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Show COUSIN OF CZAR IS UNDER GUARD Grand Duke Gabriel Constantino-vlch, Constantino-vlch, a cousin of the czar, twenty-five years old, supplies the latest court romance. He insists on marrying Xe-nia Xe-nia Ivanovna, formerly his sister's governess gov-erness and now his mother's companion. compan-ion. Gabriel is an officer of the household house-hold troops and enjoyed life like his comrades up to two months ago. Then he began to sit at the feet of Xenia, whom he had known for years without taking particular notice of her. Xenia owns to being thirty, is dark, slim and by no means a beauty. People recall the Emperor Paul's Infatuation In-fatuation for a middle-aged maid of honor, who had more influence over him than anyone else. But Gabriel's father. Grand Duke Constantine, is of course angry and insists on having the boy banished to some distant province. prov-ince. The czar objects, saying that sort of punishment has always resulted result-ed in lovers getting married. So Xenia Xe-nia has been sent to Moscow with a handsome pension, which will be stopped the moment she renews association asso-ciation with her high-born lover. ' v i - f ? Gabriel went mad with disappointment and rage when he learned that his love had left the ducal palace. It was a long time before he found out where she had gone. Then he determined to follow her and escaped from his rooms by a rope ladder, but was caught at the gates and ignominiously hurried back. Since then he has been under a strong guard, ostensibly because be-cause he committed some military blunder in his regiment, though everybody every-body knows his father is keeping him from Xenia. W7hen he has been tamed by solitude, one of the ducal household is to organize orgies in the city's night haunts. But Gabriel tells his mother that nothing will make him forget his dear Xenia and that he means to marry her even if he has to wait years. Those who know him say he is capable of pretending Indifference and running off to church with Xenia as soon as parental vigilance is relaxed. His infatuation remains a "nine-day wonder" at court. All efforts, parental and otherwise, to chaff or bully him out of it having been of no avail, an investigation into his sanity is being Considered. |
