The King of the Mountains

ighs on account of the King of the Mountains. As for me, I embraced them heartily. I was happy in being alive, and I saw only friends on all sides. My feet were cured; my hair trimmed,

ooks and papers. "Dear sir, you see a man overwhelmed with work," he said. "I found, above the village of Castia, an antique inscription, which deprived me of the pleasure of fighting for you, and which for six days has puzzled me. It is absolutely unknown, I assure you of that. No one has seen it; I have th

X. X.

C. C. C

difficult one. Antiquity guards its secrets with jealous care. I greatly fear that I have come across a monument relative to the Eleusinian mysteries. In that

ered a mile-stone such as one often sees on long roads, and that the inscripti

M. Mérinay; I am going to write to my

at once; I ordered that Frantz and Jean Nicolas should leave the service; I advised my other brothers to change their business. I took everything upon myself; I assumed the responsibility of the future of the whole family. Without losing a m

fect was not noticeable. My sword was seven or eight centimetres too short; but what of that? Courage is not measured by the length of a sword, and I had without vanity the right to pass for a he

ind the throne for the King and Queen were the fauteuils reserved for the ladies; on the other were chairs

rs, among whom I recognized M. George-Micrommatis. The King was magnificently dressed in Palikar uniform, and the Queen was resplendent with exquisite elegancies which c

officer, standing in front of us, stepped back suddenly with his whole weight upon my foot and the pain drew from me an exclamation. He turned his head and I recognized Captain Pericles, freshly decorated with the Ordre du Sauveur. He m

mse

ccompany me, for a moment, into the card-ro

orders, M

al, smilingly followed us. Arrived, he faced John Harr

ribbon, and put it in his pocket, saying: "The

ed the captain,

r this toy you can send two of your friends for

you take from me a cross which is worth fifteen francs, a

he head of the Queen of England on it; fifteen francs for the cross, ten for

"I have only to thank you." He saluted without an

uture bride. This gendarme has the air of a polished brigand. As for me, I shall remain here eight days in order to giv

reece without a specimen or two of the Boryana variabilis. I have an incompl

will make a pilgrimage into the mountains for your sake. B

official balls. I remembered that there was a mirror in front of me. I raised my eyes and I saw her, without being seen, between her mother and her uncle; more beautiful, more radiant than on the day when she appeared to me for the first time. Three strands of pearls were around her neck and lay partly on her divine shoulders. Her eyes shone in the candlelight, her teeth glistened as she laughed, the light played in her hair. Her toilet was such as all young girls wear; she did not wear, like Mrs. Simons, a bird of paradise on her head; but she was not the less beautiful; her skirt was

Ann! I

ughtily that it seemed to me as if her bird of paradise would fly away with it to the ceiling. The old gentleman took me by the

. Hermann Schultz! Their companion in captivity! their savior! Ah! I have had some w

Monsieur, exacts, absolutely, that one be present

re than ten times together. I have rendered them a service worth a hundred t

you have not

ve exposed myself to a thousan

you have not b

me, then,

ou must first be

ai

were waltzing; my sword got entangled between my legs, I slipped on the

are you

be presented first. It is the English custom. Help me! Where are they

the ball with

, my friend, she is

gain. I will have you present

, Edward Sharper. I left him here. Where in the d

before the Hotel des Etrangers. Mrs. Simons' apartments were lighted. At th

"Sleep will calm you. To-morrow between

We heard the carriages coming from the ball, descend Rue d'Hèrmes with their freight of uniforms and toil

our Englishwom

he

Trie

rt thou su

accompanied th

eizing my hands. "Gratitude may be as

i. This sentiment had

d me to the French steamer the day after the ball. They thought it wise to make the journey during the night, for fear of encountering M. Pericles' soldiers. We arrived without ac

I. My father, who had had the good sense to keep his inn, wrote to me, at Messina, that my effort

inscription on the monument, one more clever than mine. His great work upon Demosthenes ought to be printed some day or other. The King of the Mountains made peace with the authorities. He built a fine mansion on the road to Pentelicus, with a guard-house for lodging twenty-five devo

that my tall, thin figure is reflected in her eyes. Then I awake, I weep hot tears and I furiously bite my pillow. What I regret, believe me, is not the woman, it is the fortune and the position which escap