Till: OMAHA SUNDAY ttKK: OlTOHKK 1. 101 1.
What Woman is the Power Behind the Throne in Quivera?
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l'RK'S where we give away a secret
of the House of Ak-Sar-Hen, one that
lias been kept with such Jealous care
that not any of the valiant knights
and true have ever suspected the
truth.
A woman runs Ak-Sar-r.eu's af
fair!. Woman has always been n. most potent fat
tor In the affairs of man, especially those of the
royal kind. Kroiu the Garden of Eden down to the
present her Influence has been more or less effec
tive and apparent nt all times, but the Knights of
'.Ak-Sar-Ben, glory be! thought they could manage
their little fun without any help from a petticoat.
No woman has ever seen the Inside of the castle
hall while the mysteries were under way; it is one
ef the strict and inviolable rules of the order that
nothing of the inner workings of the order shall
ever be communicated to a woman.
All these years the knights have been under
the Impression that they had something that a
Ionian didn't hiive anything7 to do with, save to
grace with her lovely presence the formal ball, at
"vhleh time the queen is crowned. For you couldn't
Tiave much of a hall without the ladles fair,
talthoiigh it might bo managed, but a queen well,
.you are simply compelled to have a fair maiden If
Ijou want a queen in Ak-Sar-IJen. Geisha girls and
J'aprika SehnitzoU may bo arranged for, but It isn't
on record that any of them ever wore skirts outside
tthe Den.
And now comes the disclosure that during all
this lime the cocky knights have been pluming
Themselves on having (something the women folk
xlidn't cut in on, a woman, a mighty clever woman,
lias been the rower behind the throne. All the
time it has been a woman's hand that has held the
Strings and kept, thorn from being tangled; that has
fcept the business of Ak-Sar-Bcn In applie-pie order,
Just as she would have kept house if she had turned
her bent in that direction.
And she comes from Lincoln, too! No great
Surprise at that, for a lot of clever peopfo have
come from Lincoln; most of them do. She was at
the University of Nebraska some years ago no
matter how many when the Board of Governors
were looking for an assistant to the secretary, and
was engaged for the responsible position she has
tlnce filled so well.
From the day of the advent of Miss Katherlne
Hughes, the assistant secretary, Into the Kingdom,
down to the present time, the king and Board of
Governors have congratulated themselves upon
their find. They appreciate he worth more es
pecially at the time of the big annual autumn car
nival and coronation ceremony and ball. Of all
times In the year, that Is the time of greatest stress
upon everyone's temper, from the king down to
the heralds and Stewarts Is in a state of inflamma
ble uncertainty. '
But Miss Hughes is as s'ady and serene amid
nil the rush and turmoil of getting ready for the
big event as a seasoned sailor on a rough sea. Un
ruffled and undisturbed, she "rides the whirlwind
and directs the storm." She never lets herself bo
worried nor hurried nor flurried.
Sho admits that sometimes, when tdx or 6even
stenographers surround her desk, all asking for
Instructions at the same time, when the printers
are howling for copy and when the Lord High
Chamberlain Is rampaging for plan3 of this and
that she. does get Just the leant, little bit per
turbed Inside. Hut no one would ever guess It
from the oalm and smiling exterior.
And in tact, no one in the realm can equal her.
Ehe is mistress of the art of rubbing people the
right way and of smoothing them down until they
fairly purr. Her very voice is soft and low and has
tt quieting effect upon all around her.
So much more marvelous this seems when one
Considers the vexations which come up in connec
tion with the details of the great ball. Sometimes
the wife of one of the most trusted knights of the
kingdom is left off the list of ladies in waiting
And ladies of the court by mistake. The knight,
thinking that his lady
has received an Irrepara
ble slight, buckles on his
armor and brings slego
upon thes ecretary. But
you may be sure, he goes
away completely molll
led by her gentle reason
Ing. No one knows quite
ao well as the secretary
what heart burnings Hnd
discontent are caused by
those lists of maids of
honor, laides of the court
and ladies in waiting,
which aro made up of
wives and daughters of
knights who serve most
faithfully their kiug, Ak-Sar-Ben;
who are heads
of the most prosperous
business houses of the
realm; or who, through
talent, wenlth or social
accomplishments, have
become members of that
exclusive circle known ai
the "400."
As a general rule,
the older matrons aro
put upon the list of the
ladles of the court; the
younger ones upon the
list of ladies In waiting.
Sometimes a lady whose
chief ambition is to defy
the years becomes greatly
incensed at being placed
among the ladles of tue
court. Often a young
matron wishes to enter
the ranks of the ladies of
the court, because she
thinks their itatus
higher.
The princesses, the
maids of honor, the la
dies, the knights she
must placate them all. SUe must see that
social distinctions are carefully considered
and that none of the delicate social toes are stepped
on in the hurry of preparation for the big ball.
Often at the very last moment when the ball
programs have gone to press, one of the governors
will telephone wildly to the secretary, "Is Lady
Such-an-one upon the list of ladies in waiting, No.
Kor Heaven's sake, put her on. Save my life'"
The secretary's duties do not end with keep
ing tab on every person in the kingdom. She must
write official letters and papers of state and com
pose the proclamations and edicts which are sent
In the king's name to summon the subjects to ap
pear at the coronation ceremony.
When Sir Knight receives an edict from the
great Ak-Sar-Ben, king of Quivera, duke of the
seven cities of Cibola, feudal lord of Omaha, most
mighty grand master of the corn belt nncj exalted
high priest of the harvest festival, citing hfm to ap
pear at the royal castle, "The Den" on the eve of
the coronation, he is duly impressed with the Im
portance of the message. But he does not know
that the edict signed "Samson, Lord High Cham
berlain," has been composed by the woman scribe.
When the princesses, ladies and maids of
honor receive their bidding to wait upon her maj
esty, the queen, on the evening of her crowning
they view with delight the artistic booklet with
Its cream-colored pages and red binding and gold
lettering. They do not know that, the woman sec
retary in the office of Ak-Sar-Ben designed the
edict.
Miss Hughes Is the keeper of the royal ar
chives, as well as court artist. In strong boxes she
keeps the records, past programs, edicts and other
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literature of the dynasty of Ak-Sar-Ben; the photo
graphs of past kings, queens and princesses 0f
the court.
She is the court historian, the compiler of the
court events and happenings. And, of course, she
keeps the books and accounts of the realm in the
best of apple-pie order.
Wnen new ideas are needed the secretary has
an unlimited supply to draw on. The king once
took it into his head that a coat of arms should be
made for the line of Ak-Sar-Ben. No sooner was
his wish made known In the office of Samson than
the secretary set her wits to work to design her
aldic bearings for the king's household.
Soon after she submitted to tho sovereign's
pleased gazo a coat of arms symbolizing In each
detail the various things for which the kingdom
of Quivera Is famous. The shield has four sec
tions red ond green, picturing corn, wheat, pats
and alfalfa. Across the shield aro two bars of
yellow with "Ak-Sar-Ben" lettered in gold on one
and "Omaha" on the other. At
either side stands a steer ram
pant. Above Is a gold crown.
Below the shield, attached to
two crossed swords, Is a green
banner with the motto of the
realm, "We Grow."
The woman scribe Is the
oracle of the realm to whom
all go with questions of every
kind.' "When does the carni
val open?" to "What kind of
a necktie Hhould a knight wear
to tho hall?" She is the hu
man encyclopedia of the king
dom, tho one who knows, the
major-domo, factotum, chief
cook and bottle washer, clerk-of-works
and Samson's left
bower, all rolled Into one
and then some.
Katharine
SKIMMER'S
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W urn g & 13
I U J U t S I - u
7
1911
Planufacturers' Parade, - - Tuesday Afternoon, Oct. 3
Electrical Parade, - - Wednesday Night, Oct. 4
Military Parade, - - Thursday Afternoon, Oct. 5
Coronation Ball, Friday Night, Oct. 6
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Dates of
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