Page 102 - The Prophet-statesman a Drama of Daniel

he had the queen with him in two stages of her life-in the vibrant and dazzling
comeliness of youth and the mellow beauty of middle age. Again in Hanniel were the
flashing black eyes, the raven hair with natural waves, the olive skin without the

suggestion of blemish, the perfect proportions of the female form, the natural ease and
grace of carriage and posture enhanced by careful instruction and exercise. The
culture of learning and manners had been inculcated by the best personal tutelage.

Externally, Princess Hanniel was docile and amenable, but those who knew her
intimately were aware that in disposition she lacked the selfless mildness of her
mother, but showed some of the willfulness that had formerly characterized her father.
Her tutors and instructors had seen her fly into tantrums of temper temporarily

ungovernable.

It was not strange that the dashing young military cadet, ten years her senior and
already showing unmistakable signs of future greatness, was entranced with the

beauty of the princess, the first time he saw her in the royal apartment. The attraction
was mutual, as the Princess Hanniel had her first romantic stirring of heart as she
looked upon the handsome soldier nobleman, Nabunaid.

The first few visits of Nabunaid to the palace were at wide intervals and mostly by
invitation, and it was not till after the young soldier’s meteoric career was well-
advanced that the romance between the two became known to the king and queen and
to General Nebuzaradan.

On a certain day as the general sat in the royal apartment talking to the king and
queen, the lovers sat together on a divan in a far corner of the room, deeply engrossed
in one another’s company. “It would seem,” remarked King Nebuchadnezzar, in a

subdued tone, with a jerk of his head in the direction of the pair, “that we have a fully
developed romance on our hands.” At this remark the queen smiled and nodded
assent. There was not the slightest suggestion of disapproval on the part of either of
the royal parents.

Nebuzaradan, who though accepted in close friendship by the king and queen,
never forgot to observe the decorum and respect due to a sovereign by a subject,

hesitated a moment and answered with gravity: “Yes, Your Majesties, I am aware of
the great attachment that my son has conceived for the Princess Hanniel, and that he
flatters himself that the Princess, at least in a measure, requites his affection. But I am
a little troubled at the presumption whereby one of our lowly origins should aspire to
be consort to a princess of the royal blood.”

“Have no misgivings along that line, General Nebuzaradan,” said Queen Rhea. “I
assure you that our daughter is as much in love with Colonel Nabunaid, your son, as