Show I HER SERENE HIGHNESS I Graham Phillips ten years year ago age a cheap- cheap priced reporter on the Cincinnati Times Times- Star Is is pow a full-fledged full professional novelist He went to the New York Sun made a a crack reporter was taken by Pulitzer of the World and advanced to the top with a salary He Hei became Pulitzers Pulitzer's s private secretary wrote The Great God Success a fair fall story with a little too much prurient realism in it and Frederick now itow d Is iCo out tG Grafton Gratton with fo Her Hr a Chicago C Serene 1 I 1 Highness millionaire Nm I 1 and a passionate collector of pictures goes to Paris In pursuit of a poi portrait trait ali which h his father h has sg bought tn under the Impression that It is a VelasQuez and I sold on discovering that It is not His Hisson Hisson son first s sees es the picture In Mr Acton Acton's s ne rA Ut d J JI gallery and determines if it ever v c comes on the e market again g to buy It for t though t n ba he recognizes c e at 0 once that It is not l a aVelasquez aVelasquez V Velasquez he also recognizes that it Is a I great painting I It seems however that the picture Is the portrait 0 of r an ancestor of the Grand Duke Ike of and that the Grand Dukes Duke's Paris agents ag have for years been sending him annual seni-annual annual sel-annual bulletins of or Mr Mi Acton's health and financial financial finan finan- cial cal condition The result result is that when Acton unexpectedly n gets into financial dif difficulties dif dif- t f fe fen and is forced e to realize i on all his personal property the pictures are eo so fO hurriedly hurriedly hur hun sent to an auctioneer that Grafton Gratton does not hear of the sale in time to bid for fot the pl picture ture This is the prologue of or a love story whose first chapter is written at where her serene highness mistakes Grafton Graf Graf- ton tore for a fitter The lady is beautiful far in advance of the seclusion In which she has been brought up unhappily be betrothed bet to a pasty-faced pasty cousin and thirsting for love and adventure A fight with a wild boar a duel a sham death and an escape in an automobile are among the adventures with wih which her hei American lover varies the tho monotony of the young joung Duchess Duchess's Duchess Duches's s life lite at court Certainly Certainly Car Car- tautly Erica cannot complain of her lover byers byer's lov lov- er ers er's s want o of ingenuity or c courage whatever whatever what what- ever r fault ft she h may mav justly find tind Jg with i the lack of breeding which ignores the eti etiquette etiquette et- et eti- eti quette quete of the court at which he is entertained entertained entertained en en- and ridicules the Grand Grad Duke her cousin and his host She doubtless excuses It because she knows no better than to believe beleve it i so so American and demoCratic democratic demo demo- cratic but the author has not that excuse excuse excuse ex ex- ex- ex cuse for making his countrymen whom he holds up as the American I glass of fashion and mold of form indulge in cheap wit and cheaper bad manners The action of the story is brisk and some of the dialogue rather amusing Harper Bros New ew York |