The Glasgow courier., 1916-06-23

free and merry one, his spirits as ener-
vescent as wine. his manner blithe and
boyish, yet beneath all this fair and
guileless exposition Of carelessness lay
the sober integrity Of caste.
His mother, the beautiful, gracious
and lamented Princess Yetive. set all
royal circles by the ears when she mar
ried the American, Lorry. back in the
nineties. A special act Of the ministry
had legalized this union. and the son
Of the American was not deprived Of
his right to succeed to the throne which
his forbears had occupied for centuries
From his mother he had inherited the
right Of kings. from his father the
spirit Of freedom; from his mother the
power Of majesty. from his father the
power to see beyond that majesty.
When little more than a babe in arms
he was orphaned. and the affairs Of
state fell upon the shoulders Of three
loyal and devoted men who served as
regents until he became Of age.
He was seven when the great revolt
headed by Count Marlanx came so
near to overthrowing the government,
and he behaved like the prince that he
was. 1t was during those perilous
times that he came to know the gal
liant TruXtOn King. in whose home he
was now happy guest. But before
Truxton King he knew the lovely girl
who became the wife Of that devoted
adventurer and who, to him, was al
ways to be Aunt Lorraine"
AS very small boy he had paid two
visits to the home land Of his father.
but after the death Of his parents his
valuable little person was guarded so
jealousy by his subjects that not once
Graustark. except on two widely sep
arated occasions Of great pomp aid
ceremony at the courts Of Vienna and
st. Petersburg. and a secret journey to
London when he was seventeen. ut
appears that he was determined to see
great football match.) On each of
these occasions he was attended by
certain military units in the now far
from insignificant standing army. AS
a matter Of fact. he witnessed the foot
ball match from the ordinary stands.
surrounded by thousands OF unsuspect-
| ing BritOns. but carefully wedged in
between two generals Of his own army
aud fanked by minister of police. a
minister of the treasury and minis
ter Of war all of whom We're eXceS-
sively bored by the contest and more
or less appalled, by his unregal enthu
siasm. He had insisted on going to the
match incog. to enjoy it for all it was
worth to the real spectators-those who
sit or stand where the compression Is
not unlike that applied to box OF
sartlines.
The regency expired when he was
twenty years of age. and he became
ruler in fact Of himself as we'll as OF
the half million subjects who had wait
ed patiently for the great day that was
to see him crowned and gloritied. III
was their prince. and they loved hin
we'll
Mr. Hli.herS wlS Very close to the
truth when he said to himself. if yol
| remember, that the financial situation
in the far off principality was not al
, that could be desired 1t is true tina
Graustark was in Russia's debt to til,
extent of some 10000. 900 savvos-abou
S3O,OOOOW. in other wOrds-and tina
the day Of reckoning WAS very near a
hand. The loan was for a period o
twelve years and had been arranged
contrary to the advice Of John Tullis
an American tnancier. who long hat
been interested in the welfare Of tn
principality through friendship for tn
lamented prince consort. I.orry. Fl
had been farsighted enough to realiz
that Russia would prove a hard cred
itor, even though she may have bee
sincere in her protestations Of friend
ship for the modest borrower
\ stubborn element in the cabine
overcame his opposition. however. an
the debt was contracted. taxation IL
creased by popular vote and ii perio
of governmental thriftiness inaug,
rated. Railroads. highways. bridge
and alueducts We're built, owned an
controlled by the state. and the city
EdelweisS rebuilt after the devastatio
created during the revolt of COul
Marlanx and his minions There seer
ed to be some prospect Of vindicatiC
for the ministry. and Tullis. who live
] in Edelweiss. was fair minded enous
to admit that their action appeared
j have been for the best The peop
- had prospered. and taxes We're paid
+ full and without complaint The r
y | serve fund grew steadily and S,lrpl
4 ana there was every prospect tn
y when the huge debt came due it wou
=. be paid in cash. But on the very ere
of their prosperity came adversely. +
two years the crops failed. and a pes
= lence swept through the herds. The
. was not so much as Il penny left Ov
for the SO called sinking fund.