The Princess Aline | Page 9

before I sailed, and I made up my mind I would

meet her, and here I am. If she is not in Grasse, I intend to follow her to
wherever she may be." He waved his pipe at the ocean before him, and
recited, with mock seriousness:
"`Across the hills and far away, Beyond their utmost purple rim,
And deep into the dying day, The happy Princess followed him.'
"Only in this case, you see," said Carlton, "I am following the happy
Princess."
"No; but seriously, though," said Miss Morris, "what is it you mean?
Are you going to paint her portrait?"
"I never thought of that," exclaimed Carlton. "I don't know but what
your idea is a good one. Miss Morris, that's a great idea." He shook his
head approvingly. "I did not do wrong to confide in you," he said. "It
was perhaps taking a liberty; but as you have not considered it as such,
I am glad I spoke."
"But you don't really mean to tell me," exclaimed the girl, facing about,
and nodding her head at him, "that you are going abroad after a woman
whom you have never seen, and because you like a picture of her in a
paper?"
"I do," said Carlton. "Because I like her picture, and because she is a
Princess."
"Well, upon my word," said Miss Morris, gazing at him with evident
admiration, "that's what my younger brother would call a distinctly
sporting proposition. Only I don't see," she added, "what her being a
Princess has to do with it."
"You don't?" laughed Carlton, easily. That's the best part of it--that's
the plot. The beauty of being in love with a Princess, Miss Morris," he
said, "lies in the fact that you can't marry her; that you can love her
deeply and forever, and nobody will ever come to you and ask your
intentions, or hint that after such a display of affection you ought to do

something. Now, with a girl who is not a Princess, even if she
understands the situation herself, and wouldn't marry you to save her
life, still there is always some one--a father, or a mother, or one of your
friends--who makes it his business to interfere, and talks about it, and
bothers you both. But with a Princess, you see, that is all eliminated.
You can't marry a Princess, because they won't let you. A Princess has
got to marry a real royal chap, and so you are perfectly ineligible and
free to sigh for her, and make pretty speeches to her, and see her as
often as you can, and revel in your devotion and unrequited affection."
Miss Morris regarded him doubtfully. She did not wish to prove herself
too credulous. "And you honestly want me, Mr. Carlton, to believe that
you are going abroad just for this?"
"You see," Carlton answered her, "if you only knew me better you
would have no doubt on the subject at all. It isn't the thing some men
would do, I admit, but it is exactly what any one who knows me would
expect of me. I should describe it, having had acquaintance with the
young man for some time, as being eminently characteristic. And
besides, think what a good story it makes! Every other man who goes
abroad this summer will try to tell about his travels when he gets back
to New York, and, as usual, no one will listen to him. But they will
HAVE to listen to me. `You've been across since I saw you last. What
did you do?' they'll ask, politely. And then, instead of simply telling
them that I have been in Paris or London, I can say, `Oh, I've been
chasing around the globe after the Princess Aline of Hohenwald.' That
sounds interesting, doesn't it? When you come to think of it," Carlton
continued, meditatively, "it is not so very remarkable. Men go all the
way to Cuba and Mexico, and even to India, after orchids, after a nasty
flower that grows in an absurd way on the top of a tree. Why shouldn't
a young man go as far as Germany after a beautiful Princess, who
walks on the ground, and who can talk and think and feel? She is much
more worth while than an orchid."
Miss Morris laughed indulgently. "Well, I didn't know such devotion
existed at this end of the century," she said; "it's quite nice and
encouraging. I hope you will succeed, I am sure. I only wish we were

going to be near enough to see how you get on. I have never been a
confidante when there was a real Princess concerned," she said; "it
makes it so much more amusing. May one ask what your plans are?"
Carlton doubted if he had