I had met her and her mother the winter before at Davos, where I had been sent after
South Africa and a spell of playing fast and loose with my health — a possession usually treated
as we treat the poor, whom we expect to have always with us. <...> The girl's reputation as a beauty had marched before her, blowing trumpets. <...> She was the
prettiest girl in Davos, as she had been the prettiest in London, and I shared with other normal,
self-respecting men the amiable weakness of wishing to monopolise the woman most wanted by
others. <...> Lady Blantock, a matron of a comfortable rotundity of figure and a placid way of folding
plump, white hands, had, however, a contradictorily cold and watchful eye, which I had feared at
first; but it had softened for me, and I accepted the omen. <...> Besides, the selection of the guests had apparently
been made with an eye to my pleasure. <...> There was Jack Winston, who had lately married an American heiress, not because she
was an heiress, but because she was adorable; there was the heiress herself, nee Molly Randolph,
whom I had known through Winston's letters before I saw her lovely, laughing face; there was Sir
Horace Jerveyson, the richest grocer in the world, whom I suspected Lady Blantock of actually
regarding as a human being and a suitable successor to the late Sir James. <...> Besides these there was
only myself, Montagu Lane; and I believed that the dinner had been arranged with a view to my
claims as leading man in the love drama of which Helen Blantock was leading lady, the other
characters in the scene merely being "on" as our "support''. <...> If this idea argued conceit, I was
punished
It was with the entree that the blow fell, and I had a curious, impersonal sort of feeling
that on every night to come,should I live fore a hundred years,each future entree of each future
dinner would recall the sensation of this moment. <...> Molly and Jack had said that they were
going to Switzerland to try the new Mercedes which had been given as a wedding present to the
girl by a school friend of that name, and of many dollars <...>
The_princess_passes.pdf
!"# $RINC#SS $%SS#S
BY THE SAME AUTHORS
THE LIGHTNING CONDUCTOR
MY FRIEND THE CHAUFFEUR
LADY BETTY ACROSS THE WATER
THE CAR OF DESTINY
BY MRS. C. N. WILLIAMSON
THE ADVENTURE OF PRINCESS SYLVIA
THE WOMAN WHO DARED
THE SEA COULD TELL
THE CASTLE OF SHADOWS
PAPA
THE PRINCESS PASSES
A ROMANCE OF A MOTOR
By
C. N. AND A. M. WILLIAMSON
AUTHORS OF "THE LIGHTNING CONDUCTOR "
WITH SIXTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS
EIGHTH EDITION
First Published
Second Edition
Third Edition
METHUEN & CO.
36 ESSEX STREET W.C.
LONDON
....
....
....
Fourth Edition....
Fifth Edition
Sixth Edition
Seventh Edition
Eighth Edition....
....
....
August
February 1905
April
May
1904
1905
1905
September 1905
December 1905
.... June 1906
April
1907
Стр.1
The Princess Passes
TO
THE DEAR PRINCESS
WHO, EACH YEAR, MAKES THE RIVIERA
SUNNIER FOR HER PRESENCE
1
Стр.2
The Princess Passes
CONTENTS
CONTENTS................................................................................................................................................... 2
CHAPTER I WOMAN DISPOSES............................................................................................................. 4
CHAPTER II MERCEDES TO THE RESCUE........................................................................................ 8
CHAPTER III. MY LESSON.................................................................................................................... 15
CHAPTER IV. POTS, KETTLES, AND OTHER THINGS................................................................... 20
CHAPTER V. IN SEARCH OF A MULE ................................................................................................ 25
CHAPTER VI. THE WINGS OF THE WIND......................................................................................... 28
CHAPTER VII. AT LAST......................................................................................................................... 34
CHAPTER VIII. THE MAKING OF A MYSTERY............................................................................... 40
CHAPTER IX. THE BRAT........................................................................................................................ 43
CHAPTER X. THE SCRAPING OF ACQUAINTANCE...................................................................... 50
CHAPTER XI. THE BABE IN THE WOODS......................................................................................... 54
CHAPTER XII. THE PRINCESS ............................................................................................................. 59
CHAPTER XIII. NAMING NO NAMES.................................................................................................. 64
CHAPTER XIV. THE PATH OF THE MOON....................................................................................... 69
CHAPTER XV. ENTER THE CONTESSA ............................................................................................ 75
CHAPTER XVI. A MAN FROM THE DARK......................................................................................... 79
CHAPTER XVII. THE LITTLE GAME OF FLIRTATION ................................................................. 86
CHAPTER XVIII. RANK TYRANNY..................................................................................................... 91
CHAPTER XIX. THE LITTLE RIFT WITHIN THE LUTE................................................................ 94
CHAPTER XX. THE GREAT PAOLO.................................................................................................... 99
CHAPTER XXI. THE CHALLENGE .................................................................................................... 102
CHAPTER XXII. AN AMERICAN CUSTOM..................................................................................... 105
CHAPTER XXIII. THERE IS NO SUCH GIRL................................................................................... 108
CHAPTER XXIV. THE REVENGE OF THE MOUNTAIN................................................................ 113
CHAPTER XXV. THE AMERICANS.................................................................................................... 122
CHAPTER XXVI. THE VANISHING OF THE PRINCE.................................................................... 127
2
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The Princess Passes
CHAPTER XXVII. THE STRANGE MUSHROOM.............................................................................133
CHAPTER XXVIII. THE WORLD WITHOUT THE BOY.................................................................138
CHAPTER XXIX. THE FAIRY PRINCE'S RING................................................................................141
CHAPTER XXX. THE DAY OF SUSPENSE.........................................................................................146
CHAPTER XXXI. THE BOY'S SISTER.................................................................................................149
3
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The Princess Passes
THE PRINCESS PASSES
CHAPTER I
WOMAN DISPOSES
"Away, away from men and towns,
To the wild wood and the downs,
To the silent wilderness."
PERCY BYSSHE Shelley.
"TO your happiness," I said, lifting my glass and looking the girl in the eyes. She had the
grace to blush, which was the least that she could do; for a moment ago she had jilted me.
The way of it was this.
I had met her and her mother the winter before at Davos, where I had been sent after
South Africa and a spell of playing fast and loose with my health — a possession usually treated
as we treat the poor, whom we expect to have always with us. Helen Blantock had been the
success of her season in London, but had paid for her triumphs with a breakdown, and we had
stopped at the same hotel.
The girl's reputation as a beauty had marched before her, blowing trumpets. She was the
prettiest girl in Davos, as she had been the prettiest in London, and I shared with other normal,
self-respecting men the amiable weakness of wishing to monopolise the woman most wanted by
others. During the process, I fell in love, and Helen was kind.
Lady Blantock, a matron of a comfortable rotundity of figure and a placid way of folding
plump, white hands, had, however, a contradictorily cold and watchful eye, which I had feared at
first; but it had softened for me, and I accepted the omen. In the spring, when my London tyrant
had pronounced me "sound as a bell," I proposed to Helen. The girl said neither yes nor no; but
she had eyes and a smile which needed no translation, so I kissed her (it was in a conservatory at
a dance) and was happy — for a fortnight.
Then came this bidding to dinner. Lady Blantock wrote the invitation, of course, but it
was natural to suppose that she did it to please her daughter. It happened to be my birthday, and I
fancied that Helen had kept the date in mind. Besides, the selection of the guests had apparently
been made with an eye to my pleasure.
There was Jack Winston, who had lately married an American heiress, not because she
was an heiress, but because she was adorable; there was the heiress herself, nee Molly Randolph,
whom I had known through Winston's letters before I saw her lovely, laughing face; there was Sir
Horace Jerveyson, the richest grocer in the world, whom I suspected Lady Blantock of actually
regarding as a human being and a suitable successor to the late Sir James. Besides these there was
only myself, Montagu Lane; and I believed that the dinner had been arranged with a view to my
claims as leading man in the love drama of which Helen Blantock was leading lady, the other
characters in the scene merely being "on" as our "support''. If this idea argued conceit, I was
punished
It was with the entree that the blow fell, and I had a curious, impersonal sort of feeling
that on every night to come,should I live fore a hundred years,each future entree of each future
dinner would recall the sensation of this moment. Something inside me, that was myself yet not
myself, chuckled grimly at the thought, and made a note to avoid entrees.
We had been asking each others' plans for August. Molly and Jack had said that they were
going to Switzerland to try the new Mercedes which had been given as a wedding present to the
girl by a school friend of that name, and of many dollars.
4
Стр.5