"Do so."
"The son of the Prince of —— married a French lady. The marriage was a secret one. He deserted his wife and later married an Italian lady of noble birth. The second wife died without leaving any children."
"How could he desert his French wife and marry an Italian woman?"
"He secured a divorce."
"Was he justified?"
"No."
"I am glad you are so frank."
"I have no reason for being otherwise. His French wife was very proud. The prince never knew of his son's marriage to the French lady—it was a secret marriage. After the death of his Italian wife without issue the son revealed to his father, the prince, the fact of his former marriage and the fact of the birth of an heir. The son was killed in a railroad disaster, and then the old prince, being without an heir, sought to find his grandson. He spent large sums of money and succeeded in establishing the fact that his grandson also was dead. He learned that he was a spirited young fellow and had been killed in a duel."
Our hero remembered how Mrs. Frewen had aided in nursing the young man Alphonse Donetti. He guessed the whole mystery and said:
"Young Alphonse Donetti, the original of that picture, was wounded in a duel. He recovered, however, and is alive to-day, a noble young man, one whom his grandfather may proudly welcome as his heir—one well calculated to maintain all the ancient glories of his race."