Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 31, Number 160, 5 July 1906 — Page 6

Page Six.

The Richmond Palladium. Thursday, July 5, 1S06 By Robert Barr 1

"over s the mmm"

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(First Installment.)

CHAPTER I. IIIB end of October had been mfcrte tban usually flint and now the 'beginning; of ifvctOjber was following the good extimple set by Its predecessor. In the Home park, the only part of thextenslvo, grounds surroundingVIampton Court palace that was well wooded, the leaves, had not entirely left tf,he branches and! the turf beneath was areen and firm, as yet unsodden by autpmnnl rain. Along one o" the forest aisles there walked a distinguished party, proceeding slowly, fon the pace wasjset by a disease stricken) man whose progress was of painful lit'liberation. He was tall and thin. Hla, body was prematurely bent, tbougb accustomed to be straight enough if) one might judge by the masterful brow, nowv.pallid with Illness, or by the glance: of the. piercing eye, untamed even vby. deadly malady. That he was not long t on this. earth, if nature had her way, a scrutlnlzer of' that handsome, powerful face might have guessed, yet hewastslrgled out for destruction evenj before his short allotted time, ror aiinai mompni nis enemies, hedged in serrecy behind' locked doors, were anxiously-planning hla ruin. They were vlse' ln their! privacy, for had a whlepr-of i their In tentions gone abroad tbeEarl of Straf jford would have struck ftVst and(struck( 'bard, as indeed he lntendeduo do m any case. ! Thomas Wentworth.'i earU of Straf ford, was accompanied Iby an imposing! I 1 nil, V7 11 l llMVl D1U7 W " V VH.IMV Bating their slow steps to his, were. ome of the hlghesti in vtheland, who' Waited on his words andvaccprded him a deference imore obsequious' than that with which they might have distin guished the king 'hCmself,, for all knew that this shattered frame was more to be dreaded than the unosfstal wart personage who that day trod English soil. Behind this noble circle followed a numerous band of attendants, alert for beck or call, each having place according to his degree. A huntsman was feurrounded'by dogs kept in thrall by fear of the -whip. Falconers with hooded hawks attteBted a favorite sport of the earl, who'lovedsto have the birds near him even.tbough he made no trial of their flight. And here he walked the grounds of the king as if he owned them; as tbougti he were permanent master instead of transient guest Here he rested for the moment, hoping to recover someremnnnt of health by tho placid Thames, after bis troublous Journey from Ireland, which turbulent country lay numb under hla strong hand, soon to be vocal enough when the hounds were upon him. No echo of London's clamour came to this green paradise. He knew the mob was crying out against him, as in truth the whole country cried, but ho heeded not the howl, despising his opponents. Better for hlm.had hobeen more wary or more conciliatory, i Among those now In his company was young De Courcy, one of the numerous band of Frenchmen smilingly received nt court t because the consort pt Charles had a predilection for her countrymen a preference unshared (by any save her husband. TbeVrench Ipontlngent thought little of the bcowIs (of the English so long as those in authority smiled on them and the smile brought profit. They were regarded as titled " mercenaries, spies probably, anxious to feather their own nests at the expense of the treasury, possibly jthe propagating agents ot a church of (which England had a deep distrust, certainly, possesslug an overweening Influence at court, dividing still further tho unfortunate king from his suspicious people. y It might have been imagined that bo thoroughly English, so strenuous, a man as Strafford, the last to be deluded by suave manners or flattery, although he had an insatiable appetite for cringing deference, yet uninfluenced (by it (as witness his crushing of Lord Montmorris in Ireland), would have shown scant friendship for frivolous French nobles, but it was a fact that he bore from young De Courcy a familiarity of address that he would have suffered from none other in the kingdom. i Courtiers find a ready reason for every action, and they attributed Strafford's forbearance to the Influence . De Courcy possessed with the queen, for his lordship was well aware that bis sovereign lady showed small liking for the king's most powerful minister. Strafford was too keen a politician not to make every endeavor to placate an enemy who at all hours had access to the private ear of his master, on whose breath depended his own elevation. Therefore it may well be that he thought It worth while to conciliate one of the haughty lady's favorites. The conversation under the trees won lightly frivolous, despite the seriousness of the time. Strafford was not one to wear his heart on his sleeve, and if he was troubled that the king Insisted on his presence In London, refusing to hiui permission to return to Ireland, where he was safe the wielder of the upper hand his manner or expression gave no hint of his anxiety. A cynical smile curved his bloodless lips as he listened to the chatter of He Courcy, not noticing the silence of the others, who disdained a conversational contest with tho voluble Frenchman. T give your lordship my assurance," Insisted the young man, "that his majesty was much perturbed by the Incident. All Soots are superstitious, and the king has Scottish blood in his veins." "As to superstition, I have never learned, said Strafford, speaking slowly, "that the French are entirely free from some touch of it." "That's as may be," . continued De Courcvalrlx, . "Jb.ut be? majesty who

Is French, advised the king to think nothing more of the encounter, so he regards but lightly any predictions of doom from an old gypsy hag." "There were no predictions of doom and no gypsy hag. The case was of the simplest, now exaggerated by court gossip," amended the earl. "My lord, I have it almost direct from the' king himself." "Your 'almost' will account for anything. It was merely n piece of youthful impertinence which should have been punished by one of the park rangers had any been present. The king had honored me with his company in the park. We were alone together, discussing problems of state, when there suddenly sprang out before us a smiling, froward girl, who cried, 'Merry gentlemen, I will predict your fortunes if in return you tell me where I may find tho Earl of Strafford.' His majesty looked at me, and the hussy, quick to take a hint, evidently saw that I was the person sought. In any case the king's remark must have confirmed her suspicion. 'Your predictions are like to prove of small value,' said his majesty, 'If you ask such a question. Here you have two men before you. Choose the greater,' whereupon the wench seized my hand before I was aware, and the king laughed." "It was an uncourtier-like proceeding," said De Courcy. "That young woman will not advance in a world which depends on the smile of the mighty for promotion." "The choice shows her a true prophet," muttered one of the nobles, but Strafford, paying no heed, went on with his account: "The words which followed were more diplomatic than the action. 'You are the king's best friend,' she said, examining the palm she had taken. Then his majesty cried, 'What do you read in my hand?' 'You are the king's worst enemy,' said the pert hussy. This nonplused Charles for the moment, who replied at last: 'I think you are more successful with my comrade. Read all you find in his palm, I beg of you.' Then the gypsy, if such she was, went glibly on. 'Your fate and that of the king are interwoven. If you overcome your enemies, the king will overcome his; if you fall, the king falls. Your-doom will be the king's doom, your safety the king's safety. At the age you shall die, at that age will the king die and from the same" cause.' Ills majesty laughed, somewhat uneasily, I thought, but said Jauntily, 'I have the advantage of you, Strafford, for you may die at any moment, but I am given seven years to live, being that space younger than you." I was annoj-ed at the familiarity of the creature and bade her take herself off, which she did after making vain appeal for some private conversation with me." "Was she fair to look upon? In that case I do not wonder at your Indignation. To learn that a handsome and young woman was searching for you in the lonely forest, to meet her at hwt, but in company of a king so rigid in his morals as Charles, was indeed a disappointment. You had been more favored with' any other monarch of Europe beside you. Had you no chance of getting one private word with her, of setting time and place for a more secluded conference? It is my prayer that when next you meet the woodland sylph you are alone in the forest." As if to show how little profit follows the prayer of a French exquisite there stepped out from behind a thick tree in front of them the person of whom they spoke. She was tall and slender, with dancing eyes of midnight blackness, which well matched the dark, glossy ringlets flowing in" profusion owr her shapely shoulders. Her costume betokened the country rather than the court, yet Its lack of fashionable cut or texture was not noticed in a company of men, and the almost universal gaze of admiration that rested on her showed that in the eyes of the majority she was well and tastefully garbed. "My lord of Strafford," she said in a sweet, clear voice, "I crave a word" with you in private." De Courcy laughed provokingly; the others remained silent, but turned their regard from the interloper to the earl, whose frown of annoyance did not disappear as It had done before. Strafford spoke no word, but his underlings were quick to interpret and act upon his black look. Two attendants silently took places beside the girl, ready to seize her did his lordship give a sign. The huntsmen let loose the dogs that had been snarling at the newcomer. They made a dash at her, while she sprang nimbly to the tree that had concealed her, having first whisked from the scabbsril of an astonished attendant the light sword with which he was supposed to guard himself cr his master. "Call off your hounds, you villain!" she cried in a voice that had the true ring of command in it. Indeed, to many there the order had a touch of the earl's own tones in anger. "I ask not for my own escape from scath, but for theirs. I'd rather transfix a man than hurt a dog. You scoundrel, you shall feel the sting of this point if you do not Instantly obey." The thin shining blade darted here and there like an adder's tongue and as painfully. Yelp after yelp showed its potency, and the dogs, quick to learn that they were overmatched, abated their fury and contented themselves with noisy outcry at a safe distance from the semicircle of danger, jumping sideways and backward, barking valoronsly, but keeping well clear of the rapier. At a glance from the earl the huntsman whipped them back into their former places. "Yes, lash them, you whelp, but it's over your own shoulders the cord 6hould go had I the ordering, thou meanest ot the., pack."..

said the Earl of Strafford sternly, "I would have you know that none gives orders here but me." "In that you are mistaken, my lord. You have just heard me give them, nd, furthermore, have seen them obeyed. But, aside from the ordering of either you or me, I understand this to be the king's park." Again De Courcy laughed. "She hit you ther.. my lord," he had the temerity to say. Strafford paid no attention to his gibe, but gazed darkly at the fearless Intruder. "What do you want?" he asked. "I have told you. my lord. I wish a word in your private ear." "Speak out what you have to say." "'Tis to be heard by none but the Earl of Strafford no, not even by the king himself for, you should know, were it other fashion, I would have spoken when last I encountered you." "I have no secrets from the king." "Nor need this be one. 'Tis yours to proclaim to the world at your pleasure. But first it is for your ear alone. Send that painted popinjay to the rear with the dogs. The others are gentlemen and will retire of their own accord when they learn a lady wishes to speak privily with you." It was now the turn of the English nobles to laugh, which they did merrily enough, but De Courcy seemed less pleaspd with the rude suggestion. He fumbled at his sword hilt and muttered angrily that if any present wished to make the girl's reference his own a meeting could be speedily arranged to discuss the question. Strafford, however, had no mind for any byplay. His glance quelled the rising difference; then he said harshly to the young woman: "What do you here in the king's park, lacking permission, as I suspect?" "Indeed," cried the girl, with a toss of the head, "they say, where I come from, that everything seemingly possessed by the king belongs actually to the people, and being one of the people I come to my own domain, asking permission of none." - "You are young to speak treason."

"Madam.1

'Slit, I AM FRANCES WENTWOUTH, YOUR DAUGHTER."

"'Tis no treason of mine. I but repeat what others say." "Still, how came you here?" "Easily. Over the wall. I was refused access to you by any other means, so I took the method that suggested itself." "You were feigning yesterday to be a gypsy. Who are you?" "That is what I wish to tell your lordship when I get the opportunity. As for yesterday, I feigned nothing. I but retold what an old gypsy once said to me regarding the king and Lord Strafford. I wished to engage your attention, but, like the underlings of this palace, you turned me away." "Your persistence shall be rewarded, but with this proviso: If the news you make so much of is not worth the telling, then shall you expiate your impudence in prison. If you fear to accept the rfik, you had better begone while there is yet time and let us see no more of you." "I accept the hazard freely, my lord." The Earl of Strafford said no more, but turned to his followers, who. at once withdrew to the background, except De Courcy, who, not having forgiven the insult placed upon him and unconscious that his reluctance to quit the spot was giving point to the girl's iavective, cried angrily: "Beware, Lord Strafford. There may be more in this than appears on the surface. Shef has shown herself expert with a stolen blade. That blade is still in her hand." The earl smiled coldly. He, was unused to disobedience even where it concerned his own safety. "'Tis but fair," he said, "that I should take some risk t6 equal hers. I'll chance the stroke. Your prayer was that1 1 should meet this damsel alone in the forest. Do not, I beg of yon. prevent fulfillment of your devout petition by further tarrying." . Hut before, this was spoken the girl

had flung the borrowed rapier far into the forest glade, then waved her disincumbercd hand to the departing Frenchman, saying mockingly: "Farewell, popinjay. The treacherous ever make suggestion of treachery." To the earl she added, "My lord, I am entirely unarmed." "What have you to say to me?" repiied Strafford severely, bending his dark gaze upon her. "Sir." her voice lowered so that none might by any chance overhear "sir. I am Frances Went worth, your lordship's eldest daughter."

CII AFTER II. ""4 HE earl lowered upon the girl, and the black anger upon his blow might have warned a more intrepid person than even she appeared to be that there was peril in trifling. When at last he spoke, his voice was harsh and menacing. "What do you expect to gain by a statement so preposterous?" "I expect to gain a father." The girl's answer trod quick upon the heels of the question, but her color changed from red to pale and from pale to red again, and her hurried breathing hinted of some knowledge of her hazard, which nevertheless she faced without flinching. "My eldest daughter, say you? My eldest daughter is Ann, aged thirteen, a modest little maid. I take you to be older, and I should hesitate to apply to you the qualification I have just coupled with her name." "I am sixteen, therefore her senior. Thus one part of my contention is admitted. If she is modest, it doth become a maid and Is reasonably to be expected, for she hath a mother's care. I have had none. If you detect a boldness in my manner, 'tis but another proof I am my father's daughter." Something resembling a grimace rather than a smile disturbed the white lips of Strafford at this retort. He bent his eyes on the ground, and his mind seemed to wander through the past. They stood thus in silence opposite each other, the girl watching him inLORDSHIP'S ELDEST tently, and when she saw his mouth twitch with a spasm of pain a great wave of pity overspread her face and brought the moisture to her eyes, but she made no motion toward him, held in increasing awe of him. "Boldness is not a virtue," he muttered, more to himself than to her. "There's many a jade in England who can claim no relationship with me." This remark calling for no response, received none. "Sixteen years of age! Then that was in" The earl paused in his ruminations as if the simple mathematical problem baffled him, the old look of weariness and pain clouding his downturned face. "The year 1024," said the girl promptly. "Doubtless, doubtless, 1624. It isVng since, longer than the days that have passed seem to indicate. I was a young man then; now now I am an aged wreck, and all in sixteen years. And so in you, the spirit of youth, the again a bearing of pride when it seemed she would be denied, and throughout all a rigid suppression of herself, a standing of her ground, a determination not to give way to any rising sentiment which might make the after repulse a humiliation. If a retreat must come it should be carried out with dignity. The Earl of Strafford saw nothing of this, for his eyes were mostly on the ground at his feet. That his mind was perturbed by the new situation so unexpectedij prosscted to him wns evident; that hi was deeply suspicious of a trap was no less clear. When he looked up at her he found his iron resolution melting in spite of himself, and, as he wished to bring an unclouded judgment to bear upon the problem, he scrutinized the brown sward at his feet. Nevertheless he was quick to respond to any show of sympathy with himself, even though he was unlikely to exhibit appreciation, and he was equally quick to resent the slightesj laof deference on the part ot

those who addressed him. If the girl had made a thorough study of his character she could not have better attuned her manner to his prejudices. Her attitude throughout was imbued with the deepest respect, and if the eye refused to be advocate for her the ear could not close itself to the little thrill of affection that softened her tone as she spoke to him. He raised his head abruptly as one who has come to a decision. "November is the stepmother of the months, and the air grows cold. Come with me to the palace. In a world of lies I find myself believing you. thus I am not grown so old as I had feared. Come." The girl tripped lightly over the rustling leaves and was at his side in an

instant, then slowed her pace in unison ! with his labored mode of progression, j "Sir, will you lean upon my shoulder?" "No. I am ailing, but not decrepit." They walked together in silence, and if any viewed thorn the onlookers were well concealed, for the park seemed deserted. Entering the palace and arriving at the foot of a stairway, solicitous menials proffered assistance, but Strafford waved them peremptorily aside and, accepting now the support he had shortly before declined, leaned on his daughter's shoulder and wearily mounted the stair. The room on the first floor into which he led her overlooked a court. A cheerful lire burned on the hearth and cast a radiance upon the somber wainscoting of the walls. A heavy oaken table was covered with a litter of papers, and some books lay about. Into a deep armchair beside the fire Strafford sank, with a sigh of fatigue, motioning his daughter to seat herself opposite him, which she did. He regarded her for some moments with no pleased expression on his face, then said, with a trace of petulancy in the question: "Did your grandfather bring you up a lady, or are you an ignorant country wench?" She drew in quickly the small feet outthrust to take advantage of the comforting fire, and the blaze showed her cheek a ruddier hue than heretofore. "Sir," she said, "the children of the great, neglected by the great, must perforce look to themselves. I was brought up, as you know, without a mother's care, in the ancient hall of a crusty grandfather, a brother my only companion. We played together and fought together, as temper willed, and he was not always the victor, although he is the stronger. I can sometimes outfence him and, failing that, can always outrun him. Any horse he can ride I can ride, and we two have beforfi now put to flight three times our number among the yokels of the neighborhood. As to education, I have a smattering and can read and write. I have studied music to some advantage and foreign tongues with very little. I dare say there are many things known to your London ladles that I am ignorant of." "We may thank God for that," muttered her father. "If there are those in London, saving your lordship, who say I am not a lady, I will box their ears for them an they make slighting remarks in my presence." "A most unladylike argument! The tongue and not the hand is the court lady's defense." "I can use my tongue, too, if need be, my lord." "Indeed, I have had evidence of It, my girl." "Queen Elizabeth used her fists, and surely she was a lady." "I have often had my doubts of it. However, hereafter you must be educated as doth become a daughter of mine." "I shall be pleased to obey any commands my father places on me." The conversation was interrupted by a servant throwing open the door, crying: "His majesty the king!" The girl sprang instantly to her feet, while her father rose more slowly, assisting himself with his hands on the arms of the chair. CHAPTER III. . II ERE was more of hurry than of kingly dignity in the entrance of Charles. The handsome race wns marred uy an imperious querulousness that for the moment detracted from its acknowledged nobility. "Strafford." he cried impatiently, "I have been kept waiting. Servants are at this moment searching palace and park for you. Where have you been?" "I was in the forest, your majesty. I am deeply grieved to learn that you needed me." "I never needed you more than now. Are you ready to travel ?" Strafford's gloomy face almost lighted up. unknown pnsi confronts me, dsmanding demanding what?" "Dem aiding nothing, my lord." "Humph! You are the first then. They all want something. You think I am an old dotard who is ready, because you say you want nothing, to accept your absurd proposal. Eit I am not yet fifty, nor as near it as these fell maladies would have me appear, and a man should be in his prime at fifty. Madam, It will require more convincing testimony to make me listen to you further." "The testimony, irrefutable, stands here lefore you. Raise your eyes from the ground, my lord, and behold it. If, scrutinizing me, you deny that I am your daughter, I shall forthwith turn from you and trouble you no more." Strafford slowly lifted his gloomy face, prematurely seamed with care, and his heavy eyes scanned closely the living statue that confronted him. The sternness of his features gradually re

laxed, and an expression near akin to tenderness oversptvad his face. "Any man might be proud to claim you, my girl, no niatfter how many other reasons for pride he possessed. But you have not come here merely because some one flattered the Earl of Strafford by saying you resembled him." "No, my lord. I am come to return to you this document, which once you presented to my mother." She handed him a paper, which he read with intent care. It ran thus: I have, in little, much to say to you. or else one of us must be much to blame. But in truth I have that conflJence in you and that assurance in myself as to rest secure the"; fault will never be made on either side. "Well. then, this short and this long which I aim at Is no more than to give you tliis first written testimony that I am your husband, and that husband of yours that will ever discharge these dutic3 of love and respect toward you which good women may expect and are justly due fscm good men to dlscharffc them, and; this is not only much l.nt all whicMbelOEtcs to me, and wherein

t Ehnii tread -out the remainder of life. which is left to me Strafford looked up from his perusal, blank amazement upon his countenance. "How came you by this paper?" "I found it amongirthe documents left bv mv grandfather, -who died a year ago. It was sent -by you to my mother." "Impossible." "Do you deny the script?" "I do not deny it, but 'twas written by me eight years- since and presented to my third wife, whom' I married privately." "Your third wife? Who was she?" "She was Mistress Elizabeth Rhodes, and is now Lady Strafford." "Then she is your fourth wife. You will see by your own indBting that this letter was written in March, 1024." The date was unmistakably set down by the same hand that haul penned the bold signature, "Thomas Wentworth," and the bewilderment of the earl increased as he recognized that here was no forgery, but a genuine letter antedating its duplicate. "Is it possible," he murmured to himself, "that a man has so little originality as to do practically the same thing twice?" Then aloud to the girl he said: "Who was your mother?" "I had hoped the reading of this document would have rendered your question unnecessary. Has a mau such gift of forgetting that the very name of the woman he solemnly married has slipped his memory as easily as the writing of the letter she cherished?" "She was Frances, daughter of Sir John Warburton," murmured the earl. "His only daughter, as I am hers, my lord." "But when Sir John wrote me coldly of her death, he made no mention of any issue." "My grandfather always hated you, my lord. It is very like that 'he told you not the cause of my mother's death was her children's birth." "Children?" "Yes, my lord. My twin brother and myself." "If, as you say, you have a brother, why is he not here in your place, you in the background, where you properly belong?" "Sir, I suppose that her good name is thought more of by a, woman than b a man. She wishes to be assured tllht she came properly authenticated this world, whereas a man troubles lit tie of his oricm. so be it be is Here with some one to fight or to love. Or perhaps it is that the mantis the deeper and refuses to condone where a woman yearns to forgive. MyNbrother shares our grandfather's dislike of you. He thinks you cared littlefor our mother or you would not have been absent during her last days when" "I knew nothing of it. The tim ;s then, as now, were uncertain, requirii g absorbed attention from those thrown willinzlv or unwillingly into public afx fairs. What can a boy of sixteen knowk or the duties thrust upon a man in my situation?" "Sixteen or not, he considers himself even now a man of position, and he ! holds your course wrong, kie says ne has taken up the opinions you formerly held and will do his best to carry them to success. He is for the parliament and asrainst the kincr. As for me. I know little of the questions that dis- j turb the state. My own knowledge is that you are my father, and were you the wickedest person in the world I would come to you. A man may have many daughters, but a daughter can have but one father; therefore am I here, my lord." Like the quick succession of shade and sunshine over the sensitive surface of a lovely lake, the play of varying emotions added an ever changing beauty to the girl's expressive face; now a pitiful yearning toward her father when she saw he suffered; then a coaxing attitude, as if she would win him whether he would or no; "On" the instant, your' majesty," he replied, with a sigh of relief. "That is welL I trust your malady is alleviated, in some measure at least. Still, I know that sickness has never been a bar to duty with you. Yet I ask no man to do what I am not willing to do myself for the good of the state, and I shall be shortly on the road at your heels." "Whither, your majesty?" asked the earl, with falling countenance, for it was to Ireland he desired to Journey, and he knew the king had no intention of moving toward the west. "To London, of course; a short stent over bad roads. But If you are ailing and fear the highway, a barge on the river is at your disposal." "To London!" echoed the earl, something almost akin to dismay in his tone. "I had hoped your majesty would order me to Ireland, which, I assure your majesty, has been somewhat neglecjed. ot bite.',

tfito

"Yes, yes," exclaimed the king brusquely; "I know your anxiety in that quarter. A man ever thinks that task the most Important with which he Intimately deals, but my position gives, me a view over the whole realm, and the various matters of state assume their just proportions in my eyes, their due relations t each other. Ireland is well enough, but it is the heart and not the limbs of the empire that requires the physicians' care. Parliament has opened badly and is like toglve trouble unless treated with a firm hand." The hand of the earl appeared anything but firm. It wavered us it sought the support of the chair's arm. "Have I your majesty's permission to be seated? I am not well," Strafford said faintly. 1 "Surely, surely!" cried the king, himself taking a chair. "I am deeply, grieved to see you so unwell, but a journey to Ixndon is a small matter compared with a march upon Dublin, which is like to have killed you'in your present condition." "Indeed, your majesty, the. smaller, Journey may well have the more fatal termination," murmured the earl, but the king paid no attention to the remark, for his wandering eye now caught sight of a third in the conference, which brought surprised displeasure to his brow. The girl 'was standing behind the high back ofithe chair la which she had been seated,. In a gloomy angle where the flrclighHwhlch played so plainly on the king andStraffoBd did not touch her. . "Whom have we here? The. flippant prophet of the forest, or Tny . eyes de-j ceive me! How comes thisgirlinimj palace, so intimate with my Lord Strafford, who seemed to-mCeether aa a stranger but yesterday?" The slumbering suspicion otf Charles was aroused, andjhe gla need fromt one to the other In haughtjr questioning. "I never met her until I encountered! her in tho forest when lihad the honor, to accompany your - majesty. Today, as I walked with DeCorcy4 and -others, there came a second adcostlng firom her, as unexpected as the first. The girl craved private s speech with me,j which I somewhat reluctantly 'grant-l ed. The upshot is sheibringsimetpooof, which I cannot deny, -that she Is 'my eldest daughter." v"Your eldest daughter!" cried the king, amazed. "Is your family, then,) so widely scattered and so far unknown to ou that such a claimant may spring up ot anymoment?" , "I was married privately to the, daughter of Sir John Warburton. ' Circumstances separated me from my! wife, and, although .her fatherircurtlyl Informed me of her dieath, he sal noth-j ing of issue. There was a feud' be-, tween us entirely on) his part. . Ithadj naught against jhim. It seems ihejhasj been dead this" year past, and myj daughter, gettlngvnews of her fatheri among Sir John's) papers, comes thusi southward to makes inquiry." . "Y'ou fall into good fortiune, my glrlj Your extraordinary claim is most read-' ily allowed." Frances, finding nothlng.to say, kept' silence and bowed'her headto the king, whom she had , regarded throughout' with rapt attention.

(Continued -Tomorrow.) NOTICE TO BIDDERS. Notice is hereby given that th board of County Commissioners Wayne County win receive bids un( to 11 o'clock a. m. of Monday, Julyj 16, 1906 for the construction of ap-, proaches or fill to Trotter's Ford Bridge in Greene ownship. Furtherj notice is hereby given that specifications for the above approaches are' on file In the office of the Count, Auditor. C. E. WILEY. CLARK. T. E. JOHN F. DYNES. 2-6. Formers IPsiper. HE Richmond Pall dlum Is the only pa-j per published In Richmond on Saturday, which reaches the people living on the rural routes for Sunday, 'MaO forlnraT free delivery not delivered on Sunday, therei fore Saturday morning's PaHa; dlum is the only local paper? which is 'delivered before Mon-k day. This fact proves conclusively -the value of the Palladium as - - s medium In reaching the rural f routers. Saturday morning's' Palladium Is the only paper, they have to read on Sunday ' s the day they have the most time to read. -

OUJIUuHWUJiy.

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