THE PRINCE OF GRAUSTARK

CONTENTS


CHAPTER

I MR. AND MRS. BLITHERS DISCUSS MATRIMONY

II TWO COUNTRIES DISCUSS MARRIAGE

III MR. BLITHERS GOES VISITING

IV PROTECTING THE BLOOD

V PRINCE ROBIN is ASKED TO STAND UP

VI THE PRINCE AND MR. BLITHERS

VII A LETTER FROM MAUD

VIII ON BOARD THE JUPITER

IX THE PRINCE MEETS MISS GUILE

X AN HOUR ON DECK

XI THE LIEUTENANT RECEIVES ORDERS

XII THE LIEUTENANT REPORTS

XIII THE RED LETTER B

XIV THE CAT IS AWAY

XV THE MICE IN A TRAP

XVI THREE MESSAGES

XVII THE PRODIGAL DAUGHTER

XVIII A WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT

XIX "WHAT WILL MY PEOPLE DO"

XX LOVE IN ABEYANCE

XXI MR. BLITHERS ARRIVES IN GRAUSTARK

XXII A VISIT TO THE CASTLE

XXIII PINGARI'S

XIV JUST WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN EXPECTED




ILLUSTRATIONS

Her eyes were starry bright, her red lips were parted.
_Frontispiece_

"You will be her choice," said the other, without the quiver of an
eye-lash.

"I shall pray for continuous rough weather."

The dignified Ministry of Graustark sat agape.




CHAPTER I

MR. AND MRS. BLITHERS DISCUSS MATRIMONY


"My dear," said Mr. Blithers, with decision," you can't tell me."

"I know I can't," said his wife, quite as positively. She knew when
she could tell him a thing and when she couldn't.

It was quite impossible to impart information to Mr. Blithers when he
had the tips of two resolute fingers embedded in his ears. That
happened to be his customary and rather unfair method of conquering
her when an argument was going against him, not for want of logic on
his part, but because it was easier to express himself with his ears
closed than with them open. By this means he effectually shut out the
voice of opposition and had the discussion all to himself. Of course,
it would have been more convincing if he had been permitted to hear
the sound of his own eloquence; still, it was effective.

She was sure to go on talking for two or three minutes and then
subside in despair. A woman will not talk to a stone wall. Nor will
she wantonly allow an argument to die while there remains the
slightest chance of its survival. Given the same situation, a man
would get up and leave his wife sitting there with her fingers in her
ears; and, as he bolted from the room in high dudgeon, he would be
mean enough to call attention to her pig-headedness. In most cases, a
woman is content to listen to a silly argument rather than to leave
the room just because her husband elects to be childish about a
perfectly simple elucidation of the truth.

Mrs. Blithers had lived with Mr. Blithers, more or less, for twenty-
five years and she knew him like a book. He was a forceful person who
would have his own way, even though he had to put his fingers in his
ears to get it. At one period of their joint connubial agreement,
when he had succeeded in accumulating a pitiful hoard amounting to
but little more than ten millions of dollars, she concluded to live
abroad for the purpose of educating their daughter, allowing him in
the meantime to increase his fortune to something like fifty millions
without having to worry about household affairs. But she had
sojourned with him long enough, at odd times, to realise that, so
long as he lived, he would never run away from an argument--unless,
by some dreadful hook or crook, he should be so unfortunate as to be
deprived of the use of both hands. She found room to gloat, of
course, in the fact that he was obliged to stop up his ears in order
to shut out the incontrovertible.