Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1917-09-28
A PRINCESS
CHOICE
By RUTH GRAHAM

considered desirable by all the other
potentates. The king had one child, a
daughter, who was Of a manageable
age, but up to the time she was TWEEN
ty years of age she had beer kept
away from the outside world, shut up
in a wing of the palace. No one had
even seen her excepting her family
and a limited suit of attendants.
On her twentieth birthday her ia
ther sent a letter to several neighbor-
ing monarchs stating that his daugh-
ter would correspond with any nan of
royal blood suitable to become her hus-
band and that she would marry some
one of these correspondents. provided
he was willing to marry her. He was
not to see her till after he had been
selected for her consort, and If after
seeing her he was not minded to mar
ry her he would be excused from do
ing SO.
A number of princes entered the lists
and wrote letters to the princess. Most
of them expatiated upon her beauty,
which they had never seen, comparing
her to the full moon, to a fountain
flashing in the sunlight, to the fairest
flower that had ever grown u=on the
earth.
There was one correspondent, sign
ing himself Carolus, who did not refer
to any physical beauty that the prin-
cess might possess or to other attri-
butes, such as modesty, good sense or
a kind heart. He wrote of such
traits as he would value in a wife.
IF you possess these" he added, you
are a treasure to any man. but no mar
is worthy of you"
The princess threw the letters from
those who fattered without having
seen her into the wastebasket, but she
was touched by the one from this man
who valued mental rather than phys
ical traits. She replied to his epistle,
stating that she was most affected by
his placing a high value OF a sympa-
thetic heart. She desired a husband
who would be sympathetic with her.
as she would sympathize with him.
Prince Carolus believed he had
struck the chord that would win him
the princess. So he wrote her a second
epistle expatiating upon tenderness
of heart, exalting it above all other
virtues. He was sure that if he mar
ried her he would feel for her In all
her troubles-for even royal persons
have them-and he had no doubt that
she would respond in kind.
The princess was about to invite
Prince Carolus to an interview when
a letter came from another royal per-
sonage who signed himself Alanthus.
Alanthus said that, while he would
gladly become the husband of a prin-
cess who would Inherit a kingdom. ne
must know before he entered the lists
for her hand what drawbacks there
might be concerning her. He suspect
ed from the fact that a sutton would
not be permitted to see her that there
was some physical blemish about her.
Should such be the case any man who
should meet her as a sutton would be
placed in an embarrassing position.
A refusal to marry her after seeing
her would put a slight upon her. Alan
thus would not care to be placed In
such a position. If she would assure
him that there was no physical blight
upon her he would then write her
again. This letter caused the princess
to hesitate.
Soon after Carolus had sent his let
ter to the princess he received a por-
trait of a young woman, one-half of
whose face was covered with a mark
ed Disagreement. 1t was a red and
purple birthmark. Carolus naturally
inferred that it was a likeness of the
princess. 1t ended the correspondence
between them, for he never wrote
her again. That sympathy for the un-
fortunate which he had spoken of so
elfusiyely did not stand the test to
which it had been put.
Alanthus also received a portrait. 1t
represented a oma neither beautiful
nor homely, though the face was not
devoid of character. He, too, inferred
that he had been sent a likeness of the
princess. When he had made up his
mind what to do in the matter he
wrote her a letter stating that he had
received a portrait which he presumed
to be hers. that he had been favorably
impressed with it and suggested that
they meet and get acquainted.
The princess replied that they would
better correspond for awhile before
meeting i'll order to learn of each 9TH
er's good, bad or Indifferent qualities.
For several months they wrote each
other, and then the princess sent a
brief note stating that she had learned
but one thing about her sutton. He
had shown himself u true man in de-
Ginning to put himself in a position to
decline to marry a woman because ma
ture had laid upon her a physical
blemish. She appointed a time for the
meeting.
Alanthus went to the palace expect
ing to see the woman whose likeness
had been sent him. He met a different