for should it be known that she
be was accepting favor from subject
N 1t would create great scandal.
10 She sent one of her attendants whom
she could trust to the musician with
NJ instructions to tell him the circum-
a. stances which compelled the queen to
or send for him privately and admonisf
or him to keep the secret. This allayed
Ial feeling of resentment that her males
no ty had not before invited him to sing
mr. before her again, and he went to the
,ut palace, where the queen received hin
no attended by single maid of honor
mr. who was in the secret.
When it was announced to EudOXii
no that there was but one man whom sh'
; n could legally marry she had become
no madly in love with the musician. Sh
,ro put her ministers off as long as pos
,ht sible in the matter of marrying Ilar
of modulus, and when she could do so n
Tho longer directed them to bring her hi
portrait This encouraged them AM
oro they set out to obey the royal instruc
lions. They returned much discon
20. certed. Harmodius declined to fun
nv. nish his portrait.
md Eudoxia was not disappointed a
ov. this. for she was every day becomin
ant more ana more infatuated WIN IL
tho handsome singer who by royal con
~ mand came frequently to the palac
in secret to sing for her royal mistress
However, the cabinet insisted that tn
ho queen should marry, and since Harm'
in dius was the only man she could ma
md ~ she must marry llarmodius. 81
. resisted their demands until the
threatened that if she did not yiel
49,. they would gct up II revolution an
Tod put lIarmodius on the thrcnc.
ION One day when the minstrel came
hot sing for the queen she told him that
80 was the last time she could listen
tho him. She confessed her love for hi
nc. but added that she was obliged 10 ma
md ~ or lose her sovereignty. The mi
strel begged that he might sing OF
,oro farewell song 10 her. He WAS perml
love 50 lathctieallr that the quet
,ed broke down and told him that 81
i've would give up her Kingdom for MI
ack lie told her that his love for her won
ling not permit him to accept the Sacrlllc
was and they parted.
our The queen now Informed her mini
no. ters that she would wed liafmoul
was or any one they chose. Preparation
Sev were made for the wedding. while q
ing queen wept in secret. She was soho
.ent ed to receive Harmodius before q
and ceremony, but declined. When q
dor. marriage came off she would not lo'
ran at him. After they had been pronour
her ed a married couple her husband sal
luc. "My queen
EudoXia started The voice was tn
had of the minstrel She looked up al
!, to there beside her was the man who III
,hus won her heart and for whom she III
>,,1d 49,, b ,,;ro IN hor KINGDOM.