Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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II Undei j By FRED | Author I Copyright. 1003. by the At the command the creature spranj forward furiously, when the sword o the Jester shot out?once, twice! Fron the morio's grip fell the dagger; ovei his face the lust for killing was re placed by a look of surprise; with t single moan he throw both arms ot high and, tottering like an oak, tlx monster fell backward with a crash carry ng with liiin the rogues behind imprecations, threats and cries of pain ensued; several knaves went llmplnp away from the struggling group; oik lay prostrate as the niorlo himself; the _ Fell backward with a crash. master or rue uonr rubbed his shoulder, anathematizing roundly the euuse of the disaster. "I think my arm's put out," he said. "Is the creature dead?" he added viciously. "Beshrew me, I thought the Jester was a craven," growled he of the boar. "What does It mean?" "That he saw the snare and spread another," replied the host. "Go back to your room, mistress," whispered the plaisant to the young girl, "and lock j-ourself In." "Nay. I'll n?jt leave you," she replied. "Do you think they will return?" she added In a voice she strove to make firm. your window and"call but. It is a sleuIder hope, but the best we have. Fear not. I can hold the stairs yet awhile." A moment she hesitated, then glided away. At the same time he of the boar grasped a sword in his -left hand and, with his right hunging useless, rushed nn the stnlrs "Oh, there you are, my nimble wit cracker!" he crleil as the Jester stepped boldly out. " 'Twas u pretty piece of ) foolery you played on the monster and us, but quip for quirk, my merry wagl" And, so speaking, lie directed a violent thrust, which, had it taken effect, would indeed have made good the leader's threat. But the plalsant stepped aside, the blow grazed Ills shoulder, while his own blade by a rapid counter passed through the throat of his antagonist. With a shriek, the blood gushfng from V the wound, the master of the boar fell \V lifeless on the stairs, his sword clattering downward. At that grewsomo sight his fellows paused irresolute, and, seeing their Indecision, the Jester rushed headlong upon them, striking fiercely, when their hesitation turned Into panic, and the knaves fairly flew. Below the irate landlord stamped and fumed, cutting and striking as he moved among them with threats and abuse. Thus exhorted, the knaves once more took heart nnd gathered for the attack. Glaves were provided for those In front, and the plalsant waited, grimly determined, yet liking little the nspect of those terrible weapons and feeling the end of the unequal contest was not far distant, when a light hand was laid on his ann. "Follow me quietly," said Jacqueline. 0"We may yet escai>e. Don't question me, but come," she went on hurriedly, Impressed by her earnestness, the Jester, after a moment's hesitation, obeyed. She led him to her room, closed nnd loeked the door, but not before a scampering of feet and sound ol voices told them the rogi&s had gain ed the uppe'f passage, and drew him hastily to the window. "See!" she said eagerly. "A ladder!' "And nt the foot of the ladder oui horses!" he exclaimed In surprise "Who has done this?" Her response was Interrupted by t hand at their door and a clamor with out, followed by heavy blows. "Quick, Jacqueline!" he cried an( helped her to the long ladder set, as li seemed, providentially against the wall "Can you do It?" ho asked, yet hold . lng her hand. Her eyes gave him an seer, and he released her, watchlnf her descend. * The door quivered beneath the gen pr/' eral onslaught of the now exultant out laws, and as a glavc shattered tin panel the Jester threw himself over th< casement. A deafening hubbub en sued, the door suddenly gave way, an< the band rushed Into the room. A the same time the plalsant ran dowi I iftdder anjl jpraiig tajtba noun the Rose * ERIC S. ISHAM, of "The Strollers" DO WEN-MERRILL COMPANY ' at the young wife's side. From nb( p wime exclamations of wonder a ( amazement, mingled with Invective. "They're gone!" cried one. r "Here tliey are!" exclaimed anoth The Jester at once seized the men 1 of descent, but not before the m | who had discovered them was on t upper rounds. A quick effort on t fool's part and ladder and rogue t< pled over together. The enterprlsi ' knave lay motionless where he fell. ' "Vrni Dleu! He wanted to coi down," said an approving voice. ' Turning, fhe jester beheld the Spa lsli troubadour, who was composed engaged in placing bundles of stra against the wall of the inn. "I don't think he'll bother you ai more," continued the minstrel In 1 deep tones. "If you'll ride down tl road I'll join yo\i In a moment." So saying, he knelt before the coi bustlble accumulation he had been di gently heaping together and struck spark which, seizing 011 the dry m terial, immediately kindled Into a gre 1 "flame. "What arc you doing, villain?" roa I ed the landlord from the window, dl covering the forks of tire already lea ing and crackling about the tavern. "Only making a bonfire of a fo nest," lightly answered the minstre standing back as though to admire li "? auuiHvift, xour vue Hostelry buri well, my dissembling host." i "Hell dog! Vnrlet!" screamed the pr< prtetor, overwhelmed with consterni tion. j "Is it thus you greet your guests' replied the troubadour, throwing ai other bundle of straw upon the a j ready formidable conflagration. "Yo j were not wont to be so discourteou . my prince of bonlfaces." j But, recovering from his temporar Stupor, the landlord, without reply, dii appeared from the window. | "Now may we safely lenve the flame to the wind," commented the minstn as he sprang upon a small nag whithad been fastened to a shed near bj "As we have burned the roof over ou heads," he continued, addressing th wondering Jester and his companloi who had nlrcady mounted and wer waiting, "let us seek another hostelry. Swiftly the trio rode forth from th tavern yard, out into the moonlit rood "Not so quickly, my friends," cone proceed leisurely, for it will be sorn time belore mine host and his friend can batter their way from the inn." "Who are you, sir?" asked the fool. The minstrel laughed and auswere in his natural voice. "Don't you know me, mon ami?" h said gnyly. "What a jest this will b at court! How it will amuse the klng""Cailletto!" exclaimed the pluisar loudly. "Calllette!" CHAPTER XXI. **t w w llMSELFl" laughed the mil If strel. "Did I not tell you should become a Span!! iruuuuuuur; x iitru, Ing out his hand, he added seriousl; "Right pleased am I to meet you. Bi how came you here?" "I have fled from the keep of the o! custle, where I lay charged with he esy," answered the Jester, returnir the hearty grip. "The keep!" exclaimed Calllette 1 surprise. "You are fortunate not 1 have been brought to trial," he add< thoughtfully. "Few get through thi seine, and his holiness the pope, I u derstaud, has ordered the meshes mat yet smaller." They had paused on the brow of hill commanding the view of road ai tavern. Dazed, the young girl had II tenod to the greeting between tlio t\> i men. T|}is ragged, beard grown tro badour, the graceful, legnnt Caillet Iof Francis' court? It seemed Jncret ble. At the same time through li mliul passed the memory of the pli sant's reiterated exclamation in pr: on, "Calllette?In Spain!" words s had attributed to fever, not lmaginii i they had any foundation in fnct. But now this unexpected encount , abruptly dispelled her first supposlti and opened n new iield for specula tic Certainly had he been on u mission . some kind somewhere, but what 1 ? errand she could not divine. But If she was surprised at Calllett ( unexpected presence nnd disguise, tl: counterfeit troubadour had been no 1< > amazed to see her, the Joeulatrlx the princess, in the mean garb of wifrjmut; uiuimiiiuinnu, ? uiiut'iuih u\ the country like one born to the i l madlc existence. Thnt she had a i . ture as free as air and tlio spirit ol gypsy he well believed, hut thnt 8 I would forego the security of the ro; t household for the discomforts and di . gers of a vagrunt life he could not r . onclle to that other part of her cli . acter which he knew must shrink fn f the actualities of the straggler's lot. "Have you left the court, mlstresi . he now asked abruptly. "Yes," she answered curtly, a The constraint that ensued hetw? a them wns broken by a new aspect i. tho now distant conflagration. 1 * fore tho tavern, now burhjjig on t sides, could be distinguished a num a of figures frantically running hit A I MMhir tilUlLikaytl the crackl ?J of the flames and the clamorous cries of the birds was heard the voice ol the proprietor alternately pleadlnf with the knaves to save the tavern an<] execrating him who had applied the torch. "Cap de I?leu, the landlord will snari no more travelers," said Culllette. "Mj horse had become road worn and perforce I had tarried there sufficient while to know the company and the host. When you walked In with this fair maid I could hardly believe my i eyes. 'Twus a nice trap, and the landlord an unctuous fellow for a villain. Assured tlint you could not go out ns you came, I e'en prepared n less conventional means of exit." >ve He bad scarcely finished tills explund nation when, with n shower of sparks and a mighty crash, the heavy roof fell. "It Is over," murmured Caillette, and. er. ns they touched their horses, leaving ins the smoldering ruins behind them, he an added: "Hut how came the scamp he student to serve you? I was watching lie closely and listening, too, so caught >p- j how 'twas done." ng 1 "I spared his life once," answered the Jester. lie "And he remembered? 'Tis passing strange from such n rogue. A clever in- device to warn you In Latin that his lly friends intended to kill one or both of iw you for the Jeweled sword." "Why," spoke up the young girl, her ay attention sharply arrested, "was it not lis a mere discussion of some kind? And he ?the quarrel?" "A pretense on the rogue's part to u- avert the suspicion of the master of M- the hoar. I could hut marvel"?to the a Jester?"at your forbearance." a- "I fear me Jacqueline had the right at to a poor opinion of her squire," replied the duke's fool. "Nor do I blame i'- her," he laughed. "In esteeming a stout s* bolt more protection than a craven P- blade." Itut the girl did not answer. Through u' her brain flashed the recollection of her cold dlsduin, her scornful words, her 's prompt dismissal of the Jester nt her 13 i door. Weighing what she had said and I done with what he had said and done, ^ I she turned to him quickly, impulsively. I Tliroucrll tlm sumlilnplrnooo "l"> ** O-- ?v......??.nuvoo one OUW I lie # smile around his mouth and the quizzical look with which he was regarding her, whereupon her courage failed. She bit her Hp and remained silent. u They had now passed the brow of the s> hill; on each side of the highway the forests parted wider and wider, and y the thoroughfare was bathed in a 3" white light. As they rode along on this clearly 11tumbled highway Calllette glanced iu" terrogntively at the plaisant. The outcome of his Journey?should he speak ' now or later, when they were alone? The answer of the duke's fool to his ? companion's glance was a direct iu? qulry. ? "You found the emperor?" he said. e "Yes, and presented your message I with some misgiving." "And did ho treat it with the scaDt jj not once, but twice, and changed cols or-" "And theu?" "Whatever magic your letter court tallied," replied Calllette, "it seemed convincing to Charles. 'My brother e Francis must be strangely credulous e to be so cozened by an impostor,' _ quoth he, with a gleam of humor in his ,t K?7.e." "Impostor!" It was the young girl who spoke, interrupting in her surprise the troubadour's story. "You did not know, mistress," said a" Calllette. } "No," she answered and listened the ih . ^ closer. y. "When I left, two messages the emperor gave me," went on the other, "one for the king, the other for yon." U And, taking from his doublet a docunient weighted with a ponderous disk, the speaker handed it to the duke's fool, who silently thrust it in his [n breast. "Moreover, unexpectedly, hut ?0 as good fortune would have It, his mnjesty was even then completing ^ preparations for a journey through Franco to the Netherlands, owing to uulooked for troubles in that part of his domains, and had already dispatched his envoyB to the king. Charles a assured me that he would still further ll* hasten his intended visit to the Low '8* Countries and come at once. Mcnnk'? while his communication to the king," u" tapping his breast, "will at least delay t0 the nuptials, and, with the promise of the emperor's immediate arrival, the cr marriage cannot occur." ll* "It has occurred," said the jester. l8* The other uttered a quick exchinm,ie tion. "Then have I fulled, in my ern8 rand," lie muttered blankly. "Hut the king! Had lie no suspicion?" cr "It was through the Countess on d'Etatnpes the monurcli was led to >n* chalitre the time for the festivities." spoke up Jacqueline involuntarily, lis 4,8he!" exclaimed the poet, wltli a gesture of half aversion. For some e H time they went on without further ,nt words. Then suddenly Caillette drew rein. of "This news makes it the more necesn snry I should hasten to the king," he <>r said. "The emperor's message?Fran'10" els should receive it at once. Here, 'in* therefore, must 1 leave you; or why do ' a you not return with me?" nddressing the Jester. "The letter from Charles ^ will exonerate you, and Francis will rel,n" ward you in proportion to the injuries oc" you havo suffered. What say you, nr" mistress?" oni "That I will never go back," she answered briefly and looked away. Calllette's perplexity was relieved by the plalsnnt. "Farewell, if you must leave," said the latter. "We meet f again, I trust." Bo_ "The fates willing," returned the poet. "Farewell, and good fortune go a" with you both." And, wheeling abrupthe* ly, ho rode slowly back. The Jester her and the girl watched him disappear lo* ovgr tfcft read Ud cma.. I without fear of being disturbed again lids iilclit," he said. She sank wearily upon the straw, then pave him her band gratefully. Her face looked rosy in the refleetiou fronr the hearth. A comforting sense of warmth eropt over her as she lay in front of the blaze. Her eyes were languorous with the luxury of the heat after a chilling ride. Drawing the cloak to her chin, she smiled faintly. Was It at his solicitude? He noticed how her hair swept from the saddle j pillowing her head to the earth, and, I sitting there on the stool, wondering ! perhaps at Its nbundanoe, or half dreaming, he forgot he yet held her hand. Gently she withdrew it, and he started. "Why did you not tell me It was not a discussion with the scamp student?" I she asked. "Why did you let me Imagine that you"? Her eyes said the rest. "You should not have permitted me to to think it," she reiterated. He was silent. She closed her eyes, but In a moment her lashes uplifted. "And I should not have thought It," J she said. "Jacqueline!" he cried, starting up. She did not answer?indeed, seemed sleeping?her face turned from him. Through the open doorway a streak of red in the east heralded the coming glory of the morn. "Deep, peep." twittered a bird on the roof of the hovel. From the poplar it was answered by a more melodious phrase, a song of welcome to the radiant dawn. A moment the Jester listened, his head raised to the growing splendor of the heaven, then threw himself on the earthen floor of the hut and was at once overcome with sleep. I CHAPTER XXII. "^TlHE slanting rays of the slnk? ing sun shot athwart the valggjgrS ley. glanced from the tile ySelfcaBl rt*>fs of the homes of the peasantry and Illumined the lofty towers of a great manorial chateau. Into the little town at the foot of the big house rode shortly before nightfall the Jester and his companion. During the dnv tlm tiling in HID "IIWIV OIIV from him had startled away the torpor of somnolence. "You fainted, or fell asleep, mistress," he said quietly. "Yes, I remember, in the gorge." "It was impossible to stop there, so I rode on. Hut here in this shepherd's hut we may find shelter." And, turning the horses, he would have led them to the door, but the animals held back, then stood stock still. Striding to the hut, the jester stepped in, but quickly sprang to one side, and as he did so some creature shot out of the door and disappeared in the gloom. "A wolf!" exclaimed the plaisant. Entering the hut once more, he struck a light. In a corner lay furze lie forgot he \jct held her hand. and firewood, and from this store lie drew, heaping the combustible material on the hearth until a cheering blaze fairly illumined the worn and dilapidated Interior. Near the fireplace were n pot and kettle, whose rusted j appearunee bespoke long disuse, but a i ' trencher and porridge spoon on a stool , near by seemed waiting the coming of the master. A couch of straw had been the lonely shepherd's bed and later the lodgment of his enemy, the wolf. J "^ere jou may (est. Jacuuell&ft, 1 "A true friend," said the plnlsant as ^ Culllette vunlshed In the glooin [ "You regret uot returning with IiIuj, 1 perhaps?" she observed quickly. "Hon! ors and offices of preferment are not plentiful." ! "I want none of them from Francis," lie returned as they started slowly on their way. Their horses crept along; the girl bent forwnrd wearily; heretofore the excitement and danger had sustained her, hut now the reaction from all she had endured bore down upon her. She thought of calling to the fool, of craving the rest she so needed, but a feeling of prhle or constraint held her silent. Before her the shadows danced illusively, the tllm of brightness changed and shifted, then all glimmering and partial shade were swallowed up in a black chasm. Biding near, the jester observed her form sway from side to side and spurred forward. In a moment be had clasped her waist, then lifted her from the saddle and held her l>efore him. "Jacqueline!" ho-cried. She offered no resistance. Her head remained motionless on his breast. Sedulously he bent over her. The warm breath reassured him; tired nature had simply succumbed. (intbering the young form gently to him, the Jester rode slowly on, and the horse of his companion followed. So he went, he knew not how long, listening to her breathing that came full and deep, half fearing, half wondering at that relaxation. For the first time he forgot about the emperor and his purpose, the free baron and the desires of sweet avengement. He thought only of her he held; how courageous yet alone she was in 11??? -t? - ~ 9UV had planned the service which won her the right to his protection; her flight from Francis?but where? To whom could she go? To whom could she turn? Unconscious she lay In his anus In that deep sleep or heavy inertia following exhaustion, her pale face against his shoulder, and as the young plalsant bent over her his heart thrilled with protecting tenderness. And, but for him, whom else had she? This young girl, had she not become his burden of responsibility, his moral obligation? For the first time he seemed to realize how tlie flue tendrils of her nature had touched his; touched and clung, ever so gently, but fast lie saw lier, too, secretly and silently cherishing a new faith In her bos- * om amid a throng, lax and inflrin of purpose, and wonderment gave way to another emotion as his mind leaped from that past, with its covert, inner life, to the untramnielcd moment when she had thrown ofT the mask in the sol! itude of the forest. Afar the bell of some wanderer from the herd tinkled drowsily, arousing him from his reverie. The horses were ascending. The rood emerged into a plain set with bracken ai\tj gorse, with here and there a single tree whose ill the shadow of a poplar, stood a shepherd's hut apparently deserted and Isolated from humankind. The fool reined the horse, which for some time had been moving painfully, and at that abrupt cessation of motion the Jestrcss looked up with a start. Meeting his eyes, at first she did not * withdraw her own, Qucstioningly her i bewildered gaze enr nintorod his. Then with a quick movement she released herself from his arm and sprang to the ground, lie, too, immediately dismounted. She felt very wide awake now, as though the sudden consciousness of that encircling grasp or some<t.U~ i? l.lo ?!.."?? I-"'-?- ..1 *111 ?'??* seemed diffident and constrained. She who had been all vivacity and life, on n sudden kept silence, or when she did speak her tongue had lost its sharpness. Ills first greeting that morning had been a swift, almost questioning, glanco before which she had looked away. In her face was the freshness of dawu, the grace of springtide. Overhead sang n lark; at their feet a brook whispered; around them solitude, vast, infinite. lie spoke and she answered; her reserve became infectious; they ate their oaten cakes and drank their wine, each strongly conscious of the presence of the other. Then he rose, saddled their horses and assisted her to mount. i>o they rode, pausing betimes to rest, and even then she had little to say suve once when they stopped at a rus1-m.a r^hiob snnnned a stream. For a moment he did noi then briefly related the story. "And why did you not tell me this I beforeV" she askeil when he had finished. "Would you have credited me then?" he replied, with a smile. Quickly she looked at him. Was there that in her eyes which to him robbed memory of its sting? At their feet the water leaped and laughed, curled around the stones and ran on with dancing bubbles. Perhaps he returned her glunce too readily; perhaps the recollection of the rule the night before recurred overvlvldly to her, for she gazed suddenly away, and he wondered in what direction her thoughts tended, when she said with some reserve: "Shall we go on?" They had not long left the brook and the bridge when from afar they caught sight of the regal chateau and the clustering progeny of red roofed houses at its base. At once they drew rein. "Shall we enter the town, or avoid it by riding over the mead?" said the plaisant. "What danger would there be in going on?" she asked. "Whom might we meet?" ' Thoughtfully he regarded the Rlnning towers of the royal residence. "No one, I think," he ut length replied, and they went on. Around the town ran a great wall, with watchtowers and a deep moat, but no person questioned their right to the freedom of the place, a sleepy soldier at the gate merely glancing Indifferently at them as they passed beneath the heavy archway, (tabled houses with n tendency to incline from the perpendicular overlooked the winding street; dull, round panes of glass stared at them fraught with mystery and the possibility of spying eyes behind, but the thoroughfare in that vicinity appeared deserted save for an old woman seated in a doorway. Before this grandam, whose lackluster eyes were fastened steadfastly hefore her, the fool paused and asked the direction of the Inn. "Follow your nose, if nature gave you a straight one," cried a jeering voice from the other side of the thoroughfare. "If it he crooked, a blind man and a dog were a better guide." The speaker, a squat, misshapen figure, hod emerged from a passage turning into the street and now stood, twirling n fool's head on a stick and gazing impudently at the newcomers. "Ila, ha!" laughed the oddity who had volunteered this malapert response to the jester's inquiry. "Yonder signpost," pointing to the aged dame, "has lost its fingers, or, rather, its ears. Better trust to your nose." "Trlboulet!" exclaimed Jacqueline. "Is it you, ladybird?" said the surprised dwarf, recognizing in turn the maid. "And with the plnisant," staring hard at the fool. Then a cunning Jqojt gradually replaced tke .woqU*r.d?# ????? plcteil on bis features. "You are fleeing from tin* court. I to\v;tr<l It." he remarked jocosely. "What mean you, fool?" demanded the horseman sternly. "That I have run away from the duke, fool." answered the hunchback. "The foreign lord dnred to beat me? Trlboulet- who have only been beaten by the king. Sooner or later must I have tied in any event, for what Is Trlboulet without the court or the court without Trlboulet?" his indignnHon merging into arrogant vainglory. "When did you leave the duke?" asked the other slowly. "Several days ngo," replied the dwarf, gazing narrowly at his questioner. "ltown the road. He should be far away by this time." Suspiciously the duke's Jester regarded the hunchback and then glanced dubiously toward the gate through which they had entered the town, lie had experienced Trllioulet's duplicity ami malice, yet in tins instance was disposed to give credence to ids story, because he doubted not that I/ouls of llochfols would make all haste out of Francis' kingdom. Nor did it appear unreasonable that Trlboulet should pine for the excitement of his former life, the pleasures and gayety which prevailed at Fools' hall. If the hunchback's information were true they need now have little fear of overtaking the free baron and ids following, as not far beyond the chateau town the uiatn rood broke into two parts, the one continuing southward and the other branching otT to the east. While the horseman was thus reflecting, Tribouk-t, like an irtip. began to dance before them. "A good joke, my master and mistress in motley," he cried. "The king was weak enough to exchange his dwarf for a demoiselle. The latter has I fled; the monarch has neither one nor the other, therefore is he himself the fool. And thou, mistress, art also worthy of the madcap bells," he added, his distorted face upturned to the Jestress. "Ilow so?" she asked, not concealing the repugnance lie inspired. "Itl>P!Hisn vnn - I'i'-ici u luui? cap 10 a king's crown." he answered, looking significantly at her companion, "wherein you but followed the roynl preference for head coverings. Ho. ho! I saw which way the wind blew; how the monarch's eyes kindled when they rested on you; how the wings of Mme. d'Etanipes* coif fluttered like an angry butterfly." "Silence, rogue!" commanded the duke s fool, wheeling his horse toward the dwarf. "And then for her to turn from throne room to a dungeon!" went on Trlbonlet satirically as he retreated. "As Brusquet wrote, 'twas "Morbleu! A merry monarch and a Jestress foir; A ji-stress fair, I ween!" But ere the hunchback could finish this scurrilous doggerel of the court, over which doubtless ninny loose wltdfed on',Trlt,otol stl/.<j.JFlr,l" comP?n; dodged into a narrow space between two houses, where he was safe from pursuit. Jacqueline's face had become flushed. Her lips were compressed. The countenance of the duke's plaisant seemed paler than its wont. "Uttle monster!" lie muttered. But the hunchback in ids retreat was now regarding neither the horseman nor the young girl. Ills glittering eyes, us If fascinated, rested on the weapon of the plaisant. "What a flne blade you've got there!" lie said curiously. "Much bettor than a wooden sword. Jeweled, too, by the holy bagpipe! And a coat of arras"-more excitedly?"yes, the coat of arms of the great constable of Dubrois! As proud a sword as that of the king. Where did you get it?" And in his sudden Interest tlie dwarf half ven turcd from his place of refuge. "Auswer him not!" snld the girl hastily. "Was it you, mistress, gave it him?" he asked, with a sudden sham look. Her contemptuous gaze was her only reply. "By the dust of kings, when last I saw It, the haughty constable himself it was who wore It," continued Trlboulet. "Aye, when he defied Francis to ills face. I can see him now, u rich surcoat over his gilded armor, the queen mother gazing at him with all her soul in her eyes, the brilliant company startled, even the king overawed. 'Twas I broke the spell, while the monarch and the court were silent, not daring to speak." "You!" From the young woman's eyes tlnshed a flame of deepest hatred. The hunchback shrank bock, then laughed. "I, Triboulet!" he boasted. " 'lln,' said 1, 'he's greater than the king!' whereupon Francis frowned, started and answered the constable, refusing his claim. Not long thereafter the constable died in Spain, and I completed the Jest. 'So,' said I, 'he is less than a man.' And the king, who remembered. laughed." [to bi coirrnrtrro.] PERT PARAGRAPHS. If women were not fickle In small things they couldn't keep the men ao busy guessing. If you are good l>ecnusc you want to be you are dull, and If you are good because you have to be you are commonplace. An ordinary woman can tell pruiae from tlnttery a half a block away. The living that the world owes a man Is often lost sight of while the world is attending to preferred cred< Mtors.