Alas, it was true! The Grand
Duke Alexander was coming, not to honor the hotel, but to honor Mrs.
Carmichael Porter; she would receive him as her guest, she would pay
the royal hotel bill, she would pay the bills of the royal suite.
Yes, Blakely's mother had captured the grand duke.
A wave of indignation swept the columns of the rank and file. They
didn't want the grand duke themselves, but they didn't want
Blakely's mother to have him; Blakely's mother and Mrs. Sanderson-
Spear, and Mrs. Tudor Carstairs. In a way, it was better than a
comic opera; it was fearfully amusing.
The grand duke, accompanied, according to the newspapers, "by the
Royal Suite and the Choicest Flower of San Francisco Society,"
arrived on a special train direct from Del Monte. Having captured a
grand duke, these "Choicest Flowers" (ten in number) were loath to
lose him, so they accompanied him. They did more; they paid for the
special train. Blakely's mother greeted them, one and all, in a most
friendly manner. There was an aristocratic air about the whole
proceeding that was distinctly uplifting.
And now began a round of gaieties, the first being a tea were real
Russian samovars were in evidence, and sandwiches of real Russian
caviar were served.
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