A Son of the Immortals

n tired ponies, when the Wanderers' third man extricated the ball from a tangle of prancing hoofs and clattering sticks, and Alec Delgrado got away with it. He thought hi

den off ere he came within a reasonable striking distance of the opposing goalposts. That was the Chantilly man's supreme o

f strides a lean, eager head would be straining alongside his own pony's girths. So he struck hard and clean and raced

alized by any one present save Alec himself. It was his farewell to the game. From that day he would cease to be dependent on a begrudged pittance for the upkeep of his stable, and that meant the end of his polo play

of the few spectators almost

d he of Chantilly, as the ponies

mine did not come too clo

manoir. "The match is over, and you've won it, and if y

cky, a she

yarn! A fellow flukes with h

would you, Berty, if i

yhow," said Beaumano

, and escaped to the dressing room. He gave a letter, already written and sealed, to an attendant, and drove away in his dogcart. Bowling quic

ay he thought himself part and parcel of that gay throng. To-day he was a differen

s far from looking the "limp rag" of his phrase to Joan. Indeed, it might have taxed the resources of any crack regiment in Paris that day to produce his equal in condition. Twenty-four years old, nea

s, wore a happy-go-lucky expression that was the despair of matchmaking mamas; but to-day Alec was serious. He was

f newsboys running frantically along the boulevards. That is to say, he heard, but di

s to Joan. The question he addressed to the

neur at hom

ncy has mounted a little h

ow for it!" he

le. Whether eating, sleeping, driving, strolling, chatting or card playing, the whereabouts and occupation of Prince Michael Delgrado could be correctly diagnosed at any given hour of the day and night. Fortune delights

annoyance. In fact, he had been obliged to think, and the effort invariably distressed him. Apparently he had a big head, and big headed men of diminutive

ist, were there; but the physiognomist would look in vain for any sign of genius or true nobility. Recognition of his undoubted rank had, of course, given him the grand manner. That was unavoidable, and it w

lons repaid their debt by conferring the repose, the dignity, the subtle aura of distinction, that constitute the aristocrat in outward bearing. For this reason, Princess Delgrado

o evidently owed both mind and body to his mother. Looking at the Princess,

was in tune for a family conclave. Monseigneur was ruff

a half-repressed sob from his mother. Instantly he took the blame on his o

fected indifference, "what is the matter? Surely you and dad have not been worrying about me! You can't keep me i

ere was a pathetic weakness in her mouth and chin that was noticeably absent from her son's strong li

y part to imagine that things could continue forever on the same lines; but I shall

rown man when the pair of them were slung out of Kosnovia. Sorry, sir; but that is the way they talk history nowadays. It has ceased to be decorous. I am afraid Paris is largely responsible. You see, we have an Emperor in the next block, two Kings in the Avenue Victor Hugo, and a fugitive ex-President in the H?tel Métropole. I have seen the whole lot, even our noble selves, burlesqued in a Montmartre review. And I la

of the Parisian band of Kings in exile. But to-day his chubby cheeks refused to crease in a grin. He remained morose, oracular, h

front of a grate filled with ferns. He always stood there,-in winter because it was warm

o matter how small your income may be, live within it: that is the beginning of wealth,' it said. How profound! I applied

lec. I have that to say which

e. I resigned my membership of the polo club to-day. To-morrow, or eke to-night, I look for a

to me for some assistanc

it. I refuse!" Her voice took a tragic note, thin and shrill; there was a pitiful quivering of her lips that wrung her son's

,-one begins by assuming that,-and it is no secret that the Delgrado side of the family was not bles

rds in a foreign tongue that sounded anything but serene. The Princess did not understa

this subject had better be discuss

eason the little man was very angry, and he seem

nce and for all," he vowed. "Before

nd white face was crimson now, and his manner that of unmeasured, almost uncontrollable excitement. He gazed at them wit

?" he snapped, biti

an instant lowering of the princely mask, since J

The news fr

ted to yawn. "Oh, is

t more would you have

so disturbed. What, then, has happened

wcomer's voice cracked.

eft them all silent, as though their ears were stunned and their tongues paralyzed. Alec was the first to see th

father, like the rest of us, read this morning'

side himself. His full red lips, not at all unlike those of the

elgratz. Last night, while Theodore and the Queen were at dinner, the Seventh Regiment mutinied. It was on guard at the Schwarzburg. Officers and men acted toge

Michael, fumbling with an eyeglass, dropped it in sheer nervousness. Alec, throwing an arm round his mother, recalled the hoarse yelling of the newsboys on the boulevard

ds. You know our proverb: 'A stone that falls in t

telegrams declare that already

I

cutioner waited without. His ruddy cheeks blanched, and his hands were outstretched as if in a piteous plea for

d again, with

of that? One audacious week will see you enthroned once more in the Schwarzburg. Ah! Here come St

ollowed by a man who was obviously more of a Levantine than a Serb. The older man, small, slight, gray haired, and swarthy, but surprisingly active in h

I have been spared to se

nelt by Stampoff's side. "I too am your Majes

d Helena both dead! What a thing! They were my enemies; but I am shocked, I may almost say grieved. And what am I to do? I am practically powerless,-few friends, no money. One does

of a Republic. Think of that! Could folly go farther? A Republic in the Balkans, with Russia growling at one door, Austria picking the lock of another, and the Turk squatting before a third! No, Monseigne

ing lost ground. He grasped the eyeglass again, a

motion," he said. "Count Marulitch spoke of a proclama

uthority is there than your

palm. "An excellent sentiment, my fri

giment revolted and declared for the Delgrado dynasty. Two other battalions of the same regiment in the capital followed their lead. But the Chamber met this morning, and there was an expression of opin

et red color, and its present tint suggested that it had been carved out of a Camem

said, and there was a perceptible tinge of cyn

at times," mutte

of his long mustaches in impotent

," broke in Alec, who had placed his mother in a chair and was now gaz

ifetime! Why, I came to Paris twenty-four years ago, just after you were born, Alexis, and even then the Obrenovitch line seemed to be well established. And here you are, a grown man, and Theodore and his Queen are lying dead in the Black Palace. It gives one to t

orten his mustache by inches; and Julius Marulitch was waxen,

first time in his life, Alec despised Prince Michael. There was a quickening in his veins, a tingling at the roots of his hair, a tension of his muscles, at the repulsive notion that a Serene Highness might, after all, be molded of common clay. And in that spasm of sheer agony he remembered how Joan's sweet voice had thrilled him with the message of Pallas Athene. Was he, indeed, one of those sons of

s enthusiasm, and one must be enthusiastic to the point of death itself if he would snatch a Kingdom out of such a fire as is raging now in Kosnovia. Austria has never seen me, probably has never even heard of me. I can slip thr

usly; but a sigh that was blended with a groan came agai

the hearthrug to gaze out of the window. To his displeased surprise, a small crowd had gathered. A man was pointing to the Delgrado apartments. Another man, carrying a bundle of new

found his father looking into the street, General Stampoff standing o

bit upset, I suppose, by our warlike talk; but we were so excited that

was his notion when he first approached the window. "I think it is an exc

things are not to be settled as a shopkeeper appoints an agent. Does your H

on of "Highness" for "Majesty" was not devoid of significance

ied Alec

ince Michael,

d heavily, and Constantine Bel

ll be ready to accompany your Majesty by the train

ee," he said. "I was sure Stampoff w

acuity told of the man's exceeding unfitness for the r?le th

with a most unflattering lack of reco

ing both hands into his trousers

?" inquir

usand francs. After that,

stments have been singularly unremunera

ble Paris. Yet, with it all, he was aware of a consuming desire to laugh. There was a sense of utter farce in thus disposing of the affairs of nations in a flat in the Rue Boissière.

bes occasionally," explai

them," said

them," sa

"We need our railway fares only, General. Once at Delgratz, our fickle Kosnov

icient funds to secure a

roviding ten thousand f

"Dumont, though a horse dealer, is fairly honest. My four ponies are worth another ten, and

ning. My presence would hamper you now. I am too well known, and

that would have delighted Joa

ng of leading armies. I mean to pla

troops. They alone can make or

ed the brusk Stampoff. "You will bring the money,

r the remainder, you w

Prince Michael. "By the way, my dear Beliani," he be

"If I have to raise such a large sum befo

tted the room in company. Alec went to pay a brief visit to his mother, and Prince Micha

roken down, a trifler, a worn out old dandy. You have got the right metal in Alexis

his spirit, there would never have been an Obrenovitch on the throne of Kosnovia! Ferdinand VII., Mi