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one he was a very as regarded his correspondence all letters that answering he answered at once the others i himself declared answered themselves in silence there is no end to the crop of fools in this world as fond of saying glorious precious fools i them all they make life worth living but some i am disposed to draw the line at letter writing these persons chance to read a book my book example that particularly clever one i wrote on power the possibilities of eternal life in this world they ai at once snatch their pens and write to say that they ar e specially deserving of this boon and wish to live for r will i tell them how and these are the very creature r s i will not tell how because their perpetual e would be a mistake and a nuisance the individual s v lives are really valuable never ask anyone how t o make them so he looked over his letters now with a leisurely ence the morning s post had brought him nothing f special importance he glanced from his reading iv and again at de marching up and down but sa t d nothing till he had quite finished with his own e concerns then he removed his spectacles from his no e and put them by right r you remind me of my days on a certain flat dusty ground at the the ah the beautiful so dirty so dull with s toy castles and its big ugly factory chimneys and s bad wine i you to ha ve mercy upon me and leave off that marching up ax d down it gets on my nerves i thought nothing ever got on your nerves answered sir stopping abruptly you seem to take serious matters coolly enough serious matters demand coolness replied von we should only let steam out over trifles have you seen his majesty this morning yes i am to see him again at noon when do you go off duty not for a month at least much may happen in that month said the professor your hair may grow white with the strangeness of your experiences sir met his eyes and they both laughed though it is no laughing matter resumed von upon my soul as a german if i have any soul of that i think it may be a serious business you have come round to my opinion then said de i told you from the first that it was serious e h the s the king does not think it so rejoined von i was summoned to his presence early this morning and found him in the fullest health and highest spirits why did he send for you then de to pulse and look at his tongue to make a little game of me before he stepped out of his and i enjoyed it of course one must royal i think his majesty wishes this entire affair treated as a by lis at any rate however seriously he may regard it himself de was silent for a minute or two then he said abruptly the is summoned to a private audience of the king at noon ah and von drew a cluster of the overhanging flowers down to his nose and smelt them and went on de speaking more deliberately this afternoon their sail to the islands von jumped excitedly to his feet not possible sir looked at him with a dawning amusement to twinkle in his clear blue eyes quite possible so possible that the royal is to be in readiness at three o clock their s and will dine on board in order to enjoy the re sail by moonlight the professor s countenance was a study anxiety d vexation struggled with the shrewd kindness and of his natural expression and his suppressed found vent in a smothered exclamation which bounded very much like the worst of oaths in dire extremity by the soldiers of the what you demanded de you seem strangely upset for a man of cool nerve upset who what can upset me nothing if i did not respect you so much i should call you an ass sir laughed call me an ass by all means he said if it will re power your feelings but in justice to me let me y why you do so what is my offence i give you a e of commonplace information concerning the movement s of the court this afternoon and you jump off your sea at as if an had bitten you why i have the said von oh and again sir laughed that la t must have been a sharp it was it was believe me my excellent it was exceedingly severe his brow smoothed and li e smiled see here my dear friend you know do u not that boys will be boys and men will be men both are recognised replied sir r t his eyes still twinkling merrily and both are fr quoted to cover our various follies true true but i wish to weigh more on the fact that men will be men i am a man not a boy really well upon my word i should at this moment take you for a raw lad of about eighteen for y u are blushing von actually blushing the professor drew out a handkerchief and wiped his brow it is a warm morning he said with a mildly air i suppose i am permitted to feel the heat he paused then with a sudden burst of impatience he exclaimed by the emperor s head it is of no use denying it i am very much put out i must get a boat and slip off to	33
the islands at once sir stared at him in complete amazement you you want to slip off to the islands why von yes yes i know you cannot possibly imagine what i want to go there for you would n t suppose would you that i had any special secrets an old man hke me for instance you would not suspect me of any love secrets eh and he made a ludicrous attempt to appear sentimental the fact is i have got into a little scrape over at the islands here he looked warmer and than ever and i want to take precautions you understand i want to take care that the king does not hear of it in what a the s block of a man you are to stand there staring at me were you never in love yourself in love in love you professor pray pardon me but in love am i to understand that there is a lady in your case yes that is it said von with an air of profound relief there is a lady in my case or my case speaking is that of a lady and i shall get any sort of a sea tub that is available and go over to those accursed islands without any delay if the king should send for you while you are absent began de doubtfully he will not send but if he should what of it i am known to be somewhat eccentric particularly so in my love of hard work fresh air and exercise besides he has not commanded my attendance he will not therefore be surprised at my absence i tell you i must go who would have expected the king to take it into his head to visit the islands without a moment s what a and here comes the reason of the if i am not ry much mistaken said de lowering his as an approaching figure flung its shadow the path prince von hastily drew back de also to the prince to pass he was walking slowly and heading as he came looking up from his book he saw and as they saluted him profoundly bade them good day you are up professor he said lightly i suppose your scientific wisdom teaches you the advantage of the morning air truly sir it is more than that of the evening answered von in somewhat accents for example a sail across the sea with the morning breeze is better than the same sort of excursion in the of the moon prince looked at him and evidently read something of a warning or a suggestion in his face for he coloured slightly and bit his lip do you agree with that theory sir he said turning to de power i have not tested it sir replied the i imagine that whatever professor von must be true the young man glanced quickly from one to the and then with a careless air turned over the pages of book he held in the earlier ages of the world he said me and women i think must have been happier than th are now if this book may be believed i find here down what is it professor you have to say pardon me sir said von but you if this book may be believed i humbly venture t declare that no book may be believed not even your own when it is written the prince with a smile you would not hke the to say so nay but listen professor here is a h very beautifully expressed and it was written in ar ancient language of the east thousands of years before we in our quarter of the world ever of civilization of all the sentiments passions or virtues which in their divers turns affect the life of a man the influence and emotion of love is surely the greatest and highest we do not here speak of the base and craving of bodily appetite but of that pure desire of the soul which beholding perfection straightway and naturally flies to the same this love doth so and instruct a man that he nothing better than to b worthy of it to attempt great deeds and perform them to foul and most destroy them and to esteem the powers and riches of this world as weighed against this rare and fiery man for it is a jewel which doth up the heart and make it strong to support all sorrow and ill fortune cheerfulness knowing that it is in itself of so lasting quality as to all things and events unto its corn sway what think you of this sir there is a whole volume of comprehension in your give some word of it utterance sir looked up there is nothing to say sir he replied ancient writer merely expresses a truth we are all the of all poets worthy the name and all authors save and except the deem the world well for love more fools they said von love s a mere illusion which is generally destroyed by one simple ceremony marriage prince smiled you have never tried the cure professor he said but i you have suffered from the disease will you walk with me von bowed a respectful assent and the prince w ith a kindly nod of dismissal to de went on his ay the professor by his side sir watched them as they disappeared and saw that at the of the alley when they were well out of ear shot they appeared to engage in very close and confidential conversation i wonder he mu ed i wonder what it all means v is evidently mixed up in some affair that he to keep secret from the king can it concern	33
you ask me the question point blank madam say it is possible it can be done and you do i but it is wrong she raised her languid eyelids showing no wrong wrong madam repeated sir it is wrong to shut from your sight from your heart m your soul the ugly side of nature to shut your ears o the wants the pains the the screams the tears and groans of humanity oh madam t e ugly side has a strange beauty of its own that you not of god makes as he makes beauty created the forth fire and a as he created the simple stream bordered with flowers why should you reject the ugly the fierce tt c rebellious side of things rather take it into your thoughts and prayers madam and help to make it beautiful he spoke with a force which surprised himself be was carried away by a passion that seemed almost outside his own identity she looked at him curiously does the king teach you to speak thus to me she j asked de started the hot colour mounting to cheeks and brow madam nay no excuse i understand it is your ov thought but a thought which is no doubt suddenly in by the king s actions she went on you are in his confidence he is new me the s of domestic policy in which perchance i may or lay not be included as it suits my pleasure who again the little musing smile crossed her it is of the king i wish to speak to you she glanced around her and saw that her lady de had wandered by to the edge of the water lily pool and was bend over it a graceful pensive figure in the near distance call but certainly not within hearing you are in his confidence she repeated drawing a nearer to him and so am i you will not disclose s movements nor shall i but you are his close and friend i am merely his wife i make u responsible for his safety madam i pray you pardon me exclaimed de a his majesty has a will of his own and his hfe is not in my hands i will defend him to the limit of human possibility but if he voluntarily ins into danger and all warning i as his servant am not to blame her eyes brilliant and full of a compelling upon him i repeat my command she said deliberately i you responsible you are a strong man and a brave e if the king is rash it is the duty of his servants to him from the consequences of his if that leads him into danger for a noble should any befall him let me never e your face again die yourself rather than let your die as she spoke these words she him away with grand gesture of dismissal and he retired back from r presence in a kind of stunned amazement never j fore in all the days of her social sway as crown ss had she ever condescended to speak to him on any matter of confidence never during her three years of as queen had she apparently taken te or cared to know any of the affairs connected with r king her husband the mere fact that now her was roused moved de to speechless he hardly dared raise his eyes to look at y as she turned from him and went slowly with her p usual noiseless floating grace of movement towards the water lily pool there to her attendant de who at the same time advanced to meet her royal mistress a moment more and queen and lady of honour had disappeared together and de was left alone a little bird swinging on a branch above his head a few tender notes to the green leaves and the sky but beyond this and the measured of the fountain no sound disturbed the stillness of the garden upon my word de he said to himself you are an ass sufficiently y burdens the love of a queen and the life of a king are enough for one man s mind to carry with any degree of safety if it were not for the king i think i leave this country and seek some other service but owe him much if only by reason of my own heart i folly impatient with himself he strode away straight the lawn and back to the palace here he noticed the slightest atmosphere of uneasiness among some of of the royal household a vague of and confusion through various passages ar c attendants and pages were either running with extra haste or else strolling to and fro with extra as he turned into one of the chambers h suddenly confronted a tall military looking in plain attire v he at once recognized as the chief of the police ah he said lightly any storms none that call for particular attention sir replied the individual addressed but i have been sent for by the king and am here awaiting his pleasure sir showed no sign of surprise and with friendly nod passed on he began to find the rather interesting after all he argued inwardly there is nothing t hinder the king from being a social even if h cannot by the rules of the constitution be a political one and we should do well to remember that politics are entirely by social influence it is the same thin the s all over the world a a social movement which a parliament and and then the result which is that this or that party hold the reins of government on whichever side happens to be most advantageous to the immediate social	33
and financial whim the people are the grapes crushed into wine for their rulers drinking and the king is merely the on the board if he once begins to be something more than that cup there will be an end of his ideas were not without good foundation in fact throughout all history where a strong man has ruled a nation whether for good or ill he has left his mark and here there has been no strong man the annals of the tee are and uninteresting from social influences the social rule of the roman bred heroes and poets merely because physical strength and courage combined with heroism nd poetic perception were encouraged by roman society the social rule of england s elizabeth had its result in ne brilliant of the many great men who her court the social rule of victoria until the ea th of the prince bred gentle women and ous men in all these cases the governed society and society governed politics politics can scarcely be considered apart from society d on the nature and character of society depend the and character of politics if society is made up of f women and men the spirit of l government will be as corrupt and as th to m if any king beholding such a state of things were suddenly cut himself clear of the corruption and to ice a straight road for his own progress clean and i p n and elect to walk in it society would follow his i vl and as a logical consequence politics would become but no have the courage of their t nowadays if only one sovereign of them all p such courage he move the world the long bright day its sunny hours crowned th blue skies and fragrant winds and the life and move nt of the fair city by the sea was gay incessant and r changing there was some popular interest and ex i power going on down at the for the usual idle crowd had collected to see the royal being prepared for her afternoon s though she was always kept ready for sailing the king s orders this time had been sudden and and consequently all the men on board were hard at work getting things in immediate readiness the fact that the queen was to accompany the king in the afternoon s trip to the islands where up to the present she had never been was a matter of lively comment her extraordinary beauty never failing to attract a large number of sight in the general excitement no one saw professor von quietly enter a small and common sailing by two ordinary of the shore and away with the wind over the sea towards the west where in the distance on this clear day a gleaming line of light showed where the islands lay glistening like and pearl in the midst of the dark blue waste of water his departure was unnoticed though as a rule the s private physician commanded some attention not only by reason of his confidential post in the royal household but also on account of certain which were through the country concerning his wonderful skill in complete where all hope of recovery had been abandoned it was whispered indeed that he had discovered the of life but that he would not allow its properties to be made known lest as the scripture man should take and eat and live for ever it was not advisable so the professor was reported to have said that all men should live for ever but only a chosen few and he at present was apparently the privileged person who alone was fitted to make the tion of those few for this and various other reasons h was generally looked at with considerable interest this morning owing to the hurried preparations the of their on board the royal he managed to escape from even chance tion and he was well over the sea and more half way to his destination before the bells of the city struck noon punctual to that hour a close carriage drove up to th the s palace it contained no less a personage than the prime minister the de a dark heavy man with small eyes a ponderous jaw and a curious air of seeming for ever on an irritable watch for off his aspect was intellectual yet always threatening and his manner was profoundly to all who sought to win his attention or sympathy he entered the palace now with an easy not to say and as he ascended the broad staircase which led to the king s private apartments he met the chief of the police coming down this latter saluted him but he acknowledged the courtesy so taken by surprise was he at the sight of this in the palace at so early an hour however it was impossible to ask any questions of him on the grand staircase within hearing of the royal so he continued on his way upstairs with as much dignity as his figure would permit him to display till he i the upper landing known as the king s corridor where sir de was in waiting to conduct him to his sovereign s presence to him the addressed the question has been with the king yes for more than an hour any robbery in the palace de smiled i think not so far as i am permitted to be of events there is nothing wrong the looked slightly perplexed the king is well remarkably well and in excellent humour i he is waiting you permit me to escort you to mm the carved and gilded doors of the royal were thereupon flung back and the en d ushered in by de the doors closed again them both and for some time there was profound in the king	33
s corridor no intruder venturing to approach save two gentlemen at arms who paced slowly and down at either end on guard at the bout an hour sir came out alone and s carelessly around him strolled to the head of the power grand staircase and waited patiently there for quite another thirty minutes at last the doors were flung open widely again and the king himself appeared clad in easy attire and walking with one hand resting on the arm of the de who from his expression seemed curiously then you will not come with us said the king with an air of gaiety you are too much engrossed in the affairs of government to break loose for an afternoon from politics for the sake of pleasure ah well you are a renowned as you are for your observation of all that may tend to the advancement of the nation s interests admired as you are for the complete sacrifice of all your own advantages to the better welfare of the country i will not though i might as your sovereign command your attendance on this occasion i know the you have in hand are pressing and serious they will be more than usually so sir said the in a low voice for if you persist in maintaining your present attitude the foreign in which we are engaged can scarcely go on but your action will be questioned by the government the king laughed good by all means question it my dear prove me an monarch if you like and put on the throne in my place but ask the people first if they condemn me i am satisfied to be condemned but the present political difference between ourselves and a friendly nation must be arranged without offence there foes not exist at the moment any reason able cause for the dispute into a flame of war he paused then resumed you will not come us sir if you will permit me to refuse the honour oc this occasion the permission is granted replied the king smiling farewell we are not in the of ourselves from our own country after th fashion of certain of our neighbours who shall b nameless and we it our duty to make acquainted with the habits and customs of all our sub the s in all quarters of our realm hence our resolve to visit the islands which to our shame be it said we have neglected until now we expect to derive both pleasure and instruction from the brief voyage are the aware of your intention sir the nay to prepare them would have spoilt our pleasure replied the king we will take them by surprise we have heard of certain countries whose villages and towns have never seen the sovereign and though we have been but three years on the throne we have resolved that no corner of our kingdom shall lack the sunlight of our presence he gave a at de then extending his hand cordially he added may all success attend your efforts to smooth over this quarrel between ourselves and our friendly trade rivals i for one would not have it go further i shall see you again at the council during the week as the hand met that of his sovereign the latter exclaimed suddenly ah i thought i missed a customary friend from y finger i have forgotten my ring will you lend me yours for to day sir if you will to wear it replied the mar q is readily and at once slipping off the ring in question handed it to the king who accepted it and ut it on a fine he said better i ink than my sir your praise its value said de profoundly i shall from henceforth esteem it well said returned the king and rightly too for is wise in flattering a king to the last n while meditating on his possible adieu when we next meet i shall expect good he descended the staircase closely attended by de and passed at once into a larger room of ce where some notable persons of foreign distinction re waiting to be received on the way thither how power ever he turned to sir for a moment and held up the hand on which the de s flashed like a blue point of flame behold the s he said with a smile for once it suits the king chapter x the islands by a boundless width of dark blue sea at all visible points of view the islands lovely s of wooded rock trees and full were situated in such a happy position as to be out of all possibility of modern or they were too small to contain much for the curious and though they were only vo hours sail from the the distance was just inconvenient to keep mere sight away r more than a hundred years they had been almost left to the coral who had made their ion there and the quaint small houses and and gardens dotted about in the more fertile of the soil had all been built and planned by a race of these hardy folk who had handed their down from father to son they were on the a community coral fishing was one of chief of the country and the all their days in obtaining the precious product and preparing it for the market they were to be extremely jealous of strangers and and to hold certain social traditions which had t been questioned or interfered with by any form of sting government because in themselves they gave no for interference being counted among the most and law abiding subjects of the realm very le interest was taken in their doings by the people of scarcely as much interest perhaps as is en by in the inhabitants of or d one or	33
two scholars a stray here and ft or a few students fond of adventure had visited place now and again and some of these had brought t power back enthusiastic accounts of the loveliness of the natural scenery but where a whole country is beautiful little heed is given to one small corner of it particularly if that corner is difficult of access a two hours sail across a not always calm sea vague reports were current that there was a strange house on the islands built very curiously out of the and of wrecked vessels the owner of this abode was said to be a man of advanced age whose history was unknown but who many years ago had been cast ashore from a great and had been rescued and revived by the coral since when he had lived among them and worked with them no one knew anything about him beyond that since his advent the islands had been more cultivated and their inhabitants more prosperous and that he was understood to be in the language or dialect of the country a life philosopher hearing these things by chance now and then or seeing a line or two in the daily press when active had no or to upon and wanted to fill up space the gay or smart set of the metropolis laughed at their dinner parties and balls and asked one another what is a in the same way when a small volume of poetry burning as wild as a storm wind came floating out on the top of the soup of current literature bearing the name of paul and it was said that this person was a poet they questioned is he dead for naturally they could not imagine these modern days were capable of giving birth to a living specimen of the bard for they too had their cars from france and england they too had their gambling in private houses of high they too had their country seats specially indicated as free to such house parties as wished to indulge in low and they too weary of simple christianity had their own special of p crystal gazing fortune telling by cards and faith healing the days were passing with them as it passes with many of their set in other tries in complete of all the nobler j x the islands and emotions which lift man above the level of his beast for the time is now upon us when hat has formerly been known as high is of its own sinking to the low and what has been called the low is rising to the high strange times strange when the can scorn the on of her dirty mind when a certain nobleman an get no honest to work on his estate because hey suspect him of young college lads and a church in a town stands empty every with its bells ringing in vain because the which should fill it know that their so called holy is a rascal all over the world this rebellion against this movement towards truth is felt all ver the world the people are growing strong on their and clear in their brains no longer cramped and they are gradually developing into full growth and to intelligent action and wherever he dominion of has been destroyed there they found at their best and with a glimmering of the true christian spirit beginning to heir darkness a spirit which has no race or but s all embracing all loving and all benevolent which no evil but is so nobly in its tenderness and patience as to persuade the obstinate govern he and recover the lost by the patient influence f its own example on the reverse side of the we see dominant there we see and corruption vice and and such a low of morals and education as is calculated to keep he soul a slave in irons with no possibility of any escape into the glorious liberty of the free the afternoon was one of exceptional and when at three o clock the royal hoisted sail and dipped gracefully away from the ay with their on board amid the cheers of enthusiastic crowd a poet might have sung of the in rhyme so pretty and gay were all the the bright skies the dancing sea the fly ij flags and and the soft music of the a band of eight players on in which accompanied the royal party on their i x power voyage of pleasure the queen stood on deck leaning against the mast her eyes fixed on the shore as the vessel swung round and bore away towards the west the people each other and climbing up on each other s shoulders and on the posts of the merely to get a passing glimpse of her beauty all cheering and waving their hats and handkerchiefs were as indifferent to her sight and soul as an ant heap in a garden walk she had accustomed her mind to dwell on things beyond life and life itself had little interest for her this was because she had been set among the of worldly state and from her earliest years and being of a profound and thoughtful nature had grown up to utterly despise the and of her sur in of the coldness of her temperament it may be said that her rooted aversion to men arose from having studied them too closely and accurately in her marriage she had fulfilled or thought she had fulfilled a mere duty to the state no more and easy conduct of her husband during his to the throne as heir apparent had not tended in any way to show her anything particularly worthy of admiration or respect in his character and so she had gone on her chosen way removed and apart from	33
his and the years bad flown by and now she was as she said to herself with a little touch of contempt old for a woman while the king remained young for a this was a reflection true her beauty was more perfect than in her youth and there were no signs as yet of its decay she knew well enough the extent of her charm she knew how easily she could command homage wherever she went and knowing she did not care or rather she had not cared wa it possible she would ever care and perhaps at a tim when it was no use caring a certain quite foreign to her usual composure her blood au it arose from one simple admission which she had forced to make to herself within the last few days an this was that her husband was as much lier superior in heart and mind as he was in rank and power had never till now him capable of performing brave deed or pursuing an noble course of i the islands action throughout all the days of his married life he had followed ie ordinary routine of his business or pleasure with scarce a break in winter to his country seat on the most southern coast of his southern land in spring to the capital in full summer to some fashionable bath or cure in autumn to different great houses for the purpose of shooting other people s game by their invitation and in the entire round he had never shown himself capable of much more than a with the prettiest or the most pushing new beauty or a daring ride on the latest invention for travelling at lightning speed she had noticed a certain change in him since he had ascended the throne but she had attributed this to the excessive of having to attend to state affairs now however all at once and without warning this change had developed into what was evidently likely to prove a complete and he had surprised her into an involuntary and more or less reluctant admiration of which she had never hitherto suspected in him she had consented to join him on this occasion in his trip to the islands in order to try and the actual drift of his intentions for his idea that their son prince had yielded to some particular feminine attraction there her curiosity even more than her interest she turned away now from her observation of the shore as it on the horizon and a mere thin line of light which vanished in its i turn as the vessel onward and she moved to j the place prepared for her accommodation a sheltered corner of the deck covered by silken and with luxurious deck chairs and here two of her ladies were waiting to attend upon her but none of u e sex she so heartily as she seated among her cushions with her usual indolent grace raised her eyes and saw standing at a respectful dis j ce from her a distinguished personage who had but lately arrived at the court from england sir walter a daring traveller and in far countries tt e who had earned high distinction at the point of the sword he had been presented to her some evenings ce among a crowd of other and she had power as was her usual custom with all men scarcely given him a passing glance now as she regarded him she suddenly decided out of the merest whim to call him to her side she sent one of her ladies to him charged with her invitation to approach and take his seat near her he hastened to obey with some surprise and no little pleasure he was a handsome man of about forty and keen of eye with a grave intellectual face after the style of a portrait and a kindly smile and he was happily devoid of all that and which some persons affect when in the presence of he bowed profoundly as the queen received him saying to him with a smile you are a stranger here sir walter i cannot allow you to feel solitary in our company is it possible for anyone to feel solitary when you are near madam returned sir walter gallantly as he obeyed the gesture with which she him to be seated you must be weary of hearing that even your silent presence is sufficient to fill space with melody and charm and i am not altogether a stranger i know this country well though i have never till now had the honour of visiting its ruling sovereign it is very unlike england said the queen slowly her fan of soft white and waving it to and fro very indeed he agreed and a musing tenderness darkened his fine eyes as he gazed out on the sparkling sea you hke england best resumed the queen madam i am an englishman to me there is no land so fair or so much worth living and dying for as england yet i suppose like all your countrymen you are fond of change yes and no madam replied in truth if i am to speak frankly it is only during the last thirty or forty years that my countrymen have blotted their historical by this fondness for change where travelling is necessary for the of some worthy object then it is wise and excellent but where it is only for the purpose of a self the islands it is of no avail and indeed frequently does more harm than good self repeated the queen is not that a strange word it is the only compound expression i can use to describe the discontented humour in which the upper classes of english society exist to day replied sir	33
you certainly i did not command his attendance when i saw him the first thing this morning replied the king i summoned him then merely to satisfy his scruples concerning my health and safety as he seemed last night to have doubts of both he smiled and his eyes later on i requested him to join us in this excursion but his servant said he had gone out leaving no word as to when he would return an i suppose he must be humoured sir was silent the king looked at him narrowly and saw that there was something in his thoughts which he was not inclined to utter and with wise tact and discretion to press any more questions upon him it was not a suitable time for cross examination even of the most friendly kind there were too many persons near at hand who might be disposed to listen and to form conjectures moreover the wind had so aided the royal in her swift course that the islands were now close at hand and the harbour visible the run across from the having been accomplished under the usual two hours the king the coast through his glass with some interest we shall obtain amusement from this trip he said addressing the friends who were gathered round him we have forbidden any announcement of our visit here and therefore we shall receive no recognition or welcome we shall have to take the people as we find them let us hope they will prove themselves agreeable sir said one of the the a somewhat elegant looking man with small delicate features and lazily eyes and that the women of the place will not be too hideous women are always women said the king gaily and you if you cannot find a pretty one will put up with an ugly one for the moment rather than have the islands none at all but beauty exists everywhere and i we shall find it in as good evidence here as in other parts of the kingdom our land is famous for its lovely women and turning to sir walter he added i think sir walter we can almost beat your england in that one particular some years ago sir i should have accepted that challenge returned sir walter and with the deepest respect for your majesty i should have ventured to deny the assertion that any country in the world could england for the beauty of its women but since the rage for masculine sports and masculine manners has taken hold of english girls i am not at all disposed to defend them they have unhappily lost all the soft grace and modesty for which their were renowned and one begins to remark that their very shapes are no longer feminine the beautiful full admired by and are replaced by an the feet and hands are growing large and awkward instead of being well shaped white and delicate the skin is becoming coarse and rough of texture and there is very little complexion to boast of if we except the artificial make up of the women of the town some few pretty and natural women remain in the heart of the forest and the country but the is spreading and english women are no longer the models of womanhood for all the world are you married sir walter asked the king with a smile to no woman sir i have married england i love her and work for her only you find that love sufficient to fill your heart perhaps returned sir walter perhaps if i speak personally and no but when i argue the point i find this that if i had a wife she might probably occupy too much of my time if i had children i should be working for them and their future welfare as it is i give all my life and all my to my country and my king i hope you will meet with the reward you merit laid the queen gently kings are not always well power i seek no reward said sir walter simply joy of work is always its own as he spoke the ran into harbour and with a d warning cry the sailors flung out the first rope to a on the pier who stood gazing in open mouthed wonder sit their arrival he seemed too stricken with amazement move for he failed to seize the rope with an angry exclamation as the rope slipped back into the r and the against the pier a sailor sprang to land and as it was thrown a second time seized it arid made it fast to the a few more moments and the was safely alongside the native remaining still motionless and staring the captain of the royal vessel stepped on shore and spoke to him are there any men about here the individual thus addressed shook his head in the negative are you alone to keep the pier the head nodded in the affirmative a voice from a thickly bearded mouth was understood to growl forth something about no strange boats being permitted to harbour there whereupon the captain walked up to the uncouth looking figure and said briefly we are here by the king s order that vessel is the royal and their are on board for one instant the stared more wildly than ever then with a cry of amazement and evident alarm ran away as fast as his legs could carry him and disappeared the captain returned to the and related his experience to sir de the king heard and was amused it seems madam he said turning to the queen that we shall have the islands to ourselves but as our visit will be but brief we shall no doubt find enough to interest us in the mere contemplation of the scenery without other human company than	33
our own will you come he extended his hand courteously to assist her across the of the vessel and in a few minutes the royal party were landed and the was left to the and servants who soon had all hands at work preparing the dinner which was to be served during the return sail chapter xi in the king and queen followed by their and their guests walked leisurely off the pier and down a well made road sparkling with crushed sea shells and powdered coral towards a group of tall trees and green grass which they perceived a little way ahead of them there was a soothing everywhere save for the singing of birds and the soft ripple of the waves on the sandy shore it was a silent land in which it seemed always afternoon all round the coast the languid air did breathing like one that hath a weary dream the queen paused once or twice to look around her she was vaguely touched and charmed by the still beauty of the scene it is very lovely she said more to herself than to any of her companions the world must have looked something like this in the first days of creation so and fresh and simple the walking with sir walter glanced at her and smiled it is she said a sort of without or do all the inhabitants go to sleep or disappear in the i wonder not all i imagine replied sir walter for here comes one though judging from the of his walk he is in no haste to welcome his king the personage he spoke of was indeed approaching and all the members of the royal party watched his advance with considerable curiosity he was tall and upright in bearing but as he came nearer he was seen to be a man of great age with a countenance on which sorrow and suffering had left their traces there were power on that face which tears had out f z their flowing and the high intellectual brow bo lines and wrinkles of anxiety and pain which were soul s pen marks of a tragic history he was attired simple s garb of rough blue when he was within a few paces of the king he raised his cap from his curly silver hair with an old world ce and courtesy sir de went fc to meet him and to explain the situation his majesty the king he said has wished to a surprise visit to his people of the islands and he is here in person with the queen can you oblige him with an escort to the principal places of interest the old man looked at him with a touch of amusement and derision there are no places here of interest to a king he said unless a poor man s house may serve for his curious comment i am not his majesty s subject but i live under his protection and his laws and i am willing to offer him a welcome since there is no one else to do so he spoke with a refined and accent and in his look and bearing evinced the breeding of a gentleman and your name asked sir courteously my name is he replied i was on this coast years ago finding myself cast here by the will of god here i have remained as he said this sir remembered what he had casually heard at times about the life philosopher who had built for himself a dwelling on the islands out of the of wrecked vessels this must surely be the man delighted at having thus come upon the very person most likely to provide some sort of diversion for their and to wait at a distance for a moment he hastened back to the king and explained the position whereupon the monarch at once advanced with alacrity and as he approached the venerable personage who had him the only hospitality he was likely to receive in this part of his realm he extended his hand with a frank and kindly cordiality accepted it with a slight but not over salutation we owe you our thanks said the king for in ing us thus readily and without notice which is surely the truest form of hospitable kindness that we are strangers here is entirely our own fault due to our own neglect of our island subjects and it is for this that we have sought to know something of the place privately before visiting it with such public and state as it deserves we shall be indebted to you greatly if you will lend us your aid in this intention your majesty is welcome to my service in whatever way it can be of use to you replied slowly as you see i am an old man and poor i have lived here for well nigh thirty years making as little demand as possible upon the resources of either rough nature or smooth civilization to provide me with there is poor attraction for a king in such a simple home as mine more than all men living a king has cause to love simplicity returned the monarch as with his swift and keen glance he noted the old man s proud figure fine worn features and clear though deeply sunken eyes for the glittering shows of ceremony are chiefly irksome to those who have to suffer their daily monotony let e present you to the queen she will thank you as i for your kindly consent to play the part of host to us may nay murmured no thanks no thanks f then as the king said a few words to his fair and she received the old man s respectful salutation in the cold grave way which was her custom he raised his eyes to	33
her face and started back with an involuntary exclamation by heaven he said suddenly and i never thought to see any woman s beauty that could compare vith that of my he spoke more to himself than to any listener but the king hearing his words was immediately on the alert and when the whole royal party moved on again he walking in a gracious and kindly way by the old man s side and keeping up the conversation at first on mere said presently and that name of may i ask you who it is that bears so strange an power looked at him somewhat your majesty considers it strange had you ever seen her you would think it the only fitting name for her he answered for she is surely the most glorious thing god ever made your wife or daughter gently hinted the king the old man smiled bitterly sir i have never owned wife or child for aught i know may have been born like the goddess of the sunlight and the sea no other parents have ever claimed her he checked himself and appeared disposed to change the subject the king looked at him may i not hear more of her he asked hesitated then with a certain replied nay i am sorry i spoke of her there is nothing to tell i have said she is beautiful and beauty is always even to kings but your majesty will have no chance of seeing her as she is absent from home to day the king smiled had the of his many reached the islands then and was this afraid that whoever she was might to his royal the thought was flattering but he disguised the touch of amusement he felt and spoke his next words with a kindly and indulgent air then as i shall not see her you may surely tell me of her i am no of confidence a pale red tinged s worn features anon he said it is no question of confidence sir and there is no secret or mystery associated with the matter was like myself cast up from the sea i found her a helpless infant tied to a floating it was on the other side of these islands among the rocks where there is no landing place there is a little church on the heights up there and every evening the men and boys practise their sacred singing it was sunset and i was wandering by myself upon the shore and in the church above me i heard them chant in in and while they were yet this line i came upon the child lying like a lily in a salt pool between two shafts of rock ike on either side of her bound fast with rope to a it of ship s timber i her little limbs and restored to life and all the time i was busy bringing her back o breath and motion the singing in the church above me vas and ever again so i gave her hat name that was nineteen years ago she is married low married exclaimed the king with a curious sense f mingled relief and disappointment then she has you oh no she has not left me replied she with me till her husband is ready to give her a ome he is very poor and lives in hope of better days v poverty so far smiles upon them that they are and happiness youth and beauty rarely go to for once they have all met in the joyous life of ny i should like to see her said the king you have interested me greatly in her history the old man did not reply but his pace on a little in advance of the king and his to pen a gate in front of them which guarded the approach o a long low house with carved and over which a wealth of roses and in long of pink and white bloom smooth surrounded the place and tall pine trees in he background and round the pillars of the broad which extended to the full length of the house and in thick clusters the air with delicate perfume the royal party their admiration of this picturesque abode with a remarkable for a man f his age set chairs on the and lawn for his guests sir walter and the strolled about the garden with some of the dies on the simple yet exquisite taste dis in its planting and arrangement while the king id queen listened with considerable interest to the con of their venerable host he was a man of power evident culture and his description of the coral fishing community their habits and traditions was both and picturesque are they all away to day asked the king ah the men on this side of the islands yes sir replied and the women have enough to do inside their houses till their husbands return with the evening and the moonlight they will all be out in their fields and gardens making merry with innocent dance and song for they are very happy folk much happier than their neighbours on the are you acquainted with the people of the then the king sufficiently to know that they are dissatisfied returned quietly and that deep down among the tangled grass and flowers of that brilliant called society there is a fierce and starving lion called the people waiting for prey his voice sank to a low and impressive tone and for a moment his hearers looked astonished and disconcerted he went on as though he had not seen the expression of their faces here in the islands there wa the same discontent when i first came every man was in heart a every young boy was a	33
wild ideas fired their brains they sought equality no man should be richer than another they said equal lots equal lives they had their own secret society connected with another similar one across the sea yonder they were brave clever and desperate moved by a burning sense of wrong wrong which they had not the skill to explain but which they felt it was difficult to persuade or soothe such men for they were men of nature not of but fierce and obstinate as they were they were good to me when i was cast up for dead on their and i in turn have tried to be good to them that is i have tried to make them happy for happiness is what we all work for and seek for from the beginning to the end of life we go far for it when it oftener lies at our very doors well they are a peaceful community now and have no evil intentions towards anyone they grudge no one his wealth i in think if the truth were known they rather pity the rich man than envy him so at any rate i have taught them to do but formerly they were to say the of it dangerous the king heard in silence although the slightest lifting of his eyebrows appeared to imply that dangerous was perhaps too strong a term by which to a handful of coral it is curious went on slowly how soon the sense of wrong and injustice a whole community one makes a host of this is a fact which many lose sight of if i were the ruler of a country here he suddenly paused then added with a touch of pardon me sir i have never known the which apply to conversation with a king and i am too old to learn now no doubt i speak too boldly to me you are no more than man you should be more by etiquette but by simple humanity you are not i the king smiled pleased this independent with his rough garb and simplicity of speech was a refreshing contrast to the personages by he was generally surrounded and he felt an irresistible desire to know more of the life and of one who had gained a position of evident authority among the people of his own class go on my friend f he said honest expression of thought can offend none but and fools and though there are some who say i have a of both yet i flatter myself i am wholly neither of the twain i continue what you were saying if you were ruler of a country what would you do considered for a moment and his brows set in a puzzled line i think he said slowly at last i should choose my friends and among the leaders of the people and is not that precisely what we all do the king lightly surely every monarch must count his friends among the members of the government but the government does not represent the actual people sh said quietly i power no then what does it represent ty king becoming amused and interested in the and holding up his hand to warn back de ai z the other members of his who were just r z towards him from their tour of inspection through t garden every member of the government is by the people and returned by the popular vote else would you have ministers have not always the popular vote they are selected by the and the should happen to be treacherous or self interested he chooses such men as are most likely to serve his own ends and it can hardly be said sir the people truly return the members of government for when the time comes for one such man to be elected each candidate his own agent to bribe the people and to work upon them as though they were so much soft to be into a political loaf for his private and particular eating poor people poor hard working millions in the main they are all too busy earning the to live to have any time left to think they are the easy prey of the party agent except except when they gather to the voice of a real leader one who though not in government and is there such an one the king while as he spoke his glance fell suddenly and with an unpleasant memory on the flashing blue of the in the s he wore here or anywhere over there said pointing across the landscape on the there is not only one but many women as well as men writers as well as these are they whom courts neglect or these are the fire of his old eyes flashed and as he turned them on the beauty of the queen she started for they seemed to pierce into the very recesses of her soul when court and fashion played their once upon a time in france there was a pen at work on the social the pen of one who among the idle pleasure loving ever thought that a mere book would have helped to send them to the he clenched his hand almost unconsciously then he in spoke more quietly that is what i mean when i say that if i were ruler of a country i should take special care to make friends with the people s chosen in authority and here he smiled should have given an estate and made him a in time the leaders of an advancing thought and not the leaders of a fixed government are the real representatives of the people something in this last sentence appeared to strike the king very forcibly you are a philosopher	33
he said rising from his chair and laying a hand kindly on his shoulder and so in another way am i if i understand you rightly you would s n that in many cases discontent and disorder arc s in the mind of one man who for some hi j motive works his thought through a whole kin and you suggest that if that man once obtained what he wanted there would be an end of trouble at any rate for a time till the next turned up is not that so it is so sir replied and i think it has always been so in every era of strife and revolution we shall find one dissatisfied soul often a soul of genius and ambition at the centre of the trouble probably you are right said the monarch but evidently the dissatisfied soul is not in your body you are no don fighting a of imaginary wrongs are you a dark red flush mounted to the old man s brow and as it passed away left him pale as death sir i have fought against wrongs in my time but they were not imaginary i might have still continued the combat but for ah she is your peace to an unjust world no sir she is god s gift to a broken heart replied gently the sea cast her up like a pearl into my life and so for her sake i resolved to live for her only i made this little home for her i managed to gain some control over the rough inhabitants of these islands and encouraged in them the spirit of peace mirth and gladness i soothed their discontent and tried to into them something of the greek love of beauty and power pleasure but after all my work sprang from a personal i may as well say a selfish motive merely to make the child i loved happy then do you not regret that she is married and no longer yours to cherish entirely no i regret nothing answered for i am old and must soon die i shall leave her in good and safe hands the king looked at him thoughtfully and seemed about to ask another question then suddenly changing his mind he turned to his and said a few words to her in a low tone whereupon as if in obedience to a command she rose and with all the gracious charm which she could always exert if she so pleased she of if he would permit them to see something of the interior of his house madam replied with some embarrassment all i have is at your service but it is only a poor place no place is poor that has peace in it returned the queen with one of those rare smiles of hers which so swiftly the hearts of men will you lead the way thus persuaded could only bow a respectful assent and obey the request which from was to a command to the other members of the party who had stood till now at a little distance the queen bade them all accompany her the king will stay here till we return she said and sir will stay with him with these words and a flashing glance at de she stepped across the lawn followed by her ladies with sir walter and the other and in another moment the brilliant little group had disappeared behind the trailing roses and which hung in profusion from the of the wide round s picturesque dwelling standing still for a moment with sir a pace behind him the king watched them enter the house i then quickly turning round on his heel faced his with a broad smile now de he said let us find von in sir started with surprise and not a little apprehension sir yes von he is here i saw his face two minutes ago peering through those trees and he pointed down a shadowy path dark with the gloom of pine boughs i am not dreaming nor am i accustomed to imagine i am on the track of a mystery there is a beautiful girl here named the beautiful girl is married possibly to a jealous husband for she is apparently hidden away from all likely admirers including myself now suppose von is that husband he broke off and laughed sir de laughed with him the idea was too irresistibly droll but the king was bent on mischief and determined to lose no time in it come along he said h this tangled path holds a secret it shall be discovered before we are many minutes older i am confident i saw von and what he can be doing here passes my comprehension follow me if our worthy professor has a wife and his wife is beautiful we will pardon him for keeping her existence a secret from us so long i he laughed again and turning into the path he had previously indicated began walking down it rapidly sir following closely and revolving in his own perplexed mind the scene of the morning when von had expressed such a strong desire to get away to the islands and had admitted that there was a lady in the case really it is most extraordinary he thought the king no sooner to break through conventional forms than all things seem loosened from their a week ago we were all apparently fixed in our of exact routine and work the king most fixed of all but now who can ay what may happen next at that moment the monarch turned round this path seems interminable he said it g darker closer and it in fact like the mystery we are sir glanced about him a straight band of trees power hemmed them in on either side and the daylight through their stems while as the king had said	33
sunk and one little star was sparkling in the sky he looked up at the star and then he saw a woman s eye von which is always more attractive to weak man than an impossible to visit planet what does shakespeare say of women s eyes i in two of the fairest stars in all the heaven having some business do entreat her eyes to twinkle in their till return what if her eyes were there they in her head the brightness of her cheek would shame those stars as daylight doth a lamp her eye in heaven would through the airy regions stream so bright that birds would sing and think it were not night that is so as the final words left his lips a rich note of melody stirred the air and a song in which words and music seemed thoroughly together rose ud to the quiet sky here by the sea my love found me over the waves were swinging down in their were singing and one little star in the rosy sky sparkled above like an angel s eye t my love found me and i and he our t oh day of splendour and self surrender the day when my love found me here by the sea my king crown d me i wild ocean sang for my with the voice of a mighty nation t mid the towering rocks he set my throne and made me forever and ever his own i my king crown d me and i and he are one till the world shall cease to be oh sweet love story i oh night of glory i the night when my king crown d me i o language could ever describe the marvellous sweet of the voice that sung these lines it was so full of triumph tenderness and passion that it seemed e supernatural than human when the song ceased wave dashed on the shore like a closing organ rd and von spoke there you wanted your own way my princess and u have had it you have sung like one of the do not be surprised if mortals are drawn to what is that i power there was a pause king had cracked a on one of the pine boughs he was back in an endeavour to see the but he boldly pushed on de to follow close in another minute had emerged on a small sandy which led by means of an ascending path to a n eminence encircled by huge and rocky which somewhat resembled peaks of white coral here on a height above him with the afternoon glow bathing her in its full mellow radiance sat a goddess of the landscape a girl or perfect woman more beautiful than any he had ever s or even imagined he stared up at her in dazzled v der half blinded by the brightness of the sun and almost equally blinding loveliness he exclaimed hardly of his own utterance you are the fair vision rose and came swiftly forward an astonished look in her bright deep eyes yes she said i am chapter xii a sea princess scarcely had she thus declared herself when the head and shoulders of von appeared above the protecting and moving with deliberate caution the rest of his body came slowly after till he stood fully declared in an attitude of military attention he showed neither alarm nor confusion at seeing the king on the contrary the fixed wooden expression of his countenance some mental obstinacy and he faced his royal master ith the utmost composure lifting the hat he ore with his usual stiff and dignity though avoiding the amazed stare of his friend sir de the king glanced him up and down with a smiling air amused curiosity so this is how you pursue your scientific studies professor he said lightly well and he turned is eyes full of admiration on the beautiful creature who od silently him with all that perfect ease hich expresses a well balanced mind wisdom is ten to us as a marble goddess but when takes so fair a shape of flesh and blood as who shall blame even a philosopher for sit g at her feet in worship pardon me sir returned von calmly there is no goddess of wisdom here so please you t ut only a very simple and young woman lie is here he hesitated a moment then went i she is merely the adopted child of a on these islands i am aware of that said the king still smiling is his name he is my host to day and power he has told me something of her but he did not mention that you had adopted her also von flushed sir he stammered i could explain another time interrupted the king with a touch of meanwhile present your your pupil in the of to me thus commanded the professor casting a vexed glance at de who did not in the least comprehend his distress went to the girl who during their brief conversation had stood quietly looking from one to the other with an expression of half amused disdain on her lovely features he began reluctantly then whispering in her ear he muttered i told you your voice would do mischief and it has done it then aloud this this is the king she smiled but did not change her erect and easy attitude the king is welcome she said simply she had evidently no intention of the monarch and sir de gazed at her in mingled surprise and admiration she was certainly wonderfully beautiful her complexion had the soft clear of a pink sea shell her eyes large and were as blue as the dark in the depths of a wave and her hair of a warm	33
bronze chestnut caught back with a single band of red coral seemed to have gathered in its rich curling clusters all the deepest tints of autumn leaves with a golden touch of the sun her figure clad in a straight garment of rough white was the model of perfect womanhood she stood a little above the medium height her fair head poised proudly on shoulders while the curve of the full bosom would have baffled the genius of a the whole exquisite outline of her person was the expressed essence of beauty from the wave of her hair down to her slender ankles and small feet and the look that her noble features was that of child like happiness and repose the expression of one who had never known any other life than the innocent enjoyment bestowed upon her by god and divine a sea princess nature beautiful as his queen was and always had been the king was forced to admit to himself that here was a woman far more beautiful and as he looked upon her he saw that there was a light and splendour about her which only the happiness of love can give her whole aspect was as of uplifted into a finer atmosphere than that of earth she seemed to purity from herself as a rose perfume and her undisturbed serenity and dignity when made aware of the royal presence were evidently not the of ill breeding or but of mere self respect and independence he approached her with a strange hesitation which for him was quite a new experience i am glad i have been fortunate enough to meet you he said gently some kindly fate guided my steps down the path which brought me to this part of the shore else i might have gone away without seeing you that would have been no loss to your majesty answered calmly for to see me is of no use to anyone would your husband say so the king a smile her eyes flashed my husband would say what is right she replied he would know better how to talk to you than i do he had drawn nearer to her as he spoke von with a air had joined sir de who by an look nd anxious of his eyebrows asked was to be the of this affair only to receive a dismal shake of the head in reply possibly i know your husband went on the king to continue conversation with so beautiful a creature if i do and he is in my personal service he shall not lack promotion will you tell me his name a startled look came into the girl s eyes and a deep blush swept over her fair cheeks i dare not she said he has forbidden me forbidden you the king a step a vague suspicion in his mind then though your king asks you a friendly question you refuse to answer it power von here sir so fiercely by the arm that the latter nearly cried out with pain she must not tell he muttered she must not she will not but was looking straight at her royal i have no king but my husband she said firmly i have sworn before god to obey him in all things and i will not break my vow good girl wise girl exclaimed von if all the beautiful women so guarded their tongues and obeyed their husbands what a happy world it would be the king turned upon him true but you are not bound by the confidences of marriage professor so that while in our service our will must be your law you therefore can perhaps tell me the name of the fortunate man who has wedded this fair lady the professor s countenance visibly sir he stammered with every respect for your majesty i would rather lose my much to be appreciated post with you than betray my friends the king suddenly lost patience by heaven he exclaimed is my command to be and set aside as if it were naught not while i am king of this country what mystery is here that i am not to know laughed outright and the pretty ripple of mirth so and natural diverted the monarch s irritation oh you are angry she said her lovely eyes twinkling and sparkling like diamonds so then your majesty is no more than a very common man who loses temper when he cannot have his own way she laughed again and the king stared at her ended being both by her beauty and her complete indifference to himself i will speak like the do in the bible and say lo there is no mystery king i am only poor a sailor s wife and the sailor has a place on board your son the crown princess and he does not want his master to know that he is married lest he lose that place is not that plain and a sea princess clear o king and why should i my beloved in such a simple matter the king was still in something of a there is no reason why you should he said more quietly but still with vexation but equally there is no reason why your husband should be dismissed from the crown prince s service because he has chosen to marry if you tell me his name i will make all things easy for him for you and your future can you not trust me with wonderful grace and quickness suddenly sprang forward caught the king s hand kissed it and then threw it lightly away from her no she said with a pretty defiance i kiss the hand of the country s king but i have my own king to serve and pausing for no words she turned away sprang lightly up	33
the rocks as swiftly as a deer and disappeared and from some hidden comer clear and full and sweet her voice rang out above the peaceful of the waves my king crown d me i and i and he are one till the world shall cease to be stricken dumb and confused by the suddenness of her action and the swiftness of her departure the king stood for a moment gazing up the rocky height with the ir of one who has seen a vision of heaven withdrawn gain into its native element some darkening doubt troubled his mind and it was with an altogether changed and stern countenance that he confronted von last night professor you were somewhat anxious for our health and safety he said severely it is our turn now to be equally anxious for yours we are of opinion that you like ourselves run some risk of danger by in affairs which do not concern you silence this as the professor deeply moved by his royal master s evident displeasure made n attempt to speak we will hear all you have to say lo morrow meanwhile follow your fair charge and he pointed up in the direction whither had vanished her husband power and he word whoever he is appears to have her safety to you see that you do not betray his trust even though you have betrayed mine at this remark von was visibly overcome sir you have never had reason to of any lack of loyalty in me to you and to your service he said with an earnest dignity which became him well in the matter of the poor child yonder whose beauty would surely be a fatal to any man there is much to be told which if told truly will prove that i am merely the slave of circumstances which were not created by me and which it is possible for a faithful servant of your majesty to regret but a of trust i have never been and i your majesty to believe me when i say that the of that reproach cuts me to the heart i yield to no man in the respect and i entertain for your royal person not even to de here who knows who knows he broke off unable through strong emotion to proceed who knows what the king turning his steadfast eyes on sir nothing sir i absolutely nothing replied the opening his eyes as widely as their habitual would permit i am absolutely ignorant of everything von except that he is honest man f that i certainly do know a slight smile cleared away something of the doubt and displeasure on the king s face approaching the professor he laid one hand on his shoulder and looked him steadily in the eyes by my faith von if i thought positively that you could play me false in any matter i would never believe a man again come i forgive my hasty speech and do not look so downcast honest i have always known you to be and that you will prove your honesty i do not doubt but there is something in this affair which grave suspicion in my mind for to day i press no questions but to morrow i most know all you understand w say this to the girl say it to her husband also as of course you know a sea princess who her husband is if he serves on prince s that is enough to say that himself has probably seen her under all the circumstances i confess my dear von that your presence here is a riddle which needs explanation i it shall be explained sir murmured the professor naturally it must of course be explained but i hope you give me credit for not being altogether a fool and i have an idea that my son s frequent mysterious visits to the islands have something to do with this fair of von started involuntarily you perhaps think it too or know it well if it is so i can hardly blame him though i am sorry he should have selected a poor sailor s wife as a subject for his secret i should have thought him possessed of more honour however to morrow i shall look to you for a full account of the matter for the present i excuse your attendance and permit you to remain with her whom you call princess he stepped back and taking de s arm turned round at once and walked away back to s house by the path he had followed with such eagerness and care von watched the two tall figures disappear and then with a troubled look began to climb slowly up the rocks in the direction where had gone his reflections were not altogether as philosophical as usual because as he said to himself one can never tell how a woman is going to meet misfortune sometimes she takes it well and then the men who have destroyed her happiness go on their way rejoicing but more often she takes it ill and there is the devil to pay yet is not like any ordinary woman she is a carefully selected specimen of her sex which a kindly f has produced as an example of what women were intended to be when they were first created i wonder where she has hidden herself arriving at the summit of the ascent he peered down towards the sea slopes of rank grass and sea the rocks on this side divided by certain deep hollows which the action of the waves had i power here and there and below the grass was the shore powdered thickly with sand of a fine light and sparkling colour like gold dust here in the full light of the sinking sun	33
lay her head against a rough stone on the top of which a tall cluster of sometimes called moon flowers waved like white called von she looked up smiling has majesty gone she asked gone for the present replied the professor begin to put one foot cautiously before the other down s m roughly in the otherwise almost cliff but like the sun which is setting to z he will rise again to morrow shall i come and help you down the turning on her elbow as she lay and lifting her face radiant as a flower towards him whether down or up you shall never help me m y princess he replied when i can neither climb n fall without the assistance of a woman s hand i take a pistol and tell it to whisper in my ear good by e von you are all up finish gone here with a somewhat jump he alighted beside her and threw himself on the warm sand a deep sigh of mingled exhaustion and relief you would be very wicked to put a pistol to your ear said severely it is only a coward who shoots himself so and it is a brave man who shoots others f that is curious is it not princess it is a little bit of man s morality but we have no time to discuss it now we have something more serious to consider your husband she looked at him my husband do you really think he will be very l angry that the king saw me the professor appeared to be considering the question but in reality he was studying the exquisite delicacy of the face turned so wistfully upon him and the lovely lines of j the slim and rounded chin so beautiful a creature he was saying within himself and must t a sea princess she also suffer pain and like the rest of her unfortunate sex aloud he replied my princess it is not for me to say he will be angry for how could he be angry with the one he loves to such adoration he will be sorry and troubled it will put him into a great difficulty a whole nest of difficulties why and s eyes filled with sudden tears i would not grieve him for the world i cannot understand why it should matter at all even if the king does out that he is married are the rules so strict for all the men who serve on board the royal vessels von bit his lips to hide an involuntary smile but he answered her with quite a air yes they are strict very strict particularly so in the case of your husband you see my child you do perhaps quite understand but he is a sort of superior officer on board and in close personal attendance on the crown prince he did not tell me that said the girl a little anxiously yet surely it would not matter if he loses place can he not easily get another von was looking at her with a grave almost melancholy listen my princess listen to your poor old friend j ho means you so much good and no harm at all your husband and i too for that matter wished much to prevent the king from seeing you for for many when i heard he was coming to the islands i j to arrive here before him and so i did i said to not even to warn him of the king s l visit i took you just quietly as i have often ne for a walk with a book to read and to explain to y m because you tell me you want to study though in y opinion you know quite enough for a woman i e gave you a letter from your husband and you know he you in that letter to avoid all possibility of meeting ith the king good well now what happens you sing and lo his majesty like a fish on a hook is j i up open mouthed to your feet now who is to you or i a little perplexed line appeared on the girl s fair brows power i am i suppose she said somewhat but yet even now i do not understand what is the king he is nothing he does nothing for anybody people make to him and he never answers them they try to point out errors and and he takes no trouble to remedy them he is no better than a wooden idol he is not a real man though he looks like oh you think he looks like one murmured von that is to say you are not altogether displeased with his appearance s eyes darkened a moment with thought then flashed with laughter no she said frankly he is more than i thought a king could be but he should not lose temper that spoils all dignity von smiled kings are but mortal he said and never to lose temper would be impossible to any man it is such a waste of time declared wh r should anyone lose self control it is like giving up at sword to an enemy that is one of s said the professor it is excellent in theory but in practice i have seen give way to temper himself with considerable enjoyment of his own mental a s for the king he is generally a very personage and he has one great virtue that is courage he is brave as a lion perhaps than many lions she raised her eyes has he proved it rather taken by the question he stared at her solemnly proved it well he has had no chance the	33
goes the king said von majesty for the present having so far satisfied his curiosity that gun is the signal child and turning wards her again he took both hands in his and with emphatic gravity and kindness remember at i am your friend always whatever chances to you not forget that you may command my service and till death in this strange life we never know j om day to day what may happen to us for constant is the law of nature and the universe but all there is something in the soul of a true man hich does not change with the elements and that is loyalty to a sworn faith in my heart i have sworn n oath of to you my beautiful little princess of the a and it is a vow that shall never be broken do ou understand and will you remember power her large dark blue eyes looked into his indeed i will never forget she said with a touch of in her accents but i do not know why you should be anxious for me there is nothing to fear for my happiness i have all the love i care for in the world and long may you keep it said the professor earnestly come it will soon be time for me to leave you and i must see before i go if you follow my advice you will say nothing to him of having met the king not for the present at any rate she agreed to this though with some little hesitation then they ascended the cliff and walking by way of the pine wood through which the king had come arrived at s house to find the old man quite alone and peacefully engaged in tying up the roses and on the pillars of his his worn face lighted up with animation and tenderness as approached him and threw her arms around his neck and to her he related the incident of the king and queen s unexpected visit as a sort of accidental uninteresting and wholly unimportant occurrence the queen he said was very beautiful but too cold in her manner though she had certainly taken much interest in seeing the house and garden it was just as well you were absent child he added brings an atmosphere with it which is not wholesome a king never knows what it is to be an honest man those are your old discarded theories said von shaking his head you said you would never return to them aye i rejoined i have tried to put away all my old thoughts and dreams for her sake and his gaze rested lovingly on as standing on to reach a down drooping rose she gathered it and fastened it in her bosom there should only be peace and contentment where she dwells but sometimes my life s long rebellion against sham and injustice in my blood and i long to pull down the ignorant people s of wood and straw and set up men in place of a of some kind has always been necessary in the world my friend said professor a sea princess calmly either in the shape of a deity or a king a wood and straw is better than an selfishness will you give me supper before i leave smiled a cheery assent and preceding them and singing in a low tone to herself as she went they all entered the house together meanwhile the royal was back to the over crisp waters on the wings of a soft breeze with a bright moon flying through clouds above and the foam of the waves below there was music on board the king and queen dined with their guests and laughter and gay converse with the sound of song they talked of their day s experience of the beauty of the islands of his quaint house and self so different to the persons with whom they associated in their own exclusive and brilliant court set and the pretty with sir walter suggested that a flower feast or should be held during the summer for the surprise and benefit of the who had never yet seen a royal of pleasure on their shores but sir de ever watching the queen saw that she was very pale and more silent even than was her usual habit and that her eyes every now and again rested on the king with something of wonder as well as fear chapter xiii secret service in one of the fashionable quarters of the brilliant and metropolis which formed the and centre of everything notable or in the king s there stood a large and handsome house over decorated both outside and in and in its general appearance vulgarity no less than wealth these two things go together very much nowadays in fact one scarcely ever sees them apart the fair southern city of the sea was not behind other modern cities in luxury and self and there were certain members of the population who made it their business to show all they were worth in their domestic and home surroundings one of the most money of this kind was a certain jew named david was the sole proprietor of the most influential newspaper in the kingdom and the largest in three other newspaper companies all apparently in party views but all in reality working into the same hands and for the same ends and his companies governed the press and what was termed public opinion was the opinion of should anything by chance happen to get into his own special journal or into any of the other journals connected with which did not approve of or which might be to s social or financial interests the editor in charge was severely if the fault occurred again he was promptly	33
dismissed public opinion had to be formed on s humour otherwise it was no opinion at all a few other newspapers led a precarious existence in a daily feeble opposition to but they had not cash enough to carry on the quarrel secured all the and as a natural consequence of this could secret service well afford to be the voice of the people ad he was immensely wealthy openly vicious and utterly and made brilliant in the natures of those who were led by that bland and cheery which is generally associated with a large to consider him a good fellow with his heart in the right place with regard to this last assertion it may be doubted whether he had a heart at all in any place right or wrong he was certainly not given to sentiment he had married for money and his wife had died in a mad house he was now anxious to marry again for position and while looking round the market for a sufficiently perfect person of high breeding he the theatre largely and protected several girls and knew that his life was black with and of the most kind yet swore that he was a good man such is the value of a money bag it was very late in the evening of the day following that on which the king had paid his unexpected visit to the islands and david had just returned from a comic opera house where he had in private with two or three painted of the he was in an excellent humour with himself he had sprung a mine on the public and a carefully rumour of war with a foreign power had sent up certain stocks and shares in which he had considerable interest he smiled as he thought of the general uneasiness he was creating by a few in his newspaper and he enjoyed to the full the tranquil sense of having flung a bone of discord between two nations in order to watch them from his arm chair fighting like dogs for it tooth and till one or the other gave in will have to thank me for this he said to himself and he will owe me both a place and a title he sat down at his desk in his warm and study turned over a few letters and then glanced up at the clock its hands pointed to within a few minutes of midnight taking up a copy of his own newspaper he frowned slightly as he saw that a certain leading article in favour of the settlement in the country had not appeared power crowded out i suppose for want of space he said i must see that it goes in to morrow these know a thing or two and they are not going to plank down a thousand pounds for nothing they have paid for their advertisement and they must have it they ought to have had it to day must warn the king that it will not do to offend the church there s a lot of loose cash lying idle in the we may as well have some of it his majesty has acted most in refusing to grant the religious orders the land they want he must be persuaded to yield it to them by degrees in exchange of course for plenty of cash down without loss of dignity at that moment the door bell rang softly as if it were pulled with extreme caution a servant answered it and at once came to his master s room a gentleman to see you sir on business he said looked up on business at this time of night say i cannot see him tell him to come again to morrow the servant withdrew only to return again with a more urgent statement the gentleman says he must see you sir he comes from the from the yes sir his business is urgent he says and private he sent in his card sir here he handed ver the card in question a small bit of laid in solitary grandeur on a very large silver david took it up and it with some curiosity h m don t the name at all urgent business bear private from the de he paused again considering then turned to the waiting attendant show him in yes sir another moment and entered but it was an altogether different to the one that had recently himself as an associate of s committee that particular had seemed somewhat of a and secret service a visionary with a peculiar and striking resemblance to the king this had all the and common to a practised or commercial traveller moreover his countenance adorned with a black and small pointed beard wore a cold and concentrated air of business and he confronted the jew without the slightest embarrassment or apology for having broken in upon his seclusion at so an hour he used a and was constantly putting it to his eyes as though troubled with short i presume your matter cannot wait sir said surveying him coolly without rising from his seat but if it can it cannot returned stared so you come from the de i do your stepped close up to him and with a sudden movement which was somewhat startling held up his right hand this is i believe familiar to you and it will be enough to prove that i come on confidential business which cannot be trusted to writing gazed at the flashing on the stranger s hand with a sense of deadly apprehension he recognised the s ring well enough and he also knew that it would never have been sent to him in this mysterious way unless the matter in question was almost too desperate for whispering within four walls an uneasy sensation affected him he pulled at his collar looked	33
round the room as though in search of inspiration and then finally bringing his small swine like eyes to bear on the neat figure before him he said with a careless air you probably bring news for the press affecting the present policy that remains to be seen replied from a perfectly impartial i should imagine that the policy may have to alter considerably power impossible it cannot be altered he said roughly then suddenly himself he assumed his usual indolent and rising slowly went to a side door in the room and threw it open step in here he said we can talk without fear of interruption will you s with pleasure replied accepting a cigar from the case extended then glancing with a slight smile at the broad countenance which had in the last couple of minutes lost something of its habitual he added i am glad you are disposed to discuss matters with me in a friendly as well as in a confidential way it is possible my news may not be altogether agreeable to you but of course you would be more willing to suffer personally than to the honour of ministers he uttered the last sentence more as a question than a statement shifted one foot against the other uneasily i am not so sure of that he said after a pause during which he had drawn himself up and had endeavoured to look conscientious you see i have the public to consider ministers may fall may be thrown out of office but the press is the same yesterday to day and for ever except when a great editor changes his opinions said which is of course always a point of reason and conscience as well as of advantage in the present case i think but shall we not enter the of which you have so opened the door we can scarcely be too private when the king s name is in question opened his eyes in amazement the king what the devil has he to do with anything but his women and his amusements a very close observer might have seen a curious expression over s face at these words an expression half of laughter half of scorn but it was slight and and his reply was courteous i really cannot inform you but i am afraid his secret service majesty is departing somewhat from his customary routine he is in fact taking an active instead of a passive part in national affairs then he must be warned off the ground said he is a constitutional monarch and must obey the laws of the constitution precisely and looked carefully at the end of his cigar but at present he appears to have an idea that the laws of the constitution are being with by certain other kings for example the kings of muttered a half oath come this way he said impatiently bad news is best soon over gave a careless nod of acquiescence then glancing round the room up at the clock and down j ain to s desk strewn with letters and documents of every description he smiled a little to himself and followed the all powerful editor into the smaller adjoining apartment the door closed behind them both and turned the key in the lock from within for a long time all was very silent s and confidential servant sleepy and tired waited in the hall to let his master s visitor out and hearing no sound ventured to look into the study now and then but to no purpose he knew the of that inner chamber beyond he knew that when the came to see the great as he often did it was in that mysterious further room that business was and that it was as much as his place was worth to venture even to knock at the door so yawning heavily he on his bench in the hall woke with a start and again while the clock slowly away the minutes till with a dull the hour struck one then on again went the steady and wearisome of the for a quarter of an hour half an hour and till the utterly fatigued was about to knock down a few walking sticks and and make a general noise of to his master as to how the time was going when to his great relief he heard the inner door open at last and the voice of the mysterious visitor ring out in clear precise accents power nothing will be done publicly of course unless parliament on an the speaker came towards the hall and the sprang up from his bench and stood ready to show the stranger out replied and his accents were thick and unsteady cannot be forced the himself can i any such attempt but if the king should insist he would be breaking all the rules of custom and precedent said and he would deserve to be laughed true good night mr can i do anything for you in the two men now came into the full light shed by the great lamp in the hall looked darkly red in the face almost was as cool and easy of manner as a practised or professional spy in repeated you are going straight to russia i think so i suppose you are in the secret service exactly a curious line of business too which the outside world knows very little of ah if the excellent people the masses as we call them knew what had the ruling of their affairs in some countries not in this country of course he added with a smile but in some others not very far away i wonder how many would break out within six months good night mr good	33
night responded briefly you will let me know any further most assuredly the servant opened the and slipped a gold coin worth a sovereign into his hand whereupon of course the worthy domestic considered him to be a real gentleman as soon as he had passed into the street and the door was shut and barred for the night bade his man go to bed a command which was gladly obeyed and re entering his study passed all the secret service time till the breaking of dawn in out letters and documents from various drawers and despatch boxes and burning them carefully one by one in the open grate while thus employed he had a truly aspect each flame he kindled with each paper seemed to show up a more expression on his countenance till at last when such matter was destroyed as he had at present determined on he drew himself up and stood for a moment surveying the pile of light black ashes which was all that was left of about a hundred or more paper witnesses to certain matters in which he had more than a lawful interest it will be difficult now to trace my hand in the scheme he said to himself frowning heavily as he considered various uncomfortable arising out of his conversation with his late visitor if the falls it will crush not me yes it means ruin for him ruin and disgrace but for me well i shall find it as easy to damn as it has been to support him for he cannot involve me without adding to his own disaster i think it will be safe enough for me possibly not so safe for the however i will write to him to morrow just to let him know i received his messenger in the meantime while david was thus unpleasant and even dangerous possibilities which were perhaps on the eve of to himself and certain of his associates in politics and was hurrying the city streets under the light of a clear though pallid and moon few were abroad the police walked their various rounds and one or two miserable women passed him like flying ghosts in the thin air of night his mind was in a turmoil of agitation and the thoughts that were tossing rapidly through his brain one upon the other were such as he had never known before he had a depth of and deception which but a short month ago he could scarcely have believed capable of existence the cruel injury and loss preparing for thousands of innocent persons through the self interested of a few men was and his blood burned with passionate indignation as he i realized on what a verge of misery disaster and crime the people of the country stood pushed to the very edge of a fall by the and designs of a few playing their gambling game with the public confidence and cheat ing nations as as they would have cheated their partners at cards thank god it is not too late he murmured not quite too late to save the situation to rescue the people from long of loss of trade and general distress jt is a supreme task that has been given me to accomplish but if there is any truth and right in the laws of the universe i shall surely not be mis fc judged while it i he he quickened his and to avoid going up one i of the longer which led to the and palace he decided to cross one of the many picturesque v bridges arched over certain from the sea and y forming where and other vessels might be up to the very doors of the which received their but just as he was t to turn in the necessary direction he halted abruptly at sight of two men standing at the first corner in the wa of his advance talking earnestly he recognized them once as and the half poet paul with noiseless step he moved the broad stretch of black shadow cast by the great of a block of buildings which occupied half the the street in which he stood and so managing to slip the darkness of a doorway was able to hear they were saying the full mellow and to of s voice had something in it of reproach t you shame yourself he said you sham me you shame us all man did god put a light o genius in your soul merely to be by the craving of a body what associate are you for us can you help us in the fulfilment of our ideal dream b day you mingle with and report has it that you have even managed t your way into my lady s but by nigh you wander like this furious in soul ia brain and only the heart of you alive th i secret service poor heart and crying for what itself makes impossible broke into a harsh laugh turning up his head to the sky he thrust back his wild hair and showed his thin eager face and glittering eyes like by the radiance of the moon well spoken my he exclaimed you always speak well your thoughts are of flame your speech is of gold the fire the ore and then again you have a conscience that is a strange possession quite useless in these days like the remains of the tail we had when we were all happy in the forest the or other such remarkable beasts with it was a much better life believe me a conscience is merely a mental there should be a surgeon with an airy to cut it out not for me i was born perfect without it he laughed again then with an abrupt change of	33
manner he caught violently by the arm how can you speak of shame he said what shame is left in either man or woman nowadays naked to the very skin of they a of vice in every public your sentiments my are those of an old world long passed away you are a a lover of truth a of and in the days when the people loved truth and wanted justice and fought for both you would l ave been great but greatness is nowadays judged as madness truth as want of tact desire for justice is for shame there is no shame anything but honesty that is a disgrace t o the century for an honest man is always poor and is the worst of crimes he threw up his arms vith a wild gesture the worst of crimes do i not took him gently by the shoulder you talk as you always talk at random scarcely knowing and certainly not half meaning what say there is no real reason in your against and fortune leave the accursed drink and you may till win the prize you fame power not i said scornfully fame in its original sense belonged also to the growing time of the world when proud of youth and the glow of life the full man judged himself immortal fame now is to the machine who drives a car best or to the fortunate soap who with a king poetry is understood to be the useful rhyme which the virtues of and boot mark you my latest volume was graciously accepted by the king do you know what that means no replied a trifle coldly and if it were not that i know your strange i should say you wronged your election as one of us to send any of your work to a crowned fool laughed you would no you would not my if you knew the spirit in which i sent it a spirit as wild as reckless as as defiant as ever devil indulged in the humility of my letter to his majesty was beautiful the reply of the secretary was equally beautiful in courtesy sir i am commanded by the king to thank you for the book of poems you have kindly sent for his acceptance i say again do you know what it means no i only wish that instead of talking here you would let me see you safely home home i have no home since she died he paused and a grey shadow crossed his face like the hue of approaching sickness or death i killed her poor child of course you know that i neglected her deserted her left her to die well she is only one more added to the list of countless women who have been tortured out of an unjust world and now now i write verses to her memory he shivered as with cold still clinging to s arm but i did not tell you what great good comes of sending a book to the king it means less to a writer than to a boot maker for the boot maker can put up a sign special for the ease of his majesty s but if a poet should say his verse is accepted by a monarch the shrewd public take it at once to be bad verse and will have none of it that is the case with my book to day secret service why did you send it asked with grave patience your business with kings is to warn not to flatter just so cried and if his most gracious and glorious had been pleased to look inside the volume he would have seen enough to him it was sent in hate my not in humility just as the secretary s answer was in derision courtesy how you look under this wan sky of night yet pitying as the eyes of are your eyes my you are a fine fellow your brain is a dome decorated with glorious and yet you are like all of us weak in one point as in the heel one thing could turn you from man into beast and that would be if loved not you she never will love you but another started back as though suddenly and angrily shook off his companion who only laughed again a shrill echoing laugh in which there was a note of madness and desolation he exclaimed you are a fool after all t you work for a woman as i did once but mark you t do not kill her as i did once be patient watch the light shine even though it does not your path be glad that the rose for itself if not for it will be difficult meanwhile you can live on a bitter fruit to eat but it to the last my hope that may melt in your fire as s in the sun come now take the poor poet the drunken child of inspiration take him to his garret in the the poet whose book been accepted by the king pulling himself up from his semi crouching position lie seized s arm again more tightly and began to walk along presently he paused smiling up at the gradually vanishing stars speaks to our followers on saturday he said you know that bent his head in acquiescence you will be there of course i shall be there what a voice she has whether we believe what she says or not we must hear and hearing we must follow shall we drink in the sweet this time i power at the people s assembly rooms responded but remember she does not speak till nine o	33
clock that means that you will be unfit to listen you think so responded and leaning on he stumbled onward the two passing close in front of the doorway where stood concealed but i am more ready to understand wisdom when drunk than when sober my you do not understand i am a human the result of an between a and an angel believe me i will listen to with all my devil soul you will listen to her with all your loving longing heart and with us two thus attentive the opinions of the rest of the audience will scarcely matter how the street how the old moon dances so did she whirl when clasped his egyptian queen and lost remember the fate of would have been seized and controlled by men such as you are long before now if there had not always been a woman in the case a or a still laughing foolishly he half supporting half leading him with grave and compassion they were soon out of sight and leaving his dark crossed the bridge with an alert step and mounted a steep street leading to the from between the tall leaning houses a glimpse of the sea by the dying moonlight flashed now and again and in the silence of the night the low ripple of small waves against the could be distinctly heard a sense of holy calm impressed him as he paused a moment and the words of an old verse came back to him from some far oflf depth of memory lord christ i would my soul were clear as air with only thy pure radiance falling through he caught his breath hard there was a sense as of tears in his eyes so proudly and so he muttered yet has not the and been whose is the blame not with the people secret service who despite the prophet s warning still put their trust in princes but with the and of the system is like an old ship stuck fast in the and unfit for sailing the wide seas with of custom and prejudice and in every gale of wind pulling and straining at a rusty chain anchor but the spirit of change is in the world a hurrying movement that has wings of fire and might possibly be called revolution it is better that the torch should be lighted from the throne than from the he went on his way quickly till reaching the outer wall of the he was by a to whom he gave the in a low tone the man drew back satisfied and went on mounting from point to point of the cliff till he reached a private gate leading into the wide park lands which skirted the king s palace here stood a muffled and figure evidently watching for him for as soon as he appeared the gate was noiselessly opened for his and he passed in at once then he and the person who had awaited his coming walked together through the scented woods of pine and and talking in low and confidential voices slowly disappeared chapter xiv the king s the de was a heavy and for some time had been growing than was advisable for the dignity of a prime minister he had been defeated of late years in one or two important measures and his had by gradual degrees succeeded in himself into such close connection with the rest of the members of the cabinet that he felt himself being edged out only from political but from the profits so growing somewhat indifferent as well as disgusted at the course affairs were taking he had made up his mind to retire from office as soon as he liad carried through a certain bill which in its results would have the effect of the people of the country while helping on his own interests to a considerable degree at the immediate moment he had a chance of large on the political horizon could not do anything of very great importance without him they were both too deeply involved together in the same schemes in point of fact if could bring the to a fall the could do the same by the two depended on each other and conscious that if gained any fresh accession of power it would be to his s advantage was gradually preparing to gracefully resign his position in the younger and more ambitious man s favour but he was not altogether comfortable in his mind since his last interview with the king the king had shown unusual signs of self will and obstinacy he had presumed to give a command affecting the national policy and moreover he had threatened if his command were not obeyed to address parliament himself on the subject in hand from the throne such an i the king s idea was very to the s mind it had cost him a sleepless night and when he woke to a new day s work he was in an extremely irritable humour he was doubtful how to act for to complain of the king would not do and to the members of the cabinet as to his majesty s declared determination to dispose of certain difficulties with a foreign power which the had fully up into a flame of war might possibly awaken a storm of and discussion we all want money said the gloomily as he rose from his tumbled bed to take his first breakfast and read his early morning letters and to crush a small and insolent race whose country is rich in product is simply the act of an orange for the necessary life would be lost of course but we are over and a good war would rid the country of many and and could be provided for by national invested as the think fit and	33
paid to after about twenty years waiting he smiled the gain to ourselves would be new wealth new schemes new for commerce and speculation in every way and now the king sets himself up as an obstacle to progress if he were fond of money we could explain the whole big combine and offer him a share but with a character such as he possesses i doubt if it would work with some whom i could name it would be perfectly easy and yet for the three years he has been on the throne he has been passive enough asking no questions such documents as he has been told to sign uttering such speeches as have been written for him and i was never more shocked and taken in my life than yesterday morning when he declared he had decided to think and act for himself simply preposterous an ordinary man who to think and act for himself is always a danger to the community but a king good heavens we should have the old system back again he his coffee leisurely and opened a few letters there were none of very pressing importance he was power just about to glance through the morning s newspaper when his man servant entered bearing a note marked private and immediate he recognized the handwriting of david anyone waiting for an answer he no the man retired the broke the large seal bearing the coat of arms which affected but to which he had no more right than the man in the moon and read what seemed to him more inexplicable than the most ever invented my dear i received your confidential messenger last night and explained the entire situation he left for this morning but will warn us of any further sorry matters look so grave for you should like a few minutes private chat when you can spare the time yours truly david over and over again the read this brief note staring at its every word and utterly unable to understand its meaning what in the world is the fellow driving at he exclaimed angrily my messenger explained the entire situation the devil left for upon my soul this is and he rang the bell sharply who brought this note he asked as his servant entered mr s own man has he gone yes wait and sitting down he wrote hastily the following lines dear sir your letter is inexplicable i sent no messenger to you last night if you have any explanation to offer i shall be disengaged and alone till this morning yours truly de the king s folding and addressing this he marked it private and gave it to his man take this yourself he said and put it into mr s own hands trust no one to deliver it ask to see him personally and then give it to him you understand yes his note thus despatched the threw himself down in his arm chair and again read s mysterious communication whatever messenger has passed himself off as coming from me must have been crazy to receive him without he said there must be a mistake somewhere a vague alarm troubled him he was not moved by conscientious scruples but the idea that any of his secret moves should be explained to a stranger was to say the least oi it and not to the tranquillity of his mind a thousand awkward possibilities suggested themselves at once to his brain and as he carried a somewhat disposition under his heavy and exterior he and fretted himself for the next half hour into an impatience which only found in the and performance of dressing himself ah if those who consider a prime minister great and exalted could only see him as he on his trousers and his shirt collar what a would be promptly effected especially if like the de he happened to be over stout and difficult to clothe this particular example of was an man his proud position could not make him handsome nor lend true dignity to his old mother nature has a way of marking her specimens if we will learn to recognize the signs she sets on certain particular makes of man the de was made to be a stock not a his bent was towards the material gain and good of himself more than the advantage of his country his reasoning was a slight of s logical of honour he argued if i am poor then what is it to me that others are rich if i am neglected what do i care that the people are prosperous let me but secure and keep power those certain millions of money which shall to me and my a handsome not only for my life but for all lives connected with mine which come after me and my patriotism is satisfied he had just finished himself by into his morning coat when his servant entered well he asked impatiently mr is coming round at once he ordered his carriage directly he read your note he sent no answer none when he arrives show him into the library yes the thereupon left his sleeping apartment and descended to the library himself the sun was streaming brilliantly into the room and the windows thrown wide open showed a cheerful display of lawn and flower garden filled with palms and other semi tropical shrubs for though the s house was in the centre of the fashionable quarter of the city it had the advantage of extensive and well shaded grounds a law had been passed in the late king s time against the of trees it having been proved that trees in a certain quantity not only the air from disease affecting the human organization but also save the crops from many insect and poisonous having learned the lesson at last that	33
the almighty may be trusted to know his own business and that trees are intended for wider purposes than mere timber the were strict concerning them no one could fell a tree on his own ground without first of all making a statement at the national office of as to the causes for its removal and only if these causes were found satisfactory could a stamped permission be obtained for cutting it down or lifting it to other ground the result of this sensible was that in the days of summer the city was kept cool and shady by the rich foliage out everywhere and in some parts running into broad avenues and groves of great thickness and beauty the de s garden had an additional charm in a beautiful alley of orange trees and the fragrance into his room from the king s the delicious blossoms would have refreshed and charmed anyone less troubled worried and feverish than he was at the time but this morning the very sunshine annoyed him never a great lover of nature the trees and flowers forming the outlook on which his heavy eyes rested were almost an the tranquil beauty of an ever renewed and nature is always particularly offensive to an uneasy conscience and an exhausted mind the sound of wheels grinding along the outer drive brought a faint gleam of satisfaction on his brooding features and he turned sharply round as the door of the library was thrown open to admit whose appearance despite his manner evident confusion and alarm good morning mr said the stiffly as his confidential man ushered in the visitor then when the servant had retired and closed the door he added quickly now what does this mean dropped into a chair and pulling out a handkerchief wiped the perspiration from his brow i don t know he said helplessly i don t know what it means i have told you the truth a man came to see me late last night saying he was sent by you on urgent business he said you wished me to explain the position we held and the amount of the interests we had at stake as there were grave discoveries and likely to he gave his name there is his card and with a semi groan he threw down the bit of in question the snatched it up i never heard the name in my life he said fiercely you have been done you mean to tell me you were such a fool as to trust an entire stranger with the whole financial plan of campaign and that you were enough to believe that he came from me me de without any exclaimed do you suppose i would have received him at all had been lacking not i he brought me the most sure and confidential sign of your trust that could be produced your own ring power the staggered back as though s words had been so many direct blows on the chest his countenance turned a livid white my ring he repeated and almost unconsciously he looked at the hand from which the great was missing my then he forced a smile i repeat you have been done doubly no one could possibly have obtained my for at this very moment it is on the hand of the king rose slowly out of his chair his eyes out of his head his jaw almost dropping in the extremity of his amazement the king he gasped the king yes man the king repeated de impatiently only yesterday morning his majesty having his own ring for the moment borrowed mine just before starting on his how you stare you have been that is perfectly plain and evident the king repeated then the man who came to me last night he broke off unable to find any words for the expression of the thoughts which began to him well the man who came to you last night echoed the he was not the king i suppose was he and he laughed no he was not the king said slowly i know him well enough but it might have been in the king s service for he knew or said he knew the king s intentions in a certain matter affecting both you and and in a more distant way myself and warned me of a coming change in the policy ah it is now your turn to stare you had be on your guard for if the person who came to me last night was not your messenger he was the king s spy and in that case we are lost the paced the room with long strides his mind was greatly agitated but he had no wish to show his too openly to one whom he considered as a mere tool in his service i know went on emphatically that the ring he wore was yours i noticed it particularly while i was y the king s talking to him it would take a long time and exceptional skill to make any imitation of that there is no doubt that it was your the halted suddenly in his nervous walk you told him the whole scheme you say i did and his reply was that the king had discovered it and proposed on an and then well then he warned me to look out for myself as anyone connected with s financial deal would inevitably be ruined during the next few weeks who is going to work the ruin asked the with a sneer do you not know that if the king dared to give an opinion on a national crisis he would be there are the people began the people human bom for crushing under the heel of power	33
a couple of leaders in your paper can guide the fool mob any way that depends said hesitatingly if what the fellow said last night be true it is not true said the we are going on in precisely the same course as originally arranged neither king nor people can interfere go home and write an article about love of country you look in the humour for it the jew s expression was anything but amiable what is to be done about last night he asked sullenly nothing at i am going to the palace at two o clock i shall see the king and find out whether my is lost stolen or strayed meanwhile keep your own counsel if you have been betrayed into giving your confidence to a spy in the foreign service as i imagine for the king has never employed a spy and is not likely to do so and he makes known his information it can be denied the official denial of a government like charity has before now covered a multitude of sins an instinctive for further conversation power brought the interview between them abruptly to a close and full of a suspicious alarm which he was ashamed to confess drove off to his newspaper offices the meantime though harassed by secret anxiety managed to display his usual when after s his private secretary arrived at the customary time to under his orders the and business of the day this secretary by name was a quiet self contained young man highly ambitious and keenly interested in the political situation and though in the s service not altogether of his way of thinking he called the s attention now to a letter that had missed careful reading on the previous day it was from the general of the society of expressing surprise and indignation that the king should have refused the society s request for such land as was required to be devoted to religious and purposes and begging that the would exert his influence with the monarch to persuade him to withdraw or his refusal i can do nothing said the the lands they want belong to the crown the king can dispose of them as he thinks best the secretary set the letter aside shall i reply to that effect he the nodded i know said presently with a slight that you never pay any attention to communications otherwise there is one here which might merit consideration what does it concern a meeting replied where it appears the woman is to speak the shrugged his shoulders and smiled you must me who is the woman ah that no one exactly knows replied the secretary a strange character without doubt but he paused and spoke more emphatically she has power gave a gesture of irritation over whom does she exercise it over one man or many the king s over one half the population at least responded quietly turning over a few papers without looking up the stared at him slightly amused have you taken of the lady s followers he asked are you one of them yourself raised his eyes clear dark eyes deep set and steady in their glance were i so i should not be here he replied but i know how she speaks i know what she does and from a purely political point of view i think it unwise to her what is this communication you speak of asked the after a pause oh it is brief enough answered a paper and he read aloud to the de satisfy yourself that those who meet on saturday night where speaks have already decided on your said the carelessly to decide is one thing to fulfil the decision is another whoever she may be can preach to her heart s content for all i care i am rather surprised that a man of your penetration and intelligence should attach any importance to meetings which are always going on more or less in every city under the sun why it was but the other day the police were sent to a crowd which had gathered round the only the people had sufficient sense to themselves a street preacher or woman is like a cheap jack or a of the mob to such persons out of curiosity not conviction the secretary made no reply and went on with other matters awaiting his attention at a few minutes before two o clock the entered his carriage and was driven to the palace there he learned that the king was receiving more or less certain foreign and of in the throne room a fine band was playing o power military music in the great open in front of the palace where pillars of rose marble straight as the stems of pine trees held up clasping between their the s shield flags were flying fountains flashing gay gleamed here and there and the atmosphere was full of brilliancy and gaiety yet the on his way to the audience chamber was rendered aware of one of those mysterious impressions which are sometimes conveyed to us we know not how but which tend to prepare us for surprise and disappointment some extra fibre of in his ous organization was touched for he actually fancied he saw and looks on the faces of the various and who bowed him along the passages or ushered him up the state when as a matter of fact all was precisely the same as usual and it was only his own conscience that gave imaginary hints of change arrived at the chamber to the throne room he was surprised to find prince there talking to the king s physician professor von the prince seemed unusually excited his face was flushed and his eyes brilliant and as he saw the he came forward extending his hand and almost preventing s	33
profound bow and salutation have you business with the king the young man with a light laugh if you have you must do as i am doing wait his majesty s pleasure the lifted his eyebrows smiled and murmuring something about pressure of state shook hands with von whose countenance as usual presented an impenetrable mask to his thoughts it is rather a new experience for me continued the prince to be treated as a kind of on the king s favour and kept in attendance but no matter novelty is always pleasing i have been my heels here for more than an hour von too has been waiting contrary to custom he has not even been permitted to after his majesty s health this morning the king s maintained his former expression of polite surprise but said nothing instinct warned him to be of words lest he should betray his own private anxiety the prince went on carelessly majesty takes like other men and must more than other men i suppose be humoured yet there is to my mind something unnatural in a system which causes several human beings to be dependent on another s caprice you will not say so sir when you yourself are king observed the long distant be the day returned the prince indeed i hope it may never be i would rather be the simplest peasant the fields and happy in my own way than suffer the and pains surrounding the possession of a throne only put in von you would have to take into consideration sir whether the peasant the fields is happy in his own way i have made the peasant the fields a special form of study and i have always found him a remarkably discontented often ill fed and therefore individual we are all discontented if it comes to that said prince with a light laugh except myself i am perfectly contented you have reason to be sir said bowing low you are quite right i have more reason than perhaps you are aware of his eyes lightened and flashed he looked unusually handsome and the s glance rested on him for a moment with a certain curiosity but he had not been accustomed to pay very much attention to the words or actions of the heir apparent considering him to be a very ordinary young man without either the brilliancy or the ambition which should mark him out as worthy of his exalted station and before any further conversation could take place sir de entered the room and announced to the that the king was ready to receive him prince turning sharply round faced the io power i am still to wait he with a slight touch of sir bowed respectfully your instant desire to see the king your father sir was communicated to his majesty at once he replied the present delay is by his majesty s own orders i much regret regret nothing my dear sir he said my patience does not easily tire i trust your business will not take long i shall endeavour to make it as brief as possible sir replied the as he withdrew it was with a certain uneasiness however in his mind that he followed sir to the throne room there was no possibility of exchanging so much as a word with the besides de was not a talking man passing between the lines of attendants pages lords and others he was conscious of a certain loss of his usual self possession as he found himself at last in the presence of the king who attired in brilliant uniform was conversing graciously and familiarly with a select group of distinguished individuals whose costume them as or visitors from foreign courts in the service perceiving the however he paused in his conversation and standing quite still awaited his approach then he extended his hand with his usual kindly condescension instinctively s eyes searched that hand with the expression of a guilty soul searching for a witness to its innocence there shone the great his own and to his excited fancy its blue glimmer a witch like glow of menace the king was speaking you are just a few minutes late he said had you come a little earlier you would have met m who has matters of import to discuss with you here he moved aside from those immediately in hearing it is perhaps as well you should know i have his war it will rest now with you to call a council to morrow the next day or when you please i completely taken the was silent for a moment biting his lips to keep down the torrent of rage i the king s and disappointment that threatened to break out in violent and speech sir your majesty pardon me but surely you cannot fail to understand that in a constitution like ours the course decided upon by ministers cannot be by the king the monarch smiled gravely cannot is a weak word i do not include it in my i fully grant you that a plan of campaign decided upon by ministers as you say has not been by a sovereign for at least a couple of centuries and the custom has naturally fallen into but if it should be found at any time i do not say it has been found that ministers are engaged in a seriously mistaken policy and are being by the doubtful of private financial so much as to consider their own advantage more important and valuable than the prosperity of a country or the good of a people then a king who does not the same is a worse criminal than those he and turned a deadly white his eyes fell before the clear straight gaze of his sovereign but he said not	33
a word a king s has before now brought about a king s went on the monarch should it do so in my case i shall not greatly care but if things that way i shall lay my thoughts openly before the people for their judgment they seldom or never hear the sovereign whom they pay to keep speak to them on a matter gravely affecting their national but they shall hear if necessary the his dry lips and to t a few words your majesty will run considerable risk of being judged as something more than a mere said the king or a fool set on a throne to be true but the risk can only involve life and life is when weighed in the balance against honour by the way permit me to return to you this valuable here drawing off the s he handed it to him almost power i envy it it is a fine stone and worthy of its high service i your majesty has increased its value by wearing it said recovering a httle of his strayed in his determination to to the bottom of the mystery which perplexed his mind may i ask anything in reason my dear returned the king lightly and smiling as he spoke a thousand questions if you like one will suffice answered the i had an unpleasant dream last night about this very ring ah ejaculated the king did you dream that i had dropped it in the sea on my way to the islands yesterday he spoke yet with a kindly air and gained courage to look boldly up and straight into his eyes i did not dream that you had lost it sir he answered but that it had been stolen from your hand and used by a spy for purposes a strange expression crossed the king s face a look of inward illumination he smiled but there was a quiver of strong feeling under the smile advancing a step he laid his hand with a light half warning pressure on the s shoulder dreams always go by he said i assure you on my honour as a king and a gentleman that from the moment you lent it to me till now when i return it to you that ring has never left my finger chapter xv or the royal at home was soon over many of those who had the felicity of breathing in the king s presence that afternoon remarked upon his majesty s evident good health and high spirits while others as freely commented on the and of the de sir walter the great english traveller who was taking his leave of the sovereign that day being bound on an expedition to the recesses of africa was not altogether agreeably impressed by the whom he met on this occasion for the first and only time they had begun their acquaintance by talking but drifted by degrees into the dangerous circle of politics and were round the edge of various critical questions of the day when the said abruptly an would not flourish in your country i presume sir walter the british people have been too long accustomed to sing that they never never will be slaves your government is really more or less of a republic all are so in these days i imagine replied on the part of a monarch is nowhere endured save in russia and what is russia a huge with fire and ever threatening to break out in flame and the throne were not always wisdom in times and i venture to consider them nowadays less wise and more careless than ever only a return to almost ignorance and superstition would any complete authority in these present times of progress it is only the long of russia that the triumph of liberty there as elsewhere power the listened eagerly and with evident satisfaction i agree with you he said you consider then that in no country under any circumstances could the people be expected to obey their monarch blindly certainly not even rome with its visible spiritual head and sovereign has no real power it it has but let it make any decided step to the liberties of the people at large and the result would be somewhat astonishing personally and he smiled gravely i have often thought that my own country would be very much by a couple of years existence under an an like for example a man strong and fierce intelligent and candid who would expose and destroy who would have no mercy on either religious social or political fraud and who would perform the part of the necessary hard for sweeping the national house but unfortunately we have no such man you have in your the heard this name with amazement why he is a mere pardon me interrupted sir walter so was but my dear sir remonstrated the is it possible that you really consider any sort of an influence in this country if you do i assure you you are greatly mistaken i think not responded sir walter quietly with every respect for you i believe i am not mistaken books written by are in their thousands all over the world his speeches are reported not only here but in journals which probably you never hear of in far oflf countries in short his is simply enormous he is a kind of new without so far as i can learn s private vices he is a man i much wished to see during my stay here but i have not had the opportunity of finding him out he is an genius but i need not remind you that a man is never a prophet in his own country the world s is	33
v or always eyed with more or less suspicion as a strange sort of rogue or vagabond in his own native town or village at that moment the king having concluded a conversation with certain of his guests who were thereupon leaving the throne room approached them he had not spoken a word to the since returning him his ring but now he i was almost forgetting a special request i have to make of you a request from you is a command sir replied with deference and something of a covert sneer which did not escape the quick observation of sir walter in certain cases it should be so returned the king and in this you will probably make it so i i have received a volume of poems by one paul his genius appears to me deserving of encouragement a grant of a hundred golden pieces a year will not be too much for his hundred best poems will you see to this the bowed i have never heard of the man in question he replied hesitatingly probably not returned the king smiling how often do read poetry or notice poets scarcely ever if we may credit history but in this case i will make myself immediately acquainted with paul and inform him of your majesty s gracious intention the hastened to say it is quite possible he may refuse the grant continued the king sometimes though seldom poets are than prime ministers with a brief nod of dismissal he turned away inviting sir walter to accompany him and there was nothing more for the to do save to return even as he had come with two pieces of information his brain one that the king s had stopped a declaration of war unless which was a very remote he and his party could persuade the people to go against the king the other that some clever spy with the assistance of a imitation of his ring had become aware of the financial i power in f in h xl in a private speculation depending on v war which included himself v r other members of the and ot th se l x facts might possibly arise a whole train n v k ruin and disgrace to those concerned it ii considerably past three o clock in the afternoon when the king retiring to his own private cabinet desired sir de to inform prince that he y i now prepared to receive him sir hesitated a before going to fulfil the command the king loi at him with an indulgent smile things are moving too quickly you think he upon my soul i am beginning to find a new zest in life i feel some twenty years younger since i saw the face of the beautiful yesterday we must promote her sailor husband and bring his pearl of the sea to our court it was on this very subject sir that von wished to see your majesty the first thing this morning said sir but you refused him so early an audience yet you will remember that yesterday you told him you wished for an explanation of his acquaintance with this girl he was ready and prepared to give it but was prevented not only by your refusal to see him but also by the prince drawing up a chair to the open window the king himself deliberately and lit a cigar the prince knows more than the pro do l r he said calmly we will hear both and give i the tell prince i am every or him taken withdrew and in another two or three their throwing open the door and in reported not who entered with a quick step and brief vou never salutation puffing leisurely at his l is r glanced his son up and down the prince stood waiting for his can s private at last growing impatient and my stay k began f finding him ot to spare von your reproaches not s not merit you accused him yesterday prophet in his i betraying your trust he has neither or betrayed your trust nor mine i alone am to blame in this matter in what matter the king quietly prince coloured deeply and then grew pale there was a ray of defiance in the light of his fine eyes but the tumult within his soul showed itself only in an added composure of his features you wish me to speak plainly i suppose he said though you know already what i mean i repeat i and i alone am to blame for for an that seemed strange to you yesterday when you met von at the islands the king s serious face lightened with a gleam of laughter nothing seemed very strange to me he said except the one fact that i found von whom i supposed to be studying scientific problems engaged in studying a woman instead a very beautiful woman too who ought to be something better than a sailor s wife and i do not understand as yet what he has to do with her unless here he paused and went on more slowly unless he is as i suspect acting for you in some way and trying to tempt the fair creature with the prospect of a prince s admiration while the sailor husband is out of the way remember i know nothing i merely hazard a guess you are an of the islands though i learned on of the interesting old gentleman who was good enough to be my host that nobody had ever seen you there they had only seen your constantly about the bay this struck me as curious i must confess some of your men were well known particularly one the husband of the pretty girl i	33
only i am quite prepared and he smiled somewhat to make it a test case and appeal to the law of the realm if that law a crime in princes which it would punish in then i shall ask the people to judge me indeed and the king surveyed him with a touch of amusement and vague admiration for his audacity and suppose the people fail to appreciate the romance of the situation then i shall resign my said the young man coolly because a country that a wrong done to the innocent is not worth belonging to concerning the throne as i told you before i am ready to abandon it at once i would rather lose all the of the world than lose there was a pause during which the king took two or three slow paces up and down the room at last he turned and faced his son his eyes were softer his look more kindly you are very much in love just now he said and i do not wish to be too hard on you in this matter for there can be no question as to the extraordinary beauty of the girl you call your wife the girl who is my wife interrupted the prince very well so let it be said his father calmly the girl who is your wife for the present i will give you time plenty of time to consider the position reasonably i have already considered it he declared no doubt you think you have considered it but if you do not want to any further upon your marriage problem you must allow me the leisure to do or so as one who has seen more of life than you as one who takes things and also as one who was young once who loved once and who had his own private dreams of happiness once he rested a hand on his son s shoulder and looked him full and fairly in the eyes let me advise you to go abroad travel round the world for a year the prince was silent but his eyes did not from his father s steady gaze he seemed to be thinking rapidly but his thoughts were not betrayed by any movement or expression that could anxiety he was alert calm and perfectly self possessed i have no objection he said at last a year is soon past it is agreed the king with a sense of relief at his ready assent but by the end of that time things will be precisely as they are now said the prince will still be my wife and i shall still be her husband the king gave a gesture of whatever the result he said she cannot and will not be crown princess she will not envy that destiny in my brother s wife said prince quietly nor shall i envy my brother you talk like a fool said the king impatiently you cannot resign your heir to the throne without giving a reason and so making known your marriage that is precisely what i wish to do returned the young man i have no intention of keeping my marriage secret i am proud of it is mine the joy of my soul the very pulse of my life why should i hide my light under a cloud his voice with tender feeling his handsome features were softened into finer beauty by the passion which him and his father looking at him thought for a moment that so might the young gods of the have appeared in the height of their power and charm his own eyes grew melancholy as he studied this vigorous of ardent power love and passionate resolve and a slight sigh escaped him unconsciously you forget he said slowly you have up to the present deceived the girl she does not know who you are when she hears that you have played a part that you are no sailor in the service of the crown prince as you have apparently represented yourself to be but the crown prince himself what will she say to you perhaps she will hate you for the deception as much as she now loves you a shadow darkened the young prince s open countenance but it soon passed away she will never hate me he said for when i do tell her the truth it will be when i have resigned all the ridiculous pomp and circumstance of my position for her sake perhaps she will not let you resign it said the king she may be as unselfish as she is beautiful there was a slight very slight note of derision in his voice and the prince caught it up at once you wrong yourself sir more than you wrong my wife by any lurking of her he said with singularly and expressive dignity as her husband and the guardian of her honour i also claim her obedience what i desire is her law the king laughed a little evidently you have found the miracle of the ages he said a woman who her master well let us talk no more of it you have been guilty of an folly but nothing can make your marriage otherwise than and when the state considers a royal alliance for you advisable you will be compelled to obey the country s wish or else resign the throne i shall obey the country s wish most decidedly said the prince unless it asks me to commit as you suggest in which case i shall decline three or four royal of this class i know of who for all their pains have not succeeded in winning the attachment of their people either for themselves or their their people know what they are	33
well enough and despise their position as heartily as i do i or am perfectly convinced that if it were put to the vote of the country no people in the world would wish their future monarch to be a how you stick to a word and a phrase exclaimed the king the rule does away with the very idea of how do you prove it sir the prince is the act of a second marriage while the first partner is alive it is punished severely in why should escape the king began to laugh this boy was developing such as his own old had upon my life i do not know he declared you must ask the departed shades of those who made themselves responsible for in the first place personally i do not come under the law i have only married once myself his son looked full at him and the intensity of that look affected and his usual calm nerves but he was not one to an unpleasant suggestion you would say if your filial respect permitted you that my one marriage has been in various other ways perfectly true when women lie down and ask you to walk over them you do it if you are a man and a king when on the contrary women show you that they do not care whether you are royal or the reverse and despise you more than admire you you run after them for all you are worth at least i do i always have done so and to a certain extent it has been amusing but the limit is reached i am growing old here he took up the cigar he had thrown aside when his son had first startled him by the announcement of his marriage and it began to smoke i am as i say growing old i have never found what is called love you have or think you have enjoy your dream but take my advice and go abroad see whether travel does not work a change in you or in her he paused a moment and while the prince still regarded him added will you tell the queen i will leave you to tell her sir with your per v power mission replied the prince i cannot expect her sympathy von then is the only person you have trusted with your confidence von was no party to my marriage sir i was married fully three months before i told him he was greatly vexed and troubled but when he saw he was glad glad echoed the king for what reason pray i am afraid sir said the young man with a smile his gladness was but a part of his science he said it was better for a prince to wed a healthy and beautiful than the daughter of a hundred kings with a movement of intense indignation the monarch sprang up from the chair in which he had just seated himself now by heaven he exclaimed von goes too far he shall suffer for this why the prince calmly you know that what he says is perfectly true true why there is scarcely a royal house in the world save our own without its hereditary curse of disease or insanity we pay more attention to the breeding of horses than the breeding of kings the plain and of the statement left no room for denial you have seen went on the prince you know she is the most beautiful creature your eyes ever rested upon von told me you were stricken dumb and almost at sight of her damn von said the king his son smiled ever so but continued you have made yourself acquainted with her history yes said the king that she is a picked up from the sea a from a wreck no one knows who her father and mother were and yet you in your madness and folly of love would make her crown princess and future queen the prince went on she is beautiful and the simple method of her or bringing up has left her and innocent she is ignorant of the world s ways because and his voice sank to a tenderness god s ways are more familiar to her he paused but his father was silent he therefore went on she is healthy strong simple and true more fit for a throne if such were her destiny than any daughter of any royal house i know of happy the nation that could call such a woman their queen i as i have already told you returned the king you are in love with the love of a passionate boy for a beautiful and girl i do not propose to discuss the subject further you are willing to go abroad you tell me then make your preparations at once i will select one or two necessary companions for you and you can start when you please i would let von accompany you but for the present i cannot well spare him your intended voyage must be made public and in this way nothing will be known of the manner in which you have privately chosen to make a fool of yourself i will explain the situation to the queen but beyond that i shall say nothing let me know by to morrow how soon you can arrange your departure the prince bowed and was about to retire when the king called him back you do not ask my pardon for the offence you have committed the young man flushed and bit his lip sir i cannot ask pardon for what i do not consider is wrong i have married the woman i love and i intend to be faithful to her you married a woman you did not love and the result according to	33
her and they were married by the old parish priest in the little church among the rocks the very church where as her adopted father tells me he heard the singing a in on the day he found her cast up on the shore well said the king seeing that he paused and is the marriage legal think you perfectly so sir replied von by law as well as by church the prince tells me he married her in his own name but no one not even the poor little priest who married them knew the of your majesty s distinguished house and i believe nay i am sure here he heaved an the professor sigh it will bring a tragedy to the girl when she knows the true rank and title of her husband how came you to make her acquaintance tell me everything you know i will not you indeed sir i hope you will not returned the professor earnestly for there was never a man more hopelessly involved than myself in the net prepared for me by this romantic lover who has the honour to be your son in the first place directly i heard this confession of marriage i was for telling you at once but as he had bound me by my word of honour before he began the story to keep his confidence sacred i was unable to myself of it he said he wanted to secure me as a friend for his wife that said i firmly i will never be for there will be difficulty when all is known and if it comes to a struggle between a pretty and the good of a king i am not for the the king smiled and von went on he assured me she was not a i said what is she then i tell you he replied she is an angel you will come and see her you will pass as an old friend of her sailor husband and when you have seen her you will understand i was angry and said i would not go with him but afterwards i thought perhaps it would be best if i did as i might be able to advise him to some wise course so i accompanied him one afternoon in the past autumn to the islands he was married last summer and saw the girl the glory sea and i must confess to your majesty my heart went down before her beauty and innocence in absolute worship and if you were to kill me for it i cannot help it i am now as devoted to her service as i am to yours good said the king gently then you must help me to console her in s absence professor von s eyes opened widely with a vague look of alarm in his absence sir yes i am sending him abroad he is quite willing to go he tells me his departure will make all things perfectly easy for us the girl must remain in her power ent ignorance as to the position of the man she has really married the sailor she him to be will accompany the prince on his and it must be arranged that he never returns she is young and will easily be consoled von was silent you will not betray the prince s identity with her lover went on the king and no one else knows it in fact you will be the very person best qualified to tell her of his departure and in due time of his death they were walking slowly under the heavy shadow of crossed boughs and von came to a dead halt sir he said in rather unsteady accents with every respect for your majesty i must altogether decline the task of breaking a pure heart and a young life moreover if your majesty after all your recent experiences and he laid great emphasis on these last words thinks there is any ultimate good to be obtained by keeping up a lie and a fraud the lessons we have learned in these latter days are wholly you began this conversation with me by speaking of a straight line of conduct which should avoid other people s crooked curves is this your majesty s idea of a straight line he spoke with vehemence but the king was not offended on the contrary he looked interested and amused my dear von you are not usually so inconsistent himself has kept up a lie and practised a fraud on the girl only for a time interrupted the professor hastily oh we all do it only for a time everything life itself is only for a time you know as well as i do that this absurd marriage can never be acknowledged i explained as much to i told him he could guard himself by the law provided he would consent to a royal alliance immediately but the young fool swore it would be and took himself off in a he was right it would be it iy big the professor said the professor call it by what name you like in court the act of having two wives is forbidden in this country the wisest men have come to the conclusion that one wife is enough i s ideas being so absolutely childish went on the king it is necessary for him to them somewhat that is why i shall send him abroad you have a strong of romance in your composition von and i can quite with your admiration for the glory of the sea as you call her from a man s point of view i admire her myself but i know nothing of her moral or mental qualities though from her flat refusal to give me her husband s name	33
yesterday i judge her as wilful but most pretty women are that and as for my line of conduct it will i assure you be perfectly straight in the direction of my duty as a king apart altogether from sentimental considerations and in this as in other things he paused and his words i rely on your honour and faithful service the professor made no reply he was thinking deeply with a kind of grim scorn he pointed out to himself that his imagination was held captive by the mental image of a woman whose eyes had expressed trust in him and almost as tenderly as the lover in s he could have said that he would die to save from some slight shame one simple girl presently he himself up and confronted his royal master sir he said very quietly yet with perfect frankness your majesty must have the goodness to pardon me if i say you mu t not rely upon me at all in this matter i will promise nothing except to be true to myself and my own sense of justice i have given up my own country for conscience sake i can easily give up another which is not my own for the same reason in the matter of this marriage or as the worldly would call it i have nothing whatever to do while the prince asked me to keep his secret i kept it now that he has confided it to your majesty i am relieved and satisfied and shall not in any way by word or suggestion interfere with your majesty s intentions but at the same time i shall not assist them for as regards power the trusting girl who has been persuaded that she has won a great love and complete happiness for all her life have sworn to be her friend and i must respectfully decline to be a party to any further deception in her case knowing what i know of her character which is a pure and grand one i think it would be far better to tell her the whole truth and let her be the of her own destiny she will decide well and truly i am sure he ceased the king was silent von studied his face attentively you are a sir a student and a philosopher you are not one of those kings who treat their as a for the free exercise of and vicious were you no at all you would still be a sane and thoughtful man take my humble advice sir for once put the nature of a pure woman to the test and find out what a grand creature god intended woman to be in her simplicity and virtue send for to this court tell her the truth and await the result with confidence there was a pause the king walked slowly up and down at last he spoke you may be right i do not say you are i will consider your suggestion certainly it would be the course but first a complete explanation is due to the queen she must know all and if her interest can be awakened by such a as her son s love affair and he smiled somewhat bitterly perhaps she may agree to your plan as the best way out of the difficulty in any case here he extended his hand which the professor bowed over i respect your honesty and plain speaking professor i have reason to approve highly of sincerity wherever and however i find it at the present crisis of affairs for the moment i will only ask you to be on your g with and say as little as possible to him on the subject of his marriage or intended departure from this country keep everything as quiet as may be till till we find a clear and satisfactory course to follow which shall inflict as little pain as possible on all concerned and now a word with you on other matters the professor they walked on side by side through the garden walks and ways conversing earnestly and by and by penetrating into the deeper recesses of the were soon hidden among the crossing and of the trees had they kept to the open ground from whence the wide expanse of the sea could be viewed from end to end their might perhaps have been interrupted and themselves somewhat startled for they would have seen prince s with every inch of canvas stretched to the utmost flying rapidly before the wind like a wild white bird its swift straight way to the west where the sun shot down like shafts of gold on the gleaming purple coast line of the islands chapter xvii an honourable it is not easy to trace the causes why it so often happens that semi educated and more or less shallow men rise suddenly to a height of brilliant power and influence in the working of a country s policy sometimes it is wealth that brings them to the front sometimes the strong support secretly given to them by others in the background who have their own motives to serve and who require a public representative but more often still it is sheer or what may be described as walking over all humane and honest considerations that places them in triumph at the of affairs to rise from a to be a secretary of state a certain amount of brain though not necessarily of the highest quality while it certainly a good deal of dash and impudence one of the most prominent among the political of europe had begun his career by small transactions in iron and timber he came of a very stock and had received only a sort of education picked up here and	33
there in cheap provincial schools but he had a restless spirit of ambition ashamed of his origin and from his earliest years by a sense of grudge against those who moved in the highest and most influential circles of the time the idea was always in his mind that he would one day make himself an authority over the very persons who in the rough and tumble working days of his younger manhood would not so much as cast him a word or a look he knew that the first thing necessary to attain for this purpose was money and he had by steady and constant managed to and all his business concerns into various important companies an honourable which he set afloat in all quarters of the world with the satisfactory result that by the time his years had run well into the he was one of the men in the country he had from the first taken every opportunity to himself into politics and in exact proportion to the money he made so was his success in acquiring such positions in life as brought with them the control of various conflicting aims and interests his individual influence had extended by leaps and bounds till he had become only secondary in importance to the prime minister himself and he possessed a conveniently elastic conscience which could be stretched at will to suit any party or any set of principles in personal appearance he was not nature had him in her own special way for those who cared to search for her he was tall and thin with a narrow head and a deeply lined clean shaven countenance the cold of which was sometimes broken up by an unpleasant smile that merely the pale set lips without softening them and disclosed a crooked ro of smoke coloured teeth much decayed he had small eyes hidden under a somewhat development his brows were narrow his forehead and retreating but despite a general or what may be called a of feature he had learned to as an air of superiority which by its sheer audacity prevented a casual observer from setting him down as the he undoubtedly was and his amazing pluck boldness and originality in ways and means of popular discontent under various shows of apparent public prosperity was immensely useful to all such whose consisted in making as much money as possible for themselves out of the pockets of their countrymen he was seldom disturbed by influences and even now when he had just returned from the palace with the full knowledge that the king was absolutely resolved on certain he had set down in council for the somewhat arbitrary treatment of a certain power which had turned rebellious he was more amused than irritated power i suppose his majesty wants to distinguish himself by a d he said leaning easily in his chair and studying the tips of his carefully and polished finger nails poor fool i don t blame him for trying to do something more than walk about his palace in different at stated intervals but he will find his out of date we shall put n it to the country and i think i can answer for that he smiled as one who knows where and how to secure a triumph and his was not disturbed in the least by the unexpected arrival of the who was just then announced and who coming in his turn from the bang s reception had taken the opportunity to call and see his on his way home you seem fatigued he said as rising to receive his distinguished guest he placed a chair for him opposite his own was his majesty s n more tedious than usual looked at him with a air no it was brief enough so far as i was concerned he replied i do not suppose i stayed more than twenty minutes in the throne room altogether i understand you have been told that our proposed are to be k smiled i have been told yes but i have been told many things which i do not believe the king certainly has the right of but he dare not exercise it dare not echoed the from his present attitude it seems to me he dare do anything i tell you he dare not repeated quietly unless he wishes to lose the throne i if it came to that we should get on quite as well if not better with a republic looked at him with an amazed and reluctant admiration you talk of a republic you who are for ever making the most loyal speeches in favour of the why not lightly if the does not do as it is told whip it like a naughty an honourable r child and send it to bed that has been easily arranged before now in history the sat silent thinking or rather brooding heavily should he or should he not himself of certain fears that oppressed his mind he cleared his throat of a troublesome and began j if the purely business transactions in which you are engaged and you also put in placidly the shifted his position uneasily and went on i say if the purely business transactions of this affair were publicly known as well expect cabinet secrets to be posted on a in the open said what you with these sudden pangs of distrust at your position you have taken care to provide for all your own people what more can you desire hesitated then he said slowly i think there is only one thing for me to do and that is to send in my resignation at once raised himself a little out of his chair and opened his narrow eyes send in your resignation he echoed on what grounds do me the	33
kindness to remember that i am not yet quite ready to take your place he smiled his disagreeable smile and the began to feel irritated do not be too sure that you will ever have it to take he said with some if the king should by any means come to know of your financial deal you seem to be very suddenly afraid of the king interrupted or else strange touches of those catch word loyalty and patriotism are troubling your mind you speak of my financial deal is not yours as important review the position it is simply this for ye rs and years the have been in office matters it is no new thing sometimes they have lost and sometimes they have won their losses have been replaced by the of taxes on the people their gains they have very wisely said nothing about in these latter days however the loss has been considerably more than the gain patriotism y power as stocks has gone down honour will not pay the we cannot increase just at present but by a war we can clear out some of the useless population and invest in for supplies the mob love fight ing and every small victory won can be celebrated in beer and to what is called the heart of the it is a great heart and always leaps to strong drink which is cheap enough being so largely the country we propose to subdue is rich and both you and i have large of land there with the success which our arms are sure to obtain we shall fill not only the state which have been somewhat emptied by our but our own as well the king the war then let us hear what the people say of course we must work them up first and then get their verdict while they are red hot with patriotic excitement the press ordered by can manage that put it to the country through but do not talk of when we are on the brink of success will carry this thing through despite the king s m wait said the drawing his chair closer to and speaking in a low uneasy tone you do not know all there is some secret agency at work against us and among other things i fear that a foreign spy has been allowed to learn the of our principal moves listen and judge for yourself and he related the story of david s midnight experience carefully every point connected v with his own ring as he proceeded with the s face grew livid once or twice he clenched his hand nervously but he said nothing till he had heard all your ring you say had never left the king s possession t so the king himself assured me this very afternoon then must have passed off an imitation on david continued what name did the spy give an honourable opened a small book and carefully wrote the name down within it whatever david has said david alone is for i he then said calmly a jew may be called a liar with and whatever a jew has asserted can be denied remember he is in our pay i i doubt if he will consent to be made the in this affair said unless we can make it to his advantage he has the press at his command give him a title i returned contemptuously these jew press men love nothing better the smiled somewhat with a patent of nobility would cut rather an extraordinary figure he said still he would probably make good use of it especially if he were to start a newspaper in i they would accept him as a great man there i gave a careless nod his thoughts were otherwise occupied this has gone to according to his own words he was leaving this morning i that statement is a blind i should not at all wonder if he is still in the city i will get an exact description of him from and set on his track do not forget said the that he told in apparently the most friendly and manner possible that the king had discovered the whole plan of our financial campaign he even reported me as being ready to resign in consequence which apparently you are with some sarcasm i certainly have my resignation in prospect returned coldly and so far this mysterious spy has seemingly my thoughts if he is as correct in his report concerning the king it is impossible to say what may be the consequence why what can the king do demanded impatiently and with scorn for the humour of power his companion granted that he knew everything from the beginning including your large land purchases and contract in the very country you propose war with put in the say tliat he knew you had resolved on war and had already started a company for the of the guns and other out of which you get the principal what then what then echoed why nothing the king is as powerless as a in a field set up for arrows to be aimed at he dare not a state secret he has no privilege of interference with politics all he can do is to lead fashionable society a poor business at best and at present his lead is not particularly apparent the king must do as we command he rose and paced up and down with agitated steps to day when he told me he had resolved to my i accepted his information without any of surprise i merely said it would have to be stated in the and that reasons would have to be given he agreed and said that he himself would proclaim those reasons i told him it was impossible and	33
what was his reply asked the his reply was as absurd as his intention hitherto it has been impossible he said but in our reign we shall make it possible he declined any further conversation with me referring me to you and our chief in the cabinet well well i pay no more attention to a king s sudden caprice than i do to the of the wind he will alter his mind in a few days when the of the matters in hand becomes apparent to him in the same way he will his decision about that grant of land to the he must let them have their way what benefit do we get by the asked gets a thousand a year for putting flattering notices of the schools and such nonsense in his various newspapers and our party the political support of the in europe which an honourable just now is very necessary the pope must give his christian not only to our system but also to the war then the king has set himself in our way already even in this matter he has quite and very foolishly but we shall persuade him still to be of our opinion the ass that will not walk must be beaten till he i have no anxiety whatever on any point even the advent of s spy with an imitation of your on his finger appears to me quite and only helps to make the general situation more interesting to me at least i am only sorry to see that you allow yourself to be so much concerned over these trifles i have my family to think of said the slowly my reputation as a and my honour as a minister are both at stake smiled oddly but said nothing if in any way my name became a subject of popular it would entirely ruin the position i believe i have attained in history i have always wished and there was a tinge of pathos in his voice my descendants to hold a certain pride in my career looked at him with grim amusement it is a curious and unpleasant fact that the descendants of these days do not care a button for their ancestors he said they generally try to forget them as fast as possible what do the descendants of if there are any care about him the descendants of the descendants of or lord among the many numerous advantages attending the world wide fame of shakespeare is that he has left no descendants if he had his memory would have been more by than by any yankee at his grave one of the most remarkable features of this age is the cheerful ease with which sons forget they ever had fathers i am afraid you are not likely to escape the common doom rose slowly and prepared to take his departure i shall call a cabinet council for monday he said this is friday you will find it convenient to attend power rising at the same time assented you will see things in a better and clearer light by then he said rely on me i have not involved you thus far with any intention of bringing you to loss or disaster whatever you in this affair must equally befall me we are both in the same boat we must carry things through with a firm hand and show no hesitation as for the king his business is to be a and as he must remain made no reply they shook hands not over cordially and parted and as soon as heard the wheels of the s carriage grinding away from his outer gate he applied himself vigorously to the handle of one of the numerous wires fitted up his desk and after getting into communication with the quarter he desired requested general chief of the police to attend upon him instantly s were close by so that he had but to wait barely a quarter of an hour before that personage the same who had before been summoned to the presence of the king appeared to him handed a slip of paper on which he had written the words do you know that name he asked general looked at it attentively only the keenest and observer could have possibly detected the slight of a smile under the stiff points of his military moustache as he read it he returned it carefully folded i fancy i have heard it he said cautiously in any case i shall remember it good there is a man of that name in this city trace him if you can take this note to mr david and while he spoke he hastily a few lines and addressed them and he will give you an exact personal description of him he is reported to have left for but i that statement he is a foreign spy engaged we believe in the work of taking plans of our military he must be arrested and dealt with at once you understand perfectly replied accepting the note handed to him if he is to be discovered i shall not fail to discover him an honourable and when you think you are on the track let me have information at once went on but be well on your guard and let no one learn the object of your pursuit keep your own counsel i always do returned if i did not there might be trouble looked at him sharply but seeing the of his countenance forced a smile there might indeed he said your tact and discretion general do much to keep the city quiet but this affair of is a private matter distinctly so agreed quietly i hold the position entirely he shortly afterwards withdrew and satisfied that he had at any rate taken precautions to make known the existence of a spy	33
in the city if not to secure his arrest turned to the crowding business on his hands with a sense of ease and refreshment he might not have felt quite so self assured and complacent had he seen the worthy smiling to himself as he strolled along the street with the air of one enjoying a joke the while he murmured engaged in taking plans of the military is he ah a very dangerous amusement to indulge in engaged in taking plans ah yes very good very good excellent do i know the name yes i fancy i might have heard it oh yes very good indeed excellent and this spy is probably still in the city yes probably yes i should imagine it quite likely still smiling and apparently in the best of with himself and the world at large the general continued his easy stroll by the sea ways of the city along the many picturesque and up flights of marble steps built somewhat in the fashion of the prettiest corners of till he reached the chief and resort of fashion which being a broad avenue running immediately under and in front of the king s palace facing the sea was in the late sunshine of the crowded with carriages and here he took his place with the rest a fellow officer here or a friend there and stood with the rest of power the crowd wh a light gracefully shaped drawn by four and escorted by in the royal passed like a car the cold and beauty of the queen upon whom the public were never weary of gazing she was a curiosity to them a living miracle in her loveliness for apparently unmoved by emotion herself she roused all sorts of emotions in others had seen her a thousand times but never without a sense of new always the same he thought now with a slight frown the bluff good nature of his usual expression she is a woman who will face death as she faces time with that cold smile of hers which expresses nothing but scorn of all life s little business he proceeded on his way to the palace itself where on demand he was at once admitted to the private apartments of tlie king chapter xviii royal lovers silver white of the moon and velvet darkness of deep foliage held the quiet breadth of the islands between them low on the shore the fantastic shapes of one or two tall cliffs were black on the fine sparkling sand tiny waves rose from the bosom of the calm sea and together in baby made of their and broke here and there among the pebbles with low of laughter and in the warm silence of the southern night the began to tune up their delicate voices with delicious and pauses in the trying of their song the under scent of hidden among moss flowed upon the quiet air mingled with strong and the salt of the gently heaving sea and all the land seemed as lonely and as fair as the might have been when the first two human creatures knew it as their own to every soul that loves for the first time the vision of that lost paradise is granted to every man and woman who know and feel the truth of the divine passion is vouchsafed a flashing gleam of glory from that heaven which gives them to each other for the for the animal man who like bis four footed kindred is only conscious of instinctive desire this pure of the heart and of the thought is as a sealed book a mystery of joy which because he cannot experience it he is unable to believe in it is a in which the ed ones are caught up and received out of sight it the elements into immortal influences it colours the earth with fairer hues and fills the days with beauty every hour is a of sweet thought set in the dreaming soul and the lover at certain times of ecstasy would smile power were he told that anyone living could be unhappy for love goes back to the beginning of things to the time when the world was new it has its birth in that light when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of god shouted for joy if it is real deep passionate and disinterested love it sees no difficulties and knows no it is a sufficient assurance of god to make life beautiful but in these days of the time of nations when all things are being mixed and prepared for casting into a new mould of world for where we and our are not and shall not be any more than the egyptian is part of us now love in its purity faith and simplicity is rare very little romance is left to it and it is doubtful whether the white moon swinging like a silver lamp in heaven above the peaceful islands shed her glory anywhere on any such lovers in the world as the two who on this fair night of the southern with arms round each other moved slowly up and down on the velvet outside s cottage and her sailor husband was happy and her happiness made her doubly beautiful clad in her usual attire of white with her rich hair falling over her shoulders in girl fashion and just kept back by a band of white coral she looked like a young goddess of the sea her eyes gazed up into the tender ones of the handsome she had wedded and not a shadow of doubt or fear darkened the heaven of her confidence she did not know how beautiful she was she did not that her body was like one of the	33
graceful and perfectly figures of women left to our wondering reverence by the greek she had never thought about herself at all not even to compare her fair brilliancy of skin with the weather beaten faces of the folk among whom she dwelt resting her delicate classic head against the arm of her lover and lord her beauty seemed almost in its pure of feature by the silver glimmer of the and the young man by her side with his handsome dark head tall figure and royal lovers bearing looked the fitting mate for her fair womanhood no two lovers were ever more matched in physical perfection and as they moved slowly to and fro on the soft dark grass brushing the scent from hanging rose boughs that pushed out inviting of white and pink bloom here and there from the surrounding foliage they would have served many a poet for some sweet or romance in rhyme which should hold in its the magic of immortality yet there was a shade of uneasiness in the minds of both prince was more silent than usual and seemed absorbed in thought and looking timidly up from time to time at the dark poetic face of her sailor lover felt with a woman s quick instinct that something was him and concluded that she was to blame that he had heard of her having been seen by the king and that he was evidently vexed by it he had arrived that evening suddenly and unexpectedly for she and her little father as she called had just begun their supper when the crown prince s swept into the bay and dropped anchor half an hour later he the much beloved junior officer in the crown prince s service had appeared at the cottage door greatly to their delight for they did not expect to see him so soon they had together and then himself had gone to a meeting at a small social club he had started for the amusement of the folk wisely leaving the young wedded lovers to themselves and they had for a long time been very quiet save for such little words of love as came into tune with the of caresses and after a pause of anxious inward thought ventured on a timid dearest are you very angry with me he started and stopping in his walk turned the fair face up between his two hands as one might lift a rose on its stem and kissed it tenderly angry how can i ever be angry with you sweet besides what cause have i for anger i thought perhaps murmured that if the professor told you what i did yesterday when the king came power he did tell me and the prince still gazed down on that heavenly beauty which was the light of the to him he told me that you sang and that your golden voice was a musical which drew his majesty to your feet i am not surprised it was only natural but i could have wished it had not happened just yet however it has happened and we must make the best of it it was my fault said the girl i had the fancy to sing and i would sing though the good professor told me not to do so the prince was silent he was his mind to the inevitable he had determined that on this very night should know the truth for he was instinctively that if he went abroad as his father wished him to do some means would be taken to remove her from the country before his return and his idea as to tell her all and make her accompany him on his travels as his wife she was bound to obey him he ar ed within himself she should she must go with him unconsciously s next words supplied him with an opening to the subject why did you never tell me that the professor was in the king s service she asked he seemed to know him quite well indeed almost as a friend he is the king s physician answered the prince abruptly and therefore he is very greatly in the king s confidence he walked on still keeping his arm round her and seemed not to see the half frightened glance she gave him the king s physician she echoed he does not seem a great person at all he is quite a simple old german man her lover smiled to be physician to the king my is not a very wonderful honour it merely that the man so chosen is perhaps the with sickness and death the greatness is in the simple old german himself not in the king s preference von is a good man i know it said gently he is good and royal lovers very kind he said he would always be my friend but he was very strange in his manner yesterday and almost i was vexed with him do you know what he said he asked me what i should do if you my husband had deceived me can you imagine such a thing now was the supreme moment with a violently beating heart the prince halted and putting both arms round her waist drew her up to him in such a way that their eyes looked close into each other s and their lips were within kissing touch yes my sweetest one i can imagine such a thing such a thing is possible consider it to be true consider that i have deceived you she did not move from his clasp but into her large lovely trusting eyes came a look of grief and terror and her face grew pale in what way she whispered faintly tell me i i cannot believe it my love	33
were who admitted though with breath that an if she chose she could easily become a very great personage indeed power she herself was or seemed to be perfectly unconscious of the many concerning her and her origin she had her own secret sorrows her sad private history which she shut close within her own breast but out of many and poverty stricken days of struggle and cruel she had educated herself to a wonderful height of moral self control and almost her nature was a broad and grand one absolutely devoid of and full of a strong almost passionate sympathy with the wrongs of others and she had formed herself on such firm heroic lines of courage and truth and self respect that the vices of her sex were absolutely unknown to her neither vanity nor envy nor malice nor disturbed the current of her blood her soul was absorbed in pity for human kind and contemplation of its many woes and so living alone and apart from the more frivolous world she had attained a finely tempered and deeply thoughtful disposition which gave her equally the courage of the hero and the resignation of the martyr she had long put away out of her life all possibility of happiness for herself she had by her study of the masses of working suffering men and women come to the sorrowful conclusion that real happiness could only be enjoyed by the extremely young and the extremely thoughtless and that love was only another name for the selfish and often cruel and destructive instincts of animal desire she did not resent these ugly facts or passionately proclaim against the gloomy results of life such as were daily displayed to her she was only filled with a profound and ceaseless compassion for the evils which were impossible to cure her love for the sick the feeble the despairing the broken hearted and the dying had raised her to the height of an angel s quality among the very desperately poor and criminal classes the of the were in her presence and obedient to her command and many a bold plan of robbery many a wicked scheme of murder had been altogether and abandoned through the of whose intellectual swift to perceive the savage instinct or motive for crime was equally swift to point out its of the corruption of the state as a means of satisfying vengeance no preacher could persuade a thief of the practical of as could and a prison with an after his crime was not half as much use to the state as who could induce such an one to resign his intent altogether before he had so much as possessed himself of the necessary weapon thousands of people were absolutely under her moral dominion and the power she exercised over them was so great and yet so that had she the whole city rise in revolt she would most surely have been obeyed by the larger and half of its population with the classes she had nothing in common though she viewed them with perhaps more pity than she did the very poor an of cash in any one person s possession that had not been earned by the work of brain or body was to her an and a from the laws of the universe show and she despised and though she loved beautiful things she found them as she herself said much more in the provisions of nature than in the elaborate designs of art when she passed the gay shops in the principal she never paused to look in at the windows but she would linger for many minutes studying the beauty of the of and other delicate blossoms arranged in baskets and by the leading while best delight of all to her was a solitary walk inland among the woods where she could gather and and as she expressed it feel them growing about her feet she would have been an extraordinary personality as a man as a woman she was doubly remarkable for to a woman s gentleness she added a force of will and brain which are not often found even in the stronger sex mysterious as she was in her life and surroundings enough was known of her by the people at large to bring a goodly of them to the assembly rooms on the night when she was announced to speak on a subject of wh ch the very title seemed questionable namely on the corruption of the state the police had been of the impending meeting and a few o power of the law in plain clothes mixed with the throng the crowd however was very orderly there was no pushing no and no coarse language all the members of s committee were present but they came as several and apart and among them paul the poet was perhaps the most noticeable he had affected the picturesque in his appearance his hat was of the character and he had a very much worn short jacket whose dusty brown was relieved by the vivid touch of a bright red tie his hair was wild and and his eyes sparkled with unwonted brilliancy as he nodded to one or two of his associates and gave a careless wave of the hand to who entering slowly and as if with reluctance took a seat at the very end of the hall where his massive figure showed least conspicuous among the throng keeping his head down in a pensive attitude of thought his eyes were nevertheless sharp to see every person entering who belonged to his own particular following and a ray of satisfaction lighted up his face as he perceived his latest new associate quietly edge his way through the crowd and secure a seat in one of	33
the and darkest comers of the badly lighted hall he was followed by his comrades and and felt a warm glow of contentment in the consciousness that these lately members of the committee were so far faithful to their bond signed and sealed in the blood of they had responded to the of her name with the prompt obedience of waves rising to the influence of the moon and full of a thousand wild schemes for the of the people was more happy to know them as subjects to her power than as to his own cause he was calmly of the presence of general the well known chief of police though he was rendered a trifle un easy by observing that personage had seated himself as closely as possible to the bench occupied by and his a faint wonder crossed his mind as to whether the three in their zeal for the new cause they had taken up had by any means laid themselves open to of the corruption of the state r suspicion but he was not a man given to fears and he felt convinced in his own mind from the close personal observation he had taken of and from the boldness of his speech on his as a member of the committee that whatever else he might prove to be he was certainly no coward the hall filled quickly till by and by it would have been impossible to find standing room for a child a student of human nature is never long in finding out the dominant characteristic of an audience whether its attitude be profane or or attentive and the bearing of the four or five thousand here assembled was remarkable chiefly for its seriousness and evident intensity of purpose the extreme of the manner in which the people found and took their seats the entire absence of all movement staring changing of places whispering or laughter showed that the crowd were there for a deeper purpose than mere curiosity the bulk of the assemblage was composed of men very few women were present and these few were all of the poor and hard working classes no female of even the lower middle ranks of life with any faint pretence to fashion would have been seen listening to that dreadful woman as was very often called by her own sex simply because of the extraordinary fascination exercised over men and his companions spoke now and then and in low whispers concerning the appearance and of the crowd being particularly struck by the general and type of the people present plenty of good heads he said cautiously there are here and are a very there are many people who think all their and do nothing said languidly true my friend but their thought may lead while they themselves remain passive joined in it is not at all impossible that if these five thousand here assembled burn down the it would be done before daybreak i have no doubt at all of that said one cannot forget that the was taken while the poor power king louis xvi was enjoying a supper party and a little orange flower water refreshment at made an imperative sign of silence for there was a faint stir and subdued hum of expectation in the crowd another moment and stepped quietly and alone on the bare platform as she confronted her audience a low passionate sound like the murmur of a rising storm greeted her a sound that was not anything like the customary applause or encouragement offered to a public speaker but that suggested extraordinary satisfaction and which almost bordered on exultation raising his eyes as she entered was startled by an altogether new impression of her to that which he had received on the night he first saw her her personality was somehow different her appearance more striking brilliant and commanding attired in the same plain garment of dead white in which he had previously seen her with the same deep blood red crossing her left shoulder and breast there was something to night in this mere costume that seemed of a far deeper power than he had been at first inclined to give her a curious sensation began to affect his nerves a sudden and overwhelming attraction as though his very soul were being drawn out of him by the calm irresistible of those dark blue coloured eyes which had the merit of appearing neither brilliant nor remarkable as eyes merely but which held in their luminous depths that intellectual command which represents the active and passionate life of the brain beside which all other life is poor and these eyes appeared to rest upon him now from under their drooping sleepy white eyelids with an tenderness and fascination and he was suddenly reminded of s quaint love fancy behind her dreaming eyelids the sun has gone to rest when she opens her eyes it will be day and the birds will be heard he began to depths in his own nature which he had till now been unconscious of he knew himself to a certain extent but by no means thoroughly and awakening as he was to the fact that other lives around him presented strange for consideration he wondered whether after all his own life of the corruption of the state might not perhaps prove one of the most complex among human he l ad often meditated on the of ideal virtues the of persuasion the commonplace absurdity as he had thought of trying to any lofty spiritual dream yet he was himself a man in whom spiritual forces were so strong that he was personally unaware of their because they were as much a part of him as his breathing capacity true he had never tested them but they were in him nevertheless he watched now with an irritable	33
who lack the reason which would show them how superior in physical force alone they are to the insignificant who commands them could the ox understand his own strength he would never be led to the slaughter house he and his kind would become a terror instead of a provision you are not oxen yet often you are as patient as dull as blind and as they you form clubs societies and but in how many cases do you not enter upon small and differences which so your power unity that presently it falls to pieces and has no more power in it this is what your in trade rely on and hope for the constant of quarrels and among yourselves no society lasts which conflicting argument or sentiments in itself why is it that the whom you are all unanimous in are still the strongest political brotherhood on the face of the earth because they are bound to maintain in every particular the of their order no matter how vile or how false their theories they are compelled to carry on the work and of their union despite all loss and sacrifice to themselves this is the secret of their force from one land they take root in another suppressed entirely by pope xiv in they ignored and took up their in russia the influence they exerted there still lies on the population like one of the many chains fastened to a exile s body yet they were driven from russia in from holland in from in from germany in they have been from france nevertheless in spite of these numerous and the universal in which they are held they still flourish still are they able to maintain their twenty two and their four and still all countries have in their turn to deal with their impending or fulfilled invasion why is it that a society so criminal in historic annals should yet remain as a force in our advanced era of civilization simply because it is of one mind bent on evil or good self or it is still of one mind friends were you like them also of one mind your injuries your your would not last long the remedy for all is easy and rests with yourselves only yourselves but some of you have lost heart and other some have lost patience you look round upon the corners of this great city you shudder at the cruelty of the daily life with which you have to contend you enter poor rooms which you are compelled to call home where the sick and dying the newly born and the dead are huddled all together ten and sometimes of the corruption of the state fifteen in one small den of four walls and and tired you cry out is life worth no more than this is god s scheme for the human race no more than this then why were we born at all or being bom why may we not die at once self slain ah yes dear friends you often feel like this we all of us often feel like this but it is not god who has made life thus hard for you it is yourselves it is you who consent to be down trodden it is you who resign your your thought your originality of character into the power of others true wealth affairs to a vast extent nowadays but there is a stronger power than wealth and that is soul it is not the possession of gold that has given the greatest men their position this is a commercial age we own and certainly because of the base and degrading love of is for the moment often set aside as something but whenever truly itself there is at once made visible an acting force of the divine which is practically and irresistible think for yourselves friends do not let a hired press think for you i think for yourselves judge for yourselves and act for yourselves by your observation of a s life you shall know his if he has once been a he will be a again if he has been known to privately in a political crisis which he alone knows of in advance here the speaker was interrupted by what sounded like a than a shout the name was out and tossed from one rank to another of the audience and one or two of the police present glanced towards their chief but he sat with folded arms and inscrutable making no sign raised her small beautifully shaped white hand to silence she was obeyed instantly i speak of no one man she said with deliberate emphasis i accuse no one man or any man i say if any man with state policy he is a traitor to the country but such gambling is not a novelty in the history of nations it has been practised over and over power again only mark you all this one god s truth that whenever it has occurred whenever the rulers of a state are corrupt whenever society sinks into such moral that it sees nothing better nothing higher than the love of money then comes the then ruin and set up their dominion and heaven s rage rolls out upon the till their offence be away in rivers of blood and tears she waited a moment and changing her attitude seemed as it were to project her thought into her audience by the sudden passion of her commanding gesture and the flash of her deep luminous eyes we have heard of the great she said how god himself took human form and came to this low little earth to prove how	33
nobly we should live and die but in our day we with our and teachers our press and our our on all hands have come upon the great the of god altogether in v of life we push him out as if he were not he is not i ur churches he is not in our laws he is not in only when we are brought low by pain when we are confronted by death itself we call out god god like praying help from the power we have here is the evil o children father we arrange all our ng him a thought our are calculated without he is last or not at all all our lives we have forgotten affairs in life without our gains our consulting his good when he should be first of this is misery it must anything else for what is a name merely but we give ever working force which rules est that ever breathed ml by some means or other th universe is ruled for if it were not we should ow nothing of it therefore when we set aside or ly ave out the consciousness and acknowledgment of ruler the ruling of our affairs must of necessity s o wrong in everything the end so it cannot by law be who is god god is it to that unseen but he universe the own that somehow of the corruption of the state i cannot preach to you i cannot out of my own conscience recommend to you one or the other form of faith as the way to peace and wisdom but i can and do you to remember the note dominant of this great universe the note that sounds through high and low through small and great alike and that must and will in due course all our into everlasting harmony try not to put this fact out of your lives that justice and order are the rule of the and that whenever we depart from these even in the smallest confusion how hard it is to believe in justice and order you will tell me when the poor are not treated with the same consideration as the rich and when money will buy place and position true it is hard to believe but it is nevertheless as the lungs and the heart are the life of the human body so are justice and order the life of the universe and when these are pushed out of place or become in the composition of a human state or community then the life of that state or community is threatened and unless are quickly to hand it must end you all know the position of things among yourselves to day you all know that there is no trust to be placed in churches kings or that the world is in a state of and moving towards change change imminent change possibly disastrous and if it is you who know it is likewise you who must seize the hour as it approaches seize it as you would seize a robber by the throat and demand its business search its heart deprive it of its weapons and learn from it its message a message it may be of wild alarm of tearing up old of thrusting forth old a message full of and but whatever the uproar doubt not that we shall hear the voice of the forgotten god thundering in our ears at the close we shall have found our way closer to him and with and prayer we shall ask to be forgiven for wandered away from him so long and will he not pardon yes he will because he must to him we owe our existence he alone is responsible for our life our our progress our striving through many errors towards perfection he power who sees all must needs have pity for his creature man out of the of a blind time he has made the poor weak human being who in the first days of his on earth had neither covering nor home less protected than the beasts of the forest he found himself compelled to think to think out his own means of shelter to contrive his own weapons of defence slowly and by painful degrees from he has emerged to civilization wherefore it is evident that his maker meant thought to be his first principle and action his second he who does not work shall not eat he who does not use all his faculties for improvement shall by and by have none to use injustice and corruption are amongst us merely because we ourselves have failed to resist their first who is it that of wrong let him hasten to his own and he will find a thousand hands a thousand hearts ready to work with him all nature is on the side of health in the body as of health in the state all nature fights against disease physical and moral therefore do not dear friends and children sit idle and passive yourselves to be deceived as if you had no force to withstand deception show that you hate lies and will have none of them show that you will not be imposed upon and decline to be led or governed by party agents who persuade you to your own and your country s destruction the voice of the people can no longer be heard in a purchased press let it echo forth then in stronger form than print which to day is glanced at and to morrow is forgotten wherever and whenever you are given the chance to meet and	33
to speak let your authority as the workers the and of the state be heard and do not you without whom even the king could not keep his throne consent to be set aside as the majority prove by your own firm attitude that without you nothing can be done it is time oh people of my heart it is time you spoke clearly god is moving his thought through your souls god in you the fear the discontent the suspicion that all is not well with your country and it is the spirit of god which breathes in the warning note of the time of the corruption of the state hark to the voice of the time the multitude think for themselves and weigh their condition each one the has a spirit sublime and whether he or he reads when his labour is done and though he groan under s ban that freedom to think is the of man learn she continued as a low deep murmur of agreement ran through the room learn to what strange uses god puts even such men of this world whose sole existence has been for the cause of money they have acted as the merest machines gathering in the millions gathering gathering them in for what purpose lo they are smitten down in the prime of their lives and the gold they have piled up is at once scattered much of it becomes used for purposes and some of these dead have as it were thrown education at the heads of the people and almost it far away in great britain a has recently made the university education to all students instead of as it used to be hard to get and well worth working to win now through the wealth of one man it is turned into a s allowance like offering the smallest silver coin to a reduced gentleman the pride the skill the self the strong determination to succeed which form fine character and which taught the struggling student to win his own university education are all wiped out there is no longer any necessity for the practice of these manly and self virtues the harm that will be done is probably not yet but it will be education turned into a kind of s will have widely different results to those just now imagined but with all the contemptuous throwing out of the kitchen waste of still education is the thing to take at any price and under any circumstances because it alone is capable of giving power i it alone will put down the mighty from their seats and the humble and the it alone will give us the force to fight our with their own weapons and to place them where they should be with us but not superior considerate of us but power not commanding us and above all things bound to make their records of such work as they do for the state clean a of applause interrupted her she waited till it subsided then went on quietly there should be no in the dark no secret for which we have to pay blindly no refusal to explain the way in which the people s hard earned money is spent and before foreign and and are allowed to take up time in the it is necessary that the frightful and evils of our own land our own homes be considered for this we purpose to demand and not only to demand it but to obtain it ministers may refuse to hear us but the country s claims are greater than any a king s displeasure may cause court to tremble but a people s honour is more to be guarded than a thousand as she concluded with these words she seemed to grow taller nobler more inspired and commanding and while the applause was yet shaking the of the hall she left the platform shouts of rang out again and again with passionate bursts of cheering and in response to it she came back and by a slight gesture commanded silence dear friends i thank you all for listening to me she said simply her rich voice trembling a little i speak only with a woman s impulse and just as i think and feel and always out of my great love for you as you all know i have no interests to serve i am only your own poor friend one works with you and dwells among you seeing and sharing your hard lives and wishing with all my heart that i could help you to be happier and my life is at your service my love for you is all too great for any words to express and my gratitude for your faith and trust in me forms my daily now dear children all for you are truly as children in your patience submission and obedience to bitter destiny i will ask you to quietly without noise or confusion or any trouble that may give to the paid men of law ungrateful work to do and in your homes think of of the corruption of the state me remember my words and while you maintain order by the and of your difficult lives still avoid and resent that obedience to the yoke fastened upon you by who have no other comfort to offer you in poverty than the and no other remedy for the sins into which you are thrust by their neglect than the prison take and keep the rights of your humanity the right to think the right to speak the right to know what is being done with the money you patiently earn for others and	33
his look said more than his words and her face grew paler than before she turned from him to the child at lier side are you very tired no was the reply given brightly and with an upward glance of the dark eyes that is right my friend this is the child we told you of the other night the only daughter of she will dance for us presently will you not my little one yes indeed and the young face lighted up swiftly at the suggestion while taking the seat indicated to him at the supper table experienced a tumult of extraordinary sensations the chief one of which was that lie felt himself to have been very quietly but effectually by a woman who had succeeded though he knew not how in suddenly awakening in him a violent fever of excitement to which he was at present unable to give a name himself however he glanced up and down the board lifting his glass to salute who responded from his place at the bottom of the table and very soon he regained usual for he had enormous strength of will and kept an almost tyranny over his feelings his companions and were separated from him and from each other at different sides of the table and paul the poet was almost immediately opposite to him he was glad to see that he was next but one to the man between them being a looking fellow with a fierce moustache and exceedingly gentle eyes who as he afterwards power was one of the greatest in the world the favourite of kings and courts and yet for all that a prominent member of the committee the supper which was of a simple almost character was soon served and the landlord in setting the first plate before laid beside it a knot of deep crimson roses as an offering of homage and obedience from himself she thanked him with a smile and glance and taking up the flowers fastened them at her breast conversation now became animated and general and one of the men present a delicate looking young fellow with a head resembling somewhat that of started a discussion by saying suddenly has sold out all his shares in that new mine that was started the other day it looks as if he did not think after all his newspaper that the thing was going to work if has sold will said his neighbour the two are concerned together in the floating of the whole business and yet another piece of news put in paul suddenly for if we talk of stocks and shares we talk of money what think you my friends i paul have been offered payment for my poems this very afternoon imagine will not the fall a poet to be paid for his poems is as though one should offer the creator a pecuniary consideration for creating the flowers his face was flushed and his eyes bright listen my he said wonders never cease in this world but this is the most wonderful of all wonders out of the merest mischief and malice the other day i sent my latest book of poems to the king shame shame interrupted a dozen voices against the rules paul you have broken the bond paul laughed loudly how you yell my he cried how you about the rules of your wait till you hear you surely do not suppose i sent the book out of any humility or loyalty or desire for notice do you i sent it out of pure hate and scorn to show as a fool the scorn of kings majesty that there was something he could not do something that should last when he was forgotten a few burning lines that should like eat into his throne and it i sent it some days ago and got an acknowledgment from the who writes majesty s letters but this afternoon i received a much more important a letter from secretary to our very honourable and he me in set terms that his majesty the king has been pleased to appreciate my work as a poet to the extent of offering me a hundred golden pieces a year for the term of my natural life i ha ha a hundred golden pieces a year and thus they would fasten this wild bird of song to a royal cage for a bit of sugar a hundred golden pieces a year it means food and lodging warm blankets to sleep in but it means something else loss of independence then you will not accept it said looking at him with interest over the rim the glass from which he was just his wine accept it i have already refused it by swift return of post shouts of echoed around him on all sides men sprang up and shook hands with him and patted him on the back and even over the dark face of there passed a bright smile with all thy faults thou art a brave man said the young man with the like head who was in reality confidential clerk to one of the largest in the metropolis a thousand times better to starve than to accept royal to your health said leaning forward glass in hand your refusal of the king s offered is a greater tragedy than any you have ever tried to write hear her cried she knows exactly how to put it for look you there are the true elements of tragedy in a worn coat and scant food while the thoughts that help nations to live or die are burning in one s brain then comes a king with a handful of gold and gold would be useful it always is but by heaven to pay a poet for his poems is as i	33
last we met this is not our regular meeting said we ask no questions till the general monthly assembly i see and looked meditative still as we are all friends and brothers here there is no harm in conveying to you the fact that i have so far in the appointed way that has ordered the discovery and arrest of one supposed to be a spy on the military of the city gave a little cry not possible so soon quite possible madame said his head towards her i have lost no time in doing my duty and his eyes flashed upon her with a f power passionate half eager questioning i must carry out my chief s commands but you are in danger then said bending an anxious look of upon him not more so than you or any of my comrades are replied i have commenced my campaign and i have no doubt you will hear some results of it ere long he spoke so quietly and firmly yet with such an air of assurance and authority that something of an electric thrill passed through the entire company and all eyes were fixed on him in mingled admiration and of the corruption of the state concerning which our fair teacher has spoken to night he continued with another quick glance at there can be no manner of doubt but we should i think say the corruption of the rather than of the state it is not because a few stock rule the press and the cabinet that the state is necessarily corrupt remove the sweep the dirt from the house and the state will be clean it will require a very long said paul take david for example he is the fat of several newspaper and to sweep him out is not so easy his printed sheets are read by the million and the million are into believing him a authority nothing so easy as to prove him said and then then the million will continue t read his journals out of sheer curiosity to see how long a liar can go on lying said besides a jew can turn his coat a dozen times a day he has inherited joseph s coat of many colours to suit many opinions at present and calls him the greatest living but if were once proved a fraud would pen a conscientious leading article beginning in this strain we are now at liberty to confess that we always had our doubts of m a murmur of angry laughter went round the board there was an article this evening in one of s off the scorn of kings shoot journals went on which must have been paid for at a considerable cost it the praises of one who it appears preached a sermon on national education the other day and told all the sleepy yawning people how necessary it was to have roman catholic schools in every town and village in order that souls might be saved the article ended by saying we hear on good authority that his majesty the king has been pleased to grant a considerable portion of certain crown lands to the order for the necessary building of a and schools that is a lie broke in with sudden vehemence the king is in many respects a scoundrel but he does not go back on his word looked across at him with a warning flash in the light of his cold languid eyes but how do you know that the king has given his word it was in the paper said more i was reading about it as you know on the very night i encountered ah but you must recollect my friend that a statement in the papers is never true nowadays said with a laugh whenever i read an in the newspaper unless it is an official i know it is a lie and even official have been known to from sources by this time supper was nearly over and the landlord clearing the remains of the heavier fare set fruit and wine on the board filled his glass and made a sign to his companions to do the same then he stood up to he said his fine eyes darkening with the passion of his thought to who our best work and helps us to retain our noblest i all present sprang to their feet to fixed a straight glance on the subject of the toast sitting quietly at the head of the table to he repeated and may she always be as merciful as she is strong i power she lifted her dark blue eyes and met his keen look a very slight tremulous smile across her lips she inclined her head gently and in the same mute fashion thanked them all play to us she then said and so make answer for me to our friends good wishes under the table and brought up his case which he unlocked with jealous tenderness lifting his instrument as carefully as though it were a sleeping child whom he feared to wake drawing the bow across the strings he a sweet plaintive sound like the first sigh of the wind among the trees then without further preliminary wandered off into a strange of melody wherein it seemed that voices of women and angels one against the other the appeals of earth with the of heaven the loneliness of life with the fulness of immortality so rising falling sobbing praying alternately the music with humanity in its throbbing till it seemed as if some divine could alone end the argument every man sat motionless and mute listening paul with his head thrown back and eyes closed as in a dream s hard plain and face growing softer and in its expression while leaning on one elbow covered his brow	33
with one hand to shade the lines of sorrow there when ceased playing there was a burst of applause you play before kings kings should be proud to hear you said ah so they should responded promptly only it that they are not they treat me merely as a de place y just as they would treat had he accepted his sovereign s offer but this i will admit that always get on very well with royal persons i have heard a very great majesty indeed praise a common little american woman s abominable singing as though she were a and saw him give a cigar case to an amateur whose fingers rattled on the like bones on a tom tom but then the common little american the scorn of kings woman invited his majesty s to her house and the amateur was content to lose money to him at cards wheels within wheels my friend in a lesser degree the stock who sets a little extra cash rolling on the exchange is called an empire it is a curious world but kings were never known to be proud of any really great men in either art or literature on the contrary they were always afraid of them and always will be among the only one who ever got decently honoured by a monarch was richard and the world that his royal patron was mad paul opened his eyes filled his glass afresh and tossed down the liquor it contained at a before we have any more music he said and before the little gives us the dance which she has promised not to us but to we ought to have prayers a loud laugh answered this strange proposition i say we ought to have prayers repeated with semi solemn earnestness you talk of news news in news in brief official for the day and hour and do you take no thought for the fact that his the pope is ill perhaps dying he stared wildly round upon them all and a smile passed over the face of the company well if that be so paul said a man next to him it is not to be wondered at the pope has arrived at a great age no age at all no age at all declared a saint of god should live longer than a what of the good old lady admitted to hospital the other day whose birth proved her beyond doubt to be one hundred and twenty one years old the dear creature had not married nor has his the pope the real cause of death is in neither of them why should he not live as long as his aged sister possessing as he does the keys of heaven he need not the little golden door even for himself unless he likes that is true you bold imitation of a king more wine power filled the glass he held out to him the glances of the company told him was on and that it was no good trying to stem the flow of his ideas or check the nature of his speech had moved her chair a little back from the table and with both arms the child was talking to her in low and tender tones brethren let us pray cried for all we know while we sit here and drinking to the health of our the soul of st peter s successor may be through sphere forests and over planet up to its own specially built and particularly furnished heaven there is only one heaven as we all know and the space is limited as it only holds the followers of st peter the good who denied christ that is an exploded creed said quietly no man of any sense or reason believes such childish nonsense nowadays the most casual student of knows better for shame and gave a mock solemn shake of the head a wicked science a great what are god s facts to the church science proves that there are millions and millions of systems millions and millions of worlds no doubt inhabited yet the church teaches that there is only one heaven specially reserved for good roman and that st peter and his keep the keys of it god the deity the creator the supreme being has evidently nothing at all to do with it in fact he is probably outside it and of a christ with his ideas of honesty and equality could never possibly get into it there you are right said your words remind me of a conversation i overheard once between a great writer of books and a certain prince of the blood royal life is a difficult problem said the prince smoking a fat cigar to the student it is sir replied the author but to the it is no more than the mud of the swine he noses the refuse and is happy he has no need of the higher life and plainly the higher life has no need of him of course he added i the scorn of kings with covert satire your believes in a higher life of course of course responded the royal creature unconscious of any veiled sarcasm we must be christians before anything and that same evening this a foolish young fellow of over one thousand english pounds perfectly natural said the fashionable estimate of christianity is to go to church o sundays and say i believe in god and to cheat at cards on all the other days of the week as active testimony to a stronger faith in the devil and with it all said suddenly there is more good in humanity than is apparent and more bad beloved returned paul le se but let us think of the holy father he who after long	33
years of patient and sublime is now for all we know himself to take the inevitable plunge into the dark waters of eternity poor frail old man who would not pity him his earthly home has been so small and and he has been taken such tender care of the faithful have fallen at his feet in such thousands and now away from all this warmth and light and incense and colour of pictures and windows and white and purple and golden fringed now out into the cold he must go out into the darkness and mystery and silence where the former generations of the world immense and endless and all the old are huddled away in the mist of the past out into the thick blackness where maybe the fiery heads of and the may lift themselves upward and at him or he may meet the frightful menace of some monstrous deity once worshipped with the rites of blood out out into the unknown amazement must the poor naked soul go shuddering on the blast of death to face he truly knows not what but possibly he has such a pitiful blind trust in good that he may be re transformed into some pleasant living consciousness that shall be more agreeable even than that of pope of rome c est that is the hard part of it i m aj x r the pope my friends is an o d m tv power when you are silent said with a half smile we may perhaps upon him in our thoughts but not while you talk thus you take up time and is getting tired yes said and i will go home and there will be no dancing to night no you will not be so cruel said pushing his grey hair back from his brows while his wild eyes glittered under the like the eyes of a beast in its think for a moment i do not come here and bore you with my poems though i might very well do so some of them are worth hearing i assure you even the king curse him has condescended to think so or else why should he offer me pay for them kings are not so ready to part with money even when it is government money in england once a named gave two hundred and fifty pounds a year to the french prince for his into literature there were many native born men who had worked harder on the same subject to choose from without giving good english money to a frenchman there is a case of your order and justice you spoke to night of these two impossible things why will you touch on such subjects you know there is no order and no justice anywhere the universe is a chance whirl of gas and though where the two come from nobody knows and why the devil we should be made the prey of gas and is a mystery which no church can solve as he said this there was a slight movement of every head towards and eyes looked at her she saw the look and responded to it you are wrong i have always told you you are wrong she said emphatically it is in your own disordered thoughts that you see no justice and no order but order there is and justice there is and compensation for all that seems to go wrong there is an intelligence at the core of creation it is not for us to measure that intelligence or to set any limits to it our duty is to recognize it and to set ourselves as much as possible in harmony with it do you never in sane moments i the scorn of kings study the of humanity do you not see that while the brute creation remains stationary some specimens of it even becoming extinct man goes step by step to higher results this is or should be sufficient proof that death is not the end for us this world is only one link in our chain of intended experience i think it depends on ourselves as to what we make of it thought is a great power by which we mould ourselves and others and we have no right to that power to base uses or to poison it by distrust of good or in the supreme guidance you would be a thousand times better as a man and far greater as a poet if you could believe in god she spoke with eloquence and affectionate earnestness and among all the men there was a moment s silence well you believe in him said at last and i will catch hold of your angel s robe as you pass into his presence and say to him here comes poor who wrote of beautiful things among ugly surroundings and who in order to be true to his friends chose poverty rather than the gold of a king smiled very sweetly and such a plea would stand you in good stead to be always true to one s friends and to persistently believe in beauty is a very long step towards heaven i did not say i believed in beauty said suddenly and i dream it i think it but i do not see it to me the world is one horror nothing but a grave into which we all must fall the fairest face has a hideous skull behind it the dazzling blue of the sea covers devouring monsters in its depths the green fields the lovely are full of vile worms and and space itself with thick strewn worlds flaming blazing among which our earth is but a s wing in a huge flame horrible	33
i horrible and he spoke with a kind of vehement fury let us not think of it why should we insist on truth let us have lies dear sweet lies and fond let us believe that men are all honest and women all loving that there are and saints and angels as well as and looking after us in this wild world of terror power oh yes let us believe better the pope s little private of a heaven than the crushing truth which says our god is a fire knowledge sorrow truth we must we must have a little love and a few lies to lean upon his voice faltered and a sudden his features his head fell back helplessly and he seemed and insensible and one or two of the others rose in alarm thinking he had but warned them back by a sign the little slipping from the arms of went softly up to him paul dear paul she said in her soft childish tones stirred and stretching out one hand with it blindly in the air took it warming it between her own little palms paul she said do wake up i you have been asleep such a long time he opened his eyes the grey passed from his face he lifted his head and smiled so there you are he said gently dear little one i so brave and cheerful in your hard life he lifted her small brown hand and kissed it the feverish of his brain relaxed and two large tears up in his eyes and rolled down his cheeks poor little girl he murmured weakly poor little hard working girl all the men sat silent watching the gradual softening of s drunken delirium by the mere gentle caress of the child and was conscious of a curious of the muscles of his throat and a straining compassion at his heart which was more like acute sympathy with the and sins of humanity than any emotion he had ever known he saw that the thoughtful pitiful eyes of were full of tears and he longed in quite a foolish almost boyish fashion to take her in his arms and by a whispered word of tenderness persuade those tears away yet he was a man of the world and had seen and known enough but had he known them or only from the usual of masculine as he thought this a strain the scorn of kings of sweet and solemn music stole through the room louis had risen to his feet and holding the tenderly against his heart was out of its wooden a plaintive request for sympathy and attention such delicious music thrilled upon the dead silence as might have fitted s exquisite lines there the are awake through all the broad noon day when one with bliss or sadness fails and through the ivy boughs sick with sweet love dying away on its mate s music panting bosom another from the swinging blossom watching to catch the languid close of the last strain then lifts on high the wings of the weak melody till some new strain of feeling bear the song and all the woods are mute when there is heard through the dim air the rush of wings and rising there like many a lake surrounded sounds the listener s brain so sweet that joy is almost pain thank god for music said as laid aside his bow it the evil spirit from every modern sometimes responded but i have known cases where the evil spirit has been roused by music instead of suppressed art like virtue has two sides was still holding s hand he looked ill and exhausted like a man who had passed through a violent of fever you are a good child he was saying softly try to be always so it is difficult but it is easier to a woman than to a man women have more of good in them than men how about the dance suggested the hour is late close on midnight and must be tired shall i dance now smiled and nodded four or five of the company at once got up and helped to push aside the table will you play for me asked the little girl still standing by the side of of course my child what shall it be power to suggest a fairy over in the moonlight or shakespeare s swinging on a from a bunch of may considered and for a moment did not reply while still holding her little brown hand kissed it again you are very fond of dancing asked looking at her dark face and big black eyes with increasing interest she smiled frankly at him yes i would like to dance before the king cried while murmurs of laughter and playful cries of shame shame echoed through the room why not said it would do me good and my father too such poor sad people come to the theatre where i dance they love to see me and i love to dance for them but then they too would be pleased if i could dance at the royal opera because they would know i could then earn enough money to make my father comfortable what a very matter of fact statement in favour of kings exclaimed here is a child who does not care a button for a king as king but she thinks he would be useful as a figure head to dance to for fashion itself around the figure head would want to see her dance also and then oh simple conclusion she would be able to support her father truly a king has often been put to worse uses i think said i could manage to get you a trial at the	33
royal opera i know the manager she looked up with a sudden blaze of light in her eyes sprang towards him dropped on one knee with an exquisite grace and kissed his hand oh you will be goodness itself she cried and i will be grateful indeed i will so grateful he was startled and amazed at her impulsive action and taking her little hand gently pressed it poor child he said you must not thank me till i succeed it is very little to do but i will do all i can the scorn of kings else will be grateful too said in her rich thrilling voice and her eyes rested on him with that wonderful sweetness which drew his soul out of him as by a spell while only partially understanding the conversation said slowly deserves all the good she can get more than any of us we do nothing but try to support ourselves and we talk a vast amount about supporting others but works all the time and says nothing and she is a genius she does not know it but she is give us the dagger dance then our friend can judge of you at your best and make good report of you looked at and received a sign of assent she then nodded to you know what to play nodded in return and took up his the company drew back their seats and sat or stood aside from the centre of the room disappeared for a moment and returned of the plain rusty black frock she had worn and merely clad in a short scarlet with a low white her dark curls tumbling in disorder and grasping in her right hand a brightly polished dagger began to play and with the first wild the childish figure swayed and leaped forward like a young the dagger aloft and gleaming here and there as though it were a twist of lightning very soon found himself watching the of the girl with fascinated interest nothing so light so delicate or so graceful had he ever seen as this little slight form bending to and fro now gliding with the grace of a swan on water now leaping swiftly as a while the attitudes she threw herself into sometimes threatening sometimes defiant and often commanding with the glittering steel weapon held firmly in her tiny hand were each and all pictures of youthful and animation as she swung and whirled sometimes so swiftly that her scarlet skirt looked hke a mere red flower in the wind her bright eyes flashed her dark hair tangled itself in still richer masses and her crimson as the were half parted with her panting breath power shouted the men becoming more and more excited as their eyes followed the flash of the dagger she held now directed towards them now shaken aloft and again waved from side to side or pointed at her own bosom while her little feet over the floor in a of intricate and perfectly performed steps and cried as breathless but still glowing and bright with her exertions she suddenly out of her own impulse dropped on one knee before him with the glittering dagger pointed straight at his heart would that please the king she asked her teeth gleaming into a mischievous smile between the red lips if it did not he would be a worse fool than even i take him for replied as she sprang up again and confronted him here is a little from me child and if ever you do dance before his majesty wear it for my sake he took from his pocket a ring in which was set a fine brilliant of unusual size and lustre she looked at it a moment as he held it out to her oh no she faltered i cannot take it i cannot dear you know i cannot thus appealed to left her seat and came forward taking the ring from s hand she examined it a moment then gently returned it this is too great a temptation for my friend she said quietly but firmly in duty bound she would have to sell it in order to help her poor father she could not justly keep it let me be the in this matter if you can carry out your suggestion and obtain for her an engagement at the royal opera then give it to her but not till then do you not think i am right she spoke so sweetly and that was profoundly touched what he would have liked would have been to give the child a roll of gold pieces but he was playing a strange part and the time to act openly was not yet it shall be as you wish madame he said with courteous deference the first time you dance before the king this shall be yours i the scorn of kings he put aside the jewel and kissed his hand as she kissed the lips of her friend and came the general and break up of the assembly tell me said catching s hand in a close and friendly grasp ere bidding him farewell are you in very truth in personal danger on account of serving our cause no replied frankly returning the warm pressure and rest assured that if i were i would find means to it i have managed to frighten that is all and echoed the of the press surely it would take more than one man to frighten him laughed i grant you the of are difficult to shake but they all depend on stocks and shares a touch on his arm caused him to turn round paul confronted both him and with a solemn worn face and lack lustre eyes good night friends he said i have not	33
kicked at a king with my boot but i have with my brain and the effort is i am going home to bed where is your home asked suddenly looked mysterious in a palace dear sir f a palace of golden air peopled with winged dreams no money could purchase it no empire could build it it is mine and mine alone and i pay no taxes will you put this to some use for me said holding out a gold piece simply as comrade and friend stared at him you mean it of course i mean it believe me you are going to be the fashion you will be able to do me a good turn before long took the gold piece and as he took it pressed the s hand you mean well he said you know as does that i am poor often starving power often drunk but you know also that there is some thing here and he touched his forehead but to be the fashion i do not belong to the trade i nobody becomes the fashion nowadays unless they have cheated their neighbours by short weight and accounts good night you might be the king from your looks but you have something better than heart good night you danced well good night you spoke well does everything well except poor ran up to him good night dear paul he stooped and kissed her gently good night little one if ever you show your twinkling feet at the opera you will be the fashion and will you remember paul then always always said tenderly father and and i will always love you gave a short laugh always love me me well what strange things children will say not knowing in the least what they mean he gave a vague salute to the entire company and walked out of the tavern with drooping head others followed him every man in going shook hands with and the lamps were extinguished and the landlord standing in the porch of his tavern watched them all file out and bade them all a cordial farewell s home was with her father in the house where dwelt and kissing her tenderly good night left her to s care and who will see you home may i for once have that honour asked his two companions stared in amazement and there was a moment s silence then spoke you may she said simply there was another silence while she put on her hat and wrapped herself in her long dark cloak then took by the hand good night good night the scorn of kings turned to his two friends and spoke to them in a low tone go your ways he said i will join you later vain were their alarmed looks of remonstrance and in another moment all the party had separated and only and remained on the pavement outside the tavern watching two figures disappearing in the semi moonlight and walking closely side by side was there ever such a drama as this muttered he may lose his life at any moment if he does responded it will not be our fault we do our best to guard him from the consequence of one folly and he straightway runs into another there is no help for it we have sworn to obey him and we must keep our oath i they passed slowly along the street too absorbed in their own uncomfortable reflections for the of many words by the rules of the committee they were not allowed to follow or any other member so they were careful to walk in a reverse direction to that taken by their late comrades the great bell of the cathedral midnight as they climbed towards the and the pale moon peeping through piled up clouds shed a silver glare upon the quiet sea and down into the down and ever deeper into the sad and cheerless quarter of the poor walked as though he trod lightly on a path of flowers his heart beating high and his soul fully awakened within him thrilled he knew not why to the heart s core by the soft low voice of and glad that in the glimpses of the moonlight her eyes were occasionally lifted to his face with something of a child s trust if not of a woman s tenderness chapter xxi an invitation to court the spring was now advancing into full summer and some time had passed since the party had gathered under their leaders to the voice of days appeared to be impending for the and of war war sometimes apparently imminent and again suddenly averted had from time to time worried the public through the press but what was even more disturbing to the country was the proposed of new heavy and taxes which had begun to affect the popular mind to the verge of revolt twice since had spoken at the people s assembly rooms had addressed huge mass meetings which apparently the police had no orders to and his power over the multitude was increasing by leaps and bounds whenever he spoke wherever he worked the was constantly at his side and he in his turn began to be recognized by the committee as one of their most energetic members able resolute and above all of an inscrutable and self contained his two comrades were not so effectual in their assistance and appeared to act merely in obedience to his instructions their attitude however suited concerned as well as if not better than if they had been owing to what had stated concerning the possibility of his arrest as a spy his name was never mentioned in public by one single member of the brotherhood and to the outside following he therefore appeared simply as one of	33
the many who worked under s command meanwhile there were not lacking other subjects for popular concern and comment all of which in their turn gave rise to anxious discussion and vague conjecture a cabinet council had an invitation to court been held by the at which without warning the king had attended personally but tlie results were not made known to the public yet the general impression was that his majesty seemed to be perfectly indifferent to the feelings or the well being of his subjects in fact as some of them said with dismal of the head it was all a part of the system kings were not allowed to do anything even for the benefit of their people and rising ever growing stronger and in its ranks all the youthful and ambitious of the time agreed and swore that it was time for a republic only by a complete change of government could the cruelly increasing be put down and if government was to be changed why not the figure head of government as well thus rumour talked sometimes in whispers sometimes in shouts but through it all the life of the court and fashion went on in the same way the king continued to receive with apparent favour the most successful and most men from all parts of the world the queen drove or walked or rode and the only change in the social routine was the report that the crown prince was about to leave the country for a tour round the world and that he would start on his journey in his own about the end of the month the newspapers made a great fuss in print over this projected tour but the actual people were wholly indifferent to it they had seen very little of the crown prince certainly not enough to give him their affection and whether he left the kingdom or stayed in it concerned them not at all he had done nothing marked or decisive in his life to show either talent originality of character or resolution and the many in the press concerning him were scarcely read at all by the public or if they were they were not the expression of an ordinary working man with regard to his position was entirely typical of the general popular sentiment if he would only do something to prove he had a will of his own and a mind he would perhaps be able to set the throne more firmly on its legs than it is at present how thoroughly the young man had proved that he indeed possessed a will of his own was not yet dis power closed to the outside critics of his life and conduct only the king and queen and professor von knew it for even sir de had not been with the story of his secret marriage the queen had received the news with her usual characteristic a faint cold smile had parted her lips as she listened to the story of her son s romance and her reply to the king s brief explanation was almost as brief nearly all the aristocracy marry music hall women she said one should therefore be grateful that a crown prince does not go lower in his matrimonial choice than an innocent little peasant the marriage is useless of course said the king it has satisfied s exalted notions of honour but it can never be acknowledged or admitted of course not she agreed languidly it certainly up the mystery of the islands which you were so anxious to visit and i suppose the next thing you will do is to marry him again to some daughter of a royal house most assuredly as you were married to she said raising her eyes to his face with that strange deep look which spoke of some mystery hidden in her soul his cheeks burned with an involuntary flush he bowed precisely as i married you he replied the experiment was hardly successful she said with her little cold smile i fear you have often regretted it he looked at her studying her beauty intently and the remembrance of another face far less fair of feature but warm and impassioned by the lovely light of sympathy and tenderness came between his eyes and hers like a heavenly vision had you loved me he said slowly i might never have known what it was to need love a slight tremor ran through her veins there was a strange tone in his voice a soft to which she was something that suggested a new emotion in his ufe and a deeper experience an invitation to court i never loved anyone in my life she answered calmly and now the days are past for loving however has made up for my lack of the tender passion she turned away indifferently and appeared to dismiss the matter altogether from her mind the first time she saw her son however after hearing of his marriage she looked at him curiously and so your wife is very lovely she said with a slightly smile he was not startled by the suddenness of her observation nor put out by it she is the loveliest woman i have ever seen not excepting yourself he replied it is a very foolish affair she continued but fortunately in our line of life such things are easily arranged and your future will not be spoiled by it i am glad you are going abroad as you will very soon forget the prince regarded her with something of grave as well as compassion but he made no reply and with the excuse left her presence as soon as possible in order to avoid further conversation on the subject she herself however found her mind curiously and full of conjectures concerning her son s love story	33
in which all considerations for her as queen and mother seemed omitted and where she as it were appeared to be shut outside a lover s paradise the delights of which she had never experienced the king held many private with her on the matter in which sometimes professor von was permitted to share and the of these numerous resulted in a scheme which was as astonishing in its climax as it was unexpected over and over again it has been proved to nations as well as to individuals that the whole course of events may be changed by the fixed determination of one resolute mind but it is not often that the moral force of a mere girl in with the authority of kings and but so it chanced on this occasion and in the following manner one glorious early morning the sun having t o power out a cloud in the deep blue of the sky and the sea being as calm as an inland lake the king s was seen to weigh anchor and steam away at her fullest speed towards the islands little or no preparation had been made for her short voyage there was no royal party on board and the only passenger was professor von he sat solitary on deck in a luxurious chair smoking his pipe and considering the difficult and peculiar situation in which he was placed he made no attempt to calculate the possible success or failure of his mission for said he very it all depends on a woman and god alone knows what a woman will do her ways are dark and wonderful and altogether beyond the limit of the comprehension of man his journey was undertaken at the king s command and equally by the king s command he had been compelled to keep it a secret from prince he had never been to the islands since the king s surprise visit there and he was of course not aware that now knew the real rank and position of her supposed sailor husband he was at present charged to break the news to her and bring her straightway to the palace there to both the king and queen and from them the true state of affairs it is a cruel ordeal he said shaking his head yet i myself am a party to its being tried for once in my life i have pinned my faith on the soul of an woman i wonder what will come of it it rests entirely with herself and with no one else in the world as the arrived at its destination and dropped anchor at some distance from the pier owing to the of the tide at that hour of the day the islands presented a fair aspect in the dancing beams of the summer sunlight numbers of fruit trees were bursting into blossom the apple the cherry the pink and the orange blossom all waved together and whispered sweetness to one another in the pure air and the every breath of wind were here and there on the shore mending or drying their and in the fields beyond could be perceived many workers the hedges or guiding an invitation to court the plough the vision of a perfect was presented to the eye and so the professor thought as getting into the boat lowered for him he was rowed from the to the landing place and there dismissed the sailors warning them that at the first sound of his whistle they should swiftly come for him again what a pity to spoil her peace of mind her simplicity of life he thought as he walked at a slow and reluctant pace towards s cottage and i fear we shall have trouble with the old man i wonder if his philosophy will stand hard wear and tear the pretty low timber house confronted him at the next bend in the road and presented a charming aspect of tranquillity the grass in front of it was smooth as velvet and green and in one of the flower borders himself was digging and planting he looked up as he heard the gate open but did not attempt to interrupt his work and von advanced towards him with a considerable sense of anxiety and in his mind anon he paused in the very act of greeting as the old man turned his strong countenance upon him with a look of fierce indignation and scorn so you are here he said have you come to look upon the evil your royal master has worked or to make dutiful to as crown princess von was altogether taken then you know he stammered oh yes i know responded sternly and bitterly i know everything there has been full confession if the husband of my were more prince than man my knife would have his throat but he is more man than prince and i have let him live for her sake well that is so far good said von wiping the perspiration from his brow and heaving a deep sigh of relief and as you fully comprehend the situation it me the trouble of explaining it you are a philosopher permit me to remind you of that fact you know like myself that what is done even if it is done foolishly cannot be undone i know it who should know it so well as i and o power set a delicate rose tree roughly in the hole he had dug for it and began to fiercely pile in the earth around it fate is fate and there is no it the law of compensation will always have its way i look you man and i once killed a king and now in my old age the only creature i ever loved is by the son of a king it is just so	33
be it he bent his white head over his digging again and von was for a moment silent vaguely amazed and by this sudden declaration of a past crime you should not say my friend he at last ventured to remark prince is an honest lad he means to keep his word looked up his eyes gleaming with fury keep his word how can he who in this wide realm will give him the honourable liberty to keep his word will he acknowledge as his wife before the nation she a and a will he make her his future queen not he he will her and live with another woman in sin which the law will he went on planting the rose tree then dropping his tossed up his head and hands with a wild gesture what and who is this god who so our destiny he exclaimed for surely this is his work not mine hidden away from all the world with my life s secret buried in my soul i without wife or children or friends or any soul on earth to care whether i lived or died was sent an angel the child i rescued from the sea in the sang in the church when i found her i thought it true with her in every action in every thought and word i strove and have faithfully to for my past crime for i was forced through others to kill that king when proved guilty of the deed i was told by my associates to assume madness a mere matter of acting and being as insane i was sent with other on a ship bound for a certain coast prison where we were all to be kept for life the ship was wrecked off the rocks yonder and it was an invitation to court reported that every soul on board went down but i escaped only i for what inscrutable reason god alone knows finding myself saved and free i devoted my life to hard work and to doing all the good i could think of to to always to then the child was sent to me and i thought it was a sign that my penance was accepted but no no the curse falls not on me not on me for if only so i would welcome it but on her the child of my love the heart of my heart on her he turned away his face and a hard sob broke from his chest von laid a gentle hand on his shoulder be a man he said in a kind firm voice this is the first time you have told me your true history and i shall respect your confidence you have suffered much equally you have loved much doubt not that you are forgiven much but why should you assume or foresee for why talk of a curse where perhaps there is only an intended blessing is she unhappy that you are thus moved dashed away the tears from his eyes she unhappy no not yet the delights of spring and summer have met in her smile her eyes her movements it was she herself who told me all if he had told me i would have killed him eminently sensible said von recovering his usual calm you would have killed the man she loves best in the world and so with perfect certainty you would have killed her as well and probably yourself afterwards a perfect like the last scene in hamlet by the so admirable shakespeare it is better as it is life is really very pleasant he the air listened with appreciation to the of a bird swinging on a bough of apple blossom above him and began to feel quite easy in his mind half his mission was done for him prince having declared himself in his true colours i always said mused the professor that he was a very honest young man and i think he will be honest to the end aloud he asked when did you know the truth i o power some days since replied he s husband i can as yet call him by no other came suddenly one evening the two went out together as usual and then then my child returned alone she told me all of the disguise he had assumed and of his real identity and i well i think i was mad i know i spoke and acted like a madman nay rather say like a philosopher murmured von with a humorous smile remember ray good fellow that there is no human being who loses self control more easily and rapidly than he who the advantage of keeping it and what did say to you looked up at the tranquil skies and was for a moment silent then he answered is just there is no woman like her there never will be any woman like her she said nothing at all while i raged and swore she stood before me white and silent grand and calm like some great angel then when i cursed she raised her hand and like a queen she said i forbid you to utter one word against him i stood before her mute and foolish i forbid you she the child i reared and me with her command as though i were her slave and servant you see i have lost her she is not mine any more she is his to be treated as he wills and made the toy of his pleasure she does not know the world but i know it i i know the misery that is in store for her	33
but there is yet time and i will live to her wrong possibly there will be no wrong to said von but if there is i have no doubt you would another king turned pale and shuddered it is stupid work killing kings went or the professor it never does any good and often in the evil it was intended to cure your studies philosophy must have taught you that much at least i a for your losing you lost her in a sense you gave her to her husband it is no use now because you find he is not the man you took him for f the mischief is done at any rate you are bound tor admit that has so far been perfectly happy an invitation to court will be happy still i truly believe for she has the secret of happiness in her own beautiful nature and you must make the best of things and meet fate with calmness to day for instance i am here by the king s command i bear his orders and i have come for they want her at the palace stepped out of his flower border and stood on the amazed and indignantly suspicious they want her at the palace he repeated why what for to do her harm to make her miserable to insult and threaten her no she shall not go look here my friend said the professor with mild patience you have for a philosopher a most unpleasant habit of jumping to wrong conclusions please endeavour to compose the tumult in your soul and listen to me the king has sent for and i am instructed to take charge of her and escort her to the presence of their no insult no threat no wrong is intended i will bring her back again safe to you immediately the audience is concluded be satisfied for once put your trust in princes for her husband will be there and do you think he would f er her to be insulted oi wronged i s sunken eyes looked wild his aged frame j trembled violently and he gave a hopeless gesture i do not know do not know he said i am an old man and i have always found it a wicked world but if you give me your word that she shall come to no harm i will trust you silently von took his hand and pressed it two or three minutes passed with and unutterable thoughts in the minds of both men and then in a somewhat hushed voice the professor said i am just now reminded of the tragic story of of who killed himself through the sorrow of an ill fated love we in our different lines of life should remember that and let no young innocent heart suffer through our follies our against fate our our more or less laws of restraint and the of prince and the unhappy whom he worshipped was caused by the sin and the falsehood of power others not by the of the cruel catastrophe therefore i say to you my friend be wise in time and control the natural stormy tendency of your passions in this present affair i assure you on my faith and honour as a man that the king has a kindly heart and a brave one together with a strong sense of justice he is not truly known to his people they only see him through the pens of press or the descriptions of and then again the crown prince is an honourable lad and from what i know of him he is not likely to submit to conventional in matters which are close to his life and heart herself is of such an exceptional character and disposition that i think she may be safely left to her own destiny and the queen interrupted suddenly she at any rate as a woman wife and mother will be gentle gentle she certainly is said von with a slight sigh but only because she does not consider it worth while to be otherwise god has put a stone in the place where her heart should be however she will liave little to say and still less to do with to day s business you tell me you will trust me i promise you you shall not repent your trust but i must see herself where is she pointed towards the cottage she is in there studying he said books of the old time books that few read she gets them all us how would it be think you if he knew the pleasantly countenance of the professor grew a shade paler h m h m let me see who is he ah i remember he is the lion for ever roaring through the streets and seeking whom he may i he is not without cleverness cleverness echoed that is a tame word he has genius and the people swear by him since the proposed new and other of the government he has gained by many thou an invitation to court sands you whom i once took to be a mere german a friend of the young sailor whom my child so innocently wedded you whom i now know to be the king s physician surely you cannot live on the and in the metropolis without knowing of the power of i know something not much replied the professor but come my friend have not deceived you i was in very truth a poor german once before i became a student of medicine and and that i am the king s physician is merely one of those accidental circumstances which occur in a world of chance but as i have been i doubt if i would set	33
our glory of the sea to study books recommended to her by the poetry of is more suitable to her age and sex let us break in upon her meditations and he walked across the grass with one arm thrust through that of for she must prepare herself we ought to be gone within an hour they passed under the low rose covered porch into a wide square room with ceiling and deep carved oak nook and here at the table with a volume opened out before her sat resting her head on one fair hand her rich hair falling about her in loose shining and her whole attitude expressive of the deepest in study as they entered she looked up and smiled then rose her hand still resting on the open book at last you have come again dear professor she said i began to think you had grown weary in von stared at her stricken speechless for a moment what mysterious change had passed over the girl her with such an air of authority it was impossible to say to all appearance she was the same beautiful creature clad in the same simple white gown yet were she of half the globe she could not have looked more with dignity sweetness and delicately gracious manner he understood the expression of you see i have lost her power any more she is his he recognised and was impressed by that fact she was his the wife of the crown prince and heir apparent to the throne and evidently with the knowledge of her position had arisen the pride of love and the spirit of grace to support her honours and so as von met her eyes which expressed their gentle wonder at his silence and as she extended her hand to him he came slowly forward and bowing low respectfully kissed that hand princess he said in a voice that trembled ever so slightly i shall never be weary in well doing if you are good enough to call my service and friendship for you by that name i hesitated to come before because i thought feared did not know i understand i said you did not think the prince my husband would tell me the truth so soon but i know all and now i am glad to know it dearest and she moved swiftly to who was standing silent in the doorway come in and sit down you make yourself so tired sometimes in the garden and she threw a loving arm about him you must rest you look so pale for all answer he lifted the hand that hung about his neck to his lips and kissed it tenderly they want you he said they want you at the palace you must go to day she lifted her brilliant eyes to von who responded to the look by at once explaining his mission he was there he said by the king s special command their had been informed of their son s marriage by their son himself and they desired at once to see and speak with their unknown daughter in law the interview would be private his royal the crown prince would be present it might last an hour perhaps longer and he von was to bring to the palace and escort her back to the islands again when all was over thus with elaborate and detailed courtesy the professor unfolded the nature of his enterprise while still keeping one arm round heard and smiled j shall obey the king s command she said com an invitation to court though having no word from the prince my husband concerning this i might very well refuse to do so but it may be as well that their and their son s wife should plainly and once for all understand each other dear professor you look sadly troubled is there some little some special of so called good manners which you are to teach me before i make my appearance at court under your escort her lovely lips smiled her eyes laughed she looked the very of beauty triumphant von s brain whirled he felt and dazzled i to teach you anything no my princess and please think how i have called you princess from the beginning i have always told you that you have a spiritual knowledge far surpassing all material wisdom and are not for you you will make fashion not follow it i am not troubled save for your sake dear child for you know nothing of the world and the ways of the court may at first offend you the ways of hell must have seemed dark to said in his harsh strong voice but love gave her light a very just said von well pleased consider to be the new to day and now she must forgive me for playing the part of a friend and urging her to hasten her preparations bent down and kissed gently trust me little father she whispered you have not taught me great lessons of truth in vain aloud she said the king and queen wish to see me and speak with me and i know the reason why they desire to fully explain to me all that my husband has already told me which is that according to the rules made for our marriage is well i have my answer ready and you professor shall hear me give it wait but a few moments and i will come with you she left the room the two men looked at each other in silence at last von said power i think you will soon reap the reward of your life philosophy system you have fed that girl from her childhood on strong intellectual food	33
and trained the mental muscles rather than the physical ones upon my word i believe you will see a good result who had grown much calmer and during the last few minutes raised himself a little from the chair into which he had sunk with an air of fatigue and looked towards the open window where the roses hung in a curtain of crimson blossom if it be so i shall praise god he said but the years have come and gone with me so peacefully since i made my home on these quiet shores that the exercise of what i have presumed to call philosophy has had no chance philosophy it is well to preach it but when the blow of misfortune falls who can practise it you can replied the professor i can can i think we all three have clear brains there is a tendency in the present age to overlook and neglect the greatest power in the whole human composition the mental and part of it now in the present curious drama of events we have a chance given to exercise it and it will be our own faults if we do not make our wills rule our but the position is intolerable impossible said rising and pacing the room with a fresh touch of agitation nothing can do away with the fact that we my child and i have been cruelly deceived and now there can be only one of two must be acknowledged as the prince s wife in which case he will be forced to resign all claim to the throne or he must marry again which makes her no wife at all that is a disgrace which her pride would never submit to nor mine for did i not kill a king let me advise you for the future not to allude to that disagreeable incident said von exercise discretion as i do observe that i do not ask you what king you killed i am as careful on that matter as i am concerning the reasons for which i myself left my native i make it a rule never to converse on painful subjects you tell me you have tried an invitation to court to then believe that the is made and that is the sign of its acceptance and happy here she comes they both instinctively turned to the girl as she entered she had changed her ordinary white gown for another of the same kind equally simple but fresh and her glorious bronze chestnut hair was to its full rippling length and was held back by a band or of curiously carved white coral which surmounted the rich somewhat in the fashion of a small crown and she carried thrown over one arm the only kind of cloak she ever wore a wrap of the same white as her dress with a hood which as the professor slowly took out his glasses and fixed them on his nose out of mere mechanical habit to look at her more closely she drew over her head and shoulders the soft folds about her exquisite face a classic picture of such radiant beauty as is seldom seen nowadays among the imperfect and repulsive specimens of female humanity which progress combined with produce for the advancement of the race i have no court dress she said smiling and if i had i should not wear it the king and queen shall see me as my husband sees me what pleases him must suffice to please them i am quite ready von removed the spectacles he had put on they were dim with a moisture which he polished off his eyes meanwhile as if the light hurt him he was profoundly moved thrilled to the very core of his soul by the simplicity frankness and courage of this girl whose education was chiefly out of wild nature s lesson book and who knew nothing of the artificial world of fashion and i my princess am at your service he said it is but a few hours that we shall be absent to night with the rising of the moon we shall return and i doubt not with the prince himself as chief escort keep a good heart and have faith all will be well all shall be well if love can make it so said my child he held out his wrinkled hands unable to say more i power sank on her knees before him and tenderly drawing down those hands upon her head pressed them closely there your blessing dearest she said not in speech but in thought there was a moment s sacred silence then rose and throwing her arms round the old man the faithful protector of her infancy and kissed him tenderly after that she seemed to throw all seriousness to the winds and running out under the roses of the porch made two or three light dancing steps across the lawn come she cried her eyes sparkling her face radiant with the gaiety of her inward spirit come professor this is not what we call a poet s day of dreams it is a royal day of nonsense come and here she drew herself up with a stately air we are prepared to the king the professor caught the of her mirth and quickly followed her and within the next half hour climbing slowly to the summit of one of the nearest rocks on the shore adjacent to his dwelling shaded his eyes from the dazzling sunlight on the sea and strained them to watch the magnificent royal steaming swiftly over the tranquil blue water with one slight figure clad in white leaning against the mast a figure that waved its hand fondly towards the islands and of whom it might have been said her gaze	33
was glad past love s own singing of and her face lovely past desire of love chapter xxii a fair d that same afternoon there was a mysterious commotion at the palace whispers ran from lip to lip among the few who had seen her that a beautiful woman than the queen herself had under the escort of the professor von passed into the presence of the king and queen to receive the honour of a private audience who was she what was she where did she come from how was she dressed this last question was answered first being easiest to deal with she was attired all in white like a picture said some like a statue said others no one however dared ask any direct question concerning her her reception whoever she was being of a strictly guarded nature and orders having been given to admit no one to the queen s presence chamber to which apartment she had been taken by the king s physician but such dazzling beauty as hers could not go altogether unnoticed by the most casual attendant or lord in waiting and the very fact that special commands had been issued to guard all the doors of entrance to the royal apartments on either hand during her visit only served to and the general curiosity meantime while lesser and inferior personages were on the possibility of the unknown fair one being concerned with some dramatic incident that might have to be included among the king s numerous the unconscious subject of their discussion was quietly seated alone in an room adjoining the queen s apartments waiting till professor yon should announce that their were ready to receive her she was not troubled or anxious or in any way ill at ease she looked curiously upon the splendid evidences of royal state wealth and luxury which power rounded her with artistic appreciation but no envy she caught sight of her own face and figure in a tall mirror opposite to her set in a silver frame and she studied herself quietly and with the calm knowledge that there was nothing to or to regret in the way god and nature had been pleased to make her she was not in the slightest degree vain but she knew that a healthy and quiet mind in a healthy and body together form what is understood as the highest beauty and that these two elements were not lacking in her moreover she was conscious of a great love warming her heart and her soul and with this great motive force to brace her nerves and add extra charm to her natural loveliness she had no fear she had enjoyed the swift voyage across the sparkling sea and the fresh air had made her eyes doubly her complexion even more than usually fair and brilliant she did not permit herself to be rendered unhappy or anxious as to the possible attitude of the king and queen towards her she was prepared for all and had fully made up her mind what to say therefore there was no need to fret over the position or to be concerned because she was called upon to those who by human law alone were made superior in rank to the rest of mankind in god s sight all men are equal she said to herself the king is a mere helpless babe at birth on others as he is a mere helpless corpse at death it is only men s own foolish ideas and of usage in life that make any difference at that moment the professor entered hurriedly and seizing her hands in his own kissed them and pressed them tenderly his face was flushed he was evidently strongly excited go in there now princess he whispered pointing to the adjacent room of which the door stood and may god be on your side she rose up and her hands gently from his nervous grasp smiled do not be afraid she said you too are coming i follow you he replied a fair and to himself he said in i will she keep her so beautiful calm if she will if she can a throne would be well lost for such a woman and he watched her with an admiration almost to fear as she passed before him and entered the royal presence chamber with a proud light step a grace of bearing and a supreme distinction which had she been there on a day of would have made half the women accustomed to attend court look like the merest vulgar the i she entered was very large and lofty a of gold ceiling painted walls and flashed upon her eyes with the hue of silken curtains and embroidered the heavy perfume of hundreds of flowers in tall crystal and wide gilded stands made the air drowsy and and for a moment just fresh from the sweet breath of the sea felt and giddy but she recovered quickly and raised her eyes to the two motionless figures which like set in a temple for worship waited her approach the king stiffly upright and arrayed in military uniform stood near the queen who was seated in a chair over with gold her trailing robes were of a pale hue bordered with and touched here and there with silver giving out of light stolen as it seemed from the sea and sky and her beautiful face with its clear cut features and cold might have been carved out of ivory for all the interest or emotion expressed upon it came straight towards her then stopped with her erect form proud head and fair features she looked the living of sovereign womanhood and the queen meeting the full glance of her eyes stirred among her royal and raised herself with a slow graceful	33
touch of anger he had expected tears passionate and assurances of the and tie between herself and her lover but this little indifferently no upset all his calculations have you nothing to say he asked somewhat sternly what should i say she responded still smiling you are the king it is for you to speak she does not understand you sir interrupted the queen coldly your words are possibly too elaborate for her simple comprehension turned a fearless beautiful glance upon her pardon me madam but i do understand she said i understand that by the law of god i am your son s wife and that by the law of the world i am no wife i abide by the law of god there was a moment s dead silence professor von gave a discreet cough to break it and the king reminded of his presence turned towards him has she no sense of the position he demanded sir i have every reason to believe that she it a fair thoroughly replied von with a bow then why but here he was again interrupted by the queen she raising herself in her chair her beautiful head and shoulders lifted statue like from her of and white stretched forth a hand and beckoned towards her come here child she said then as advanced with evident reluctance she added come closer you must not be afraid of me i smiled nay madam trouble not yourself at all in that regard i never was afraid of anyone a shadow of annoyance darkened the queen s fair brows since you have no fear you may equally have no shame she said in icy cold accents therefore it is easy to understand why you deliberately refuse to see the harm and cruelty done to our son the crown prince by his marriage with you if such marriage were in the least which fortunately for all concerned it is not he is destined to occupy the throne and he must wed who is fit to share it kings and princes may love where they choose but they can only marry where they must you are my son s first love the thought and memory of that may perhaps be a consolation to you but do not assume that you will be his last drew back from her her face had a little you can speak so she said sorrowfully you his mother poor queen poor woman i am sorry for you without pausing to notice the crimson flush of vexation that flew over the queen s delicate face at her words she turned now with some to the king speak plainly she said what is it you want of me her flashing eyes her proud look startled him he moved back a step or two then he replied with as much firmness and dignity as he could assume nothing is wanted of you my child but obedience and loyalty resign all claim upon the a power his wife promise never to see him again or correspond with him and you shall lose nothing by the sacrifice you make of your little love affair to the good of the country the good of the country echoed in thrilling tones do you know anything about it you who never go among your people except to hunt and shoot and amuse yourself generally you who permit wicked and to with the people s money the good of the country if my hfe could only lift the burden of from the country i would lay it down gladly and freely if i were queen do you think i could be like her and she stretched forth her white arm to where the queen amazed had risen from her seat and now stood erect her rich robes trailing yards on the ground and flashing at every point with jewels do you think i could sit unmoved clad in rich velvet and gems while one single starving creature sought bread within my kingdom nay i would sell everything i possessed and go rather i would be a sister not a mere to the poor i would never wear a single garment that had not been made for me by the workers of my own land and the good of the country should be good indeed not bad as it is now breathless with the sudden rush of her thoughts into words she stood with heaving bosom and sparkling eyes the of eloquence and inspiration and before the astonished monarch could speak she went on i am your son s wife he loves me he has wedded me and you wish me to that i will not from him and him alone must come my dismissal from his heart his life and his soul if he desires his marriage with me dissolved let him tell me so himself face to face and before you and his mother then i shall be content to be no more his wife but not till then i will promise nothing without his consent he is my husband and to him i owe my first obedience i seek no honour no rank no wealth but i have won the greatest treasure in this world his love and that i will keep a door opened at the further end of the room a a fair was quietly pushed aside and the crown prince entered with a composed almost formal he saluted the king and queen and then going up to passed his arm around her waist and held her fast when you have concluded your interview with my wife sir an interview of which i had no previous knowledge he said quietly addressing the king i shall be glad to have one of my own with her the king answered him calmly enough your wife as you call her	33
is a very young person he said the sooner she returns to her companions the folk on the islands the better from her looks i imagined she might have sense but i fear that is lacking to her composition i however she is perfectly willing to consider her marriage with you dissolved if you desire it i trust you will desire it here now and at once in my presence and that of the queen your mother and thus a very unpleasant and unfortunate incident in your career will be satisfactorily closed prince smiled the heavens and its stars into a cup of wine and drink them all down at one he said and then perhaps you may my marriage with this lady if you consider it put the question to the courts of law to the pope who most the of the marriage tie ask all who know anything of the whether when two people love each other and are bound by holy matrimony to be as one and are resolved to so remain any earthly power can part them those whom god hath joined together let no man put asunder is that mere lip mockery or is it a holy bond the king gave an impatient gesture there is no use in argument he said when argument has to be carried on with such children as yourselves cannot be done by persuasion must be done by force i wished to act kindly and reasonably by both of you and i had hoped better things from this interview but as matters have turned out it may as well be concluded power wait said herself gently from her husband s embrace i have something to say which ought to meet your wishes even though it may not be all you desire i will not promise to give up my husband i will not promise never to see him and never to write to him but i will swear to you one thing that should completely put your fears and doubts of me at rest both the king and queen looked at her a brighter more delicate beauty seemed to invest her she stood very proudly upright her small head lifted her rich hair glistening in the soft sunshine that streamed in subdued tints through the high stained glass windows of the room her figure slight and tall was like that of the goddess of by you are so unhappy already she continued turning to the queen you have lost so much and you need so much that i should be sorry to add to your burden of grief if i thought i could make you glad if i thought i could make you see the world through my eyes with all tlie patient loving human hearts about you waiting for the sympathy you never give i would come to you often and try to find the warm pulse of you somewhere under all that splendour which you clothe yourself in and which is as to me as the dust on the common road and if i could show you and here she fixed her steadfast glance upon the king where you might win friends instead of losing them if i could persuade you to look and see where the fires of revolution are beginning to and under your very throne if i could bear messages from you of compassion and tenderness to all the and i would ask you on my knees to let me be your daughter in affection as i am by marriage and i would to you the secrets of your own kingdom which is slowly but steadily rising against you but you judge me you estimate me and where i might have given aid your own of me makes me useless you consider me low born and a mere peasant how can you be sure of that for truly i do not know who i am or where i came from for aught i can tell the storm was my father and the ea my mother but my parents may as easily have been royal you judge a fair me half educated and wholly unworthy to be your son s wife will the ladies of your court with me in learning i am ready what i hear of their has not as yet commanded my respect or admiration and you yourself as king do nothing to show that you care for either art or learning i wonder indeed that you should even pause to consider whether your son s wife is educated or not absolutely silent the king kept his eyes upon her he was a novel sensation which was altogether delightful to him and more instructive than any essay or sermon he the ruler of the country was face to face with a woman who had no fear of him no awe for his position no respect for his rank but who simply spoke to him as though he had been any ordinary person he saw a scarcely perceptible smile on his son s handsome features he saw that von s eyes despite his carefully preserved seriousness of and he realized the almost absurd of his authority in such an embarrassing position the assumption of a mute contempt such as was vaguely expressed by the queen appeared to him to be the best policy he therefore adopted that attitude without however producing the least visible effect s face softly flushed with suppressed emotion looked earnest and impassioned but neither abashed nor afraid i have read many histories of kings she continued slowly of their and of their neglect of their people seldom have they been truly great the few who are reported as wise lived and reigned so many ages ago that we cannot tell whether their virtues	33
were indeed as admirable as described or whether their vices were not by a too partial historian a throne has no attraction for me the only sorrow i have ever known in my life is the discovery that the man i love best in the world is a king s son would to god he were poor and as i thought him to be when i married him for so we should always have been happy but now i have to think for him as well as for myself his position is as hard as mine and we accept our fate as a trial of our love love cannot be forced it must root itself and grow where it will it power has made us two as one one in thought one in hope one in faith no earthly power can part us you would marry him to another woman and force hint to commit a great sin for the good of the country i tell you if you do that if any king or prince does that god s curse will surely fall upon the throne and all that do inherit it i she did not raise her voice she spoke in low thrilling accents without excitement but with measured force and calm then she beckoned the crown prince to her side he instantly obeyed her gesture taking him by the hand she advanced a little and with him confronted both the king and queen hear me your both she said in clear firm accents and when you have heard be satisfied as to the good of the country and let me depart to my own home in peace away from all your crushing and miserable i take your son by the hand and even as i swore my faith to him at the marriage altar so i swear to you that he is free to follow his own inclination his law is mine his will my pleasure and in everything i shall obey him save in this one decree which i make for myself in your sovereign presence that never so help me god will i claim or share my husband s rank as crown prince or set foot within this palace which is his home again till a greater voice than that of any king the voice of the nation itself calls upon me to do so this proud declaration was entirely unexpected and both the king and queen regarded the beautiful speaker in amazement she gently dropping the prince s hand met their eyes with a wistful pathos in her own will that satisfy you she asked a slight tremor shaking her voice as she put the question the king at once advanced and now spoke frankly and without any ceremony assuredly you are a brave girl true to your love and true to the country at one and the same time but while i accept your vow let me warn you not to indulge in any lurking hope or feeling that the nation will ever recognize your marriage your own willingly taken a fair oath at this moment practically makes it and void so far as the state is concerned but perhaps it it as a bond of youthful passion i an open admiration flashed in his bold fine eyes as he spoke and grew pale with an involuntary movement she turned towards the queen you madam you ah i no not you you are cruel i you have not a woman s heart my love my husband the prince was at once beside her and she clung to him trembling take me away i she whispered take me away altogether this place me he caught her in his strong young arms and was about to lead her to the door when she suddenly appeared to remember something and herself from his clasp put him away from her with a faint smile no dearest you must stay here stay here and make your father and mother understand all that i have said tell them i mean to keep my vow you know how thoroughly i mean it the professor will take me home then the queen moved and came towards her with her usual slow noiseless grace let me thank you she said with an air of gracious condescension you are a very good girl and i am sure you will keep your word you are so beautiful that you are bound to do well and i hope your future life will be a happy one i hope so madam replied slowly i think it will if it is not happier than yours i shall indeed be unfortunate the queen drew back but the king who had been whispering aside to von now approached and said kindly you must not go away my child without some token of our regard wear this for our sake he offered her a chain of gold bearing a simple yet exquisitely designed of choice pearls her face and she pushed it aside keep it sir for those whose love and faith can be purchased with toys mine x power kindly no doubt but a gift from you is an not an honour fare you well another moment and she was gone von at a sign from the king hastily followed her prince who had remained almost entirely mute during the scene now stood with folded arms opposite his royal parents still silent and rigid the king watched j for a minute or two then laid a hand gently on his arm we do not blame you over much he said she is a beautiful creature and more intelligent than i had imagined moreover she has great calmness as well as courage still the prince said nothing you are satisfied madam	33
would be king and as king he is quite capable of making queen he looked at her very strangely a fair madam in the event of my death all things are possible he said a dying may give birth to a republic the queen smiled well it is the most popular form of government nowadays she responded carelessly moving slowly towards the door and perhaps the most satisfactory i think if i were not a queen i should be a republican and i if i were not a king he responded should be a such are the strange of human nature permit me he opened the door of the room for her to pass out and as she did so she looked up full in his face are you still interested in your new form of amusement she said and do you still expose yourself to danger and death he bowed assent still am i a fool in a new course of madam he answered with a smile and a half sigh so many of my brother are round like in wool with precautions for their safety lest they at a touch that i assure you i take the chances of danger and death as sport compared guarded condition but it is very good of you to assume such a gracious solicitude for my safety assume she said her voice had a slight tremor in it her eyes looked soft and with something like tears then with her usual stately grace she saluted him and passed out struck at the unwonted expression in her face he stood for a moment amazed then he gave vent to a low bitter laugh how strange it would be if she should love me now he murmured but after all these years too late too late that night before the king retired to rest professor von reported himself and his duty to his majesty in the privacy of his own apartments he had he stated accompanied back to her home in the islands and he added somewhat hesitatingly the crown prince had returned with her and had there remained he the professor had left them together being commanded b the prince so to do power the king received this information with perfect the boy must have his way for the present he said his passion will soon itself all passion itself sooner or later that depends very much on the depth or of its source sir replied the professor true but a boy a mere infant in experience what can he know of the depths in the heart and soul now a man of my age he broke off abruptly seeing von s eyes fixed upon him and the colour deepened in his cheek then he gave a slight laugh i tell you von this little love ir this absurd toy marriage is not worth thinking l f leaves the country at the end of this month he will remain absent a year and at the of that time we shall marry him in good earnest to a bride meanwhile let us not trouble ourselves about this sentimental episode which is so rapidly drawing to its close the professor bowed respectfully and retired but not to sleep he had a glowing picture before his eyes a picture he could not forget of the crown prince and standing with arms about each other under the rose covered porch of s cottage saying good night to him while himself his tranquillity completely restored and his former fears at rest warmly shook his hand and with a curious mingling of pride and deference thanked him for all his friendship all his goodness and no goodness at all is mine said the meditative professor save that of being as honest as i can to both sides but there is some change in the situation which i do not quite understand there is some new plan on foot i would swear the prince was too triumphant too happy too satisfied there is something in the wind but i cannot make out what it is i he pondered uneasily for a part of the night reflecting that when he had returned from the islands in the king s he had met the prince s own private vessel on her way thither gliding over the waves a mere ghostly bunch a fair of white sails in the glimmering moon he had concluded that it was under orders to the prince for home again in the morning and yet though this was a perfectly natural and probable he had been unable to rid himself altogether of a doubtful to which he could give no name by degrees he fell into an uneasy slumber in which he had many dreams one of which was that he found himself all alone on the wide ocean which stretched for thousands of miles beyond the islands alone in a small boat endeavouring to row it towards the great southern continent that lay afar off in the invisible distance where few but the most adventurous travellers ever cared to wander and as he pulled with weak ineffectual oars against the mighty weight of the rolling he thought he heard the words of an old irish song which he remembered having listened to when as quite a young man he had paid his first and last visit to the misty and romantic shores of britain come o er the sea ma mine through sunshine storm and seasons may roll but the true soul burns the same wherever it goes let fate frown on so we love and part not t is life where thou art t is death where thou art not t then come o er the sea ma mine wherever the wild wind blows i then waking with a violent start he wondered what set of brain had been	33
stirred to that he had or so he deemed long ago forgotten and still musing he almost mechanically went on with the wild was not the sea made for the free land for courts and chains alone t here we are slaves but on the waves love and liberty are our own this will never do he exclaimed leaping from his bed i am becoming a mere with advancing age power he went to the window and looked out it was about six o clock in the morning the sun was shining brightly into his room before him lay the sea calm as a lake and clear sparkling as a diamond not a boat was in sight not a single white sail on the distant horizon and in the freshness and stillness of the breaking day the world looked but just newly created how we fret and in our little span of life he murmured a few years hence and for us all the troubles which we make for ourselves will be ended but the sun and the sea will shine on just the same and love the power on earth will still govern mankind when and kings and are no more his thoughts were destined to bear quick the morning deepened into noon and at that hour a sealed brought by a sailor who gave no name and who departed as soon as he had delivered his packet was handed to the king it was from the crown prince and ran briefly thus at your command sir and by my own desire i have left the country over which you hold your sovereign dominion whither i travel and how is my own affair i shall return no more till the nation demands my service whereof i shall doubtless hear should such a ever arise i leave you to deal with the situation as seems best to your good pleasure and that of the government but the life god has given me can only be lived once and to him alone am i responsible for it i am resolved therefore to live it to my own liking in honesty faith and freedom in accordance with this determination my wife as in her sworn bound goes with me for one moment the king stood and astounded a cloud of anger darkened his brows up the document in his hand he was about to fling it from him in a fury what this mere boy and girl had baffled the authority of a king anon his anger cooled his countenance cleared the paper out he read its contents again then smiled a fair well has something of me in him after all he said he is not entirely his mother he has a heart a will and a conscience all three generally lacking to sons of kings let me be honest with myself if he had given way to me i should have despised him but for love s sake he has opposed me and by my soul i respect him chapter the king s rumour we are told has a million tongues and i they were soon all at work out the news of the crown prince s mysterious departure each tongue told a different story and none of the stories no information was to be obtained at court there nothing was said but that the prince the formal ceremony of a public departure had privately set sail in his own for his projected tour round the world nobody believed this and the general impression soon gained ground that the young man had fallen into disgrace with his royal parents and had been sent away for a time till he should recognize the of his youthful sent away you understand said the society to avoid further scandal th prince s younger brothers and were often plied with questions by their but knowing nothing and truly caring less they could give no explanation neither king nor queen spoke a word on the subject and sir de astonished and perplexed beyond measure as he was at this turn in affairs dared not put any questions even to his friend professor von who as soon as the news of the prince s departure was known resolutely declined to speak so he said on what did not concern him gradually however this excitement partially subsided to give place to other forms of social commotion which beginning in trifles swiftly expanded to larger and more serious development the first of these was the sudden rise of a newspaper which had for many years with the greatest difficulty in opposition to the many journals governed by david it happened in this manner the king s several leading articles written in favour of a settlement in the country had appeared constantly in s largest and most widely newspaper and the last of these leaders had concluded with the assertion that though his majesty the king had at first refused the portion of crown lands needed by the society for building he had now graciously re considered the situation and had been pleased to his previous decision the very next morning the rival daily had leaped into by merely two the settlement statement by his majesty the king and there plainly set forth was the royal and refusal to grant the lands required because of the earnest petition of our loving subjects against the said grant and till our loving subjects objections were removed the lands would be withheld this public announcement signed by the king in person created the most extraordinary sensation throughout the whole country it was the one topic at every social meeting it was the one subject of every sermon and in every pulpit and lifting up his harsh voice in the cathedral itself addressed an enormous congregation one sunday morning on the matter and the king the queen	33
said very coldly he has as he himself says done his duty you must be pretty well of what a jew s notions of duty are they can be up in one sentence to save his own pocket is driven to fury and desperation by the sudden success of the rival newspaper which has been so favoured by the king the shares in his own concerns are going down rapidly and he is determined naturally enough to take care of himself before anyone else he has sold out of every company with which you have been or are associated and has so i understand sent a complete list of your proposed financial and other stock to he paused well exclaimed to whom to those whom it may concern replied i really can give you no exact information i have said enough by way of warning looked at him and what he saw in that dark brooding face was not of a or satisfactory nature you are as deeply involved as i am he began pardon and the drew himself up with some dignity i was involved i am not now i have also taken care of myself f i may have been but i shall let no one suffer for my errors i have sent in my resignation fool ejaculated forgetting all courtesy in the sudden access of rage that took possession of him at these words fool i say at the very moment when you ought to stick to the ship you desert it are you not ready to run to the i the king s with a smile surely you can have no doubt but that his majesty will command you to take office i with this he turned on his heel and left his to a space of very disagreeable meditation for the first time in his bold and career found himself in an awkward position if it were indeed true that and had thrown up the game especially then he was lost he had made of not only a tool but a he had used him and his great leading newspaper for his own political and financial purposes he had him with state secrets in order to in all the of the world he had induced him to approach the with promises of support and to him by degrees into the same financial deal so that if this one man this fat of a jew chose to speak out he secretary of state would be the most disgraced and ruined minister that ever attempted to a nation his brows grew moist with fever heat and his tongue with the dry thirst of fear as the gravity of the situation was gradually borne in upon him he began to calculate and possibilities of escape from the toils that seemed closing around him and much to his irritation and embarrassment he found that most of the ways leading out of difficulty pointed first of all to the king the king the very personage whom he had called a only bound to do as he was told and now if he could only persuade the king tha he the poor secretary of state was a deeply injured man whose life s effort had been solely directed towards the good of the country yet who nevertheless was cruelly wronged and by his enemies all might yet be well were he only like other whom i know he reflected i could have easily involved him in the trades deal then the press could have been silenced and the public with five or six hundred thousand shares in the biggest concerns he would have been compelled to work under me for the of our trades with the financial forces of other countries re power of the rubbish talked by on the loss of our position and but he is not fond of money he is not fond of money would that he were for so should be king of the king various problems on his return to his own house that evening he remembered that despite numerous and the king had up to the present paid no attention to the appeals of his people against the increasing of the only two measures he had carried with a high and imperative hand were first the of an intended declaration of war and the refusal of extensive lands to the the first was the more important action as while it had won the gratitude and friendship of a previously hostile state it had lost several noble in the of nations some millions of money the check to the was comparatively trivial yet it had already produced far reaching effects and had offended the powers at the but beyond this things remained apparently as they were true the were growing stronger but there was no evidence that the government was growing weaker after all thought as a result of his meditations there is no immediate cause for anxiety if has sent in his resignation it may not be accepted that rests like other things with the king and a vague surprise affected him at this fact curious he muttered very curious that he who was a nothing should now be a something the change has taken place very rapidly and very strangely i wonder what or who is moving him but to this inward he received no satisfactory reply the mysterious of the whole position was the same namely that somehow in the most unaccountable inexplicable manner the wind and weather of affairs had so round that the security of ministers and the of government rested not with themselves or the nature of their quarrels and but solely on one whom they were accustomed to consider as a mere ornamental figure head	33
the king some few days after the unexpected turbulent rising of the mob it was judged advisable to give the people the king s thing in the way of a or spectacle in order to their attention from their own and to draw them away from their clubs and to the contemplation of a parade of royal state and splendour the careful student of history cannot fail to note that whenever the and of a government are most apparent great shows and royal are always resorted to in order to divert the minds of the people from the bitter consideration of a deficient and a national honour the authorities who these state are wise in their generation they know that the working classes very seldom have the leisure to think for themselves and that they often lack the intelligent ability to foresee the difficulties and dangers menacing their country s welfare but that they are always ready with the strangest patience arid good nature to take their wives and families to see any new of a world s punch and play particularly if there is a of about it accompanied by a brass band well equipped soldiers and gilded though they take no part in the beyond to be and rudely driven back by the police like sheep out of the sacred way of a royal progress they nevertheless have an instinctive and very correct idea that somehow dr other it is all part of the fun for which they have paid their money there is no more actual reverence or respect for the positive person of in such a parade than there is for the wonderful performing pig who takes part in a procession through a country town the public impression is simple that having to pay for the up keep of a throne its should be occasionally trotted out to see whether they are worth the nation s annual expenditure moved entirely by this plain and practical sentiment the popular breast was thrilled with some amount of interest and animation when it was announced that his majesty the king would on a certain afternoon go in state to lay the foundation stone of the grand national theatre which was the very latest pet project of various jews and cautious the power theatre was intended to supply according to a stock newspaper phrase a long felt want it was to be a scheme by which the would receive excellent interest for their money it was to provide the masses with the highest form of dramatic entertainment at the lowest cost but there were many intricate wheels within wheels in the elaborate piece of stock by which the public would be caught and as usual and the therein rendered triumphant sufficient funds were at hand to start the building of the necessary edifice and the king s gracious consent to lay the first stone with full state and ceremony was hailed by the of the plan as of the happiest for with such approval and support openly given all the world would follow the royal lead quite as as it did in the case of another monarch who persuaded ta drink of a certain spring and likewise to take shares in its waters turned the said spring into a paying concern at once thereby causing much rejoicing among the the mob might certainly decline to imitate the world but considering the recent outbreak it might be as well that the and should be awed by the and glory of earthly majesty passing by in earthly splendour alas world how often has it thought the same thing i how often has it fancied that with show and glitter end brazen of mere purse power it can the rage for justice which like a spark of god s own eternal being for ever in the soul of a people ah that rage for justice that divine fury and fever which with strong and delirium shakes the body and it from accumulated sickly and what would the nations be without its and merciful tearing down old up asunder rotten what wonder if and and even the heads of kings get sometimes mixed into the general swift of long dirt and disorder and vainly at such times does the world anxiously golden pieces for the the king s price of its life i there shall not then be millions enough in all the earth to purchase the safety of one proved liar who has robbed his neighbour no hint of the of the people s thought or the movement of the times was however apparent in the aspect of the gay multitudes that poured along the principal of the metropolis on the day appointed for the ceremony in which the king had consented to take the leading part poor and rich together with one another to secure the various best points of view from whence the royal could be seen winding down in glittering length from the palace and past the cathedral and so on to the great open square where surrounded by fluttering flags and a huge block of stone hung suspended by ropes from a ready to be lowered at the royal touch and fixed in its place by the royal as the visible and solid beginning of the stately fabric which according to models was to rise from this its first foundation into a temple of art and architecture devoted to and it was a glorious day the sun shone with vigorous heat and lustre from a sky the sea was calm as an inland pool and people wore their brightest and most attire fair society clad in the last capricious mode of ever changing fashion and their delicate and not always natural with airy and finely coloured as the of flowers it over the crowds of as they were driven past in their carriages drawn by	33
high stepping horses all the and drawing rooms of the most exclusive houses seemed to have emptied their luxury loving occupants into the streets and the whole town was for a few hours at any rate apparently given over to holiday as the long line of preceding the king s carriage wound down from the groups of people cheered and waved hats and handkerchiefs then when his majesty s own escort came into view the cheering was and at last when the over gilded over painted state coach appeared and the familiar but somewhat sternly composed features of the power king himself were perceived through the glass windows a roar of like the thundering of a long wave on an extensive stretch of rock bound coast echoed far and near and again and again was repeated with increased and ever increasing who hearing such an enthusiastic greeting would or could have imagined for one moment that the king who was the and centre of these tremendous was at the same time judged as an enemy and an to justice by more than one half of the population yet it was so and so has often been the will shout itself hoarse for any cause whether it be a king going to be crowned or a king going to be executed the is the same and the enthusiasm as passionate it is merely the of a moment that their lungs to in noise but the real sentiment of admiration for a fine character which might perhaps have moved the subjects of richard de lion to cries of exultation is generally non and why for no cause truly save that lion hearts in kings no more through nations by the time the royal procession reached its destination the crowd had largely increased and the press of people round the scene of the function was great enough to be seriously embarrassing to both the and the police slowly the gorgeous state coach up to the entrance of the ground off for the ceremony and between a line of armed guards the king alighted cheering again broke out on all sides which his majesty acknowledged in the usual formal manner by a monotonous military salute performed at regular intervals received with deference by all the persons concerned in the grand national theatre project he conversed with one or two shook hands with others and was just on the point of addressing a few of his usual compliments to some pretty women who had been invited to adorn the scene when david advanced evidently sure of a friendly recognition for had not the king when crown prince and heir apparent hunted game in his preserves yea had he not even dined with him and had not he written whole columns of about the king s the royal smile and the royal favour till the outside public had at every stroke of his pen how came it then that his majesty seemed on this occasion to have no recollection of him and looked over and beyond him in the way as though he were a far off jew in instead of being the proprietor of several european newspapers published for the general and plunder of christians dismayed at the royal coldness of eye stepped back with an crimson face and one of the ladies present personally knowing him and seeing his discomfiture ventured to call the king s attention to his presence and to make way for his approach by murmuring gently mr sir ah indeed said the monarch with calm grey eyes still fixed on i do not know anyone of that name permit me to admire that exquisite arrangement of flowers and smiling on the astonished and embarrassed lady he led her aside altogether away from s vicinity stricken to the very dust of by this direct cut so publicly administered the editor and proprietor of many journals stood aghast for a moment then as various thoughts began to chase one another through his bewildered head he was seized with a violent trembling he remembered every foolish and remark he had made to the stranger named who had called upon him bearing the s and reflecting that this very was now by some odd chance a of political leaders and other articles to the rival daily newspaper which had published the king s official refusal of a grant of land to the he with impotent fury for might not this unknown man if he were as he possibly was a friend of the king s go to the full length of declaring all he knew and all he had learned from s own lips concerning certain financial secrets which if fully disclosed would utterly the government and put the nation itself in peril might he not already even have informed the king with his little swine like eyes retreating under the fat of his lowering brows power hot and cold by turns wandered out of the exclusive set of persons connected with the grand national theatre scheme who were now gathered round the suspended foundation stone to which the king was approaching he pretended not to see the curious eyes that stared at him or the mouths that smiled at the open slight he had received pushing his way through the crowd he against the thin black figure of a priest no other than who with an word of recognition drew aside to allow him passage affecting his usual company man ner of good nature he forced himself to speak to this holy man who at any rate had paid him good money in round sums for so called articles or rather in his paper concerning church matters good day he said you are not often seen at a royal how comes it that you of all persons in the world have brought yourself	33
to witness the laying of the foundation stone of a theatre does not your calling forbid any patronage of the art the priest s thin lips parted showing a glimmer of teeth behind the pale stretched line of flesh not by any means he replied in the present and of social interests the church and stage are drawing very closely together true said with a grin one might very well be taken for the other looked at him this he said waving his lean hand towards the centre of the brilliant crowd where now the king stood is a kind of drama in its way and you mr have just played one little scene in it and bit his lip i am also another actor on the boards continued smiling darkly if only as a spectator in the crowd and ther and are doubtless present of whom we may hear anon the king has nasty sometimes said shortly looking down at the flower in his and off one of its with his fat forefinger he ought to be made to pay for them the king s ha ha very good certainly and gave a nod he ought to be made to pay especially when he hurts the feelings of his old friends are you going mr yes what a pity but you no doubt have your present oh there are plenty of them about said carelessly but i shall all the account of these proceedings into a few lines ha ha laughed i understand revenge revenge but in certain cases the description is sometimes the most and startling good day returned the salute and went not to leave the scene altogether but merely to take up a position of immediately above and behind the crowd where from a distance he could watch all that was going on he saw the king lift his hand towards the ropes and of the above him and as it was touched by the royal finger the foundation stone was slowly lowered into the deep prepared for it where gold and silver of the year s had already been strewn then with the aid of a silver set in a handle of gold and presented by the managing of the scheme his majesty in a little mortar and declared in a loud voice that the stone was well and truly laid a burst of cheering greeted the announcement and the band struck up the country s national hymn this being the usual sign that the ceremony was at an end whereupon the king shaking hands again cordially with the various parties concerned and again shedding the lustre of his smile upon the various ladies with whom he had been conversing made his way very leisurely to his state which with its six horses stood prepared for his departure the door being already held open for him by one of the attendant powdered and gold sir de walked immediately behind his sovereign and professor von was close at hand by two of the gentlemen of the royal household all at once a young man pushed himself out of the crowd nearest to the paused a and then with a single determined bound reached the king s side power thief of the people s money take that he shouted wildly and aloft a glittering he aimed it straight at the monarch s heart but the blow never reached its destination for a woman closely veiled in black suddenly threw herself swiftly and between the king s body and the descending blade his breast with both her outstretched arms the dagger struck her violently piercing her flesh through the upper part of her right shoulder and under the sheer force of the blow she fell senseless the whole incident took place in less time than it could be told and even as she who had risked her life to save the king s sank bleeding to the ground the police seized the red handed in his mad and criminal act and the weapon from his hand he was a mere lad of eighteen or twenty and seemed dazed to be bound and without a word the king perfectly tranquil and his head to the wild cries and hysterical cheering of the excited spectators to whom his narrow escape from death appeared a kind of miracle moving them to frantic of passionate enthusiasm and then bent anxiously down over the prostrate form of his endeavouring himself to raise her from the ground a hundred hands at once proffered assistance sir de pale to the lips with the shock of sick horror he had experienced at what might so easily have been a national catastrophe assisted the police in forming a strong round the person of his beloved royal master in order to guard him against any further possible attack and professor von obeying the king s signal knelt down by the unconscious woman s side to examine the extent of her injury gently he turned back the close folds of her veil then gave a little start and cry in and he hastily drew down the veil again as the king approached with the question is she hurt no sir i think not i not but and the professor s eyes looked volumes of suggestion catching liis expression the king drew still nearer her face give her air he commanded the king s with a perplexed side glance at sir de the professor obeyed and the sunshine fell full on the white calm features and closed eyelids of the woman known as her black dress was darkly stained and soaked with blood and the deep dull gold of her hair was touched here and there with the same crimson hue but there was a smile on her lips and her face was	33
as fair and placid as though it had been smoothed out of all pain and trouble by the touch of death silently and with a perfectly inscrutable the king surveyed her for a moment then raising his hat with grave grace and courtesy he looked on all those who stood about him police and spectators does anyone here present know this lady he demanded a crowd of eager heads were pushed forward and then a low murmur began which deepened into a steady roar of delighted the name was caught up quickly and repeated from mouth to mouth till away on the extreme outskirts of the crowd it was tossed back again with shouts swiftly the news ran like an electric current through the whole body of the that it was their own their friend their fellow the idol of the poorer classes that had saved the life of the king half incredulous half admiring the mob listened to the growing rumour and the general excitement increased in intensity among them david from his point of observation caught the and at once the value of the dramatic copy for his paper to be obtained out of such a situation jumped into the nearest vehicle and was driven straight to his offices there to send electric messages of the news to every quarter of the world and to endeavour by printed loyal of to turn the current of the king s displeasure against him into a more favourable direction meanwhile the king himself gave orders that his wounded should be conveyed in one of the royal carriages straight to the palace and there attended by his own physician i power professor von was with the of this command and the monarch then entering his own state started on his homeward progress thundering cheers now greeted him at every step for an hour at least the went mad with rapture shouting singing and calling alternately for the king and with no respect of persons or consideration as to their motives and opposite stations in life two facts only were clear to them first an attempt had been made to the king secondly that had the attempt and risked her own life to save that of the monarch these were enough to set fire to the passionate sentiments of a warm blooded restless southern people and they gave full sway to their feelings accordingly so amid the royal procession its way back to the the state coach moving at a s pace in order to allow the people to see the king for themselves and make sure he was as they cheered and followed it in to the very gates of the palace while in another and reverse direction the wretched youth whose miserable to commit a crime had so fortunately failed was marched off under the guard of a strong body of police to the state prison there to await his trial and condemnation a small crowd and cursing the criminal pursued him as he went and one personage austere and dignified also followed at a distance as though curious to see the last of the would be murderer ere he was shut out from liberty and this was i chapter xxiv a woman s reason when recovered from her death like she found herself on a sofa among heaped up soft cushions in a small semi darkened room hung with of rose satin which were here and there drawn aside to show exquisite of china and rare on ivory the ceiling above her was a painted mirror where in her car of flowers drawn by was pictured floating across a crystal sea the floor was strewn with white the corners were filled with palms and flowers as she regarded these surroundings a firm hand was laid on her wrist and a voice said in her ear lie still if you please you have been seriously hurt you must rest she turned feebly towards the speaker and saw a big man with a bald head seated at her side who held a watch in one hand and felt her pulse with the other she could not discern his features plainly for his back was set to the already shaded light and her own eyes were weak and dim you are very kind she murmured i do not quite remember ah yes i and a quick flash of animation passed over her face i know now the king is is all well all is well thanks to you replied the voice you have saved his life thank god and she closed her eyes again wearily while two slow tears from under the shut white thank god professor von placed in charge of her by the king s command gently the small white hand power he held and stepping noiselessly to a table near at hand poured out from one of the various little set a cordial the properties of which were alone known to himself and held the glass to her lips drink this off at once he said yet kindly she obeyed he then turning aside with the empty glass sat down and watched her from a little distance soon a faint flush tinged her dead white skin and presently with a deep sigh she opened her eyes again then she became aware of a and smart in her right shoulder and saw that it was tightly and tliat the of her dress was cut away from it lying perfectly still she gradually brought her strong spirit of self control to bear on the situation and tried to collect her scattered thoughts very few minutes her to recollect all that had happened and as she more and more vividly that she was in some strange and luxurious abode where she had no business or desire to be she gathered all the forces of	33
her mind to her aid and with but a slight effort sat upright professor von came towards her with an exclamation of but she him back with a very decided gesture please do not trouble she said i am quite able to move to stand see and she rose to her feet trembling a little and herself by resting one hand on the edge of the sofa i do not know who you are but i am sure you have been most kind to me and if you would do me a still greater kindness you will let me go away from here at once impossible madame declared the professor firmly his majesty the king what of his majesty the king demanded with sudden am i not mistress of my own actions the professor made an elaborate bow most unquestionably you are madame he replied but you are also for the moment a guest in the king s palace and having saved his life you will surely not withhold from him the courteous acceptance of his hospitality a woman s reason the king s palace she echoed and a little smile crossed her lips i in the king s palace she moved a few steps and drew herself proudly erect you sir are a servant of the king s i am his majesty s resident physician at your service i he said with another bow i have had the honour of attending to th wound you so received in his defence and though it is not a dangerous wound it is an exceedingly unpleasant one i assure you and will give you a good deal of pain and trouble let me advise you very earnestly to stay where you are and rest do not think of leaving the palace to night she sighed i must not think of staying in it she replied but i do not wish to seem or ungrateful for your care and kindness will you tell the king here she broke off abruptly and fixed her eyes on his face strange she murmured i seem to have seen you before or very like you the professor was troubled with a sudden fit of which made him very red in the face and obliged him to turn away for a moment in order to recover himself still struggling with that obstinate catch in his throat he said you were saying madame that you wished me to tell the king something yes said eagerly if you will be so good tell him that i thank him for his courtesy but that i must go away from this palace that i cannot may not stop in it an hour longer he does not know who it is that saved his life if he did he would not wish me to remain a moment under his roof i he would be as anxious and willing for me to leave as i am to go will you tell him this madame i will tell him replied the professor yet with a slight smile but if it will satisfy your scruples or ease your mind at all i may as well inform you that his majesty does know who you are the itself declared your name to him with shouts of she flushed a vivid red then grew very pale power if that be so then he must also be aware that i am his sworn enemy i she said and that in accordance with the principles i hold i cannot possibly remain under his roof therefore i trust sir you will have the kindness to provide me with a way of quick exit before my presence here becomes too publicly reported the professor was slightly he considered for a moment then rapidly made up his mind madame i will do so he said that is if you will permit me first of all to announce your intention of leaving the palace to the king pardon me for suggesting that his majesty can hardly regard as an enemy a lady who has saved his life at the risk of her own i did not save it because he is the king she said and you are at liberty to tell him so please make haste to inform him at once of my desire to leave the palace and say also that if he considers he owes me any gratitude he will show it by not me the professor bowed and retired left alone sat down for a moment in one of the chairs and pressed her left hand hard over her eyes to try and still their throbbing ache her right arm was bound up and useless and the pain from the wound in her shoulder caused her acute agony but she had a will of iron and she had trained her mental forces to control if not entirely to master her physical weaknesses she thought not of her own suffering but of the exciting incident in which mere impulse had led her to take so marked a share it was by pure accident that she had joined the crowd assembled to see the king lay the foundation stone of the proposed new theatre she had been as it were entangled in the press of the people and had got pushed towards the centre of the scene almost against her own and while she had stood a passive and unwilling spectator of the her attention had been singularly attracted towards the uneasy and restless movements of the youth who had afterwards attempted the of the monarch she had watched him narrowly though she could not have explained why she did so even to herself he was a complete stranger to her and yet with her quick a woman	33
s reason she had discerned a curious expression of anxiety and fear in his face as though of the impending horror of a crime a look which because it was so strained and unnatural had aroused her suspicion when she had sprung forward to shield the king only one idea had inspired her and that idea she would not now fully own even to herself because it was so entirely weakly feminine nevertheless from woman s weakness has often sprung a hero s strength and so it had proved in this case she did not however allow herself to dwell on the instinctive impulse which had thrown her on the king s breast ready to receive her own death blow rather than that he should die she preferred to that question and to consider her action solely from the of those theories with which she was associated had i not the attempt the crime would have been set down to us and our brotherhood she said to herself or paul or i myself or even yes even he i might and doubtless would have been accused of it as it is i think i have saved the situation she rose and walked slowly up and down the room i wonder who is behind the wretched boy concerned in this business he is too young to have determined on such a deed himself unless he is mad he must be a tool in the hands of others here her long black cloak hanging across a chair she took it up and threw it round her her face was reflected back upon her from a mirror set in the wall round which a cluster of ivory and she looked at her white drawn features and the disordered masses of her hair these abundant locks she shook them down and gathered them into her one hand preparatory to twisting them into the usual knot at the back of her head the while she looked at the little set round the mirror with a compassionate smile such a number of loves where there is no real love she said half aloud when the opening of a door and the swaying movement of a curtain pushed aside startled her and still holding her rich hair up in her power hand she turned quickly to find herself face to face with the king there was an instant s dead silence dropping the silken gold weight of her to fall as they would regardless of conventional appearances she stood erect making all unconsciously to herself a picture of and tragedy her plain black garments the long cloak her slight form and the glorious of her hair rippling loosely about her pale face in which her eyes shone like blue flowers made luminous by the sunlight of the inspired soul behind them all gave her an almost supernatural air and ma de her seem as wholly unlike any other woman as a strange leaf from an country is unlike the foliage common to one s native land the king looked upon her she meeting his gaze with equal felt her heart beating violently though as she well knew it was not with fear she had no thought of court etiquette nor had she any reason to consider it his majesty having himself deliberately upon its rules by visiting her thus alone and she offered no reverence no salutation she simply stood before him quite silent awaiting his pleasure though in her eyes there shone a dangerous brilliancy that was almost feverish and nervous shook her from head to foot the strange dumb spell between them relaxed at last with a kind of effort which expressed itself in the extra and of his fine features the king spoke madame i have come to thank you your noble act of heroism this afternoon has saved my life i do not say it is worth saving but the nation appears to think it is and in the name of the nation whose servant i am i offer you my personal gratitude and service he bowed low as he said these words gravely and courteously her eyes still searched his face wistfully with the eager plaintive expression of a child looking for some precious treasure it has lost she strove to calm her throbbing to quiet the hurrying blood in her veins to brace herself up to her usual height of composure and self control a woman s reason i need no thanks she answered briefly i have only done my duty nay madame is it quite consistent with your duty to shield from death one so hated by your and followers he asked with a tinge of melancholy in his accents you as the famous should have helped to kill not to save she regarded him you mistake she said as king you should learn to know your subjects better we are not we do not seek your life we seek to make you understand the need there is of honesty and justice we live our lives among the poor and we see those poor crushed down into the dust by the rich without hope and without help and we endeavour to rouse them to a sense of this wrong so that they may by obtain right we do not want the death of any man even to a traitor we give warning and time ere we punish his treachery the unhappy wretch who attempted your life to day was not of our party or our teaching thank god i am sure of that he said very gently his face brightening with a kind smile then seeing her as though about to fall he caught her on one arm you are faint you must not stand	33
too long i fear you are suffering from the pain of that cruel wound inflicted on you for my sake a little she managed to say with white lips but it is nothing it will soon pass she sank helplessly into the chair he placed for her and watched him as he walked to the window and threw it open admitting the sweet fresh sea scented air and a flood of crimson radiance from the setting sun i am informed that you wish to quit the palace at once he said his gaze from hers for a moment need i say how much i regret this decision of yours both i and the queen had hoped you would have remained with us under the care of our own physician till you were quite recovered but i owe you too great a debt already to make any further claim upon you and i will not command you to stay if you desire to go power she lifted her head the faint colour was returning to her cheeks i thank you she said simply i do indeed desire to go every moment spent here is a moment wasted you think so and turning from the window where he stood he confronted her again may i venture to suggest that you hardly do justice to me or to the situation you have placed me under very great obligations surely you should endure my company long enough to tell me at least how i can in some measure show my personal recognition of your brave and action she looked at him in musing silence a strange glow came into her eyes a deeper crimson flushed her cheek you can do nothing for me she said after a long pause you are a king i a poor i would not be indebted to you for all the world i am of my common estate than you are of your what are royal rewards jewels money place title all to me if you would serve anyone serve the people do something to deserve their trust if you would show me any personal recognition as you say for saving your life make that life more noble he heard her without offence holding himself mute and motionless she rose from her seat and approached him more closely perhaps after all it is well that i was unconsciously and against my own brought here she said perhaps it is god s will that i should speak with you for as a rule none of your unknown subjects can or may speak with you you are so much hemmed in and round with slaves and in so far as this goes you are to be pitied though it rests with you to shake yourself free from the toils of vulgar your tell you nothing they are careful to keep you shut out of your own kingdom j to hide from you things that are true things that you ought to know they fool you with false assurances of national tranquillity and content they persuade you to play like an over grown child with the toys of luxury they lead you a mere round and round in the a woman s reason routine of a foolish and society when you might be a man up and doing man s work that should help you to and the whole country i i speak boldly yes because i do not fear you because i have no to gain from you because to me you the king are nothing her voice perfectly tranquil even and coldly sweet had not a single of uncertainty or hesitation in it and her words seemed to cut through the stillness of the room with clean like the sweep of a sword blade outside the sea murmured and the leaves the sun had sunk leaving behind it a bright twilight sky with pink clouds like scattered rose he looked straight at her his clear dark g ey eyes were filled with the glowing fire of strongly suppressed feeling some hasty sprang to his lips but lie checked it and pacing once or twice up and down suddenly wheeled round and again confronted her if as a king i fall so far short of and am nothing to you he said deliberately why did you shield me from the s dagger a while ago why not have let me perish she shook back her gold hair and regarded him almost i did not save you because you are the king she replied be assured of that he was vaguely astonished merely a humane sentiment then he said just as you would have saved a dog from drowning a little smile crept reluctantly round the corners of her mouth there was another reason she began in a low tone then paused but only a woman s reason something in her changing colour some delicate touch of tenderness and pathos which softened tier features and made them almost ethereal sent a curious thrill through his blood a woman s reason he echoed may i not hear it again she hesitated then as if herself for her own she spoke out bravely power you may she said there is nothing to conceal nothing of which i am ashamed besides it is the true motive of the action which you are pleased to call heroic i saved your life simply because because you resemble in form and feature in look and manner the only man i love a curious silence followed her words the faint far whispering of the leaves on the trees outside seemed al j most loud in such a stillness the placid murmur of the sea	33
against the cliff below the palace be came well nigh suggestive of storm was suddenly conscious of an odd strained sense of terror she had spoken as freely and frankly as she would have spoken to any one of her own associates and yet she felt that somehow she had been over impulsive and that in a thoughtless moment she had let slip some secret which placed her weak and helpless in the king s power the king himself stood immovable as a figure of bronze his eyes resting upon her with a deep of purpose as though he sought to some further confession from her soul the between them was painful almost intolerable and though it lasted but a minute that minute seemed with the of years forcing herself to break the dumb spell went on hurriedly and half desperately you may smile at this she said men always jest with a woman s heart a woman s folly but folly or no i will not have you draw any false conclusions concerning me or flatter yourself that it was loyalty to you or honour for your position that made me your living shield to day no for if you were not the exact of him who is dearer to me than all the world beside i think i should have let you die i think so i do not know because after all you are not like him in mind or heart it is only your outward bearing your physical features that resemble his but even so i could not have looked idly on and seen his merest resemblance slain now you understand it is not for you as king that i have turned aside a murderer s weapon but solely because you have the face the eyes the smile of one who is a thousand times greater and nobler than you who though poor and is a true king in the a woman s reason grace and thought and of his actions who all unlike you personally to the wants of the poor instead of them and who and does his best to remedy the many wrongs which the people of this land her sweet voice thrilled with passion her cheeks glowed unconsciously she stretched out her hand with an eloquent gesture of pride and conviction the king s figure till now rigid and motionless stirred advancing a step he took that hand before she could withhold it and raised it to his lips madame i am twice honoured he said in accents that shook ever so slightly to resemble a good man even outwardly is something to wear in any degree the of one whom a brave and true woman honours by her love is still more you have made me very much your here he gently the hand he had kissed but believe me i shall endeavour most faithfully to meet the claim you have upon my gratitude here he paused and drawing back bowed courteously the way for your departure is clear he continued i have ordered a carriage to be in waiting at one of the private to the palace professor von my physician who has just attended you will escort you to it you will pass out quite unnoticed and be as you desire it again at full liberty let the memory of the king whose life you saved trouble you no more except when you look upon his better as then perchance you may think more kindly of him for he has to suffer not so much for his own faults as for the faults of a system by his ancestors her intense eyes glowed with a fire of enthusiasm as she lifted them to his face would be a grand system she said if kings were true and would be the best and noblest form of government in the world if could be found who were intellectual and honest at one and the same time he looked at her you think they are neither think i am nothing my opinions count for power nothing but history gives evidence and supplies proof of their a great king good as well as great would be the salvation of this present time of the world v still he kept his eyes upon her f go on he said there is something in your mind which you would fain express to me more openly you have eloquent features madame and your looks are the candid mirror of your thoughts speak i beg of you the light of a daring inward hope flashed in her face and inspired her very attitude as she stood before him entirely regardless of herself then since you give me leave i will speak i she said for perhaps i shall never see you again never have the chance to ask you as a man whom the mere accident of birth has made a king to have more thought more pity more for your subjects surely you should be their guardian their father their protector surely you should not leave them to become the prey of or some say you are yourself involved in the cruel schemes which are slowly but steadily this country s people of their trades the lawful means of their and that you approve in the main of the private which place our chief and lines of traffic in the hands of foreign rivals but i do not believe this we and by we i mean the party try hard not to believe this i admit to you as faithfully as if i stood on my trial before you that much of the work to which we as a party have pledged ourselves consists	33
in moving the destruction of the and the formation of a republic but why only because the proved itself indifferent to the needs of the people and deaf to their against injustice thus we have conceived it likely that a republic might help to mend matters if it were in power for at least some twenty or thirty years but at the same time we know well enough that if a king ruled over us who was indeed a king who would refuse to be the tool of party and who could not be moved this way or that by the of the people a woman s reason would have far more chance of equality and right under a republic even only we cannot find that no country can you for instance are no hero you will not think for yourself though you might you only interest yourself in affairs that may to your personal and private credit or in those which affect society the most portion of the community and you have shown so little individuality in yourself or your actions that your unexpected refusal to crown lands to the was scarcely believed in or accepted otherwise than as a caprice till your own official announcement even now we can scarcely be brought to look upon it except as an impulse inspired by fear we do you no doubt a grave injustice i for one honestly believe that you have refused these lands to the priest out of earnest consideration for the future peace and welfare of your subjects nay why believe even thus much of me he interrupted with a grave smile may you not be by that resemblance i bear to one who is in your eyes so much my superior a faint expression of offence darkened her face and her brows contracted you are pleased to jest she said coldly as i said before it is man s only way of turning aside or concluding all argument with a woman i am mistaken perhaps in the instinct which has led me to speak to you as openly as i have done and yet i know in my heart i can do you no harm by telling you the truth as others would never tell it to you many times within this last two months the people have sent in to you against the heavy taxes with which your government is them and they can get no answer to their desperate appeals is it is it worthy of your post as head of this realm to turn a deaf ear to the cries of those whose hard earned money keeps you on the throne in luxury guarded from every possible evil and happily ignorant of the pangs of want and hunger how can you if you have a heart permit such an act on the part of your government as the setting of a tax on bread the all in all of life to the very poor have you ever seen young children crying for bread i have power have you ever seen strong men reduced to the shame of stealing bread to feed their wives and i have i think of it as i stand here surrounded by the luxury which is your daily lot and knowing what i know i would strip these satin draped walls and sell everything of value around me if i possessed it rather than know that one woman or child starved within the city s your ministers tell you there is a deficiency in the hut you do not ask why or how the deficiency arose you do not ask whether ministers themselves have not been and with the country s money i for if there be it has arisen out of the government s the government have had the people s money and have thrown it away therefore they have no right to ask for more to supply what they themselves have wasted no right i say i no right to rob them of another if i w ere a man and a king like you i would voluntarily resign more than half my annual income to help that in die national till it had been replaced i would live poor and be content to know that by my act i had won far more than many millions a and beloved name of honour with my people she paused he said not a word suddenly she became conscious that her hair was and falling loosely about her she had almost forgotten this till now a wave of colour swept over her face but she mastered her embarrassment and gathering the long together in her left hand twisted them up slowly and with an evident painful effort the king watched her a little smile hovering about his if i might help you he said softly but that is a task for my resemblance she appeared not to hear him a sudden determination moved her and she uttered her thought boldly and at all if you do not as the public report approve of the financial schemes out of which your ministers make their fortunes to the utter ruin of the people in general she said slowly dismiss from office so may you perchance a great national disaster f a woman s reason he permitted himself to smile madame you may ask much and however great your demands i will do my utmost to meet and with them but like all your charming sex you forget that a king can seldom or never interfere with a political situation it would be very unwise policy on my part to dismiss m seeing that he is already as the next the next echoed tlie words with a passionate scorn if that is so i give you an honest warning the people will	33
revolt no force can hold them back or keep them in check and if you should command your to fire on the there must be and crime on your head be the result oh are you not can you not be something higher than even a king an honest man will you not open the eyes of your mind to see the wickedness falsehood and treachery of this vile minister who ministers only to his own ends who in order to more easily corrupt others who the defence of states merely to hide the he is making on home power nay if you will not you are not worth a b s blessing and i shall to myself why god made of you so exact a copy of one whom i know to be a good man her breath came and went quickly her cheeks were flushed and great tears stood in her eyes but he seemed altogether unmoved r faith i shall wonder too he said very good men are scarce and to be the copy of one is excellent though it may in some cases be madame i have heard you with patience and if you will permit me to say so admiration i honour your courage your frankness and still more your absolute independence you speak of wrongs to the people if such wrongs indeed exist if interrupted with a whole world of meaning in the expression i say if they indeed exist i will as far as i may endeavour to remedy them i personally have no hesitation in declaring to you that i am not involved in the financial schemes to which you allude though i know power two or three of my fellow sovereigns who are but i do not care sufficiently for money to indulge in speculation nevertheless let me tell you speculation is good and even necessary in matters affecting national and i am confident here he smiled that the country s honour is safe in the hands of m at this she lifted her head proudly and looked at him with eyes that expressed so magnificent a disdain that had he been any other than the man he was he might have beneath the lightning flash of such utter contempt you are confident that the country s honour is safe she repeated bitterly i am confident that it is betrayed and and history will set a curse against the king who helped in its he regarded her with a vague lingering gentleness you are harsh madame he said softly but you could not offend me if you tried i i quarrel with none of your sex and you will i hope think better of me some day and not be sorry as perhaps you are now for having saved a life so worthless farewell she offered no response the silken and swayed the door opened and shut again quietly he was gone left alone dropped wearily on the sofa and burying her head in the soft cushions gave way to an outburst of tears and sobbed like a tired and exhausted child in this condition professor von entering presently found her but his sympathy if he felt any was outwardly very chill and formal another dose of his cordial a careful examination and of the wounded shoulder these up the whole of his consolation and his precise cold manner did much to restore her to her self possession she thanked him in a few words for his professional attention without raising her eyes to his face and quietly followed him down a long narrow passage which terminated in a small private door giving to the royal and here a hired close carriage was waiting putting her carefully into this vehicle the professor then delivered himself of his last instructions the driver has no orders beyond the madame he explained his majesty begged me to say that he k a woman s reason has no desire to seem inquisitive as to your place of residence you will therefore please inform the coachman yourself as to where you wish to be driven and take care of that so much wounded shoulder he added into a kinder and less formal tone it will pain you but there will be no not now i have treated it and it will heal quickly that i will i who have had first care of it she thanked him again in a low voice there was an uncomfortable lump in her throat and tears still trembled on her lashes remember well said the professor cheerily how very grateful we are to you what we shall do for you some day we do not yet know a monument in the public square or a bust in the cathedral ha ha you have the blessing of the nation with you she shook her head she tried to smile but she could not trust herself to speak the carriage rolled swiftly down the broad avenue and soon disappeared and the professor having watched the last flash of its wheels vanish between the trees executed a slow and somewhat solemn pas on the where it had left him so he exclaimed almost audibly the king s comedy but it had nearly taken the form of tragedy to day and now tragedy itself has melted into sentiment and tears and passion and with this very difficult kind of human mixture the worst may happen he re entered the palace and returned with some haste to the apartments of the king whither he had been but on arriving there he was met by an attendant in the room who informed him that his majesty had retired to his private library and desired to be left alone chapter xxv l say the state	33
prison was a gloomy fortress built on a of rock that far out into the ocean it stood full to the north and had opposed its massive walls and huge to every sort of storm for many centuries it was a of days when torture no less than death was the daily practice of the law and when persons were punished as cruelly for light as for the greatest crimes it was completely with and passages which led to the sea and in one of the darkest and deepest of these the wretched youth who had attempted the life of the king was placed under the charge of two armed who marched up and down outside the heavily barred door keeping close watch and guard neither they nor anyone else had exchanged a word with the prisoner since his arrest he had given them no trouble he had been carefully searched but nothing of an nature had been found upon him nothing to point to any possible of his crime he had entered the allotted to him with almost a cheerful air he had muttered half thanks for the bread and water which had been passed to him through the grating and he had seated himself upon the cold bench out of the stone wall with a resignation that might have easily passed for pleasure as the time wore on however and the reality of his position began to press more upon his senses the heard him sigh deeply and move and once he gave a cry like that of a wounded animal exclaiming for thy sake lord christ for thy sake i strove for thy sake and in thy service thou wilt not leave me here to perish i rome i he had been brought to the prison immediately after his and the time had then been about four in the afternoon it was now night and all over the city the joy bells were out music from the cathedral towers to express the popular for the miraculous escape and safety of the king the echo of the which had been ringing ever since sunset was caught by the sea and thrown back again upon the air so that it partially drowned the melancholy of the prison bell which in its turn forth the dreary passing of the time for those to whom liberty had become the merest shadow of a dream as it struck nine a priest presented himself to the of the prison bearing a permit from general head of the police to visit and confess the prisoner he was led to the cell and admitted at once at the noise of a stranger s entrance the criminal raised himself from the sunken attitude into which he had fallen on his stone bench and watched by the light of the dim lamp set in the wall the approach of his tall gaunt black visitor with evident horror and fear when with the removal of the hat and thick which had helped to disguise that visitor s personality the features of were disclosed he sprang forward and threw himself on his knees mercy mercy he moaned have pity on me in the name of god looked down upon him with contempt as though he were some at his feet silence he said in a harsh whisper remember we are watched here get up why do you kneel to i have nothing to do with you beyond such office as the church and a cold smile darkened rather than lightened his features i am sent to administer spiritual consolation to you slowly the prisoner struggled up to a standing posture and pressing both hands to his head he stared wildly before him spiritual consolation he spiritual a faint dull smile over his face and he shuddered i understand you come to prepare my soul for heaven power gave him a sinister look that depends on yourself he replied the church can speed you either way to heaven cr hell the prisoner s hands clenched involuntarily with a gesture of despair i know that he said sullenly the church can save or kill what of it i am now beyond even the power of the church seated himself on the stone bench come here he said sit down beside me the prisoner obeyed look at this and he drew an and silver from his breast fix your eyes upon it and try my son here he raised his voice a little try to conquer your thoughts of things and lift them to the things which are eternal for things do quickly vanish and but things eternal shall endure for ever humble your soul before gk d and him with me to the dark stain of sin upon your soul here he began a latin prayer and while engaged in this he caught the prisoner s hand in a close grip act act with me he said firmly fool play a part as i do bend your head close to mine assume shame and sorrow even if you cannot feel it and listen to me well you have failed i know it the reply came thick and low why did you make the attempt at all who persuaded you the wretched youth lifted his head and showed a wild white face in which the piteous eyes starting from their looked blind with terror who persuaded me he replied mechanically no one no single one but many him firmly by the wrist you lie he how dare you utter such a who were you what were you a miserable picked up from the streets and saved from and sheltered in our college taught and trained and given paid employment by us i rome i what have you to say of persuasion you	33
who owe your very life to us and to our charity roused by this attack the prisoner his hand away from the priest s cruel grasp sprang upright wait wait he said you do not understand you forget all my life i have been under one great influence all my life i have been taught to dream one great dream when i talk of persuasion i only mean the persuasion of that force which has surrounded me as closely as the air i breathe that spirit which is bound to enter into all who work for you or with you oh no neither you nor any member of your order ever seek openly to persuade any man to any act whether good or evil your rule is much wiser than that much more subtle you issue na actual commands your power comes chiefly by suggestion and you working for you i have thought day and night night and day of the glory of rome the dominion of rome the triumph of rome i have learned under you to wish for it to pray for it to desire it more than my own life do you can you blame me for that you dare not call it a sin for your order represents it as a virtue that all sin was silent watching him with a kind of curious contempt it grew to be part of me this dream went on the lad his eyes now shining with a feverish brilliancy and i began to see wonderful visions and to hear voices calling me in the voices that no one else heard once in the college chapel i saw the blessed virgin s picture smile i was documents for the then and i thought of the holy father how he was imprisoned in rome when he should be emperor of all the king of all the kings i remembered how it was that he had no power though all the powers of the earth should be to him and my heart beat almost to bursting and my brain seemed n fire but the blessed virgin s picture still smiled j and i knelt down before it and swore that i even would help to give the whole world back to rome even f for it y he caught his breath with a kind of sob and looked power appeal at who the he held sat and then and then he went on i heard enough while at work the with you and the to strengthen and fire my i learned that all kings are in these days the enemies of the church i learned that they were all united in one resolve and that to deprive the holy father of power then i set myself to study kings each and all of those who sit on to day passed before my view all selfish money seeking men not one good true soul among them they seemed to me bent on god s rome of his sacred and supreme it made me mad and i would have killed all kings could i have done so with a single thought then came a day when you preached openly in the cathedral against this one king who should by right have gone to his account this very afternoon you tom the people how he had refused lands to the church and how by this wicked act he had stopped the progress of religious education and had put himself as it were in the way of christ who said little to come unto me and my dreams of the glory of rome again took shape i saw in my mind all the children the poor little children of the world gathered to the knee of the holy father and brought up to obey him and him only i remembered my oath before the blessed virgin s picture and all my soul cried out death to the crowned tyrant death for you said and i believed it that all who opposed the holy father s will were opposed to the will of god and over and over again i said in my heart death to the tyrant death and the words went with me like the response of a till till i saw him before me to day a fool surrounded by women a liar and then he paused smiling foolishly and shaking his head with a slow movement to and fro he added the dagger should have struck home it was aimed surely aimed strongly i but that woman came between why did she come they said she was ha ha the t the f but that could not be is as great an enemy of kings as am i say rome and an enemy of the church as well said harshly between the church and all stand on a earth devoured by fire but make no mistake about it the woman was and as she may be she has saved the life of the king this is so far fortunate for you and it is much to be hoped that she herself is not slain by your dagger thrust death is far too easy and light a punishment for her and her associates we trust it may please a merciful god to visit her with more lingering calamity as he said this he kissed the he held keeping his shallow dark eyes fixed on the prisoner with the expression of a cat watching a mouse the youth absorbed in the ideas of his own still smiled to himself vaguely and nervously plucked at	33
his fingers till growing impatient and forgetting for the moment that they stood in a prison cell the interior of which might possibly be seen and watched from many points of observation unknown to them went up to him and shook him roughly by the arm attention he said angrily rouse yourself and hear me you talk like a fool or a madman yet you are neither neither you understand neither nor suddenly so when on your trial do not to be what you are not such ideas as you have expressed though they may have their foundation in a desire for good are evil in their results yet even out of evil good may come the power of rome the glory of rome the dominion of rome rome supreme mistress of the world would you help the church to win this great victory then now is your chance god has given you you his poor instrument the means to effectually aid his conquest to him be all the praise and it rests with you to accept his message and perform his work the high flown intensity with which he pronounced these words had the desired effect on the stunned and bewildered weak mind of the unfortunate lad so addressed his eyes sparkled his cheeks flushed and he looked eagerly up into the face of his power yes yes he said quickly in a breathless whisper but how tell me how i will work oh i will work for rome for god for the blessed virgin i will do all that i can but how how will the holy father send an angel to take me out of this prison so that i may be free to help god surveyed him with a kind of grim derision a slight noise like the slipping back or slipping to of a grating startled him and he looked about him on all sides moved by a sudden nervous apprehension but the massive walls of the cell with damp and had apparently no or outlet anywhere not even a in the for the admission of daylight satisfied with his hasty examination he took his victim by the arm and led him back to the rough stone bench where they had first begun to converse kneel down here before me he said kneel as if you were repeating all the sins of your life to me in your last confession kneel i say feebly and with trembling limbs the lad obeyed now continued holding up the before him try to follow my words and understand them to morrow or the next day you will be taken before a judge and tried for your attempted crime do you that i do the answer came hesitatingly and with a faint moan have you thought what you intend to say when you are asked your reasons for attacking the king do you mean to tell judge and jury the story of what you call your persuasion to dream of the dominion of rome yes yes replied the lad looking up with an eager light on his face yes i will tell them all just as i have told you then they will know they will see that it was a good thought of mine it would have been a good sin i will speak to them of the wicked wrongs done to you and your holy order of the cruelty which the christian in rome has to at the hands of kings and they will acknowledge me to be right and just they will know i am as a man inspired by god to work for the church the bride of christ and to make her queen of all the world i say rome i he stopped suddenly by the cruel glare of the eyes above him you will say nothing of all this and shook the in his face as though it were a threatening weapon you will say only what choose only what command and if you do not swear to speak as i tell you i will kill you here and now with my own hands uttering a half smothered cry the wretched youth in terror you will kill me you you he gasped no no you could not do that you could not you are a holy man i i am not afraid that you will hurt me i have done nothing to offend you i have always been obedient to you i have been your slave your dog to fetch and carry and you should remember yes you should remember that my mother was rich and that because she too felt the call of god she gave all her money to the church and left me thrown upon the streets to starve but the church rescued me the church did not forget and i am ready to serve the church in all and every possible way i have done my best even now he spoke with all the passionate self persuasion of a and judged it wisest to control his own fierce inward impatience and deal with him more that is true enough he said in accents you are ready to serve the church i do not doubt it but you do not serve it in the right way no earthly good is gained to us by the killing of kings their and obedience is what we seek this king you would have slain is a son of the church but beyond attending mass regularly in his private chapel which he does for the mere sake of appearances he is an condemned to the fires of hell nevertheless no advantage	33
to us could possibly be obtained by his death much can be done for us by you yes you and much will depend on the answers to the questions asked you at your trial give those answers as shall bid you and you will win a triumph for the cause of rome the prisoner s eyes glittered c i power delirium of he caught the lean cold hand that held the and kissed it fervently command me he muttered command and in the name of the blessed virgin i will obey hear then and attend closely to my words went on his sentences in a low distinct voice when you are brought before the judge you will be accused of an attempt to the king make no denial of it admit it at once and express you will then be asked if any person or persons you to commit the crime to this say say yes repeated the lad but that will not be truer fool does it matter ejaculated almost savagely have you not sworn to speak as i command you what is it to you whether it is true or false a slight shiver passed through the prisoner s limbs but he was silent say went on his pitiless that you were and persuaded to commit the wicked deed by the of the and his followers say that the woman knew of your intention and saved the life of the king at the last moment through fear lest her own schemes should be discovered and herself punished say that because you were young and weak and she chose you out to attempt the do you hear i hear the reply came thickly and almost but must i tell these lies i have never spoken to in my life nor to the woman i know nothing of them or their followers except by the public talk why should i harm the innocent let me td l the truth i pray of you let me speak as my heart i let me plead for the holy father for you for your order for the church he broke off as caught him by both hands in an angry grip do not dare to speak one word of the church he said or of us or of our order let not a single syllable escape your lips concerning your connection with and our society or we shall find means to make i say you regret it beware of betraying when you are re the court of law remember you know nothing of us our work or our creed utterly bewildered and die youth rocked himself to and fro clasping and his hands in a kind of nervous oh why will you bid me to do this he moaned you know there are times when i cannot he for myself how can i tell what i shall do when i am brought face to face with my when i see all the dreadful eyes of the people turned upon me how can i deny all knowledge of those who brought me up and and educated me if they ask me of my home is it not with you under your and charity if they seek to know my means of is it not you that i receive the work for which i am paid you would not have me all this would you i should he worse than a dog in sheer ingratitude if i did not bear open testimony to all the church has done for me be not worse than a dog but faithful as a dog in obedience responded and for once speak of the church with the indifference of an or with such marked coldness as a wise man speaks of the woman he secretly hold the church and us too sacred for any mention in a court of criminal law but serve the church by the and party think of the magnificent results which will spring from this act and nerve yourself to tell a lie in order to support a truth rising from his knees the prisoner stood upright by the of the dim lamp he looked pale and his limbs as though shaken by an fit what good will come of it he what good can come of it great and lasting good will come of it replied and it will come quickly too in this for by the accusation of undue influence on and his companions you will obtain government if not total of the party this is what we need the i go power are growing too strong too powerful in every country and we are on the brink of trouble through their accursed and there will soon be serious in the political possibly an overthrow of the government and a general election and if has the chance of advancing himself as a he will be elected above all others by an overpowering majority of the lower classes you can prevent this you can prevent it by a single falsehood which in this case will be more pleasing to god than a thousand mischievous will you do it yes or no the miserable lad looked helplessly around him his weak frame trembling as with and his uncertain fingers at each other with that involuntary movement of the muscles which a disordered brain will you or will you not in a whisper that through the close of the cell like the warning of a snake about to sting answer me suppose i say i will not stammered the poor wretch with trembling lips and appealing eyes suppose i say i will not accuse the innocent even for the sake of the church	33
then said slowly rising and moving towards him you had best accept the only alternative this and he took from his breast pocket a small full of clear and showed it to him take it and so make a quick and quiet end for if you betray you connection with us by so much as a look a sign or a syllable your mode of exit from this world may be slower less decent and more painful the miserable boy wrung his hands in agony and such a cry of despair broke from his lips as might have moved anyone less cruelly made of spiritual than the determined servant of the religious order the dull harsh of the prison bell struck ten the priest had been an hour at the work of his penitent and his patience was well nigh exhausted swear you will attribute your intended i rome of the king to the influence of the he said with fierce or with this end all your difficulties to night f it is a gentle and you ought to thank me for it it is better than solitary imprisonment for life i will give you for taking it provided i see you swallow it before i go and i will declare to the church that i l f t you of your sins and clean half an hour after i leave you you will sleep and wake in heaven make your choice the last words had scarcely left his lips when the cell door was suddenly thrown open and a blaze of light poured in dazzled by the strong and sudden glare and still holding the of poison in his hand stumbled back against the half fainting form of the poor creature he had been as a dozen armed men silently entered the and ranged themselves in order six on one side and six on the other while in their midst one man advanced throwing back his dark military cloak as he came and displaying a mass of orders and on his brilliant uniform uttered a fierce oath the king he muttered under his breath the king ay the king and a glance of supreme scorn swept over him from head to foot as the monarch s clear dark grey eyes flashed with the glitter of cold steel in the of the which were carried by attendants behind him you stand convicted of the of with the conscience of a prisoner of state we have heard your y word and have obtained a bird s eye view of your policy so that if necessary we will ourselves bear witness against you for the present you will be detained in this fortress until our further pleasure for one moment appeared to be literally in every muscle by his excess of rage his features grew livid his eyes became almost blood red and his teeth met on his drawn in under lip in a smile of intense baffled again and by this king the crowned who had cast aside all former pre r and instead of amusing himself with card playing and after the accepted fashion of most modem sovereigns had presumed to interfere not only with the but with the government and now as it seemed had acted as a spy on the very secrets of a prison confession the utter impossibility of escaping from the net into which his own words had betrayed him stood plainly before his mind and him with impotent fury till all suddenly a thought crossed his brain like a flash of fire and with a strong effort he recovered his self possession crossing his arms meekly on his breast he bowed with a silent and profound affectation of humility as one who is bent under the royal displeasure yet resigned to the royal command then w ith a rapid movement he lifted the poison he had held concealed to his lips his action was at once perceived two or three of the armed guards threw themselves upon him and after a brief struggle the from his hand but not till he had succeeded in its contents breathing quickly yet smiling he stood upright and calm god s will and mine not your majesty s be done he said in half an hour or less mother church may add to her list of the name of who died rather than sacrifice the dignity of his calling to the tyranny of a king a slight passed over his features he staggered backward the king horror stricken signed to the prison standing by to support him he muttered a word of thanks as they caught him by both arms take me where i can die quietly he said to them it will soon be over i shall give you little trouble a cold weak trembling hand clasped his it was the hand of the king s wretched let me go with you he cried let me die with you you have been cruel to me but you could not have meant it you were once kind thrust him aside curse you he said thickly you are the cause you you are the cause of this damned mischief you god to think of it you devil s you cur i rome his voice failed him and he heavily against the sturdy form of one of the who held him his lips were with blood and foam shocked and appalled no less at his words than at the of his features the king drew near curse not a fellow mortal unhappy priest in thine own passage towards the final judgment he said in grave accents the blessing of this poor creature may help thee more	33
than even a king s free pardon and he extended his hand but with all the force of his now struggling and body beat it back and raised himself by an almost effort pardon who talks of pardon he cried with a strong voice i do not need it i do not seek i have worked for the church i die for the church for every one that says the king i say rome he drew himself stiffly upright his dark eyes glittered his face though deadly pale scarcely like the face of a dying man i say rome he repeated in a harsh whisper over all the world over all the of the world and in defiance of all kings rome he fell back not dead but insensible in the stupor which death and was quickly borne out of the cell and carried to the prison there to receive medical aid though that could only now avail to soothe the approaching agonies of dissolution the king stood mute and motionless lost in thought a heavy darkness brooding on his features how strange the impulse that had led him to be the and witness of this scene by merest chance he had learned that had applied for permission to confess the would be of his life the life which had saved and acting as he had lately accustomed himself to do on a sudden first idea or instinct he liad summoned general to escort him to the prison and make the way easy for him to watch and the interview between priest and penitent himself unobserved and from so slight an incident had sprung a tragedy which might have results as yet of i power and while he yet mused upon this general ventured respectfully to approach him and ask if it was now his pleasure to return to the palace he roused himself and with a heavy sigh looked round on the damp and dismal cell in which he stood and at the crouching fear stricken form of the semi and now violently weeping lad who had attempted his hfe take that poor wretch away from here he said in hushed tones give him light and warmth and food his evil desires spring from an brain i would have him dealt with guard him with all necessary and firm restraint but do not his body more than rome has his soul with that he turned away and his armed guard and attendants followed him that self same midnight a mass was sung in a certain chapel before a silent gathering of black stern men who prayed for the repose of the soul of our dear brother servant of god and martyr to the cause of truth and justice who departed this life suddenly in the performance of his sacred duties in the newspapers next day the death of this same martyr and shining light of the church was recorded with much paid for regret and press as due to heart failure and his body being claimed by the brotherhood it was buried with great pomp and solemn circumstance several of the catholic societies and following it to the grave one week after the funeral for no other cause whatever save the offence of openly his official refusal of a grant of crown lands to the the holy father the and in st peter s chair launched against the king who had dared to deny his wish and oppose his will the once terrible but now futile ban of and the royal son of the church who had honestly considered the good of his people more than the advancement of stood outside the sacred pale barred by a so called christian creed from the mercy of god and the hope of heaven chapter xxvi one way one woman for several days after the foregoing events the and of newspapers had more than enough copy to keep them busy the narrow escape of the king from followed by his from the church worked a curious effect on the minds of the who were somewhat bewildered and uncertain as to the possible of political meaning flowing beneath the of these two events and their feelings were by the announcement that the youth who had attempted the monarch s life being proved as suffering from hereditary brain disease had received a free pardon and was placed in a suitable home for the treatment of such cases under careful restraint and medical the tide of popular opinion was now divided into two ways for and against their sovereign ruler by far the larger half were against but the ban pronounced upon him by the pope had the effect of making even this portion inclined to consider him more seeing that the church s punishment had fallen upon him apparently because he had done his duty as a king by the earnest of thousands of his subjects david who had always made a point of flattering in all its forms now let his pen go with a complete passion of such as disgraced certain writers in great britain during the of the and vicious and seeing the continued success of the rival journal which the king had personally favoured he trimmed his sails to the court breeze and dropped the church party as though it had burned his fingers but he found various channels on which he had previously relied for information closed to power him he had written many times to the de to ask if the report of his having sent in his resignation was correct but he had received no answer he had called over and over again on hoping to obtain a few minutes conversation with him but had been denied an interview upon these changes	33
us alone that you saved the king at that instant turned his eyes which till now had been intent on watching to the other end of the table where the fine compact woman s head framed in its autumn gold hair was against the dark background of the wall behind her like a his gaze met hers and a vague look of fear and pain flashed over her face as a faint touch of colour her cheeks one way one woman i am not accustomed to repeat my words she answered coldly i have said my say looks were exchanged and there was a silence if we doubt we doubt the very spirit of ourselves said his rich voice thrilling with unwonted emotion and comrades all if you will hear me and believe me you may take my word for it she has run the risk of death for us and has saved us from false accusation and government interference to wrong by so much as a thought is to wrong the truest woman god ever made a wild shout answered him and moved by one impulse the whole body of men rose to their feet and drank to the health and honour of with many of them afterwards coming round to where she sat and kneeling to kiss her hand and ask her pardon for their momentary doubt of her in the excitement and enthusiasm of their souls but herself sat very silent almost as silent as who though he drank the toast remained moody and abstracted when the company dispersed that night each man present was carefully reminded by the secretary that unless the most serious illness or misfortune every one must attend the next meeting as it was the yearly day of fate was told that his two friends and must be with him and he willingly made himself for their attendance but said he as he gave the promise what is the day of fate pointed a thin finger delicately at his heart the day of fate he said is the day of punishment or decision of deaths the names of several persons who have been found guilty of treachery or who otherwise do injury to the people by the manner of their life and conduct are written down on slips of paper which are folded up and put in one together with two or three hundred they must be all men s names we never make war on women against some of these names a red cross is placed draws a name and finds the red cross against it is bound power to kill six months after due warning tlie man therein mentioned if he fortunately draws a blank then he is free for a year at least in spite of the fatal sign from the unpleasant duty of a fellow mortal to the next world and here smiled quite cheerfully but if he draws a name and at the same time sees the red cross against it then he is bound by his oath to us to do his duty nodded and appeared in no wise dismayed at the ominous suggestion implied how if our friend were to draw the fatal sign he said would he perform his allotted task think you most thoroughly replied still smiling and with that they separated meanwhile during the constant change and of conflicting some of which appeared to have foundation in fact and others which rapidly dispersed as fiction there could be no doubt whatever of the growing of the government in power little by little drop by drop there out the secrets of the policy which was merely another name for self little by little certain facts were at first whispered and then more talked about as to the nature of his financial speculations and it was soon openly stated that in the formation of some of the larger companies which were beginning to be run on the lines of the american trust idea he had enormous shares though these had been frequently as a means of the country and certain trade interests which he was in office to protect began to be thrown out against him in the which he off with the cool and audacious skill of an expert knowing that for the immediate moment at least he had a majority under his thumb this majority was composed of persons who had unfortunately become involved in his toils and were therefore naturally afraid of him yet it was evident even to a superficial student of events that if once the against his as a could be proved this sense of among his would be removed and one way one woman like the set against a house their with would result in the ruin of the building it was pretty well known that the de had sent in his resignation but it was not at all certain whether the king was of a mind to accept it things were in political and social matters whirled towards chaos and confusion and the numerous hurried cabinet that were some among the governing heads of the state from each and all of these meetings ministers came away more ny and in manner some shook their heads sorrowfully and spoke of the king s folly others with considerable indignation flung out sudden against the king s insolence and between the two it was not easy to measure exactly the nature of the conduct which had deserved them for the king himself made no alteration whatever in the outward character of his daily routine he business in the morning sometimes with his family sometimes with friends drove in the afternoon and showed himself at theatres once or twice in the evenings of the week the only change more observant persons began to notice in his conduct was that	33
he had drawn the line of very strongly between those persons who by rank and worth and nobility of life his attention and those who by mere push and pocket sought to win his favour by that flattery and which are the of the and quietly but firmly he dropped the acquaintance of jew lying in wait among the dirty pools of speculation with ease and he let go one by one certain ladies of particularly elastic virtue who fondly dreamed that they managed him and among these to her in rage and despair went madame wife of the a yellow haired d whose extravagance in clothes and reckless in conversation combined with the king s amused notice and the excellence of her husband s had for a brief period made her the rage among a certain set of exceedingly individuals in place of this kind of of riches and he began by degrees to fo around himself a totally different though me was careful to make his various changes slowly so that they should not be too freely noticed and commented upon great whether possessed of vast wealth and estates or altogether were summoned to take their positions at the court where the wine and the jew no more obtained men of science letters and learning were sought out and honoured in various ways their wives and daughters receiving special marks of the royal attention and favour and round the icy and beauty of the queen soon gathered a brilliant of the real world of women not the half world of the which having long held sway over the crown prince while heir apparent to the throne judged itself almost as a necessary and even becoming to his larger responsibility and state as king these excellent changes and to the social atmosphere generally could not of course be effected without considerable trouble and heart burning in the directions where certain persons had received their dismissal from such favour as they had previously held at court the dismissed ones with a desire for vengeance and took every opportunity to the passions of their own particular set against the king some of them openly declaring their readiness to side with the party and help it to power but over the of discontent the tide of fashion moved as usual to all outward appearances tranquil and absorbed in of the latest description and though many talked few dreamed that the mind of the country growing more compressed in thought and in nature every day was rapidly becoming like a huge magazine of or which at a spark would into that fire of called revolution with many thoughts sir de whose and easy temperament him for argument and kept him aloof from discussion whenever he could avoid it sat alone one evening in his own room which the king s library writing a few special letters for majesty which were of too friendly one way one woman a nature to be dealt with in the official manner of the private secretary once or twice he had risen and drawn aside the dividing curtain between himself and the king s apartment to see if his royal master had entered but the room remained empty though it was long past eleven at night he looked every now and again at a small clock which with a quick cheerfulness on his desk then with a slight sigh resumed his work letter after letter was written and sealed and he was getting to the end of his correspondence when a tap at the door disturbed him and his sister the queen s lady in waiting entered is tjie king within she asked softly moving almost on as she came sir shook his head he has been absent for some time he replied after a pause but what are you here for this is not your department and he took her hand kindly noticing with some concern that there were tears in her large dark eyes is anything wrong nothing that is nothing that i have any right to imagine or to guess but and here she seemed a little confused i am commanded by the queen to summon you to her presence if if the king has not returned he rose at once looking perplexed watched him anxiously and the expression of his face did not tend to her she began timidly would you not tell me might i not know something of this mystery might i not be trusted his languid eyes flashed with a sudden tenderness as from his great and stately height he looked down upon her pretty shrinking figure poor little he murmured what is the matter what mystery are you talking about you know you must know answered clasping her hands with a gesture of entreaty there is something wrong i am sure why is the king so often absent when all the household suppose him to be with the queen or in his private library there and she pointed to the off royal beyond power why does the queen herself give it out that he is with her when he is not why does he enter the queen s corridor sometimes quite late at night by the private stair does it not seem very strange and since he was so nearly his have been more frequent than ever sir pulled his long fair moustache between his fingers when you were a little girl you must have been told the story of blue beard he said now take my advice and do not try to open forbidden doors with your tiny golden key of curiosity s cheeks flushed a pretty rose pink i am not curious she said with an air of and indeed i am far too loyal to say anything to anyone but to you of what seems so new and strange	33
besides the queen has forbidden me only it is just because of the queen here she stopped hesitatingly because of the queen echoed sir why she is unhappy said a smile somewhat bitter crossed de s face unhappy he repeated she you mistake her little girl she does not what it is to be unhappy nothing so weak and slight as poor humanity the shining of her soul for it is an the sun shines on it all day fierce and hot and never moves or one glittering he spoke with a concentrated passion of melancholy and trembled a little she knew as no one else did the intense and despairing love that had her brother s life ever since the queen had been brought home to the kingdom in all her exquisite maiden beauty as bride of the heir apparent such love terrified her she did not understand it she knew it was hopeless she felt it was and yet it was love and her brother was one of the truest and noblest of gentlemen devoted to the king s service and incapable of a mean or a treacherous act the position was quite incomprehensible to her for she was not thoughtful enough to it and she had no experience of the tender passion to aid her in considering one way one woman its many moods sorrows and inexplicable of mind torture she contented herself now with repeating her former assertion she is unhappy i am sure she is you may call her an if you like i men have such odd names for the women they are unable to understand but i have seen the shed tears very often lately he looked at her surprised you have then we may expect the to weep in marble well what did you say that her majesty commanded my presence if the king had not returned nodded assent she was a little worried her brother s face k worn and pale and he seemed moved beyond himself she watched him nervously as he pushed aside the dividing curtain and looked into the adjoining room it was still vacant the window stood open and the line of the sea glittering in the moon shone far like a string of jewels while the perfume of and lilies came floating in on the cool satisfied that there was as yet no sign of his royal master he turned back and stooping his tall head kissed the charming girl whose anxious and timid looks betrayed her inward anxiety i am ready he said cheerfully lead the way she glided quickly on before him along an inner passage leading to the queen s apartments arriving at one particular door she opened it noiselessly and with a warning finger laid on her lips went in softly sir following the light of rose shaded which were reflected a dozen times in the silver framed that rose up to the ceiling from banks of flowers below shed a fairy like radiance on the figure of the queen who seated at a reading table with one hand buried in the loosened waves of her hair seemed absorbed in the close study of a book a t white robe of thick satin flowed round her perfect form it was slightly open at the and softened with a drifting snow of lace in which one or two great jewels sparkled as sir approached her with his usual o power formal salute she turned swiftly round with an air of scarcely concealed impatience where is the king she demanded startled at the sudden manner of her question sir hesitated for the moment taken quite did i not tell you she went on in the same imperious tone that i made you responsible for his safety yet though you were by his side at the time you could not shield him from attempted that was left to a woman her breast heaved her eyes flashed glorious lightning she looked altogether transformed had a thunder bolt fallen through the painted ceiling at sir s feet he could scarcely have been more astounded madam he stammered and then as the light of her eyes swept over him with a of scorn and passion such as he had never seen in them he grew deadly pale who and what is this woman she went on why was it given to her to save the king s life while you stood by why was she brought to the palace to be attended like some princess and then taken away secretly before i could see her is her name i know it by heart like twinkling stars the jewels in her lace with the quick panting of her breath the king is absent she continued as usual but why are you not with him also as usual answer me madam said de slowly for some few days past his majesty has absolutely forbidden me to attend him to carry out your commands i should be forced to his she looked at him in a suppressed passion of then is he alone she asked madam i regret to say he is quite alone she rose and paced once up and down the room a superb figure of mingled rage and pride and humiliation all her eyes lighted on who had withdrawn to a corner of the apartment where she stood apparently busied in arranging some one way one woman that had fallen too far out of the crystal in which they were set you can leave us she said suddenly i will speak to sir alone with a nervous glance at her brother who stood mute his head slightly bent himself immovable as a figure of stone and withdrew the queen stood erect her white robes trailing around	33
her her exquisite face into a far beauty than had ever been seen upon it by some pent up emotion which to sir was inexplicable his heart beat thickly he could almost hear its heavy and he kept his eyes lowered lest she should read too clearly in them the adoration of a lifetime sir speak plainly she said and speak the truth some little time ago you said it was wrong for me to shut out from my sight my heart my soul the ugly side of nature i have that fault i am looking at the ugly side of nature now in myself the rebellious side the passionate fierce betrayed side i trusted you with the safety of the king madam he is safe said sir quietly i can upon my life that he is with those who will defend him far more thoroughly than i could ever do it is better to have a hundred than one oh i know what you would imply she answered impatiently i understand thus far from what he himself has told me but there is something else something else something that far closer and more intimate danger to him she paused apparently uncertain how to go on and moving back to her chair sat down if you are the man i have imagined you to be she continued in deliberate accents you perfectly know you perfectly understand what i mean sir raised his head and looked her bravely in the eyes you would imply madam that one who like myself has been conscious of a great passion for many years should be able to recognise the signs of it in others your majesty is right once you expressed to me a o power wonder as to what it was like to feel if that experience has come to you now i cannot but rejoice even while i grieve to think that you must endure pain at the discovery yet it is only from the pierced earth that the flowers can bloom and it may be you will have more mercy for others when you yourself are wounded she was silent he drew a step nearer you wish me to speak plainly he continued in a lower tone you give me leave to express the lurking thought which is in your own heart she gave a slight inclination of her head and he went on you assume danger for the king but not danger from the knife of the or from the schemes of you judge him as i do to be in the grasp of the greatest force which exists in the universe the force against which there is and can be no opposition a force which if it once even a king makes of him a life prisoner and turns mere power to destroying and beating down the very church itself in the way of its desires and that force is love she started violently then controlled herself you waste your eloquence she said coldly what you speak of i do not understand i do not believe in love or jealousy the words sprang from his lips almost unconsciously and like a magnificent animal who has been suddenly stung she sprang upright how dare you she said in low accents how dare you sir s breath came quick and fast but he was a strong man with a strong will and he maintained his attitude of quiet resolution madam my queen forgive me he said but as your friend your faithful servant let me have my say with you now and then if you will condemn me to perpetual silence you despise love you say yes because you have only seen its poor i the king s light his sins one way one woman of body which in many cases are not sins of mind have disgusted you with its very name the king has loved or can love so you think many or any women ah no no pardon me dearest majesty a man s desire may lead him through ways both vile and vicious but a man s love leads only one way to one woman believe it for even so i have loved one woman these many years and even so i greatly fear the king loves one woman now rigid as a figure of marble she looked at him he met her eyes calmly your majesty asked me for the truth he said i have spoken it her lips parted in a cold strained little smile and you think she said slowly that i i am what you call jealous of this one woman had jealousy been in my nature it would have been provoked sufficiently often since my marriage madam responded sir humbly hi may dare to say so to your majesty it is not possible to a noble woman to be jealous of a man s mere of desire but of love love the crown the glory and of life who with a human heart and human blood would not be jealous who would not give ay heaven itself if it were not in itself heaven for its oblivion of sorrow and its full measure of joy a dead silence fell between them only disturbed by a small silver in the distance striking midnight the queen again seated herself and drew her book towards her then raising her lovely eyes she looked at the tall stately figure of the man before her with a slight touch of pity and pathos possibly you may be right she said slowly possibly wrong but i do not doubt that you yourself personally feel all that you express and that you are faithful	33
here she extended her hand sir bowed low over it and kissed its delicate with careful coldness as she withdrew it again she said in a low dreamy half questioning tone the woman s name is io power silently sir bent his head in assent a man s love leads only one way to one woman and in this particular case that woman is she said with a little musing scorn as of herself strange she laid her hand on the bell which at a touch would summon back her lady in waiting you have served me well sir somewhat roughly he gave a low exclamation of regret roughly madam a smile sudden and sweet which her usually features into an almost loveliness lit up her mouth and eyes yes roughly but no matter i pardon you freely good night good night to your majesty and as he stepped backward from her presence she rang for who at once entered our from the church sits lightly upon us sir does it not said the queen then almost you must know that we say our prayers as of old and we still believe god hears us surely madam he replied god must hear all prayers when they are pure and honest truly i think so she responded laying one hand tenderly on s hair as the girl knelt beside her and so despite lack of we shall continue to pray in these uncertain and dangerous times that all may be well for the country the people and the king good night again sir bowed and this time altogether withdrew he was strung up to a pitch of intense excitement the brief interview had been a most trying one for him though there was a warm glow at his heart assuring him that he had done well his suspicion that the king had admired and had sought out since the day she saved him from had a very strong foundation in fact much stronger indeed than was at present requisite to admit or to declare but the whole matter was a source of the greatest anxiety to de who in his strong love for his royal master found it often difficult to conceal his apprehension and who was in a large one way one woman measure relieved to feel that the queen had guessed something of it and shared in his sentiments he now re entered his room and on doing so at once perceived that the king had returned but his majesty was busy writing and did not raise his head from his papers even when sir noiselessly entered and laid some letters on the table his complete abstraction in his work was a sign that he did not wish to be disturbed or spoken to and sir taking the hint retired again in silence x chapter the song of freedom revolution the flame winged fury that down on a people like a sudden of god with the movement of a storm and the of a plague in one who shall say how or where the seed is sown that springs so swiftly to such thick harvest who can trace its and who can its end tragic and terrible as its work has always seemed to the miserable and headed human whose faults and follies whose and neglect of the highest interests of the people are chiefly to blame for the birth of this monster it is nevertheless divine law that when any part of god s universe house is deliberately made foul by the in it then must it be and revolution is the burning of the rubbish the huge in which old their destruction to an amazed and terror stricken world yet there have been moments or periods in history when the threatening could have been stayed and turned back from its course when the useless shedding of blood might have been when the fierce passions of the people might have been soothed and and when justice might have been nobly done and catastrophe averted if there had been but one brave man one only and that man a king but in nearly all the of nations kings have proved themselves the most and ineffectual of all the heads of the time ready and willing enough to sacrifice the lives of thousands of brave and devoted men to their own cause but never prepared to sacrifice themselves hence the cause of the triumph of over kings may not be more than but they should never be less they should not practise vices of which the very day whom they the song of freedom employ would be ashamed nor should they their love of and in the faces of their subjects as a royal example and lead to vulgar the the position the greater the responsibility and a monarch who voluntarily the social standard in his realm has lost more than could possibly be slain in his defence on the field of honour the king who plays his part as the hero of this narrative was now fully aware in his own mind and conscience of the thousands of opportunities he had missed and wasted on his way to the throne when heir apparent since the day of his real when as he had expressed it to his thoughts he had crowned himself with his own resolve he had studied men manners persons and events to deep and serious purpose he had learned much and discovered more he had been in a moral sense conquered by his son prince who had proved a match for him in his determined and honourable marriage for love and love only though born heir to all the and of a throne he in his day had lacked the courage and truth that this boy had	33
shown and now by certain means known best to himself he had an intricate of deception and among the governing heads of the state he had convinced himself in many ways of the and self service of and yet with all this information stored carefully up in his brain he to all appearances took no advantage of it and did nothing remarkable save the one act which had been so much talked about the refusal of land in his possession to the for a religious and political settlement this independent course of had resulted in his from the church of his against an intended war scarcely anything was known only the government were aware of the part he had taken in that matter the government and the money market but the time was now ripe for further movement and in the deep and almost passionate interest he had recently learned to take in the affairs of the actual people he was in no humour for hesitation i power he had out in his brain a certain plan of action and he was determined to go through with it the more so as now a new and close interest had itself with his life an emotion so deep and tender and overwhelming that he scarcely dared to own it to himself scarcely ventured to believe that he deprived of true love so long should now be truly loved for himself at last but on this he seldom allowed his mind to dwell except when quite alone in the deep of night when he gave his soul up to the secret sweetness which had begun to and his nature when he saw before him a face warm with the passion of a love so grand and unselfish that it drew near to a likeness of the divine a love that asked nothing and gave everything with the beneficent glory of the sunlight splendour on the earth his lonely moments which were few were all the time he devoted to this brooding luxury of meditation and though his heart beat like a boy s arid his eyes grew dim with tenderness as in fancy he dreamed of joy that might be and that yet still more surely might never be his his determined mind and bent to action never faltered for a second in the new he had formed of his duty to his people who as he now considered had been too long and too cruelly deceived hence something like an earthquake shock sent its tremor through the country when two things were suddenly announced without warning as the apparent results of the various cabinet held so often and in such haste the first was that not only had his majesty accepted the resignation of the de as but that he had decided provided the selection was entirely agreeable to the government to ask m to form a in his place the second piece of intelligence and one that was received with much more favour than the first by all classes and conditions of persons was that the government had issued a decree for the complete of the from the country by a certain named date and within a month every must have left the king s or else must take the risk of a s imprisonment followed by the song of freedom much uproar and discussion did this excite among the parties of europe much indignation did it breed within that holy of at the which having launched forth the ban of had no further left to throw at the head of the and abandoned whose power so the spiritual but the country breathed freely relieved from a dangerous and mischievous the authorities gave fervent thanks to heaven for them from long dreaded interference and when it was known that the king was the chief in this firm and act a silent wave of passionate gratitude and approval ran through the multitudes of the people who would almost have assembled under the palace walls and offered a grand demonstration to their monarch who had so boldly carried the war into the enemy s country and won the victory had they not been held back and checked from their purpose by the counter feeling of their disgust at his majesty s apparently choice of as prime minister swayed this way and that the people were divided more absolutely than before into those two sections which always become very dangerous when strongly marked out as distinctly separated the classes and the masses the comfortable of trade which calling itself the middle class had up to the present kept things firm now split asunder likewise the wealthy clinging to the classes to whom they did not belong and the men of moderate income throwing in their lot with the masses whose wrongs they felt somewhat resembled their own for had ground them down to that particularly fine powder which when applied to the rocks of and usage proves to be of a somewhat quality they had paid as much on their and their goods as they could or would pay more indeed than they had any reasonable right to pay and being sick of government and also of what they still regarded as the king s indifference to their needs they were prepared to make a dash for liberty power the of the they naturally looked upon as a suitable on rome for the of the royal family but beyond the intense relief it gave to all it could not be considered as affecting or materially the political situation so like the dividing waves of the red sea which rolled up on either side to permit the passage of moses and his followers the classes and the masses piled themselves up in opposite sections to allow and	33
the beautiful girl now asked sir suddenly the king has never mentioned her since the day we saw her and you have never explained the mystery of your acquaintance with her nor whether it is true that prince was specially attracted by her i suspect what that he has been sent off out of harm s way the song of freedom you are right said the professor gravely that is exactly the position he has been sent off out of harm s way i heard went on de that the girl or some girl of remarkable beauty had been seen here actually here in the palace before the prince left and such an odd way he left too off in his own without so far as i have ever heard any or preparation or suitable companions to go with him still one hears such extraordinary stories true one does agreed the professor and after proper experience one hears without listening de looked at him curiously the girl was certainly beautiful he proceeded and her adopted father was not that his name was a quaint old fellow a republican too fiery as a new well the king s curiosity is apparently satisfied on that score but here he began to laugh i shall never forget your face von when he caught you on the islands that day never like an overgrown boy discovered with his fingers in a jam pot thank you said the professor i can assure you that the jam was excellent and that i still remember its sir laughed again but with great good humour then he became suddenly serious the king goes out alone very often now he said very often assented the professor are we right in allowing him to do so allowing him who is to forbid him is he safe do you think safer it would seem my friend than when laying a foundation stone with ourselves and all his around him responded the professor besides it is too late now to count the possible risks of the adventure he has entered upon he knows the position and the cost at its correct value he has made himself the ruler of his own destiny we are only his servants personally i have no fear save of one and that is what many strong men off in their middle power age said von a disease for which there is no possible cure at that special time of life love the love of boys is like a taste for green it soon passes leaving a disordered stomach and a general for fruit ever afterwards the love of the man about town between the and is the love of self but the love of a man after the self and clothes period has passed is the love of the full grown creature for its mate its mate in soul even more than in body there is no it no checking it no it it is a most disastrous business of all manner of evils and to a king who has always been accustomed to have his own way it means victory or death sir gazed at him his tone was so solemn and full of earnest meaning you for example continued the professor fixing his keen piercing eyes full upon him you are a curious subject a very curious subject you live on a dream it is a good life an excellent life it has the advantage your dream of never becoming a reality therefore you will always love and while you always love you will always keep young your lot is an exceedingly one my friend you need not frown i am old enough and let us hope wise enough to guess your secret to admire it from a purely philosophic point of view and to respect it sir held his peace but continued the professor his majesty is not the manner of man who would consent to like you on an idle if he loves he must possess it is the way he will never succeed in the direction you mean said sir en never agreed von with a profound shake of his head strange as it may seem his case is quite as hopeless as yours the door opened and closed abruptly and there followed silence von looked up to find himself alone he smiled poor he murmured he lives the life of a martyr by choice some men do and like it they the song of freedom i need not do it there is not the least necessity in the world for their deliberately sticking a knife into their hearts and walking about with it in a kind of idiot rapture it must hurt but they seem to enjoy it just as some women become and themselves and then when they are from their own self inflicted they dream they are the of christ entirely forgetting the extremely fact that to have so many des the good christ himself might possibly be troubled and would surely occupy an inconvenient position even in heaven each man each woman makes for himself or herself a little or pet sorrow in which to trot round and round and life the secret of the whole being that he or she cannot have precisely the thing he or she wants that is all such a trifle church state prayer and power it can all be up in one line i have not the thing i want give it to me he resumed his writing and did not interrupt it again till it was time to join the royal party at the opera that evening was one destined to be long	33
remembered in the annals of the kingdom the beautiful a marvel of art and architecture was brilliantly full all the fairest women and most distinguished men occupying the boxes and while round and round in a seemingly never ending of faces and crowded in the of above a mixed audience had gathered made up of various sections of the which filled the space well up to the galleries the attraction that had drawn so large an audience together was not contained in the personality of either the king or queen for those exalted individuals had only announced their intention of being present just two hours before the curtain rose moreover when their entered the royal box accompanied by their two younger sons and and attended by their personal their appearance created very little sensation the fact that it was the first time the king had showed himself openly in public since his from the church caused perhaps a couple of hundred persons to raise their eyes towards him in a kind of half morbid half languid curiosity but in these days the sea power of self is so strong that it is only a of more thoughtful individuals that ever trouble themselves seriously to consider the or which their fellow mortals have to endure often alone and the interest of the public on this particular occasion was in the new opera which had only been given three times before and in which the little played the part of a child heroine the was the work of paul and the music by one of the greatest in the world louis the plot was slight enough yet described in exquisite verse and scattered throughout with the songs and dances it a considerably higher place in musical records than such works as s or s the thread on which the pearls of and harmony were strung was the story of a wandering who accompanied by his only child the part played by travels from city to city earning a scant by his own playing and his daughter s dancing chance or fate leads them to throw in their fortunes with a band of enthusiastic who headed by a young hare elected as their leader have determined to storm the and demand the person of the pope that they may convey him to america there to an assemblage of all true christians or new christians and found a new and more christ like church their expedition fails as naturally so wild a scheme would be bound to do but though they cannot succeed in the pope they secure a large following of the italian who join with them in singing the song of freedom which with paul s words and s music was the great d of the opera rousing the listeners to a pitch of something like frenzy in this the last great scene dancing the dagger dance is supposed to the people with that which moves them to sing the freedom chorus and the curtain comes down upon a brilliant stage crowded with and ready to fight and die for the glory of their country a love interest is given to th piece by the passion of the wandering hero for the song of freedom girl whose wealth places her above his reach and who in the end sacrifices all worldly advantage that she may share his uncertain fortunes for love s sake only such was the story which wedded to wild and passionate music had taken the public by storm on its first representation not only on account of its own merit but because it gave their new favourite many opportunities for showing off her exquisite grace as a she while preparing for the stage on this special night had been told that her wish was about to be granted that she would now at last really dance before the king and her heart beat high and the rich colour in her soft childish face as she her scarlet skirts with more than her usual care and knotted back her curls with a great glowing rose such as spanish b fasten behind tiny shell like ears to the perfection of their her thoughts flew to her kindest friend she remembered the diamond in the ring he had wished to give her and how he had said the first time you dance before the king this shall be yours where was he now she wondered she would have given anything to know his place of abode just to send him word that the king was to be at the opera that night and ask him too to come and see her in her triumph but she had no time to study ways and means for sending a message to him either through her father who always waited patiently for her behind the scenes or through paul who though as of the opera and as a poet of new and rising fame was treated by with the greatest deference still made a special point of appearing in the clothes and lounging near the side wings like a sort of disgraced tramp all the time the performance was in progress neither of them knew s address they only met him or saw him when he himself chose to come among them besides the sound of the national hymn played by the warned her that the king had arrived and that she must hold herself in readiness for her part and think of nothing else the blaze of light in the opera house seemed more dazzling than usual to the child when her cue was called power and as she sprang from the wings and bounded towards the amid the loud roar of applause which she was now accustomed to receive nightly she raised her eyes towards the royal box half frightened half expectant her heart sank as she saw that the	33
out by the usual doors and finding they did not come their rage and disgust by tearing up and everything within their reach then remembering in good time despite their excitement that the manager of the opera had done nothing to deserve injury to himself or his property they paused in this work of destruction and with the sudden caprice of children gave out ringing cheers for him and for while their uncertainty as to what to do next was settled for them by paul who mounting on one of the which supported the columns of the entrance to the opera where his wild head glittering eyes and eager face looked scarcely human cried out o power to why do you idle here my friends when you might be busy if you want freedom seek it from him who is to be your new prime minister a prolonged yell of savage approval answered him and like an angry tide the crowd swept on and on gathering strength and force as it went and pouring through the streets with fierce of shouting and clash of hastily collected weapons on and on to the great square in the centre of which stood the statue of the late king and where the house of occupied the most prominent position and the moon coming suddenly put of a cloud stared down upon the turbulent scene one too often witnessed in history when as says a nation of men is suddenly hurled beyond the limits for nature as green as she looks rests everywhere on dread foundations and pan to whose music the dance has a cry in him that can drive all men distracted i in such distraction and with such wild cry the night of s long looked for dance before the king swept on towards day chapter fate gives the king news of this fresh and more violent disturbance among the people brought the out in hot haste who galloped down to the scene of excitement only to find the mounted police before them headed by general who to and fro cool and composed forbade in the name of the king any attempt to drive the mob out of the square swaying uneasily round and round the and groaned and cheered and not knowing exactly they were so wildly moved but evidently waiting for a fresh lead the house of with its handsome exterior and stately marble offered itself as a tempting to the more and a stone sent crashing through one of the windows would have certainly been the signal for a general had not a man s figure suddenly climbed the which supported the statue of the late king in the centre of the square and lifted its living visible identity against the frowning cold stone image of the dead a cry went up from thousands of throats followed by an extraordinary of passionate as the excited people recognised the grand head and commanding aspect of their own particular of liberty he stretching out his hands with a gesture of mingled authority and entreaty the raging sea of contradictory and conflicting voices as if by magic and the horrid died down into a dull roar which in its turn subsided into silence friends and brothers he cried be calm be patient what spirit possesses you to thus destroy the chances of your own peace what is your aim justice ay justice but how can you gain this by being your i power selves unjust will you remedy wrong by right nay this must not be this cannot be with you whose passion for liberty is noble whose love for truth is fixed and resolute and who seek no more than is by human right your own this sudden tempest by which your souls are tossed is like an angry gust upon the sea which great vessels and brave men be something more than the semblance of the capricious wind which without having reason to know why it is bent on destruction what are you here for what would you do a confused shouting answered him in which cries of and the king were most prominent looked round upon the mass below him with a strange sense of power and of triumph he even he who could claim to be no more than a poor speaker and writer had won these thousands to his command he had them here willing to obey his word ready to follow his signal it might take them his eyes glowed and the light of a great and earnest inspiration his strong features you call for he said yonder he dwells in the house he has built for himself out of the work of the poor a fierce yell from the and an attempt at a rush was again stopped by the speaker s uplifted hand wait friends wait think for a moment of the result of action before you act suppose you pulled down that palace of fraud suppose your strong hands rent it asunder suppose you set fire to its walls suppose you dragged out the robber from his cave and him here before sunrise what then you would make of him a martyr and the of the present policy who are involved with him in his financial schemes would chant his praises in every newspaper and his virtues in every sermon nay we should probably hear of a special memorial service being held in our great cathedral to the corpse of the stock rascal that ever cheated the gallows be wiser than that my friends do not soil your hands either with the body of or his ill gotten dwelling what we want fate gives the king for him is disgrace not death death is far too easy an innocent child may	33
were in a that the government was growing more and that the chief on which force turned was under a cloud of the suspicion meetings more or less stormy in character were held everywhere by every shade of party in politics and strong against his being as were daily sent to the king but to the surprise of many and the annoyance of most his majesty gave no sign the newspapers burst into argument every little editor issued his opinion on the grave issues at stake david kept his colours flying for the king judging that to flatter was always a safe course for most jews while in the rival journal brilliant essays leaders and on the political situation combined with point blank against the secretary of state which that distinguished personage always failed to notice flew from the pen of the mysterious writer and occupied constant public attention unlike the realm of britain where the golden youth their by the perusal of such poor and that they have lost both the art and wit to comprehend brilliant political writing the inhabitants of this particular corner of the sunny south were always ready to worship genius wherever even the smallest glimmer of it appeared and the admiration s writings excited was fast becoming universal though for the most part these writings were extremely in nature and both king and court soundly but with the usual indifference of to genius generally the king when asked if fate the king he had taken note of certain articles dealing very freely with both him and his social conduct declared he had never heard of them or of their writer i never he said with an odd smile pay any attention to clever literature i should be establishing a precedent which would be inconvenient and disagreeable to my fellow sovereigns the time went on the king met his ministers on the day he had summoned them in private council and on the other hand a mighty for the purpose of carrying a resolution formed to address his majesty on the impending question of the from the king s council the heads of government came away in haste despair and confusion from the mass meeting whole marched through the streets in triumphant and satisfied order after these events there came a night when the sweet progress of calm weather was broken up by cloud and storm and when heavy thunder over the city at long dull intervals like the grinding and of without any rain to cool the heated which was now and again torn asunder by flashes of lightning there was evidently a raging tempest far out at sea though the land only received suggestions of this by the occasional up of huge dark green which broke against the tall cliffs with and that guarded the coast heavy of flowers were in the air heavy heat weighed down the atmosphere and there was a languor in the slow footsteps of the men who singly or in groups arrived at the door of s house to fulfil the dread compact binding upon them all in regard to the day of fate and his two companions were among the first to arrive and to make their way up the dark steep stairs to the committee room where when they entered they found the usual aspect of things strangely altered the table no longer occupied its position in the middle of the floor it was set on a raised platform entirely draped with black large holding six lights each occupied either end and in the centre one solitary red lamp was placed shedding its over a large bronze vessel shaped like a funeral urn the rest of the room was in power darkness and with the gathering groups of men who moved silently and spoke in whispers it presented a solemn and spectacle ah you have now arrived said in a cautious to at the end of your adventures behold the number thirteen six lights at one end six lights at the other that is twelve and in the centre the the red eye looking into the urn it is all up with us said nothing but the face of the man called grew suddenly very pale he drew a little aside this is no laughing matter he said very earnestly let me stand near you let me keep close at your side all the evening smiled and pressed his hand my dear fellow he said have no fear or if you have fear do not show it you stand in precisely the same danger as myself or as any of us you may draw the fatal signal but if you do i promise you i will myself in your place you said with a volume of meaning in the utterance you would stand in my place why of course replied cheerily life is not such a wonderful business that death for a friend s sake is not better looked at him and a speechless devotion filled and softened his eyes certain words spoken to him by a woman he loved echoed through his brain and he murmured nay by the god above us if death is in question will die rather than let you die that will depend on my humour said still smiling you will require my permission to enter into combat with the last enemy before he offers challenge here approached them with a warning finger laid on his lips hush sh sh he said think as much as you like but talk as little as you can i assure you this is a most uncomfortable business and here comes the of the revolving wheel they made way as did all the men together fate gives the king in the room for the entrance of us	33
and these two came in together and with a silent salute which included the whole committee ascended the raised platform was deadly pale and the white dress she wore with its scarlet that she appeared for once to move under the of some greater will than her own she moved slowly and her head was bent and even to as she passed him her faint smile of recognition was both sad and cold once on the platform she seated herself at the lower end of the draped table and leaning her head on one hand seemed lost in thought took his place at the opposite end whereupon moving stealthily to the door closed it locked it and put the key in his pocket then he in turn mounted the platform and began in a clear but low voice to call the roll of the members of the committee man answered to his name in the same guarded tone all without a single exception were present and having completed the catalogue turned to for further instructions the rest of the company then seated themselves finding their chairs with some little difficulty in the semi darkness when the noise of their shuffling feet had ceased rose and advanced to the front of the platform friends he said slowly you are here to night to determine by the hand of chance or destiny which of certain among many thousands shall meet w th the punishment his treachery deserves in the list of those who are to night marked down for death is happy the man that draws that name and is able to serve as the to his country another is the jew david because it has been chiefly at his persuasion that the heads of the government have been tempted to for their own personal motives with the secrets of state policy another is the de who though he has possibly through fear resigned office is to blame for having made his own private fortune as well as the fortunes of all the members of his family out of the injuries and inflicted on the people to his suggestion we owe the cruel price of bread the tax on corn a necessity of life on his policy rests the power responsibility of opening our trades to such an of foreign competition and supply that our native work and our native interests are by the strain to him as well as to we owe the ridiculous of such extreme foreign as expose our secret forces of war to our rivals from him the courteous and almost attention with which we foolishly exhibit our naval and military to our enemies we assume that a minister who a foreign to copy our guns a foreign to copy and to our ships is a traitor to the prosperity and continued power of the country two of the great leaders in trade are named on the death list one because in spite of many he foreign workmen only the other he native labour the removal of all these persons will be a boon to the country the clearing of a plague of rats from the national house and lastly the king is named because though he has rescued the system of national education from interference and threatening he has turned a deaf ear to other equally pressing of his people and also because he does nothing to either influence or guide society to its best and highest ends under his rule learning is set at naught art science and literature the three saving graces which make for the peace prosperity and of nations are rendered because no example is set which would give them their and wine cards and women are the three evil between which the honour of the throne is brought into contempt we should know and remember that when she lately saved the life of the king did as she herself can tell you plead personally with him to save the people from the government of and his majority but though she rescued the monarch at the risk of her own much more valuable existence and equally at the risk of being misunderstood and condemned by this very society to which her heart and soul are pledged he refused to even consider her entreaty therefore we may be satisfied that he been warned but it would seem that the warning is of no fate the king avail and to night draws the name of the king must be swift and sure in his business there was a deep pause suddenly rose his form and great height giving him an almost appearance in the gloom of the chamber raising one hand as a signal he asked permission to speak which was instantly accorded to my chief and my comrades he a slight military salutation i wish to explain what perhaps they have already discovered that i am a poor and uncouth german not altogether with your language and considerably bewildered by your social so that if i do not entirely understand t m as i should you will perhaps pardon my ignorance v other of my disposition but when death is in question i am always much interested having spent all my days in trying to find out ways and means of man s chief enemy on his own ground because though i fully admit the usefulness of death as a and and as a means of clearing off hopelessly useless persons i am not at all sure that it is an advisable way to get rid of the healthy and the promising i speak as a physician merely with an eye to what is called the stock of the human race and what i now	33
from the lips of many of the men who on opening their papers found a blank instead of a name but his sat in dumb amazement feeling and not for the first time either that surely god or some special providence is always on the side of a strong man s just aim it to entire accomplishment for to him was assigned the red cross marked with the name of the king the words of us uttered that very night rushed back on his mind draws the name of the king must be swift and sure in his business his heart beat high he occupied at that moment a position no man in all the world had ever occupied before he was the centre of a drama such as had never before been he had the greatest move to play on the board of life that could possibly be desired and the greatest chance to prove himself the man he was that had ever been given to one of his quality his brain whirled his his eyes rested on with a passionate longing something of the god like as well as the heroic warmed his soul for danger and death stood as intimately close to him as safety and victory what a strange what a marvellous card he held in the game of life and yet one false move might mean ruin and as in a dream he saw the members of the committee go up one by one to who as each laid their open papers before him declared their contents when paul s paper was declared he was found to have drawn he smiled grimly and retired to his seat rather had drawn a blank fate gives the king i so had so had louis and many others at last it came to s turn and as he walked up to the platform and ascended it there was a look on his face which attracted the instant attention of all present his eyes were singularly bright his handsome figure seemed taller and more erect he bore himself with a proud even grand air and moved at last f rt m her chill and melancholy gazed at him as he ap with eyes in which a profound sadness was mingled with the dark tenderness of many passionate thoughts and dreams he laid down his paper before who taking it up read aloud our friend and comrade has received the red cross signal then pausing before uttering his next words he raised his voice a little so that he might be heard by ia the room and added slowly to fate gives the king a low murmur of deep applause ran through the room and sprang up with a kind of smothered cry but stood immovable instead of returning to his seat as the others had done he remained standing on the platform in front of the committee table between and a strange smile rested on his lips his attitude was inexplicable surveying all the men s faces which were before him in a kind of he studied them for a moment and then turned his head towards so far i have served you well destiny has now chosen me out for even a greater service may i speak a few words assented but a sudden sense of stirred in him as he saw that had half risen that her lips quivered and that great tears stood in her eyes she he thought sullenly in his strange and confused way of justice and injustice she that the life of the king she saved is now to be taken by a righteous hand meanwhile faced the assembly comrades he said this is the first time i have assisted in the work of your day of fate the first time power i have recognised how entirely providence moves with you and for you in the of your and because it is the first time our chief me to address you with the same liberty which was allowed to me on the night i became among you as one of you since then i have done my best to serve you here he was interrupted by applause and so far as it has been possible i have endeavoured to carry out your views and desires because though many of them spring from pure and are i fear impossible of in this world they contain the seed of much useful and necessary reform in many institutions of this country i have as i promised you shaken the of again the applause broke out none the less earnest because it was restrained i have destroyed the press power and of that jew in false news david and wherever the wishes of this society could be fulfilled i have honestly sought to fulfil them on this night of all nights in the year i should like to feel and to know that you acknowledge me as your true comrade and faithful friend at this the whole of the company gave vent to an of cheering do you doubt our love that you ask of it or our gratitude that you seek to have it expressed said leaning forward to clasp his hand surely you know you have given new life and to our work and that you have gained fresh triumph for our cause smiled but though returning his grasp cordially he said nothing to him in person by way of reply evidently preferring rather to address the whole community than one even though that one was his acknowledged chief i thank you all he said in response to the around him i thank you for so heartily acknowledging me as your fellow i thank you for giving me your confidence and my services	33
tonight the most important night of my destiny fate has determined that i shall perform the greatest task of all you have ever allotted to me and that with swiftness and in the business i shall kill the king he is fate the king my marked victim i am his chosen here interrupting himself with a bright smile he said will restrain my two friends and from springing out of their seats they are both extremely envious of the task which has been allotted to me both are disappointed that it did not fall to them to perform but i am not in the humour for arguing so nice a point of honour with them just now a laugh went round the company and the two thus called to order and who had really been seeking in quite a wild and way to scramble out of their seats and make for the platform resumed their places with heads bent low lest those around them should see the deadly of their countenances resumed i rejoice friends and comrades that i have been elected to the high task of removing from the throne one who has long been unworthy of it one who has wasted his opportunities both in youth and middle age and who by his own fault in a great measure has lost much of the love and confidence of his people i am glad and proud to be the one chosen to put an end to the career of a monarch whose vices and follies which might have suited a and are entirely to the sovereign ruler of a great realm i shall have no fear in carrying out my appointed duty to the letter i here declare my acceptance of whatever punishment may be visited on one who from life a king who brings into contempt and as our chief suggested to night i shall be swift and sure in the business there shall be no delay here as he spoke he drew a pistol from his pocket and turned the towards himself at which unexpected action there was a hasty movement of surprise terror and confusion among the company gentlemen all friends brothers as you have been and are to me by the binding of our compact in the name of it is the determination of destiny as it is your desire that i should kill the king you have resolved upon it you are sure that his death will benefit the country you have decided not to take into consideration any of his possible good qualities or to pity power any of the probable sorrows and difficulties him in the uneasy position he is compelled to occupy you are quite certain among yourselves that somehow or other his removal will bring about that ideal condition of society which many philosophers have written of and which many have desired but which has till now proved itself incapable of being the king s death you think will better all existing conditions and you wish me to fulfil not only the call of destiny but your own desire be it so i am ready to obey i will kill the king at once here and now i am the king chapter the comrade of his foes this bold declaration boldly spoken had the startling effect of a sudden and sharp flash of lightning in dense darkness amazement and utter held every man for the moment had a suddenly opened beneath their feet and forth its floods of fire and it could not have rendered them more helplessly stricken and speechless i am the king the words appeared to blaze on the air before them like the handwriting on the wall at s feast the king he their friend their advocate he the most obedient the most daring and energetic of all the workers in their cause he even he was the king was it could it be possible their eyes all in fearful fascination upon him as he stood before them wholly at their mercy but and ready to die had the wild stare of delirium the silence in the room was intense breathless and terrible suddenly like a lion roused with a half savage movement sprang forward and seized him roughly by the arm you you are the king he said you and struggling for breath his words almost choked him you enemy in the guise of friend you have us you have deceived us you take care said the monarch smiling as he gently disengaged himself from the fierce hand that clutched him this pistol is loaded not to shoot you with but myself at your command it would be unfortunate if it went off and killed the wrong man by accident his courage was irresistible and power his grasp fell back in something like awe and then the spell of horror and amazement that had struck the rest of the assemblage dumb broke all at once into a sort of wild beast every man rushed for the platform and and taking swift and conscious possession of their true as professor von and sir de fought silently and to keep back the crowding hands that threatened instant violence to the person of their royal master a complete and confusion reigned cries of traitor and spy were hurled from one voice to another but before a single member of the committee could reach the spot where stood the sovereign whom they had so lately as their friend and and whom they were now ready to tear to pieces flung herself in front of him while at the same moment she snatched the pistol he held from his hand and fired it into the air the loud report the flash of	33
fire startled all the men who upon her through me she cried her blue eyes flashing glorious menace through me your shots through me your on me your destroying hands through my body alone shall you reach this king stand back all of you what would you do king or he is your comrade and associate sovereign or servant he is the man among you touch him who dare remember your vow of into an almost sublime beauty by the of her emotion she looked the supreme of inspired womanhood and the men fell back dismayed and completely overwhelmed by the strong conviction of her words and the amazing situation in which they found themselves it was true he the king whom they had accepted and known as was verily their own comrade he had proved himself a thousand times their friend and they had sworn to defend him at the cost of their own lives if need be to shelter and protect him in all circumstances and to accept all the consequences of whatever danger he might run in the comrade of his foes the performance of his duty his duty now according to the fatal drawing of lots was that he should kill the king and he had declared himself ready to fulfil the task by killing himself but as he was their comrade they were bound in honour to guard his life these bewildering and thoughts like fire through the brain of the while his eyes grown suddenly dark and rested on the tall upright figure of the monarch standing quietly face to face with the blood thirsty committee entirely unmoved by their fierce and lowering looks and on white beautiful and breathless kneeling at his feet a crushing sense of and failure rushed over his soul like a storm wave his brain grew thick with the hurrying confusion and a great cry like that of a wounded animal broke from his lips my god my god all my life s work lost in a single moment the king heard gently and with careful courtesy raising from the position in which she had thrown herself to guard him from attack for the second time he pressed her hands tenderly in his own trust me he whispered have no fear not a man among them will touch me now with a slight gesture he signed her back to the chair she had previously occupied she sank into it trembling from head to foot but her eyes brilliant and watchful were widely open and alert ready to note the least movement or look that indicated further danger then the king addressed himself to i am entirely in your hands i wait your word of command you are armed all my companions here are armed also but has deprived me of the only weapon i possessed though there are plenty more in the room to be had on loan what say you shall i kill the king or will you was silent a strong shudder shook his frame the king laid a firm hand on his shoulder friend he said in a low voice believe me t am your friend more than ever you never had and never will have a truer one than i all your life s work power lost you say nay not so it is gained you conquered the people before i knew you and now you have conquered the people s king slowly raised his great dark passionate eyes clouded black with thoughts which could find no adequate expression the look in them went straight to the monarch s heart baffled ambition the hunger of greatness the desire to do something that should raise his soul above such common of human as make of the earth the merest ant hill whereon to eat and breed and die all this pent up emotion swam in the fierce bright which like reflected the picture of the troubled mind within the suppressed power of the man who apart from his confused notions of liberty equality and could resort to the and most self measures for destroying what he considered the of the law had moved the king while disguised as to the admiration for his bold character but perhaps he was never more moved than at this supreme moment when hopelessly entangled in a net of most unexpected weaving the had to confess himself by the simple friendship and service of the very he sought to destroy said the king again trust me trust me as your sovereign with the same trust that you gave to me as your comrade for i am still your comrade remember nothing can undo the oath that l me to you and to the people i have not become one of you to betray you but to serve you our present position is certainly a strange one for by the you hold we should be sworn instead of as we are sworn friends political would liave set us one against the other for their own selfish ends as matters stand we are united in the people s cause and i may perhaps do you more good living than dead give me a chance to serve you even better than i have done as yet still if you judge my death would be an advantage to the country you have but to say the word i have sworn and i am ready to carry out the full accomplishment of my vow you you are by the rules of this committee i the comrade of his foes my chief there are no kings here and i am good soldier enough to obey orders it is for you to speak plainly and at once to the committee and to me before god you are brave muttered	33
gazing at him in reluctant admiration so brave that it is almost impossible to believe that you can be a king he smiled speak speak my friend he urged our comrades are watching our conference like give them food thus advanced and confronted the murmuring crowd of men some of whom were with because he declined to the door of the room and let them out till he had received his chief s commands to do so others were round paul who had sat apparently stricken immovable in his chair ever since the king had declared his identity and others showed themselves somewhat inclined to sir de and professor von who guarded the approach to the platform like though they were discreet enough to show no weapons of defence comrades the rich deep voice of their leader thrilled through the room and brought them all to silence and attention comrades said slowly his accents with the deepest emotion i desire and command you all to be satisfied that no wrong has been done to you i ask you all to understand fully and surely that no wrong is intended to you the man whom we have loved the man who has served us faithfully as is still the same man though the king rank cannot alter his proved friendship and service nor break his bond he is one of us signed and sealed in the blood of and as one of us he must and will remain have i spoken truly he added turning to the king or is there more that i should say before any reply could be given a of voices cried explain confess bind him to his oath power the king stepping forward a pace or two confronted his would be and with a composure explain confess friends i will do both but for binding me to my oath there is no need for it is too strong a compact of faith and friendship ever to be broken would you have me remind you of your vow of pronounced so solemnly this evening did not swear that among us this night shall draw the red cross signal which him to take from life a life proved unworthy shall be to us a sacred person and an object of defence and continued protection as this vow applied to me as king i ask no better or stronger pledge of loyalty all eyes were fixed upon him as he spoke for some moments there was a dead silence this silence was presently broken by a murmur of conflicting wonder impatience and uncertainty deepening i as it ran and then as the full situation became more and more apparent coupled with the smiling and heroic calm of the monarch who had thus placed himself voluntarily in the hands of his sworn enemies all their struggling passions were suddenly in one great wave df natural and human admiration for a brave man and a burst of impetuous cheering broke from every lip once started the caught on like a and again and yet again the excited cheered for the king till they made the echo the tumult was extraordinary sat silent with clasped hands her eyes dilated with feverish and excitement the tempest of emotion in her own poor tortured soul being of such a character which no no tears no exclamations could possibly relieve the of her interview with the king in his own palace flashed across her like a scene in fire she had no power to think she was simply stunned and overwhelmed and held only one idea in her mind and that was to save him at all costs even at the sacrifice of her own life carried away from his very self by the force of such a revolution as he had never the comrade of his foes planned or anticipated stood more in the attitude of one who was trying to think rather than of one who was thinking for the king cried suddenly giving vent to the feelings he had long kept in feelings which had made him a greater admirer of the so than of himself for sworn comrade the king again the cheers broke out to be in when louis added his voice to the rest and exclaimed for the first real king i have ever known then the excitement rose to its and amidst the tempest of applause the king himself stood quiet watching the with the eyes of a student who seeks to some difficult raising his hand gently he by this gesture created immediate silence and so in this hush remained an instant leaning slightly against the committee draped as it was in its black the lights at either end of it and the red lamp in its centre flinging an radiance on his fine composed features long long afterwards his faithful servants sir de and von retained a mental picture of him in that attitude the smile upon his lips the look in his eyes resting as it seemed against a prepared funeral with the watch lights burning for burial and the face of pale as a marble mask yet wearing an expression of mingled triumph and agony shining near him like a star amid the gloom while the tall form of in the background loomed large a shadow of impending evil after a pause he spoke comrades i thank you for the expressed renewal of your trust in me in my heart and soul as a man i am one of you and with you even though ha made me a king you demand an explanation a you shall have both when i as a member of your committee i did so in all honesty and honour wishing to discover the object	33
of your cause and prepared to aid it if i found it worthy when power i sealed my compact with you in the blood of the angel of our here the cheering again broke out and turning aside endeavoured to restrain the tears that threatened to fall then as silence was restored he resumed when as i say i did this you will remember that on being asked of my origin and country i answered that i was a slave i spoke truly there is no greater slave in all the length and breadth of the world than a king bound by the chains of and custom he is more violently than any prisoner his word is misunderstood his smallest action is his very looks are made the subject of comment and whether he walks or stands sits to give wearisome audience or lies down to forget his sorrows in sleep he should assuredly be an object of the deepest pity and consideration instead of being as he often is a for the arrows of a round which to move the wheel of social evil and the name of freedom sounds sweet in your ears my friends how sweet it is how dear it is we all know you are ready to fight for it to die for it then remember all of you that it is a glory utterly unknown to a king were he to take sword in hand and do battle for it unto the death he could never obtain it he might win it for his country but never for himself nothing so glorious as liberty you cry true but kings are prisoners from the moment they ascend and you never set them free save in the way you suggested this evening and he smiled which way is still open to you and to me but while you take time to consider whether i shall or shall not fulfil the duty which the drawing of lots on this day of fate has assigned to me whether you on your parts will or will not maintain the vow of which we all have sworn together i will freely declare to you the motives which led me to depart from the conventional rule and formality of a merely royal existence and to become as a man among men for once at least in the history of modem sovereigns he paused every eye was fixed upon him and the stillness was so intense that the breath might be heard the comrade of his foes i came to the throne three years ago he resumed and i accepted its with reluctance as heir apparent you all know or think you know my career for some of you have very freely expressed your convictions concerning it it was according to the opinions formed and expressed by this committee no doubt it was let any man among you occupy my place and be surrounded by the same temptations and then himself wisely if he can such an one would need to be either god or hero and i profess to be neither but i do not wish to or deny the errors of the past the present is my concern the present time and the present people changes are in the world and of these changes especially of those directly affecting our own country i became conscious shortly after i ascended the throne i heard of i gathered that the were suspected of personal self i learned that a disastrous policy was on foot respecting national education in which would be given every advantage and obtain undue influence over the minds of the rising generation i heard i studied and finding that i could get no true answer on any point at issue from anyone of my supposed ministers i resolved to discover things for myself i found out that the portion of the metropolis was chiefly under the influence of and accordingly i placed myself in his way and became among you as his sworn associate i am his sworn associate still i am proud that he should call me friend and even as we have worked already for the people so we will work still together no restraint could have availed to check the wild that broke out afresh at these words still thoughtfully and with grave kindness contemplating all the eager and excited faces to him the king went on you know nearly all the rest as i discovered all the shameful speculations with the public money carried on by and found that so far at any rate your against him were founded in fact at the first threatening suspicion of power possible condemnation the de resigned thus his guilty in the intended plunder a false statement printed by david stating that i the king had my decision concerning the refusal of land to the caused me to announce the truth of my own action myself in the rival newspaper of my from the church it is unnecessary to speak a man is not injured in gk d s sight by that merely earthly ban among other things and he smiled i found myself curiously possessed of a taste for literature and proved that whereas some few of my acquaintance cannot be quite sure of their i could at a pinch make myself fairly well understood by the general public as a skilled writer of against myself as well as against the secretary of state this so far as i personally am concerned has been the humorous side of my little drama of disguise for sometimes i have had serious thoughts of appearing as a rival to our friend paul in the lists of	33
literary fame a murmur of wondering laughter ran round the room and all heads were turned to one corner as the king with the kindly smile still lighting up his eyes and lips called are you there do you hear me did hear he had been sitting in a state of semi stupor all the evening his mind utterly confused and bewildered by the events which had taken place but now on being called his usual audacious and irrepressible spirit came to his aid and he answered o king i hear o king your majesty would make th deaf to hear and the dumb to speak and if there is anything to be done to me for you king who had the impudence to offer me a hundred gold pieces a year for my poems i o king will submit to the utmost terrors of the law a burst of laughter long and loud relieved the pent up feelings of the company the king laughed as heartily as the rest and over the brooding features of himself came the shadow of a smile we will settle our accounts together later on said the monarch gaily meanwhile i b the comrade of his foes you to continue your harmless of me at your leisure another laugh went round and then the king his speech continued i have played two parts at once and king but both parts are after all but two sides of the same nature when i first came among you i bade you all look at me well i asked you to note the resemblance i bore to the ruling sovereign i called self the living copy of the man i most despise that was q true for there is no one i despise more utterly than myself when i think what i might have done with my million opportunities and how much time i wasted you all me closely and i did you all accepted my service and i have served you well i have noted every one of your desires where possible i have sought to fulfil them every accusation you have brought against the has been to the bottom and proved down to the my publicly proclaimed decision to as t was merely thrown out as a test to try the temper and quality of the nation that test has answered its purpose well but there is no need for fear will never be to anything but disgrace all his schemes are in my hand i hold complete proofs of his and guilt and the which you have chosen as that on which to appeal to the king against the choice of him as prime minister will see him by myself in person to the government a storm of applause greeted this welcome announcement for a moment all the men went mad with excitement shouting stamping and singing while s ain and yet again the cry for the king echoed round round in cheering gazed at the scene with a strange sense of being the dreaming witness of some marvellous drama altogether away from the earth he could not yet bring himself to that by such a simple method as the independent working of one individual intelligence all his own followers had been swept round to loyalty and love for a monarch whom previously though power without knowing him they had hated and sworn to destroy yet in very truth all the and ill the and of the members of the human race towards each other spring from ignorance and when persons hate a king they do so mostly because they do not know him and because they can form no true opinion of his qualities or the various difficulties of his position if the bent on the destruction of some person in authority only had the culture and knowledge to recognise how much that person already suffers by being in all probability forced to fulfil duties for which he has no heart or mind he would stay his hand and pity rather than condemn for the removal of one ruler only means the of another and the wild and often gifted souls of stumbling through darkness after some great ideal which itself into a shadow and delusion the nearer one approaches to it need to be tenderly dealt with from the of simplicity and truth so that they may feel the sympathetic touch of human love and care from those very quarters which they seek to this had been the self imposed mission of the king who had played the part of and thus fearing nothing doubting nothing and simply on his own strength discretion and determination he had gained a moral victory over the passions of his secret foes such as he had never himself anticipated when silence was again restored he proceeded the various suggestions made in my presence during the time i have been a member of this committee will all be carried out the present government will naturally oppose every measure but i backed by such as i have now won will elect a new government a new when i began this campaign of my own the present were on the edge of war determined to provoke with a peaceful power they were ready even with arms and ed by a company of which was the and chief for army supplies were being secretly and one was already secretly accepted and arranged for in which and the de is the comrade of his foes were to derive enormous interest the head of the concern being david this plan was with devilish ingenuity for if the war had actually broken out the supplies of our army would have been of the worst possible kind in order to give the best possible profit to the and with his	33
newspaper influence would have satisfied the public mind by constant of the completeness and excellence of the supplies and the entire contentment and of the men but i awoke to my in time to this move i forbade the provocation intended i stopped the war in this matter at least much loss of life much heavy expenditure and much ill will among other nations has been happily spared to us for the rest everything you have been working for shall be granted if you yourselves will help me to your own plans i want you in your thousands ay in your of thousands i want you all on my side with you the representatives of the otherwise people i will enforce all the measures which you have discussed before me showing good and adequate reason why they should be carried the taxes you complain of shall be instantly removed and for the more speedy of the national i gladly resign one half my from all sources whatsoever for the space of five years or longer if considered desirable but i want your aid will you all stand by me a mighty shout answered him to the death he turned to he said my task is finished my confession made the next order of this meeting must come from you looked at him from me are you not the king only so long as the people desire it replied the monarch gently and are you not the representative of the people s chest heaved burning tears stood in his eyes the strangeness of the situation the deliberate coolness and resolve with which this sovereign ruler of a power kingdom laid his life in his hand was too much for his nerve he said she rose at once and came to him moving in her white her eyes shining her lips tremulous he said the king is in our hands you saved his life once will you save it again she raised her bent head and the old courageous light flashed in her face its every feature it is not for me to save she replied in clear firm tones it is for you and for all of us to defend a ringing cheer answered her slowly advanced and as he did so the king seeing his movement frankly held out his hand for a moment the chief hesitated then suddenly yielding to his overpowering impulse caught that hand and raised his dark eyes full to the monarch s face you have conquered me he said but only by your qualities as a man not by your authority as a king you have won my honour my respect my gratitude my friendship and with these so long as you are faithful to our cause take my more i cannot say more i will not promise i need no more responded the king cheerily his hand in a warm clasp we are friends and fellow workers we can never be rivals as he spoke his glance fell on she shrank from the swift passion of his gaze and her eyelids drooped half over the bright star windows of her own too ardent soul abruptly turning from both her and the king again addressed the company one word more my friends it is arranged that you with all your thousands of the people are to together in one great multitude and march to the palace to demand justice from the king there is now no need to do this for the king himself is one of you the king only lives and that justice in all respects may be done i will therefore ask you to change your plan and instead of marching to the palace march with me to the house of government you would have demanded justice from the king the king himself will go with you to demand justice for the people the comrade of his foes a wild shout answered him and he knew as he looked on the faces of his hearers that he had them all in his power as the servants of his will and now gentlemen he proceeded i should perhaps make some excuses for my two friends known to you as and i told you i would be responsible for their conduct and so far as they have been permitted to go they have behaved well i must however in justice to them assure you that whereas i became a member of your committee gladly they followed my example reluctantly and only out of fidelity and obedience to me they have lived in the shadow of the throne and have learned to pity and i think to love its because they know as you have never known the heavy burden which a king puts on with his crown they have however in their way served you under my orders and under my orders will continue to serve you still or to give him his right name von has a high reputation in this country for his learning apart from his position as household physician to our court is my very good friend sir de who is amiable enough to support the monotony of his duty as one of my in waiting now you know us as we are but after all nothing is changed save our names and the titles we bear we are the same men the same friends the same comrades and so i trust we shall remain the cheering broke out again and sir de who was quite as overwhelmed with astonishment at the courage and coolness of his royal master as any present joined in it with a will as did von one favour i have to ask of you proceeded the king and it is this if	33
you me to night from killing the king and he smiled you must also all the members of the committee from any similar task allotted to them by having drawn the fatal signal our friend for instance has drawn the name of now i want for better work than that of killing a rascal t loud cheers answered him and rising from his place advanced a little majesty he cried you are right i hand your majesty s intended over to you with the greatest pleasure in the world apart from the fact of your being the king i am compelled to admit that you have common sense laughter and cheers through the room again and the king quietly turning round extinguished the red lamp on the table the light was the day of fate was ended as the ominous crimson sank out a sudden silence prevailed and the king fixed his eyes on from you madame must come my final if you still condemn me as a king i shall be indeed unfortunate if you still think well of me as a man i shall be proud i have to thank you not only for my life but for having helped me to make that life valuable as i have sought to serve you as king i seek to serve you still the silence continued every man present watched the visible emotion which swept every of colour from the face of and made her eyes so bright every man gazed at her as she rose from her chair and came forward a little to the front of the platform it was with a strong that she raised her eyes to those of the king and in that one glance between them the lightning flash of a love tore the veil of secrecy from their souls but she spoke out bravely i thank your majesty she said i thank you for all you have done for us as our comrade and associate for all you will yet do for us as our comrade and associate still it is better to be a brave man than a weak king but it is best to be a strong man and a strong king both together you have the thoughts i had of you as king you have here she paused while the colour suddenly sprang to her cheeks and her breath came and quick and strengthened the thoughts i had of you as our her eyes softened with tears though she smiled we have believed in you we believe in you still all is as it was save in the one thing new that where we were to i the comrade of his foes against the king we are now united for and with the king these words were all that were needed to and confirm the enthusiasm of the whose measures were now accepted and sworn to by the crowned head of the realm thereupon they gave themselves up to the wildest cheering comrades cried paul in the midst of the there is one point you seem to have missed the king god bless him does n t see it like an owl in his ivy bush of hair doesn t see it it is only left to me to perceive the chief result of this evening s all the men laughed what is it demanded louis ay what is it echoed speak said the king whatever strange conclusion your poetic brain doubt not but that we shall accept it from you accept it i should think so cried you are bound to accept it whether you like it or not there is no other way out of it well what is it repeated impatiently declare it it is this said simply this that with the king as our comrade and associate the committee is no use it is finished there can be no longer a committee that is true said the king it may henceforth be known as a new parliament cheer after cheer echoed through the crowded room and while the noise was at its height a knocking was heard outside and the father of demanded unlocked the door and in a few minutes the situation was explained to the astonished landlord of the committee quarters overwhelmed at the news and full of gratitude for the kindness shown to his child which he now knew had from the king in person he would have knelt to kiss the royal hand had not the monarch prevented him no my good he said gently enough of power such humility me in the monotonous court life and were it not for custom and i would suffer no self respecting man to before me simply because my profession is that of i tell that i would not look at her or her dancing the other night because i wished her to the king and to love but now you must ask her for me to love them both bowed low profoundly overcome was this the king against whom they had all been in league this simple unaffected man who seemed so much at home and at one with them all amazed and bewildered he by general invitation mixed with the rest of the men for each of whom the king had a kind and word or a fresh pledge of his good faith and intention towards them and the they sought to effect von was surrounded by a group of those among whom he had made himself popular and a hundred eager questions were asked of both him and de who were ready enough to the daring of their royal master and the determination with which he had resolved on making his secret foes his open friends after all said it is not so much the king whom we were against as the government ah you forget no	33
gloom good night she answered as she disappeared and he returning to the empty room stared at the table draped with black and the funeral urn set upon it stared at the empty chairs and bare walls and listened as it were to the midnight silence that he as chief of the committee was no longer a chief but a servant and that the power he sought that power which he had endeavoured to attain in order that he might make of as he had said a queen among women was only to be won through the king the king knew all his secret plans and his aims he held the clue to the whole of his and the only chance he now had of ever arriving at the highest goal of his ambition was in the king s hands thus was he and made subject to the throne the very rules he had drawn up for himself and his committee making it impossible that he could be otherwise than loyal to a monarch who was at the same time his comrade meanwhile in the thick darkness of the hall below while von and de were groping their way to the door which was cautiously held open by moving with hesitating steps down the stairs felt rather than saw a head turned back upon her a flash of eyes in the darkness and heard her name breathed softly power she grew dizzy and uncertain of her footing she could not answer suddenly a strong arm caught her she was drawn into a close fierce jealous clasp warm lips her hair her brow her eyes and a voice whispered in her ear you love me you love me hush do not deny it you cannot deny it you know it as i know it you have told me you love me you love me my love you love me another moment and the king passed quietly out of the door with a bland good night to and joining his two companions raised his hat to with a courteous salutation good night madame she stood in the doorway shuddering violently from head to foot watching his tall figure disappear in the shadows of the street then stretching out her hands blindly she gave a faint cry and murmuring something inarticulate to the alarmed fell senseless at his feet y i chapter xxx king and to many persons of the or habit the idea that a king should ever himself as an ordinary or extraordinary man seems more or less preposterous while to conceive him as endowed with dash spirit and a love of adventure is judged almost as absurd and impossible the only that ever appears in lore to have indulged himself to his heart s content in the sport of a disguise and going about among his subjects is the witty and delightful hero of the nights entertainment who as describes him had deep eyes laughter stirred with merriment of pride sole star of all that place and time i saw him in his golden prime the good we accept and acknowledge him to have been wise in the purport of his wanderings through the streets of the city gaining new experience with every hour and studying the needs and complaints of his for himself but if we should be told of a modem monarch doing likewise in our own day we should mount on the stiff horse of our ridiculous and accuse him of having brought the dignity of the throne into contempt yet nothing perhaps can be more contemptible than a monarch who is too surrounded by to be a man and on the other hand nothing could be more than the feeling that perhaps a monarch may be so much of a man after all that no one can be quite certain as to his whereabouts it would be power well if some clubs could be restrained by the idea that the sovereign of the realm might step in unexpectedly or if the could scarcely be able to tell when he might not be among their inmates disguised as one of them studying and knowing more in a day than his ministers would tell him in several years it is generally admitted that no man is fit for a profession till he has thoroughly mastered its possibilities yet it is not too much to declare that in the profession of the few who practise it have mastered it to so little purpose that they are almost entirely blind to the singular advantages which they might obtain not only for themselves but for the entire world if they chose to put forth their own individuality and instead of wasting their time on the and self seeking sections of society elected to try their powers on the working and trade of the nation but throughout all history the various of kings and contain instructive lessons of lost opportunity allowing for the differences of climate and temperament it may be taken for granted that n people of any country are able to rise above a certain height of enthusiasm and that when the high water mark is reached their enthusiasm and a reaction invariably sets in for this cause a monarch should never rely too much on the of the mob in a time of conquest or public festival of he should look upon such as the mere rising of a wave which must in due time sink again and if he would know his people thoroughly he should study that same shouting mob not when it is affected by but during its level condition of stubborn and patient toil so will he perhaps be able to lay his finger on the sore places of life and to find out where the seed of mischief is planted	33
smiled to her the king remained a kind of monarch in a fairy tale who scattered benefits at a touch and sunshine with a glance and who deserved all the love and loyalty of every subject in the kingdom but she had never had any idea of revolution poor child save such a revolving of chance and circumstance as should enable her father to live in comfort without anxiety for his latter days and perhaps at the bottom of all political or religious we should find an equally simple of cause for the effect the day at last came when held his mighty mass meeting in the cathedral square all ready for marching orders no interference was offered either from or police and the people came pouring up from every quarter of the city in their thousands and of thousands by noon the tall power lace like spire of the cathedral above a vast sea of human heads which from a distance looked like bees and as the bells struck the hour mounting the steps of a monument erected to certain heroes who had long ago fallen in battle was greeted with a roar of like the thunder of heaven s own but even while the multitude still shouted and cheered the sight of another figure which quietly ascended to the same position caused a sudden hush a gradually deepening silence of amazement and awe and then finally swift recognition the king cried a voice shouted another who was answered by and shrieks of derision the king was again the cry and as the vast crowd round and round its million eyes suddenly lifted his cap and waved it ay the king his voice rang over the heads of the people with a rich thrill of command the king who here declares himself the friend of our cause the king who is with us to day of his own will at his own request by his own choice without escort the king the king who has resolved to go with us and demand justice for his and suffering subjects the king who is one with us who seeks ho greater than that of being loved and trusted by his people the surprise of this announcement was so truly overpowering that for the moment the mighty mass of men stood then as the situation flashed upon them such a thunder of cheering broke out as seemed to make the very earth rock and the houses in the square tremble the king himself standing by grew pale as he heard it and his eyes were with something like tears by heaven he murmured the love of this people is worth having did you ever doubt it slowly him with a touch of wonder not with jealousy there is only one power which keeps a king on his throne the confidence of the nation you had nearly king and lost that for though there is nothing so easy to win there is nothing so easy to lose true said the monarch his eyes still resting tenderly on the excited multitude below him i have deserved little at the people s hands but perhaps when i am gone he paused abruptly then with a smile added give us our marching orders obeyed and very soon under his command the huge multitude arranged itself in blocks or perfectly in different companies and entirely prepared to keep order dividing into equal lines they made way quickly and with enthusiasm as they perceived the king s which richly had been brought for his majesty at s own earnest request when all was ready the king sprang into the saddle and gathering the reins in one hand sat for a moment bare headed the people round him with repeated of applause without a weapon without a single man of his own household to bear him company without any armed escort he remained there the centre not of society but of the who gathered round him as their visible head with as shouting and enthusiasm and worship as if he had in his own person made the conquest single handed of a hundred nations never in his most gorgeous apparel never even when and crowned in state had he looked so noble never had he seemed so worthy of the highest honour reverence and admiration as now at a signal from who led the way on foot the thousands of the city began to march to the house of government all gathering round one principal figure that of their king a group of workmen constituted themselves his body guard protecting his proudly stepping from so much as a stone tha might it or check its progress and thus from th protection of and the monarch surrounded by his true subjects advanced together as one body to challenge and overthrow a whose measures had been drawn up and passed not for the good of the country but for the financial advantage and protection of themselves power never was such a wondrous sight seen as that almost interminable procession through the broad of the city headed by a and by a king no royal with and parade ever presented so splendid and imposing a sight as that concentrated mass of the actual people the working muscle and of the land s common marching in steady and triumphant order like the of the sea around that brave ship their sovereign cheering him to the echo and waving around him the flags of the country while he still bare headed rode in their midst looking every inch a king more indeed than he had ever seemed and more established in the affections of his subjects than any living monarch of the time so was he brought with ceaseless to the government house where as all knew he	33
and thus did he assert in his own person that a king supported by a nation is more powerful than any government built up by mere party agency and even so at his best and two women looked upon him and loved him one from the outskirts of the great crowd where close in her veil she waited near the government buildings and saw him alight from his and enter there amid the wild of the the other from a high window in the royal palace where she leaned watching the crowd the sunlight catching the diamonds at her breast and sparkling in her proud cold eyes and over the whole city rang the continuous and cry the king the king and perhaps only one soul prophetic in instinct foresaw any terror in the triumph only one voice low and tremulous and with tears and prayers murmured ah dear god would he were not a king chapter a vote for love next day it was known through the length and breadth of the city that the king so long judged as a political had proved himself a living acting authority every journal in city and province led off its news under the one chief heading the king s speech the king had spoken and with no uncertain voice cool brilliant in in statement correct in facts convincing in argument his unexpected of and the majority swept the government off their feet by its daring courage and still more daring evidence of the speculations with the public money which had been so freely indulged in by the secretary of state aided and by the was handed by the king in person to the authorities whose business it was to examine such proofs the measures used to retain the majority were fully exposed and the whole house stood and mentally under the straight accusation and merciless condemnation launched at their own of such by their monarch with perfect dignity and impressive calm the king quietly demanded whether m would be pleased to explain his actions whether he had anything to say in response to the charges brought against him to this last after a dead silence during which every eye was fixed on the minister who in the course of the royal speech had seen every of his own intended defence torn away from him with an white countenance answered nothing and the silence around him continued a silence more expressive than any word of scorn i power but more surprises were in store for the which found itself thus suddenly the king announced the marriage of his son the crown prince to a daughter of the people boldly and with an ardent passion of truth lighting up every feature of his handsome countenance he stated this overwhelming piece of news in a perfectly matter of fact way adding that in consequence of the step taken a step which he did not himself in any way regret the crown prince asked to be allowed to resign the throne in favour of his brother unless continued his majesty the nation should be proved ready to accept the wife he has chosen it is needless to add that my son has married without my consent and this is the reason of his present absence from the country if the nation his wife he will return to the nation if not i am bound to say knowing his mind that there is nothing to be done but to declare prince heir to the throne this however i personally desire may be left to the consideration and vote of the people and when the house rose on that astonishing afternoon they knew they were no longer a house they knew the government was entirely and that there would be a new and a general election they had to also that their bills for imposing fresh taxes on the people were mere waste paper and they heard likewise with amazement that the king had decided to resign half his for the space of five years to assist the in the national at the conclusion of the whole scene they saw the king received as it were into the arms of a crowd many of thousands which spread round all the government buildings and poured itself in thick streams through every street and and they had to accept the fact that their majority was reduced to a so amid the greater wave of popular resolve that it was not worth counting leaving the house by a private door of disgraced and as he w is a vote for love dared not trust the very sight of himself to such an multitude and managed by lucky chance to escape unobserved he was assisted in this by general the chief of the police perceived him cautiously along the side wall of an alley where the crowd had not penetrated and helped him into a passing cab that he might be driven rapidly and safely to his home you will no doubt excuse me said the general with a slight smile for not having acted more in the matter of the suspected mi am afraid i should never have up sufficient impudence to ask the king to sign a warrant against himself muttered an inarticulate oath by way of reply he fully that the game for him was lost his speech of defence so carefully prepared had been useless for he could not have uttered it in the face of the evidence against him pronounced by the king and by his own public actions yet his audacity had not in the main deserted him he knew that owing to his proved and use of the public money his own property would be to the crown but he had always kept himself well prepared for and had invested in foreign under various assumed names turning his attention	33

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