Vietnam or Thailand ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Updated: May 18, 2025
Between Gretchen and the Princess Hildegarde of Hohenphalia there is as much difference as there is between what simile shall I use? the possible and the impossible?" "Gretchen " I began. "Gretchen?" The Princess laughed amusedly. "She is flown. I beg you not to waste a thought on her memory." Things were going badly for me. I did not understand the mood.
The second letter was from headquarters in New York. "DEAR WINTHROP We want a good Sunday special. Her Serene Highness the Princess Hildegarde of Hohenphalia has taken it into her head to disappear again. Go over and see Rockwell in B ; he will give you a good yarn. It has never been in type yet, and I daresay that it will make good reading.
"I? How in God's name can I save her?" the perspiration beginning to stand out on his brow. "How? I will tell you how. Prince Ernst marries Gretchen for her dowry alone. If the woman I believe to be her sister can be proved so, the Prince will withdraw his claims to Gretchen's hand. Do you understand? He will not marry for half the revenues of Hohenphalia. It is all or nothing.
Pembroke, to-night will be pregnant with possibilities. You will see the woman you love and the woman I love." "What do you mean?" "Have you ever heard of her Serene Highness the Princess Hildegarde of Hohenphalia?" "So high?" "Yes." "Then the woman I saw in Vienna " "Was the Princess." "But this remarkable likeness?" "Perhaps I had best tell you all."
At Hohenphalia, the capital, we were treated coldly; we were not known; they were preparing the palace for the coronation of Her Serene Highness the Princess Elizabeth; the Princess Hildegarde might be in Brussels. At Brussels Her Highness was in Munich, at Munich she was in Heidelberg, and so on and so on. It was truly discouraging.
The village was five miles below. I could see the turrets of the castle which belonged to the Princess. She was very wealthy, and owned as many as three strongholds in the petty principality of Hohenphalia. Capricious indeed must have been the woman who was ready to relinquish them for freedom. The innkeeper was a pleasant, ruddy-cheeked old man, who had seen service.
As I knew that Hillars did not wish to be found I made no inquiries. He was somewhere on the Continent, but where no one knew. At one time a letter dated at St. Petersburg reached me, and at another time I was informed of his presence at Monte Carlo. In neither letter was there any mention of her Serene Highness, the Princess Hildegarde of Hohenphalia.
I waved the slip of paper before Pembroke's eyes. "She is found!" I cried. "Then go in search of her," he said. "And you will go with me?" "Not I! I prefer tigers to princesses. By the way, here is an article in the Zeitung on the coming coronation of Her Serene Highness the Princess Elizabeth of Hohenphalia. I'm afraid that I shan't be present to witness the event."
"Since Thursday night I have not been so certain of my wife's dowry. If there are two Princesses, twins, they must govern jointly, or one may abdicate in favor of the other. Her Serene Highness the Princess Hildegarde is the one who will be most likely to relinquish her claims to Hohenphalia. If your friend is proved to be her sister " He stroked the orchid reflectively. "Well?"
I am about to leave for Hohenphalia to prepare the way for the new sovereign. Will you kindly destroy that one indiscreet letter which I, in the spirit of mischief, wrote you last autumn? "The Princess Hildegarde." The envelope reminded me of a rusty scabbard; there was a very keen weapon within. I lit my pipe and puffed for a while.
Word Of The Day
Others Looking