The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1917-08-10

H@Sh nh uHthiiHy one, emf asked IN
! emperor, deeply Interested.
quite. Two Of the women at tn
! table declared that II must have bee
: thunder, and then the conversatio
proceeded. I, however, confess to you
/ majesty that was very much puzzled
I and the more so because only tw
nights ago. while we sat at dinner
frledrich-August and myself en- ia
mile, we heard exactly the sam
sounds again r.
Really" laughed the emperor
Quite uncanny. hope, here In Ores
den. you are not believing In spooks
as London society believes In them"
Not at all" said the princess ear
nestly. II don't believe In omens. But
euriously enough, the king told ms
yesterday that his two old aunts, whC
formerly lived In our wing OF the pal
ace, had sometimes heard the clattel
Of horses hoofs, the Jingle of harness
The grinding Of brakes, and the rum
bling Of heavy carriage wheels"
"Hm' grunted the emperor. "I'ye
heard that same story before, Louisa
The departing coach means trouble to
the reignlng family"
"That Is exactly what the king said
TO me only last evening" answered
Louisa frankly. "Does II mean trouble
to me, | wonder?"
Certainly not" / declared. "Your
imperial highness need not worry for
one moment over such things. Nobody
nowadays regards such phenomena as
presage Of evil. There is no doubt
some perfectly natural explanation of
the sounds. Every old palace, castle
and even private house, has its tradi-
tions.
The kalser's Merry Mood.
Then the emperor, after acSnowl-
edging the salute Of Baron Georg Won
Metzsch, controller of the royal house
hold-a tall, thin. crafty-eyed man,
with hair tinged with gray, and wear
Ing dark blue uniform and many
decorations-changed the topic of con-
yersation,
The kaiser was in particularly merry
mood that night. He had gone to Ores
den against his inclination, for he had
long ago arranged an Easter review
ON the Tempelhofar Field, but the visit
was, | knew, for the purpose OF con-
sultatlon in secret with the king OF
Snxony.
Several times wondered upon what
his majesty OF Saxony had stumbled.
That morning the emperor ana king
had been closeted alone together for
fully three hours, and the outcome Of
the secret conference seemed to hive
put the all-highest into most excel
lent mood.
The Saxon crown prince and his
Wife were at that time most devoted
couple. though all Of us knew That
the modern ideas Louisa had brought
70 Dresden from the Hapsburg court
had much shocked old King George
and his consort. The Saxon court was
unused TO Il pretty women with buoy
ant spirits rejoicing in life with capt.
tai IL"
According TO the court whlsperings.
trouble had started a few days after
when the king, having given |
his dnughter-in-lnw tiara of dia-
monds. a royal heirloom, with strict |
injunctions 70 wear them just as they |
were--a style OF the seventeenth Gem
tury--he one evening at the opera saw !
her wearing the stones reset in that |
style known as art nouyeau. The king |
became furious, and ordered them to
be set again In their original settings,
whereupon Louisa coolly returned the
present.
Such was the commencement Of the
old kings ill-feellng toward her.
The state bali that night was cor
talnly brilliant one for such small
court and next day We all returned
10 Potsdam. Louisa, In depressed
mood, for while dancing with Count
Won Caste4l Rudenhausen OF the Prus.
sian Guard her lovely rope of pearls
had suddenly parted as though cut by
u knife.
A Mysterious Absence.
Before we left Dresden, however,
met the crown princess In one OF the
corridors. 1t was nine O'Clock in the
morning. She wore her riding-habit. |
having Just come In from her morning
canter.
"Well, countm she laughed. 80 |
you are leaving us unexpectedly i
shall be coming to pay another visit 70
Potsdam soon. The emperor invited |
me last night. Au revoir! !"
Her imperial highneSs paid her
promised visit to the empress ut the
Neues Palais in July.
At the time of her arrival the en-
peror had left suddenly and gone away |
to HubertusStock. When anything UNI
usual upset him he always went there. |
overheard him the day before his de-
parture shouting to Lohlein as passed |
along one of the corridors. The judi |
cial councillor seemed to be trying TO
pacify him. but apparently entirely |
without avail.
"You are as sly as all the rest!"
I heard the emperor declare in that |
shrill, high-pitched tone which always |
l. n G