diff options
| -rw-r--r-- | .gitattributes | 4 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | LICENSE.txt | 11 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | README.md | 2 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/52402-8.txt | 3344 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/52402-8.zip | bin | 62759 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/52402-h.zip | bin | 1660530 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/52402-h/52402-h.htm | 5137 | ||||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/52402-h/images/front_cover.jpg | bin | 192117 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/52402-h/images/i_002.jpg | bin | 20943 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/52402-h/images/i_005.jpg | bin | 115194 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/52402-h/images/i_014.jpg | bin | 10966 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/52402-h/images/i_034.jpg | bin | 131245 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/52402-h/images/i_058.jpg | bin | 8514 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/52402-h/images/i_096.jpg | bin | 15195 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/52402-h/images/i_114.jpg | bin | 204971 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/52402-h/images/i_148.jpg | bin | 10999 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/52402-h/images/i_158.jpg | bin | 257895 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/52402-h/images/i_166.jpg | bin | 182906 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/52402-h/images/i_196.jpg | bin | 14022 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/52402-h/images/i_204.jpg | bin | 157690 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/52402-h/images/i_224.jpg | bin | 97447 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/52402-h/images/i_234.jpg | bin | 138135 -> 0 bytes | |||
| -rw-r--r-- | old/52402-h/images/title_page.jpg | bin | 33374 -> 0 bytes |
23 files changed, 17 insertions, 8481 deletions
diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4c502f8 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #52402 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52402) diff --git a/old/52402-8.txt b/old/52402-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 9086677..0000000 --- a/old/52402-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3344 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Princess Pourquoi, by Margaret Sherwood - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: The Princess Pourquoi - -Author: Margaret Sherwood - -Release Date: June 23, 2016 [EBook #52402] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PRINCESS POURQUOI *** - - - - -Produced by Ernest Schaal and The Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - By Margaret Sherwood - - - =THE PRINCESS POURQUOI.= Illustrated. $1.50. - - =THE COMING OF THE TIDE.= With frontispiece. 12mo, $1.50. - - =DAPHNE=: An Autumn Pastoral. 12mo, $1.00. - - - HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO. - BOSTON AND NEW YORK - - - - - THE - - PRINCESS POURQUOI - - [Illustration] - - - - - [Illustration: EVERY DAY HER BIG EYES GREW WISER] - - - - - THE PRINCESS - POURQUOI - - BY - - MARGARET SHERWOOD - - ILLUSTRATED - - [Illustration] - - - BOSTON AND NEW YORK - HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & COMPANY - MDCCCCVII - - - - - COPYRIGHT 1902 AND 1903 BY CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS - - COPYRIGHT 1907 BY THE S. S. McCLURE CO. - - COPYRIGHT 1906 AND 1907 BY HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO. - - COPYRIGHT 1907 BY MARGARET SHERWOOD - - - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - - _Published October 1907_ - - - - - CONTENTS - - - THE PRINCESS POURQUOI 1 - - THE CLEVER NECROMANCER 43 - - THE PRINCESS AND THE MICROBE 81 - - THE SEVEN STUDIOUS SISTERS 131 - - THE GENTLE ROBBER 175 - - - [asterism] The Princess Pourquoi, The Princess and the Microbe, - and The Seven Studious Sisters appeared first in _Scribner's - Magazine_, The Clever Necromancer in the _Atlantic Monthly_, and - The Gentle Robber in _McClure's Magazine_. They are here - reprinted by the courteous permission of the publishers of those - magazines. - - - - - ILLUSTRATIONS - - - EVERY DAY HER BIG EYES GREW WISER _Frontispiece_ - - SIDE BY SIDE THEY WALKED TOGETHER 22 - - "IT'S GOT TO BE KILLED," SAID THE PRINCESS STURDILY 101 - - "WHAT!" THUNDERED HIS MAJESTY 142 - - CAME RIDING FROM ALL PARTS OF THE KINGDOM 148 - - HE BEGAN TO WEAR THE LOOK OF THOSE WHO SEE MORE - THAN MEETS THE EYE 185 - - FOR SOME HALF SMILED AND HID THEIR SMILES AS - BEST THEY COULD 203 - - A GLIMPSE OF AN HERETIC BEING BURNED TO DEATH 210 - - - - - THE PRINCESS POURQUOI - - - - - THE - - PRINCESS POURQUOI - - [Illustration] - - -Once upon a time, in a country very far away, a new princess was born. -As is usual in such cases, the King, her father, and the Queen, her -mother, held a great christening feast, to which were invited all the -crowned heads for miles around, all the nobility of their own kingdom, -and the fairies whose good wishes were considered desirable. In the -middle of the ceremony, as is also customary, a very angry little old -lady, with a nose like a beak, burst into the room. - -"May I ask why I was not invited?" she demanded. "These are here," and -she pointed to the fairy who rules the hearts of men, and to the fairy -who rules circumstance. She herself was the fairy who rules men's minds. - -"You!" stammered his Majesty. "Why, it is only a girl. We--we thought -you would be offended. Later, if a son should be born"-- - -"You thought!" shrieked the enraged little creature, gathering her -shoulder-shawl about her. "You thought nothing whatever about it. I am -insulted, and I shall be revenged. Before anything yet has been given to -this child I shall curse her"-- - -"Oh!" begged the crowned heads and the nobility. - -"Yes," said the fairy, stamping and growing angrier, "I shall curse her -with a _mind_." - -"Anything but that," groaned his Majesty. - -"Not that for a woman-child," moaned the mother, from under her silken -coverlid. - -"Yes," said the fairy, and her wicked black eyes snapped over her -withered red cheeks. "She is a woman-child, and yet she shall think. She -shall be alien to her own sex, and undesired by the other. She shall ask -and it will not be given her. She shall achieve and it shall count her -for naught. Men shall point the finger at her like this" (and she -pointed one skinny forefinger at the King), "and shall whisper, 'There -goes the woman with brains, poor thing!' As for your Majesty, in her -shall you find your punishment. She shall think what you do not know, -and divine what you cannot find out. Now," added the wicked fairy, -turning to the two godmothers who stood by the child's cradle, "see if -you, with all your giving, can do anything to lessen the curse that I -have spoken," and she rushed away like a whirlwind, leaving every face -dismayed. - -The fairy who rules circumstance stood by the cradle and spoke. Her face -was the face of one who wavers two ways, and her voice was unsure. - -"The child shall have fortune," she said, "good-fortune, so far as is -consistent with what has already been given. I wish," she added -apologetically, "that I had spoken first." - -"Why didn't you?" grumbled his Majesty under his whiskers, but he dared -not speak aloud, for he was afraid of circumstance, being a king. - -The other fairy stood silent, looking down into the child's face. - -"But she shall know love," she said softly, after a little time. The -sleeping princess smiled. - -From the time that it was spoken the curse was felt. Before the baby -could talk, she would lie in the royal cradle, fixing upon the King, her -father, and the Queen, her mother, when they came to see her, eyes so -big, so wise, so full of question, that his Majesty fled, and her -Majesty covered her face with her hands, wondering what it could be that -the child remembered and she forgot. The first word the Princess uttered -was "Why." She said it so often that presently, through the whole length -and breadth of the kingdom, she was known as the "Princess Pourquoi," -though her real name was Josefa Maria Alexandra Renée Naftaline. - -"Why," she asked, when she was very small, "did trees grow this way, -instead of the other end up? Why did people stand on their feet instead -of on their heads? Why did you like some people better than others, and -why couldn't it be just as easy to like them all alike?" - -She was a good little girl, but she had all the credit of being a bad -one. She saw through what she was not intended to see through; she heard -what she was not meant to hear; she understood what others wished to -keep hidden. Therefore it came to pass that she was very lonely. She had -a way of climbing affectionately up to the neck of some favored person, -drawing down the head for a loving embrace, and then asking some -terrible question, whereupon she was quickly put down on the floor and -left alone. There she would sit, with so grieved a look in her big blue -eyes that the next one who entered would pity the golden-haired baby, -and would take her up, only to become a victim to some other -unanswerable inquiry. - -When she was four and five, her questions were theological or -philosophical. "Why was she made at all, if she were as naughty as -people said? Wouldn't it have been less trouble not to have made her, or -to have made her good? Why were you you, and I I? Who was going to bury -the last man?" The king's philosophers stood about in silence and gnawed -their beards. They were terribly afraid of the little girl with chubby -legs and dimples. As she grew older, her questioning turned more toward -social matters and practical affairs. "Why," she asked his Majesty, her -father, who also was afraid of her, "did he say that he loved his -neighbor and yet make war? Why was he king? Was it because he was wiser -and better than other people?" She looked at him so long and so -doubtfully that his Majesty wriggled in the royal chair. He felt that -this wretched child was endangering his power. Sometimes he was so -miserable that he would willingly have abdicated, but he could not -abdicate his little daughter. Besides, he was a king, and he did not -have any place to go. Other children had been granted him, a line of -little princesses, who wore long, stiff embroidered robes; and a nice, -fat, stupid little prince, who was a great comfort to his father. All -these other princelets obeyed the court etiquette and wore the court -clothes, and never felt the ripple of an idea across their little minds, -but they could not atone to the King for the thorn in his flesh known as -Josefa Maria Alexandra Renée Naftaline. - -The Princess Pourquoi objected to wearing a stomacher, for she liked to -lie flat on her face in the park, watching the ants. She objected to -making the court bow, and smiling the court smile, and putting out her -hand to be kissed. Why should she? The ladies-in-waiting could only tell -her, "It was so." She objected to taking mincing walks in the royal -gardens among the peacocks, and sometimes, to the horror of all the -court, escaped and played games with peasant children outside. She -disliked her lessons. Why should she say, like a parrot, what her -governess told her to, when there were birds and beasts and creeping -things outside to study, and a library inside full of things really -worth learning? So she went her own way, growing wistful and more -lonely, and every day her big eyes grew wiser and fuller of secrets. -Those who saw her crossed themselves and murmured, "The Curse!" - -Once his Majesty held a great festival to celebrate the thousandth -anniversary of the founding of his kingdom by his imperial ancestor, -Multus Pulvius Questus, who had conquered 500,000 men with his own arm, -and had laid the cornerstone of a great principality. The festival was a -brilliant one, and all the royal neighbors came. Just before the -ceremonies began, in the large audience chamber, the governess of the -Princess Pourquoi, stung by questions she could not answer regarding the -achievements of Multus Pulvius, burst out with: - -"You are a naughty little girl, and if you act this way, the fairy -prince will never come." - -"I don't want a fairy prince," replied the Princess proudly, looking at -her governess with steady blue eyes. "I want a real one." - -A little prince standing near, in a red velvet suit, looked at her very -hard. - -As time went on, the Princess Pourquoi was not quite content. She was -too eager for that. - -"I shall be happy when I find out," she said sadly one day. - -"Find out what, your Highness?" asked the chief philosopher. - -"It," answered the girl, and she pointed toward the horizon. "What it -means, where we came from, what you are for and I am for." - -The chief philosopher took a golden goblet of wine that a page had -brought him and drank it to its dregs. Perhaps he meant this for an -answer. Then he winked at his fellow-philosopher, and the two went arm -in arm down a long path between box hedges in the garden. The Princess -entered the royal palace and knelt at the feet of the King. - -"Your Majesty," she asked, "why are people who do not know anything -called wise men and philosophers?" - -It was soon after this that the King made a great proclamation, offering -the hand of his daughter to any one who would answer one of her -questions satisfactorily. Suitors came by scores, although her -unfortunate propensity was known, for the Princess was growing to be -very beautiful, and his Majesty the King was very rich. The aspirant to -her hand usually stood before the royal throne in the presence of the -court, and the Princess was ushered in by the major domo. The Princess -Pourquoi did not trouble herself to find new questions; she only asked -some of the old ones over again, and the Crown Prince of Kleptomania, -the Heir Apparent to the throne of Rumfelt Holstein, the reigning King -of Nemosapientia, besides dozens of others, went sorrowfully back to -their homes, rejected. When it was found that the ordeal was terrible, -and the result always the same, the suitors gradually ceased coming, and -the Princess Pourquoi remained a great matrimonial problem, aged -fifteen, on the hands of her parents. - -It was at this time that the Princess resolved to study, and to achieve -something that was really her own. People should respect her, not -because she was a princess, but because she could do great things. She -pleaded with his Majesty until he ordered the greatest scholar in his -kingdom to act as tutor for her, the greatest sculptor to teach her -modeling, the greatest painter to teach her how to draw. For five long -years the Princess worked and was happy, but the eyes of her mother were -full of pity when they rested on her, and the passers-by in the streets -whispered, "Poor thing!" Mothers drew their little ones closer to them -when they saw her, and said: "Take care! It is the woman with a mind!" -And the young ladies of the court, when they came out into the park with -their long trains, and saw the Princess seated by herself with a book -under a tree, said to themselves, under their breath: "Like that, too, -but for the grace of God!" - -At one of the annual exhibitions of works of art in the city was a -statue, anonymously exhibited, that won great praise. It was of white -marble, and represented a woman standing on tiptoe and reaching up and -out with one hand. The fingers closed on nothing, and the look of the -face was disappointed. Perhaps the greatest skill was shown in the -rendering of the eyes. Their expression was baffling, and no one could -say whether the woman was blind or not. - -"What masculine strength of handling!" said the artists. - -"What wonderful inner meaning!" said the philosophers. - -The Princess Pourquoi came one day to visit it, and stood a long time -watching the people who saw it. The outspoken praise made her eyes -glisten. A workingman, in a peasant's blue blouse, strolled near. There -was fine powder of chipped stone upon his sleeve. - -"There is great power there," said the workingman, "but the work is -crude." - -The peasant was hustled out of the room, and an admiring crowd gathered -about the statue of the groping woman. Some one whispered that it was -not a man's work at all, but the work of a woman. Surprise, incredulity, -disapproval passed in waves over the faces of the crowd. The rumor was -established as a fact, though the woman's name was withheld. Every one -could see faults now. - -"We suspected it from the first," said the philosophers. "The lack of -virility is apparent." - -"You can see the woman's carelessness in regard to details in every fold -of the drapery!" said the artists. - -The Princess Pourquoi listened. Presently she faced the crowd. - -"It is my work," she said simply. Then she summoned her lackeys and -ordered her carriage, and disappeared before artists or philosophers -could find any knot-holes to crawl through. - -Their Majesties, the royal parents, were greatly pleased when they heard -of this scene. Perhaps this condemnation of her statue would bring their -daughter to her senses. - -It was very fortunate that just at this time there came rumors of the -advent of the Fairy Prince. From Bobitania, a kingdom leagues away, he -was reported to be approaching, presumably to woo the Princess Pourquoi. -The King and the Queen chuckled in secret together the day a messenger -arrived to announce the advent of his Royal Highness, Prince Ludwig -Jerome Victor Christian Ernst, Heir-Apparent to the throne of Bobitania. -This was a very great principality, indeed. Surely the Princess would -for once act like other people, and would, for the sake of all that was -to be gained, profess herself satisfied in regard to her questions. - -The royal household was ordered into its very best clothing. The King -and the Queen, the Prince and the Princesses, shimmered in velvet and -jewels. The pages were resplendent in yellow and silver. The -philosophers were profound in rich black. The woolly white dogs of the -ladies-in-waiting were combed and tied with the colors of Bobitania, -crimson and black. Everywhere, in jewels, in flower devices, among the -hangings on the wall, were displayed the arms of Bobitania, a crimson -star on a dusky background. - -After the ceremonies of greeting were over, when Prince Ludwig Jerome -Victor had bent before the King and the Queen on their throne, and had -had presented to him all the royal offspring, the Princess Pourquoi was -requested to show his Highness the garden of flowers, that his eyes -might be refreshed after his long journey. So side by side they walked, -talking together, between long rows of stately chrysanthemums, white, -yellow, and red, she very erect in her brocaded gown, whose deep blue -folds swept the grass, he all smiles and obeisance, in a slashed suit of -scarlet and black. The waiting-women, by two and two, came on behind. - - [Illustration: SIDE BY SIDE THEY WALKED TOGETHER] - -As they paced the garden, the peacocks retreated slowly, a statelier -procession than they. They passed a fountain where a single workman was -busy sculpturing a figure from a block of gray granite. His face was -shaded by a cap, but the splendid action of strong arms and muscular -shoulders was visible. The Princess paused, and the waiting-women -turned, pretending to be busy with the box of the hedges or the -pink-tipped daisies at their feet. The face of Prince Ludwig Jerome -Victor grew uneasy, for he felt that the hour for his questioning had -come. But the Princess was not thinking of him, for her eyes were -following the workman's fingers. - -"Why blue jean for one man's arm and velvet with pearls for another?" -she said half to herself. "Why hunger for that man, and for me surfeit?" - -"Most gracious Princess," answered Prince Ludwig Jerome Victor, secure -in his reply, "the earth with all upon it is glad to lie as dirt beneath -the feet of the most beautiful lady in the world." - -He fell upon one knee and kissed her hand. She looked down intently into -his narrow, upraised face. - -"Queen among princesses," he begged, "question me and accept my answer. -From far Bobitania I have come to woo, and if I fail, I die. What is the -question I must answer?" - -"You have answered," said the Princess. "Rise." - -The hand of the workman had paused, uplifted, with a sculptor's hammer -in its grasp. There was a queer little smile upon his face below the -shadow of the cap. - -The waiting-women paced in silence behind the Princess back to the -presence of the King. - -"Most august Sovereign," said the Prince, bending his knee in the royal -presence, "I have come to place my kingdom at your daughter's feet. -Deign to ask her if I have found favor in her eyes." - -"What say you, my daughter?" asked the King, his delight shining through -his face. "Is it not a noble prince and a fair offer?" - -"My Lord and Father," said the Princess Pourquoi, bending in courtesy, -then standing erect, more haughty than before, "it is no prince, but a -man with a lackey's soul. He may come to reign, but a king he can never -be. As for my hand, he may not again touch it. I go to make it clean." - -Then she turned and walked, in a great silence, between the parted lines -of frightened people, out of the audience-chamber and away. - -How Prince Ludwig Jerome Victor Christian Ernst went away in great -anger, how the royal apologies were presented in vain, how the Princess -Pourquoi was imprisoned for three days in her chamber with no books to -read and was held in deep disgrace by all the court, is a long story, -and one that would take much time to tell. But the Princess only smiled -serenely, presented her duty to her parents, saying that she was deeply -grieved if her necessary words had hurt them, and, the first day she was -free, went walking in the royal garden alone. - -The artisan was there at the fountain, working at the same stone figure. -The Princess stood in silence and watched him. At her approach he had -taken off his cap and had laid it on the grass. Yellow autumn leaves -fell on his blue blouse and on her crimson velvet robe. - -"Do you like to work?" asked the Princess Pourquoi timidly. - -A look of amusement crept into the man's keen, dark eyes, and his lips -quivered with a suppressed smile. - -"Yes, your Highness," he answered, making an inclination of his head. -And he went on working. - -"Why?" asked the Princess Pourquoi. - -"Gracious Lady and Princess," replied the artisan, "I do not know." - -The Princess stared at his deft fingers and the quivering muscles of his -arms. Then she strolled away to pick a late white rose, and presently -wandered back, as if forgetful where her feet were going. - -"I have seen you before," she remarked absent-mindedly. - -He bent again, and murmured something respectful that she could not -hear. The chance given him to continue the subject he did not improve. - -"Once," continued the Princess, "in a hovel among other hovels at the -foot of the hill. Through the open door of the sick-room where I stood, -I saw you sitting at a poor man's table, sharing his black bread and -muddy ale. Why were you there?" - -"He was my friend," said the artisan. "His hut was then my home." - -"Why do you wear a workingman's blouse and carve in stone?" demanded the -Princess abruptly. - -"Madame and Princess," replied the man, "it is the work that I have -chosen," and he went on chipping away fine flakes of stone. - -The lady walked away again, this time following a wayward peacock across -the grass. The workingman paused to look after her, with the sunshine -falling on her brown hair. Then he picked up a chisel that he had -dropped, and, in doing so, bent to kiss the grass where her feet had -rested, for she had trodden very close. - -When the Princess came back the next time, she spoke with the quiet air -of one who is greeting an old friend. - -"You criticised my statue," she remarked. "You called it crude." - -"Whoever reported my poor opinion to the Princess," said the man, "had -evidently heard but part of what I said." - -The Princess showed no curiosity as to the rest. - -"Why were the others so unjust?" she demanded. "They praised my work -when they thought it was a man's. They turned upon it and called it bad -when they knew a girl had done it, and did not yet know that it was a -princess. What can one do when it is all so unfair?" - -The artisan answered not a word, but went on chipping, chipping, bending -all his energy to the curve of a finger. The Princess watched with eyes -in which all the blue of the autumn sky and all the shining of the -autumn sun seemed centred. When the young man at length looked at her, -her head was thrown back, and her face wore the look of one who feels -her blood to be royal. - -"Do you know," she asked sternly, though the expression of her eyes was -of one who pleads, "what fate is reserved for the man who answers even -one of my questions satisfactorily." - -"Gracious Lady and Princess," he said humbly, "I have answered nothing, -for I did not know. My mind, too, has questioned ceaselessly into the -injustice of many things. I only"-- - -"You only," said the Princess, with a sweep of her hand,--"you only -_kept on working_! Come!" - -Refusing to walk at her side, he followed at a little distance, stepping -unsurely, as one would walk in a dream. The lackeys looked at him and -sneered as he went. His Majesty the King and her Majesty the Queen -looked down in impatience from the throne when they saw the Princess -Pourquoi leading in a peasant clad in blue jean. - -"Some injury to redress!" muttered his Majesty. "Always a new grievance! -I never have time to sleep or think." - -The Princess swept across the audience-chamber with the air of one whom -nature, not circumstance alone, had made a queen. She bent before her -royal parents, then laid her hand upon that of the artisan. - -"Your Majesties will remember," she said, "the decree made regarding me -when I was fifteen years old. This man alone has answered one question -of mine to my satisfaction. I come to beg"--and her face wore a -frightened look, yet shone with a sudden gleam of mischief--"I come to -beg that he incur the penalty." - -Her Majesty fainted and was carried from the room. His Majesty -turned purple, and the calves of his legs swelled with rage. The -ladies-in-waiting hid their faces behind their hands and whispered, -"Shameless!" The philosophers shook their heads and muttered, "The -Curse!" As soon as the King could find his voice he thundered: "Away -with him to the donjon keep! Let the executioner come and do his duty! -Cut off the head of the impostor who would steal my daughter's hand!" - -"He is no impostor," said the Princess scornfully. "Whatever his birth -may be, his soul is royal." - -The men-at-arms came forward to seize him, but the Princess flung -herself between him and them. He put her gently aside, and stepped -forward to defy them all, but his eyes rested all the while on her with -a look that made great throbbings in her wrists. The clash of arms in -the chamber was interrupted by the sound of commotion outside. Shouts of -"Make way!" were heard. Then there were cries of: "A messenger, a -messenger from his Grace of Bobitania!" Free way was left in the crowded -hall for a man in a travel-stained riding-costume, who entered and -hurried toward the throne. - -"May it please your Grace," he panted, "his Majesty the King of -Bobitania desires to make known that the Heir-Apparent to the throne, -who disappeared many weeks ago, has not been discovered. News has just -reached Bobitania that his valet, who stole much of the Prince's -clothing after his disappearance, has been here representing himself to -be the Prince. Let it therefore be known that the person who of late -called himself Prince Ludwig Jerome Victor Christian Ernst of Bobitania -is an impostor, being the son of a liberated serf, and the grandson of a -swineherd." - -The nobles, the ladies-in-waiting, the philosophers crowded about the -messenger. While he was explaining that Prince Ludwig Jerome Victor was -eccentric, though deeply loved by every man, woman, and child in -Bobitania; how he had insisted on learning a trade; how he had often -disappeared for a time, living in disguise among his poorest -subjects--the Princess was looking at the stone-cutter's face and -smiling. She forbore to cast one glance of triumph upon the King. - -The messenger took his leave of his Majesty and turned to go. Suddenly -he fell upon his knees and kissed the hand of the peasant. - -"My Lord the Prince!" he cried. And the vaulted ceiling gave back the -cry, for all the people in waiting took it up and shouted for the Prince -who wore blue jean. - - * * * * * - -"Why did you do it?" asked the Princess Pourquoi, two hours later, when -she stood in the garden with her betrothed, the real Ludwig Jerome -Victor Christian Ernst, Heir-Apparent to the throne of Bobitania. - -"Gracious Lady and Princess," he answered, laughing, "I wanted to be -real." - -Then he told her how, many years ago, he, a tiny princeling, had heard a -naughty little princess, in that very audience-chamber, demanding, not a -fairy prince, but a real one. - -"I took the only way I knew to become real," he said. "Have I found -favor in your eyes, O beloved of my heart?" - -"How long beloved?" asked the Princess anxiously, for she was much -ashamed of the way in which she had wooed him. - -"All my life long," he answered. And the peacocks never told how he -kissed her. - -His Majesty the King and her Majesty the Queen were delighted with the -match. The royal father spent hours in telling the young Prince how -great a delight his daughter's mind had always been to him, and how he -should miss companionship with her when she was far away in Bobitania. -All the court agreed with their Highnesses that they had had suspicions -of the valet-prince from the very first, and the lackeys mentioned to -the Princess the fact that from the first they had suspected the -stone-cutter to be something more than appeared on the outside. The -Princess Pourquoi became very popular up and down the length and breadth -of the kingdom, and the philosophers, as they sipped their wine in the -afternoon sunshine, said over and over what a wonderful child she had -been, and how they had always prophesied a great destiny for her. - -So there was a great wedding, the preparations for which shook -Christendom to its foundations. All the crowned heads that were known -were there. Barbaric kings from beyond Bobitania graced the ceremony in -gorgeous embroidered robes sewn with diamonds and rubies and pearls. No -colors that are known could paint the procession with its rainbow tints -of banners and of clothing. Man has not senses enough to take in a -description of the food that was provided. Peacocks' brains, served in -golden dishes, were the simplest viands there. - -The Princess Pourquoi was attired in white velvet, with a train eleven -feet and six inches long; her lord and master glowed like a tropical -bird in scarlet, and Christendom exclaimed that there had never been so -beautiful a pair. While the trumpets were blowing and the dishes were -rattling, and the after-dinner speeches of the philosophers were -reaching their most blatant point, Prince Victor was quietly telling his -bride that he had no intention of giving up his occupation of -stone-cutter, and none of sitting upon his father's throne unless -requested to by all the inhabitants of Bobitania. They talked in -snatched whispers about the drawing-schools they would establish for the -poor, and the model cottages that should be built from end to end of -Bobitania, and they made great plans for the Princess's further work in -sculpture. What else they said in sweet whispers, I shall not tell, for -it was no one's affair but their own. - -The most magnificent guest of all was the fairy godmother who had cursed -the bride in her cradle. This wicked person was attired in black samite, -made with incredible puffs and a train. She had a stomacher picked out -with jet, and wore a very stiff ruff underneath her hooked chin. Her -general expression was very fierce, but once she was heard to murmur, -hiding a pleased smile behind her bony hand:-- - -"A pretty age of the world, when not even the curse of a mind can harm a -woman!" - - - - - THE CLEVER NECROMANCER - - - - - THE CLEVER NECROMANCER - - [Illustration] - - -Once, a long, long, long, long, _long_ time ago, there was a city by the -sea, and it was called Marmorante. Little gray mists floated down the -gray streets, past the tall gray houses with carven windows and doors; -pale, silvery fogs wrapped tower and spire, and oftentimes low, dark -clouds hung sullenly for days together over gabled roofs and dull red -chimneys; nor could the bravest winds that blew nor the swiftest golden -sunbeams drive mist and cloud and fog away. - -In Marmorante lived all manner of folk: a duke, a count, two marquises, -and several squires; there were merchants many, with white-sailed ships -that cut the waves; there were wool-combers and flax-beaters and -haberdashers and marketmen; but most of all there were women: -countesses, duchesses, and stately marchionesses; wives of merchants, -wool-combers, haberdashers, flax-beaters,--women, women, women, maidens -innumerable, and hosts of little girls. There were little girls with -flaxen ringlets, little girls with long braids of yellow hair; -dark-haired, slender maidens, maidens with white arms, maidens with blue -eyes, brown eyes, or gray--every kind of maiden that ever lived, in life -or in story. - -Life went on quietly in the city by the sea. In the gray mornings count -and countess talked amicably together in their great hall, and -wool-carder and his wife gossiped cheerily as they rolled and carded the -white fleece; in the gray afternoons Sir Knight walked in the castle -garden among the flowers with my lady, and the butcher's 'prentice met -his maid by the postern door: by embroidery frame and spinning-wheel, by -tiring-room and kitchen spit, all was gray peace. - -Then one day, when the clouds hung low, a raven croaked above the castle -wall; black rooks cawed dismally with hints of coming disaster; and -bats, mistaking clouded noon for night, flew out with squeaks and -gibberings at noonday--yet nothing happened. Peasants' carts came -creaking, as was their wont, to the city gate, with blue-smocked Jean or -yellow-trousered Pierrot driving roan mare or piebald steed, and -bringing bags of grain and great rolls of tanned skins to market. Old -women with their flower baskets on their arms came nodding and -courtesying, giving hollyhock or rose for toll to the porter, who would -not say them nay because of their skinny arms and hungry faces. At last -came one who was not of the line of sun-browned farmers, withered dames, -or ruddy boys who drove in flocks of sheep. - -It was a man, tall and long, and thin of face, clad in doublet and hose -of sober drab, and he had naught with him save three small, transparent -bags or bladders, one rose-colored, one purple, and one yellow, which -seemed to be filled with but empty air. - -"What bringest hither?" asked the porter, in a surly voice. - -"Naught save my rattle," answered the tall man in drab; and with that he -struck the bags together, so that there came out a tinkling sound -wondrous cunning and small. - -"Is danger therein?" said the man at the gate, holding back. "Mayhap -they go off, like powder, and do harm." - -Then the tall man smiled a strange, three-cornered smile, for his chin -was long and protruding, and strained his lips that way. - -"Ay," he confessed, "they go off, but they do no hurt;" then he paid his -penny toll and went unmolested in. The porter stood long, with arms -akimbo, and looked after him. - -"'Tis some fool," said the porter, and went back to his mug of ale. - -The sad-hued man went on through the narrow streets that let in only a -strip of the sky's blue, and anon he came to the open market-place, -where little was doing that day, for the flowers were wilted, and the -vegetables for the most part gone; only the lambs that were left bleated -piteously now and then. The stranger sprang upon a counter where wheat -had been sold, and he struck his little bags together, so that they -rattled merrily as he called aloud:-- - -"Come, hear, hear, hear! Come, hear the words of wisdom I shall say, the -greatest words that shall ever meet your ears. Come, hear, hear, hear! -To-day I speak, and to-morrow I may not: 'tis the chance of a lifetime, -and not to be overlooked. Come, hear, hear, hear!" - -Now with the rattling of the bags, and the rattling of the man's voice, -many people came running hither: squire and 'prentice and count, -marchioness and merchant's lady, and the cook from the castle, all -hurrying toward the empty sound. Soon a great crowd was gathered, of men -and of maidens, of women with white wimples and folded kerchiefs, and of -little girls with yellow hair. - -"Come, hear, hear, hear!" repeated the man, in slow singsong, watching -the people with his narrow blue eyes which were rimmed with red; then, -so swiftly that none could see, he bent his head and touched his lips to -the transparent bags. He spoke, and lo! a miracle, for out of his mouth -came a beautiful, iridescent mist of words that floated and floated and -broke against the gray fog, and rested across the eyes of an elderly -woman who stood buxom and comely, and fell like a halo upon the fair -hair of a young girl standing bareheaded in the sun, and flashed like an -opal, flickered like a flame, so that at last the whole market-place was -full of floating color; yet all that the man had said was, "Be good and -you will be happy," with variations. - -"A necromancer!" said the red-faced butcher under his breath. - -"A prophet!" cried the countess, as a floating bit of the colored mist -lighted on her lips. - -"I never heard such truth," said the fair-haired maiden, with a bar of -iridescent cloud across her eyes. - -Watching and silent the Necromancer stood, the three-cornered smile upon -his lips. They prayed him to do his trick again, but he shook his head -and would not. - -"To-morrow," he said, "at two P.M.;" and he smiled at the shower of -golden coin that rained into his bell-crowned hat. - -When they were sure that nothing more was forthcoming, they went -marveling away; but all about the silvery fog that clung to the -steeples, and the gray mists that lay along the streets, and the clouds -that hung sullenly above, still hovered little rosy flecks of flame and -hints of rainbow color. - -Day after day the Necromancer stood in the market-place, and put his -lips secretly to his colored bags, and spoke. He had searched all the -copy-books of the kingdom, and had taken familiar truths, such as: "The -good die young;" "To be selfish is to be miserable;" "Haste makes -waste;" "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush;" and he clothed -them in rainbow colors and breathed his mist about them, so that they -stalked in beauty wonderful and strange, and the folk who listened did -not know their own ideas when they met them face to face, because of the -garment of many-colored words in which they came. Then the women went -mad throughout the city, mad for the loud-sounding voice and the rattle -of the bags, rose-colored, purple, and yellow. By her broidery frame the -Countess Angélique forgot to draw green thread of silk through the dim -web, and in her lap her white hands lay idle. Walking to and fro by her -spinning-wheel, little Jeanne wove into the blue yarn the glittering -phrases of yesterday, so that the strands tangled and knotted at the -spindle. Margot, the cook, forgot her chickens roasting on the spit, but -turned and turned them by the glowing coals till they were burned and -black; and Joan the butcher's wife could no longer tell haunch of -venison from flitch of bacon, but greeted customers with a vacant stare, -for her mind was quite gone, gone the way of the wind, after the -wonderful bits of colored fog. - -Now the fair-haired maid who had stood awed in the market-place on the -day when the enchanter came was a rich merchant's daughter, and her -given name was Blanche. She was betrothed to one Hugh of a neighboring -city, and he came often to Marmorante, lodging always at the sign of the -Red Dragon. Thus had been his wooing, as he stood one day with the maid -and her father by the lattice that looked forth on the street. - -"Wilt have me?" he asked, and the words cost him much, for he was a man -of plain speech, and oft of no speech at all. - -The maid stood in the sunshine and looked upon him, and he thought her a -goodly sight. Green was her gown, and cut square at the throat, and with -it the color of her eyes seemed green, and he knew not if her hand or -her neck were whiter. - -"I could give thee white velvet to thy train," he stammered, and the old -man, her father, stood and watched. - -"Dost love me?" asked the maid, for she was one that had heard old -ballads sung; and the man opened wide his honest eyes. - -"Ay, surely, else had I not asked thee to wife." - -"Then will I wed thee," said the maid, and the wooer stood gazing at -her, not daring the kiss that was in his mind. - -"'Tis a good chaffer," said young Hugh. "We shall get on rarely -together;" and thereafter, as heretofore, he had no eyes for aught save -the maiden's face. All this was a month agone, and to-day, when he came -again, the maid would have it that he must needs go forth with her to -the market-place to listen to this wonder; and he followed, willing -enough, for he would have gone into the very dragon's teeth after the -hem of her gown. Howsoever, the thought of going to listen to mere -speech seemed to him but folly. - -When they came to the open place, and he saw what was there, his eyes -opened wide, and he whistled softly for sheer amazement, for never yet -had he seen so great a concourse gathered together. There were women in -velvet and in satin, women in homespun and in blue jean, even women in -rags; and there were maidens as many and as lovely as the leaves upon -the maple tree when it turns to rosy color in the fall, maidens dull or -bright of hair as the case might be, but always bright of eye and of -cheek. Far and near they gathered, crowding close together; many stood -on bench or on counter, straining white necks forward; and all the -windows that looked upon the market were crowded with fair faces. -Presently, with long and pensive stride, came the lean man in drab; and -as he came, honest Hugh heard the sudden, sharp breathing of the maid at -his side, and felt her lean forward as if she were one quivering ear. - -What followed puzzled the young man sorely. It was one of the great days -of the Necromancer: forth from his mouth came a violet speech in the -form of a bubble, and it floated over the heads of the people in lovely -changing shades that ranged all the way from deep purple to the palest -tint that is not yet white. Midway across the gray cloud it burst, and -its gleaming bits drifted hither and yon, and the speaker smiled as he -saw the eager fingers raised to catch the tiny vapors which melted as -soon as touched. Forth came another and another; it was a day of -loveliest froth. Anon came a speech of the color of gold that shimmered -and shone in the sunlight, and burst into sparkles a thousand ways, and -so golden bubble followed golden bubble. All the little girls with -floating hair or yellow braids ran after them, with hands lifted high to -catch them before they burst, and the least maids wept because the -taller ones caught more than they. - -Young merchant Hugh stood watching, with his hand upon his chin. - -"'Tis a strange sight," he murmured to himself. "Jugglers enow have I -seen in the East, and many of their devices have I learned, but I have -seen naught like this." - -Then he turned to his betrothed. - -"Dost know the trick, Blanche?" he asked, but when he saw her face, he -knew that there was somewhat amiss with his words. All awed was she, and -in her eyes was the look of one who had seen a vision; and, glancing -about, he saw that the other women and maids wore the same expression. -He came home pondering, having noted the shower of coin that had fallen -into the Necromancer's hat; nor could he understand, for he gave ever -good measure for the gold that was given him. Also he was sore troubled, -for his betrothed had no words for him, only looks of high disdain. - -"Well, daughter," said the old merchant, as the two came in, "what saith -the prophet to-day?" - -"Oh!" cried the maiden, "all was wonderful and full of beauty. Each day -is his discourse more marvelous than yesterday's." - -"But what was it all about?" he asked, laying his hand upon her hair, -for he was tender of her. - -"How could I presume to tell?" she asked, with a grieved red lip. "'Twas -too wonderful to put into words;" and she swept from the room, with no -glance for her lover. - -Young merchant Hugh, to whom the very rushes on which the maiden stepped -were dear because of his great speechless love, gazed after her, jealous -of the look upon her face, and cruelly wounded by her scorn. - -"I will find out the trick," said the young man to himself, between set -teeth; and he was one who ever made good his words. - -Now the maiden Blanche was glad when her lover begged to go forth with -her the next day and the next, at two P.M. - -"Mayhap he may learn something of this wondrous speech," she said -wistfully, thinking to herself that it would be sweet to be wooed in -violet words and words of the color of gold. When he bent shyly to kiss -her before they went, with lips that trembled for the great love they -might not say, she drew stiffly back, nor would she thereafter permit -touch or caress, and much she spoke of the joy of a maiden's life that -would leave time free for thought; yet she took him gladly with her for -a week of days. Ever he listened, as one spellbound, nor once removed -his glance from the Necromancer's face; and he was keen of eye, and wont -in traffic to detect word or look of fraud, and he saw what no one else -had seen. - -"I have it!" he cried, and he slapped his fist upon the palm of his left -hand. "Those be bags of many-colored words that he hath with him, and he -but sucks them up and breathes them forth." - -That day he sent his sweetheart home with Dame Cartelet, that lived hard -by, and was as besotted as she on the man with the magic words; then he -went and lay in wait in the street through which the Necromancer passed -each day in going home; and as he waited, he turned back his velvet -cuffs, and felt lovingly of the muscle of shoulder and arm. So it was -not long before a tall man in drab went running through the narrow -streets on the outskirts of the town, crying and wringing his hands, and -the rattling bags of rose color, and purple, and gold were gone from his -neck. - -"Oh, my vocabulary!" he wailed. "Oh, my bags, my bags, my bags! What am -I but a man undone without my bag of adjectives!" - -The dogs and the children that ran at his heels did not understand, nor -did smith and weaver as they stood in their doorways. - -"Oh, my other bag, my bag of epithets, of polysyllabic epithets!" cried -the fugitive as he ran. - -A squealing pig joined the chase, and the men children and maid children -who ran after laughed aloud. The women who watched from lattice or stone -doorstep were of those who, by means of ten skillfully selected -adjectives from the rose-colored bag, and a dozen golden epithets from -the bag of yellow, had been made to gape and quiver with the sense of -the birth of new truth, yet they failed to recognize the juggler, for -iridescent mist and ruddy vapor had vanished from his head and -shoulders, and they saw naught save a lean and ugly man fleeing under a -gray sky; and, hearing, they yet did not understand his cry of deep -dismay. - -"Oh, my exclamation points, my lost exclamation points! Oh, my pet -hiatus that laid all low when nothing else would avail!"--and so he -passed out of their sight, and out of the city of Marmorante. - -At the sign of the Red Dragon that afternoon, young merchant Hugh was -closely locked in his room. Behind great iron bolts he sat upon a -three-legged stool, and worked with the colored, rattling bags. - -"'Tis well that men have devised this thing," he said, holding a mirror -before his face, as he sucked air from the bag of rose; "else could I -not see if all goes well." And his heart was well-nigh bursting with joy -when he saw that the breath of his mouth was even as the breath of the -Necromancer upon the air. Then he slipped downstairs and begged for a -cup of ale, and as the maid served him in the kitchen, he blew out a -whiff from the bag of gold, and of a sudden her face became as the faces -of the women who stood in the market-place under the spell of the -juggler, and Hugh was glad. - -The next day he hid the bags in a neckerchief of fine silk, and went to -the house of his sweetheart, asking to see her; but when she came, it -was with a face set and cold, and she paused with the great oaken table -between them. - -"Hugh," she said, unsmiling, "I have been thinking." - -"'Tis foolish work for a woman," he answered stoutly. - -"That which thou dost say but confirms my thought," she answered, still -more coldly. "We cannot be wed; waking and sleeping have I considered -this matter, and thus have I resolved." - -"Now, why?" cried honest Hugh bluntly. - -"We have so little in common," said Blanche. - -"Thou shalt have all," he stammered, forgetting, in his hurt, the magic -bags. "Why, 'tis for thee I send forth all my ships. I will be but thy -pensioner." - -A shadow of pain passed over the maiden's face. - -"I mean not goods nor possessions, nor any manner of vulgar things; 'tis -of mind and soul I speak, and ours be far apart." - -"My goods be not vulgar!" cried young merchant Hugh. "Rare silks and -cloths from the East have I, and purest pearls, for thy white throat. No -common thing is there in all my store." - -Then the little foot of Blanche tapped impatiently on the stone floor. - -"'Tis of no avail that I try to make thee understand! I say there be -depths in my nature that thou mayst not satisfy; also am I full busy -this morning and must beg to be excused"--and with that she drew open -the heavy oaken door, leaving him in the long room as one dazed. - -Then he bethought him of his bags, and drew them out too late, taking a -whiff from each as a sob rose in his throat. Suddenly the fair hair of -Blanche appeared again in the doorway, and she smiled as a stranger upon -him. - -"I forgot to say that I wish thee all manner of good, and great -prosperity," she said amiably. - -Then out of Hugh's mouth came a purple speech, and a speech of the color -of gold; and little iridescent mists floated through the air, while a -rose-colored bubble rested for a moment on the white eyelids of the -maiden. The dull-paneled room was as the breaking of a rainbow; yet all -he had said was, "Wilt not wed me, Blanche?" But he said it in rose -color and purple and gold. - -"What have I done?" cried the maiden sorrowfully; and he rejoiced to see -that the look upon her face was as it had been when she had listened to -the Necromancer's philosophies and faiths. - -Then he turned and smiled, saying: "I love thee, Blanche," and he spoke -in the juggler's speech, which made a glory on the maiden's hair, and -about her gown of green. With outstretched hands she came toward him, -and she laid her head upon his breast, smiling up at him. - -"I was mad but now, Hugh," she breathed. "Our two souls be but one." - -"Wilt come with me to the market-place this afternoon?" he asked. - -"Nay," sighed the maiden. "I care not for the market-place, for I am -happy here, where I have found my home." - -"I speak there," he said bluffly, "at two P.M." - -"Thou!" and the maiden's laughter rang out like the touch of silver -bells, "and of what?" - -"Of phases of occult thought," he answered gravely. - -"Ay," cried Blanche, and she raised her face to kiss him. "Ay, Hugh, be -sure that I shall be there when thou dost talk philosophies." - -The young merchant was good as his word, and that afternoon he stood in -the market-place upon a counter, rattling the juggler's bags as he -waited. As before, men, women, and maidens came, by tens, by twenties, -by hundreds, till there was no spot where he could look without meeting -a pair of wistful eyes. - -"It looks to be but plain Hugh, the merchant," whispered one to another. - -"Hath he undertaken to sell his wares here?" asked one. - -"He hath choice pearls," whispered a maiden who was not yet wholly given -over to occult thought. - -But Hugh had begun to speak, and faces of wonder were lifted to him, for -he was strong of lung, and the breath from the magic bags went farther -than ever before. - -"Our friend the Necromancer is indisposed, and I must take his place," -he began. "Like him, I have chosen a theme from the depths of human -thought; and now, hear! hear! hear!" - -Then eloquence poured forth from the man's lips so fast, so full a -stream, that the very welkin was rose-tinted, and a great rainbow seemed -to overspread the sky. Gray clouds above the tallest spires broke into -tints of opal, and all the air shaded into the violet and purple of -exclamation points, and of the pet hiatus, which was hard to work, but -came well off. Golden glory haunted carven door and window, and words of -flame crept around the tracery of arch and gable. Women sobbed for very -joy; others wrote madly on their tablets; maidens gasped with red lips -slightly opened; never, during the whole lecture season, had come so big -a wind from out the bags, and honest Hugh blushed with mingled shame and -triumph when he saw the face of his betrothed, for it wore the look of -one who had seen the white vision of naked truth. - -Following the fashion of the Necromancer, he had taken a maxim, and had -dressed it up so that men knew it not, and so that it came forth as -revelation. All that he had said from the first to the last was the -truth that he knew best: "Honesty is the best policy;" but this was the -way in which he had said it, with constantly shifting color: - -"Glory awaits the equable! All-hails are the portion of him, who, -unswerving, with eyes upon the path ahead, with lofty head erect, -perambulates his chosen path through this world's tangled wilderness, -turning neither to the right hand nor to the left, though golden cohorts -beckon. The goal is for the upright feet. The crown waits.... What -matter if the victor be sobbing and breathless, so that he be -conqueror?" (Observe the hiatus.) "So saith golden-tongued Plato; so -saith heavy-browed Aristotle of persuasive speech; so saith Aulus -Gellius, withdrawn in his inner truth, and his brother, Currant Gellius, -whose essence clings; so say the holy fathers, subtle Basil, -myriad-minded Chrysostom; so saith the copy-book." - -When the speech was over, and the bags hidden away, Hugh bore as best he -might the tears and congratulations of the women, their murmured -plaudits, and inspired looks. - -"'Tis the first time I have ever failed to give honest measure," he said -shamefacedly to himself as they flocked about him. - -That night, as he sat with the maiden and her father, he spoke of -departing on the morrow with a ship that would sail for Morocco to be -gone many months, and his sweetheart came to him, creeping into his -arms. - -"Do not leave me, Hugh," she pleaded. "It is so far away." - -"I must go, little one," he answered, smoothing her fair hair. "Men sit -not ever by the fire to hear tabby purr." - -"Say them again," she pleaded, "say again the words thou didst speak -this morning, that I may have them with me when thou art far away." - -"Far in illimitable recesses of time and of space," he began -shamefacedly, "before phenomena existed, thy bodiless soul and mine met -and mingled as one"-- - -"Where hast learned that jargon, Hugh?" asked the old merchant, with a -loud guffaw. - -"Hush!" said Hugh, with loving hands upon the maiden's ears so that she -might not hear. "All is fair in love, father!" - -But Hugh was still an honest merchant, and never in his long and happy -life did he use the stolen vocabulary in bargaining, or to gain -dishonest advantage in trade. Only, when the face of Blanche, his wife, -grew sad, he would take out the colored bags, which he kept secretly -locked in an iron chest, and then the old smiles would come back to her -beautiful face, and with them the look of awe wherewith she regarded her -husband, as the mist of purple, and the flecks of rose color, and the -bubbles of gold, fell on hair and eye and ear. - - - - - THE PRINCESS - AND THE MICROBE - - - - - THE - PRINCESS AND THE MICROBE - - [Illustration] - - -The Princess Olivera Rinalda Victorine sat on a stone seat by the -mermaid fountain in the royal gardens, crying bitterly because she was -not a prince. The sun was warm, the water splashed merrily over the -mermaids' tails, and not far away two infant counts, an archduckling, -and a baby baroness were playing on the green grass, but the Princess -would have none of their game of tag. She only howled with her mouth -open, and paused for breath, and howled again. Then Lady Marie Françoise -Godolphin and the Duchess Louise of Werthenheim, who were pacing the -garden paths by box hedge and rose bed (Lady Marie was superb in pink -chiffon over white silk, and the Duchess wore blue embroidered tulle -looped with clusters of artificial lilies), frowned and whispered to -each other that the naughty child ought to be punished, which was -manifestly unfair, as it was all their fault. Never would the Princess -Olivera Rinalda Victorine have thought of being wickedly ungrateful for -the privilege of being a girl, if the following conversation had not -reached her through the box hedge:-- - -_Lady Marie_: His Majesty will be _so_ relieved that it is a son. Think, -the boy will be Auguste Philippe the Twenty-fourth! - -_The Duchess_: I distinctly remember the grief of both the King and -Queen when the Princess turned out to be a girl. - -It was then that the Princess Victorine, who had been dandling her doll -and gaining great comfort from this distinctly feminine occupation, -threw this same doll from her with violence, unconscious of the symbolic -character of the act, and digging her little fists into her eyes, burst -into weeping so loud that Lady Marie Françoise and Duchess Louise -dragged their buckram-stiffened trains away over the grass to escape -from their victim's cries. - -Presently sobbing became hard work, and the Princess sat still in the -sunshine, thinking. Her blue eyes had red rims about them, her yellow -hair was dried in wisps on her forehead, her fat legs hung dejectedly -down. She was reaching back farther and farther into her dim little -consciousness, trying to remember how she ever came to make that -dreadful initial mistake. She had disappointed the Queen, her -mother--here the sobs began again, for the Princess loved that royal -lady; she had chosen, though she could not remember when, and had chosen -wrongly. Then she began to wonder what it was to be this thing that the -King and Queen and Lady Marie and the Duchess were so grateful for, a -boy. She candidly thought that she was nicer than the two little counts -and the archduckling, and she found her riddle hard to read, for no one -had ever before suggested to her, much less explained, the disgrace of -sex. - -Crying was difficult, and thinking was harder still--for the Princess. -Presently she jumped down from her bench and trotted away almost -joyfully, for a happy thought had struck her. The Princess was the -sweetest, most obliging little soul in the world, and helpful withal. A -way of escape had suggested itself to her: she would find out what boys -were like and be one. The Queen, her mother, should be no longer -disappointed in her, nor should any ladies of the court make invidious -remarks through box hedges. Whatever happened, she would never again -turn out to be a girl. So, in an unfortunate comparison, made by two -people who could obviously ill afford to be critics, began the evolution -of that unnatural monster, more "fell than hunger, anguish, or the sea," -a mannish woman. - -At first the Princess Victorine prayed about it. Every night, in her -little golden crib, which had the arms of her house--a spotless leopard, -_couchant_--embroidered on the blue satin hangings, she shut her eyes -and begged to be made into a prince with yellow love-locks and scarlet -doublet and pink hose. Would he be Olivero Rinaldo Victor the -Twenty-fourth, she wondered? But every morning she wakened with -indignation to the fact that she was still a girl. As her faith in -miracle weakened, her determination to succeed by her own efforts grew -stronger, and she never doubted that she could do it if she tried hard -enough. Her face took on an expression of firmness, "most unfeminine," -said Lady Marie, who was her governess. - -"Do not run, my dear--it is so masculine," said Lady Marie, often; or -"Do not climb trees, your Highness--such rough playing is fit only for -boys." - -Then the Princess would look at her with non-committal, wide-opened eyes -and say nothing. She had a secret, inner knowledge, dating from that -moment of revelation in the garden, of the superiority of being a boy, -and henceforward nothing could take it from her, not precept, nor -example, nor soft insinuation of the beauty and propriety of -womanliness. She knew that people were trying to deceive her; she had -heard of conspiracies before--but she never let them see that she knew. -On occasions like this she had a way of looking stupid which was nearer -cleverness than anything else that she ever did. - -Now, there are people for whom one idea, with variations, will last a -lifetime, and the Princess Olivera Rinalda Victorine was one of them. As -to questions about the whys and wherefores of things, she never asked -one in her life, nor answered one. Very systematically she set about her -life-work. As his Highness, her baby brother, grew up, she imitated him. -Once she was found standing with her sturdy legs apart and her arms -akimbo, whistling. Lady Marie and the Queen both wept, and deprived the -Princess that day of her bread and jam, but to no effect. She seemed -inspired by the energy of the small boy or the demon. Her legs could not -keep still; she ran, she jumped, she leaped, she climbed, she played all -boyish games, and once, but my ink blushes red in recording this, she -was caught by the Duchess turning somersaults in the garden. Terrible -were the reproaches heaped upon her, and her misdeeds seemed greater -because they went unexplained. On this occasion Lady Marie and the -Duchess were both sent to discipline her. (Lady Marie was attired in -rose satin covered with black lace, and the Duchess was charming in -Nile-green brocade, with pearls.) When Lady Marie said, with her scented -handkerchief at her eyes: "My dear, your actions are bringing me into -disrepute; what will their Majesties think of me?" the Princess, who -detested scents, only turned red and said nothing. Not once did she -retort that she never would have tried to be a boy if these two had not -taught her the desirability of it; she only trudged on in her own way -toward the longed-for goal, sure that the scoldings, the reproaches, -and, saddest of all, her mother's tears, came because she had not tried -hard enough and had not succeeded. - -There were times when the Princess Victorine surpassed Auguste Philippe. -One sunshiny morning, when the two were playing knight and ogre in the -courtyard, the Prince announced that he meant to climb the castle wall. -He did it only out of bravado, for, being a boy, with a boy's common -sense, he knew that it was impossible. - -"I'm going to climb it, too," said Olivera Rinalda Victorine stubbornly. - -"Pshaw, you can't! You're only a girl," said Auguste Philippe, strutting -up and down in his slashed velvet doublet and his feathered cap. - -"And you are only a boy," said the Princess, meditatively eying him. She -did not say it to be saucy--she was only thinking. Then she deliberately -took the hem of her embroidered blue satin skirt in her teeth and began -to climb the wall, while Auguste Philippe watched from below with wrath -and terror in his eyes. By means of a niche here, a clinging ivy vine -there, a window ledge, and, now and then, a friendly, grinning gargoyle, -the Princess succeeded, and stood at last triumphant upon the -battlements, waving her blue skirt for a flag. But all that she got for -it was a scolding, and, to the day of his death, Auguste Philippe never -admitted that it was true. In fact, he never entirely believed it, -though he had watched every step from the courtyard below. - -Better even than boyish sports, the Princess loved stories of knightly -deeds, and the very pith and marrow of chivalry entered into her bones. -She could not read, but that did not matter, for the story-tellers could -not write, but oh! they could tell tales. Stories of dragons slain and -ogres vanquished, stories of maidens rescued, enchanters caught and -prisoned, stories of caitiff knights thrust through at the moment of -their greatest villainy by the swords of heroes, all these the Princess -Victorine drank up with greedy ears and mind, and her heroic little -heart throbbed within her. Often--it was most unmaidenly--she furtively -felt of her muscle in leg or arm, wondering when she would be strong -enough to go forth in quest, for not one tale roused in her the desire -to become a teller of stories herself--she only wanted to act one. Once -she took Auguste Philippe aside, saying:-- - -"I'll tell you a secret, if you won't tell." - -"Go ahead!" said Auguste Philippe graciously. He had doubly the air of a -sovereign, being at once a brother and heir presumptive. - -"I'm going out to find and fight a dragon," said Princess Victorine. - -"Huh!" sneered the Prince. "There aren't any dragons any more. You are -behind the times." - -"Aren't any dragons!" cried the Princess. "What do you mean?" - -"There haven't been any for a long time," remarked Auguste Philippe -nonchalantly, his hands in his pockets. But the Princess would not have -the foundations of her faith shaken too easily. - -"What do they mean by telling us about them all the time?" she demanded. -"Every minstrel that comes here does, and so does old Lord Jean, and the -Countess Madeline, and everybody nice." - -"I don't care," asserted the Prince. "There aren't any--there's only the -Microbe." - -"What's the Microbe?" gasped the Princess. - -"It's worse than dragons, that's what it is," said Auguste Philippe -viciously. - -"What does it do?" asked the Princess. - -"It bites," answered the Prince. "It stays somewhere in the woods and -swamps, and every year it eats a great number of youths and maidens, and -old men and children. It's always hungry." - -"Why doesn't somebody go and kill it?" said the Princess. - -"Dunno!" answered Auguste Philippe. - -"What does it look like?" - -"It has one great eye," answered the Prince unhesitatingly, knowing that -life demanded that he should instruct the feminine mind whether he had -information or not; "it has ten great rows of teeth, and what it does -not bite with one set it bites with another. It never roars--that makes -it worse than a dragon, for you can't tell when it is coming. And it has -a hundred thousand claws reaching everywhere." - -The Princess went and sat by a rosebush, wearing her most enigmatical -expression. If she was overawed, she was too plucky to show it. Prince -Auguste Philippe looked at her, not without remorse. He was aware that -he knew nothing of the Microbe save its name, but he decided not to -confess--it would only shake a sister's confidence, so he went away to -fly his kite. - -Now, years flew past, and every day the Princess's bosom swelled with -knightly ardor, and every waking thought was of the slaying of the -Microbe. The words of Auguste Philippe that day by the rosebush became -the second inspiration of her life, and the second only completed and -strengthened the first. At eighteen, as at six, the Princess Olivera -Rinalda Victorine was round of face and pink of cheek. Her big blue -eyes, set in the baby fairness of her face under the yellow hair, had -the confiding look of a little child. All this was very pretty, but -manly sports had developed her physique far beyond the bounds of -feminine propriety. There were muscles on her lovely shoulders, and they -made her tiring-women weep. As for her biceps, she had always to wear -loose, flowing sleeves, for the strong arms broke through the embroidery -of tight ones. She was taller than she should have been, and her waist -refused to taper. If her sex had been different, the royal parents would -have gloried in her strength and her agility, but as it was, they cast -down their eyes in her presence and begged her, if she had any filial -reverence, to talk mincingly and small, at least in their presence. - -One day the Princess Olivera Rinalda Victorine sought out Lady Marie. - -"I am going on a quest, to find and fight the Microbe," she remarked -briefly. Lady Marie gave her one look, and fainted, and the Princess -revived her by means of her vinaigrette. - -"My dear!" whimpered Lady Marie, "think how many gray hairs you are -bringing down in sorrow. I do not mean mine," she added hastily; and, -in truth, hers were no longer gray. - -"It's got to be killed," said the Princess sturdily. "It's a pest." - - [Illustration: "IT'S GOT TO BE KILLED," SAID THE PRINCESS STURDILY] - -"But what is it?" whispered Lady Marie, blushing through her rouge. "Is -it a thing that a young girl ought to know about?" - -There was hubbub in the court for ten days. Counts, marchionesses, -dukes, and earls gathered in corners and talked under their breath. Some -thought that the Princess should be imprisoned in a dungeon; others -spoke of her with pity, believing her mad. One party, headed by old Lord -Jean and the Countess Madeline, said that it was all nonsense. Everybody -knew that there was no such thing as the Microbe; it was only a new -heresy, wickedly devised to shake the established faith in dragons. The -Princess might just as well be allowed to go the way of her folly and -find out the truth. Another faction, made up of believers, spoke darkly -of the mystery that enshrouded the foe, for he lived in a fog, and went -out to kill veiled in cloud, and they hinted that if the Princess went -to find him, she would not return alive. His Majesty and her Majesty, -bewildered, agreed with both parties, wept, protested, but did not -forbid the Princess to go, for fear that she would not mind. Auguste -Philippe said a bad word. - -At first the Princess tried to reason with them--an unwonted occupation -for her. - -"It really is a combat that a lady could very well engage in," she said -earnestly. "It isn't as if it were a dragon, you know." But they only -pooh-poohed and ha-haed until she shut her lips very tightly together, -and went on her way as usual, unexplained. - -Just here attention was diverted from her, for his Majesty, who had been -hurt in hunting, sickened and died, and amid sobs and whisperings and -discussions, Auguste Philippe the Twenty-fourth came to the throne. -There were many rumors and whispers of how the late King had come to his -death: some said that it was a fall from his steed; others hinted the -Microbe, shivering with horror at the name. No one was sure of anything, -and the court physicians very cleverly gave out that they could not -explain at length his Majesty's ailment because nobody knew enough to -understand. - -But the Princess Victorine, who was not a person of doubts, was -convinced from the first. With her head held very erect, she went to the -court armorer, and gave orders that he dared not disobey; then she went -to the royal stables and made her choice, while all stood still to watch -her, spellbound, no one venturing to lift a hand. Her Majesty was too -much overcome with grief to care what happened; Lady Marie and the -Duchess were absorbed and happy getting the court into mourning, and so -there was no one but Auguste Philippe to say good-by to the Princess -when she went away. He had risen very early, and stood upon the -battlements to see her go. - -It was one brave June day when the Princess Olivera Rinalda Victorine, -armed _cap-à-pie_, went forth to war. She was mounted on a charger of -dapple gray; a palfrey she would not have. On her head was a shining -steel helmet, through the back of which her tawny hair floated down her -back--there was not room to do it high. Through her visor her blue eyes -sparkled with a steady light. On her arm she carried a blue shield, for -even in her battle mood she could not forget what color was becoming. It -bore the device that she had chosen for herself, a virgin _rampant_, -gules. The armor that covered her from head to foot was of wrought rings -of finest steel, made with a flowing skirt that fell in protecting folds -about her feet. Her right hand held a spear; with her left she guided -her steed. - -"Good-by, dear!" called the Princess, waving her hand to Auguste -Philippe. - -"You are a silly thing," he remarked, affectionately, from the -battlements. "You won't do anything but tear your clothes." - -He did not try to stop her. In the strain of becoming Auguste Philippe -the Twenty-fourth he found that there were many things he was not so -sure of as he had been before. The flame in his sister's eyes he did not -understand, and he wondered why she was not content to stay at home and -play at quoits and dance to music, as he was; but he resolved that -Victorine should make a fool of herself in her own way, and that it -should not cost her too dear. So he stood long watching her as she went -shining across the great green plain with the light flashing from a -thousand glittering points on her armor. - -Now, the Princess rode by night and day, and not once did her courage -fail or her arm grow weary. She left behind the green plain and the -pleasant trees, and traveled in a grievous waste beyond the songs of -birds, and anon she came to a woodland that was dark and old. She was -sorely puzzled as to the habitat of the Microbe, for in his raids he -came from east and west and north and south, and no one could tell if he -had a permanent abiding-place. Often in the dusky shadows of the wood, -she stopped to call a challenge: "What, ho! Come out and try thy skill!" -But that was not his way of fighting, and he stayed hidden. Sometimes -she inquired at a cottage door or at a shepherd's hut on the edge of the -wood, but all thought that the lovely lady in armor was surely mad, -wearing such strange clothing and asking such strange questions. Once -she came upon a witch-wife who was gathering simples by a swamp in the -wood. - -"Is the pretty lady looking for the pretty knight that passed this way -yestere'en?" asked the witch-wife, with a horrible leer of her sunken -eyes. - -The Princess elevated her eyebrows with a look of scorn. - -"No," she answered coldly; "I am looking for the Microbe." - -"How?" asked the witch-woman, with her hand behind her ear. - -"The Microbe!" shouted the Princess. - -"Is it a man, or a lady, or a place?" - -"It's a monster!" shrieked the Princess. "It kills, and eats, and -destroys." And then followed a faithful repetition of Auguste Philippe's -description of the beast. The witch-wife laughed and rocked to and fro, -her yellow teeth showing in her shrunken gums. - -"Oh, deary, deary, deary!" she said, "there ain't any such critter, -truly there ain't. I've lived here in the swamp seventy-nine year; I -never saw one, and I sees pretty nigh everything." - -"Who eats the youths and the maidens, and the old men and the children?" -demanded the Princess sternly. - -"How do I know? How do I know?" cackled the old woman. "_I_ don't." - -The Princess Victorine rode away, and behind her the witch-wife laughed. - -"That's the way the pretty knight went," she called. "You'll find him -further on." - -The Princess indignantly turned her charger and rode in the opposite -direction. That morning came her moment of great reward, for, by the -side of a noxious swamp, a gray mist met her, blinding her eyes, and she -thought she heard sounds of gurgling and lashing and clawing. Once she -caught sight of the great shining eye of which Auguste Philippe had told -her, and then she dimly detected the grin of teeth. Olivera Rinalda -Victorine was sure that she had met the Microbe at last. With lifted -spear, and with the shout, "A maiden to the rescue!" she rode into the -floating cloud and thrust it through and through. Her spear crashed -on--something; her charger seemed to trample a living creature under -foot, and snorted with terror. Thrice came swift blows upon the -Princess's shield, but whether they were of claws or tail, she could not -tell. Her ears were deafened by the noise; her armor ripped in the -gathers at the waist; her good steed for a moment lost his footing in -the morass, but she reined him up, and, mad with the thrill of victory, -struck out again and again with more than woman's strength. Then, was it -fancy, or did she hear a roar as of mortal pain? Did she catch the sound -of swift retreat of a hundred thousand wounded legs? - -At home, upon the battlements, that morning, stood Auguste Philippe with -some ladies of the court. (Lady Marie was lovely in deepest crêpe, and -the Duchess was looking her best in heavy mourning.) - -"It was in that direction that she went, did you say?" sobbed the -Duchess, with a black-bordered handkerchief at her eyes. - -The young king nodded. - -"How can I bear it?" asked Lady Marie, raising her clasped hands to -heaven. "Oh, your Highness, send out a searching party! Send fifty armed -knights! Think what may happen at any moment!" - -"Pshaw!" said Auguste Philippe the Twenty-fourth, "Victorine can take -care of herself. She is four inches taller than I, and her arms are like -iron. Let her be. She is foolish, but she has got to have her fling." - -"In my day," said Lady Marie, "no modest girl would have suggested such -a thing." - -"I dare say," sighed his Majesty; "but the thing has got to come; they -must sow their wild oats! She will come back all right." - -Though Lady Marie did not know it, his Majesty Auguste Philippe then, as -always, spoke the truth. - -At that very moment, beyond the wide green plain, and beyond the sandy -waste, a young knight, riding slowly, with his head bent down upon his -breast, came upon a maiden sitting at the edge of a wood. Near her, -cropping the grass, strayed a gray charger, with his bridle falling -loose upon his neck. The maiden was curiously clad in shining armor, -only her helmet was off, and tears were trickling down her cheeks. Now -and then she dried them with strands of her yellow hair, and then she -shuddered, gazing at a bloody spear that she held in her left hand. - -"Fair lady," said the Knight, riding toward her, "tell me your trouble, -that I may help you." - -The Princess Olivera Rinalda Victorine looked up at him and sobbed, and -her chain armor rose and fell upon her bosom. She had not cried this way -since that memorable day on the stone bench in the garden, twelve years -ago. - -"I've--I've killed the Microbe!" gasped Princess Victorine. - -"Indeed?" said the Knight, raising his visor and showing a pleasant -smile upon a pale face. "And are you not glad?" - -"Ye-es!" said the Princess, with a great heave of her bosom as she -looked at the disfigured spear. - -The stranger alighted from his horse and came slowly toward the -Princess. He was tall and strongly built, but he walked as one to whom -every motion brings pain. - -"Are you quite sure that the beast is dead?" - -The Princess nodded. - -"Quite." - -"I wonder," said the Knight meditatively, "if you brought away his head -or a claw?" - -"No, I didn't; but I feel very sure. Men are so skeptical!" said the -Princess, with some heat. - -"Not at all," answered the Knight courteously, "only your quest is the -same as mine, and I should be glad to know that it is over. I, too, am -hunting him." - -A beautiful expression swept over the Princess's face and into her blue -eyes. She looked less like a baby than she had done at any time for -seventeen years. - -"I thought men didn't care." - -"Some do." - -"Auguste Philippe doesn't--he only laughs, and so does old Lord Jean; -but I think that this will convince them," and Princess Victorine -triumphantly brandished her spear. - -"Ah!" said the Knight, looking at it with sudden interest, "may I see -your point?" But as he moved to take it, he gave a sudden groan and -fainted at the Princess's feet. - -"Oh, oh, oh!" cried Olivera Rinalda Victorine. In a trice she unlaced -the Knight's helmet and corselet, and was horrified to find blood -flowing from an open wound in his shoulder. Hastily she brought water in -her helmet from a spring hard by, and bathed his forehead and eyes, and -then ran for more to pour on the wound, saying, as she went, something -unpleasant about her skirt of chain armor, which kept getting in her -way. As she worked, the eyelids fluttered, and the dark eyes slowly -opened. - -"Are you hurt?" asked the Princess eagerly. - -"I'm afraid that I am rather badly cut up," he answered, with a groan. - -"Did that--Beast do it?" asked the Princess. - -"It may be," said the Knight. - -The Princess rose and put on her helmet. - -"Where are you going?" asked the Knight. - -"After It," said Victorine sternly. - -"Lovely lady," he said feebly, "don't you think you ought to wait until -I am better?" - -"I'm not a lovely lady, I'm a warrior," said the Princess; "but of -course I'll stay if you want me to." - -"You are both," said the Knight. "Do you know I think that it would make -me forget my pain if you should tell me of your fight." - -So the Princess, with a shining face, told him of her battle in the -mist, and of the monster with the great, glowing eye, and as she talked, -she failed to see that the wounded man kept looking toward the spot -where his gleaming helmet lay. - -"And now," said the Princess reproachfully, with red flushing her -cheeks, "tell me how you were wounded. Do you mind explaining how you -came to be hurt in the back?" - -"Somebody or something attacked me from behind," said the Knight, with a -smile half hiding the look of pain on his face. - -"The coward!" cried the Princess Victorine, in great anger. - -"It may have been some one who did not know the rules of the game," said -the Knight. - -"That makes _no_ difference," said Princess Victorine loftily. - -"Well, it was a strange combat," remarked the Knight, "and the blows -were the oddest I ever received. They came thrashing from all sides, in -defiance of all the laws of fighting. Whether they came from man or -beast I could not see--you know yourself that it is foggy in the woods, -and I was disabled by the blow in the back." - -"I know," nodded the Princess sympathetically. "You've been fighting -that same monster that I killed." And for the life of her, she could not -help a little feeling of triumph that the beast had gone down before her -rather than before him. - -"When did you kill him?" asked the wounded man. - -"This morning," beamed the Princess. "When were you hurt?" - -"Oh, I believe it was this morning," said the Knight carelessly. - -"I wish, for your sake, I had done it sooner," said Victorine -regretfully. One of her greatest charms was her slowness in putting two -and two together. Now she had little time for it, for the Knight fainted -again. For the first time in her life, the Princess repented of her -aversion to smelling-salts. However, there was plenty of water in the -spring, and she kept her best lawn handkerchief, which she had carried -up her sleeve, wet upon the sick man's brow. Through the fever of that -day she watched him, and all night, and again a second one, and on the -third day there was a look of weariness upon her face that had never -been there before. As the fever abated, and the Knight was aware of the -tender nursing that he was receiving, he watched the Princess with eyes -full of gratitude. She had laid aside her armor, and was becomingly -attired in blue brocade, which she had worn underneath the steel. The -sun shone pleasantly on her yellow hair, and if the color in her cheeks -was less pink than it had been, it meant, with the dark shadows under -her eyes, only new beauty. When he spoke his thanks, she turned red as a -boy would have done, and asked him please to stop, which he did. - -That afternoon the Princess grew confidential. She was sitting near the -invalid, who was propped up on a mossy pillow, supported from underneath -by her armor and her shield. - -"Just feel my muscle!" said the Princess impulsively. - -"I have!" said the sick Knight gravely. - -"Why, when?" demanded the Princess. "Oh, you mean when I lifted your -head. But look how it stands out." - -He did so. - -"You see," said Olivera Rinalda Victorine, "I am so unfeminine. I ought -to have been a boy." - -"Never!" cried the Knight vehemently. - -The Princess looked at him in surprise. - -"I'm very sure," she said gently. "I've known it ever since I was so -high," and she measured off the stature of six years by holding her -white hand above the ground. - -"I don't agree with you," said the Knight. "You're not in the least like -a boy, really. You do not look like one, nor use your arms like one." - -"When have you noticed that?" asked the Princess, in surprise. - -"Oh, lots of times," he answered evasively. "But tell me why you think -so." - -Sitting beside him, with the beech leaves making a flickering shade on -her face and throat, the Princess told him all the tragedy of her life, -her discovery of her initial great mistake, her unavailing efforts to -set it right, and the persecutions she had suffered because she was not -ladylike. It was the first confidence that she had made in all her life, -and her cheeks flushed deep red. Overhead sang thrush and sparrow, and a -little breeze came and played with her floating hair. Suddenly the -Knight reached out and took the white hand in his and kissed it. - -"Why did you do that?" asked the Princess softly. "To comfort me for not -being a boy?" - -"No," growled the sick man. - -"Then why?" she persisted, drawing it away. - -"Oh, I can't tell you," he groaned, "until I know whether I shall get -well of this beastly wound." - -But the Princess, taking both hands to arrange the wet handkerchief, -suddenly found them prisoned and covered with kisses. - -"It is because I love you," he moaned. "Don't you understand?" - -Princess Victorine eyed him with curiosity, and shook her head. - -"No," she answered, kneeling down and looking at him, "I'm afraid I -don't. Nobody ever did before." - -The Knight laughed out from the mossy green pillow. - -"That's just what makes you so adorable." - -"Won't you try to make me understand?" said the Princess. "I am very -slow, but when I once learn, I never forget." - -"Victorine," said the Knight, fixing his dark eyes on her, "I love you, -and I need you. I love your hair and your eyes and the touch of your -hands, and I want you to be my queen. You are a princess, I know, but -then I am a prince." - -Olivera Rinalda Victorine was silent a long time, kneeling on the moss. - -"Are you angry?" asked the Knight, at length. - -"No," said the Princess, in a whisper. "I think I like it." Then he -smiled up at her, but did not even touch her hand. - -"Tell me truly," said the Princess, "don't you mind my climbing trees -and doing all those things?" - -"Not a bit." - -"Nor the device on my shield?" - -He laughed and shook his head. - -"Nor my wanting to go on a quest, and do all those unfeminine things?" - -"Victorine," said the Knight, "it is the brave soul of you that I love. -We will go on and fight together." - -Then there was a sudden shining that was neither from the sun nor the -Princess's hair, but from the light that sprang into her face, and when -the wounded man lifted his arms and drew her toward him, she bent and -kissed him on the eyes, and no one ever knew, she least of all, where -she had learned that. - -Three days more and three nights they stayed there, and the sick man's -strength came slowly back. In the quiet they talked of many things in -the past and many yet to come. Only once in all that time did Princess -Victorine looked troubled. - -"Dear," she said one day, "there are moments when I am afraid that you -do not quite believe in me. I am not sure that you are convinced that I -have really killed the Microbe." - -"Beloved," said the Knight, putting down a piece of his armor, where he -had been idly fitting the point of the Princess's spear into a great -hole, "I believe in you utterly, only, there may be more than one, you -know, and so our quest is not over." - -On the fourth day they put their armor on, caught their steeds, and rode -away. On the Princess's shield the maiden stood out bravely against the -blue; the stranger Knight carried the device of an ugly worm transfixed -by a glittering sword, and the motto was "I search." The maiden knight -and the man looked at each other from under their visors. - -"To the death!" he cried, and he spurred his steed. - -"To the death!" echoed the Princess, dashing after him, and so they rode -gallantly away. Whether they have found and fought the Microbe none can -say, but this is known, that they are happy in the quest. - - - - - THE SEVEN - STUDIOUS SISTERS - - - - - THE SEVEN - - STUDIOUS SISTERS - - [Illustration] - - -His Majesty the King was in a terrible state of mind. Leaning back, -speechless, upon his throne, with his crown over one ear, his fists -clenched, he strove in vain to speak, but only an inarticulate gurgling -made its way from the royal throat. Behind him stood his Jester, merry -in cap and bells; on the right, the court philosophers, with puckered -brows and sagely folded arms; and all about knights-at-arms and -ladies-in-waiting silent and dismayed. - -Before the King, on the lowest step of the throne, almost under the -gold-brocaded canopy, knelt, with clasped hands and beseeching eyes, -Sylvie, Natalie, Amelie, Virginie, Sidonie, Dorothée, and Clementine, -the seven beautiful daughters of old Count Benoît of Verdennes, all -badly frightened, but intrepid. - -"Speak!" thundered the King at last. "No, do not speak! Every word will -be used against you!" - -"Your Majesty," began Sylvie, who was the eldest and had black hair, "we -came to beg,"-- - -"With great earnestness," continued Natalie, who had brown hair,-- - -"That you will give us the opportunity," said golden-haired Amelie, -shivering,-- - -"To study," said Virginie, who had brown eyes,-- - -"And grow wise," said Sidonie, whose eyes were blue,-- - -"And so we ask," said Dorothée, who had gray eyes,-- - -"That we may enter the university," said little Clementine, who had -dimples. - -It was sad for the youngest to say the hardest part of all, yet perhaps -it was only fair, as it was the strong will of Clementine that had led -them there, and the courage of Clementine that had kept them from -faltering by the way. - -They were simply repeating what they had just said; the parts had been -arranged before coming, in hope that his Majesty could not resist. Never -in their worst forebodings, when they had talked it over as they braided -one another's hair in the tiring-room of the castle, had they dreamed of -anything so terrible as this. - -"Wh-what put this idea into your heads?" thundered his Majesty. - -Then the seven answered as one maiden: "The Princess Pourquoi." - -The King groaned aloud, and the knights-at-arms and the -ladies-in-waiting groaned with him. Was it not enough for him to have -had a daughter whose useless thinking had embittered his reign? She, -with her quick intellect and ready questions, had made his throne totter -under him; and now, when she was safely married and away--ay, and had -made as good a match as the dullest maid in Christendom, must the spirit -of inquiry come back to him in seven shapes? Since she was gone, all had -been peace; he had been able to sleep most of the other half of the day -also. His Majesty fidgeted under his purple robe. The Church had taught -him that it was right for the sins of the fathers to be visited upon the -children, but nothing about the sins of the children being visited upon -the fathers, and he could not understand. - -Sylvie, Natalie, Amalie, Virginie, Sidonie, Dorothée, and little -Clementine looked at him with begging eyes. Now brown eyes and blue eyes -and gray eyes and black hair and brown hair and golden hair and dimples -all appealed strongly to the King, and he was surprised at himself for a -moment for not being able to act as ugly as he thought he felt. - -"What do you want to study for?" he demanded, his hands slowly -unclenching. - -"I don't know," faltered little Clementine, blushing into her dimples. -Somewhere there was a faint ripple of laughter, and yet the Jester's -face was perfectly sober when he lifted his head. - -"To be wise and know things," said Sidonie. The King stamped. - -"To be a power," said Natalie. - -"Pshaw!" said the King. - -"To understand all things," said Virginie. The King groaned. - -"So that people will like us," said Amelie. Then came again that echo of -mocking laughter, and the Jester muttered from behind the throne:-- - -"Now are there some here that are greater fools than I; for the whole -world knows that a woman is better beloved for what she understands not -than for what she understands." - -The King looked desperately about him, for he was at his wits' end, but -none came to his aid. The philosophers, with their eyes cast down, were -stroking their beards; the ladies-in-waiting were looking away, as -delicacy demanded, after so shocking a request; the knights-at-arms were -frankly gazing at blue eyes or brown, as taste suggested. Then the King -spoke hoarsely:-- - -"This is treason. The lowest dungeon in my castle is not too hard a -punishment for such offense. At any cost this spirit must be -quenched--at any cost." - -Tears flowed softly down the cheeks of the seven maidens, and fell on -their clasped hands, and the drops from Virginie's brown eyes sparkled -like jewels on Amelie's golden hair. Then, in the sorrowful pause, the -King's Jester stepped softly forward, and the little bells upon his -patches rang as he came. - -"Sire," said he, "I could tell a remedy more potent than this and less -savage." - -"Speak, Fool!" said the King. - -"Not afore folks," answered the Jester, with a smile. - -"They understand not your folly," said the King. - -"Ay, but they might, for none can tell when words of wisdom may begin to -penetrate dull brains. Clear me the room of these philosophers and the -others, and let the maidens begone, for I cannot abide a woman's tears." - -"Go!" said his Majesty. - -Then the weeping maidens and the ladies-in-waiting passed out in a -shimmer of gold color, and crimson, and blue, and rich green; and after -them, like a shadow, crept the philosophers in garments of black; and -then, with a clash of steel and flashing of wrought armor, went the -knights-at-arms, and the presence chamber was empty, save for the King -on the throne and the Jester, who stood before him in the posture of the -philosophers, with folded arms and head bent low. - -"Sire," said the Fool, "when women grow wise"-- - -"The kingdom is lost," said his Majesty. "Little enough comfort is there -now." - -"They will outstrip their brothers," said the Jester. - -"They will meddle with matters of state," said the King. - -"They will see through us all," continued the Fool. "For my part, I -would keep them the sweet, blind creatures that they are. 'Tis enough -for me that I see through myself. Now there is one way, and one only, to -check the growing intellect of women." - -"And what may that be?" asked the King, the sadness lifting from his -face. - -"Forsooth, they must have a university of their own," answered the -Jester. - -"What!" thundered his Majesty. - - [Illustration: "WHAT!" THUNDERED HIS MAJESTY] - -"Ay!" said the Fool, nodding; "there is no other way. The Princess -Pourquoi has lighted in this land a fire that can be put out in only one -fashion. Let a foundation be made; let walls arise; let lecturers come. -Naught save a university curriculum will avail now to dull the wits and -divert the minds and check the thought of women." - -"In truth you have a pretty wit," said the King, and he smiled. "But who -will take charge of this undertaking and plan me the work that it may -avail?" - -"I," said the Jester. "Who else? Cap and gown would become me well, and -though the King may lose his fool, he will gain My Lord Rector, who will -speak bravely in the Latin tongue." - -"And whom can we trust to aid in the work?" asked his Majesty. - -"Lend me but the philosophers," said the Jester, with a wink, "and their -natural parts shall prevail where intent might come badly off in this -great task of dulling women's wits." - -Then the two spoke long between themselves, and when they had finished, -the Jester went and called the pages, and the great doors were thrown -open, so that all entered as they had gone, and there was shimmer of -silk and shining of jewels and gleaming of armor. The seven maidens came -trembling in every limb, not knowing but their heads should fall, and -they knelt as before at the foot of the throne, only now they had -nothing to say. Then the King lifted up his voice and, smiling, said -that it should be even as they had desired, and that learning and wisdom -should be theirs. In one thing only should change be made: they should -not mingle with the herd of men, but should have, sequestered and apart, -a place of learning for womankind. When they heard this, Sylvie leaned -her face upon the head of Natalie and wept for joy; and Natalie hers -upon the head of Amelie, and Amelie upon Virginie, and Virginie upon -Sidonie, and Sidonie upon Dorothée, and Dorothée upon little Clementine, -and because Clementine had nowhere to lean her head, she wept into her -own dimples. - -Then the King's Fool went away and did not come again, and of this there -was great talk for three days, and then all was forgotten, for another -jester filled his place. One day appeared at court a grave gentleman -clad all in flowing black, bearded, and with eyes cast down in a sort of -inward look. All called him My Lord Rector, and none knew him for the -King's Jester because he had changed his cap. He spoke but little, and -that in Latin, as "_Verbum sat sapienti; depressus extollor; veni, vidi, -vici_;" and if he made gibe or jest, there were none who could -understand. - -There was upon the outskirts of the city a great building that had once -been the Palace of Justice, but was no longer used because a loftier one -had been erected in the square where the minster rose. This stood not -far from the river-bank, and was all of gray stone that had crumbled -somewhat, so that the tracery of leaf and flower in the Gothic windows -and the faces and claws of the gargoyles that peered from roof and -corner were in many places worn away. It was built on three sides of a -great court, where now grass and vine and flower grew unchecked, on the -spot once worn by the feet of gathering citizens and the tramp of -steeds. Bluebird and swallow and wren had entered through the broken -windows, and had built about the window niches and in the crannies of -the carven vine. This, said the King, should be the place of learning -consecrated to the maidens, for it was not meet that they should gather -in the market square or on the hill beyond the minster, as young men did -in those days when thousands came together to listen to philosophical -disputes, and no roof was sufficient to cover them. Workmen came and -mended broken arch and column, and cleared away the tangled vines of the -court, but left growing grass and flower, and did not touch the nesting -birds, for the seven lovely sisters begged that they might stay. Hither -flocked innumerable damsels, who came riding from all parts of the -kingdom, with squires before them and waiting-maids behind. They came on -black jennet and white palfrey and pony of dapple gray; maiden madness -had run throughout the kingdom, and all who could sit on saddle or hold -rein rushed hither for their share of the new learning. Many were -pursued by father or brother, by maiden aunt or widowed mother, begging -them to abide at home in safety as modest maidens should. - - [Illustration: CAME RIDING FROM ALL PARTS OF THE KINGDOM] - -It was noised abroad that the Lord Rector would deliver the first -lecture when the new work began, and all were eager to hear; so it came -to pass one day that a huge company passed in procession under the -carven Gothic gate and into the great hall whose stained windows looked -one way on the river and the other way on the court. First, in gown of -velvet and of silk, came My Lord Rector, muttering in his beard; after -him followed the philosophers, with stately step and slow; and then -young squires a-many, who were eager to see what would befall; and lords -and ladies in gay clothing, rarely embroidered in choice colors. There -were maiden students also, many score, and at their head Sylvie, in -scarlet silken gown, and Natalie in green; Amelie in brown velvet, -curiously slashed, and Virginie in yellow; Sidonie in blue samite, and -Dorothée in silver, and little Clementine in white, as befitted her -tender years. Now behold! within the great hall the King was already -waiting in a chair of state under a velvet canopy, and My Lord Rector -and the philosophers of the new faculty bowed low to him as they -entered. Then the Rector mounted upon a platform, and bowing to the King -with "_Rex augustissimus_" he winked in his old fashion and fell -a-coughing, and the King winked back and then fell a-sneezing, to hide -the smile that his beard only half concealed. - -"_Viri illustrissimi_," continued the Rector, bowing again before his -audience and speaking in a solemn voice: "_mutatis mutandis, horresco -referens, da locum melioribus, dux femina facti, humanum est errare, nil -nisi cruce, graviora manent, post nubila Phoebus, sunt lachrimae rerum, -vae victis_." - -The last words came with a quiver of the voice, and many wept, for they -did not understand his folly. Then My Lord Rector turned to the fair -body of women students and spoke, seeing only the face of little -Clementine:-- - -"_Feminae praeclarissimae, credo quia impossibile est, inest Clementia -forti, crede quod habes et habeo, sic itur ad astra, toga virilis, vita -sine literis mors est, varium et mutabile semper femina, vade in -pace_," and with this there was hardly a dry eye in the house. So the -new university was opened. - -Needless to say, the success of the undertaking was great. Throughout -the land, bower and hall and dell were left empty, for the maidens had -all gone to the capital to get learning. They no longer wrought fair -figures in the embroidery frames in the great halls of their ancestral -castles, or polished the armor of father and brother, or brewed cordials -for the sick over the glowing coals. They no longer wandered in gowns of -green on their palfreys by hill or dale for the joy of going. By -hundreds they bowed their fair heads before the philosophers as they -lectured, taking notes upon the tablets of their minds, for they did not -know how to write. My Lord Rector, when he spoke, could find no room -large enough to contain his audiences, so he lectured only on sunshiny -days, and stood on a platform in the centre of the great court; and -words of grave nonsense fell from his lips as the light fell on golden -hair or brown. So intently did the maidens listen that they did not -smell the fragrance of the flowers crushed beneath their feet, wild rose -and lily and violet, nor did they hear the beat of the wings of startled -birds, nor see red crest, or golden wing, or blue, flash across the sky. - -Being a cunning man and keen, My Lord Rector had left to the flocking -students the choice of the lectures that they should pursue. - -"Let them but manage it themselves," he said, smiling wickedly, at a -private audience with the King, "and we shall see great things." - -So the maidens met in assembly and consulted gravely together, and -conferred with Rector and with faculty, and presently many branches of -learning were established and all was going with great vigor. Each -student chose for herself what course she should pursue, and it was -pretty to see how maiden whims worked out into hard endeavor. -Black-haired Sylvie specialized in dramatics, for she made, with her -sweeping locks, an excellent tragedy queen; Natalie in athletics, and -she took the standing high-jump better than any knight in Christendom; -golden-haired Amelie devoted all her time to fiddling and giglology, and -soon became proficient; Virginie, of the brown eyes, took ping-pong and -fudge; blue-eyed Sidonie, acrostics and charades; Dorothée took -chattering and cheering, and soon her sweet voice could be heard above -the noise of building, or the roar of battle; while little Clementine -worked at all branches of frivology, and became a great favorite, for in -looks and in manner and in taste she represented that which is most -pleasing in woman. - -To tell of all they did and learned and thought would be too long a -tale, and, moreover, the records of much of it have perished, but men -say that their life was both strenuous and merry, and that womankind -blossomed out into new beauty of face and form and mind. The infinite -range of opportunity has been but faintly shadowed forth in the hints -already given; and to those who philosophized and those who poetized, -those who took societies and those who took cuts, life was one long -burst of irrelevant, joyous activity. Most zealous of all the students -was little Clementine. Ceaselessly alert, she listened with upturned -face to lectures in the great flower-grown court; with infantile -audacity she ventured out into vast unknown realms of thought, and -puckered her white forehead in trying to work out the unutterable -syllable. Now she walked the cloisters where the shadow of carven leaf -and tendril fell on her hair, studying a parchment; and again, in -moments of relaxation, she rode her dog-eared pony fast and furiously. -To some this animal may seem strange, but there were many queer -creatures in those days, as Sir John Maundeville tells. - -It came to pass, no one knows how, that nothing done by little -Clementine escaped the notice of My Lord Rector, for his eyes followed -her always. When he lectured, he lectured to Clementine; whether he said -words of Latin or of the vulgar tongue, he spoke them to her eyes; and -he was ashamed of the learned nonsense he was speaking when he gazed on -Clementine. Sleeping, he saw her walking so-and-so under the shadow of -Gothic arch with leaf shadows on her face, and he dreamed of taking the -parchment from her white fingers and--But here he always woke, though he -tried to dream farther. Clearly, something had happened to him that -neither his experience as Sir Fool nor as Lord Rector had prepared him -to understand. - -Save for this haunting thought, he was very gay behind a solemn face. -Dearly he loved his task, and none but the King and himself heard the -faint tinkle of bells from under his scholar's cap. Always they greeted -each other with Latin words, and they had many conferences wherein they -chuckled together over the success of their plan, for they knew that -they had drawn all these women forth to follow after the very shadow of -learning, and that the end would leave them more ignorant than before. -Always, however, in these moments of mirth, like a stab at the heart -came to the Lord Rector the thought of deception practiced upon -Clementine. Her trusting eyes, lifted to him in uttermost faith, -reproached him by night and by day. If, by force, he put his conscience -from him, he was sure to see her face as she listened, hiding in the -recesses of her heart the silly words he said. Once, as she went alone -toward the lodgings, and he followed at a great distance, a foot-pad set -upon her in a dark corner, where a stone stairway gave shelter to -thieves, and My Lord Rector, rushing forward, struck lustily about him -right and left and felled the knave, taking from him the lady's netted -purse and giving it back to her. She said no word save one of thanks, -but after, when her eyes were raised, he saw that a new light had been -added to the old, and that little Clementine reverenced him not only as -a learned man, but as a brave one, too. - -So weeks drifted by, and months, and then came a great event, for the -maidens had determined to carry out a custom that belonged to that olden -time and formed the final test of the scholar. All agreed that -Clementine, brave, childish, perverse little Clementine, should initiate -the new audacity. Therefore, one early morning, when the first rays of -the sun were just peeping over the high stone city wall, she might have -been observed stealing in academic garb of black over her white dress to -the great oak, iron-studded door of the old Palace of Justice. Here, -with a stone, she hammered a long parchment, and she established herself -hard by, so that all who saw her knew that she was there to defend -against all comers the theses she had nailed up. Now there were eight, -and they ran as follows:-- - -1. That the ineffable and the intangible are not the same. - -2. That all that is not, is, and all that seems to be, is not. - -3. That--but it would be foolish to transcribe all the theses that -little Clementine defended, for no one would understand. Suffice it to -say that they were subtle beyond the mind of man, and clothed in words -drawn from the deep abyss of the inane, where unborn thought goes ever -crying for birth. One by one her six sisters came against her and -argued, but to no avail, for little Clementine, no less skillful than -David of yore, gathered together verb and adjective and slung them so -unerringly that antagonist after antagonist went down, and she, often -snubbed as being but the youngest, stood forth in the eyes of the -admiring crowd a victor. - -The picture that she made, standing against that gray stone wall flecked -with green moss, with a grinning gargoyle leaning down toward her, was -very sweet. In little Clementine the brown hair and the golden hair, the -brown eyes and the gray eyes, of the family met in a peculiarly -bewitching combination that had a chameleon quality of color constantly -changing. Moreover, as she argued in well-chosen words, she was -unconsciously establishing the unspoken thesis:-- - -That four dimples may exist at the same time in a maiden's face without -seeming too many. - -This My Lord Rector saw, and something gave way within him. When the -argument was over and the audience was departing, he called Clementine -to him inside the gate as one who would ask something, and then stood -speechless. The maiden, who was flushed and weary, lifted her scholar's -cap, and he saw, in the locks of hair that were neither brown nor gold, -pearls woven; and above the collar of the gown showed the embroidered -white samite of her dress. - -"Little Clementine," said My Lord Rector, "your student life is almost -done. Does that fact cause rejoicing?" - -"Nay," said Clementine, casting down her eyes. - -"Shall you grieve for anything left behind?" - -"Ay," said the maiden. - -"And what?" asked My Lord Rector. - -"The learned lectures, the dissertations, the wise words," said -Clementine, looking up and dimpling. - -"And any special ones?" asked he, wondering if she heard about him the -jingle of bells. - -"Ay," said Clementine, smoothing her gown with slim white fingers and -setting her lips together. Not another word would she say, though the -great man begged humbly. - -"Clementine," asked My Lord Rector, changing the subject, "shall you -ever wed?" - -"If the right man comes," said the maiden. - -"And what must he be?" - -"He must be very wise." - -"Am I wise, little one?" asked the Rector. - -"Wisest of all," answered the maiden, whispering. - -Then he took her white hand in his and said softly, "_Amo. Amas?_" but -Clementine did not understand a word of Latin. Looking up, however, she -saw something she did understand, and then My Lord Rector bent and -kissed her hand, wisely using the old, old way of wooing that was found -before words, Latin or other, were invented. - -Then Clementine drew back trembling and looked, and behold, he who had -been but a wonderful voice was changed, and she saw that he was a man, -and young, and comely, with merry eyes touched with sadness, and a mouth -whose curves were both cynical and sweet. - -"Why, why should you choose me?" asked the maiden, in a voice that shook -for reverence. - -"Because you are so adorably foolish!" cried the lover, forgetting, and -that was a mistaken speech, which mere words could not explain away. - -It was agreed between them that none should know what had befallen until -the day when old Count Benoît and his Lady Myriel came up to the city to -take home their seven daughters, for their work was counted done. So the -two lived a glad life, though they spoke but seldom; often a glance of -the eyes made food for both day and night. All the time My Lord Rector's -conscience pricked him more and more, until he could no longer bear it, -and one day, coming upon Clementine where she passed the path by the -rippling river, near three willow trees that were freshly leaved out, -for it was spring, he told her the tale of how he and the King had -deceived womankind, and, with torture of spirit, confessed himself the -King's Fool. Then Clementine looked up at him with eyes where the gray -and the brown seemed flecked with green, perchance from the shadow of -the willows, and said firmly:-- - -"I have always seen that they who call themselves fools are the least -so," nor could he ever after by any words of confession shake her -steadfast faith in his wisdom. - -At last came the day when Count Benoît arrived, and with him cousins and -other kin from far and near, for all would know something of the strange -new ways in the city. At lecture hour all crowded together in the great -hall, and again the King was there upon the dais, solemn of look, but -merry of heart, for his eyes twinkled under his heavy eyebrows as he -looked at the fair, fresh faces before him, innocent of thought as any -other maidens' faces, and he chuckled to think how he and his dear Fool -had outwitted them all. Then he looked with affection at his trusty -philosophers who stood near in silk robes with slashes of velvet and -hoods of rainbow colors, and he thanked heaven that had given him strong -supporters in the crisis that had threatened his kingdom. Gazing upon -the assembled audience of friends and kinsfolk, he rejoiced to think -that for them, as for him, the country had been saved. - -But My Lord Rector was speaking in the Latin tongue, "_ad hoc gradum -admitto ..._," and Sylvie, Natalie, Amelie, Virginie, Sidonie, Dorothée, -and little Clementine, with all the other maidens who had frolicked with -them merrily so long a time, arose, as pretty a sight to see as ever -king in Christendom had before him, and their new honors fell upon -untroubled white foreheads. Then there was sound of rejoicing, and light -shone through the stained windows on the glad faces and gay garments of -the people assembled there; and suddenly, lo! My Lord Rector stepped -from his high place and went to take the hand of little Clementine. With -eyes cast down she followed him, and now she was rosy and now pale, and -so the two kneeled at the feet of the king under the canopy. - -"We two do crave your Majesty's blessing," said My Lord Rector, "on our -betrothal." - -Then a ripple of wonder and of laughter ran through the great hall, and -his Majesty, smiling, blessed them with extended hands, and as they -rose, he bent forward with a twinkle, whispering:-- - -"You have done well, My Lord Rector, in carrying out your purpose. It is -pity that you may not marry them all." - -For the first time he found no answering jest in his favorite's eyes, -and would have inquired why, but the philosopher who stood nearest, and -had caught the whisper, smiled, and taking Sylvie's hand, led her to the -foot of the throne, saying:-- - -"But I, your Majesty, may wed this lady with the King's consent, for she -has given hers." Then a second philosopher led forth Natalie, and a -third Amelie, and a fourth Virginie, and a fifth Sidonie, and a sixth -Dorothée, and behold! the seven sisters were again kneeling before the -throne awaiting the King's blessing, but with their lovers at their -sides. - -Then his Majesty leaned back his head and roared with laughter till the -vaulted ceiling reëchoed, and tears of mirth ran down his cheeks and -shone upon his beard, and all laughed with him, though they knew not -why, all save My Lord Rector, whose face wore the saddest look a man may -wear. - -"Now, was this planned among you?" asked his Majesty. - -Then they shook their heads, and each philosopher said:-- - -"Forsooth, I thought I was the only one," and with that the King roared -again. - -In the bustle that followed, when old Count Benoît and his Lady Myriel -hung upon the necks of their seven daughters in turn, the King tapped -the Lord Rector upon the arm. - -"You have builded even better than the promise said," whispered his -Majesty. "From this blow shall the aggressive intellect of woman not -arise." - -But the Rector looked gloomily upon him and knelt again, and begged that -his Majesty would release him from further service that he might go to -the wars. - -"Two parts of the Fool have I played for your Majesty," said the man -bitterly, "and from both I would be released, for you and I have done a -great wrong." - -Little Clementine had drawn nearer, and many-colored light of purple and -crimson and gold fell on her fair face and parted lips as she looked in -wonder at her lover. Then the King saw and understood, and he was -ashamed. - -"Nay, My Lord Rector," he said, bending low, "what we have done of wrong -we will right. You shall even go on with the task set before you, and -that that you do lack of a wise man shall this woman's faith make good." - - - - - THE GENTLE ROBBER - - - - - THE - - GENTLE ROBBER - - [Illustration] - - -Once there was a robber bold--not that he looked bold, for he had the -gentlest of manners and the most persuasive tongue. It was with a -certain manly shyness that he approached his victims, and his voice was -very low and soft as he convinced them how greatly to their interest it -would be to hand over their purses, so that many went on through the -green forest paths with empty pockets, it is true, but with eyes full of -tears of gratitude for the benefactor who had held them up. - -"Pray don't mention it!" said the Robber Chief, as he deprecatingly -thrust into his wallet the purses he had taken and heard the outpoured -thanks. "It is nothing, nothing! You would have done as much for me at -any time if you had"--he never finished his sentence, but the wistful -admiration of the man with empty pockets always added the right -clause--"if you had had the brains." - -Now the Gentle Robber, it need hardly be said, was highly successful in -his chosen calling, or, as he put it, "the holy saints had given him -rich possessions." He had started out moderately in a remote corner of -the forest, as became a young and unassuming retail cut-purse, but soon -his domain extended from his own retired dell to the adjacent glade, and -the merry outlaw who had prospered there gave up the business and became -a scrivener's clerk. It was not long before the Robber Chief owned the -whole forest: the title-deeds, to be sure, belonged to the Abbey, which -lay in a fat green meadow at the edge of the wood, but the monks could -not work the forest as the robber could, and whatever harvest of gold -and of silver, of jewels, of rich cloths from the packs of merchants of -the East was to be gathered there, this one man reaped in his own -apologetic way, which always seemed to beg pardon of those who were -despoiled, for doing them so much good at one time. Soon the country -round the forest was his, and yokel, franklin, and squire, Sir Bertram -from the Castle, and the Prior from the Abbey, began to render him -accounts, and it came to pass that the Bishop at the capital city, -Mertoun, and the King upon his throne, and the strong nobles about him -trembled at the robber's name, for the waves of his power flowed out -until they met the waves of the sea. - -Dearly the Gentle Robber loved his work in all its aspects, and he was -master of its least details. A brave fight with a sturdy yeoman going -home from market with a half-year's gains was joy to him, and merry in -his ears was the sound of the thwack, thwack, thwack of the oaken staves -as they fell on head and shoulders; an encounter with a rich merchant's -train brought him naught but exhilaration, and the deft, swift hand that -emptied the pack and purse thrilled as it went about its chosen task. -There was slow, sensuous pleasure in stripping off the garments of -knight and of squire and leaving their limbs uncovered to the cold. -Daintiest amusement of all was the spoiling of widow and of orphan: -something of the ascetic lingered in the bosom of the Robber Chief, and -rare and delicate was the task of emptying the scantily furnished -larder, of carrying away the worn clothes, and the single jewel saved -from the wreck of happier days. He found delight in feeling about his -knees the clasp of the thin arms of the naked orphan as it wept for -food, for genius knows no distinction of small and great, and yeoman and -squire, knight and merchant, widow and orphan alike, thrilled him with a -sense of his power, and through their cries sang in his ear the word -"success." - -In the course of time it came to pass that he became the chief support -of the kingdom which he had caused to totter as he swept its riches into -his own bulging pockets. When he came to court, as he sometimes did, -wearing grave apparel and showing a modest face, the King leaned -lovingly upon him; was he not financing the war with Binnamere and -causing a half-dozen universities, which had but lately come into -fashion, to rise in different parts of the land? The Bishop conferred -weightily with him in quiet corners; was he not building the great -cathedral which was to be the glory of the city throughout coming ages? - -"Nay, nay, nay!" said the Bishop, waving a white, jeweled hand as the -Chief began to divulge some of his larger plans. "Tell me not of thy -wicked schemes! Thy methods I must condemn utterly, but if thou bringest -me the money, well, I can at least see to it that it be not used for bad -purposes. And speaking of money, we need for the walls of the apse a -hundred bags of gold. Dost thou think thou couldst manage it?" - -"Ay," said the Gentle Robber, and that night he despoiled nine men, -killing three that resisted longest, for he was a great lover of Holy -Church, and a devout believer, nor could she ask of him any service that -he would not perform. - -Now the lust for gold is a strange thing. There be that gather it -together into stockings and go hungry and dirty to the day's end for -gold, and that is the miser's lust. There be that win it and spend it -again freely for delicate food and fiery drink, and this is the -sensualist's lust. There be that get it by cruel means and scatter it -abroad on church and hospital, and this is the philanthropist's lust, -which possessed the Robber Chief. Gold and jewels were piled so high in -his forest cave that he could not see out of its window, and he hardly -knew whether winter snow or the shadow of flickering leaves lay on the -ground, nor could hungry church nor greedy halls of learning lessen his -piles of treasure enough to let the sunlight in. - -Far on the edge of the kingdom to eastward lived blunt Sir Guy of -Lamont, and his son and heir was a young squire, Louis by name, who had -grown up much alone, wandering in the greenwood that circled the castle. -Strong of arm and lusty he grew, yet cared not for the hunt, for he was -friend to fox and hare, and the wild deer knew and loved him. Living -close to spreading oak and delicate beech, among green leaves and -nesting things, he began to wear the look of those who see more than -meets the eye, and knight and franklin chaffed him as he sat apart while -they grew merry over mug of ale or glass of wine in his father's hall. -As he dreamed his dreams and thought his thoughts, rumors of the deeds -of the Robber Chief floated to his ears, and he was sorely puzzled. It -was a wandering merchant who brought the tale, spreading out his stuffs -of velvet and of silk over table and settle and chair, and showing three -great fresh sword-cuts on his arm as he spoke:-- - -"Andrew, my brother, lost his head in the encounter, and it was severed -by a single blow, but I escaped, though there be few that may." - - [Illustration: HE BEGAN TO WEAR THE LOOK OF THOSE WHO SEE MORE THAN - MEETS THE EYE] - -With that he recounted all the tales that he had heard in his wanderings -of the wrong-doing of this man, and they were many. Sir Guy listened -with "Zounds!" and "'Sdeath!" but the youth said never a word of pity or -of blame; yet, when the story-teller had finished, he marveled at the -lad's eyes. They were gray eyes, with lashes dark and long, and the look -in them was as the look in the eyes of a gentle beast when he is hurt to -the death; then came to them the sudden fire of the avenger of misdeeds. - -"My hour has come to fight," said young Louis of Lamont to the great -stag that licked his hand that evening in the forest as the sun went -down in golden haze. "Men do not know this cruel wrong; I must go to -tell them, and mayhap lead them forth with banner and with sword." - -Early the next morning, when all were making merry at the hunt, he set -the face of his snow-white steed to westward and rode down long, green, -leafy ways and across a great level plain toward the setting of the sun. -In doublet and hose of scarlet, laced with gold thread, he was comely to -see, with a white plume in his velvet cap, and thick hair of yellow, -clipped evenly at his neck, and on his face the beauty that shines out -from a light within. All day he journeyed on, yearning to meet alone the -Robber Chief, whom he pictured as a man brawny of arm and of evil -countenance, wherein black brows hid the sinister eyes, and a black -beard covered a cruel mouth; and the lad longed with the lusty strength -of untried youth to measure swords with this terrible foe. That night a -woman gave him shelter at a wayside hut, and told a tale of the Chief -that chilled the young man's blood; the next night, as he lodged at a -hall, deeds yet more cruel were recounted to him; and ever as he came -nearer the heart of the kingdom, he found the air more rife with tidings -of the Robber Chief's ill doings. - -"They do not know," he said, lightly touching spur to his steed. "The -King and the Bishop do not know of these wicked things. Pray God that I -may come in time to lead men forth!" - -At the edge of a great forest he met, one day, a tired-looking man on a -tired horse. The rider was neatly clad in sober gray, and was both -freshly shaven and neatly combed. Across his saddle lay a great bag of -something that was wondrous heavy. - -"Halt!" said the man, with a pleasant glance from his mild blue eyes. -Then blood rose red to the young squire's cheek, and anger too great for -any words lighted in his eyes, as his hand went to his dagger, and he -urged his horse forward. It was a brave fight that he made, while the -two steeds drew near and parted and drew near again, but a slender white -hand with an iron grip reached deftly and snatched the dagger from his -hand, nor could he reach the short sword which he had so proudly belted -to his side; and the strength of his adversary was as the strength of -ten. - -"Nay, be not foolish," said a soft voice, as the lad struck out with -stinging fist; "'tis but thy purse I ask, and it would grieve me to do -thee wrong. The purses of the kingdom belong to me." - -"Now, by what right?" cried Louis of Lamont, between set teeth, his -cheeks flaming deeper red. - -"By the right of having wit enough to get them," answered the robber. -Then he pinioned the lad's arm to his side and thrust a deft hand into -his pocket, drawing out a purse of wrought gold. - -"It will be to thy best advantage if thou canst but see it that way," he -said courteously. - -In the mind of the other the vision of dark, beetling brows and red, -hairy cheeks was fading. - -"Thou--thou art the Robber Chief," he stammered. His adversary bowed. - -"It is thou who didst murder Baron Divonne, and who didst starve the -Squire's daughter of Yverton with her seven children, and"--So great was -his horror of the tales that flocked to his tongue that he failed to -speak them, but a light as from the wings of the Angel of Judgment shone -from his eyes and brow. - -"The question is not, 'Shall I take thy purse?'" the Chief said gently. -"I have it. The question is, 'How shall I dispose of it to the best -advantage?'" - -"It isn't that! I do not want the purse," said the young man scornfully; -"but how canst thou traffic in crime?" - -"I have little time for talking," said the Gentle Robber, with a hurt -look on his face; he was extremely sensitive to adverse criticism. "Now -I must be off. This great bag of gold is for the orphan hospital at the -Abbey. If I may mention it without boasting, it derives most of its -supplies from me," and he looked wistfully for approval. - -"Its supplies of orphans?" demanded Louis of Lamont, with his stern -young lip curved in scorn; but the face of the other was as the face of -a man who has failed to teach a great lesson of good. - -As the lad rode on through the forest, his head was bent as if a hand -had struck it and had laid it low, but coming into the open, he saw far -off, across the valley, the spires of the capital city, Mertoun, and its -many red roofs gleaming by the blue river, and his heart throbbed within -him for thankfulness and joy. - -"Hasten!" he cried to the beast that bore him. "Yonder in that strong -city be strong men to help me right ill deeds, and a minute gained may -save some woman's life, or spare the bitter crying of a child." - -His eyes were filled with a vision of the knights that would go out with -him to war for the right, with the waving of plumes and the flaming of -banners, in their hearts the anger of God for cruel wrong; and a -yearning for coming combat tugged at the muscles of shoulder and of arm. - -The palace of the Bishop was moated, and there was a drawbridge there, -and within, as on a green island, rose walls of fine gray stone, with -window arch and doorway delicately carved. There was one at hand who -took his steed, and one who led the way for him, and anon he found -himself in a sunlit chamber where the Bishop stood looking out upon the -great cathedral which was rising stone by stone, with its blue-clad -workmen standing against a bluer sky. - -"What is it, my son?" asked the Bishop, when he saw a young squire -standing before him, worn, dust-stained, with anger burning in his eyes. - -"Sire," said the guest, bending low, "I have hasted thither to tell thee -of great wrongs." - -"They shall be redressed," said the Bishop, laying his hand upon the -lad's head. - -"There is a man," said Louis of Lamont, kneeling, his lips white with -wrath, "who doeth cruel wrong and bringeth folk to death, and it must -needs be that none in high places know, for he goeth unpunished." - -"He shall be found and placed in my lowest dungeon," said the Bishop -fiercely. "Now tell me what he hath done." - -"On my way hither I lodged with a poor woman who told me that he had -slain before her eyes her husband and her sons, and all for a cup of -silver coin that stood upon the mantel." - -"A mere cup of silver coin!" groaned the Bishop. "He shall hang." - -Then he told of the murder of Baron Divonne, and of the Squire's -daughter of Yverton, who was starved with her seven children; and he -told all the tales that the wandering merchant had brought with his -cloths of cashmere and of silk. As he spoke longer, the face of his host -grew anxious, and when he finished, saying, "Men call him the Gentle -Robber," black care sat upon the brow of the host. - -"Delay not," pleaded Louis. "Give me armed men, for thou hast said that -he shall die for his sins, and I have the blood of fighters in my -veins." - -"Nay, child," said the Bishop. "Not so." - -"Thou hast promised!" he cried in amaze. - -"Ay," he made answer, "but I knew not then that the offenses were so -many and so great, or that the enterprise was--ahem!--planned upon so -large a scale. That makes all different." - -"That makes the need to punish him a thousandfold greater," stammered -the lad. - -"Tut, tut!" said the Bishop, with the solemn smile he wore. "Thou dost -not understand: logic is ever lacking in the young." - -"Should not stripes be laid upon him for each cry he hath drawn forth? -Should he not lay down his life, if that were possible, for each life he -hath taken?" - -"I had thought, when I heard the first tale, that he should die for the -single crime," the Bishop made answer, "but the case is altered by the -later facts. 'A life for a life,' saith the Scripture, but naught of a -life for a dozen or threescore, or an hundred, as the case may be." - -Then a flame of anger shone out in the lad's face, and he waited. - -"My son," said the Bishop tenderly, "thou art young and ignorant, yet -will I try to teach thee something of right ways of thought. In judging, -all depends upon the point of view, and matters that look often black at -first statement grow white or gray when thoroughly understood. Let us -look upon this question in another aspect. Dost see yonder great -cathedral rising?" - -Though the youth made no answer, the Bishop saw that he was looking at -the gray stones and at the blue-clad workmen. - -"'Tis God's house," said the Bishop, "nor may it arise save through the -gifts of this man. Wrong hath he done, but all is forgiven for that his -gold is bent to holy purposes." - -"But wrong he doeth still," said Louis of Lamont, in the stern voice of -youth. - -The Bishop coughed behind his hand even while he spoke. - -"There is much in the ways of Providence that we may not comprehend. God -moveth in a mysterious way." - -"Had the Robber Chief ceased from his crime and shown true -penitence"--began the lad, but the Bishop interrupted. - -"God hath need of the man and of all the gold that he will bring, that -institutions of learning and holy places may arise in the land." - -"God may be worshiped by wood and stream," said the youth, in the still, -small voice of one who knew; "nor hath He need of gold that is the price -of suffering and pain and tears;" and so he turned and went down the -steps, worn and weary, with dust on his crimson garments, and shame on -his spirit, and the light of his face grown dim. - -It had come back to its shining, however, the next day, when he went -before the King. - -"It may well be that there is one bad man who hath power," he said to -himself, "and he the Bishop; but God would not grant that all be so," -and hope beamed again from his eyes. - -"'Tis the son of my old friend, Guy of Lamont, sayest thou?" cried the -King, as he raised the lad's chin with one royal finger. "By my troth, -'tis his father's face again, but different." - -"Sire," said Louis, as he did reverence, "I have come to tell of cruel -wrong, and to win from thee a promise of redress." - -"Thou shalt have it!" cried the King, with his hand upon his sword. -"Friend or child of my friend went never yet uncomforted from the foot -of my throne. Speak thy wrong." - -Then the youth told him all that he had told the Bishop, and added -thereto other tales, and hope shone sternly in his eyes. - -"Send forth with me a band of thy men-at-arms," prayed the suppliant. -"Even now, perchance, are orphans made that might have grown tall in -happiness save for this man's lust for gold." - -Then the King looked about, and his face grew dark with anger, for some -half smiled and hid their smiles as best they could with jeweled hand or -velvet sleeve; some showed fear at seeing this thing, which was not -breathed at court, boldly brought to light. - - [Illustration: FOR SOME HALF SMILED AND HID THEIR SMILES AS BEST THEY - COULD] - -"Boy," said the King sternly, "hast no respect for them that be -appointed to sit in high places, nor awe before an anointed King?" - -"Yea, sire," answered Louis, marveling. - -"Dost come before my throne with slanderous tales of one on whom I lean -heavily and lovingly?" - -"Sire," he said bravely, "thou dost not know his cruel deeds. He hath -robbed and killed to the sickening of the heart." - -"Mayhap," said the King, "but he hath carried all before him with great -success, and so is the case altered. 'Tis a man of whom we have great -need, and the young should not speak ill of older folk." - -Then Louis of Lamont said never a word, but rose to his feet staggering, -for the knowledge he had gained of men came as hard blows about the -ears, and bending low, he turned away. - -"Stay!" cried the King. "Thy offense is great: thou hast spoken ill of a -public benefactor, yet if thou wilt hold thy tongue, nor repeat thy -silly tales, I will make thee one of my courtiers, and thou shalt go -brave in velvet and in jewels." - -But the youth shook his head and went forth alone from the -presence-chamber; all looked after him, with smiles and jeers and -whispered words of scorn. - -"'Sdeath!" cried the King. "'Tis a madman fit but for a dungeon, yet, -for the sake of my old friend, Guy of Lamont, can I not cast him there." - -The lad groped his way unevenly down the marble steps of the palace as -one gropes in a path that is full of pitfalls and has suddenly grown -dark, and he wandered, not knowing where, through the dark streets, -until he found himself in the square before the great cathedral. Here -many were passing with hands full of flowers, red roses and tall white -lilies and blue blossoms that grow pale among the wheat, for it was the -feast day of a saint, and they went to deck the altar which stood within -unfinished walls, that men might worship there under the blue sky. - -"I will tell them," said the lad; so he stood upon the cathedral steps -and repeated all the tale, and blossoms red and blossoms white were -dropped at his feet, as men and women clustered about to hear. - -"Ay!" they cried out, "we go hungry for this man, but who shall deliver -us from him? Horses and armor could we find, perchance. Wilt lead us to -him?" - -Then of a sudden he smiled, and ceased speaking because of the choking -in his throat; but after, he took up the tale and told it in the -market-place and before the Palace of Justice and wherever he could -gather folk together. - -As days passed, all this came to the ears of the King and of the Bishop -and of the nobles of the court, and grave head met with grave head, and -both were shaken solemnly in conference over this new peril which -threatened the kingdom. One morn there went throughout the city a crier, -who called aloud and read from a parchment in his hand to let men know -that Louis of Lamont, son of Sir Guy, was cast out from Holy Church for -slander of one of her greatest sons. Henceforward no man should give him -shelter, no woman food or drink, lest they too come under the ban; and -should he speak future evil words, his life would be forfeit. - -Yet one who loved him--and there were many--hid him; and the next day -and the next he wandered in the streets, begging men to rise in -vengeance against the Robber Chief. On the third day he was taken by -armed men, and the decree went forth that Louis of Lamont should, after -three days, be burned at the stake in the square of the Palace of -Justice. The youth smiled when he heard his doom; almost he was glad to -escape from a world which he had not logic enough to understand. - -So the day came when he should die, and it was a Friday of midsummer. In -the centre of the square stood an iron post to which criminals were wont -to be tied, and to this they bound him. Close about him were heaped -fagots of wood and dried branches, and within he stood in a motley -garment, and the look upon his face was as the coming of the day. All -about was a great press of people, merchant and butcher and -cloth-spinner, and peasant folk from the country round; and on a dais, -built high for better seeing, were knights and ladies and nobles of the -court, with the King himself, and the Gentle Robber at his side, trimly -clad in sober gray and gently smiling. - -It was a soft day of golden sun, and the sky was blue above the place, -and the least wind sighed softly as if for pity as it breathed about the -iron stake and played with the yellow locks of the young Squire's hair -and moved the red folds of the shameful garment that they had placed -upon him. Lifting his face, he leaned his cheek against the wind, for it -seemed to him a breeze that had played among the beech leaves in the -ancient forest by his father's hall, and in taking leave of it he said -farewell to his hound and to the woodland paths and to his father's -face. - -Now came a ghostly father, with a torch that flamed backward against the -blue day, and in the name of God and Holy Church he bent and kindled the -fagots. Then was there quick tumult and rush and stir through the -square, for all rushed forward to see and to hear, and little maids were -sorely trampled in the press by the great feet of smith and of -husbandman, and women's aprons were badly torn. None cared, for all knew -that saving grace was to be won for their own souls if their eyes but -caught a glimpse of an heretic that was being burned to death, and when -the fire leaped high into the air, they gave God thanks. There was a -flame in the young martyr's face that was not as the flame that leaped -about him; but smoke and fire were speedy with their work, and his head -bent over his breast, his body over the chain that bound him, and as his -soul went free, folk breathed deeply in relief, saying that an evil-doer -was dead. Upon the dais the King's broad face showed satisfaction; the -Bishop lifted his eyes to heaven, thanking God, then let them rest on -the gray stone walls of the cathedral, glad that now naught should -prevent the walls of God's house from rising. In all the great crowd, -none other was so devout and so thankful as the Gentle Robber, and his -mild blue eyes were moist with tears as he whispered to the King:-- - -"'Tis marvelous, the ways by which Providence brings evil-doers to -justice; ever the right prevails." - -[Illustration: A GLIMPSE OF AN HERETIC BEING BURNED TO DEATH] - -Then all went to the cathedral, knight, squire, and lady in velvet and -in silk, the Bishop in holy robes of purple and of white, and common -folk in blue jean and plain linen, that special service might be held in -praise for this great deliverance, and the _Te Deum_ sung. - - - - - The Riverside Press - CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS - U . S . A - - - - - Transcriber Notes: - -Passages in italics were indicated by _underscores_. - -Passages in bold were indicated by =equal signs=. - -Small caps were replaced with ALL CAPS. - -Throughout the dialogues, there were words used to mimic accents of the -speakers. Those words were retained as-is. - -The illustrations have been moved so that they do not break up -paragraphs and so that they are next to the text they illustrate. - -Errors in punctuations and inconsistent hyphenation were not corrected -unless otherwise noted. - -On page 97, a single quotation mark was replaced with a double quotation -mark. - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Princess Pourquoi, by Margaret Sherwood - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PRINCESS POURQUOI *** - -***** This file should be named 52402-8.txt or 52402-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/2/4/0/52402/ - -Produced by Ernest Schaal and The Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this -eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook -for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, -performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given -away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks -not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the -trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country outside the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no - restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it - under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this - eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the - United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you - are located before using this ebook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The -Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the -mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its -volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous -locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt -Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to -date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and -official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - diff --git a/old/52402-8.zip b/old/52402-8.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 788db54..0000000 --- a/old/52402-8.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/52402-h.zip b/old/52402-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 21e5881..0000000 --- a/old/52402-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/52402-h/52402-h.htm b/old/52402-h/52402-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index 7cdcc71..0000000 --- a/old/52402-h/52402-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5137 +0,0 @@ - -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> - -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Princess Pourquoi, by Margaret Sherwood. - </title> - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; - } - -h2 { - margin-top: 4%; - text-indent: 0%; - text-align: center; - clear: both; -} - -/* paragraphs */ - -p { - margin-top: 3%; - margin-bottom: 3%; - text-align: justify; -} /* general paragraph */ - -p.indent { - text-indent: 4%; -} /* indented paragraph */ - -.center -{ - text-align: center; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 8%; - margin-bottom: 8%; - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; - clear: both; -} - -.hr2 -{ - width: 90%; - max-width: 90%; - color: #CCCCCC; - background-color: #FFFFFF; - border: none; - border-bottom: 6px double black; - margin: 8% auto; -} /* horizontal rule for chapter divisions */ - -/* tables */ - -.pagenum { - position: absolute; - left: 92%; - font-size: smaller; - text-align: right; -} /* page numbers */ - -/* Formatting */ - -.bbox {border: solid 2px; - margin-left: 20%; - margin-right: 20%; - padding: 6px; -} - -.center { - text-indent: 0%; - text-align: center; -} - -.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} - -.caption {font-weight: bold;} - -/* Links attributes */ - -a:link { color:#000000; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 1px dashed #808080;} - -a:visited { color:#25383C; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 1px dashed #808080;} - -a:hover { color:#008000; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 1px dashed #808080;} - -a:active { color:#000000; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 1px dashed #808080;} - -ins {text-decoration: none; border-bottom: 1px dashed #dcdcdc;} - -/* Images */ - -img { - padding: 6px; -} /* without border */ - -img.border{ - border: 1px solid black; - padding: 6px; -} /* with border */ - -.image-center -{ - text-align: center; - margin: 1em auto; -} - -/* Other */ - -span.cursive {font-family: Blackmoor LET, cursive;} - -span.ralign { - position: absolute; - right: 10%; - top: auto; -} - -div.tnote { - background-color: #CCCCCC; - border-style: dotted; - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; - padding: 1%; - font-style: normal; - font-size: 90%; - text-align: justify; -} - - </style> -</head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Princess Pourquoi, by Margaret Sherwood - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: The Princess Pourquoi - -Author: Margaret Sherwood - -Release Date: June 23, 2016 [EBook #52402] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PRINCESS POURQUOI *** - - - - -Produced by Ernest Schaal and The Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="image-center" style="max-width: 470px;"> -<img class="border" src="images/front_cover.jpg" width="470" height="700" -alt="cover" title="cover"/> -</div> - -<hr class="hr2" /> - -<div class="bbox"> -<p class="center"><span class="cursive">By Margaret Sherwood</span></p> - -<hr /> - -<p>THE PRINCESS POURQUOI. Illustrated. -$1.50.</p> - -<p>THE COMING OF THE TIDE. With frontispiece. -12mo, $1.50.</p> - -<p>DAPHNE: An Autumn Pastoral. 12mo, $1.00.</p> - -<p class="center">HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO.</p> - -<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Boston and New York</span></p> -</div> - -<hr class="hr2" /> - -<p class="center">THE</p> - -<p class="center">PRINCESS POURQUOI</p> - -<div class="image-center" style="max-width: 400px;"> -<img src="images/i_002.jpg" width="400" height="116" alt="" /> -</div> - -<hr class="hr2" /> - -<div class="image-center" style="max-width: 443px;"> -<a name="Frontispiece" id="Frontispiece"></a> -<img class="border" src="images/i_005.jpg" width="443" height="700" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="center"> -EVERY DAY HER BIG EYES GREW WISER</p> -</div> -</div> - -<hr class="hr2" /> - -<div class="image-center" style="max-width: 461px;"> -<img class="border" src="images/title_page.jpg" width="461" height="700" -alt="THE PRINCESS -POURQUOI -BY -MARGARET SHERWOOD - -ILLUSTRATED - -[Illustration] - -BOSTON AND NEW YORK -HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & COMPANY -MDCCCCVII" -title="THE PRINCESS -POURQUOI -BY -MARGARET SHERWOOD - -ILLUSTRATED - -[Illustration] - -BOSTON AND NEW YORK -HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & COMPANY -MDCCCCVII" /> -</div> - -<hr class="hr2" /> - -<p class="center">COPYRIGHT 1902 AND 1903 BY CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS</p> - -<p class="center">COPYRIGHT 1907 BY THE S. S. McCLURE CO.</p> - -<p class="center">COPYRIGHT 1906 AND 1907 BY HOUGHTON, MIFFLIN & CO.</p> - -<p class="center">COPYRIGHT 1907 BY MARGARET SHERWOOD</p> - -<p class="center">ALL RIGHTS RESERVED</p> - -<p class="center"><i>Published October 1907</i></p> - -<hr class="hr2" /> - -<p class="center">CONTENTS</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">THE PRINCESS POURQUOI</span> <span class="ralign"><a href="#page1">1</a></span></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">THE CLEVER NECROMANCER</span> <span class="ralign"><a href="#page43">43</a></span></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">THE PRINCESS AND THE MICROBE</span> <span class="ralign"><a href="#page81">81</a></span></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">THE SEVEN STUDIOUS SISTERS</span> <span class="ralign"><a href="#page131">131</a></span></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">THE GENTLE ROBBER</span> <span class="ralign"><a href="#page175">175</a></span></p> - -<p class="indent">⁂ The Princess Pourquoi, The Princess and the Microbe, -and The Seven Studious Sisters appeared first in <i>Scribner's -Magazine</i>, The Clever Necromancer in the <i>Atlantic -Monthly</i>, and The Gentle Robber in <i>McClure's Magazine</i>. -They are here reprinted by the courteous permission of the -publishers of those magazines.</p> - -<hr class="hr2" /> - -<p class="center">ILLUSTRATIONS</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">EVERY DAY HER BIG EYES GREW WISER</span> <span class="ralign"><a href="#Frontispiece"><i>Frontispiece</i></a></span></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">SIDE BY SIDE THEY WALKED TOGETHER</span> <span class="ralign"><a href="#ill_22">22</a></span></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">"IT'S GOT TO BE KILLED," SAID THE PRINCESS STURDILY</span> <span class="ralign"><a href="#ill_101">101</a></span></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">"WHAT!" THUNDERED HIS MAJESTY</span> <span class="ralign"><a href="#ill142">142</a></span></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">CAME RIDING FROM ALL PARTS OF THE KINGDOM</span> <span class="ralign"><a href="#ill148">148</a></span></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">HE BEGAN TO WEAR THE LOOK OF THOSE WHO SEE MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE</span> <span class="ralign"><a href="#ill185">185</a></span></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">FOR SOME HALF SMILED AND HID THEIR SMILES AS BEST THEY COULD</span> <span class="ralign"><a href="#ill203">203</a></span></p> - -<p><span class="smcap">A GLIMPSE OF AN HERETIC BEING BURNED TO DEATH</span> <span class="ralign"><a href="#ill210">210</a></span></p> - -<hr class="hr2" /> - -<h2><a name="page1" id="page1"></a>THE PRINCESS POURQUOI</h2> - -<hr class="hr2" /> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page3" id="page3"></a>[pg 3]</span></p> - -<p class="center">THE PRINCESS POURQUOI</p> - -<div class="image-center" style="max-width: 400px;"> -<img src="images/i_014.jpg" width="400" height="79" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="indent">Once upon a time, in a country very -far away, a new princess was born. -As is usual in such cases, the King, her -father, and the Queen, her mother, held -a great christening feast, to which were -invited all the crowned heads for miles -around, all the nobility of their own kingdom, -and the fairies whose good wishes -were considered desirable. In the middle of -the ceremony, as is also customary, a very -angry little old lady, with a nose like a beak, -burst into the room.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page4" id="page4"></a>[pg 4]</span> -"May I ask why I was not invited?" -she demanded. "These are here," and she -pointed to the fairy who rules the hearts -of men, and to the fairy who rules circumstance. -She herself was the fairy who rules -men's minds.</p> - -<p class="indent">"You!" stammered his Majesty. "Why, -it is only a girl. We—we thought you -would be offended. Later, if a son should -be born"—</p> - -<p class="indent">"You thought!" shrieked the enraged -little creature, gathering her shoulder-shawl -about her. "You thought nothing whatever -about it. I am insulted, and I shall be revenged. -Before anything yet has been given -to this child I shall curse her"—</p> - -<p class="indent">"Oh!" begged the crowned heads and -the nobility.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page5" id="page5"></a>[pg 5]</span> -"Yes," said the fairy, stamping and growing -angrier, "I shall curse her with a <i>mind</i>."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Anything but that," groaned his Majesty.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Not that for a woman-child," moaned -the mother, from under her silken coverlid.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Yes," said the fairy, and her wicked -black eyes snapped over her withered red -cheeks. "She is a woman-child, and yet -she shall think. She shall be alien to her -own sex, and undesired by the other. She -shall ask and it will not be given her. She -shall achieve and it shall count her for -naught. Men shall point the finger at her -like this" (and she pointed one skinny forefinger -at the King), "and shall whisper, -'There goes the woman with brains, poor -thing!' As for your Majesty, in her shall -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page6" id="page6"></a>[pg 6]</span> -you find your punishment. She shall think -what you do not know, and divine what you -cannot find out. Now," added the wicked -fairy, turning to the two godmothers who -stood by the child's cradle, "see if you, -with all your giving, can do anything to -lessen the curse that I have spoken," and -she rushed away like a whirlwind, leaving -every face dismayed.</p> - -<p class="indent">The fairy who rules circumstance stood -by the cradle and spoke. Her face was the -face of one who wavers two ways, and her -voice was unsure.</p> - -<p class="indent">"The child shall have fortune," she said, -"good-fortune, so far as is consistent with -what has already been given. I wish," she -added apologetically, "that I had spoken -first."</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page7" id="page7"></a>[pg 7]</span> -"Why didn't you?" grumbled his Majesty -under his whiskers, but he dared not -speak aloud, for he was afraid of circumstance, -being a king.</p> - -<p class="indent">The other fairy stood silent, looking down -into the child's face.</p> - -<p class="indent">"But she shall know love," she said -softly, after a little time. The sleeping princess -smiled.</p> - -<p class="indent">From the time that it was spoken the -curse was felt. Before the baby could talk, -she would lie in the royal cradle, fixing upon -the King, her father, and the Queen, her -mother, when they came to see her, eyes -so big, so wise, so full of question, that his -Majesty fled, and her Majesty covered her -face with her hands, wondering what it -could be that the child remembered and she -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page8" id="page8"></a>[pg 8]</span> -forgot. The first word the Princess uttered -was "Why." She said it so often that -presently, through the whole length and -breadth of the kingdom, she was known as -the "Princess Pourquoi," though her real -name was Josefa Maria Alexandra Renée -Naftaline.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Why," she asked, when she was very -small, "did trees grow this way, instead of -the other end up? Why did people stand -on their feet instead of on their heads? -Why did you like some people better than -others, and why couldn't it be just as easy -to like them all alike?"</p> - -<p class="indent">She was a good little girl, but she had -all the credit of being a bad one. She saw -through what she was not intended to see -through; she heard what she was not meant -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page9" id="page9"></a>[pg 9]</span> -to hear; she understood what others wished -to keep hidden. Therefore it came to pass -that she was very lonely. She had a way -of climbing affectionately up to the neck -of some favored person, drawing down the -head for a loving embrace, and then asking -some terrible question, whereupon she was -quickly put down on the floor and left alone. -There she would sit, with so grieved a look -in her big blue eyes that the next one who -entered would pity the golden-haired baby, -and would take her up, only to become a -victim to some other unanswerable inquiry.</p> - -<p class="indent">When she was four and five, her questions -were theological or philosophical. -"Why was she made at all, if she were as -naughty as people said? Wouldn't it have -been less trouble not to have made her, or -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page10" id="page10"></a>[pg 10]</span> -to have made her good? Why were you -you, and I I? Who was going to bury the -last man?" The king's philosophers stood -about in silence and gnawed their beards. -They were terribly afraid of the little girl -with chubby legs and dimples. As she grew -older, her questioning turned more toward -social matters and practical affairs. "Why," -she asked his Majesty, her father, who also -was afraid of her, "did he say that he loved -his neighbor and yet make war? Why was -he king? Was it because he was wiser and -better than other people?" She looked -at him so long and so doubtfully that his -Majesty wriggled in the royal chair. He felt -that this wretched child was endangering -his power. Sometimes he was so miserable -that he would willingly have abdicated, but -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page11" id="page11"></a>[pg 11]</span> -he could not abdicate his little daughter. -Besides, he was a king, and he did not have -any place to go. Other children had been -granted him, a line of little princesses, who -wore long, stiff embroidered robes; and -a nice, fat, stupid little prince, who was a -great comfort to his father. All these other -princelets obeyed the court etiquette and -wore the court clothes, and never felt the -ripple of an idea across their little minds, -but they could not atone to the King for -the thorn in his flesh known as Josefa Maria -Alexandra Renée Naftaline.</p> - -<p class="indent">The Princess Pourquoi objected to -wearing a stomacher, for she liked to lie -flat on her face in the park, watching the -ants. She objected to making the court -bow, and smiling the court smile, and putting -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page12" id="page12"></a>[pg 12]</span> -out her hand to be kissed. Why should -she? The ladies-in-waiting could only tell -her, "It was so." She objected to taking -mincing walks in the royal gardens among -the peacocks, and sometimes, to the horror -of all the court, escaped and played -games with peasant children outside. She -disliked her lessons. Why should she say, -like a parrot, what her governess told her -to, when there were birds and beasts and -creeping things outside to study, and a -library inside full of things really worth -learning? So she went her own way, growing -wistful and more lonely, and every day -her big eyes grew wiser and fuller of secrets. -Those who saw her crossed themselves -and murmured, "The Curse!"</p> - -<p class="indent">Once his Majesty held a great festival to -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page13" id="page13"></a>[pg 13]</span> -celebrate the thousandth anniversary of the -founding of his kingdom by his imperial -ancestor, Multus Pulvius Questus, who had -conquered 500,000 men with his own arm, -and had laid the cornerstone of a great -principality. The festival was a brilliant -one, and all the royal neighbors came. Just -before the ceremonies began, in the large -audience chamber, the governess of the -Princess Pourquoi, stung by questions she -could not answer regarding the achievements -of Multus Pulvius, burst out with:</p> - -<p class="indent">"You are a naughty little girl, and if you -act this way, the fairy prince will never -come."</p> - -<p class="indent">"I don't want a fairy prince," replied the -Princess proudly, looking at her governess -with steady blue eyes. "I want a real one."</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page14" id="page14"></a>[pg 14]</span> -A little prince standing near, in a red -velvet suit, looked at her very hard.</p> - -<p class="indent">As time went on, the Princess Pourquoi -was not quite content. She was too eager -for that.</p> - -<p class="indent">"I shall be happy when I find out," she -said sadly one day.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Find out what, your Highness?" asked -the chief philosopher.</p> - -<p class="indent">"It," answered the girl, and she pointed -toward the horizon. "What it means, where -we came from, what you are for and I am -for."</p> - -<p class="indent">The chief philosopher took a golden goblet -of wine that a page had brought him -and drank it to its dregs. Perhaps he meant -this for an answer. Then he winked at his -fellow-philosopher, and the two went arm -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page15" id="page15"></a>[pg 15]</span> -in arm down a long path between box -hedges in the garden. The Princess entered -the royal palace and knelt at the feet of the -King.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Your Majesty," she asked, "why are -people who do not know anything called -wise men and philosophers?"</p> - -<p class="indent">It was soon after this that the King made -a great proclamation, offering the hand of -his daughter to any one who would answer -one of her questions satisfactorily. Suitors -came by scores, although her unfortunate -propensity was known, for the Princess was -growing to be very beautiful, and his Majesty -the King was very rich. The aspirant -to her hand usually stood before the royal -throne in the presence of the court, and the -Princess was ushered in by the major domo. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page16" id="page16"></a>[pg 16]</span> -The Princess Pourquoi did not trouble herself -to find new questions; she only asked -some of the old ones over again, and the -Crown Prince of Kleptomania, the Heir Apparent -to the throne of Rumfelt Holstein, -the reigning King of Nemosapientia, besides -dozens of others, went sorrowfully back to -their homes, rejected. When it was found -that the ordeal was terrible, and the result -always the same, the suitors gradually -ceased coming, and the Princess Pourquoi -remained a great matrimonial problem, aged -fifteen, on the hands of her parents.</p> - -<p class="indent">It was at this time that the Princess -resolved to study, and to achieve something -that was really her own. People should respect -her, not because she was a princess, -but because she could do great things. She -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page17" id="page17"></a>[pg 17]</span> -pleaded with his Majesty until he ordered -the greatest scholar in his kingdom to act as -tutor for her, the greatest sculptor to teach -her modeling, the greatest painter to teach -her how to draw. For five long years the -Princess worked and was happy, but the -eyes of her mother were full of pity when -they rested on her, and the passers-by -in the streets whispered, "Poor thing!" -Mothers drew their little ones closer to -them when they saw her, and said: "Take -care! It is the woman with a mind!" And -the young ladies of the court, when they -came out into the park with their long -trains, and saw the Princess seated by herself -with a book under a tree, said to themselves, -under their breath: "Like that, too, -but for the grace of God!"</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page18" id="page18"></a>[pg 18]</span> -At one of the annual exhibitions of works -of art in the city was a statue, anonymously -exhibited, that won great praise. It was of -white marble, and represented a woman -standing on tiptoe and reaching up and -out with one hand. The fingers closed on -nothing, and the look of the face was -disappointed. Perhaps the greatest skill -was shown in the rendering of the eyes. -Their expression was baffling, and no one -could say whether the woman was blind -or not.</p> - -<p class="indent">"What masculine strength of handling!" -said the artists.</p> - -<p class="indent">"What wonderful inner meaning!" said -the philosophers.</p> - -<p class="indent">The Princess Pourquoi came one day to -visit it, and stood a long time watching the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page19" id="page19"></a>[pg 19]</span> -people who saw it. The outspoken praise -made her eyes glisten. A workingman, in a -peasant's blue blouse, strolled near. There -was fine powder of chipped stone upon his -sleeve.</p> - -<p class="indent">"There is great power there," said the -workingman, "but the work is crude."</p> - -<p class="indent">The peasant was hustled out of the room, -and an admiring crowd gathered about the -statue of the groping woman. Some one -whispered that it was not a man's work at -all, but the work of a woman. Surprise, -incredulity, disapproval passed in waves -over the faces of the crowd. The rumor -was established as a fact, though the woman's -name was withheld. Every one could -see faults now.</p> - -<p class="indent">"We suspected it from the first," said -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page20" id="page20"></a>[pg 20]</span> -the philosophers. "The lack of virility is -apparent."</p> - -<p class="indent">"You can see the woman's carelessness -in regard to details in every fold of the -drapery!" said the artists.</p> - -<p class="indent">The Princess Pourquoi listened. Presently -she faced the crowd.</p> - -<p class="indent">"It is my work," she said simply. Then -she summoned her lackeys and ordered her -carriage, and disappeared before artists or -philosophers could find any knot-holes to -crawl through.</p> - -<p class="indent">Their Majesties, the royal parents, were -greatly pleased when they heard of this scene. -Perhaps this condemnation of her statue -would bring their daughter to her senses.</p> - -<p class="indent">It was very fortunate that just at this -time there came rumors of the advent of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page21" id="page21"></a>[pg 21]</span> -the Fairy Prince. From Bobitania, a kingdom -leagues away, he was reported to be -approaching, presumably to woo the Princess -Pourquoi. The King and the Queen -chuckled in secret together the day a messenger -arrived to announce the advent of -his Royal Highness, Prince Ludwig Jerome -Victor Christian Ernst, Heir-Apparent to -the throne of Bobitania. This was a very -great principality, indeed. Surely the Princess -would for once act like other people, -and would, for the sake of all that was to -be gained, profess herself satisfied in regard -to her questions.</p> - -<p class="indent">The royal household was ordered into -its very best clothing. The King and the -Queen, the Prince and the Princesses, shimmered -in velvet and jewels. The pages were -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page22" id="page22"></a>[pg 22]</span> -resplendent in yellow and silver. The philosophers -were profound in rich black. The -woolly white dogs of the ladies-in-waiting -were combed and tied with the colors -of Bobitania, crimson and black. Everywhere, -in jewels, in flower devices, among -the hangings on the wall, were displayed -the arms of Bobitania, a crimson star on a -dusky background.</p> - -<p class="indent">After the ceremonies of greeting were -over, when Prince Ludwig Jerome Victor -had bent before the King and the Queen -on their throne, and had had presented to -him all the royal offspring, the Princess -Pourquoi was requested to show his Highness -the garden of flowers, that his eyes -might be refreshed after his long journey. -So side by side they walked, talking together, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page23" id="page23"></a>[pg 23]</span> -between long rows of stately chrysanthemums, -white, yellow, and red, she -very erect in her brocaded gown, whose -deep blue folds swept the grass, he all -smiles and obeisance, in a slashed suit of -scarlet and black. The waiting-women, by -two and two, came on behind.</p> - -<div class="image-center" style="max-width: 437px;"> -<a name="ill_22" id="ill_22"></a> -<img class="border" src="images/i_034.jpg" width="437" height="700" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="center">SIDE BY SIDE THEY WALKED TOGETHER</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="indent">As they paced the garden, the peacocks -retreated slowly, a statelier procession than -they. They passed a fountain where a single -workman was busy sculpturing a figure -from a block of gray granite. His face was -shaded by a cap, but the splendid action of -strong arms and muscular shoulders was -visible. The Princess paused, and the waiting-women -turned, pretending to be busy -with the box of the hedges or the pink-tipped -daisies at their feet. The face of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page24" id="page24"></a>[pg 24]</span> -Prince Ludwig Jerome Victor grew uneasy, -for he felt that the hour for his questioning -had come. But the Princess was not thinking -of him, for her eyes were following the -workman's fingers.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Why blue jean for one man's arm and -velvet with pearls for another?" she said -half to herself. "Why hunger for that man, -and for me surfeit?"</p> - -<p class="indent">"Most gracious Princess," answered -Prince Ludwig Jerome Victor, secure in -his reply, "the earth with all upon it is -glad to lie as dirt beneath the feet of the -most beautiful lady in the world."</p> - -<p class="indent">He fell upon one knee and kissed her -hand. She looked down intently into his -narrow, upraised face.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Queen among princesses," he begged, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page25" id="page25"></a>[pg 25]</span> -"question me and accept my answer. From -far Bobitania I have come to woo, and if -I fail, I die. What is the question I must -answer?"</p> - -<p class="indent">"You have answered," said the Princess. -"Rise."</p> - -<p class="indent">The hand of the workman had paused, -uplifted, with a sculptor's hammer in its -grasp. There was a queer little smile upon -his face below the shadow of the cap.</p> - -<p class="indent">The waiting-women paced in silence behind -the Princess back to the presence of -the King.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Most august Sovereign," said the Prince, -bending his knee in the royal presence, "I -have come to place my kingdom at your -daughter's feet. Deign to ask her if I have -found favor in her eyes."</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page26" id="page26"></a>[pg 26]</span> -"What say you, my daughter?" asked the -King, his delight shining through his face. -"Is it not a noble prince and a fair offer?"</p> - -<p class="indent">"My Lord and Father," said the Princess -Pourquoi, bending in courtesy, then -standing erect, more haughty than before, -"it is no prince, but a man with a lackey's -soul. He may come to reign, but a king -he can never be. As for my hand, he may -not again touch it. I go to make it clean."</p> - -<p class="indent">Then she turned and walked, in a great -silence, between the parted lines of frightened -people, out of the audience-chamber -and away.</p> - -<p class="indent">How Prince Ludwig Jerome Victor Christian -Ernst went away in great anger, how -the royal apologies were presented in vain, -how the Princess Pourquoi was imprisoned -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page27" id="page27"></a>[pg 27]</span> -for three days in her chamber with no books -to read and was held in deep disgrace by -all the court, is a long story, and one that -would take much time to tell. But the Princess -only smiled serenely, presented her -duty to her parents, saying that she was -deeply grieved if her necessary words had -hurt them, and, the first day she was free, -went walking in the royal garden alone.</p> - -<p class="indent">The artisan was there at the fountain, -working at the same stone figure. The Princess -stood in silence and watched him. At -her approach he had taken off his cap and -had laid it on the grass. Yellow autumn -leaves fell on his blue blouse and on her -crimson velvet robe.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Do you like to work?" asked the Princess -Pourquoi timidly.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page28" id="page28"></a>[pg 28]</span> -A look of amusement crept into the man's -keen, dark eyes, and his lips quivered with -a suppressed smile.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Yes, your Highness," he answered, -making an inclination of his head. And he -went on working.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Why?" asked the Princess Pourquoi.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Gracious Lady and Princess," replied -the artisan, "I do not know."</p> - -<p class="indent">The Princess stared at his deft fingers -and the quivering muscles of his arms. -Then she strolled away to pick a late white -rose, and presently wandered back, as if -forgetful where her feet were going.</p> - -<p class="indent">"I have seen you before," she remarked -absent-mindedly.</p> - -<p class="indent">He bent again, and murmured something -respectful that she could not hear. The -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page29" id="page29"></a>[pg 29]</span> -chance given him to continue the subject -he did not improve.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Once," continued the Princess, "in a -hovel among other hovels at the foot of -the hill. Through the open door of the -sick-room where I stood, I saw you sitting -at a poor man's table, sharing his black -bread and muddy ale. Why were you -there?"</p> - -<p class="indent">"He was my friend," said the artisan. -"His hut was then my home."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Why do you wear a workingman's -blouse and carve in stone?" demanded the -Princess abruptly.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Madame and Princess," replied the -man, "it is the work that I have chosen," -and he went on chipping away fine flakes -of stone.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page30" id="page30"></a>[pg 30]</span> -The lady walked away again, this time -following a wayward peacock across the -grass. The workingman paused to look -after her, with the sunshine falling on her -brown hair. Then he picked up a chisel -that he had dropped, and, in doing so, bent -to kiss the grass where her feet had rested, -for she had trodden very close.</p> - -<p class="indent">When the Princess came back the next -time, she spoke with the quiet air of one -who is greeting an old friend.</p> - -<p class="indent">"You criticised my statue," she remarked. -"You called it crude."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Whoever reported my poor opinion to -the Princess," said the man, "had evidently -heard but part of what I said."</p> - -<p class="indent">The Princess showed no curiosity as to -the rest.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page31" id="page31"></a>[pg 31]</span> -"Why were the others so unjust?" she -demanded. "They praised my work when -they thought it was a man's. They turned -upon it and called it bad when they knew -a girl had done it, and did not yet know -that it was a princess. What can one do -when it is all so unfair?"</p> - -<p class="indent">The artisan answered not a word, but -went on chipping, chipping, bending all his -energy to the curve of a finger. The Princess -watched with eyes in which all the -blue of the autumn sky and all the shining of -the autumn sun seemed centred. When the -young man at length looked at her, her head -was thrown back, and her face wore the -look of one who feels her blood to be royal.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Do you know," she asked sternly, -though the expression of her eyes was of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page32" id="page32"></a>[pg 32]</span> -one who pleads, "what fate is reserved for -the man who answers even one of my questions -satisfactorily."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Gracious Lady and Princess," he said -humbly, "I have answered nothing, for I -did not know. My mind, too, has questioned -ceaselessly into the injustice of many -things. I only"—</p> - -<p class="indent">"You only," said the Princess, with a -sweep of her hand,—"you only <i>kept on -working</i>! Come!"</p> - -<p class="indent">Refusing to walk at her side, he followed -at a little distance, stepping unsurely, as -one would walk in a dream. The lackeys -looked at him and sneered as he went. -His Majesty the King and her Majesty the -Queen looked down in impatience from -the throne when they saw the Princess -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page33" id="page33"></a>[pg 33]</span> -Pourquoi leading in a peasant clad in blue -jean.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Some injury to redress!" muttered his -Majesty. "Always a new grievance! I -never have time to sleep or think."</p> - -<p class="indent">The Princess swept across the audience-chamber -with the air of one whom nature, -not circumstance alone, had made a queen. -She bent before her royal parents, then laid -her hand upon that of the artisan.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Your Majesties will remember," she -said, "the decree made regarding me when -I was fifteen years old. This man alone has -answered one question of mine to my satisfaction. -I come to beg"—and her face -wore a frightened look, yet shone with a -sudden gleam of mischief—"I come to beg -that he incur the penalty."</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page34" id="page34"></a>[pg 34]</span> -Her Majesty fainted and was carried -from the room. His Majesty turned purple, -and the calves of his legs swelled with rage. -The ladies-in-waiting hid their faces behind -their hands and whispered, "Shameless!" -The philosophers shook their heads -and muttered, "The Curse!" As soon as -the King could find his voice he thundered: -"Away with him to the donjon keep! Let -the executioner come and do his duty! Cut -off the head of the impostor who would -steal my daughter's hand!"</p> - -<p class="indent">"He is no impostor," said the Princess -scornfully. "Whatever his birth may be, -his soul is royal."</p> - -<p class="indent">The men-at-arms came forward to seize -him, but the Princess flung herself between -him and them. He put her gently aside, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page35" id="page35"></a>[pg 35]</span> -and stepped forward to defy them all, but -his eyes rested all the while on her with -a look that made great throbbings in her -wrists. The clash of arms in the chamber -was interrupted by the sound of commotion -outside. Shouts of "Make way!" were -heard. Then there were cries of: "A messenger, -a messenger from his Grace of Bobitania!" -Free way was left in the crowded -hall for a man in a travel-stained riding-costume, -who entered and hurried toward -the throne.</p> - -<p class="indent">"May it please your Grace," he panted, -"his Majesty the King of Bobitania desires -to make known that the Heir-Apparent to -the throne, who disappeared many weeks -ago, has not been discovered. News has -just reached Bobitania that his valet, who -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page36" id="page36"></a>[pg 36]</span> -stole much of the Prince's clothing after his -disappearance, has been here representing -himself to be the Prince. Let it therefore -be known that the person who of late -called himself Prince Ludwig Jerome Victor -Christian Ernst of Bobitania is an impostor, -being the son of a liberated serf, -and the grandson of a swineherd."</p> - -<p class="indent">The nobles, the ladies-in-waiting, the -philosophers crowded about the messenger. -While he was explaining that Prince Ludwig -Jerome Victor was eccentric, though -deeply loved by every man, woman, and -child in Bobitania; how he had insisted on -learning a trade; how he had often disappeared -for a time, living in disguise among -his poorest subjects—the Princess was -looking at the stone-cutter's face and smiling. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page37" id="page37"></a>[pg 37]</span> -She forbore to cast one glance of triumph -upon the King.</p> - -<p class="indent">The messenger took his leave of his -Majesty and turned to go. Suddenly he fell -upon his knees and kissed the hand of the -peasant.</p> - -<p class="indent">"My Lord the Prince!" he cried. And -the vaulted ceiling gave back the cry, for -all the people in waiting took it up and -shouted for the Prince who wore blue jean.</p> - -<hr /> - -<p class="indent">"Why did you do it?" asked the Princess -Pourquoi, two hours later, when she -stood in the garden with her betrothed, the -real Ludwig Jerome Victor Christian Ernst, -Heir-Apparent to the throne of Bobitania.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Gracious Lady and Princess," he answered, -laughing, "I wanted to be real."</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page38" id="page38"></a>[pg 38]</span> -Then he told her how, many years ago, -he, a tiny princeling, had heard a naughty -little princess, in that very audience-chamber, -demanding, not a fairy prince, but a -real one.</p> - -<p class="indent">"I took the only way I knew to become -real," he said. "Have I found favor in your -eyes, O beloved of my heart?"</p> - -<p class="indent">"How long beloved?" asked the Princess -anxiously, for she was much ashamed -of the way in which she had wooed him.</p> - -<p class="indent">"All my life long," he answered. And -the peacocks never told how he kissed her.</p> - -<p class="indent">His Majesty the King and her Majesty -the Queen were delighted with the match. -The royal father spent hours in telling -the young Prince how great a delight his -daughter's mind had always been to him, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page39" id="page39"></a>[pg 39]</span> -and how he should miss companionship -with her when she was far away in Bobitania. -All the court agreed with their Highnesses -that they had had suspicions of the -valet-prince from the very first, and the -lackeys mentioned to the Princess the fact -that from the first they had suspected the -stone-cutter to be something more than -appeared on the outside. The Princess -Pourquoi became very popular up and -down the length and breadth of the kingdom, -and the philosophers, as they sipped -their wine in the afternoon sunshine, said -over and over what a wonderful child she -had been, and how they had always prophesied -a great destiny for her.</p> - -<p class="indent">So there was a great wedding, the preparations -for which shook Christendom to -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page40" id="page40"></a>[pg 40]</span> -its foundations. All the crowned heads that -were known were there. Barbaric kings -from beyond Bobitania graced the ceremony -in gorgeous embroidered robes sewn -with diamonds and rubies and pearls. No -colors that are known could paint the procession -with its rainbow tints of banners and -of clothing. Man has not senses enough -to take in a description of the food that -was provided. Peacocks' brains, served in -golden dishes, were the simplest viands -there.</p> - -<p class="indent">The Princess Pourquoi was attired in -white velvet, with a train eleven feet and -six inches long; her lord and master glowed -like a tropical bird in scarlet, and Christendom -exclaimed that there had never been -so beautiful a pair. While the trumpets -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page41" id="page41"></a>[pg 41]</span> -were blowing and the dishes were rattling, -and the after-dinner speeches of the philosophers -were reaching their most blatant -point, Prince Victor was quietly telling his -bride that he had no intention of giving up -his occupation of stone-cutter, and none of -sitting upon his father's throne unless requested -to by all the inhabitants of Bobitania. -They talked in snatched whispers -about the drawing-schools they would establish -for the poor, and the model cottages -that should be built from end to end of -Bobitania, and they made great plans for -the Princess's further work in sculpture. -What else they said in sweet whispers, I -shall not tell, for it was no one's affair but -their own.</p> - -<p class="indent">The most magnificent guest of all was -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page42" id="page42"></a>[pg 42]</span> -the fairy godmother who had cursed the -bride in her cradle. This wicked person -was attired in black samite, made with -incredible puffs and a train. She had a -stomacher picked out with jet, and wore a -very stiff ruff underneath her hooked chin. -Her general expression was very fierce, -but once she was heard to murmur, hiding -a pleased smile behind her bony hand:—</p> - -<p class="indent">"A pretty age of the world, when not -even the curse of a mind can harm a -woman!"</p> - -<hr class="hr2" /> - -<h2><a name="page43" id="page43"></a>THE CLEVER NECROMANCER</h2> - -<hr class="hr2" /> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page45" id="page45"></a>[pg 45]</span></p> - -<p class="center">THE CLEVER NECROMANCER</p> - -<div class="image-center" style="max-width: 400px;"> -<img src="images/i_058.jpg" width="400" height="98" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="indent">Once, a long, long, long, long, <i>long</i> -time ago, there was a city by the -sea, and it was called Marmorante. Little -gray mists floated down the gray streets, -past the tall gray houses with carven windows -and doors; pale, silvery fogs wrapped -tower and spire, and oftentimes low, dark -clouds hung sullenly for days together over -gabled roofs and dull red chimneys; nor -could the bravest winds that blew nor the -swiftest golden sunbeams drive mist and -cloud and fog away.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page46" id="page46"></a>[pg 46]</span> -In Marmorante lived all manner of folk: -a duke, a count, two marquises, and several -squires; there were merchants many, -with white-sailed ships that cut the waves; -there were wool-combers and flax-beaters -and haberdashers and marketmen; but -most of all there were women: countesses, -duchesses, and stately marchionesses; -wives of merchants, wool-combers, haberdashers, -flax-beaters,—women, women, -women, maidens innumerable, and hosts of -little girls. There were little girls with -flaxen ringlets, little girls with long braids -of yellow hair; dark-haired, slender maidens, -maidens with white arms, maidens -with blue eyes, brown eyes, or gray—every -kind of maiden that ever lived, in -life or in story.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page47" id="page47"></a>[pg 47]</span> -Life went on quietly in the city by the -sea. In the gray mornings count and countess -talked amicably together in their great -hall, and wool-carder and his wife gossiped -cheerily as they rolled and carded the white -fleece; in the gray afternoons Sir Knight -walked in the castle garden among the -flowers with my lady, and the butcher's -'prentice met his maid by the postern door: -by embroidery frame and spinning-wheel, -by tiring-room and kitchen spit, all was -gray peace.</p> - -<p class="indent">Then one day, when the clouds hung -low, a raven croaked above the castle wall; -black rooks cawed dismally with hints -of coming disaster; and bats, mistaking -clouded noon for night, flew out with -squeaks and gibberings at noonday—yet -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page48" id="page48"></a>[pg 48]</span> -nothing happened. Peasants' carts came -creaking, as was their wont, to the city gate, -with blue-smocked Jean or yellow-trousered -Pierrot driving roan mare or piebald steed, -and bringing bags of grain and great rolls -of tanned skins to market. Old women with -their flower baskets on their arms came nodding -and courtesying, giving hollyhock or -rose for toll to the porter, who would not -say them nay because of their skinny arms -and hungry faces. At last came one who -was not of the line of sun-browned farmers, -withered dames, or ruddy boys who drove -in flocks of sheep.</p> - -<p class="indent">It was a man, tall and long, and thin of -face, clad in doublet and hose of sober drab, -and he had naught with him save three -small, transparent bags or bladders, one -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page49" id="page49"></a>[pg 49]</span> -rose-colored, one purple, and one yellow, -which seemed to be filled with but empty -air.</p> - -<p class="indent">"What bringest hither?" asked the -porter, in a surly voice.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Naught save my rattle," answered the -tall man in drab; and with that he struck -the bags together, so that there came out -a tinkling sound wondrous cunning and -small.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Is danger therein?" said the man at -the gate, holding back. "Mayhap they go -off, like powder, and do harm."</p> - -<p class="indent">Then the tall man smiled a strange, three-cornered -smile, for his chin was long and -protruding, and strained his lips that way.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Ay," he confessed, "they go off, but -they do no hurt;" then he paid his penny -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page50" id="page50"></a>[pg 50]</span> -toll and went unmolested in. The porter -stood long, with arms akimbo, and looked -after him.</p> - -<p class="indent">"'Tis some fool," said the porter, and -went back to his mug of ale.</p> - -<p class="indent">The sad-hued man went on through the -narrow streets that let in only a strip of the -sky's blue, and anon he came to the open -market-place, where little was doing that -day, for the flowers were wilted, and the -vegetables for the most part gone; only -the lambs that were left bleated piteously -now and then. The stranger sprang upon -a counter where wheat had been sold, and -he struck his little bags together, so that -they rattled merrily as he called aloud:—</p> - -<p class="indent">"Come, hear, hear, hear! Come, hear -the words of wisdom I shall say, the greatest -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page51" id="page51"></a>[pg 51]</span> -words that shall ever meet your ears. -Come, hear, hear, hear! To-day I speak, -and to-morrow I may not: 'tis the chance -of a lifetime, and not to be overlooked. -Come, hear, hear, hear!"</p> - -<p class="indent">Now with the rattling of the bags, and -the rattling of the man's voice, many people -came running hither: squire and 'prentice -and count, marchioness and merchant's -lady, and the cook from the castle, all hurrying -toward the empty sound. Soon a -great crowd was gathered, of men and of -maidens, of women with white wimples and -folded kerchiefs, and of little girls with -yellow hair.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Come, hear, hear, hear!" repeated the -man, in slow singsong, watching the people -with his narrow blue eyes which were -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page52" id="page52"></a>[pg 52]</span> -rimmed with red; then, so swiftly that none -could see, he bent his head and touched -his lips to the transparent bags. He spoke, -and lo! a miracle, for out of his mouth -came a beautiful, iridescent mist of words -that floated and floated and broke against -the gray fog, and rested across the eyes of -an elderly woman who stood buxom and -comely, and fell like a halo upon the fair -hair of a young girl standing bareheaded -in the sun, and flashed like an opal, flickered -like a flame, so that at last the whole -market-place was full of floating color; -yet all that the man had said was, "Be -good and you will be happy," with variations.</p> - -<p class="indent">"A necromancer!" said the red-faced -butcher under his breath.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page53" id="page53"></a>[pg 53]</span> -"A prophet!" cried the countess, as a -floating bit of the colored mist lighted on -her lips.</p> - -<p class="indent">"I never heard such truth," said the fair-haired -maiden, with a bar of iridescent -cloud across her eyes.</p> - -<p class="indent">Watching and silent the Necromancer -stood, the three-cornered smile upon his -lips. They prayed him to do his trick again, -but he shook his head and would not.</p> - -<p class="indent">"To-morrow," he said, "at two <span class="smcap">P.M.</span>;" -and he smiled at the shower of golden coin -that rained into his bell-crowned hat.</p> - -<p class="indent">When they were sure that nothing more -was forthcoming, they went marveling -away; but all about the silvery fog that -clung to the steeples, and the gray mists -that lay along the streets, and the clouds -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page54" id="page54"></a>[pg 54]</span> -that hung sullenly above, still hovered little -rosy flecks of flame and hints of rainbow -color.</p> - -<p class="indent">Day after day the Necromancer stood in -the market-place, and put his lips secretly -to his colored bags, and spoke. He had -searched all the copy-books of the kingdom, -and had taken familiar truths, such as: -"The good die young;" "To be selfish is -to be miserable;" "Haste makes waste;" -"A bird in the hand is worth two in the -bush;" and he clothed them in rainbow -colors and breathed his mist about them, -so that they stalked in beauty wonderful -and strange, and the folk who listened did -not know their own ideas when they met -them face to face, because of the garment -of many-colored words in which they came. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page55" id="page55"></a>[pg 55]</span> -Then the women went mad throughout the -city, mad for the loud-sounding voice and -the rattle of the bags, rose-colored, purple, -and yellow. By her broidery frame the -Countess Angélique forgot to draw green -thread of silk through the dim web, and in -her lap her white hands lay idle. Walking -to and fro by her spinning-wheel, little -Jeanne wove into the blue yarn the glittering -phrases of yesterday, so that the strands -tangled and knotted at the spindle. Margot, -the cook, forgot her chickens roasting on -the spit, but turned and turned them by the -glowing coals till they were burned and -black; and Joan the butcher's wife could -no longer tell haunch of venison from flitch -of bacon, but greeted customers with a vacant -stare, for her mind was quite gone, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page56" id="page56"></a>[pg 56]</span> -gone the way of the wind, after the wonderful -bits of colored fog.</p> - -<p class="indent">Now the fair-haired maid who had stood -awed in the market-place on the day when -the enchanter came was a rich merchant's -daughter, and her given name was Blanche. -She was betrothed to one Hugh of a neighboring -city, and he came often to Marmorante, -lodging always at the sign of the -Red Dragon. Thus had been his wooing, -as he stood one day with the maid and her -father by the lattice that looked forth on -the street.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Wilt have me?" he asked, and the -words cost him much, for he was a man -of plain speech, and oft of no speech at all.</p> - -<p class="indent">The maid stood in the sunshine and -looked upon him, and he thought her a -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page57" id="page57"></a>[pg 57]</span> -goodly sight. Green was her gown, and -cut square at the throat, and with it the -color of her eyes seemed green, and he -knew not if her hand or her neck were -whiter.</p> - -<p class="indent">"I could give thee white velvet to thy -train," he stammered, and the old man, her -father, stood and watched.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Dost love me?" asked the maid, for -she was one that had heard old ballads -sung; and the man opened wide his honest -eyes.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Ay, surely, else had I not asked thee -to wife."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Then will I wed thee," said the maid, -and the wooer stood gazing at her, not daring -the kiss that was in his mind.</p> - -<p class="indent">"'Tis a good chaffer," said young Hugh. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page58" id="page58"></a>[pg 58]</span> -"We shall get on rarely together;" and -thereafter, as heretofore, he had no eyes -for aught save the maiden's face. All this -was a month agone, and to-day, when he -came again, the maid would have it that he -must needs go forth with her to the market-place -to listen to this wonder; and he followed, -willing enough, for he would have -gone into the very dragon's teeth after the -hem of her gown. Howsoever, the thought -of going to listen to mere speech seemed -to him but folly.</p> - -<p class="indent">When they came to the open place, and -he saw what was there, his eyes opened -wide, and he whistled softly for sheer -amazement, for never yet had he seen -so great a concourse gathered together. -There were women in velvet and in satin, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page59" id="page59"></a>[pg 59]</span> -women in homespun and in blue jean, even -women in rags; and there were maidens -as many and as lovely as the leaves upon -the maple tree when it turns to rosy color -in the fall, maidens dull or bright of hair -as the case might be, but always bright of -eye and of cheek. Far and near they gathered, -crowding close together; many stood -on bench or on counter, straining white -necks forward; and all the windows that -looked upon the market were crowded with -fair faces. Presently, with long and pensive -stride, came the lean man in drab; and -as he came, honest Hugh heard the sudden, -sharp breathing of the maid at his side, -and felt her lean forward as if she were -one quivering ear.</p> - -<p class="indent">What followed puzzled the young man -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page60" id="page60"></a>[pg 60]</span> -sorely. It was one of the great days of the -Necromancer: forth from his mouth came -a violet speech in the form of a bubble, -and it floated over the heads of the people -in lovely changing shades that ranged all -the way from deep purple to the palest -tint that is not yet white. Midway across -the gray cloud it burst, and its gleaming -bits drifted hither and yon, and the speaker -smiled as he saw the eager fingers raised -to catch the tiny vapors which melted as -soon as touched. Forth came another and -another; it was a day of loveliest froth. -Anon came a speech of the color of gold -that shimmered and shone in the sunlight, -and burst into sparkles a thousand ways, -and so golden bubble followed golden bubble. -All the little girls with floating hair -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page61" id="page61"></a>[pg 61]</span> -or yellow braids ran after them, with hands -lifted high to catch them before they burst, -and the least maids wept because the taller -ones caught more than they.</p> - -<p class="indent">Young merchant Hugh stood watching, -with his hand upon his chin.</p> - -<p class="indent">"'Tis a strange sight," he murmured -to himself. "Jugglers enow have I seen in -the East, and many of their devices have I -learned, but I have seen naught like this."</p> - -<p class="indent">Then he turned to his betrothed.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Dost know the trick, Blanche?" he -asked, but when he saw her face, he knew -that there was somewhat amiss with his -words. All awed was she, and in her eyes -was the look of one who had seen a -vision; and, glancing about, he saw that -the other women and maids wore the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page62" id="page62"></a>[pg 62]</span> -same expression. He came home pondering, -having noted the shower of coin that -had fallen into the Necromancer's hat; nor -could he understand, for he gave ever -good measure for the gold that was given -him. Also he was sore troubled, for his -betrothed had no words for him, only looks -of high disdain.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Well, daughter," said the old merchant, -as the two came in, "what saith the -prophet to-day?"</p> - -<p class="indent">"Oh!" cried the maiden, "all was wonderful -and full of beauty. Each day is -his discourse more marvelous than yesterday's."</p> - -<p class="indent">"But what was it all about?" he asked, -laying his hand upon her hair, for he was -tender of her.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page63" id="page63"></a>[pg 63]</span> -"How could I presume to tell?" she -asked, with a grieved red lip. "'Twas too -wonderful to put into words;" and she -swept from the room, with no glance for -her lover.</p> - -<p class="indent">Young merchant Hugh, to whom the -very rushes on which the maiden stepped -were dear because of his great speechless -love, gazed after her, jealous of the look -upon her face, and cruelly wounded by her -scorn.</p> - -<p class="indent">"I will find out the trick," said the -young man to himself, between set teeth; -and he was one who ever made good his -words.</p> - -<p class="indent">Now the maiden Blanche was glad when -her lover begged to go forth with her the -next day and the next, at two <span class="smcap">P.M.</span></p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page64" id="page64"></a>[pg 64]</span> -"Mayhap he may learn something of -this wondrous speech," she said wistfully, -thinking to herself that it would be sweet -to be wooed in violet words and words of -the color of gold. When he bent shyly to -kiss her before they went, with lips that -trembled for the great love they might -not say, she drew stiffly back, nor would -she thereafter permit touch or caress, and -much she spoke of the joy of a maiden's -life that would leave time free for thought; -yet she took him gladly with her for a -week of days. Ever he listened, as one -spellbound, nor once removed his glance -from the Necromancer's face; and he was -keen of eye, and wont in traffic to detect -word or look of fraud, and he saw what -no one else had seen.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page65" id="page65"></a>[pg 65]</span> -"I have it!" he cried, and he slapped -his fist upon the palm of his left hand. -"Those be bags of many-colored words -that he hath with him, and he but sucks -them up and breathes them forth."</p> - -<p class="indent">That day he sent his sweetheart home -with Dame Cartelet, that lived hard by, -and was as besotted as she on the man -with the magic words; then he went and -lay in wait in the street through which the -Necromancer passed each day in going -home; and as he waited, he turned back -his velvet cuffs, and felt lovingly of the -muscle of shoulder and arm. So it was -not long before a tall man in drab went -running through the narrow streets on the -outskirts of the town, crying and wringing -his hands, and the rattling bags of rose -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page66" id="page66"></a>[pg 66]</span> -color, and purple, and gold were gone from -his neck.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Oh, my vocabulary!" he wailed. "Oh, -my bags, my bags, my bags! What am -I but a man undone without my bag of -adjectives!"</p> - -<p class="indent">The dogs and the children that ran at -his heels did not understand, nor did -smith and weaver as they stood in their -doorways.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Oh, my other bag, my bag of epithets, -of polysyllabic epithets!" cried the fugitive -as he ran.</p> - -<p class="indent">A squealing pig joined the chase, and -the men children and maid children who -ran after laughed aloud. The women who -watched from lattice or stone doorstep -were of those who, by means of ten skillfully -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page67" id="page67"></a>[pg 67]</span> -selected adjectives from the rose-colored -bag, and a dozen golden epithets from -the bag of yellow, had been made to gape -and quiver with the sense of the birth of -new truth, yet they failed to recognize the -juggler, for iridescent mist and ruddy vapor -had vanished from his head and shoulders, -and they saw naught save a lean and ugly -man fleeing under a gray sky; and, hearing, -they yet did not understand his cry of deep -dismay.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Oh, my exclamation points, my lost exclamation -points! Oh, my pet hiatus that -laid all low when nothing else would -avail!"—and so he passed out of their -sight, and out of the city of Marmorante.</p> - -<p class="indent">At the sign of the Red Dragon that -afternoon, young merchant Hugh was -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page68" id="page68"></a>[pg 68]</span> -closely locked in his room. Behind great -iron bolts he sat upon a three-legged stool, -and worked with the colored, rattling bags.</p> - -<p class="indent">"'Tis well that men have devised this -thing," he said, holding a mirror before his -face, as he sucked air from the bag of rose; -"else could I not see if all goes well." And -his heart was well-nigh bursting with joy -when he saw that the breath of his mouth -was even as the breath of the Necromancer -upon the air. Then he slipped downstairs -and begged for a cup of ale, and as the -maid served him in the kitchen, he blew out -a whiff from the bag of gold, and of a sudden -her face became as the faces of the women -who stood in the market-place under -the spell of the juggler, and Hugh was glad.</p> - -<p class="indent">The next day he hid the bags in a neckerchief -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page69" id="page69"></a>[pg 69]</span> -of fine silk, and went to the house -of his sweetheart, asking to see her; but -when she came, it was with a face set and -cold, and she paused with the great oaken -table between them.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Hugh," she said, unsmiling, "I have -been thinking."</p> - -<p class="indent">"'Tis foolish work for a woman," he -answered stoutly.</p> - -<p class="indent">"That which thou dost say but confirms -my thought," she answered, still more -coldly. "We cannot be wed; waking and -sleeping have I considered this matter, and -thus have I resolved."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Now, why?" cried honest Hugh -bluntly.</p> - -<p class="indent">"We have so little in common," said -Blanche.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page70" id="page70"></a>[pg 70]</span> -"Thou shalt have all," he stammered, -forgetting, in his hurt, the magic bags. -"Why, 'tis for thee I send forth all my -ships. I will be but thy pensioner."</p> - -<p class="indent">A shadow of pain passed over the maiden's -face.</p> - -<p class="indent">"I mean not goods nor possessions, nor -any manner of vulgar things; 'tis of mind -and soul I speak, and ours be far apart."</p> - -<p class="indent">"My goods be not vulgar!" cried young -merchant Hugh. "Rare silks and cloths -from the East have I, and purest pearls, -for thy white throat. No common thing -is there in all my store."</p> - -<p class="indent">Then the little foot of Blanche tapped -impatiently on the stone floor.</p> - -<p class="indent">"'Tis of no avail that I try to make thee -understand! I say there be depths in my -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page71" id="page71"></a>[pg 71]</span> -nature that thou mayst not satisfy; also -am I full busy this morning and must beg -to be excused"—and with that she drew -open the heavy oaken door, leaving him in -the long room as one dazed.</p> - -<p class="indent">Then he bethought him of his bags, and -drew them out too late, taking a whiff from -each as a sob rose in his throat. Suddenly -the fair hair of Blanche appeared again in -the doorway, and she smiled as a stranger -upon him.</p> - -<p class="indent">"I forgot to say that I wish thee all -manner of good, and great prosperity," she -said amiably.</p> - -<p class="indent">Then out of Hugh's mouth came a purple -speech, and a speech of the color of -gold; and little iridescent mists floated -through the air, while a rose-colored bubble -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page72" id="page72"></a>[pg 72]</span> -rested for a moment on the white eyelids -of the maiden. The dull-paneled room -was as the breaking of a rainbow; yet -all he had said was, "Wilt not wed me, -Blanche?" But he said it in rose color -and purple and gold.</p> - -<p class="indent">"What have I done?" cried the maiden -sorrowfully; and he rejoiced to see that -the look upon her face was as it had been -when she had listened to the Necromancer's -philosophies and faiths.</p> - -<p class="indent">Then he turned and smiled, saying: "I -love thee, Blanche," and he spoke in the -juggler's speech, which made a glory on -the maiden's hair, and about her gown -of green. With outstretched hands she -came toward him, and she laid her head -upon his breast, smiling up at him.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page73" id="page73"></a>[pg 73]</span> -"I was mad but now, Hugh," she -breathed. "Our two souls be but one."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Wilt come with me to the market-place -this afternoon?" he asked.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Nay," sighed the maiden. "I care not -for the market-place, for I am happy here, -where I have found my home."</p> - -<p class="indent">"I speak there," he said bluffly, "at -two <span class="smcap">P.M.</span>"</p> - -<p class="indent">"Thou!" and the maiden's laughter rang -out like the touch of silver bells, "and of -what?"</p> - -<p class="indent">"Of phases of occult thought," he answered -gravely.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Ay," cried Blanche, and she raised her -face to kiss him. "Ay, Hugh, be sure that -I shall be there when thou dost talk philosophies."</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page74" id="page74"></a>[pg 74]</span> -The young merchant was good as his -word, and that afternoon he stood in the -market-place upon a counter, rattling the -juggler's bags as he waited. As before, -men, women, and maidens came, by tens, -by twenties, by hundreds, till there was no -spot where he could look without meeting -a pair of wistful eyes.</p> - -<p class="indent">"It looks to be but plain Hugh, the merchant," -whispered one to another.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Hath he undertaken to sell his wares -here?" asked one.</p> - -<p class="indent">"He hath choice pearls," whispered a -maiden who was not yet wholly given over -to occult thought.</p> - -<p class="indent">But Hugh had begun to speak, and faces -of wonder were lifted to him, for he was -strong of lung, and the breath from the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page75" id="page75"></a>[pg 75]</span> -magic bags went farther than ever before.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Our friend the Necromancer is indisposed, -and I must take his place," he began. -"Like him, I have chosen a theme from -the depths of human thought; and now, -hear! hear! hear!"</p> - -<p class="indent">Then eloquence poured forth from the -man's lips so fast, so full a stream, that the -very welkin was rose-tinted, and a great -rainbow seemed to overspread the sky. -Gray clouds above the tallest spires broke -into tints of opal, and all the air shaded -into the violet and purple of exclamation -points, and of the pet hiatus, which was -hard to work, but came well off. Golden -glory haunted carven door and window, -and words of flame crept around the tracery -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page76" id="page76"></a>[pg 76]</span> -of arch and gable. Women sobbed for -very joy; others wrote madly on their tablets; -maidens gasped with red lips slightly -opened; never, during the whole lecture -season, had come so big a wind from out -the bags, and honest Hugh blushed with -mingled shame and triumph when he saw -the face of his betrothed, for it wore the -look of one who had seen the white vision -of naked truth.</p> - -<p class="indent">Following the fashion of the Necromancer, -he had taken a maxim, and had dressed -it up so that men knew it not, and so that it -came forth as revelation. All that he had -said from the first to the last was the truth -that he knew best: "Honesty is the best -policy;" but this was the way in which he -had said it, with constantly shifting color:</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page77" id="page77"></a>[pg 77]</span> -"Glory awaits the equable! All-hails -are the portion of him, who, unswerving, -with eyes upon the path ahead, with lofty -head erect, perambulates his chosen path -through this world's tangled wilderness, -turning neither to the right hand nor to the -left, though golden cohorts beckon. The -goal is for the upright feet. The crown -waits.... What matter if the victor be -sobbing and breathless, so that he be conqueror?" -(Observe the hiatus.) "So -saith golden-tongued Plato; so saith heavy-browed -Aristotle of persuasive speech; so -saith Aulus Gellius, withdrawn in his inner -truth, and his brother, Currant Gellius, -whose essence clings; so say the holy -fathers, subtle Basil, myriad-minded Chrysostom; -so saith the copy-book."</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page78" id="page78"></a>[pg 78]</span> -When the speech was over, and the -bags hidden away, Hugh bore as best he -might the tears and congratulations of the -women, their murmured plaudits, and inspired -looks.</p> - -<p class="indent">"'Tis the first time I have ever failed -to give honest measure," he said shamefacedly -to himself as they flocked about -him.</p> - -<p class="indent">That night, as he sat with the maiden -and her father, he spoke of departing on the -morrow with a ship that would sail for -Morocco to be gone many months, and his -sweetheart came to him, creeping into his -arms.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Do not leave me, Hugh," she pleaded. -"It is so far away."</p> - -<p class="indent">"I must go, little one," he answered, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page79" id="page79"></a>[pg 79]</span> -smoothing her fair hair. "Men sit not ever -by the fire to hear tabby purr."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Say them again," she pleaded, "say -again the words thou didst speak this morning, -that I may have them with me when -thou art far away."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Far in illimitable recesses of time and -of space," he began shamefacedly, "before -phenomena existed, thy bodiless soul and -mine met and mingled as one"—</p> - -<p class="indent">"Where hast learned that jargon, Hugh?" -asked the old merchant, with a loud guffaw.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Hush!" said Hugh, with loving hands -upon the maiden's ears so that she might -not hear. "All is fair in love, father!"</p> - -<p class="indent">But Hugh was still an honest merchant, -and never in his long and happy life did he -use the stolen vocabulary in bargaining, or -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page80" id="page80"></a>[pg 80]</span> -to gain dishonest advantage in trade. Only, -when the face of Blanche, his wife, grew -sad, he would take out the colored bags, -which he kept secretly locked in an iron -chest, and then the old smiles would come -back to her beautiful face, and with them -the look of awe wherewith she regarded -her husband, as the mist of purple, and the -flecks of rose color, and the bubbles of -gold, fell on hair and eye and ear.</p> - -<hr class="hr2" /> - -<h2><a name="page81" id="page81"></a>THE PRINCESS AND THE MICROBE</h2> - -<hr class="hr2" /> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page83" id="page83"></a>[pg 83]</span></p> - -<p class="center">THE PRINCESS AND THE MICROBE</p> - -<div class="image-center" style="max-width: 400px;"> -<img src="images/i_096.jpg" width="400" height="129" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="indent">The Princess Olivera Rinalda Victorine -sat on a stone seat by the mermaid -fountain in the royal gardens, crying -bitterly because she was not a prince. The -sun was warm, the water splashed merrily -over the mermaids' tails, and not far away -two infant counts, an archduckling, and a -baby baroness were playing on the green -grass, but the Princess would have none -of their game of tag. She only howled with -her mouth open, and paused for breath, -and howled again. Then Lady Marie Françoise -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page84" id="page84"></a>[pg 84]</span> -Godolphin and the Duchess Louise -of Werthenheim, who were pacing the garden -paths by box hedge and rose bed (Lady -Marie was superb in pink chiffon over -white silk, and the Duchess wore blue -embroidered tulle looped with clusters of -artificial lilies), frowned and whispered to -each other that the naughty child ought to -be punished, which was manifestly unfair, -as it was all their fault. Never would the -Princess Olivera Rinalda Victorine have -thought of being wickedly ungrateful for -the privilege of being a girl, if the following -conversation had not reached her through -the box hedge:—</p> - -<p class="indent"><i>Lady Marie</i>: His Majesty will be <i>so</i> relieved -that it is a son. Think, the boy will -be Auguste Philippe the Twenty-fourth!</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page85" id="page85"></a>[pg 85]</span> -<i>The Duchess</i>: I distinctly remember the -grief of both the King and Queen when the -Princess turned out to be a girl.</p> - -<p class="indent">It was then that the Princess Victorine, -who had been dandling her doll and gaining -great comfort from this distinctly feminine -occupation, threw this same doll from -her with violence, unconscious of the symbolic -character of the act, and digging her -little fists into her eyes, burst into weeping -so loud that Lady Marie Françoise and -Duchess Louise dragged their buckram-stiffened -trains away over the grass to -escape from their victim's cries.</p> - -<p class="indent">Presently sobbing became hard work, -and the Princess sat still in the sunshine, -thinking. Her blue eyes had red rims about -them, her yellow hair was dried in wisps -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page86" id="page86"></a>[pg 86]</span> -on her forehead, her fat legs hung dejectedly -down. She was reaching back farther -and farther into her dim little consciousness, -trying to remember how she ever came to -make that dreadful initial mistake. She had -disappointed the Queen, her mother—here -the sobs began again, for the Princess loved -that royal lady; she had chosen, though she -could not remember when, and had chosen -wrongly. Then she began to wonder what -it was to be this thing that the King and -Queen and Lady Marie and the Duchess -were so grateful for, a boy. She candidly -thought that she was nicer than the two -little counts and the archduckling, and she -found her riddle hard to read, for no one -had ever before suggested to her, much -less explained, the disgrace of sex.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page87" id="page87"></a>[pg 87]</span> -Crying was difficult, and thinking was -harder still—for the Princess. Presently -she jumped down from her bench and -trotted away almost joyfully, for a happy -thought had struck her. The Princess was -the sweetest, most obliging little soul in the -world, and helpful withal. A way of escape -had suggested itself to her: she would -find out what boys were like and be one. -The Queen, her mother, should be no -longer disappointed in her, nor should any -ladies of the court make invidious remarks -through box hedges. Whatever happened, -she would never again turn out to be a girl. -So, in an unfortunate comparison, made by -two people who could obviously ill afford -to be critics, began the evolution of that -unnatural monster, more "fell than hunger, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page88" id="page88"></a>[pg 88]</span> -anguish, or the sea," a mannish woman.</p> - -<p class="indent">At first the Princess Victorine prayed -about it. Every night, in her little golden -crib, which had the arms of her house—a -spotless leopard, <i>couchant</i>—embroidered -on the blue satin hangings, she shut her -eyes and begged to be made into a prince -with yellow love-locks and scarlet doublet -and pink hose. Would he be Olivero Rinaldo -Victor the Twenty-fourth, she wondered? -But every morning she wakened -with indignation to the fact that she was -still a girl. As her faith in miracle weakened, -her determination to succeed by her -own efforts grew stronger, and she never -doubted that she could do it if she tried -hard enough. Her face took on an expression -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page89" id="page89"></a>[pg 89]</span> -of firmness, "most unfeminine," said -Lady Marie, who was her governess.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Do not run, my dear—it is so masculine," -said Lady Marie, often; or "Do not -climb trees, your Highness—such rough -playing is fit only for boys."</p> - -<p class="indent">Then the Princess would look at her with -non-committal, wide-opened eyes and say -nothing. She had a secret, inner knowledge, -dating from that moment of revelation -in the garden, of the superiority of -being a boy, and henceforward nothing -could take it from her, not precept, nor example, -nor soft insinuation of the beauty -and propriety of womanliness. She knew -that people were trying to deceive her; -she had heard of conspiracies before—but -she never let them see that she knew. On -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page90" id="page90"></a>[pg 90]</span> -occasions like this she had a way of looking -stupid which was nearer cleverness than -anything else that she ever did.</p> - -<p class="indent">Now, there are people for whom one -idea, with variations, will last a lifetime, -and the Princess Olivera Rinalda Victorine -was one of them. As to questions about -the whys and wherefores of things, she -never asked one in her life, nor answered -one. Very systematically she set about her -life-work. As his Highness, her baby -brother, grew up, she imitated him. Once -she was found standing with her sturdy -legs apart and her arms akimbo, whistling. -Lady Marie and the Queen both wept, and -deprived the Princess that day of her bread -and jam, but to no effect. She seemed inspired -by the energy of the small boy or the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page91" id="page91"></a>[pg 91]</span> -demon. Her legs could not keep still; she -ran, she jumped, she leaped, she climbed, -she played all boyish games, and once, but -my ink blushes red in recording this, she -was caught by the Duchess turning somersaults -in the garden. Terrible were the reproaches -heaped upon her, and her misdeeds -seemed greater because they went -unexplained. On this occasion Lady Marie -and the Duchess were both sent to discipline -her. (Lady Marie was attired in rose satin -covered with black lace, and the Duchess -was charming in Nile-green brocade, with -pearls.) When Lady Marie said, with her -scented handkerchief at her eyes: "My -dear, your actions are bringing me into -disrepute; what will their Majesties think -of me?" the Princess, who detested scents, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page92" id="page92"></a>[pg 92]</span> -only turned red and said nothing. Not once -did she retort that she never would have -tried to be a boy if these two had not taught -her the desirability of it; she only trudged -on in her own way toward the longed-for -goal, sure that the scoldings, the reproaches, -and, saddest of all, her mother's tears, came -because she had not tried hard enough and -had not succeeded.</p> - -<p class="indent">There were times when the Princess -Victorine surpassed Auguste Philippe. One -sunshiny morning, when the two were -playing knight and ogre in the courtyard, -the Prince announced that he meant to -climb the castle wall. He did it only out -of bravado, for, being a boy, with a boy's -common sense, he knew that it was impossible.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page93" id="page93"></a>[pg 93]</span> -"I'm going to climb it, too," said Olivera -Rinalda Victorine stubbornly.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Pshaw, you can't! You're only a girl," -said Auguste Philippe, strutting up and -down in his slashed velvet doublet and his -feathered cap.</p> - -<p class="indent">"And you are only a boy," said the Princess, -meditatively eying him. She did not -say it to be saucy—she was only thinking. -Then she deliberately took the hem of her -embroidered blue satin skirt in her teeth -and began to climb the wall, while Auguste -Philippe watched from below with wrath -and terror in his eyes. By means of a niche -here, a clinging ivy vine there, a window -ledge, and, now and then, a friendly, grinning -gargoyle, the Princess succeeded, and -stood at last triumphant upon the battlements, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page94" id="page94"></a>[pg 94]</span> -waving her blue skirt for a flag. -But all that she got for it was a scolding, -and, to the day of his death, Auguste Philippe -never admitted that it was true. In -fact, he never entirely believed it, though -he had watched every step from the courtyard -below.</p> - -<p class="indent">Better even than boyish sports, the Princess -loved stories of knightly deeds, and -the very pith and marrow of chivalry entered -into her bones. She could not read, -but that did not matter, for the story-tellers -could not write, but oh! they could tell -tales. Stories of dragons slain and ogres -vanquished, stories of maidens rescued, -enchanters caught and prisoned, stories of -caitiff knights thrust through at the moment -of their greatest villainy by the swords -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page95" id="page95"></a>[pg 95]</span> -of heroes, all these the Princess Victorine -drank up with greedy ears and mind, and -her heroic little heart throbbed within her. -Often—it was most unmaidenly—she furtively -felt of her muscle in leg or arm, wondering -when she would be strong enough -to go forth in quest, for not one tale roused -in her the desire to become a teller of stories -herself—she only wanted to act one. -Once she took Auguste Philippe aside, -saying:—</p> - -<p class="indent">"I'll tell you a secret, if you won't tell."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Go ahead!" said Auguste Philippe -graciously. He had doubly the air of a -sovereign, being at once a brother and heir -presumptive.</p> - -<p class="indent">"I'm going out to find and fight a dragon," -said Princess Victorine.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page96" id="page96"></a>[pg 96]</span> -"Huh!" sneered the Prince. "There -aren't any dragons any more. You are -behind the times."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Aren't any dragons!" cried the Princess. -"What do you mean?"</p> - -<p class="indent">"There haven't been any for a long -time," remarked Auguste Philippe nonchalantly, -his hands in his pockets. But the -Princess would not have the foundations -of her faith shaken too easily.</p> - -<p class="indent">"What do they mean by telling us about -them all the time?" she demanded. "Every -minstrel that comes here does, and so does -old Lord Jean, and the Countess Madeline, -and everybody nice."</p> - -<p class="indent">"I don't care," asserted the Prince. -"There aren't any—there's only the Microbe."</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page97" id="page97"></a>[pg 97]</span> -"What's the Microbe?" gasped the -Princess.</p> - -<p class="indent">"It's worse than dragons, that's what it -is," said Auguste Philippe viciously.</p> - -<p class="indent">"What does it do?" asked the Princess.</p> - -<p class="indent">"It bites," answered the Prince. "It -stays somewhere in the woods and swamps, -and every year it eats a great number of -youths and maidens, and old men and children. -It's always hungry."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Why doesn't somebody go and kill -it?" said the Princess.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Dunno!" answered Auguste Philippe.</p> - -<p class="indent">"What does it look like?"</p> - -<p class="indent">"It has one great eye," answered the -Prince unhesitatingly, knowing that life -demanded that he should instruct the feminine -mind whether he had information or -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page98" id="page98"></a>[pg 98]</span> -not; "it has ten great rows of teeth, and -what it does not bite with one set it bites -with another. It never roars—that makes -it worse than a dragon, for you can't tell -when it is coming. And it has a hundred -thousand claws reaching everywhere."</p> - -<p class="indent">The Princess went and sat by a rosebush, -wearing her most enigmatical expression. -If she was overawed, she was too plucky to -show it. Prince Auguste Philippe looked at -her, not without remorse. He was aware -that he knew nothing of the Microbe save -its name, but he decided not to confess—it -would only shake a sister's confidence, -so he went away to fly his kite.</p> - -<p class="indent">Now, years flew past, and every day the -Princess's bosom swelled with knightly -ardor, and every waking thought was of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page99" id="page99"></a>[pg 99]</span> -the slaying of the Microbe. The words of -Auguste Philippe that day by the rosebush -became the second inspiration of her life, -and the second only completed and strengthened -the first. At eighteen, as at six, the -Princess Olivera Rinalda Victorine was -round of face and pink of cheek. Her big -blue eyes, set in the baby fairness of her -face under the yellow hair, had the confiding -look of a little child. All this was very -pretty, but manly sports had developed her -physique far beyond the bounds of feminine -propriety. There were muscles on her -lovely shoulders, and they made her tiring-women -weep. As for her biceps, she had -always to wear loose, flowing sleeves, for -the strong arms broke through the embroidery -of tight ones. She was taller than she -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page100" id="page100"></a>[pg 100]</span> -should have been, and her waist refused to -taper. If her sex had been different, the -royal parents would have gloried in her -strength and her agility, but as it was, they -cast down their eyes in her presence and -begged her, if she had any filial reverence, -to talk mincingly and small, at least in their -presence.</p> - -<p class="indent">One day the Princess Olivera Rinalda -Victorine sought out Lady Marie.</p> - -<p class="indent">"I am going on a quest, to find and fight -the Microbe," she remarked briefly. Lady -Marie gave her one look, and fainted, and -the Princess revived her by means of her -vinaigrette.</p> - -<p class="indent">"My dear!" whimpered Lady Marie, -"think how many gray hairs you are bringing -down in sorrow. I do not mean mine," <span class="pagenum"><a name="page101" id="page101"></a>[pg 101]</span> -she added hastily; and, in truth, hers were -no longer gray.</p> - -<p class="indent">"It's got to be killed," said the Princess -sturdily. "It's a pest."</p> - -<div class="image-center" style="max-width: 508px;"> -<a name="ill_101" id="ill_101"></a> -<img class="border" src="images/i_114.jpg" width="508" height="700" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="center">"IT'S GOT TO BE KILLED," SAID THE PRINCESS STURDILY</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="indent">"But what is it?" whispered Lady -Marie, blushing through her rouge. "Is it -a thing that a young girl ought to know -about?"</p> - -<p class="indent">There was hubbub in the court for ten -days. Counts, marchionesses, dukes, and -earls gathered in corners and talked under -their breath. Some thought that the Princess -should be imprisoned in a dungeon; -others spoke of her with pity, believing her -mad. One party, headed by old Lord Jean -and the Countess Madeline, said that it was -all nonsense. Everybody knew that there -was no such thing as the Microbe; it was -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page102" id="page102"></a>[pg 102]</span> -only a new heresy, wickedly devised to -shake the established faith in dragons. The -Princess might just as well be allowed to -go the way of her folly and find out the -truth. Another faction, made up of believers, -spoke darkly of the mystery that -enshrouded the foe, for he lived in a fog, -and went out to kill veiled in cloud, and -they hinted that if the Princess went to find -him, she would not return alive. His Majesty -and her Majesty, bewildered, agreed -with both parties, wept, protested, but did -not forbid the Princess to go, for fear that -she would not mind. Auguste Philippe -said a bad word.</p> - -<p class="indent">At first the Princess tried to reason with -them—an unwonted occupation for her.</p> - -<p class="indent">"It really is a combat that a lady could -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page103" id="page103"></a>[pg 103]</span> -very well engage in," she said earnestly. -"It isn't as if it were a dragon, you know." -But they only pooh-poohed and ha-haed -until she shut her lips very tightly together, -and went on her way as usual, unexplained.</p> - -<p class="indent">Just here attention was diverted from -her, for his Majesty, who had been hurt in -hunting, sickened and died, and amid sobs -and whisperings and discussions, Auguste -Philippe the Twenty-fourth came to the -throne. There were many rumors and -whispers of how the late King had come to -his death: some said that it was a fall from -his steed; others hinted the Microbe, shivering -with horror at the name. No one was -sure of anything, and the court physicians -very cleverly gave out that they could not -explain at length his Majesty's ailment -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page104" id="page104"></a>[pg 104]</span> -because nobody knew enough to understand.</p> - -<p class="indent">But the Princess Victorine, who was not -a person of doubts, was convinced from the -first. With her head held very erect, she -went to the court armorer, and gave orders -that he dared not disobey; then she went -to the royal stables and made her choice, -while all stood still to watch her, spellbound, -no one venturing to lift a hand. Her -Majesty was too much overcome with -grief to care what happened; Lady Marie -and the Duchess were absorbed and happy -getting the court into mourning, and so -there was no one but Auguste Philippe to -say good-by to the Princess when she went -away. He had risen very early, and stood -upon the battlements to see her go.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page105" id="page105"></a>[pg 105]</span> -It was one brave June day when the -Princess Olivera Rinalda Victorine, armed -<i>cap-à-pie</i>, went forth to war. She was -mounted on a charger of dapple gray; a -palfrey she would not have. On her head -was a shining steel helmet, through the -back of which her tawny hair floated down -her back—there was not room to do it -high. Through her visor her blue eyes -sparkled with a steady light. On her arm -she carried a blue shield, for even in her -battle mood she could not forget what color -was becoming. It bore the device that she -had chosen for herself, a virgin <i>rampant</i>, -gules. The armor that covered her from -head to foot was of wrought rings of finest -steel, made with a flowing skirt that fell in -protecting folds about her feet. Her right -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page106" id="page106"></a>[pg 106]</span> -hand held a spear; with her left she guided -her steed.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Good-by, dear!" called the Princess, -waving her hand to Auguste Philippe.</p> - -<p class="indent">"You are a silly thing," he remarked, -affectionately, from the battlements. "You -won't do anything but tear your clothes."</p> - -<p class="indent">He did not try to stop her. In the strain -of becoming Auguste Philippe the Twenty-fourth -he found that there were many things -he was not so sure of as he had been before. -The flame in his sister's eyes he did not -understand, and he wondered why she was -not content to stay at home and play at -quoits and dance to music, as he was; but -he resolved that Victorine should make a -fool of herself in her own way, and that it -should not cost her too dear. So he stood -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page107" id="page107"></a>[pg 107]</span> -long watching her as she went shining across -the great green plain with the light flashing -from a thousand glittering points on her -armor.</p> - -<p class="indent">Now, the Princess rode by night and day, -and not once did her courage fail or her arm -grow weary. She left behind the green plain -and the pleasant trees, and traveled in a -grievous waste beyond the songs of birds, -and anon she came to a woodland that was -dark and old. She was sorely puzzled as to -the habitat of the Microbe, for in his raids -he came from east and west and north and -south, and no one could tell if he had a permanent -abiding-place. Often in the dusky -shadows of the wood, she stopped to call -a challenge: "What, ho! Come out and -try thy skill!" But that was not his way of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page108" id="page108"></a>[pg 108]</span> -fighting, and he stayed hidden. Sometimes -she inquired at a cottage door or at a shepherd's -hut on the edge of the wood, but all -thought that the lovely lady in armor was -surely mad, wearing such strange clothing -and asking such strange questions. Once -she came upon a witch-wife who was gathering -simples by a swamp in the wood.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Is the pretty lady looking for the pretty -knight that passed this way yestere'en?" -asked the witch-wife, with a horrible leer -of her sunken eyes.</p> - -<p class="indent">The Princess elevated her eyebrows -with a look of scorn.</p> - -<p class="indent">"No," she answered coldly; "I am looking -for the Microbe."</p> - -<p class="indent">"How?" asked the witch-woman, with -her hand behind her ear.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page109" id="page109"></a>[pg 109]</span> -"The Microbe!" shouted the Princess.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Is it a man, or a lady, or a place?"</p> - -<p class="indent">"It's a monster!" shrieked the Princess. -"It kills, and eats, and destroys." And then -followed a faithful repetition of Auguste Philippe's -description of the beast. The witch-wife -laughed and rocked to and fro, her yellow -teeth showing in her shrunken gums.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Oh, deary, deary, deary!" she said, -"there ain't any such critter, truly there -ain't. I've lived here in the swamp seventy-nine -year; I never saw one, and I sees -pretty nigh everything."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Who eats the youths and the maidens, -and the old men and the children?" demanded -the Princess sternly.</p> - -<p class="indent">"How do I know? How do I know?" -cackled the old woman. "<i>I</i> don't."</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page110" id="page110"></a>[pg 110]</span> -The Princess Victorine rode away, and -behind her the witch-wife laughed.</p> - -<p class="indent">"That's the way the pretty knight went," -she called. "You'll find him further on."</p> - -<p class="indent">The Princess indignantly turned her -charger and rode in the opposite direction. -That morning came her moment of great -reward, for, by the side of a noxious swamp, -a gray mist met her, blinding her eyes, and -she thought she heard sounds of gurgling -and lashing and clawing. Once she caught -sight of the great shining eye of which -Auguste Philippe had told her, and then -she dimly detected the grin of teeth. Olivera -Rinalda Victorine was sure that she -had met the Microbe at last. With lifted -spear, and with the shout, "A maiden to -the rescue!" she rode into the floating cloud -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page111" id="page111"></a>[pg 111]</span> -and thrust it through and through. Her -spear crashed on—something; her charger -seemed to trample a living creature under -foot, and snorted with terror. Thrice came -swift blows upon the Princess's shield, but -whether they were of claws or tail, she could -not tell. Her ears were deafened by the -noise; her armor ripped in the gathers at -the waist; her good steed for a moment -lost his footing in the morass, but she reined -him up, and, mad with the thrill of victory, -struck out again and again with more than -woman's strength. Then, was it fancy, or -did she hear a roar as of mortal pain? Did -she catch the sound of swift retreat of a -hundred thousand wounded legs?</p> - -<p class="indent">At home, upon the battlements, that -morning, stood Auguste Philippe with some -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page112" id="page112"></a>[pg 112]</span> -ladies of the court. (Lady Marie was lovely -in deepest crêpe, and the Duchess was looking -her best in heavy mourning.)</p> - -<p class="indent">"It was in that direction that she went, -did you say?" sobbed the Duchess, with a -black-bordered handkerchief at her eyes.</p> - -<p class="indent">The young king nodded.</p> - -<p class="indent">"How can I bear it?" asked Lady Marie, -raising her clasped hands to heaven. "Oh, -your Highness, send out a searching party! -Send fifty armed knights! Think what may -happen at any moment!"</p> - -<p class="indent">"Pshaw!" said Auguste Philippe the -Twenty-fourth, "Victorine can take care -of herself. She is four inches taller than -I, and her arms are like iron. Let her be. -She is foolish, but she has got to have her -fling."</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page113" id="page113"></a>[pg 113]</span> -"In my day," said Lady Marie, "no -modest girl would have suggested such a -thing."</p> - -<p class="indent">"I dare say," sighed his Majesty; "but -the thing has got to come; they must sow -their wild oats! She will come back all -right."</p> - -<p class="indent">Though Lady Marie did not know it, -his Majesty Auguste Philippe then, as -always, spoke the truth.</p> - -<p class="indent">At that very moment, beyond the wide -green plain, and beyond the sandy waste, a -young knight, riding slowly, with his head -bent down upon his breast, came upon a -maiden sitting at the edge of a wood. Near -her, cropping the grass, strayed a gray -charger, with his bridle falling loose upon -his neck. The maiden was curiously clad -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page114" id="page114"></a>[pg 114]</span> -in shining armor, only her helmet was off, -and tears were trickling down her cheeks. -Now and then she dried them with strands -of her yellow hair, and then she shuddered, -gazing at a bloody spear that she held in -her left hand.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Fair lady," said the Knight, riding -toward her, "tell me your trouble, that I -may help you."</p> - -<p class="indent">The Princess Olivera Rinalda Victorine -looked up at him and sobbed, and her chain -armor rose and fell upon her bosom. She -had not cried this way since that memorable -day on the stone bench in the garden, -twelve years ago.</p> - -<p class="indent">"I've—I've killed the Microbe!" gasped -Princess Victorine.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Indeed?" said the Knight, raising his -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page115" id="page115"></a>[pg 115]</span> -visor and showing a pleasant smile upon a -pale face. "And are you not glad?"</p> - -<p class="indent">"Ye-es!" said the Princess, with a great -heave of her bosom as she looked at the -disfigured spear.</p> - -<p class="indent">The stranger alighted from his horse and -came slowly toward the Princess. He was -tall and strongly built, but he walked as -one to whom every motion brings pain.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Are you quite sure that the beast is -dead?"</p> - -<p class="indent">The Princess nodded.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Quite."</p> - -<p class="indent">"I wonder," said the Knight meditatively, -"if you brought away his head or a claw?"</p> - -<p class="indent">"No, I didn't; but I feel very sure. Men -are so skeptical!" said the Princess, with -some heat.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page116" id="page116"></a>[pg 116]</span> -"Not at all," answered the Knight courteously, -"only your quest is the same as -mine, and I should be glad to know that it -is over. I, too, am hunting him."</p> - -<p class="indent">A beautiful expression swept over the -Princess's face and into her blue eyes. She -looked less like a baby than she had done -at any time for seventeen years.</p> - -<p class="indent">"I thought men didn't care."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Some do."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Auguste Philippe doesn't—he only -laughs, and so does old Lord Jean; but I -think that this will convince them," and -Princess Victorine triumphantly brandished -her spear.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Ah!" said the Knight, looking at it -with sudden interest, "may I see your -point?" But as he moved to take it, he -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page117" id="page117"></a>[pg 117]</span> -gave a sudden groan and fainted at the -Princess's feet.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Oh, oh, oh!" cried Olivera Rinalda -Victorine. In a trice she unlaced the -Knight's helmet and corselet, and was horrified -to find blood flowing from an open -wound in his shoulder. Hastily she brought -water in her helmet from a spring hard by, -and bathed his forehead and eyes, and then -ran for more to pour on the wound, saying, -as she went, something unpleasant about -her skirt of chain armor, which kept getting -in her way. As she worked, the eyelids -fluttered, and the dark eyes slowly opened.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Are you hurt?" asked the Princess -eagerly.</p> - -<p class="indent">"I'm afraid that I am rather badly cut -up," he answered, with a groan.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page118" id="page118"></a>[pg 118]</span> -"Did that—Beast do it?" asked the -Princess.</p> - -<p class="indent">"It may be," said the Knight.</p> - -<p class="indent">The Princess rose and put on her helmet.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Where are you going?" asked the -Knight.</p> - -<p class="indent">"After It," said Victorine sternly.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Lovely lady," he said feebly, "don't -you think you ought to wait until I am -better?"</p> - -<p class="indent">"I'm not a lovely lady, I'm a warrior," -said the Princess; "but of course I'll stay -if you want me to."</p> - -<p class="indent">"You are both," said the Knight. "Do -you know I think that it would make me -forget my pain if you should tell me of your -fight."</p> - -<p class="indent">So the Princess, with a shining face, told -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page119" id="page119"></a>[pg 119]</span> -him of her battle in the mist, and of the -monster with the great, glowing eye, and -as she talked, she failed to see that the -wounded man kept looking toward the -spot where his gleaming helmet lay.</p> - -<p class="indent">"And now," said the Princess reproachfully, -with red flushing her cheeks, "tell -me how you were wounded. Do you mind -explaining how you came to be hurt in the -back?"</p> - -<p class="indent">"Somebody or something attacked me -from behind," said the Knight, with a smile -half hiding the look of pain on his face.</p> - -<p class="indent">"The coward!" cried the Princess Victorine, -in great anger.</p> - -<p class="indent">"It may have been some one who did -not know the rules of the game," said the -Knight.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page120" id="page120"></a>[pg 120]</span> -"That makes <i>no</i> difference," said Princess -Victorine loftily.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Well, it was a strange combat," remarked -the Knight, "and the blows were -the oddest I ever received. They came -thrashing from all sides, in defiance of all -the laws of fighting. Whether they came -from man or beast I could not see—you -know yourself that it is foggy in the woods, -and I was disabled by the blow in the back."</p> - -<p class="indent">"I know," nodded the Princess sympathetically. -"You've been fighting that -same monster that I killed." And for the -life of her, she could not help a little feeling -of triumph that the beast had gone down -before her rather than before him.</p> - -<p class="indent">"When did you kill him?" asked the -wounded man.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page121" id="page121"></a>[pg 121]</span> -"This morning," beamed the Princess. -"When were you hurt?"</p> - -<p class="indent">"Oh, I believe it was this morning," said -the Knight carelessly.</p> - -<p class="indent">"I wish, for your sake, I had done it -sooner," said Victorine regretfully. One of -her greatest charms was her slowness in -putting two and two together. Now she -had little time for it, for the Knight fainted -again. For the first time in her life, the -Princess repented of her aversion to smelling-salts. -However, there was plenty of -water in the spring, and she kept her best -lawn handkerchief, which she had carried -up her sleeve, wet upon the sick man's -brow. Through the fever of that day she -watched him, and all night, and again a -second one, and on the third day there was -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page122" id="page122"></a>[pg 122]</span> -a look of weariness upon her face that had -never been there before. As the fever -abated, and the Knight was aware of the -tender nursing that he was receiving, he -watched the Princess with eyes full of gratitude. -She had laid aside her armor, and -was becomingly attired in blue brocade, -which she had worn underneath the steel. -The sun shone pleasantly on her yellow -hair, and if the color in her cheeks was -less pink than it had been, it meant, with -the dark shadows under her eyes, only -new beauty. When he spoke his thanks, -she turned red as a boy would have done, -and asked him please to stop, which he -did.</p> - -<p class="indent">That afternoon the Princess grew confidential. -She was sitting near the invalid, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page123" id="page123"></a>[pg 123]</span> -who was propped up on a mossy pillow, -supported from underneath by her armor -and her shield.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Just feel my muscle!" said the Princess -impulsively.</p> - -<p class="indent">"I have!" said the sick Knight gravely.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Why, when?" demanded the Princess. -"Oh, you mean when I lifted your head. -But look how it stands out."</p> - -<p class="indent">He did so.</p> - -<p class="indent">"You see," said Olivera Rinalda Victorine, -"I am so unfeminine. I ought to have -been a boy."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Never!" cried the Knight vehemently.</p> - -<p class="indent">The Princess looked at him in surprise.</p> - -<p class="indent">"I'm very sure," she said gently. "I've -known it ever since I was so high," and -she measured off the stature of six years -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page124" id="page124"></a>[pg 124]</span> -by holding her white hand above the -ground.</p> - -<p class="indent">"I don't agree with you," said the Knight. -"You're not in the least like a boy, really. -You do not look like one, nor use your arms -like one."</p> - -<p class="indent">"When have you noticed that?" asked -the Princess, in surprise.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Oh, lots of times," he answered evasively. -"But tell me why you think so."</p> - -<p class="indent">Sitting beside him, with the beech leaves -making a flickering shade on her face and -throat, the Princess told him all the tragedy -of her life, her discovery of her initial great -mistake, her unavailing efforts to set it -right, and the persecutions she had suffered -because she was not ladylike. It was the -first confidence that she had made in all -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page125" id="page125"></a>[pg 125]</span> -her life, and her cheeks flushed deep red. -Overhead sang thrush and sparrow, and a -little breeze came and played with her -floating hair. Suddenly the Knight reached -out and took the white hand in his and -kissed it.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Why did you do that?" asked the Princess -softly. "To comfort me for not being -a boy?"</p> - -<p class="indent">"No," growled the sick man.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Then why?" she persisted, drawing it -away.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Oh, I can't tell you," he groaned, -"until I know whether I shall get well of -this beastly wound."</p> - -<p class="indent">But the Princess, taking both hands to arrange -the wet handkerchief, suddenly found -them prisoned and covered with kisses.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page126" id="page126"></a>[pg 126]</span> -"It is because I love you," he moaned. -"Don't you understand?"</p> - -<p class="indent">Princess Victorine eyed him with curiosity, -and shook her head.</p> - -<p class="indent">"No," she answered, kneeling down and -looking at him, "I'm afraid I don't. Nobody -ever did before."</p> - -<p class="indent">The Knight laughed out from the mossy -green pillow.</p> - -<p class="indent">"That's just what makes you so adorable."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Won't you try to make me understand?" -said the Princess. "I am very slow, but -when I once learn, I never forget."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Victorine," said the Knight, fixing his -dark eyes on her, "I love you, and I need -you. I love your hair and your eyes and -the touch of your hands, and I want you to -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page127" id="page127"></a>[pg 127]</span> -be my queen. You are a princess, I know, -but then I am a prince."</p> - -<p class="indent">Olivera Rinalda Victorine was silent a -long time, kneeling on the moss.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Are you angry?" asked the Knight, at -length.</p> - -<p class="indent">"No," said the Princess, in a whisper. -"I think I like it." Then he smiled up at -her, but did not even touch her hand.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Tell me truly," said the Princess, "don't -you mind my climbing trees and doing all -those things?"</p> - -<p class="indent">"Not a bit."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Nor the device on my shield?"</p> - -<p class="indent">He laughed and shook his head.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Nor my wanting to go on a quest, and -do all those unfeminine things?"</p> - -<p class="indent">"Victorine," said the Knight, "it is the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page128" id="page128"></a>[pg 128]</span> -brave soul of you that I love. We will go -on and fight together."</p> - -<p class="indent">Then there was a sudden shining that -was neither from the sun nor the Princess's -hair, but from the light that sprang into -her face, and when the wounded man lifted -his arms and drew her toward him, she -bent and kissed him on the eyes, and no -one ever knew, she least of all, where she -had learned that.</p> - -<p class="indent">Three days more and three nights they -stayed there, and the sick man's strength -came slowly back. In the quiet they talked -of many things in the past and many yet -to come. Only once in all that time did -Princess Victorine looked troubled.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Dear," she said one day, "there are -moments when I am afraid that you do not -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page129" id="page129"></a>[pg 129]</span> -quite believe in me. I am not sure that -you are convinced that I have really killed -the Microbe."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Beloved," said the Knight, putting down -a piece of his armor, where he had been -idly fitting the point of the Princess's spear -into a great hole, "I believe in you utterly, -only, there may be more than one, you -know, and so our quest is not over."</p> - -<p class="indent">On the fourth day they put their armor -on, caught their steeds, and rode away. -On the Princess's shield the maiden stood -out bravely against the blue; the stranger -Knight carried the device of an ugly worm -transfixed by a glittering sword, and the -motto was "I search." The maiden knight -and the man looked at each other from -under their visors.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page130" id="page130"></a>[pg 130]</span> -"To the death!" he cried, and he spurred -his steed.</p> - -<p class="indent">"To the death!" echoed the Princess, -dashing after him, and so they rode gallantly -away. Whether they have found -and fought the Microbe none can say, but -this is known, that they are happy in the -quest.</p> - -<hr class="hr2" /> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page131" id="page131"></a>[pg 131]</span></p> - -<h2>THE SEVEN STUDIOUS SISTERS</h2> - -<hr class="hr2" /> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page133" id="page133"></a>[pg 133]</span></p> - -<p class="center">THE SEVEN STUDIOUS SISTERS</p> - -<div class="image-center" style="max-width: 400px;"> -<img src="images/i_148.jpg" width="400" height="95" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="indent">His Majesty the King was in a terrible -state of mind. Leaning back, -speechless, upon his throne, with his crown -over one ear, his fists clenched, he strove -in vain to speak, but only an inarticulate -gurgling made its way from the royal -throat. Behind him stood his Jester, merry -in cap and bells; on the right, the court -philosophers, with puckered brows and -sagely folded arms; and all about knights-at-arms -and ladies-in-waiting silent and -dismayed.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page134" id="page134"></a>[pg 134]</span> -Before the King, on the lowest step of -the throne, almost under the gold-brocaded -canopy, knelt, with clasped hands and beseeching -eyes, Sylvie, Natalie, Amelie, -Virginie, Sidonie, Dorothée, and Clementine, -the seven beautiful daughters of old -Count Benoît of Verdennes, all badly frightened, -but intrepid.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Speak!" thundered the King at last. -"No, do not speak! Every word will be -used against you!"</p> - -<p class="indent">"Your Majesty," began Sylvie, who was -the eldest and had black hair, "we came -to beg,"—</p> - -<p class="indent">"With great earnestness," continued Natalie, -who had brown hair,—</p> - -<p class="indent">"That you will give us the opportunity," -said golden-haired Amelie, shivering,—</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page135" id="page135"></a>[pg 135]</span> -"To study," said Virginie, who had -brown eyes,—</p> - -<p class="indent">"And grow wise," said Sidonie, whose -eyes were blue,—</p> - -<p class="indent">"And so we ask," said Dorothée, who -had gray eyes,—</p> - -<p class="indent">"That we may enter the university," said -little Clementine, who had dimples.</p> - -<p class="indent">It was sad for the youngest to say the -hardest part of all, yet perhaps it was only -fair, as it was the strong will of Clementine -that had led them there, and the courage -of Clementine that had kept them from faltering -by the way.</p> - -<p class="indent">They were simply repeating what they -had just said; the parts had been arranged -before coming, in hope that his Majesty -could not resist. Never in their worst forebodings, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page136" id="page136"></a>[pg 136]</span> -when they had talked it over as -they braided one another's hair in the tiring-room -of the castle, had they dreamed -of anything so terrible as this.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Wh-what put this idea into your -heads?" thundered his Majesty.</p> - -<p class="indent">Then the seven answered as one maiden: -"The Princess Pourquoi."</p> - -<p class="indent">The King groaned aloud, and the knights-at-arms -and the ladies-in-waiting groaned -with him. Was it not enough for him to -have had a daughter whose useless thinking -had embittered his reign? She, with -her quick intellect and ready questions, -had made his throne totter under him; and -now, when she was safely married and -away—ay, and had made as good a match -as the dullest maid in Christendom, must -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page137" id="page137"></a>[pg 137]</span> -the spirit of inquiry come back to him in -seven shapes? Since she was gone, all had -been peace; he had been able to sleep -most of the other half of the day also. His -Majesty fidgeted under his purple robe. -The Church had taught him that it was -right for the sins of the fathers to be visited -upon the children, but nothing about -the sins of the children being visited -upon the fathers, and he could not understand.</p> - -<p class="indent">Sylvie, Natalie, Amalie, Virginie, Sidonie, -Dorothée, and little Clementine looked -at him with begging eyes. Now brown -eyes and blue eyes and gray eyes and black -hair and brown hair and golden hair and -dimples all appealed strongly to the King, -and he was surprised at himself for a -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page138" id="page138"></a>[pg 138]</span> -moment for not being able to act as ugly -as he thought he felt.</p> - -<p class="indent">"What do you want to study for?" he -demanded, his hands slowly unclenching.</p> - -<p class="indent">"I don't know," faltered little Clementine, -blushing into her dimples. Somewhere -there was a faint ripple of laughter, and yet -the Jester's face was perfectly sober when -he lifted his head.</p> - -<p class="indent">"To be wise and know things," said -Sidonie. The King stamped.</p> - -<p class="indent">"To be a power," said Natalie.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Pshaw!" said the King.</p> - -<p class="indent">"To understand all things," said Virginie. -The King groaned.</p> - -<p class="indent">"So that people will like us," said Amelie. -Then came again that echo of mocking -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page139" id="page139"></a>[pg 139]</span> -laughter, and the Jester muttered from behind -the throne:—</p> - -<p class="indent">"Now are there some here that are -greater fools than I; for the whole world -knows that a woman is better beloved for -what she understands not than for what she -understands."</p> - -<p class="indent">The King looked desperately about him, -for he was at his wits' end, but none came -to his aid. The philosophers, with their eyes -cast down, were stroking their beards; the -ladies-in-waiting were looking away, as -delicacy demanded, after so shocking a request; -the knights-at-arms were frankly -gazing at blue eyes or brown, as taste suggested. -Then the King spoke hoarsely:—</p> - -<p class="indent">"This is treason. The lowest dungeon -in my castle is not too hard a punishment -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page140" id="page140"></a>[pg 140]</span> -for such offense. At any cost this spirit -must be quenched—at any cost."</p> - -<p class="indent">Tears flowed softly down the cheeks -of the seven maidens, and fell on their -clasped hands, and the drops from Virginie's -brown eyes sparkled like jewels on -Amelie's golden hair. Then, in the sorrowful -pause, the King's Jester stepped -softly forward, and the little bells upon his -patches rang as he came.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Sire," said he, "I could tell a remedy -more potent than this and less savage."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Speak, Fool!" said the King.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Not afore folks," answered the Jester, -with a smile.</p> - -<p class="indent">"They understand not your folly," said -the King.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Ay, but they might, for none can tell -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page141" id="page141"></a>[pg 141]</span> -when words of wisdom may begin to penetrate -dull brains. Clear me the room of these -philosophers and the others, and let the -maidens begone, for I cannot abide a woman's -tears."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Go!" said his Majesty.</p> - -<p class="indent">Then the weeping maidens and the ladies-in-waiting -passed out in a shimmer of gold -color, and crimson, and blue, and rich -green; and after them, like a shadow, crept -the philosophers in garments of black; and -then, with a clash of steel and flashing of -wrought armor, went the knights-at-arms, -and the presence chamber was empty, save -for the King on the throne and the Jester, -who stood before him in the posture of the -philosophers, with folded arms and head -bent low.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page142" id="page142"></a>[pg 142]</span> -"Sire," said the Fool, "when women -grow wise"—</p> - -<p class="indent">"The kingdom is lost," said his Majesty. -"Little enough comfort is there now."</p> - -<p class="indent">"They will outstrip their brothers," said -the Jester.</p> - -<p class="indent">"They will meddle with matters of state," -said the King.</p> - -<p class="indent">"They will see through us all," continued -the Fool. "For my part, I would keep -them the sweet, blind creatures that they -are. 'Tis enough for me that I see through -myself. Now there is one way, and one only, -to check the growing intellect of women."</p> - -<p class="indent">"And what may that be?" asked the -King, the sadness lifting from his face.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Forsooth, they must have a university -of their own," answered the Jester.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page143" id="page143"></a>[pg 143]</span> -"What!" thundered his Majesty.</p> - -<div class="image-center" style="max-width: 642px;"> -<a name="ill142" id="ill142"></a> -<img class="border" src="images/i_158.jpg" width="642" height="700" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="center">"WHAT!" THUNDERED HIS MAJESTY</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="indent">"Ay!" said the Fool, nodding; "there is -no other way. The Princess Pourquoi has -lighted in this land a fire that can be put -out in only one fashion. Let a foundation be -made; let walls arise; let lecturers come. -Naught save a university curriculum will -avail now to dull the wits and divert the -minds and check the thought of women."</p> - -<p class="indent">"In truth you have a pretty wit," said the -King, and he smiled. "But who will take -charge of this undertaking and plan me the -work that it may avail?"</p> - -<p class="indent">"I," said the Jester. "Who else? Cap -and gown would become me well, and -though the King may lose his fool, he will -gain My Lord Rector, who will speak -bravely in the Latin tongue."</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page144" id="page144"></a>[pg 144]</span> -"And whom can we trust to aid in the -work?" asked his Majesty.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Lend me but the philosophers," said the -Jester, with a wink, "and their natural parts -shall prevail where intent might come badly -off in this great task of dulling women's -wits."</p> - -<p class="indent">Then the two spoke long between themselves, -and when they had finished, the -Jester went and called the pages, and the -great doors were thrown open, so that all -entered as they had gone, and there was -shimmer of silk and shining of jewels and -gleaming of armor. The seven maidens -came trembling in every limb, not knowing -but their heads should fall, and they knelt -as before at the foot of the throne, only now -they had nothing to say. Then the King -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page145" id="page145"></a>[pg 145]</span> -lifted up his voice and, smiling, said that it -should be even as they had desired, and -that learning and wisdom should be theirs. -In one thing only should change be made: -they should not mingle with the herd of -men, but should have, sequestered and -apart, a place of learning for womankind. -When they heard this, Sylvie leaned her -face upon the head of Natalie and wept -for joy; and Natalie hers upon the head -of Amelie, and Amelie upon Virginie, and -Virginie upon Sidonie, and Sidonie upon -Dorothée, and Dorothée upon little Clementine, -and because Clementine had nowhere -to lean her head, she wept into her -own dimples.</p> - -<p class="indent">Then the King's Fool went away and did -not come again, and of this there was great -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page146" id="page146"></a>[pg 146]</span> -talk for three days, and then all was forgotten, -for another jester filled his place. -One day appeared at court a grave gentleman -clad all in flowing black, bearded, and -with eyes cast down in a sort of inward -look. All called him My Lord Rector, and -none knew him for the King's Jester because -he had changed his cap. He spoke -but little, and that in Latin, as "<i>Verbum -sat sapienti; depressus extollor; veni, -vidi, vici</i>;" and if he made gibe or jest, -there were none who could understand.</p> - -<p class="indent">There was upon the outskirts of the city -a great building that had once been the -Palace of Justice, but was no longer used -because a loftier one had been erected in -the square where the minster rose. This -stood not far from the river-bank, and was -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page147" id="page147"></a>[pg 147]</span> -all of gray stone that had crumbled somewhat, -so that the tracery of leaf and flower -in the Gothic windows and the faces and -claws of the gargoyles that peered from roof -and corner were in many places worn away. -It was built on three sides of a great court, -where now grass and vine and flower grew -unchecked, on the spot once worn by the -feet of gathering citizens and the tramp of -steeds. Bluebird and swallow and wren had -entered through the broken windows, and -had built about the window niches and in -the crannies of the carven vine. This, said -the King, should be the place of learning -consecrated to the maidens, for it was not -meet that they should gather in the market -square or on the hill beyond the minster, -as young men did in those days when thousands -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page148" id="page148"></a>[pg 148]</span> -came together to listen to philosophical -disputes, and no roof was sufficient to -cover them. Workmen came and mended -broken arch and column, and cleared away -the tangled vines of the court, but left growing -grass and flower, and did not touch the -nesting birds, for the seven lovely sisters -begged that they might stay. Hither flocked -innumerable damsels, who came riding from -all parts of the kingdom, with squires before -them and waiting-maids behind. They -came on black jennet and white palfrey and -pony of dapple gray; maiden madness had -run throughout the kingdom, and all who -could sit on saddle or hold rein rushed -hither for their share of the new learning. -Many were pursued by father or brother, -by maiden aunt or widowed mother, begging -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page149" id="page149"></a>[pg 149]</span> -them to abide at home in safety as -modest maidens should.</p> - -<div class="image-center" style="max-width: 476px;"> -<a name="ill148" id="ill148"></a> -<img class="border" src="images/i_166.jpg" width="476" height="700" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="center">CAME RIDING FROM ALL PARTS OF THE KINGDOM</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="indent">It was noised abroad that the Lord Rector -would deliver the first lecture when the -new work began, and all were eager to hear; -so it came to pass one day that a huge company -passed in procession under the carven -Gothic gate and into the great hall whose -stained windows looked one way on the -river and the other way on the court. First, -in gown of velvet and of silk, came My -Lord Rector, muttering in his beard; after -him followed the philosophers, with stately -step and slow; and then young squires -a-many, who were eager to see what would -befall; and lords and ladies in gay clothing, -rarely embroidered in choice colors. There -were maiden students also, many score, and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page150" id="page150"></a>[pg 150]</span> -at their head Sylvie, in scarlet silken gown, -and Natalie in green; Amelie in brown -velvet, curiously slashed, and Virginie in -yellow; Sidonie in blue samite, and Dorothée -in silver, and little Clementine in white, -as befitted her tender years. Now behold! -within the great hall the King was already -waiting in a chair of state under a velvet -canopy, and My Lord Rector and the -philosophers of the new faculty bowed low -to him as they entered. Then the Rector -mounted upon a platform, and bowing to -the King with "<i>Rex augustissimus</i>" he -winked in his old fashion and fell a-coughing, -and the King winked back and then -fell a-sneezing, to hide the smile that his -beard only half concealed.</p> - -<p class="indent">"<i>Viri illustrissimi</i>," continued the Rector, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page151" id="page151"></a>[pg 151]</span> -bowing again before his audience and -speaking in a solemn voice: "<i>mutatis mutandis, -horresco referens, da locum melioribus, -dux femina facti, humanum est -errare, nil nisi cruce, graviora manent, -post nubila Phoebus, sunt lachrimae rerum, -vae victis</i>."</p> - -<p class="indent">The last words came with a quiver of -the voice, and many wept, for they did not -understand his folly. Then My Lord Rector -turned to the fair body of women students -and spoke, seeing only the face of -little Clementine:—</p> - -<p class="indent">"<i>Feminae praeclarissimae, credo quia -impossibile est, inest Clementia forti, -crede quod habes et habeo, sic itur ad astra, -toga virilis, vita sine literis mors est, -varium et mutabile semper femina, vade</i> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page152" id="page152"></a>[pg 152]</span> -<i>in pace</i>," and with this there was hardly -a dry eye in the house. So the new university -was opened.</p> - -<p class="indent">Needless to say, the success of the undertaking -was great. Throughout the land, -bower and hall and dell were left empty, -for the maidens had all gone to the capital -to get learning. They no longer wrought -fair figures in the embroidery frames in the -great halls of their ancestral castles, or polished -the armor of father and brother, or -brewed cordials for the sick over the glowing -coals. They no longer wandered in -gowns of green on their palfreys by hill -or dale for the joy of going. By hundreds -they bowed their fair heads before the -philosophers as they lectured, taking notes -upon the tablets of their minds, for they -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page153" id="page153"></a>[pg 153]</span> -did not know how to write. My Lord -Rector, when he spoke, could find no room -large enough to contain his audiences, so -he lectured only on sunshiny days, and -stood on a platform in the centre of the -great court; and words of grave nonsense -fell from his lips as the light fell on golden -hair or brown. So intently did the maidens -listen that they did not smell the fragrance -of the flowers crushed beneath their -feet, wild rose and lily and violet, nor did -they hear the beat of the wings of startled -birds, nor see red crest, or golden wing, or -blue, flash across the sky.</p> - -<p class="indent">Being a cunning man and keen, My Lord -Rector had left to the flocking students the -choice of the lectures that they should -pursue.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page154" id="page154"></a>[pg 154]</span> -"Let them but manage it themselves," -he said, smiling wickedly, at a private audience -with the King, "and we shall see -great things."</p> - -<p class="indent">So the maidens met in assembly and -consulted gravely together, and conferred -with Rector and with faculty, and presently -many branches of learning were established -and all was going with great vigor. Each -student chose for herself what course she -should pursue, and it was pretty to see how -maiden whims worked out into hard endeavor. -Black-haired Sylvie specialized in -dramatics, for she made, with her sweeping -locks, an excellent tragedy queen; Natalie -in athletics, and she took the standing high-jump -better than any knight in Christendom; -golden-haired Amelie devoted all her -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page155" id="page155"></a>[pg 155]</span> -time to fiddling and giglology, and soon -became proficient; Virginie, of the brown -eyes, took ping-pong and fudge; blue-eyed -Sidonie, acrostics and charades; Dorothée -took chattering and cheering, and -soon her sweet voice could be heard above -the noise of building, or the roar of battle; -while little Clementine worked at all -branches of frivology, and became a great -favorite, for in looks and in manner and in -taste she represented that which is most -pleasing in woman.</p> - -<p class="indent">To tell of all they did and learned and -thought would be too long a tale, and, -moreover, the records of much of it have -perished, but men say that their life was -both strenuous and merry, and that womankind -blossomed out into new beauty of face -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page156" id="page156"></a>[pg 156]</span> -and form and mind. The infinite range of -opportunity has been but faintly shadowed -forth in the hints already given; and to -those who philosophized and those who -poetized, those who took societies and -those who took cuts, life was one long -burst of irrelevant, joyous activity. Most -zealous of all the students was little Clementine. -Ceaselessly alert, she listened with -upturned face to lectures in the great flower-grown -court; with infantile audacity she -ventured out into vast unknown realms of -thought, and puckered her white forehead -in trying to work out the unutterable syllable. -Now she walked the cloisters where -the shadow of carven leaf and tendril fell -on her hair, studying a parchment; and -again, in moments of relaxation, she rode -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page157" id="page157"></a>[pg 157]</span> -her dog-eared pony fast and furiously. To -some this animal may seem strange, but -there were many queer creatures in those -days, as Sir John Maundeville tells.</p> - -<p class="indent">It came to pass, no one knows how, that -nothing done by little Clementine escaped -the notice of My Lord Rector, for his eyes -followed her always. When he lectured, he -lectured to Clementine; whether he said -words of Latin or of the vulgar tongue, he -spoke them to her eyes; and he was ashamed -of the learned nonsense he was speaking -when he gazed on Clementine. Sleeping, -he saw her walking so-and-so under the -shadow of Gothic arch with leaf shadows -on her face, and he dreamed of taking the -parchment from her white fingers and—But -here he always woke, though he tried -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page158" id="page158"></a>[pg 158]</span> -to dream farther. Clearly, something had -happened to him that neither his experience -as Sir Fool nor as Lord Rector had -prepared him to understand.</p> - -<p class="indent">Save for this haunting thought, he was -very gay behind a solemn face. Dearly -he loved his task, and none but the King -and himself heard the faint tinkle of bells -from under his scholar's cap. Always they -greeted each other with Latin words, and -they had many conferences wherein they -chuckled together over the success of their -plan, for they knew that they had drawn -all these women forth to follow after the -very shadow of learning, and that the end -would leave them more ignorant than before. -Always, however, in these moments -of mirth, like a stab at the heart came to -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page159" id="page159"></a>[pg 159]</span> -the Lord Rector the thought of deception -practiced upon Clementine. Her trusting -eyes, lifted to him in uttermost faith, reproached -him by night and by day. If, by -force, he put his conscience from him, he -was sure to see her face as she listened, -hiding in the recesses of her heart the silly -words he said. Once, as she went alone -toward the lodgings, and he followed at -a great distance, a foot-pad set upon her -in a dark corner, where a stone stairway -gave shelter to thieves, and My Lord Rector, -rushing forward, struck lustily about -him right and left and felled the knave, -taking from him the lady's netted purse -and giving it back to her. She said no -word save one of thanks, but after, when -her eyes were raised, he saw that a new -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page160" id="page160"></a>[pg 160]</span> -light had been added to the old, and that -little Clementine reverenced him not only -as a learned man, but as a brave one, -too.</p> - -<p class="indent">So weeks drifted by, and months, and -then came a great event, for the maidens -had determined to carry out a custom that -belonged to that olden time and formed -the final test of the scholar. All agreed -that Clementine, brave, childish, perverse -little Clementine, should initiate the new -audacity. Therefore, one early morning, -when the first rays of the sun were just -peeping over the high stone city wall, she -might have been observed stealing in academic -garb of black over her white dress -to the great oak, iron-studded door of the -old Palace of Justice. Here, with a stone, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page161" id="page161"></a>[pg 161]</span> -she hammered a long parchment, and she -established herself hard by, so that all who -saw her knew that she was there to defend -against all comers the theses she had nailed -up. Now there were eight, and they ran -as follows:—</p> - -<p class="indent">1. That the ineffable and the intangible -are not the same.</p> - -<p class="indent">2. That all that is not, is, and all that -seems to be, is not.</p> - -<p class="indent">3. That—but it would be foolish to -transcribe all the theses that little Clementine -defended, for no one would understand. -Suffice it to say that they were subtle beyond -the mind of man, and clothed in words -drawn from the deep abyss of the inane, -where unborn thought goes ever crying for -birth. One by one her six sisters came -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page162" id="page162"></a>[pg 162]</span> -against her and argued, but to no avail, -for little Clementine, no less skillful than -David of yore, gathered together verb and -adjective and slung them so unerringly that -antagonist after antagonist went down, and -she, often snubbed as being but the youngest, -stood forth in the eyes of the admiring -crowd a victor.</p> - -<p class="indent">The picture that she made, standing -against that gray stone wall flecked with -green moss, with a grinning gargoyle leaning -down toward her, was very sweet. In -little Clementine the brown hair and the -golden hair, the brown eyes and the gray -eyes, of the family met in a peculiarly bewitching -combination that had a chameleon -quality of color constantly changing. -Moreover, as she argued in well-chosen -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page163" id="page163"></a>[pg 163]</span> -words, she was unconsciously establishing -the unspoken thesis:—</p> - -<p class="indent">That four dimples may exist at the same -time in a maiden's face without seeming -too many.</p> - -<p class="indent">This My Lord Rector saw, and something -gave way within him. When the -argument was over and the audience was -departing, he called Clementine to him inside -the gate as one who would ask something, -and then stood speechless. The -maiden, who was flushed and weary, lifted -her scholar's cap, and he saw, in the locks -of hair that were neither brown nor gold, -pearls woven; and above the collar of -the gown showed the embroidered white -samite of her dress.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Little Clementine," said My Lord Rector, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page164" id="page164"></a>[pg 164]</span> -"your student life is almost done. -Does that fact cause rejoicing?"</p> - -<p class="indent">"Nay," said Clementine, casting down -her eyes.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Shall you grieve for anything left behind?"</p> - -<p class="indent">"Ay," said the maiden.</p> - -<p class="indent">"And what?" asked My Lord Rector.</p> - -<p class="indent">"The learned lectures, the dissertations, -the wise words," said Clementine, looking -up and dimpling.</p> - -<p class="indent">"And any special ones?" asked he, -wondering if she heard about him the jingle -of bells.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Ay," said Clementine, smoothing her -gown with slim white fingers and setting her -lips together. Not another word would she -say, though the great man begged humbly.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page165" id="page165"></a>[pg 165]</span> -"Clementine," asked My Lord Rector, -changing the subject, "shall you ever -wed?"</p> - -<p class="indent">"If the right man comes," said the -maiden.</p> - -<p class="indent">"And what must he be?"</p> - -<p class="indent">"He must be very wise."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Am I wise, little one?" asked the Rector.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Wisest of all," answered the maiden, -whispering.</p> - -<p class="indent">Then he took her white hand in his and -said softly, "<i>Amo. Amas?</i>" but Clementine -did not understand a word of Latin. -Looking up, however, she saw something -she did understand, and then My Lord -Rector bent and kissed her hand, wisely -using the old, old way of wooing that was -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page166" id="page166"></a>[pg 166]</span> -found before words, Latin or other, were -invented.</p> - -<p class="indent">Then Clementine drew back trembling -and looked, and behold, he who had been -but a wonderful voice was changed, and she -saw that he was a man, and young, and -comely, with merry eyes touched with sadness, -and a mouth whose curves were both -cynical and sweet.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Why, why should you choose me?" -asked the maiden, in a voice that shook for -reverence.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Because you are so adorably foolish!" -cried the lover, forgetting, and that was a -mistaken speech, which mere words could -not explain away.</p> - -<p class="indent">It was agreed between them that none -should know what had befallen until the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page167" id="page167"></a>[pg 167]</span> -day when old Count Benoît and his Lady -Myriel came up to the city to take home -their seven daughters, for their work was -counted done. So the two lived a glad life, -though they spoke but seldom; often a -glance of the eyes made food for both day -and night. All the time My Lord Rector's -conscience pricked him more and more, -until he could no longer bear it, and one -day, coming upon Clementine where she -passed the path by the rippling river, near -three willow trees that were freshly leaved -out, for it was spring, he told her the tale of -how he and the King had deceived womankind, -and, with torture of spirit, confessed -himself the King's Fool. Then Clementine -looked up at him with eyes where the gray -and the brown seemed flecked with green, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page168" id="page168"></a>[pg 168]</span> -perchance from the shadow of the willows, -and said firmly:—</p> - -<p class="indent">"I have always seen that they who call -themselves fools are the least so," nor could -he ever after by any words of confession -shake her steadfast faith in his wisdom.</p> - -<p class="indent">At last came the day when Count Benoît -arrived, and with him cousins and other -kin from far and near, for all would know -something of the strange new ways in the -city. At lecture hour all crowded together -in the great hall, and again the King was -there upon the dais, solemn of look, but -merry of heart, for his eyes twinkled under -his heavy eyebrows as he looked at the -fair, fresh faces before him, innocent of -thought as any other maidens' faces, and he -chuckled to think how he and his dear Fool -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page169" id="page169"></a>[pg 169]</span> -had outwitted them all. Then he looked -with affection at his trusty philosophers -who stood near in silk robes with slashes of -velvet and hoods of rainbow colors, and he -thanked heaven that had given him strong -supporters in the crisis that had threatened -his kingdom. Gazing upon the assembled -audience of friends and kinsfolk, he rejoiced -to think that for them, as for him, -the country had been saved.</p> - -<p class="indent">But My Lord Rector was speaking in -the Latin tongue, "<i>ad hoc gradum admitto</i> -...," and Sylvie, Natalie, Amelie, -Virginie, Sidonie, Dorothée, and little -Clementine, with all the other maidens -who had frolicked with them merrily so -long a time, arose, as pretty a sight to see -as ever king in Christendom had before -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page170" id="page170"></a>[pg 170]</span> -him, and their new honors fell upon untroubled -white foreheads. Then there was -sound of rejoicing, and light shone through -the stained windows on the glad faces -and gay garments of the people assembled -there; and suddenly, lo! My Lord Rector -stepped from his high place and went to -take the hand of little Clementine. With -eyes cast down she followed him, and now -she was rosy and now pale, and so the two -kneeled at the feet of the king under the -canopy.</p> - -<p class="indent">"We two do crave your Majesty's blessing," -said My Lord Rector, "on our betrothal."</p> - -<p class="indent">Then a ripple of wonder and of laughter -ran through the great hall, and his Majesty, -smiling, blessed them with extended hands, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page171" id="page171"></a>[pg 171]</span> -and as they rose, he bent forward with a -twinkle, whispering:—</p> - -<p class="indent">"You have done well, My Lord Rector, -in carrying out your purpose. It is pity that -you may not marry them all."</p> - -<p class="indent">For the first time he found no answering -jest in his favorite's eyes, and would -have inquired why, but the philosopher -who stood nearest, and had caught the -whisper, smiled, and taking Sylvie's hand, -led her to the foot of the throne, saying:—</p> - -<p class="indent">"But I, your Majesty, may wed this -lady with the King's consent, for she has -given hers." Then a second philosopher -led forth Natalie, and a third Amelie, and -a fourth Virginie, and a fifth Sidonie, and -a sixth Dorothée, and behold! the seven -sisters were again kneeling before the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page172" id="page172"></a>[pg 172]</span> -throne awaiting the King's blessing, but -with their lovers at their sides.</p> - -<p class="indent">Then his Majesty leaned back his head -and roared with laughter till the vaulted -ceiling reëchoed, and tears of mirth ran -down his cheeks and shone upon his beard, -and all laughed with him, though they -knew not why, all save My Lord Rector, -whose face wore the saddest look a man -may wear.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Now, was this planned among you?" -asked his Majesty.</p> - -<p class="indent">Then they shook their heads, and each -philosopher said:—</p> - -<p class="indent">"Forsooth, I thought I was the only -one," and with that the King roared again.</p> - -<p class="indent">In the bustle that followed, when old -Count Benoît and his Lady Myriel hung -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page173" id="page173"></a>[pg 173]</span> -upon the necks of their seven daughters -in turn, the King tapped the Lord Rector -upon the arm.</p> - -<p class="indent">"You have builded even better than -the promise said," whispered his Majesty. -"From this blow shall the aggressive intellect -of woman not arise."</p> - -<p class="indent">But the Rector looked gloomily upon -him and knelt again, and begged that his -Majesty would release him from further -service that he might go to the wars.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Two parts of the Fool have I played -for your Majesty," said the man bitterly, -"and from both I would be released, for -you and I have done a great wrong."</p> - -<p class="indent">Little Clementine had drawn nearer, and -many-colored light of purple and crimson -and gold fell on her fair face and parted -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page174" id="page174"></a>[pg 174]</span> -lips as she looked in wonder at her lover. -Then the King saw and understood, and he -was ashamed.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Nay, My Lord Rector," he said, bending -low, "what we have done of wrong -we will right. You shall even go on with -the task set before you, and that that you -do lack of a wise man shall this woman's -faith make good."</p> - -<hr class="hr2" /> - -<h2><a name="page175" id="page175"></a>THE GENTLE ROBBER</h2> - -<hr class="hr2" /> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page177" id="page177"></a>[pg 177]</span></p> - -<p class="center">THE GENTLE ROBBER</p> - -<div class="image-center" style="max-width: 400px;"> -<img src="images/i_196.jpg" width="400" height="127" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="indent">Once there was a robber bold—not -that he looked bold, for he had the -gentlest of manners and the most persuasive -tongue. It was with a certain manly shyness -that he approached his victims, and -his voice was very low and soft as he convinced -them how greatly to their interest -it would be to hand over their purses, so -that many went on through the green forest -paths with empty pockets, it is true, but -with eyes full of tears of gratitude for the -benefactor who had held them up.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page178" id="page178"></a>[pg 178]</span> -"Pray don't mention it!" said the Robber -Chief, as he deprecatingly thrust into his -wallet the purses he had taken and heard -the outpoured thanks. "It is nothing, nothing! -You would have done as much for -me at any time if you had"—he never -finished his sentence, but the wistful admiration -of the man with empty pockets -always added the right clause—"if you -had had the brains."</p> - -<p class="indent">Now the Gentle Robber, it need hardly -be said, was highly successful in his chosen -calling, or, as he put it, "the holy saints -had given him rich possessions." He had -started out moderately in a remote corner -of the forest, as became a young and unassuming -retail cut-purse, but soon his -domain extended from his own retired dell -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page179" id="page179"></a>[pg 179]</span> -to the adjacent glade, and the merry outlaw -who had prospered there gave up the business -and became a scrivener's clerk. It -was not long before the Robber Chief -owned the whole forest: the title-deeds, to -be sure, belonged to the Abbey, which lay -in a fat green meadow at the edge of the -wood, but the monks could not work the -forest as the robber could, and whatever -harvest of gold and of silver, of jewels, of -rich cloths from the packs of merchants of -the East was to be gathered there, this one -man reaped in his own apologetic way, -which always seemed to beg pardon of -those who were despoiled, for doing them -so much good at one time. Soon the country -round the forest was his, and yokel, -franklin, and squire, Sir Bertram from the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page180" id="page180"></a>[pg 180]</span> -Castle, and the Prior from the Abbey, -began to render him accounts, and it came -to pass that the Bishop at the capital city, -Mertoun, and the King upon his throne, -and the strong nobles about him trembled -at the robber's name, for the waves of his -power flowed out until they met the waves -of the sea.</p> - -<p class="indent">Dearly the Gentle Robber loved his work -in all its aspects, and he was master of its -least details. A brave fight with a sturdy -yeoman going home from market with a -half-year's gains was joy to him, and merry -in his ears was the sound of the thwack, -thwack, thwack of the oaken staves as they -fell on head and shoulders; an encounter -with a rich merchant's train brought him -naught but exhilaration, and the deft, swift -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page181" id="page181"></a>[pg 181]</span> -hand that emptied the pack and purse -thrilled as it went about its chosen task. -There was slow, sensuous pleasure in stripping -off the garments of knight and of -squire and leaving their limbs uncovered -to the cold. Daintiest amusement of all -was the spoiling of widow and of orphan: -something of the ascetic lingered in the -bosom of the Robber Chief, and rare and -delicate was the task of emptying the scantily -furnished larder, of carrying away the -worn clothes, and the single jewel saved -from the wreck of happier days. He found -delight in feeling about his knees the clasp -of the thin arms of the naked orphan as it -wept for food, for genius knows no distinction -of small and great, and yeoman and -squire, knight and merchant, widow and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page182" id="page182"></a>[pg 182]</span> -orphan alike, thrilled him with a sense of -his power, and through their cries sang in -his ear the word "success."</p> - -<p class="indent">In the course of time it came to pass that -he became the chief support of the kingdom -which he had caused to totter as he swept -its riches into his own bulging pockets. -When he came to court, as he sometimes -did, wearing grave apparel and showing a -modest face, the King leaned lovingly upon -him; was he not financing the war with -Binnamere and causing a half-dozen universities, -which had but lately come into -fashion, to rise in different parts of the land? -The Bishop conferred weightily with him -in quiet corners; was he not building the -great cathedral which was to be the glory -of the city throughout coming ages?</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page183" id="page183"></a>[pg 183]</span> -"Nay, nay, nay!" said the Bishop, waving -a white, jeweled hand as the Chief -began to divulge some of his larger plans. -"Tell me not of thy wicked schemes! Thy -methods I must condemn utterly, but if -thou bringest me the money, well, I can at -least see to it that it be not used for bad -purposes. And speaking of money, we -need for the walls of the apse a hundred -bags of gold. Dost thou think thou couldst -manage it?"</p> - -<p class="indent">"Ay," said the Gentle Robber, and that -night he despoiled nine men, killing three -that resisted longest, for he was a great lover -of Holy Church, and a devout believer, nor -could she ask of him any service that he -would not perform.</p> - -<p class="indent">Now the lust for gold is a strange thing. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page184" id="page184"></a>[pg 184]</span> -There be that gather it together into stockings -and go hungry and dirty to the day's -end for gold, and that is the miser's lust. -There be that win it and spend it again -freely for delicate food and fiery drink, and -this is the sensualist's lust. There be that -get it by cruel means and scatter it abroad -on church and hospital, and this is the -philanthropist's lust, which possessed the -Robber Chief. Gold and jewels were piled -so high in his forest cave that he could not -see out of its window, and he hardly knew -whether winter snow or the shadow of -flickering leaves lay on the ground, nor -could hungry church nor greedy halls of -learning lessen his piles of treasure enough -to let the sunlight in.</p> - -<p class="indent">Far on the edge of the kingdom to eastward -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page185" id="page185"></a>[pg 185]</span> -lived blunt Sir Guy of Lamont, and -his son and heir was a young squire, Louis -by name, who had grown up much alone, -wandering in the greenwood that circled -the castle. Strong of arm and lusty he -grew, yet cared not for the hunt, for he -was friend to fox and hare, and the wild -deer knew and loved him. Living close to -spreading oak and delicate beech, among -green leaves and nesting things, he began -to wear the look of those who see more -than meets the eye, and knight and franklin -chaffed him as he sat apart while they -grew merry over mug of ale or glass of -wine in his father's hall. As he dreamed -his dreams and thought his thoughts, rumors -of the deeds of the Robber Chief -floated to his ears, and he was sorely -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page186" id="page186"></a>[pg 186]</span> -puzzled. It was a wandering merchant -who brought the tale, spreading out his -stuffs of velvet and of silk over table -and settle and chair, and showing three -great fresh sword-cuts on his arm as he -spoke:—</p> - -<p class="indent">"Andrew, my brother, lost his head in -the encounter, and it was severed by a -single blow, but I escaped, though there -be few that may."</p> - -<div class="image-center" style="max-width: 357px;"> -<a name="ill185" id="ill185"></a> -<img class="border" src="images/i_204.jpg" width="357" height="700" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="center">HE BEGAN TO WEAR THE LOOK OF THOSE -WHO SEE MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="indent">With that he recounted all the tales that -he had heard in his wanderings of the -wrong-doing of this man, and they were -many. Sir Guy listened with "Zounds!" -and "'Sdeath!" but the youth said never -a word of pity or of blame; yet, when the -story-teller had finished, he marveled at -the lad's eyes. They were gray eyes, with -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page187" id="page187"></a>[pg 187]</span> -lashes dark and long, and the look in them -was as the look in the eyes of a gentle -beast when he is hurt to the death; then -came to them the sudden fire of the avenger -of misdeeds.</p> - -<p class="indent">"My hour has come to fight," said -young Louis of Lamont to the great stag -that licked his hand that evening in the -forest as the sun went down in golden -haze. "Men do not know this cruel -wrong; I must go to tell them, and mayhap -lead them forth with banner and with -sword."</p> - -<p class="indent">Early the next morning, when all were -making merry at the hunt, he set the face -of his snow-white steed to westward and -rode down long, green, leafy ways and -across a great level plain toward the setting -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page188" id="page188"></a>[pg 188]</span> -of the sun. In doublet and hose of scarlet, -laced with gold thread, he was comely -to see, with a white plume in his velvet -cap, and thick hair of yellow, clipped -evenly at his neck, and on his face the -beauty that shines out from a light within. -All day he journeyed on, yearning to meet -alone the Robber Chief, whom he pictured -as a man brawny of arm and of evil countenance, -wherein black brows hid the sinister -eyes, and a black beard covered a -cruel mouth; and the lad longed with the -lusty strength of untried youth to measure -swords with this terrible foe. That night a -woman gave him shelter at a wayside hut, -and told a tale of the Chief that chilled the -young man's blood; the next night, as he -lodged at a hall, deeds yet more cruel -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page189" id="page189"></a>[pg 189]</span> -were recounted to him; and ever as he -came nearer the heart of the kingdom, he -found the air more rife with tidings of the -Robber Chief's ill doings.</p> - -<p class="indent">"They do not know," he said, lightly -touching spur to his steed. "The King -and the Bishop do not know of these -wicked things. Pray God that I may come -in time to lead men forth!"</p> - -<p class="indent">At the edge of a great forest he met, -one day, a tired-looking man on a tired -horse. The rider was neatly clad in sober -gray, and was both freshly shaven and -neatly combed. Across his saddle lay a -great bag of something that was wondrous -heavy.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Halt!" said the man, with a pleasant -glance from his mild blue eyes. Then blood -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page190" id="page190"></a>[pg 190]</span> -rose red to the young squire's cheek, and -anger too great for any words lighted in -his eyes, as his hand went to his dagger, -and he urged his horse forward. It was a -brave fight that he made, while the two -steeds drew near and parted and drew near -again, but a slender white hand with an -iron grip reached deftly and snatched the -dagger from his hand, nor could he reach -the short sword which he had so proudly -belted to his side; and the strength of his -adversary was as the strength of ten.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Nay, be not foolish," said a soft voice, -as the lad struck out with stinging fist; -"'tis but thy purse I ask, and it would -grieve me to do thee wrong. The purses -of the kingdom belong to me."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Now, by what right?" cried Louis of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page191" id="page191"></a>[pg 191]</span> -Lamont, between set teeth, his cheeks -flaming deeper red.</p> - -<p class="indent">"By the right of having wit enough -to get them," answered the robber. Then -he pinioned the lad's arm to his side and -thrust a deft hand into his pocket, drawing -out a purse of wrought gold.</p> - -<p class="indent">"It will be to thy best advantage if thou -canst but see it that way," he said courteously.</p> - -<p class="indent">In the mind of the other the vision of -dark, beetling brows and red, hairy cheeks -was fading.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Thou—thou art the Robber Chief," -he stammered. His adversary bowed.</p> - -<p class="indent">"It is thou who didst murder Baron Divonne, -and who didst starve the Squire's -daughter of Yverton with her seven children, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page192" id="page192"></a>[pg 192]</span> -and"—So great was his horror of -the tales that flocked to his tongue that he -failed to speak them, but a light as from -the wings of the Angel of Judgment shone -from his eyes and brow.</p> - -<p class="indent">"The question is not, 'Shall I take thy -purse?'" the Chief said gently. "I have it. -The question is, 'How shall I dispose of -it to the best advantage?'"</p> - -<p class="indent">"It isn't that! I do not want the purse," -said the young man scornfully; "but how -canst thou traffic in crime?"</p> - -<p class="indent">"I have little time for talking," said the -Gentle Robber, with a hurt look on his -face; he was extremely sensitive to adverse -criticism. "Now I must be off. This -great bag of gold is for the orphan hospital -at the Abbey. If I may mention it -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page193" id="page193"></a>[pg 193]</span> -without boasting, it derives most of its -supplies from me," and he looked wistfully -for approval.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Its supplies of orphans?" demanded -Louis of Lamont, with his stern young lip -curved in scorn; but the face of the other -was as the face of a man who has failed -to teach a great lesson of good.</p> - -<p class="indent">As the lad rode on through the forest, his -head was bent as if a hand had struck it -and had laid it low, but coming into the -open, he saw far off, across the valley, the -spires of the capital city, Mertoun, and its -many red roofs gleaming by the blue river, -and his heart throbbed within him for -thankfulness and joy.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Hasten!" he cried to the beast that -bore him. "Yonder in that strong city -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page194" id="page194"></a>[pg 194]</span> -be strong men to help me right ill deeds, -and a minute gained may save some woman's -life, or spare the bitter crying of a -child."</p> - -<p class="indent">His eyes were filled with a vision of the -knights that would go out with him to war -for the right, with the waving of plumes -and the flaming of banners, in their hearts -the anger of God for cruel wrong; and a -yearning for coming combat tugged at the -muscles of shoulder and of arm.</p> - -<p class="indent">The palace of the Bishop was moated, -and there was a drawbridge there, and -within, as on a green island, rose walls of -fine gray stone, with window arch and -doorway delicately carved. There was -one at hand who took his steed, and one -who led the way for him, and anon he -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page195" id="page195"></a>[pg 195]</span> -found himself in a sunlit chamber where -the Bishop stood looking out upon the -great cathedral which was rising stone by -stone, with its blue-clad workmen standing -against a bluer sky.</p> - -<p class="indent">"What is it, my son?" asked the Bishop, -when he saw a young squire standing before -him, worn, dust-stained, with anger -burning in his eyes.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Sire," said the guest, bending low, "I -have hasted thither to tell thee of great -wrongs."</p> - -<p class="indent">"They shall be redressed," said the -Bishop, laying his hand upon the lad's -head.</p> - -<p class="indent">"There is a man," said Louis of Lamont, -kneeling, his lips white with wrath, "who -doeth cruel wrong and bringeth folk to -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page196" id="page196"></a>[pg 196]</span> -death, and it must needs be that none in -high places know, for he goeth unpunished."</p> - -<p class="indent">"He shall be found and placed in my -lowest dungeon," said the Bishop fiercely. -"Now tell me what he hath done."</p> - -<p class="indent">"On my way hither I lodged with a -poor woman who told me that he had slain -before her eyes her husband and her sons, -and all for a cup of silver coin that stood -upon the mantel."</p> - -<p class="indent">"A mere cup of silver coin!" groaned -the Bishop. "He shall hang."</p> - -<p class="indent">Then he told of the murder of Baron -Divonne, and of the Squire's daughter of -Yverton, who was starved with her seven -children; and he told all the tales that the -wandering merchant had brought with his -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page197" id="page197"></a>[pg 197]</span> -cloths of cashmere and of silk. As he -spoke longer, the face of his host grew -anxious, and when he finished, saying, -"Men call him the Gentle Robber," black -care sat upon the brow of the host.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Delay not," pleaded Louis. "Give me -armed men, for thou hast said that he shall -die for his sins, and I have the blood of -fighters in my veins."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Nay, child," said the Bishop. "Not -so."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Thou hast promised!" he cried in -amaze.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Ay," he made answer, "but I knew -not then that the offenses were so many -and so great, or that the enterprise was—ahem!—planned -upon so large a scale. -That makes all different."</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page198" id="page198"></a>[pg 198]</span> -"That makes the need to punish him a -thousandfold greater," stammered the lad.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Tut, tut!" said the Bishop, with the solemn -smile he wore. "Thou dost not understand: -logic is ever lacking in the young."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Should not stripes be laid upon him -for each cry he hath drawn forth? Should -he not lay down his life, if that were possible, -for each life he hath taken?"</p> - -<p class="indent">"I had thought, when I heard the first -tale, that he should die for the single -crime," the Bishop made answer, "but the -case is altered by the later facts. 'A life -for a life,' saith the Scripture, but naught -of a life for a dozen or threescore, or an -hundred, as the case may be."</p> - -<p class="indent">Then a flame of anger shone out in the -lad's face, and he waited.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page199" id="page199"></a>[pg 199]</span> -"My son," said the Bishop tenderly, -"thou art young and ignorant, yet will I -try to teach thee something of right ways -of thought. In judging, all depends upon -the point of view, and matters that look -often black at first statement grow white -or gray when thoroughly understood. Let -us look upon this question in another -aspect. Dost see yonder great cathedral -rising?"</p> - -<p class="indent">Though the youth made no answer, the -Bishop saw that he was looking at the -gray stones and at the blue-clad workmen.</p> - -<p class="indent">"'Tis God's house," said the Bishop, -"nor may it arise save through the gifts of -this man. Wrong hath he done, but all is -forgiven for that his gold is bent to holy -purposes."</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page200" id="page200"></a>[pg 200]</span> -"But wrong he doeth still," said Louis -of Lamont, in the stern voice of youth.</p> - -<p class="indent">The Bishop coughed behind his hand -even while he spoke.</p> - -<p class="indent">"There is much in the ways of Providence -that we may not comprehend. God -moveth in a mysterious way."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Had the Robber Chief ceased from his -crime and shown true penitence"—began -the lad, but the Bishop interrupted.</p> - -<p class="indent">"God hath need of the man and of all -the gold that he will bring, that institutions -of learning and holy places may arise -in the land."</p> - -<p class="indent">"God may be worshiped by wood and -stream," said the youth, in the still, small -voice of one who knew; "nor hath He -need of gold that is the price of suffering -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page201" id="page201"></a>[pg 201]</span> -and pain and tears;" and so he turned and -went down the steps, worn and weary, -with dust on his crimson garments, and -shame on his spirit, and the light of his -face grown dim.</p> - -<p class="indent">It had come back to its shining, however, -the next day, when he went before -the King.</p> - -<p class="indent">"It may well be that there is one bad -man who hath power," he said to himself, -"and he the Bishop; but God would not -grant that all be so," and hope beamed -again from his eyes.</p> - -<p class="indent">"'Tis the son of my old friend, Guy -of Lamont, sayest thou?" cried the King, -as he raised the lad's chin with one royal -finger. "By my troth, 'tis his father's face -again, but different."</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page202" id="page202"></a>[pg 202]</span> -"Sire," said Louis, as he did reverence, -"I have come to tell of cruel wrong, and -to win from thee a promise of redress."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Thou shalt have it!" cried the King, -with his hand upon his sword. "Friend or -child of my friend went never yet uncomforted -from the foot of my throne. Speak -thy wrong."</p> - -<p class="indent">Then the youth told him all that he had -told the Bishop, and added thereto other -tales, and hope shone sternly in his eyes.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Send forth with me a band of thy men-at-arms," -prayed the suppliant. "Even -now, perchance, are orphans made that -might have grown tall in happiness save -for this man's lust for gold."</p> - -<p class="indent">Then the King looked about, and his -face grew dark with anger, for some half<span class="pagenum"><a name="page203" id="page203"></a>[pg 203]</span> -smiled and hid their smiles as best they -could with jeweled hand or velvet sleeve; -some showed fear at seeing this thing, -which was not breathed at court, boldly -brought to light.</p> - -<div class="image-center" style="max-width: 700px;"> -<a name="ill203" id="ill203"></a> -<img class="border" src="images/i_224.jpg" width="700" height="494" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="center">FOR SOME HALF SMILED AND HID THEIR SMILES AS BEST THEY COULD</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="indent">"Boy," said the King sternly, "hast no -respect for them that be appointed to sit -in high places, nor awe before an anointed -King?"</p> - -<p class="indent">"Yea, sire," answered Louis, marveling.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Dost come before my throne with slanderous -tales of one on whom I lean heavily -and lovingly?"</p> - -<p class="indent">"Sire," he said bravely, "thou dost not -know his cruel deeds. He hath robbed and -killed to the sickening of the heart."</p> - -<p class="indent">"Mayhap," said the King, "but he hath -carried all before him with great success, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page204" id="page204"></a>[pg 204]</span> -and so is the case altered. 'Tis a man of -whom we have great need, and the young -should not speak ill of older folk."</p> - -<p class="indent">Then Louis of Lamont said never a -word, but rose to his feet staggering, for -the knowledge he had gained of men came -as hard blows about the ears, and bending -low, he turned away.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Stay!" cried the King. "Thy offense -is great: thou hast spoken ill of a public -benefactor, yet if thou wilt hold thy tongue, -nor repeat thy silly tales, I will make thee -one of my courtiers, and thou shalt go -brave in velvet and in jewels."</p> - -<p class="indent">But the youth shook his head and went -forth alone from the presence-chamber; -all looked after him, with smiles and jeers -and whispered words of scorn.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page205" id="page205"></a>[pg 205]</span> -"'Sdeath!" cried the King. "'Tis a -madman fit but for a dungeon, yet, for -the sake of my old friend, Guy of Lamont, -can I not cast him there."</p> - -<p class="indent">The lad groped his way unevenly down -the marble steps of the palace as one -gropes in a path that is full of pitfalls and -has suddenly grown dark, and he wandered, -not knowing where, through the -dark streets, until he found himself in the -square before the great cathedral. Here -many were passing with hands full of -flowers, red roses and tall white lilies and -blue blossoms that grow pale among the -wheat, for it was the feast day of a saint, -and they went to deck the altar which -stood within unfinished walls, that men -might worship there under the blue sky.</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page206" id="page206"></a>[pg 206]</span> -"I will tell them," said the lad; so he -stood upon the cathedral steps and repeated -all the tale, and blossoms red and -blossoms white were dropped at his feet, -as men and women clustered about to hear.</p> - -<p class="indent">"Ay!" they cried out, "we go hungry -for this man, but who shall deliver us from -him? Horses and armor could we find, -perchance. Wilt lead us to him?"</p> - -<p class="indent">Then of a sudden he smiled, and ceased -speaking because of the choking in his -throat; but after, he took up the tale and -told it in the market-place and before the -Palace of Justice and wherever he could -gather folk together.</p> - -<p class="indent">As days passed, all this came to the -ears of the King and of the Bishop and -of the nobles of the court, and grave -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page207" id="page207"></a>[pg 207]</span> -head met with grave head, and both were -shaken solemnly in conference over this -new peril which threatened the kingdom. -One morn there went throughout the city -a crier, who called aloud and read from a -parchment in his hand to let men know -that Louis of Lamont, son of Sir Guy, was -cast out from Holy Church for slander of -one of her greatest sons. Henceforward no -man should give him shelter, no woman -food or drink, lest they too come under -the ban; and should he speak future evil -words, his life would be forfeit.</p> - -<p class="indent">Yet one who loved him—and there -were many—hid him; and the next day -and the next he wandered in the streets, -begging men to rise in vengeance against -the Robber Chief. On the third day he -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page208" id="page208"></a>[pg 208]</span> -was taken by armed men, and the decree -went forth that Louis of Lamont should, -after three days, be burned at the stake in -the square of the Palace of Justice. The -youth smiled when he heard his doom; -almost he was glad to escape from a world -which he had not logic enough to understand.</p> - -<p class="indent">So the day came when he should die, -and it was a Friday of midsummer. In the -centre of the square stood an iron post to -which criminals were wont to be tied, and -to this they bound him. Close about him -were heaped fagots of wood and dried -branches, and within he stood in a motley -garment, and the look upon his face was -as the coming of the day. All about was -a great press of people, merchant and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page209" id="page209"></a>[pg 209]</span> -butcher and cloth-spinner, and peasant -folk from the country round; and on a -dais, built high for better seeing, were -knights and ladies and nobles of the court, -with the King himself, and the Gentle -Robber at his side, trimly clad in sober -gray and gently smiling.</p> - -<p class="indent">It was a soft day of golden sun, and -the sky was blue above the place, and the -least wind sighed softly as if for pity as it -breathed about the iron stake and played -with the yellow locks of the young Squire's -hair and moved the red folds of the shameful -garment that they had placed upon -him. Lifting his face, he leaned his cheek -against the wind, for it seemed to him a -breeze that had played among the beech -leaves in the ancient forest by his father's -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page210" id="page210"></a>[pg 210]</span> -hall, and in taking leave of it he said farewell -to his hound and to the woodland -paths and to his father's face.</p> - -<p class="indent">Now came a ghostly father, with a torch -that flamed backward against the blue day, -and in the name of God and Holy Church -he bent and kindled the fagots. Then was -there quick tumult and rush and stir -through the square, for all rushed forward -to see and to hear, and little maids were -sorely trampled in the press by the great -feet of smith and of husbandman, and -women's aprons were badly torn. None -cared, for all knew that saving grace was -to be won for their own souls if their eyes -but caught a glimpse of an heretic that -was being burned to death, and when the -fire leaped high into the air, they gave -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page211" id="page211"></a>[pg 211]</span> -God thanks. There was a flame in the -young martyr's face that was not as the -flame that leaped about him; but smoke -and fire were speedy with their work, and -his head bent over his breast, his body -over the chain that bound him, and as his -soul went free, folk breathed deeply in -relief, saying that an evil-doer was dead. -Upon the dais the King's broad face showed -satisfaction; the Bishop lifted his eyes to -heaven, thanking God, then let them rest -on the gray stone walls of the cathedral, -glad that now naught should prevent the -walls of God's house from rising. In all -the great crowd, none other was so devout -and so thankful as the Gentle Robber, -and his mild blue eyes were moist -with tears as he whispered to the King:—</p> - -<p class="indent"><span class="pagenum"><a name="page212" id="page212"></a>[pg 212]</span> -"'Tis marvelous, the ways by which Providence -brings evil-doers to justice; ever -the right prevails."</p> - -<div class="image-center" style="max-width: 445px;"> -<a name="ill210" id="ill210"></a> -<img class="border" src="images/i_234.jpg" width="445" height="700" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="center">A GLIMPSE OF AN HERETIC BEING BURNED TO DEATH</p> -</div> -</div> - -<p class="indent">Then all went to the cathedral, knight, -squire, and lady in velvet and in silk, the -Bishop in holy robes of purple and of -white, and common folk in blue jean and -plain linen, that special service might be -held in praise for this great deliverance, -and the <i>Te Deum</i> sung.</p> - -<hr class="hr2" /> - -<p class="center">The Riverside Press</p> - -<p class="center">CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS</p> - -<p class="center">U . S . A</p> - -<hr class="hr2" /> - -<div class="tnote"> -<h2>Transcriber Notes:</h2> - -<p class="indent">Throughout the dialogues, there were words used to mimic accents of -the speakers. Those words were retained as-is.</p> - -<p class="indent">The illustrations have been moved so that they do not break up -paragraphs and so that they are next to the text they illustrate.</p> - -<p class="indent">Errors in punctuations and inconsistent hyphenation were not corrected -unless otherwise noted.</p> - -<p class="indent">On page 97, a single quotation mark was replaced with a double -quotation mark.</p> - -</div> - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Princess Pourquoi, by Margaret Sherwood - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PRINCESS POURQUOI *** - -***** This file should be named 52402-h.htm or 52402-h.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/2/4/0/52402/ - -Produced by Ernest Schaal and The Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part -of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm -concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, -and may not be used if you charge for the eBooks, unless you receive -specific permission. If you do not charge anything for copies of this -eBook, complying with the rules is very easy. You may use this eBook -for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, -performances and research. They may be modified and printed and given -away--you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks -not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the -trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. - -START: FULL LICENSE - -THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE -PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK - -To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free -distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work -(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full -Project Gutenberg-tm License available with this file or online at -www.gutenberg.org/license. - -Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works - -1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to -and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property -(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all -the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or -destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your -possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a -Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound -by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the -person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph -1.E.8. - -1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be -used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who -agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few -things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See -paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this -agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. - -1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the -Foundation" or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection -of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual -works in the collection are in the public domain in the United -States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the -United States and you are located in the United States, we do not -claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, -displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as -all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope -that you will support the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting -free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm -works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the -Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with the work. You can easily -comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the -same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg-tm License when -you share it without charge with others. - -1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern -what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are -in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, -check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this -agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, -distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any -other Project Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no -representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any -country outside the United States. - -1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: - -1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other -immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear -prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work -on which the phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the -phrase "Project Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, -performed, viewed, copied or distributed: - - This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and - most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no - restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it - under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this - eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the - United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you - are located before using this ebook. - -1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is -derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not -contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the -copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in -the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are -redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase "Project -Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply -either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or -obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted -with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution -must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any -additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms -will be linked to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works -posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the -beginning of this work. - -1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm -License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this -work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. - -1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this -electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without -prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with -active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project -Gutenberg-tm License. - -1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, -compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including -any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access -to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format -other than "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official -version posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site -(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense -to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means -of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original "Plain -Vanilla ASCII" or other form. Any alternate format must include the -full Project Gutenberg-tm License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. - -1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, -performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works -unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. - -1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing -access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works -provided that - -* You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from - the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method - you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed - to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he has - agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid - within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are - legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty - payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project - Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in - Section 4, "Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg - Literary Archive Foundation." - -* You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies - you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he - does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm - License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all - copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue - all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg-tm - works. - -* You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of - any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the - electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of - receipt of the work. - -* You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free - distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. - -1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work or group of works on different terms than -are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing -from both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and The -Project Gutenberg Trademark LLC, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm -trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. - -1.F. - -1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable -effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread -works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project -Gutenberg-tm collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may -contain "Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate -or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other -intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or -other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or -cannot be read by your equipment. - -1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right -of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project -Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project -Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all -liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal -fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT -LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE -PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE -TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE -LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR -INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH -DAMAGE. - -1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a -defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can -receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a -written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you -received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium -with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you -with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in -lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person -or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second -opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If -the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing -without further opportunities to fix the problem. - -1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth -in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS', WITH NO -OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT -LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. - -1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied -warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of -damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement -violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the -agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or -limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or -unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the -remaining provisions. - -1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the -trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone -providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in -accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the -production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm -electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, -including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of -the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this -or any Project Gutenberg-tm work, (b) alteration, modification, or -additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any -Defect you cause. - -Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm - -Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of -electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of -computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It -exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations -from people in all walks of life. - -Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the -assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's -goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will -remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project -Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure -and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future -generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see -Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at -www.gutenberg.org Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit -501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the -state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal -Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification -number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by -U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. - -The Foundation's principal office is in Fairbanks, Alaska, with the -mailing address: PO Box 750175, Fairbanks, AK 99775, but its -volunteers and employees are scattered throughout numerous -locations. Its business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt -Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to -date contact information can be found at the Foundation's web site and -official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact - -For additional contact information: - - Dr. Gregory B. Newby - Chief Executive and Director - gbnewby@pglaf.org - -Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg -Literary Archive Foundation - -Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide -spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of -increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be -freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest -array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations -($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt -status with the IRS. - -The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating -charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United -States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a -considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up -with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations -where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND -DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular -state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate - -While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we -have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition -against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who -approach us with offers to donate. - -International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make -any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from -outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. - -Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation -methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other -ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To -donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate - -Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works. - -Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project -Gutenberg-tm concept of a library of electronic works that could be -freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and -distributed Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of -volunteer support. - -Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed -editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in -the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - - - -</pre> - -</body> -</html> - diff --git a/old/52402-h/images/front_cover.jpg b/old/52402-h/images/front_cover.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 8cd4004..0000000 --- a/old/52402-h/images/front_cover.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/52402-h/images/i_002.jpg b/old/52402-h/images/i_002.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index c4a34e6..0000000 --- a/old/52402-h/images/i_002.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/52402-h/images/i_005.jpg b/old/52402-h/images/i_005.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 55f837c..0000000 --- a/old/52402-h/images/i_005.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/52402-h/images/i_014.jpg b/old/52402-h/images/i_014.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index c6e8713..0000000 --- a/old/52402-h/images/i_014.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/52402-h/images/i_034.jpg b/old/52402-h/images/i_034.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index c2277e8..0000000 --- a/old/52402-h/images/i_034.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/52402-h/images/i_058.jpg b/old/52402-h/images/i_058.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 1e19fe5..0000000 --- a/old/52402-h/images/i_058.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/52402-h/images/i_096.jpg b/old/52402-h/images/i_096.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 5d7fc4d..0000000 --- a/old/52402-h/images/i_096.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/52402-h/images/i_114.jpg b/old/52402-h/images/i_114.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 442b0b7..0000000 --- a/old/52402-h/images/i_114.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/52402-h/images/i_148.jpg b/old/52402-h/images/i_148.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 583a191..0000000 --- a/old/52402-h/images/i_148.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/52402-h/images/i_158.jpg b/old/52402-h/images/i_158.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index daaa7b1..0000000 --- a/old/52402-h/images/i_158.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/52402-h/images/i_166.jpg b/old/52402-h/images/i_166.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index fbe36f7..0000000 --- a/old/52402-h/images/i_166.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/52402-h/images/i_196.jpg b/old/52402-h/images/i_196.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 02e05b7..0000000 --- a/old/52402-h/images/i_196.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/52402-h/images/i_204.jpg b/old/52402-h/images/i_204.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 88d5a56..0000000 --- a/old/52402-h/images/i_204.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/52402-h/images/i_224.jpg b/old/52402-h/images/i_224.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index b337acb..0000000 --- a/old/52402-h/images/i_224.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/52402-h/images/i_234.jpg b/old/52402-h/images/i_234.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index e3f347c..0000000 --- a/old/52402-h/images/i_234.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/52402-h/images/title_page.jpg b/old/52402-h/images/title_page.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 67f9e2f..0000000 --- a/old/52402-h/images/title_page.jpg +++ /dev/null |
