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Show I CONDENSED f I CLASSICS I I I THE PRISONER OF ZENDA By ANTHONY HOPE ! I t & Condensation by p Pnf. William I-cnwkk Hcrrh Anthony Hope, known ontalde the vrorld of books as Sir Anthony Hope Hawkins, was born In London, Feb. 9, X863, the son of a clergyman. clergy-man. He married an American woman. It Is to be boped he may have many more children of the brain to follow In the footsteps of The Prisoner, of Zenda" and "The Dolly Dla-losrues." Dla-losrues." He was educated edu-cated at Marlborough, Marl-borough, and at Balllol Colleue, Oxford, where he took honors In letters and was president of the Oxford Union, which meuns that he was nlrendy a man of mnrk In his undererndunte dnys. By way of a profession he became a barrister bar-rister of the Middle Temple In 1S7T. But If the pursuit of the law Interferes with the production of a thrilling tale, Day he never have a case to prepare. His first hook was "The Prisoner tf Zenda," which has probably remained re-mained his best known one. It had 1 large hearing when turned to the itnge, and the public demanded a equel, which came In "Rupert of Hentzau." After Zendn quickly fol-kwed fol-kwed "The Dolly Dialogues," which, y their easy and debonatre grace, Inevitably In-evitably suggest Lawrence Sterne. His iooks have been numerous, as "The King's Mirror" and "Trlstam of Blent," ,.i ,. has written plnys as well, as 'The Adventure of I-ady Ursula." A lonch of sureness and precision lend ilstlnctlon to his prose! he has on inusual power of Interesting his read-ir read-ir In his personages and their doings. RURITANTA was not England, or the quarrel between Duke Michael Mi-chael and Rudolf Rassendyll could not have gone on, with the remarkable re-markable incidents which marked it, rvithout more public notice being directed di-rected to it. It Is perhaps as strange a thing as has ever been in the history 3f a country that the king's brother ind the king's personator, in a time of profound peace, near a placid, undisturbed undis-turbed country town, under semblance rf amity, should wage a desperate war for the person and life of the kins. Yet such was the struggle between Black Michael and Rudolf Rassendyll, Doth of the royal house of Elphberg, Dut of very differing antecedents. The jne was well known to the royal pal-ice pal-ice at Strelsan; the other was at nome at 30a Park lane, London, West, rhe kinship between the two was quite in accident, dating from the year 1733, when a dashing young prince, later mown to fame as Rudolf the Third of Ruritanla, paid a visit to London. There he was courteously entertained jnd was a great favorite with the adles, especially Amelia, countess of Burlsdon, and Baroness Rassendyll. In ;he end the prince left England rather lastily under a cloud, but not before le had fought a somewhat sanguinary Juel with Countess Amelia's husband, in the years since there have appeared rt Intervals In the family of the Ras-sendylls Ras-sendylls certain sons who have been marked by the long, sharp, straight nose and the dark red hair of the royal louse of Rurltunia. The yenrs pass, many of them, and mother Rudolf of Elphberg is ahout :o be crowned king of Ruritania. The' same nose, the same red hair distinguish distin-guish him. The loyal half of the popu-atlon popu-atlon of Ruritanla could not sleep at alght till the coronation was safely ver. For the late king had left an-jther an-jther son, by a second and morganatic tnarrlage, Hlack Michael, duke of Strelsau and lord of Zenda. Though Michael bore none of the marks of the Eiphbergs. he had been his father's favorite, and he cast a' longing eye on ie throne; all the cut-throats and jlackguards of Ruritanla seconded his slsh, for Michael was a man after heir own hearts. Curious that young Rudolf Rassen-Jyll Rassen-Jyll should be moved by an Idle curi-jslty curi-jslty to witness the coronation of Ru-lolf Ru-lolf of Ruritanla; tlll more curious hat he, too, should bear the familiar lose, the same red hair. So thought Colonel Sapt, aide to the king, and Tritz von Tarlenhelm. his close friend, is they came upon the young Hngllsh-nan Hngllsh-nan In the forest of Zenda, making lis way afoot to Strelsau. So, too, hought the king when he appeared a noment later. But scandals of the )ast can no more he concealed In Rnrl-Sania Rnrl-Sania than In England. As young Ras-lendyll Ras-lendyll later told the tale, first the ting frowned, "then gradually the cor-ters cor-ters of his month began to twitch, his lose came down (as mine does when I auch), his eyes twinkled, and, behold, le burst Into the merriest fit of Irre-iressible Irre-iressible laughter, which rang through :he woods and proclaimed him a Jovial inul. " 'Well met, cousin !' he cried, step-ilnp step-ilnp up to me. clapping me on the nrk. and laughing still. 'You must lorglve me If I was taken aback. A nnn doesn't expect to see double at tils time of day, eh. Fritz?' " 'I must pray pardon, sire, for my presumption,' said I. 'I trust It will not forfeit your majesty's favor.' "'By heaven! you'll always enjoy the king's countenance,' he laughed, 'whether I like It or not.' " ' All the good fellowship in the world, however, could not permit royal scandals scan-dals of the past to be raked up at a coronation. Rudolf Rassendyll must not show his face at this moment in the capital of Rudolf of Ruritanla. "But by thunder," cried the king, "you shan't leave Ruritania today. For you shall dine with me tonight, happeD what will afterward." That was just the trouble, "happen what will afterward." One bottle led to another, until they were all as full of wine as they had any right to be. At last the king set down his glass end leaned back in his chair. " T have drunk enough,' said he. " 'Far be it from me to contradict the king,' said I. Indeed, his remark was most absolutely true so far as It went. But still another bottle this from Black Michael, praying that he drink for the love that he bears his brother. Could the king refuse? He could not. Was the wine drugged? The morning answered yes. " 'If he's not crowned today,' cried Sapt, 'I'll lay a crown he's never crowned.' " 'By heavens, why?' "'The whole nation's there to meet him; half the army aye, and Black Michael at the head shall we send word that the king's drunk?' " 'That he's ill,' said I, In correction. "Till' echoed Sapt, with a scornful laugh. 'They know his Illness too well. He's been ill before ! As a man grows old he believes In fate. Fate sent you here. Fate sends you now to Strelsau. You'll go?' "'Yes, I'll go,' said I, and I turned my eyes on the prostrate figure of the king. " Tonight,' Sapt went on in a hasty whisper, 'we are to lodge in the palace. pal-ace. The moment they leave us you and I will mount our horses and ride here at a gollop. The king will be ready, and he must ride back with me to Strelsau, and you ride as if the devil were behind you to the frontier.' fron-tier.' " So began those wondrous days of adventure which saw the throne oi Ruritanla occupied by an Elphberg with all the traces of the stock, though not "of the blood." "The play actor," Rupert of Hentzau called him, when he came to know the secret, but "as good an Elphberg as ever sat upon It," declared Sapt at the end. The wild ride to Strelsau, with Sapt instructing the English Rudolf most minutely In his past life, his family, his tastes, pursuits, weaknesses, friends, companions and servants as Ruritania knew them the etiquette of the court, what would be expected at the coronation and above all -of the Princess Flavla. "God save the kingl" cried the people peo-ple after the coronation had been safely safe-ly managed. "God save 'em both !" whispered Sapt as his mouth wrinkled into a smile. But if things went well at Strelsau with Rudolf Rassendyll, now crowned as Rudolf the Fifth of Ruritanla and the accepted lover of the Princess Flavla, fortune did not smile on the other Rudolf at Zenda. For Black Michael had had word from there that cleared for him the mystery of the coronation. Riding as fast as horses could lay feet to the ground, he seized j poor Rudolf of Ruritania and held him prisoner. But then ensued a pretty pass. "Aye, but he can't speak," roared Sapt in grim triumph. "We've got him. How can he denounce you without denouncing de-nouncing himself? 'This Is not the king, because we have kidnaped the king and murdered his servant.' Can he say that? Hang me If Michael won't expose himself. If he tries to expose you." But the most difficult situation for a loyal gentleman and that was Rudolf Rassendyll arose from the Princess Flavla. "I had to keep the princess devoted to me and yet Indifferent to me; I had to show affection for her and not feel It. I had to make love for another; and that to a girl who princess or no princess was the most beautiful I had ever seen. How I succeeded suc-ceeded in carrying out my program will appear hereafter." How they fell in love, he with her and she with him, is part of the story. And how, forgetting self, he rescued the king, and robbed himself of love and throne and almost life. When he had fallen sorely wounded: "Fritz," he called, "is the king still alive?" "Aye, friend dear friend ;" said he. tender as a woman, "thanks to the most gallant gentleman that lives, the king Is alive !" All's well that ends well. But of the Princess Flavla? "If I can never hold sweet converse again with her, or look upon her face, or know from her her love, why, then, this side the grave, I will live as becomes be-comes the man she loves; and for the other side I must pray a dreamless sleep." Copyright. 1919. by the Post Publishing Co. (The Boston Post). Printed by permission permis-sion of. and arrangement with. Henry Holt & Co., authorized publishers. |