£

• la a trlrU.1 affUr." commented or. as he laid down the ww*paper in which he had been readlac an account of one of M. de Roche tort'a numerous duels. "I do not wonder that jou Ensllah amuse yourselves with these comedies, which reflect Bale honor on France. Nevertheless. M ne teU you that, when we plea*:, we can make of the duel eomelhlnx

ration aside with a ware of hie hand. “U la the too crest faculty with which these affairs are arranced that las tarmred them la ridicule.*' be said, pursuing his own Une of thought. “It Is when a crime has been committed which Is truly worthy of death, and get whrrh. from Us nature. Is beyond

i. that the dnel be-

and he passed on. with a wicked smile, and rode away out of sight. •The next day 1 beard that he had quitted England under the displeasure of the empress, and some years passed before,] was again reminded of his si-

lence.”

The smbssssdor stopped and flicked his cigarette ash Into the fireplace before us with much oesterlty. . was In —*- that 1 next met with my baron.” His excellency checked himself abruptly and appeared to be overwhelmed with confusion at haring allowed this name to escape him. I was careful to show it 1 had not beard IL You met him. where did you sayT" I asked languidly. “In the dominions of the emperor whose Illustrious consort 1 hare spoof.” replied the ambassador, swiftly recovering himself. T had Just been appointed to the charge of our embassy In the Imperial capttnl. and It was at a state hall given Is honor of the crown prince's birthday that 1 recognised Msgrats again. “Hr was moving about among the guests with ths assured manner of one •ho held a recognised position

•bent" I responded. In order to see what was In his excellency's mind. T bare at all events known of ons." Is returned gravely, as be began to

nil a cigarette.

“I cannot recall the exact date at which I was accredited to the court sf St James', but It must have been at least twenty-flre years ago. I hsS come to Great Britain with a sincere desire to win the confidence of the brave English people; and knowlnc that U. your corn try even politics receives less consideration than what roc call 'sport.’ I resolved to prove myself s huntsman. Accordingly 1 bought myself horses sad went out to

I ant ths fox.

“Tte bust of which I became a memfc* was at that time the most aristocratic tn the world, made so by the sstronace of an Illustrious personage • I shall not mention. Her imperial majesty had formed the habit •f coming over to England during the f the chase, under s strict tn1 attended by only a small . in order to take psrt In this s in this way that I ot> seined the privilege of an acquaintance which 1 shall always look back upon cs my most cherished remembrance. “Among the members of her majesty's suite at this Urns was a certain Baron Mag rata who filled the post of privets secretary and comptroller of the household. You will understand, •f course, that my Intercourse with she empress was on the most respect tul footing, hut It was not long beta* 1 discovered that this baron, of whom I saw a good deal, was a dan geroua. insolent man. quite unworthy sf the confidence reposed In him by

bis sngust mistress.

“So scutely did 1 realize this that g became a question with me whether she favor extended to me by that noble and unsuspicious lady did not cast epon me the obligation of warning Bar against this man's presumption. White I was still In doubt an incident •ecurred which rendered It unneces

sexy for me to speak.

“One morning, when we were engaged In waiting outside a small covert for the fox to appear, 1 observed Msgrats ride up to the empress and point with his hand as if persuading * her that the beast was about to •merge from a point farther on. Bhe turned her horse, and they rode off sogrther round s comer of the wood. L Troubled by some vague present lm< ut ef mischief. I at once gave rein to

horse and followed.

T got round the corner just In time is hareelve what took place. The baron had stooped forward, with ■

i sir 01 undue confidence, and was

apparr:.il/ addressing some remark to the empress when all at »l saw her majesty rein In her dorse. Ntft up the riding whip she held lifl J and draw it swiftly across bU

'££■

violence

He '

1 the

i of the order of St. Lake, the sec-

ond order In the empire, and everyone appeared to t-eat btu with marked

action, but what attracted my

notice parllculsrly was s young girl of extraordinary beauty, whom be was •scortlng through the '-all room, and who clung to bis arm with a delicious

saa. You know that I am not

easily moved by the sex; picture the (asclnstlcs of this damsel, therefore, when I tell you that I had bard work

refrain from going up to the baron and soliciting an Introduction. “White I was wondering Wwo she

could be. and bow Magmlx had contrived to r*.ain the Imperial favor. I

rved a movement In the crowd

through which the pair was straying. The bystanders fell back, and a young man suddenly came through, a young

with heavy features and blood-

shot. rolling eyes, who wss dressed In a rich urlform biasing with the stars of a dozen royal orders. It wss

flushed with sight of the couple, greeted Magratz a style Jt much Intimacy, and early took posses sloe of hit exquisite partner, whom he led off through the apartments out of my sight. "Msgrats stood looking after them with an expression of dark and furttvs satisfaction. Then be turned round, and for the first time caught my eye. He bowed with a polite, almost cordial air. and advanced towards me through the throng. 'Permit me to welcome you to ray country. M. I'Ambsssadeur,' he said, extending his hand,'which I accepted with reluctance. 'What little Influence 1 may possess here, and especially with his Imperial highness, is entirely st your service. 1 trust you will allow me. within tbo next few days, the pleasure of paying my rerpeels to yoc at the embassy. 1 •'While 1 murmured my formal acknowledgments ! could not take my off his face. It was doubtless an illusion, but I thought I could distinctly perceive a faint pcrplc mark where I had seen the whip of the empress

disgrace for some y« allowed to present himself again at court Paul magnanimity! Unpardonable forglveneoa! He had come up from his estates, bringing with him this niece, who had Immediately cast a spell over the crown prince, a young man unfortunately not without a reputation of a certain kind. Her uncle conducted himself In this effalr with great prudence, so managing matters that his niece's reputation was not compromised, while the prince became every day more desperately enamored: apd all kinds of conjectures were afloat aa to what would be the ultimate lam of this strange aitoatloa. "Although I was still far from suspecting the real object which Magratz bad in view, 1 could not help seeing in all this some machinal km which boded no good to ths pane* of ths imperial bouse. I was hardly surprised, therefore, following day a summ<

to speak—restrained ice. 1 Magrats to depart: and before many'days had passed 1 learned that he bad found a husband for his nnlortnnate niece In the person of Count Schwartxenfeldt. an Immensely wealthy nobleman of fifty, but poeaeteIng no single attraction which could recommend him In the eyes of a young

firt.

The eeremory wss hurried on. and Pan la von Msgrats became the bride of this ogre on the very day on which the crown prince returned to the capl-

rt the prfbee next

day, and for the first time 1 w

a cniw*

some collateral branch of the imperial •'Well might Migratz triumph In 1 could see only

now I do

bava taken any different view. /

“'You must arrange

his Imperial klgtineas

I said with firmness. 'Let him be die- with a presentiment of the coming

tragedy. “

de-pair on a human face. 1 read it on that of this miserable yenng mas So violent was bis grief thst be openly threatened to pat ea end to bU Ufr. and his unhanpy parents were reduced to the extremity of dtetrvns "It was. of coerac. Impossible that a scandal of suck a kind should be long

la reechla Naturally

toxbave | excellency's throat-V "But I weary you with tl

submission were thrown to the U a fn xsy of passion be swore «» p— an end to this stste of things, and Implored Msgrats to assist him. "After some well-acted hesitation the tempter professed himself won over. He furnished the prince with the direction of a certain hunting lodge In an ont-of-thawsy corner of hla own

Magratz started wl

«h h caused his horse to rear. What he vonld have done nett I cannot say. hut ucklly at that moment be caukbt sight d me. The empress had already Corned and she rode tuck past me. (As an. ry gleam !n her eyes relaxing Into a g-aclous smile as the acknonladged ti. reapecitul salute. “The taroo followed st a walk, sod ss be cam up io me I observed on tis face s i arro» streak of red. rroia•xg from th - right ear to the mouth. “Stung. <k ibtlesa. by tpy indignant took, be che- ked hie horse and addnw - a me » 'h bitter eu.phai is “*1 congratu Ue you M I AuihaasxBear. on your good fortune.' (The Bnouiidiei spoke in French—no doubt ter ths sake ol tits double meaning, t You have seen h >w a member ol a lam'.ly which la six hundrei* year* old u treated by one "I these royaliter Wo. others an- oot t the same day. you jwrcelre A Ma. ru:: is no mors to '.brio than the grou d beneath their leel Hut perhaps ths chapter will

Si. > •- *1 sequel

“1 Bisdalced to assk any answer.

"M. de Msgrats no doubt divined my thoughts, or rather they were conveyed' to him without words, by thst subtle process tor which science has cot yet invented a suitable name. He bit his lip and permitted himself an ill-bred remark: " To a man of your eicclleney's well-known discretion it w-reld be an Impertinence to recommend sllecce with regard to certain incidents of the

past.'

"I bowed, but with coldness, and changed the subject hy complimenting him on th* beamy of the young kiri whose arm ue had Just relinquished. " 'Ah! tost Is my niece/ be observed, with affected csrcleshness. 'She Is an orphan whom I have brought up. The crown prince la good enough to Interest himself In her. but of course the difference in their ranks Is too great for ft to be any mors than a passing fancy.' Hr pronounced these last words with a fatherly air which did not Impose upon me 1 even fancied I detected In tuem a veiled allusion to the circumstances of our last meeting. T turned on my heel, feeling strangely disturbed, and psssrd on through the rooms The crosn prince and his charming partner were no«b> re to be The ambassadoi retto was smoked eroded to roll hlmtel "Cstchink sight friend the little Couc Italian legation 1 tlon him. The count is able man He is the | lory of scandal lope. and. aa hla tongu

Y

id goes rvsrywber

and at once divined the subject on which she desired to consult me. “Her -majes'y receiv'd me in her own apartments, without anyone else being present, a mark of confidence which touched me profoundly. We had not met for six years, and 1 was distressed to perceive the change which had taken place in this exalted lady. Her finely cut features bore ths marks of suffering, and the exquisite gayety which had lormcrty distinguished her had become overcast. Doubtless the sad fate of her relative. the king of Bavaria, had done something to effect this alteration, but the chief cause. 1 more than suspect- d. was the anxiety given to her by the conduct of her son Tt Is needless for me to repeat to you the kind expressions which the empress was pleased to make use of on thus meeting me again. It was ker first words on the subject of the crown prince which roused my alarm. “T have hoped. M. rAmbaasadeur. that an old friend like yourself might be able to advise me with regard to my son,' she said, ‘and 1 look especially to you. because you alone ars In the secret of the past history of M. de Msgrati.' “'Madame.' I replied 'the only thing that can prevent my advising you Is the confusion with which your condescension overwhelms me. "Her majesty heard me with mournful smile. " 'You have heard, no doubt, of the prince's Infatuation for this t niece T' she proceeded. “ *1 have, madam. I have even the young girl herself, who appeared to me tc be quite Incapable of know ingli taking part in any treacherous

design.'

"'You may be right, hut unfortu i nately zhe Is under the control of a man wl - has no such scruples. To come to what I was about to say, this , entanglement is by far the most eeri- ' ous of any tn whlcl my son baa been involved. So serious la it Ibsl the emperor and myself live In actual dn-ad of hearing that the prince has privately married thia young woman. "I started, realizing at once the full consequences ot such a ahuxllon. The crown prince was the only child of the imperial couple. By the well known family statutes of his bouse, his marriage with a lady not of royal blood would be legitimate only in a social sense. Politically It would be treated ' as a nullity, and the offspring of the

prince had set out for the capital of a smalls k'.ngdom In the • eat of Europe, under stringent instructions to offer his hand to the Ths manner In which he did so Is ell known. Harshly Ignoring the conventions of love-making, he bluntly approached this young princess tn a ballroom, and. In bare words, asked her U she would become his wife The girl, no doubt under equally strict compulsion, gave her assent, adding a profession of fidelity and aubmlsston. The crown prince Instantly turned away, end that waa all that ever paased between them In the nature of

courtahip.

The next dey the betrothal was officially announced tc me by the imperial chancallor, and ths news speedily spread through the capital, where It created an Immense eenzstion. It was Immediately after this that 1 re celred the promised visit of Baron

Magratz

“1 had given order* that he was to be admitted; for though are aware, the least curious person In the world, my high regard for th prees made me anxions to fathom the intentloee of this villain. “He appeared to take his detest with philosophy. "T sincerely trust this marriage may end happily.' be said, wkfn I treduced the topic. 'It Is. of course, absurd to snppoae that there is say attachment, at all events on the aide of the erov-n prlnc*. Unhappily, the preference his highness has shown for my niece has turned out to be more serious than I believed, and afraid the poor child has allowed herself to cherish unreasonable Ideas shall make It my busl'ce. to obuln a husband for her. U possible, before the prince returns. "I saw nothing to take bold ot In thia announcement If true. It seemed that the baron was Uking the most prudent course, both tn the Interests of the imperial dynasty and of his niece. I did not yet appreciate the ■ubtlety of his combinations, far less did 1 foresee the terrible end he had in view, and which you perhaps already perceive? ’ 1 evaded this question. "Proceed, my dear ambassador. If yoc please. ‘ 1 said. “Your story tervala me grrstly." His excellency blew a wreath of smoke from Mr Ups and compiled with this request. For a moment I thought of Imi

union would be Incapable of succeed- 1st In g myself on the altar of the 1mj Ing to the throne It m well known , pertal bouse by offering myself aa a I that the husband of one of your late - match for ths charming baroness. But

“The prince was to travel secretly to the spot at a certain date, by which time the baron undertook that hie niece should be there to meet him. Then the two lover* were to He concealed until Msgrats had succeeded In pacifying the outraged husband, and bringing about an accommodation with

Thte understanding arrived et. the worthy unde departed to the Bchwartzenfeldt castle The first part of the arrangement he carried out In the manner agreed spor The love of the poor yosng countess for the prlnc* was Bo leas to Unas than hla for her; her married life bad not been happy.

cage the psrt asstgssd to her. She - from bar borne with the baron's st assistance, and the lovers were

lery when the royal septials wet* celebrated In the national cathedral, before an Immense concourse of the se-

blllty and clUseaa. It was tl

melancholy pagean. at which 1 have ever assisted The demeanor of the

wretched bridegroom created uni re*

sal dismay. It was Impossible to es-

cape noticing the relucts *ce *1 which he uttered Ike res ponies, ai the sullen coldness with which I gave his arm to the trembling bride mong the most intern ted sperla

tors of It all I caught sight at Msgrats. Tbs rmotatloa thereupon 1 had but to glance from Urn to the | the unhappy lover* U s matter of hla pale face and drooping eyelids of ths ] ton When Ike deceived count snd Illustrious object of bis hatred to gss , bu conductor entered the lodge, they hew far bis scheme of vengeance had feud ths two young people lying dead

already succeeded.

“Now Msgrats proceeded _Js real derig* He had stayed on at the castle after his niece's flight, peclit. not te the way bo had promised th

b*t by i

fugitive's retreat. At soon as he k that the pair bad met. be bokHy a Bosscsd to Count SwartssnfeMt th be bad received private Intslhgrnoe of bte niece s whereabouts, and offered la conduct Ue other to the spot. They

sot out together.

“But tt would, not have suited the haroa's purpose to bring the rivals face to face The crown prince's high rank might have overawed the hueband. and the whole affair have been hashed up. He therefore sent on a secret waning to hla victim, managing so that It should reach him too late to afford any chance of this warning he pretendal to the prince Uhl the elopement was known publicly, and that Ue count wxa

He waited, with prudent calculation, for the iwn prince to begin to feel the chafing of Ms new fettan. It waa with alarm that 1 discovered he was beginning to renew his Intimacy with the prince. T had Ue opportunity once or twice of observing them together, and 1 noticed that his Imperial highness, when with this man. shook off the listless spaUy which bad become his habitual mood, and listened with feverish Inter®rt to Ue baron's conversation It was not difficult to gueas the snhject ot Uelr discussions. “Finally. Magratz came one day to is embassy to take leave of me before departing on a visit to hie niece her husband's residence. There waa an lll-euppressed ring of triumph In hla voice, which warned me that he r stroke. Perhaps even then. If I had comprehended the nature of his designs. 1 might have interfered. But as It was. I could do nothing except to express In delicate and guarded tense my hope that hie visit would contribute to the peso and happiness of the Schwartxenfeldt household. "On rising to go he lifted the mask for one insUnt. "T have been greatly distressed by the unfortunate result oi Uls marriage of Ue crown prirce's.' he said, ‘and especially when I reflect on Ue grief iuse to her majesty my late

"As he spoke I positively saw the faded scar of the whip leap into sight upon his dark skin. 1 drew back, and clenched my teeth firmly to prevent myself from making the reply that rose to my lips. But you will realize Ue difficulty of my position. As the representative of a great government, could not afiord to enter Into a quarrel with a private nobleman at the court to wnlch I was accredited T suppressed my Indignation, and allowed him to depart on his fatal errand. The event which followed has become the property of the world. His excellency turned hie eyes upon me as If to ascertain whether I desired to hear more. 1 entreated him to complete Ue narrative. “The European prim" be observed, “always misinformed in these matter*, put forth a thousand different explanations of what had taken place, all of them sufficiently Incorrect. I will tell you the actual sequence of events as I learnt It soon afterwards from Ue confession of Magratz himself. “ft appears, then, thst this monster commenced by insinuating bis aym paUy with the poor young prince in his unhappy union. From thst be passed to lamenting his own action In having given h's niece's hand to Count

Bcliwartieofsldt.

“Having excited th# prince's mind sufficiently by hints of this sort, he at

length went on. with preiundcd

luctance. to depict the young couctras xs a victim of intolerable persecu lions on the pert ot a J-bIous and tyrannical husband, sod to bitterly sc case himself for being unable to de

vise k means for her deliverance

“It la needless to say how the agl lated lover received these tidings His own 'Offerings ho might bsve schooled

himself tc hear, but aa soon i came a question of Ue

wretchedness of the women he loved more than life lUeif. all though is 0 f, eat

The ambassador again interrupted himself, under Ue pretense ot loosening his cravat. He went on present tn a firm voles: “Wbtn all was over the auUor this dreadful catastrophe had the assurance to return to the capital, and to as Ue disconsolate uncle wt efforts to save hla niece from the i sequences of a fatal passion had happily miscarried. Two persons knew or suspected something of the truth. One was the stricken etr prees. who eat in her paltearless. beside the corpse of hzr only son The other wss myself. T do not doubt thst mis man had been tortured In his wicked besrt all these yean by Ue recollection that 1 had been a witness of his well merited chastisement. The moment be bad. as he conceived, wiped out the stain in blood, he came to me to boast openly of what be had done. It may be thst long brooding on his vengeance had so warped bis mind that he could not realize *n what light his conduct would present Itsel

other.

"When I sat ana heard thU terril creature unrolling the awful story his crime*, in Ue perfect confidence that he was beyond the reach of human Justice, and then Uougbt of thst imperial mother whose life had b. tn rendered desolate for ever. I realized thst there are occasions when the duel becomes Ue moat holy ot sscra-

How Man Who Knew Human Natur* Foaled Barhar and Oot t* Dinner on Tim*. Ths oU»r c retting zVjct six o'clock I was sitting In a barber's chair get ting dolled up." said a downtown na* according to tbs Washington siar, when a friend of mUe came rushing In. Ur** off bis hat and coat, fio^ himself In a vacant chair sad cried m

•"Here, harry up and give me a lightning shave! I've got to natch z ; got Just two minutes to spare. Step lively, new, or I'U miss that L-zi*. ire shot!' The barber basted himself st his swiftest speed, and In a abort Urns *, hurrying frtsnd was shaved and gone. ■What was my sarprtae, thsrefirc. ben ths: evening about »:U o'clock, as I was strolling about the foyer of a acta, I saw that train-catching friend of mine teasing leisurely against n pillar than amok tag a cigarette. •Why. I thought yo« had to leave tow* la a bony this svmrtag.' i exclaimed In euryrtso. To* wet* la a fervid rush et Us bnrkiur shop.' "My friend smiled. "There he answered, 'but 1 Beat suppose yog fully understand tbo psychology ef tag barber. I did waat a *tiek shave; wanted It Jnat as quickly to catch a train, for 1 was i party wtu this I I badly pressed for tlm* whartia to get shaved and i •Now. If I: I was Invited to dinner and was la a hurry because I bad small time to pro para and didn't want to be late tt would have meant nothing at all u him. In his experience th# matter ol a bach nor beli.g tve or ten minutes late to s dinner has never hoe* of any particular importance, and hence tt is beyond Mr eomprohsocior that one should need hurry io promptly fill any such engagement through any other motive than bald rang or. Tbo flagrant breach of good ma inara amounting almost to an insuit to tbo hostess, in volved in being late to dlnaer Is as much beyond his understanding as tbs problems of Ue fourth dimension • But when 1 told him I was la's hurry to catch a tra^a. that appealed to him. for some time In bis life he's had to hurry to catch one. and Just mad* It by Ue skin of his taetheverybody has Accordingly his men ary of his own feelings and hla cans# n of my came to my aselstanoe him on. You noticed bow that fatlov hustled to get overrmy face and ho* pleased with himself he was because

didn't yout

The ambassador closed his lips, and

leaned back In his seal *ul the sir of

one who had no more to say. I waited a few moments to ee*

whether he was going to resume of

his own accord Then I inquired "And what did you do then?” His excellency transfixed me with

a gaze ut fine scorn.

"AU yourself, as a man or honor what 1 could do 1 .ailed merely uli that carrion was gone to telegraph to 1 arts for a meek a leave of absence it waa granted I enwsed the irontier as hU excellency the Fren.h ambazaadur and returned the next morning ai Plain M le Baron. Iben I rough* out

Magratz

T found him tn g club to »hlch

both belonged • -

both belonged 1 offered bin, a game

*!» .

■i the first card he played

* »aw yon

" 'Monsieur, you cheated

mark that queen.'

scandal. There could be no suspicion

tow?u 1 c"“ b

wS:

i .... ~*nd j nave never

The

hating

Rats as Pis guv Transmitter*. In view of the admitted Importance of Ue rat In Ue transmission ot plague. Ue study of this dlseas. among rodents has become as neces sary from the point of view of preventive hygiene as Is the maaagemtsi of the human cases when tber arts* >" a report to U* local governmre: board of England, on rat plague la East Anglia during Ue period iron July to October, mi. Ue magnitude of a tingle campaign la shown. Due ing four months 1(4X2 rats were examined for plague Infection. Thirtyfive of the rat* were found to be ptagno Infected. Twenty-seven prcml tes were found to harbor piaguels fected rata. Th* place* were all within an area previously pronounce- t* be infected The rat dastructlcs. which has been malrtalned by local rntrrprle* for omewbat more than a year. hid. In many localities, appreciably diminished the tat population

President Wilson** Father. In an address at Waahlagton re cecily before the Potomac presbyter? of the Presbyterian church. Pre*M«> ! Wilson spoke cf incldrnta of his bop hood when be aisteted his father, a Pres bytertan clergyman. “He had s risky habit of saying ** cetly what he thought." said th* pr***dent. “a habit which I in part tabcritcd and of which I ha vs had dUlger-ilf to cur* myself. “But he was Ue best Instructor, th* most Inspiring companion. I * eB ' lure u> esy. a youngster ever h* 4 - snd in taring a BouUorn presbyter? I cannot think of myself as Uiv pr«> dent of the United Stale*—1 can oolf Ulnk of myself as the eon of Jo*!* R. Wilson, and 1 only wish I could claim tome of the vrtaf connectloe *Hh the church which he oouM claim."

Mow U. 8. Reg, from th* OW’An interesting tshibU shown by the United Bute* geological survey at tb« 1 anama-PzcUe exposition la Ssn Fr*» cisco Is the illustration of the devrl*'? rncnt of the surface feature! of ll ‘' United States and adjoining l*c<!» the gradual ylze of the continent !roa the primal ocean and th* aocoa ! u ~' log development of life—* plctor** 1 •tory of progress from the early ■nd the huge halfrcptll# Cicat^ known as saurtans to the higher m* B> ante such as the groat saber 1 -’'*' tiger and the giant hyena.

Maritime Character.

"There ts something about the *"■ t°w who was tn here Just no* •mack* of th* salt sea gale.* said '**

newly arrived guest. .

“You have rare po«m of ^ tcrr \

"ca View Inn. “| ••MBU and popcorn

# power* of ai* - ' affable /propHrior f guesyr* sells nu” ‘Torn Ao any olb

“7

i