The Weary Kings
A iModern Romance
Ry Richard Voss
(Copyright, br J. W. Mull.-r.)
CIIAPTKH XXf.
t ww lfDJ'KN as mir white villa may b
I Jf-J J lhf palms, the world Htlll
vi ..--. ii f idii lake iiij
walk, tnj drive, without bHn
stared nt. We nre actually sur
rounded, watched, pursued. They try to
express sympathy, admiration, respect and
they ruin our Paradise. Sympathy for
What? Reciusc I would become a "rltiscn,
Ptinte?" And thHr "admiration!"
Thry appear to find Judica charming.
Bin will never become a granrte dame, for
phi Is something more; she has a sublime
womunhood that makes her a sovereign.
When they salute her, whlrh happens ev
erywhere, she b.-nply nods In her deadly
emharrassm nt. If a queen did It, It would
Is taken us u iilun of haughtiness; with
Judica. It ha. 11 ri effect iih If she smiled
ut all, und the whole world In delighted
Willi her.
And delighted with tny child, .blighted
more and more Is. tin Count. I observe it
with secret amazement. Hi bus no RUH
plrlnii tint I look into his houI und read
In it us In n n in lok.
The Count adores my little Countess. If
Judica were not a Countess of , yas
and In- a happy woman.
This irounds almost as If my child were
unhappy now. (Jod forlild It! She picks
(lowers and smile at me, shedding glory
from her own soul over my dark one, mak
ing me happy, and being happy herself.
She !h happy still.
Wlil It last long.' Can It last Ions? Must
night conic iiiiin?
She does not think now of what they
told her about me. She sees me at her
sldo with a face like that of other men.
I am healthy. I bloom with youth. So
Bhe think; as I begin to think myself
thi.l tin y wove a gloomy veil of lies about
n e to hide me from the eyes of the na
tion. Will flic be able to retain that belief
as I do, if t ever let be look Into the depths
of my soul und see Its darkness? She will
not always remain my child; some day she
will be my wife, soul of my soul. Will
doubt and fear not seize her then?
I must hide my dark soul us long as pos
sible from her bright one.
And another, a gloomy, tremendous
shadow looms up, at present only In my
mind, that they say Is diseased. Should
She ever learn what I have given for her,
my rights to i Hoyul throne; should she
ever reallxt the viislnes of my sacrifice
would nut despair crush her? And what
then?
Hjf nu4.vM myself. I must guard even
m'J tircuins. .must dissemble and lie.
There Is onu "who knows nil; one who
Watches mo and hpb'S 041 me us I do on
him. s-..
This one Is my good friend Gebhurdt!
And there Is one who would perpetrate a
crime if It were needed to save J oil lea from
mlsfor'une.
And tbi. one is my good friend Geb
ruinlt! For my good friend Gehhardt loves my
I'p!
Things are rut so simple and easy os a
young nnd romantic soul pictures them. To
escape nil the consequences of my marriage
to ,lu (I lea I would have to (lee with her Into
deserts.
In Mcnlune, In Nizza nnd In Cannes there
are whole crowds of Kings and l'rlnces. Of
roure they ull know ubn-.it me and my
beautiful uniqualed wife.
I cure fot no one, and am, therefore, Im
polite to nil to the hounds of rudeness. Yet
the Count is In constant receipt of inquir e,
a to whether or not 'His Royal Highness"
will receive visitors. ' His Koyul Highness
regrets" is the answer to all. The Count
excuses me with sublime rourtly skill
everywhere; but everywhere I Injure and
Offend.
And yesterday!
I strolled slowly along ono of our garden
paths when suddenly a man approached me.
I reeognlxcd him at once. It was Prince
Adalbert, who, should my brother die with
out heirs, was designated in the secret
document signed by mo us the man who Is
to he King.
At his appearance I had a feeling Ood
does not love those In whose souls he per
mits such feelings.
His ltoyul Highness hurried to me and
said most cordially and cheerfully:
'Forgive the Invasion. I wished to i
you, but sli ce you are aald to be unap
proachable, I chose this way to reach
you, you Invisible one, you. You are badly
guarded, however. There Is no one here to
prevent me from entering. So I enli rt d
and here I am."
My reply was:
"Hud you had the politeness to ciuse
yourself to be announced your vcrv Mut
tering desire would not have been fulfilled. "
"So I thought, nnd therefore I came
without being announced. Your rocrptlon
is not particularly encouraging, but you
must excuse me If 1 tell you that I um
glad for all that to see you."
Nothing re ma bud for me but to luar
his presence. We strolled on. 1 dumh'y. 1 e
gossiping wltlout pause. And what go-!p
Jlowed front that fellow! With no word
SINCE SHE HESITATKD I PRESSED
did he mention the fact that I am not liv
ing alone here. He spoke of the most fa
mous race horses that ran in Nexxa, of the
most famous shots who murdered pigeons
In Monte Carlo, of the most "famous"
women, and of his own fume as owner
of race horses, as grand pigeon shot and
as skilled gambler.
And this wretched creature Is to lake
the Inheritance of my fathers! Is this de
generate better than I; could ho rule the
lund, my land, better; could he make the
nation, my nation, more great and happy
than I could? I wanted to hurl myself on
him, to strangle him. That Is what I
thought while we walked together through
all the bloom and glory.
And then Judica came walking toward
us. She talked through a lane of salvlns.
They stood, on both sides of her like won
derful Ham!. Through the flower-lire she
came, like a vision. Never had I Ben my
child so beautiful.
Now I got my revenge. I stood still,
thus forcing him to do the same. As
Judica approached VL said, as coldly and
Indifferently as possible, with a negligent
motion of my hand in nJs dircvtlr:
"Prince Adalbert called-.to pay his re
spects to you. Unhappily, riiy dear cousin
will not have time to take breakfast with
us."
His Royal Highness, already startled by
Judica's appearance, now was complexly
confused. His Royal Highness bowed with
confusion, murmured something. Judica
preeted him with her faint, charming nod.
and In her embarrassment went by the
future heir to the throne.
Now I was so Milite as to accompany tny
suddenly silent visitor to the gates. I am
safe against a second Invasion from His
Royal Highness.
I have made a visit to one of my own
kind after ull. Rut this one is a woman,
and in other ays an exception. Therefore
I went to her without my adjutant, as a
simple human being.
Her Majesty resides In Mentone. In a
viMa next to the one In which the Empress,
heavily H'inlshed, dwells. One tragic wonvn
tluia lies In sisterly companionship with
nether.
Her Majesty received nie In a garden
room which opens toward the ocean HUe a
temple. White 111 j r tile columns, wreathed
wlih ShWi rs. formed the foreground to tho
wutidetful picture of sky nud sia. I'nder
one of the tlowery arches stood the Queen
In a blink, trailing drcs-s, like the gloomy
genius of sorrow in the midst of a hymn of
beauty.
"You have come alone?"
"Was that not coirectr"
C'Sr s" $fj0.x
HER: "WHAT DID YOU THINK TO
"Since tlure are two of you, no."
And she gave me her hand with a smile
that actod like good enchantment.
We went up and down in the great hall.
I had to tell her of Judica, ever and again
of Judica! She has a way of listening that
unlocks the heart, so that I had to suppress
myself In order not to betray anything of
that other being within me whom only I
may know. Then she spoke of my mar
riage, my happiness, my refuge in beauty
and love as only a woman can speak who
lias felt life's own misery and has con
quered It through herself.
I remained until evening and had to
promise to return with Judica. The Queen
gave me a rosebud to take to her.
Today I attained thp certainty that my
child la passionately belowed. As a mat
ter of fact I did not need the certainty.
Rut now that I have it it still Impresses
me.
We Judica, the Count and I made a
little tour to St. Hospice a desolate,
lonely, gray little monastery; a desolate,
lonely, gray little church, with a desolate,
lonely gray, little graveyard hanging to
the bare brown dirt's, the purple ocean
In the background, under a flaming evening
sky. In the graveyard a wingle, wind
swept cypress; the sunken graves over
grown with weeds; here and there a crum
bling wooden cross, and close to the
ruined wall a lonely grave covered with
na rcissus.
We fitood, gaud nnd said no word.
Then I heard smothered sobs alongside of
me. And I looked at my child and tears
flowed down her checks. Frightened, I
cried: 'Tint. Judica!"
She begged with quivering lips: "Dear
Cht, do not be angry with me."
"Why do ycu cry?"
"I bad to think-"
Since she hesitated I pressed her: "What
did you think to mike you weep so bit
terly?" "The thought esnie Into my mind"
"What? What?"
"If 1 should die I should wish to be
buried here. Then you must come to me
nnd throw narcissus over my grave."
"If you Hhould die!"
And I saw the Count's face. It was
white, distorted with terror. He looked at
me. Silently we t-tood and looked into
each other's eyes. Then I obtained the
certainty. . And he, too, perceived tint
I knew his secret.
I took my wife to the Queen. Her
Majesty embraced and ItLssed Juilica,
would not permit her to Wave h r sJdo
during the visit. Whan she said farewell
She said to iuttl
MAKE YOU WEEP SO BITTERLY?
"Hold your happiness fast. She Is a
talisman."
Tho Queen utterd what I had known
since the first day of my marriage; I have
the talisman, possess the happiness of life,
fully. And yet, and yet
Often I Hk myself if Judica is happy,
so completely happy that she can see no
end? Does it ever conio to her in waking
hours of niKht that her husband is her
father's true son, the last of a dying rats
of KiriRs?
In that hour In the graveyard my child
wished herself dead and hidden In the
earth, not for her own sake, but for mine.
Just as if she presaged that I even now
so soon-1 cannot write this.
CHAPTER XXII.
In the Palace of Solitude. Spring.
Y? came unwillingly bnt we came.
I had Intended to send .ludi ea to
the
Alpine farm for a short time, thinking
11 woum satisiy ner secret homesickness.
But my child wished 10 remain with me.
She implored me so fervently not to send
her away that It startled me. Why do 1
Judica not wish to see Miss Fritz again?
Does she fear the wise, clear eyes? Why
do 1 not wish to accompany her thereT
Do I fear those eyej?
My brother appears to be more lonely,
more unhappy and more weary than ever,
my sister-in-law more sorrowful, my
mother more unapproachable, the spiritus
fumillaris more sictral and more neces
sary than ever.
The majesties are extremely friendly to
tr.o. The queen would like to know Judica,
but may not on account of "possible con
sequences." The King spoke again of vis
iting us, but has not come. It is almost as
if he felt shy. Certainly he wishes me
well with all his heart and envies mo with
bis whole soul as before. For the queen
mother there is no such person as a Count
ess of Sams. With tl.c eft tf the little
golden cross that personage was abolished
dually fur rny mother. And that is well.
Then there is another person at court.
She docs not Interest me, but she exists and
1 cannot ignore her. Oebliardt's sister!
10 n..w tier th.it 1 do not fear
s'rntb 1 Laid to her t-xlav:
her
"Madame nine dlj the favor to Solitude
to wander there at times."
"Once, your Royal Highness."
She put a plight Inflection on the first
word. With all my politeness I contin
ued: "The ICitig had the graciousnev to close
the palace park to th public from thought
fulness for lus. As you may know, I am
married. It goes without saying that the
(ark U at your service at all Uinta, l