River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1918-06-27

with gauze wings, students who par
AIDED and blew noisy horns, even horses
decorated, and now and then dog
dressed as a dancer or soldier.
He yawned again, and began to feel
hungry. He decided to get up and take
his own bath. There was nothing like
getting a good start for gala day.
And, since with the crown prince to
decide was to do, which is not always
a royal trait, he took his own bath,
being very particular about his ears,
and not at all particular about the rest
of him. Then, no Oskar having yet
appeared with fresh garments, he
ducked back into bed again, quite bare
as to his small body, and Struggled
down in the sheets.
Lying there, he planned the day.
There were to be no lessons except
fencing, which could hardly be called
lesson at all, and as he now knew
the Gettysburg address," he meant to
ask permission to recite it to his
grandfather. To be quite sure of it,
he repeated it to himself as he lay
there:
'Fourscore and seven years ago our
fathers brought forth on this continent a
new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedi-
Gated to the proposition that all men are
created equal"
Late in the morning Milky took him
to the roof. eve can't go out, old
man." Milky said to him, rather
startled to discover the unhappiness in
the boys face, "but I've found a place
where we can see more than we can
here. Suppose we try it,"
"Why can't we go out? I've always
gone before"
"WeI," Milky temporized, they've
made a rule They make a good many
rules, you know. But they said moth
ing about the roof"
'The roof"
"The roof. The thing that covers
us and keeps out the weather. The
roof, highness." Milky alternated be-
tween formality and the other extreme
with the boy.
''It slants, doesn't it," observed his
highness doubtfully.
'Part of it is quite fiat. We can
take a ball up there, and get some
exercise while we're about it."
AS matter of fact, Milky was not
altogether unselfish. He would visit
the roof again, where for terrible,
wonderful moments he had held He'd
wig in his arms. On a pilgrimage,
indeed, like that Of the crown prince
to Etzel, Milky would visit his shrine.
So they went to the roof. One could
see the streets crowded with people,
could hear the soft blare of distant
horns.
''The scenic railway is in that direc-
tion," observed the crown prince, lean
ing on the balustrade. eff there were
no buildings we could see it,
Fright here" Milky was saying to
himself. "At this very spot. She held
out her arms, and t"
1T looks very interesting" said
Prince Ferdinand William Otto. "Of
course we can't see the costumes, but
it Is better than nothing"
81 kissed her." Milky was thinking,
his heart swelling under his very best
tunic. "Her head was on my breast,
and I kissed her. Last Of all, kissed
her eyes-her lovely eyes,"
"If I fell off here" observed the
crown prince in a meditative voice,
81 would be smashed to jelly, like
the child at the Crystal palace
"But now she hates me-" said Mix
ky's heart, and dropped about the dis
lance of three buttons. "She hates me.
I saw it in her eyes this morning.
Oh, Heaveni"
'We might as we'll play ball now"
Prince Ferdinand William Otto
turned away from the parapet with
sigh. This strange quiet that filled the
palace seemed to have attacked Milky
too. Otto hated quiet.
They played ball, and the crown
prince took lesson in curves. But
on his third attempt, he described such
q compound curve that the ball dis
appeared over an adjacent part Of the
roof, and although Milky did some
blood-curdling climbing along cutters,
it could not be found.
It was then that the Majordomo, al
ways a marvellous figure in crimson
and gold, and never seen without white
gloves-the Majordomo bowed in q
window, and observed that if his royal
highness pleased, his royal highness'
luncheon was served.
In the shrouded room inside the win
dows, however, his royal highness
paused and looked around.
"Pve been here before" he observed.
"These were my fathers rooms. My
mother lived here, too. When I am
older, perhaps I can have them. 1t
would be convenient on account Of my
practicing curves on the roof. But /
should need number of balls"
He was rather silent n his way
back to the schoolroom. But once he
looked up rather wistfully at Milky.
"If they were living" he said, 81 EN-
pretty sure they would take me out
today"
-