Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-06-01

Family. by II
young men will be young men. And better far, she
reasoned as did all practical French women OF my
day, better far for young man to soace hlmsen
with bouncing, healthy peasant girl on the family
estates, than with one of those hussies in Paris.
But finally he found me, Henri, my dear love,
Henri my first love- And seated beside him on
the marble garden bench, beside the fountain
showering it's spray through the mouth of sar-
donic old satyr whispered to my dear love:
I'm glad you came. I'm glad we found each
other. Oh Henri what glorious thing. all these
long years we shall be living with each other.
Grandmother smiled, when, back in the house,
she us. Perhaps she guessed, that wise old
lady, what he had said to me- what l had whls-
pered back to him. When his aunt was told it was
to grandmother, Madame la Baronne Bode, to
whom she made the marriage proposals. And not
to my father Grand'mere was the matriarch of
the Bode family. And so, informally, since had
not yet been presented to society, we were en-
gagged.
Afterwards, not altogether to my wishes,
grand mere took me with her that Summer OF my
seventeenth year, to Villefranche, smart resort
upon the Riviera There we guests on the
yacht of an old friend Of our family, Monsieur
Charles Thurneyesse.
There at Vilefranche, went to my first ball.
To that party came, also, many noble Russians.
Grand mere, in that Russian company, was IN her
element For she liked the Russians very much.
She had invested a large part of her fortune IN
Russian properties.
So it happened she was overjoyed when the
Russian Prince Sacha Bariatinsky sought her out.
He was an old friend from Petersburg. He came
bringing with him one of the handsomest young
men have ever seen-Prince Vladimir Alexandra
Karapow. six-foot, golden haired, blue-eyed,
broad-shouldered young giant was Prince KarapoW.
He seemed exactly what he was, most nobly born,
the son Of distinguished ancestors who had held
their titles and estates from the beginning OF
Russian history.
Tmidly, looked up at the tall, dashing prince
from Russia And blandly, almost factually, he
looked down at me in that first, short moment
before grand mere gave him her hand, and he
stopped to kiss it.
Then at last we were seated at little table
on the deck of the Admirals flagship, eating our
supper. There were Baron Udet, Count du Nord,
grand meres friend, and his protege or ward"
Prince Vladimir l cannot remember grand mere,
though she probably present. But one sen
tence from all that light supper talk, was branded
on my mind. In lull, old Prince Bariatinsky bent
towards young Prince Vladimir, as the old prince
patted my hand
Look at her, Vladimir" he said, "see what
her first ball has done to her bright eyes. could
light my pipe at them. Isn't she the picture OF
sweet innocence? She is lovely, our little Amelle.
The old prince spoke as though to tease me, to
tempt Vladimir. But Vladimir, also teasing, an
severed back:
"Oh STOP" he interrupted smiling. "She is so
young she smells of milk And as for me prefer
vodka"
WASN'T sure whether he meant what he said or
if he was teasing. Or whether he was speaking to
warn me- Don't fall in love with me. For have
other ideas-and other girls. Girls experienced,
where you are baby"
Well if that was what he meant, l didn't care.
l wasn't in love with him. l was still in love with
nv first love who would very soon now come fly
ing down from Paris to visit me again.
But finally the party was over. And, going
home in the carriage of Count du Nord, grand
mere looked at me with bright eyes and an intent
expression upon her handsome, aristocratic face.
Then 1 realized she had an idea about me. My
heart thumped with sudden fear. Suppose that
look in grand 'mere's eye meant she had made new
plans for my marriage? Oh, suppose!
But it was madness, so 1 thought, to worry
over what could never happen. For grand mere
had given her approval of my engagement to Henri.
Reassured, went to sleep. All was right be-
tween me and Henri.
But all was not right between me and Henri.