Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 30, 1903)
A Modern Romance By Richard Voss (Copyright, 190S, by J. W. Muller.) The Weary Kings w CUAlTEll IV. tbe hea-ale. Spring! HAT change of decoration! As by enchantment I find myself la the midst of the great, proud will tilde. "They" have Indicated to me that I may remain here for a considerable period, and alone, or at least as good an alone, for, wl.h the ei cap tion of an old valet, tba cook and one lackey, I have no entourage except one cavalier. And now I am hero ami I have made a great discovery. I am young still, only 19 years old! The "Hca-tlp" can be reached only over the Al9-nc&, 1.000 fret above sea level. No path lead hither, only along the right hand shore might It be possible In emerg encies to get here. Where the lake ends there arises In un approachable fee-crowned majesty the While Emperor. We royal ones thus are among our own kind. from the walla of the White Emperor an Immense piece seems to have fille.i Into the depths and smashed there. Everywhere are ruck-wrecks. They lie helter-rkelter. But the forest drapes the ruin, c'.oiks It with vines, lets Alpine roses and rok'o yellow flowers blossom over It. Through the gorge tha gray maintain torrent riots and over the win lin t path the snow-bunks on the rocks shine nearer and nearer. Kver wilder, ever more sublime, ever more rmurntlkcent! There was th shrill whistle of a chamois. A wholj herj gej like an arrow's flight up the steep walls, shower of loosened stones fjlla Into tha Ma,' And now we arrive. A fairly large green meadow lies like an emerald in the gray wall of the Wh.to Kmperor. Rock, nothing but rock! A bruad. shining snowfield above, and at tha and of tho gorge a glacior with gray top Bad a deep blue splendid grotto from which the water bursts. Over my head tha blue heavens and at roy feet a colored sea of spring Rowers. And In the midst of this blissful mead tha flea-alp! It consists of three buildings erected in the blockhouse style, tho so-called King's House, the Cavalier's House, and a building for kitchen and the servants. I dwell In tho King's House. Its whole la.Ua lor alilues with red aliUuuie.nug cembra pfoe. Fiom my bed-room I can Icok straight at tho gleaming crown of Ilia Majesty, the White Emperor. Of my companions In this Alpa Idyll I will name "Tony" first. Toung, titll. lean, the whol fellow tnusrle and power. IJght hair, l'ght eyes, brown face. He can see an eagle a quarter f an hour before I can find It with a spyglass. You must know that I am a miserable hunter among other defects. When I arrived he yodled at me like a madman and gave roe his hand, which almost killed my noble valet. Too bad that Ilia Excellency the Lord Marshal waa not present. Besides Tony, two other Alpine moun taineers her to maintain onr slight com munication with the outer world. And then there Is I.olsl. the forester's aid, who has lieen assigned to me. And he looks like ,a King's son! And what a son! Other than I! This King's son would bring a racn to the throne that could win the world for Itself. When Tony, Lolsl and ray littler esa are together, and Tony opens his red mouth with the gleaming teeth to address one of us two, I expect every time to hear him say to UoImI: "Tour Royal Highness." Loisl himself does not say much. And that, too, becomes hlra well. He cannot bear me. which makes me very scrry. But I understand it A man like him, so truly by the grace of God. must have a natural hatred for all that pretends to be of a quite especial grace of Red. Very well do I rbeerve bow much se'f-re-strrlnt It costs him to salute me in homaga and to stand before me with doffed hat. Therefore I avoid as much as possible forc ing him Into thla position. If It were pos slb'e I rhnuld like to associate with him In a perfectly social way. It would make ma very happy could he learn to like me. His mother la sa!d to hnvo been a treat beauty. She lives somewhere nearby. I should like to know lit i. If one climbs behind the Ren -alp over a mighty rock-strewn way and up a nevk breaking p;th one reaches the White Em peror Meadow. There, It Is said. A wonder fully twwutlf'il dairy maid Uvea in loneli ness. She Is, they tell me, IaiIhI's sweet heart, and day after day be tiruls his way up the dangerous path to see her. I have to lltink a great deal of the two beautiful young people, of all the happiness that there is on earth and of which I shall never know anything. There must be something special in con nection with Io4el. Accidentally I learned that the forester of the district ha la a lata arrival saade a mistake In aaalgnlna hlin to me and had been ordered to recall him. But I vetoed that energetically. fm this I thought leas of my own pleasure) en a i3rfctt na k x ah . - 'ti . v J" 'a9SpfeF"i f&$ In him than of the love of tha two band some beings up there each evening on th White Emperor Meadow. So, for tho first time in my life I have dona soawthmg good. Count Gebhardt Is the cavalier who has been given to me as companion. The Count Is only two years older than I, so we could be young together. He is very reserved al ways, but never a courtier. Therefore he la satisfactory to me. Of his Inner person' 1 know nothing. I should like to learn, not as a Prince, bat as one man knows another. But I do net know how I shall go about it He is my direct antithesis, far he newr speaks of himself, and I think forever of myself, despite the warning of my good; wise brother, that we must not think of ourselves or we shall be lost modi Ijnely height. We never speak together of per sonal matters of course not. I must not be a personality to him at alL I long to ask him to tell me st hi family, his home. his. youth of all that which Is not to be found in the Airaj de Ooths. He was most surely m real soy. with a head full of madne4 and, fjuliaa ness. The happy one. Probably he haj already lovefi a first love, springlike, pure and good. Is he happy? Did he go wllliiiRly w!t!i me? Why dtd he come t- court T !! could be come to court, free as he is and sagacious and strong? In one rejipect we are romcraia!. We both love 'solitude. And we both leve it so pasHlonatrly that we avoid eich otter wherever and whenever we can. f fear tht count acts sadly against his lnstruaiicsw for as a matter of fact he rhouCd remain forever at my heels. If he knew bow gratefsl I am to him far letting me go! He is small and exeenlinly graceful almost dainty. Ho ht the flneut tmn.l I ever saw on a man. wMU sal sfcnder. yet full of character and strcs?t. features nre aa distinct aaU fine as head of an antique cu mcj. What I do not like i- hi inten-e el gance. That Is so uclaT thit It kav won even the ndmlrv.loit of my vale . If jois feels a OhtW for m Ki civa- tempt for the count know no r.otin 1 . "I CREPT NEARER AND LISTENED. I BECAME AN EAVESDROPPER." Hi the CHAPTER V. I wUli to know IxkhI's ra ither hdJ 'oil him so. Cu his best beb.ivior. but with a face as If 1 demanded souieti in t Oi.t raKeous. lr replied: "What does your P-.1 Hlghne&a w!:ih with roy moiber? Stie Is a por. worn wos-.an. and HI bcalJea And the will not receive you welt" "Why notr "k cannot bear the great." "Then you are Just like ycur mother? "Why 'Juatr " "Well, yon cannot bear me." He did not say "no." He only looked at me. and truly, he did cot say "nor I should have hugged him. In the dawn we started on a tear. We had to croBi the lake and th?ti go over mountain axd valley fur nearby three hours. It waa a beaming morning and I was as be spy as a school boy who beglna his vaca tion tifr-e. After we left the boat Loisl walked ahead. I caJTctt hiss beck. "Till rae somethmc erf your mother. "There b nethiBsr to tell about her. "How eld hs she? "About . Maybe she Is older." "Where does she Itve? "Wilh MIbs Frit." "Who Is that?" "Does your Royal Highness not know M!t:s Kritz?" "Whyt im- she en famous a person?" "Sareiy. Miss Frita- "What a strniiGe riarae. "SEe was christened aa a boy." -Am key? "K.er father wanted) a boy. But the girl came. Thea tho old man got into a tre mendous rage-, and, as he had mado up his B-timJ to have a Loy, the Riri had to be a boy for a rixe. So hat named the child as a boy. Ah. eh U a p is J', th s Miss V. Itx.' It wsa the Incest npewch that I had beard from LoUl n.outli. He spoke with eio ftuence, abco.'ustcly In.'-pired. I waa. stLI tntuisillve. "& scar oiolhtr b with the splendid Mkss lfti;a? Is r.ot year father living any ractnt "jt fatterT Mkea I Uuoked at iuox I was frightened. Ilia face wr.s distorted, the whole man was in passionate excitement. I cried to hi in: "Uut I.olsl I' ll forced the words through his throat: "My father! If I knew where ho la Heaven. If I knew ' "Do yo.i net know your f:ir at nil?" "He ahott!d I? A grand gentleman It was skit l-eaud my mother so, who ruined her body eral soul." "Poor I-oiul.' seed not pity me. because I am only VoiaU only I.clai. without a father, lut I wilt and my toe father yet. And thea - Without paying further attention to mo he wens far ahead. One grand mountain view followed an other. The curious MDsa Frits dwelled on the highest estate In the hand and we had to chants bravely. Bit came to meet us from the field, I'd Nat a peasant. Her hair was hralded and laid simply around her head. CUm waa bet wean thirty and forty. How did she look Good. I Uked her. I liked her extraordinarily well. She had thrown back the wide sleeves and one could see that her arms were as brown as her face. "See, I work," said the brown, sturdy arms. "There is nothing more precious than work. Work from morning until evening. Work the whole life long. Tes, look at me. I am a happy being happy through freedom and work." The Count npproached her. Introduced himself and told my name. She was not in the least embarrassed. She was clearly gliid to see the son of hrr King In her hitfh Alpine farm. Smiling, she eama to me. Now I knew; this Miss Fritz was not only strong, but also good. Her smila betrayed it. She made a motion as if she woukl give me her hand, but unhappily she checked the impulse. So I gave her mine and she squeezed It heartily. Before we had spoken a word together I knew that we would become good friends. I accepted her frnnk Invitation to be her guest, with pleasure. I confessed that I waa hungry as a bear and also spoke of my intention of visiting Loisl's mother. MIbs Frits became very serious at once. I observed that she looked at the Count with surprise and inqttl:y In her face. At leant it seemed so to sue. Then she said: That Is too bad. Loisl's mother isn't here this week. Sho is up in the mountain dairy, ivhere the air is better for her." Aid' rjralp it seemed to me as if she looked Btrarigely at Count Oebhardt Ha steed turned away from me. so that I could rather liothtng frcm his expression. Meantime wo wandered toward the house. I said to her: "I.tk-1 told me about yoo. How did yon haj-ptn to go tip here?" ' Very simply. The world was too narrow for iuo down In the valley, so I climbed un here and here I am." "Did you find this farm here when yoa arrived'.'" "I found nothing. Where the buildings stand there was a pine forest. Where tho wheat grows was a morass. I rajd tha forest, dried the morass, and now you see for yourself." "The beginning muet have been hard." "Not at alL True, people thought that I was craxy. for so long aa the mountains have been standing no daring peasant had ventured to cultivate fields so high above the valley. At first I could get no help here, and bad to hire Italian labor. But at last it succeeded. And now, please enter, your