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diff --git a/41438-8.txt b/41438-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 5e803f6..0000000 --- a/41438-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7410 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Heart of Princess Osra, by Anthony Hope - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The Heart of Princess Osra - -Author: Anthony Hope - -Illustrator: H. C. Edwards - -Release Date: November 22, 2012 [EBook #41438] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HEART OF PRINCESS OSRA *** - - - - -Produced by Suzanne Shell, Ernest Schaal, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - - - - - - - - - THE HEART OF PRINCESS OSRA - - By ANTHONY HOPE - - Author of "The Prisoner of Zenda" - - - - - In Preparation - - "PHROSO" - - By the Author of this Volume - - - - -[Illustration: "'KILL HIM FOR ME, THEN; KILL HIM FOR ME.'"--_Page 239._] - - - - - THE HEART OF - PRINCESS OSRA - - - BY - ANTHONY HOPE - - AUTHOR OF - "The Prisoner of Zenda" "The Dolly Dialogues" Etc. - - - _with numerous full-page illustrations_ - BY - H. C. EDWARDS - - - New York and London - Frederick A. Stokes Company - PUBLISHERS - - - - - Copyright, 1895, 1896 - By A. H. Hawkins - - Copyright, 1896 - By Frederick A. Stokes Company - - Copyright, 1895, 1896 - By S. S. McClure, Limited - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - CHAP. PAGE. - - I. The Happiness of Stephen the Smith 1 - - II. The Wager of the Marquis de Mérosailles 51 - - III. The Madness of Lord Harry Culverhouse 79 - - IV. The Courtesy of Christian the Highwayman 100 - - V. The Sin of the Bishop of Modenstein 131 - - VI. The Device of Giraldo the Painter 175 - - VII. The Indifference of the Miller of Hofbau 201 - - VIII. The Love of the Prince of Glottenberg 226 - - IX. The Victory of the Grand Duke of Mittenheim 258 - - - - - LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. - - - PAGE. - - "'Kill him for me, then; kill him for me'" _Frontispiece_ - - "'Take her and be happy'" 11 - - "Stephen stood on the threshold with his staff in his hand" 37 - - The physician receives Princess Osra 56 - - "'Madame, if you will, you can do me a great service'" 101 - - "With either hand he drew a silver-mounted pistol" 114 - - "She asked the officer why a throng of people hastened - to the city" 118 - - "'My lord, where is the Princess?'" 160 - - "He drove his sword into his body, and the Count gave - back before it" 165 - - "He walked with his head down and his eyes on the ground" 171 - - "He took it and drained it" 204 - - "On either side of it sat the priest of the village and the - Miller of Hofbau" 215 - - "'Forgive me, forgive me!'" 252 - - "A young man sprang up, and, with a low bow, drew - aside to let her pass" 259 - - "'You are the beauty of the world,' he answered smiling" 263 - - - - - The Heart of Princess Osra. - - CHAPTER I. - - The Happiness of Stephen the Smith. - - -"Stephen! Stephen! Stephen!" - -The impatient cry was heard through all the narrow gloomy street, where -the old richly-carved house-fronts bowed to meet one another and left -for the eye's comfort only a bare glimpse of blue. It was, men said, the -oldest street in Strelsau, even as the sign of the "Silver Ship" was the -oldest sign known to exist in the city. For when Aaron Lazarus the Jew -came there, seventy years before, he had been the tenth man in unbroken -line that took up the business; and now Stephen Nados, his apprentice -and successor, was the eleventh. Old Lazarus had made a great business -of it, and had spent his savings in buying up the better part of the -street; but since Jews then might hold no property in Strelsau, he had -taken all the deeds in the name of Stephen Nados; and when he came to -die, being unable to carry his houses or his money with him, having no -kindred, and caring not a straw for any man or woman alive save Stephen, -he bade Stephen let the deeds be, and, with a last curse against the -Christians (of whom Stephen was one, and a devout one), he kissed the -young man, and turned his face to the wall and died. Therefore Stephen -was a rich man, and had no need to carry on the business, though it -never entered his mind to do anything else; for half the people who -raised their heads at the sound of the cry were Stephen's tenants, and -paid him rent when he asked for it; a thing he did when he chanced to -remember, and could tear himself away from chasing a goblet or -fashioning a little silver saint; for Stephen loved his craft more than -his rents; therefore, again, he was well liked in the quarter. - -"Stephen! Stephen!" cried Prince Henry, impatiently hammering on the -closed door with his whip. "Plague take the man! Is he dead?" - -The men in the quarter went on with their work; the women moved idly to -the doors; the girls came out into the street and clustered here and -there, looking at the Prince. For although he was not so handsome as -that scamp Rudolf, his brother, who had just come back from his travels -with half a dozen wild stories spurring after him, yet Henry was a -comely youth, as he sat on his chestnut mare, with his blue eyes full of -impatience, and his chestnut curls fringing his shoulders. So the girls -clustered and looked. Moreover Stephen the smith must come soon, and the -sight of him was worth a moment's waiting; for he buried himself all day -in his workshop, and no laughing challenge could lure him out. - -"Though, in truth," said one of the girls, tossing her head, "it's -thankless work to spend a glance on either, for they do not return it. -Now when Rudolf comes----" - -She broke off with a laugh, and her comrades joined in it. Rudolf left -no debts of that sort unpaid, however deep he might be in the books of -Stephen Nados and of the others who furnished his daily needs. - -Presently Stephen came, unbolting his door with much deliberation, and -greeting Prince Henry with a restrained courtesy. He was not very well -pleased to see his guest, for it was a ticklish moment with the -nose of Saint Peter, and Stephen would have liked to finish the job -uninterrupted. Still, the Prince was a prince, a gentleman, and a -friend, and Stephen would not be uncivil to him. - -"You ride early to-day, sir," he observed, patting the chestnut mare. - -"I have a good reason," answered Henry. "The Lion rages to-day." - -Stephen put up his hand to shelter his eyes from a ray of sunshine that -had evaded the nodding walls and crept in; it lit up his flaxen hair, -which he wore long and in thick waves, and played in his yellow beard; -and he looked very grave. For when the Lion raged, strange and alarming -things might happen in the city of Strelsau. The stories of his last fit -of passion were yet hardly old. - -"What has vexed the King?" he asked; for he knew that Prince Henry spoke -of his father, Henry surnamed the Lion, now an old man, yet as fierce as -when he had been young. "Is it your brother again?" - -"For a marvel, no. It is myself, Stephen. And he is more furious with me -than he has ever been with Rudolf; aye, even more than he was at all the -stories that followed my brother home." - -"And what is the cause of it all, sir, and how is it in my power to -help?" - -"That you will find out very soon," said the Prince with a bitter laugh. -"You will be sent for to the palace in an hour, Stephen." - -"If it is about the King's ring, the ring is not finished," said -Stephen. - -"It is not about the ring. Yet indeed it is, in a way, about a ring. For -you are to be married, Stephen. This very day you are to be married." - -"I think not, sir," said Stephen mildly. "For it is a thing that a man -himself hears about if it be true." - -"But the King thinks so; Stephen, have you remarked, among my sister -Osra's ladies, a certain dark lady, with black hair and eyes? I cannot -describe her eyes." - -"But you can tell me her name, sir," suggested Stephen, who was a -practical man. - -"Her name? Oh, her name is Hilda--Hilda von Lauengram." - -"Aye, I know the Countess Hilda. I have made a bracelet for her." - -"She is the most beautiful creature alive!" cried Prince Henry, in a -sudden rapture and so loudly (being carried away by his passion) that -the girls heard him and wondered of whom he spoke with so great an -enthusiasm. - -"To those to whom she seems such," observed Stephen. "But, pray, how am -I concerned in all this, sir?" - -The Prince's smile grew more bitter as he answered: - -"Why, you are to marry her. It was an idle suggestion of Osra's, made in -jest; my father is pleased to approve of it in earnest." - -Then he bent in his saddle and went on in a hurried urgent whisper: "I -love her better than my life, Stephen--better than heaven; and my faith -and word are pledged to her; and last night I was to have fled with -her--for I knew better than to face the old Lion--but Osra found her -making preparations and we were discovered. Then Osra was scornful, and -the King mad, and Rudolf laughed; and when they talked of what was to be -done to her, Osra came in with her laughing suggestion. It caught the -King's angry fancy, and he swore that it should be so. And, since the -Archbishop is away, he has bidden the Bishop of Modenstein be at the -palace at twelve to-day, and you will be brought there also, and you -will be married to her. But, by heavens, I'll have your blood if you -are!" With this sudden outbreak of fury the Prince ended. Yet a moment -later, he put out his hand to the smith, saying: "It's not your fault, -man." - -"That's true enough," said the smith; "for I have no desire to marry -her; and it is not fitting that a lady of her birth should mate with a -smith; she is of a great house, and she would hate and despise me." - -Prince Henry was about to assent when his eye chanced to fall on Stephen -the smith. Now the smith was a very handsome man--handsomer, many said, -than Prince Rudolf himself, whom no lady could look on without -admiration; he stood six feet and two inches in his flat working shoes; -he was very broad, and could leap higher and hurl a stone farther than -any man in Strelsau. Moreover he looked kind and gentle, yet was reputed -to grow angry at times, and then to be very dangerous. Therefore Prince -Henry, knowing (or thinking that he knew) the caprices of women, and how -they are caught by this and that, was suddenly seized with a terrible -fear that the Countess Hilda might not despise Stephen the smith. Yet he -did not express his fear, but said that it was an impossible thing that -a lady of the Countess's birth (for the House of Lauengram was very -noble) should wed a silversmith, even though he were as fine a fellow as -his good friend Stephen; to which gracious speech Stephen made no reply, -but stood very thoughtful, with his hand on the neck of the chestnut -mare. But at last he said: "In any case it cannot be, for I am bound -already." - -"A wife? Have you a wife?" cried the Prince eagerly. - -"No; but my heart is bound," said Stephen the smith. - -"The King will make little of that. Yet who is she? Is she any of these -girls who stand looking at us?" - -"No, she is none of these," answered Stephen, smiling as though such an -idea were very ludicrous. - -"And are you pledged to her?" - -"I to her, but not she to me." - -"But does she love you?" - -"I think it most unlikely," said Stephen the smith. - -"The Lion will care nothing for this," groaned the Prince despondently. -"They will send for you in half an hour. For heaven's sake spare her, -Stephen!" - -"Spare her, sir?" - -"Do not consent to marry her, however urgently the King may command -you." - -The smith shook his head, smiling still. Prince Henry rode sorrowfully -away, spending not a glance on the bevy of girls who watched him go; and -Stephen, turning into his house, shut the door, and with one great sigh -set to work again on the nose of Saint Peter. - -"For anyhow," said he, "a man can work." And after a long pause he -added, "I never thought to tell any one; but if I must, I must." - -Now, sure enough, when the clock on the Cathedral wanted a quarter of an -hour of noon, two of the King's Guard came and bade Stephen follow them -with all haste to the palace; and since they were very urgent and no -time was to be lost, he followed them as he was, in his apron, without -washing his hands or getting rid of the dust that hung about him from -his work. However he had finished Saint Peter's nose and all had gone -well with it, so that he went in a contented frame of mind, determined -to tell the whole truth to King Henry the Lion sooner than be forced -into a marriage with the Countess Hilda von Lauengram. - -The Lion sat in his great chair; he was a very thin old man, with a face -haggard and deeply lined; his eyes, set far back in his head, glowed and -glowered, and his fingers pulled his sparse white beard. On his right -Prince Rudolf lolled on a low seat, smiling at the play; on his left sat -that wonderfully fair lady, the Princess Osra, then in the first bloom -of her young beauty; and she was smiling scornfully. Prince Henry stood -before his father, and some yards from him was the Countess Hilda, -trembling and tearful, supported by one of her companions; and finally, -since the Archbishop was gone to Rome to get himself a Scarlet Hat, the -Bishop of Modenstein, a young man of noble family, was there, most -richly arrayed in choicest lace and handsomest vestments, ready to -perform the ceremony. Prince Rudolf had beckoned the Bishop near him, -and was jesting with him in an undertone. The Bishop laughed as a man -laughs who knows he should not laugh but cannot well help himself; for -Rudolf owned a pretty wit, although it was sadly unrestrained. - -The King's fury, having had a night and a morning to grow cool in, had -now settled into a cold ironical mood, which argued no less resolution -than his first fierce wrath. There was a grim smile on his face as he -addressed the smith, who, having bowed to the company, was standing -between the Countess and Prince Henry. - -"The House of Elphberg," said the King, with mocking graciousness, "well -recognises your worth, Stephen, my friend. We are indebted to you----" - -"It's a thousand crowns or more from Prince Rudolf alone, sire," -interrupted Stephen, with a bow to the Prince he named. - -"For much faithful service," pursued the King, while Rudolf laughed -again. "I have therefore determined to reward you with the hand of a -lady who is, it may be, above your station, but in no way above your -worth. Behold her! Is she not handsome? On my word, I envy you, smith. -She is beautiful, young, high-born. You are lucky, smith. Nay, no -thanks. It is but what you deserve--and no more than she deserves. Take -her and be happy," and he ended with a snarling laugh, as he waved his -lean veined hand towards the unhappy Countess, and fixed his sneering -eyes on the face of his son Henry, who had turned pale as death, but -neither spoke nor moved. - -[Illustration: "'TAKE HER AND BE HAPPY.'"--_Page 11._] - -The Bishop of Modenstein--he was of the House of Hentzau, many of which -have been famous in history--lifted up his hands in horror at Rudolf's -last whispered jest, and then, advancing with a bow to the King, asked -if he were now to perform his sacred duties. - -"Aye, get on with it," growled the Lion, not heeding the Countess's sobs -or the entreaty in his son's face. And the Princess Osra sat unmoved, -the scornful smile still on her lips; it seemed as though she had no -pity for a brother who could stoop, or for a girl who had dared to soar -too high. - -"Wait, wait!" said Stephen the smith. "Does this lady love me, sire?" - -"Aye, she loves you enough for the purpose, smith," grinned the King. -"Do not be uneasy." - -"May I ask her if she loves me, sire?" - -"Why, no, smith. Your King's word must be enough for you." - -"And your Majesty says that she loves me?" - -"I do say so, smith." - -"Then," said Stephen, "I am very sorry for her; for as there's a heaven -above us, sire, I do not love her." - -Prince Rudolf laughed; Osra's smile broadened in greater scorn; the -Countess hid her face in her companion's bosom. The old King roared out -a gruff burst. "Good, good!" he chuckled. "But it will come with -marriage, smith; for with marriage love either comes or goes--eh, son -Rudolf?--and since in this case it cannot go, you must not doubt, friend -Stephen, that it will come." And he threw himself back in his chair, -greatly amused that a smith, when offered the hand of a Countess, should -hesitate to take it. He had not thought of so fine a humiliation as this -for the presumptuous girl. - -"That might well be, sire," admitted Stephen, "were it not that I most -passionately love another." - -"Our affections," said the King, "are unruly things, smith, and must be -kept in subjection; is it not so, son Rudolf?" - -"It should be so, sire," answered the merry Prince. - -But the Princess Osra, whose eyes had been scanning Stephen's figure, -here broke suddenly into the conversation. - -"Are you pledged to her whom you love so passionately?" she asked. - -"I have not ventured to tell her of my love, madame," answered he, -bowing low. - -"Then there is no harm done," observed Prince Rudolf. "The harm lies in -the telling, not in the loving." - -"Tell us something about her," commanded the Princess; and the King, who -loved sport most when it hurt others, chimed in: "Aye, let's hear about -her whom you prefer to this lady. In what shop does she work, smith? Or -does she sell flowers? Or is she a serving-girl? Come, listen, Countess, -and hear about your rival." - -Prince Henry took one step forward in uncontrolled anger; but he could -not meet the savage mirth in the old man's eyes, and, sinking into a -chair, spread his hand across his face. But Stephen, regarding the King -with placid good-humour, began to speak of her whom he loved so -passionately. And his voice was soft as he spoke. - -"She works in no shop, sire," said he, "nor does she sell flowers, nor -is she a serving-girl; though I would not care if she were. But one day, -when the clouds hung dark over our street, she came riding down it, and -another girl with her. The two stopped before my door, and, seeing them, -I came out----" - -"It is more than you do for me," remarked Prince Rudolf. - -Stephen smiled, but continued his story. "I came out; and she whom I -love gave me a bracelet to mend. And I, looking at her rather than at -the bracelet, said, 'But already it is perfect.' But she did not hear, -for, when she had given me the bracelet, she rode on again at once and -took no more notice of me than of the flies that were crawling up my -wall. That was the first and is the last time that I have spoken to her -until this day. But she was so beautiful that there and then I swore -that, until I had found means and courage to tell her my love, and until -she had thrice refused it, I would marry no other maiden nor speak a -word of love." - -"It seems to me," said Prince Rudolf, "that the oath has some prudence -in it; for if she prove obdurate, friend Stephen, you will then be able -to go elsewhere; many lovers swear more intemperately." - -"But they do not keep their oaths," said Stephen, with a shrewd look at -the Prince. - -"You had best let him alone, my son," said the old King. "He knows what -all the country knows of its future King." - -"Then he may go and hang with all the country," said the Prince -peevishly. - -But the Princess Osra leant a little forward towards Stephen, and the -Countess Hilda also looked covertly out from the folds of her friend's -dress at Stephen. And the Princess said: - -"Was she then so beautiful, this girl?" - -"As the sun in heaven, madame," said the smith. - -"As beautiful as my pretty sister?" asked Rudolf in careless jest. - -"Yes, as beautiful, sir," answered Stephen. - -"Then," said the cruel old King, "very much more beautiful than this -Countess?" - -"Of that you must ask your son Henry, sire," said Stephen discreetly. - -"Nevertheless," said the King, "you must put up with the Countess. We -cannot all have what we want in this world, can we, son Henry?" and he -chuckled again most maliciously. - -"Not, sire, till my lady has thrice refused me," the smith reminded the -King. - -"Then she must be quick about it. For we all, and my lord Bishop here, -are waiting. Send for her, Stephen--by heaven, I have a curiosity to see -her!" - -"And, by heaven! so have I," added Prince Rudolf with a merry smile. -"And poor Henry here may be cured by the sight." - -The Princess Osra leant a little further forward, and said gently: - -"Tell us her name, and we will send for her. Indeed I also would like to -see her." - -"But if she refuses, I shall be worse off than I am now; and if she says -yes, still I must marry the Countess," objected the smith. - -"Nay," said the King, "if she does not refuse you three times, you shall -not marry the Countess, but shall be free to try your fortune with the -girl;" for the smith had put the old Lion in a better temper, and he -thought he was to witness more sport. - -"Since your Majesty is so good, I must tell her name," said Stephen, -"though I had rather have declared my love to herself alone." - -"It is the pleasantest way," said Prince Rudolf, "but the thing can be -done in the presence of others also." - -"You must tell us her name that we may send for her," said the Princess, -her eyes wandering now from the Countess to the smith, and back to the -Countess again. - -"Well, then," said Stephen sturdily, "the lady who came riding down the -street and took away my heart with her is called Osra, and her father is -named Henry." - -A moment or two passed before they understood what the smith had said. -Then the old King fell into a fit of laughter, half choked by coughing; -Prince Rudolf clapped his hands in merry mockery, and a deep flush -spread over the face of the Princess; while the Countess, her companion, -and the younger Prince seemed too astonished to do anything but stare. -As for Stephen, having said what he had to say, he held his peace--a -thing in him which many men, and women also, would do well to imitate; -and, if they cannot, let them pray for the grace that is needful. Heaven -is omnipotent. - -The old King, having recovered from his fit of laughing, looked round on -the smith with infinite amusement, and, turning to his daughter, he -said: "Come, Osra, you have heard the declaration. It remains only for -you to satisfy our good friend's conscience by refusing him three times. -For then he will be free to do our pleasure and make the Countess Hilda -happy." - -The heart of women is, as it would seem, a strange thing; for the -Princess Osra, hearing what the smith had said and learning that he had -fallen passionately in love with her on the mere sight of her beauty, -suddenly felt a tenderness for him and a greater admiration than she had -entertained before; and although she harboured no absurd idea of -listening to his madness, or of doing anything in the world but laugh at -it as it deserved, yet there came on her a strange dislike of the -project that she had herself, in sport, suggested: namely, that the -smith should be married immediately to the Countess Hilda by the Lord -Bishop of Modenstein. The fellow, this smith, had an eye for true -beauty, it seemed. It would be hard to tie him down to this dusky, -black-maned girl; for so the Princess described the lady whom her -brother loved, she herself being, like most of the Elphbergs, rather red -than black in color. Accordingly, when the King spoke to her, she said -fretfully: - -"Am I to be put to refuse the hand of such a fellow as this? Why, to -refuse him is a stain on my dignity!" And she looked most haughty. - -"Yet you must grant him so much because of his oath," said the King. - -"Well, then, I refuse him," said she tartly, and she turned her eyes -away from him. - -"That is once," said Stephen the smith calmly, and he fixed his eyes on -the Princess's face. She felt his gaze, her eyes were drawn back to his, -and she exclaimed angrily: - -"Yes, I refuse him," and again she looked away. But he looked still more -intently at her, waiting for the third refusal. - -"It is as easy to say no three times as twice," said the King. - -"For a man, sire," murmured Prince Rudolf; for he was very learned in -the perilous knowledge of a woman's whims, and, maybe, read something of -what was passing in his sister's heart. Certainly he looked at her and -laughed, and said to the King: - -"Sire, I think this smith is a clever man, for what he really desires is -to wed the Countess, and to do it without disobliging my brother. -Therefore he professes this ridiculous passion, knowing well that Osra -will refuse him, and that he will enjoy the great good fortune of -marrying the Countess against his will. Thus he will obey you and be -free from my brother's anger. In truth, you're a crafty fellow, Master -Stephen!" - -"There is no craft, sir," said Stephen. "I have told nothing but the -truth." - -But the King swore a loud oath, crying: "Aye, that there is! Rudolf has -hit the mark. Yet I do not grudge him his good luck. Refuse him, Osra, -and make him happy." - -But the dark flush came anew on the Princess's face, for now she did not -know whether the smith really loved her or whether he had been making a -jest of her in order to save himself in the eyes of her brother Henry, -and it became very intolerable to her to suppose that the smith desired -the Countess, and had lied in what he said about herself, making a tool -of her. Again, it was hardly more tolerable to give him to the Countess, -in case he truly loved herself; so that her mind was very greatly -disturbed, and she was devoured with eagerness to know the reality of -the smith's feelings towards her; for, although he was only a smith, yet -he was a wonderfully handsome man--in truth, it was curious that she had -not paid attention to his looks before. Thus she was reluctant to refuse -him a third time, when the Bishop of Modenstein stood there, waiting -only for her word to marry him to the Countess; and she rose suddenly -from her seat and walked towards the door of the room, and, when she had -almost reached the door, she turned her head over her shoulder and cast -one smile at Stephen the smith. As she glanced, the blush again mounted -to her face, making her so lovely that her father wondered, and she said -in arch softness: "I'll refuse him the third time some other day; two -denials are enough for one day," and with that she passed through the -door and vanished from their sight. - -The King and Rudolf, who had seen the glance that she cast at Stephen, -fell to laughing again, swearing to one another that a woman was a woman -all the world over, whereat the lips of the Bishop twitched. - -"But the marriage can't go on," cried Rudolf at last. - -"Let it rest for to-day," said the King, whose anger was past. "Let it -rest. The Countess shall be guarded; and, since this young fool" (and he -pointed to his son Henry) "will not wander while she is caged, let him -go where he will. Then as soon as Osra has refused the smith a third -time, we will send for the Bishop." - -"And what am I to do, sire?" asked Stephen the smith. - -"Why, my son-in-law that would be," chuckled the King, "you may go back -to where you came from till I send for you again." - -So Stephen, having thanked the King, went back home, and, sitting down -to the chasing of a cup, became very thoughtful; for it seemed to him -that the Countess had been hardly treated, and that the Prince deserved -happiness, and that the Princess was yet more lovely than his eyes had -found her before. - -Thus, in his work and his meditations, the afternoon wore away fast. So -goes time when hand and head are busy. - - * * * * * - -The Princess Osra walked restlessly up and down the length of her -bed-chamber. Dinner was done and it was eight o'clock, and, the season -being late October, it had grown dark. She had come thither to be alone; -yet, now that she was alone, she could not rest. He was an absurd -fellow--that smith! Yes, she thought him fully as handsome as her -brother Rudolf. But what did Henry find to love in the black-brown -Hilda? She could not understand a man caring for such a colour; a -blackamoor would serve as well! Ah, what had that silly smith meant? It -must have been a trick, as Rudolf said. Yet when he spoke first of her -riding down the street, there was a look in his eyes that a man can -hardly put there of his own will. Did the silly fellow then really----? -Nay, that was absurd; she prayed that it might not be true, for she -would not have the poor fool unhappy. Nay, he was no fool. It was a -trick, then! How dared the insolent knave use her for his tricks? Was -there no other maiden in Strelsau whose name would have served? Must he -lay his tongue to the name of a daughter of the Elphbergs? The fellow -deserved flogging, if it were a trick. Ah, was it a trick? Or was it the -truth? Oh, in heaven's name, which was it? And the Princess tore the -delicate silk of her ivory fan to shreds, and flung the naked sticks -with a clatter on the floor. - -"I can't rest till I know," she cried, as she came to a stand before a -long mirror let into the panel of the wall, and saw herself at full -length in it. As she looked a smile came, parting her lips, and she -threw her head back as she said: "I will go and ask the smith what he -meant." And she smiled again at her own face in triumphant daring; for -when she looked, she thought, "I know what he meant! Yet I will hear -from himself what he meant." - -Stephen the smith sat alone in his house; his apprentices were gone, and -he himself neither worked nor supped, but sat still and idle by his -hearth. The street was silent also, for it rained and nobody was about. -Then suddenly came a light timid rap at the door; so light was it that -the smith doubted if he had really heard, but it came again and he rose -leisurely and opened the door. Even as he did so a slight tall figure -slipped by him, an arm pulled him back, the door was pushed close again, -and he was alone inside the house with a lady wrapped in a long -riding-cloak, and so veiled that nothing of her face could be seen. - -"Welcome, madame," said Stephen the smith; and he drew a chair forward -and bowed to his visitor. He was not wearing his apron now, but was -dressed in a well-cut suit of brown cloth and had put on a pair of silk -stockings. He might have been expecting visitors, so carefully had he -arrayed himself. - -"Do you know who I am?" asked the veiled lady. - -"Since I was a baby, madame," answered the smith, "I have known the sun -when I saw it, even though clouds dimmed its face." - -A corner of the veil was drawn down, and one eye gleamed in frightened -mirth. - -"Nobody knows I have come," said Osra. "And you do not know why I have -come." - -"Is it to answer me for the third time?" asked he, drawing a step -nearer, yet observing great deference in his manner. - -"It is not to answer at all, but to ask. But I am very silly to have -come. What is it to me what you meant?" - -"I cannot conceive that it could be anything, madame," said Stephen, -smiling. - -"Yet some think her beautiful--my brother Henry, for example." - -"We must respect the opinions of Princes," observed the smith. - -"Must we share them?" she asked, drawing the veil yet a little aside. - -"We can share nothing--we humble folk--with Princes or Princesses, -madame." - -"Yet we can make free with their names, though humbler ones would serve -as well." - -"No other would have served at all, madame." - -"Then you meant it?" she cried in sudden half-serious eagerness. - -"Nay, but what, madame?" - -"I don't care whether you meant it or not." - -"Alas! I know it so well, that I marvel you have come to tell me." - -The Princess rose and began to walk up and down as she had in her own -chamber. Stephen stood regarding her as though God had made his eyes for -that one purpose. - -"The thing is nothing," she declared petulantly, "but I have a fancy to -ask it. Stephen, was it a trick, or--or was it really so? Come, answer -me! I can't spend much time on it." - -"It is not worth a thought to you. If you say no a third time, all will -be well." - -"You will marry the Countess?" - -"Can I disobey the King, madame?" - -"I am very sorry for her," said the Princess. "A lady of her rank should -not be forced to marry a silversmith." - -"Indeed I thought so all along. Therefore----" - -"You played the trick?" she cried in unmistakable anger. - -Stephen made no answer for a time, then he said softly: "If she loves -the Prince and he her, why should they not marry?" - -"Because his birth is above hers." - -"I am glad, then, that I am of no birth, for I can marry whom I will." - -"Are you so happy and so free, Stephen?" sighed the Princess; and there -was no more of the veil left than served to frame the picture of her -face. - -"So soon as you have refused me the third time, madame," bowed the -smith. - -"Will you not answer me?" cried the Princess; and she smiled no more, -but was as eager as though she were asking some important question. - -"Bring the Countess here to-morrow at this time," said Stephen, "and I -will answer." - -"You wish, perhaps, to make a comparison between us?" she asked -haughtily. - -"I cannot be compelled to answer except on my own terms," said the -smith. "Yet if you will refuse me once again, the thing will be -finished." - -"I will refuse you," she cried, "when I please." - -"But you will bring the Countess, madame?" - -"I am very sorry for her. I have behaved ill to her, Stephen, though I -meant only to jest." - -"There is room for amends, madame," said he. - -The Princess looked long and curiously in his face, but he met her -glance with a quiet smile. - -"It grows late," said he, "and you should not be here longer, madame. -Shall I escort you to the palace?" - -"And have every one asking with whom Stephen the smith walks? No, I will -go as I came. You have not answered me, Stephen." - -"And you have not refused me, madame." - -"Will you answer me to-morrow when I come with the Countess?" - -"Yes, I will answer then." - -The Princess had drawn near to the door; now Stephen opened it for her -to pass out; and as she crossed the threshold, she said: - -"And I will refuse you then--perhaps;" with which she darted swiftly -down the dark, silent, shining street, and was gone; and Stephen, having -closed the door, passed his hand twice over his brow, sighed thrice, -smiled once, and set about the preparation of his supper. - -On the next night, as the Cathedral clock struck nine, there arose a -sudden tumult and excitement in the palace. King Henry the Lion was in -such a rage as no man had ever seen him in before; even Rudolf, his son, -did not dare to laugh at him; courtiers, guards, attendants, lackeys, -ran wildly to and fro in immense fear and trepidation. A little later, -and a large company of the King's Guard filed out, and, under the -command of various officers, scattered themselves through the whole of -Strelsau, while five mounted men rode at a gallop to each of the five -gates of the city, bearing commands that the gates should be closed, and -no man, woman, or child be allowed to pass out without an order under -the hand of the King's Marshal. And the King swore by heaven, and by -much else, that he would lay them--that is to say, the persons whose -disappearance caused all this hubbub--by the heels, and that they should -know that there was life in the Lion yet; whereat Prince Rudolf looked -as serious as he could contrive to look--for he was wonderfully -amused--and called for more wine. And the reason of the whole thing was -no other than this, that the room of the Princess Osra was empty, and -the room of the Countess Hilda was empty, and nobody had set eyes on -Henry, the King's son, for the last two hours or more. Now these facts -were, under the circumstances of the case, enough to upset a man of a -temper far more equable than was old King Henry the Lion. - -Through all the city went the Guards, knocking at every door, disturbing -some at their suppers, some from their beds, some in the midst of -revelry, some who toiled late for a scanty livelihood. When the doors -were not opened briskly, the Guard without ceremony broke them in; they -ransacked every crevice and cranny of every house, and displayed the -utmost zeal imaginable; nay, one old lady they so terrified that she had -a fit there where she lay in bed, and did not recover for the best part -of a month. And thus, having traversed all the city and set the whole -place in stir and commotion, they came at last to the street where -Stephen lived, and to the sign of the "Silver Ship," where he carried on -the business bequeathed to him by Aaron Lazarus the Jew. - -"Rat, tat, tat!" came thundering on the door from the sword-hilt of the -Sergeant in command of the party. - -There was no answer; no light shone from the house, for the window was -closely shuttered. Again the Sergeant hammered on the door. - -"This pestilent smith is gone to bed," he cried in vexation. "But we -must leave no house unsearched. Come, we must break in the door!" and he -began to examine the door, and found that it was a fine solid door, of -good oak and clamped with iron. - -"Phew, we shall have a job with this door!" he sighed. "Why, in the -devil's name, doesn't the fellow answer? Stephen, Stephen! Ho, there! -Stephen!" - -Yet no answer came from the inside of the house. - -But at this moment another sound struck sharp on the ears of the -Sergeant and his men. It was the noise of flames crackling; from the -house next to Stephen's (which belonged to him, but was inhabited by a -fruit-seller) there welled out smoke in volumes from every window; and -the fruit-seller and his family appeared at the windows calling for aid. -Seeing this, the Sergeant blew very loudly the whistle that he carried -and cried "Fire!" and bade his men run and procure a ladder; for plainly -the fruit-seller's house was on fire, and it was a more urgent matter to -rescue men and women from burning than to find the Countess and the -Prince. Presently the ladder came, and a great crowd of people, roused -by the whistle and the cries of fire, came also; and then the door of -Stephen's house was opened, and Stephen himself, looking out, asked what -was the matter. Being told that the next house was on fire, he turned -very grave--for the house was his--and waited for a moment to watch the -fruit-seller and his family being brought down the ladder, which task -was safely and prosperously accomplished. But the Sergeant said to him: -"The fire may well spread, and if there is anyone in your house, it -would be prudent to get them out." - -"That is well thought of," said Stephen approvingly. "I was working late -with three apprentices, and they are still in the house." And he put his -head in at his door and called: "You had better come out, lads, the fire -may spread." But the Sergeant turned away again and busied himself in -putting the fire out. - -Then three lads, one being very tall, came out of Stephen's house, clad -in their leather breeches, their aprons, and the close-fitting caps that -apprentices wore; and for a moment they stood watching the fire at the -fruit-seller's. Then, seeing that the fire was burning low--which it did -very quickly--they did not stay till the attention of the Sergeant was -released from it, but, accompanied by Stephen, turned down the street, -and, going along at a brisk rate, rounded the corner and came into the -open space in front of the Cathedral. - -"The gates will be shut, I fear," said the tallest apprentice. "How came -the fire, Stephen?" - -"It was three or four trusses of hay, sir, and a few crowns to repair -his scorched paint. Shall we go to the gate?" - -"Yes, we must try the gate," said Prince Henry, gathering the hand of -the Countess into his; and the third apprentice walked silently by -Stephen's side. Yet once as she went, she said softly: - -"So it was no trick, Stephen?" - -"No trick, but the truth, madame," said Stephen. - -"I do not know," said Osra, "how I am to return to the palace in these -clothes." - -"Let us get your brother and the Countess away first," counselled the -smith. - -Now when they came to the nearest gate it was shut; but at the moment a -troop of mounted men rode up, having been sent by the King to scour the -country round, in case the fugitives should have escaped already from -the city. And the Commandant of the company bore an order from the -King's Marshal for the opening of the gate. Seeing this, Stephen the -smith went up to him and began to talk to him, the three apprentices -standing close by. The Commandant knew Stephen well, and was pleased to -talk with him while the gates were opened and the troopers filed -through. Stephen kept close by him till the troopers were all through. -Then he turned and spoke to the apprentices, and they nodded assent. The -Commandant checked his horse for an instant when he was half-way through -the gate, and bent down and took Stephen's hand to shake it in farewell. -Stephen took his hand with marvellous friendliness, and held it, and -would not let him go. But the apprentices edged cautiously nearer and -nearer the gate. - -"Enough, man, enough!" laughed the Commandant. "We are not parting for -ever." - -"I trust not, sir, I trust not," said Stephen earnestly, still holding -his hand. - -"Come, let me go. See, the gate-warden wants to shut the gate!" - -"True!" said Stephen. "Good-bye then, sir. Hallo, hallo! stop, stop! Oh, -the young rascals!" - -For even as Stephen spoke, two of the apprentices had darted through the -half-closed gate, and run swiftly forward into the gloom of the night. -Stephen swore an oath. - -"The rogues!" he cried. "They were to have worked all night to finish an -image of Our Lady! And now I shall see no more of them till to-morrow! -They shall pay for their prank then, by heaven they shall!" But the -Commandant laughed. - -"I am sorry I can't catch them for you, friend Stephen," said he, "but I -have other fish to fry. Well, boys will be boys. Don't be too hard on -them when they return." - -"They must answer for what they do," said Stephen; and the Commandant -rode on and the gates were shut. - -Then the Princess Osra said: - -"Will they escape, Stephen?" - -"They have money in their purses, love in their hearts, and an angry -King behind them. I should travel quickly, madame, if I were so placed." - -The Princess looked through the grating of the gate. - -"Yes," she said, "they have all those. How happy they must be, Stephen! -But what am I to do?" - -Stephen made no answer and they walked back in silence to his house. It -may be that they were wondering whether Prince Henry and the Countess -would escape. Yet it may be that they thought of something else. When -they reached the house, Stephen bade the Princess go into the inner room -and resume her own dress that she might return to the palace, and that -it might not be known where she had been nor how she had aided her -brother to evade the King's prohibition; and when she, still strangely -silent, went in as he bade her, he took his great staff in his hand, and -stood on the threshold of the house, his head nearly touching the lintel -and his shoulders filling almost all the space between door-post and -door-post. - -[Illustration: "STEPHEN STOOD ON THE THRESHOLD WITH HIS STAFF IN HIS -HAND."--_Page 37._] - -When he had stood there a little while, the same Sergeant of the Guard, -recollecting (now that the fire at the fruit-seller's was out) that he -had never searched the house of the smith, came again with his four men, -and told Stephen to stand aside and allow him to enter the house. - -"For I must search it," he said, "or my orders will not be performed." - -"Those whom you seek are not here," said Stephen. - -"That I must see for myself," answered the Sergeant. "Come, smith, stand -aside." - -When the Princess heard the voices outside, she put her head round the -door of the inner room, and cried in great alarm to Stephen: - -"They must not come in, Stephen. At any cost they must not come in!" - -"Do not be afraid, madame, they shall not come in," said he. - -"I heard a voice in the house," exclaimed the Sergeant. - -"It is nothing uncommon to hear in a house," said Stephen, and he -grasped more firmly his great staff. - -"Will you make way for us?" demanded the Sergeant. "For the last time, -will you make way?" - -Stephen's eyes kindled; for though he was a man of peace, yet his -strength was great and he loved sometimes to use it; and above all, he -loved to use it now at the bidding and in protection of his dear -Princess. So he answered the Sergeant from between set teeth: - -"Over my dead body you can come in." - -Then the Sergeant drew his sword and his men set their halberds in rest, -and the Sergeant, crying, "In the King's name!" came at Stephen with -drawn sword and struck fiercely at him. But Stephen let the great staff -drop on the Sergeant's shoulder, and the Sergeant's arm fell powerless -by his side. Thereupon the Guards cried aloud, and people began to come -out of their houses, seeing that there was a fight at Stephen's door. -And Stephen's eyes gleamed, and when the Guards thrust at him, he struck -at them, and two of them he stretched senseless on the ground; for his -height and reach were such that he struck them before they could come -near enough to touch him, and having no firearms they could not bring -him down. - -The Princess, now fully dressed in her own garments, came out into the -outer room, and stood there looking at Stephen. Her bosom rose and fell, -and her eyes grew dim as she looked; and growing very eager, and being -very much moved, she kept murmuring to herself, "I have not said no -thrice!" And she spent no thought on the Countess or her brother, nor on -how she was to return undetected to the palace, but saw only the figure -of Stephen on the threshold, and heard only the cries of the Guards who -assaulted him. It seemed to her a brave thing to have such a man to -fight for her, and to offer his life to save her shame. - -Old King Henry was not a patient man, and when he had waited two hours -without news of son, daughter, or Countess, he flew into a mighty -passion and sent one for his horse, and another for Rudolf's horse, and -a third for Rudolf himself; and he drank a draught of wine, and called -to Rudolf to accompany him, that they might see for themselves what the -lazy hounds of Guards were doing, that they had not yet come up with the -quarry. Prince Rudolf laughed and yawned and wished his brother at the -devil, but mounted his horse and rode with the King. Thus they traversed -the city, riding swiftly, the old King furiously upbraiding every -officer and soldier whom he met; then they rode to the gate; and all the -gate-wardens said that nobody had gone out, save that one gate-warden -admitted that two apprentices of Stephen the silversmith had contrived -to slip out when the gates were open to let the troopers pass. But the -King made nothing of it, and, turning with his son, rode up the street -where Stephen lived. Here they came suddenly into the midst of a crowd, -that filled all the roadway, and would hardly let the horses move even -at a foot's pace. The King cried out angrily, "What is this tumult?" - -Then the people knew him, and, since common folk are always anxious to -serve and commend themselves to the great, a score began all at once to -tell him what had happened, some starting with the fire, some going -straight to the fight; and the King could not make head or tail of the -babel of voices and different stories. And Prince Rudolf dropped his -reins and sat on his horse laughing. But the King, his patience being -clean gone, drew his sword and cried fiercely, "Make way!" and set his -spurs to his horse, not recking whether he hurt any man in life or limb. -Thus he gained a passage through the crowd, and came near to Stephen's -house, Prince Rudolf following in his wake, still greatly amused at all -that was happening. - -But the sight they saw there arrested even Prince Rudolf's smiles, and -he raised himself in his stirrups with a sudden cry of wonder. For four -more of the Guard had come, and there were now six standing round the -doorway, and three lay stretched on the ground; but Stephen the smith -still stood on the threshold, with his staff in his hand. Blood flowed -from a wound in his head, but he twirled the staff to and fro, and was -not weary, and none of the Guard dared to rush in and close with him. -Thus he had held the threshold for an hour; yet the Princess Osra could -not escape unless he could drive off the Guard for a few moments, and -this he hoped to do, thinking that they might draw off and wait for -reinforcements; but in any case he had sworn that they should not pass. -And Osra did not pray him to let them pass, but stood motionless in the -middle of the room behind him, her hands clasped, her face rigid, and -her eyes all aflame with admiration of his strength and his courage. - -Thus matters were when the old King and Prince Rudolf broke through the -crowd that ringed the house round, and the King cried out, asking what -was the meaning of all that he saw. - -But when the King heard that Stephen the smith resisted the officers, -would not suffer his house to be searched, had stretched three of the -Guards senseless on the ground, and still more than held his own, he -fell into a great rage; he roared out on them all, calling them cowards, -and, before his son or any one else could stop him, he drew his sword, -and dug his spurs into his horse; the horse bounded forward and knocked -down one of the Guards who stood round Stephen. Then the King, neither -challenging Stephen to yield, nor giving him time to stand aside, being -carried away by passion, raised his sword and rode full at him. And the -Princess from within caught sight of his face, and she fell on her knees -with a moan and hid her face. Then Stephen saw that it was the King and -none other who rode against him; and even had the King given him time, -it may be that he would not have yielded, for he was a very resolute -man, and he had pledged his promise to Osra the Princess. But he had no -time for thought, for the King was on him in the space of a second, and -he could do nothing but drop the staff that he held, and stand -defenceless in the doorway; for he would neither strike the King nor -yield the passage. But the King, in his fury not heeding that Stephen -had dropped his staff, drew back his arm and lunged with his sword, and -thrust the smith through the chest; and Stephen reeled and fell on one -knee, and his blood flowed out on the stone of the doorstep. Then the -King reined in his horse, and sat looking down on Stephen; but Rudolf -leapt to the ground, and came and caught hold of Stephen, supporting -him, and asking, "What does it mean, man, what does it mean?" - -Then Stephen, being very faint with his wound, said with difficulty: -"Come in alone--you and the King alone." - -Prince Rudolf looked at the King, who sheathed his sword and dismounted -from his horse; the Prince supported Stephen inside the house, and the -King followed them, shutting the door on all the people outside. - -Then King Henry saw his daughter, crouching now in the middle of the -room, her face hidden in her hands. Surprise and wonder banished his -rage and he could not do more than gasp her name, while the Prince, who -knelt supporting Stephen, cried to her, asking how she came there; but -she answered nothing. She took her hands from her face and looked at -Stephen; and when she saw that he was hurt and bleeding, she fell to -sobbing and hid her face again. And she did not know whether she would -have him live or die; for if he lived he could not be hers, and if he -died her heart would ache sorely for him. Then Stephen, being supported -by the arms of Prince Rudolf, made shift to speak, and he told the King -how, at his persuasion, the Princess had brought the Countess thither; -how he himself had contrived the presence of the Prince at the same -time, how again the Princess had been prevailed upon to aid the lovers; -how they assumed the disguise of apprentices; and how, hearing the -arrival of the Guard, they had escaped out into the street; and lastly, -how that the Prince and the Countess had got out of the city. But he -said nothing of the fire at the fruit-seller's, nor of how he himself -had bribed the fruit-seller to set the hay on fire, speaking to him from -the back windows of the house, and flinging a purse of gold pieces -across to him; nor did this ever become known to the King. And when -Stephen had said his say, he fell back very faint in the arms of the -Prince; and the Prince tore a scarf from his waist, and tried to staunch -the blood from Stephen's wound. But the old King, who was a hard man, -smiled grimly. - -"Indeed he has tricked us finely, this smith, and he is a clever -fellow," said he; "but unless he would rather hang than bleed to death, -let his wound be, Rudolf. For by heaven, if you cure him, I will hang -him." - -"Do not be afraid, sire," said Stephen; "the Prince cannot cure me. You -still strike straight, though you are hard on seventy." - -"Straight enough for a rascal like you," said the King well pleased; and -he added, "Hold the fellow easily, Rudolf, I would not have him suffer." -And this was, they say, the only time in all his life that Henry the -Lion shewed a sign of pity to any man. - -But Stephen was now very faint, and he cast his eyes towards the -Princess; and Rudolf followed his eyes. Now Rudolf had an affection for -Stephen, and he loved his sister, and was a man of soft heart; so he -cried gently to Osra, "Come, sister, and help me with him." And she -rose, and came and sat down by the wall, and gathered Stephen's head -into her lap; and there he lay, looking up at her, with a smile on his -lips. But still he bled, and his blood stained the white cloak that she -wore over her robe; and her tears dropped on his face. But Rudolf took -his father by the arm, and led him a little way off, saying: - -"What matter, sire? The girl is young, and the man is dying. Let them -be." - -The old King, grumbling, let himself be led away; and perhaps even he -was moved, for he forgot Prince Henry and the Countess, and did not -think of sending men in pursuit of them, for which reason they obtained -a fair and long start in their flight. - -Then Stephen, looking up at Osra, said: - -"Do not weep, madame. They will escape now, and they will be happy." - -"I was not weeping for them," said the Princess. - -Stephen was silent for a little, and then he said: - -"In very truth it was no trick, madame; it was even as I said, from the -first day that you rode along the street here; it was always the same in -my heart, and would always have been, however long I had lived." - -"I do not doubt it, Stephen; and it is not for doubt of it that I weep," -said she. - -Then, after a little while, he said: - -"Do you weep, madame, because I am dying?" - -"Yes, I weep for that." - -"Would you have me live, madame?" he asked. - -"No, I would not--no--but I do not know," she said. - -Then Stephen the smith smiled, and his smile was happy. - -"Yet," said he, "it would make small difference to the Princess Osra -whether Stephen the smith lived or died." - -At this, although he lay there a dying man, a sudden flush of red spread -all over her cheeks, and she turned her eyes away from his, and would -not meet his glance; she made him no answer, and he said again: - -"What can it concern the Princess whether I live or die?" - -Still the blush burnt on her cheek, and still she had no answer to give -to Stephen, as he lay dying with his head on her lap. And a bright gleam -came into his eyes, and he tried to move a hand towards her hand; and -she, seeing the effort, put out her hand and held his; and he whispered -very low, for he could hardly speak: - -"You have not yet refused me three times, madame." - -At that her eyes came back to his, and their eyes dwelt long on one -another. And for a moment it seemed to them that all things became -possible, life and joy and love. Yet since all could not be, they were -content that none should be. - -Then the Princess bent low over his head, and she whispered to him: - -"No, I have not refused you thrice, Stephen." - -His lips just moved once again, and, being very near him, she heard: - -"And you will not?" he said. - -"No," said she, and she kissed his lips, and he smiled and turned on his -side; and he nestled his head, as it were cosily, on her lap, and he -said no more. - -Thus died Stephen the silversmith of Strelsau, happy in his death -because Osra the Princess had not refused him thrice. And she laid him -gently on the ground, and rose, and went across to where the King sat -with Rudolf. - -"Sire, he is dead," said she. - -"It is well," said the King. And he bade Rudolf go and cause all the -people to leave the streets, and return to their houses; and when all -the streets were cleared, the Princess veiled herself, and her brother -mounted her on his horse, and thus she rode back to the palace; and none -knew that she had been in the house of Stephen the silversmith. - -And after many months Prince Henry, who had made good his escape and -married the lady whom he loved, was reconciled to his father and -returned to the city of Strelsau. And when he heard how Stephen had -died, he raised a stately monument over him, and had carved on it his -name, and the day and year in which he had died; and underneath he -caused to be engraved the words, "From a Friend to a Friend." But when -this monument had stood three days in its place, there came thither a -lady closely veiled; she prayed on her knees by the monument for a long -while, and then rose and stood regarding it; and her eyes rested on the -last words that Prince Henry had written on the stone. Then she came -nearer, and kissed the words, and, when she had kissed them, she -whispered softly, "From a Lover to a Lover"; and, having whispered this, -she turned away and went back to the palace, and came no more to the -tomb, for fear that the people should remark her coming. Yet often in -the days that followed she would open the window of her bed-chamber by -night, and she would whisper to the silent trusty darkness, that holds -secrets and comforts sore hearts: - -"Not thrice, Stephen, not thrice!" - -Therefore it may be that there had been a sweet madness in her heart, -and that Stephen the silversmith had done a great thing, a thing that -would appear impossible, before he died. And, as Prince Rudolf said, -what matter? For the girl was young, and the dream was sweet, and the -man was dead, and in death at last are all men equal. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - - The Wager of the Marquis de Mérosailles. - - -In the year 1734, as spring began, there arrived at Strelsau a French -nobleman of high rank and great possessions, endowed also with many -accomplishments. He came to visit Prince Rudolf, whose acquaintance he -had made while the Prince was at Paris in the course of his travels. -King Henry received M. de Mérosailles--for such was his name--most -graciously, and sent a guard of honour to conduct him to the Castle of -Zenda, where the Prince was then staying in company with his sister -Osra. There the Marquis, on his arrival, was greeted with much joy by -Prince Rudolf, who found his sojourn in the country somewhat irksome and -was glad of the society of a friend with whom he could talk, and sport, -and play at cards. All these things he did with M. de Mérosailles, and a -great friendship arose between the young men, so that they spoke very -freely to one another at all times, and most of all when they had drunk -their wine and sat together in the evening in Prince Rudolf's chamber -that looked across the moat towards the gardens; for the new _château_ -that now stands on the site of these gardens was not then built. And one -night M. de Mérosailles made bold to ask the Prince how it fell out that -his sister the Princess, a lady of such great beauty, seemed sad, and -shewed no pleasure in the society of any gentleman, but treated all -alike with coldness and disdain. Prince Rudolf, laughing, answered that -girls were strange creatures, and that he had ceased to trouble his head -about them (of his heart he said nothing) and he finished by exclaiming: -"On my honour, I doubt if she so much as knows you are here, for she has -not looked at you once since your arrival!" And he smiled maliciously, -for he knew that the Marquis was not accustomed to be neglected by -ladies, and would take it ill that even a Princess should be unconscious -of his presence. In this he calculated rightly, for M. de Mérosailles -was greatly vexed, and, twisting his glass in his fingers, he said: - -"If she were not a Princess, and your sister, sir, I would engage to -make her look at me." - -"I am not hurt by her looking at you," rejoined the Prince: for that -evening he was very merry. "A look is no great thing." - -The Marquis, being no less merry, and knowing that Rudolf had not the -regard for his dignity that a Prince should have, threw out carelessly: - -"A kiss is more, sir." - -"It is a great deal more," laughed the Prince, tugging his moustache. - -"Are you ready for a wager, sir?" asked M. de Mérosailles, leaning -across the table towards him. - -"I'll lay you a thousand crowns to a hundred that you do not gain a -kiss, using what means you will, save force." - -"I'll take that wager, sir," cried the Marquis. "But it shall be three, -not one." - -"Have a care," said the Prince. "Don't go too near the flame, my lord! -There are some wings in Strelsau singed at that candle." - -"Indeed the light is very bright," assented the Marquis courteously. -"That risk I must run, though, if I am to win my wager. It is to be -three then, and by what means I will, save force?" - -"Even so," said Rudolf, and he laughed again. For he thought the wager -harmless, since by no device could M. de Mérosailles win so much as one -kiss from the Princess Osra, and the wager stood at three. But he did -not think how he wronged his sister by using her name lightly, being in -all such matters a man of careless mind. - -But the Marquis, having made his wager, set himself steadily to win it. -Therefore he brought forth the choicest clothes from his wardrobe, and -ornaments, and perfumes; and he laid fine presents at the Princess's -feet; and he waylaid her wherever she went, and was profuse of glances, -sighs, and hints; and he wrote sonnets, as fine gentlemen used in those -days, and lyrics and pastorals, wherein she figured under charming -names. These he bribed the Princess's waiting-women to leave in their -mistress's chamber. Moreover he looked now sorrowful, now passionate, -and he ate nothing at dinner, but drank his wine in wild gulps, as -though he sought to banish sadness. So that, in a word, there was no -device in Cupid's armoury that the Marquis de Mérosailles did not -practise in the endeavour to win a look from the Princess Osra. But no -look came, and he got nothing from her but cold civility. Yet she had -looked at him when he looked not--for Princesses are much like other -maidens--and thought him a very pretty gentleman, and was highly amused -by his extravagance. Yet she did not believe it to witness any true -devotion to her, but thought it mere gallantry. - -Then, one day, M. de Mérosailles, having tried all else that he could -think of, took to his bed. He sent for a physician, and paid him a high -fee to find the seeds of a rapid and fatal disease in him: and he made -his body-servant whiten his face and darken his room; and he groaned -very pitifully, saying that he was sick, and that he was glad of it; for -death would be better far than the continued disdain of the Princess -Osra. And all this, being told by the Marquis's servants to the -Princess's waiting-women, reached Osra's ears, and caused her much -perturbation. For she now perceived that the passion of the Marquis was -real and deep, and she became very sorry for him: the longer the face of -the rascally physician grew the more sad the Princess became: she walked -up and down, bewailing the terrible effects of her beauty, wishing that -she were not so fair, and mourning very tenderly for the sad plight of -the unhappy Marquis. - -Through all Prince Rudolf looked on, but was bound by his wager not to -undeceive her; moreover he found much entertainment in the matter, and -swore that it was worth three times a thousand crowns. - -At last the Marquis sent by the mouth of his physician a very humble and -pitiful message to the Princess, in which he spoke of himself as near to -death, hinted at the cruel cause of his condition, and prayed her of -compassion to visit him in his chamber, and speak a word of comfort, or -at least let him look on her face: for the brightness of her eyes, he -said, might cure even what it had caused. - -[Illustration: THE PHYSICIAN RECEIVES PRINCESS OSRA.--_Page 56._] - -Deceived by this appeal, Princess Osra agreed to go; moved by some -strange impulse, she put on her choicest array, dressed her hair most -splendidly, and came into the chamber looking like a goddess. There lay -the Marquis, white as a ghost and languid on his pillows; and they were -left, as they thought, alone. Then Osra sat down and began to talk very -gently and kindly to him, glancing only at the madness which brought him -to his sad state, and imploring him to summon his resolution, and -conquer his sickness for his friends' sake at home in France, and for -the sake of her brother, who loved him. - -"There is nobody who loves me," said the Marquis petulantly; and when -Osra cried out at this, he went on, "For the love of those whom I do not -love is nothing to me, and the only soul alive I love----." There he -stopped, but his eyes, fixed on Osra's face, ended the sentence for him. -And she blushed, and looked away. Then thinking the moment was come, he -burst suddenly into a flood of protestations and self-reproach, cursing -himself for a fool and a presumptuous madman, pitifully craving her -pardon, and declaring that he did not deserve her kindness, and yet that -he could not live without it, and that anyhow he would be dead soon, and -thus cease to trouble her. But she, being thus passionately assailed, -showed such sweet tenderness and compunction and pity, that M. de -Mérosailles came very near to forgetting that he was playing a comedy, -and threw himself into his part with eagerness, redoubling his -vehemence, and feeling now full half of what he said. For the Princess -was to his eyes far more beautiful in her softer mood. Yet he remembered -his wager, and, at last, when she was nearly in tears and ready, as it -seemed, to do anything to give him comfort, he cried desperately: - -"Ah, leave, leave me! Leave me to die alone! Yet, for pity's sake, -before you go, and before I die, give me your forgiveness, and let your -lips touch my forehead in token of it. Then I shall die in peace." - -At that the Princess blushed still more, and her eyes were wet, and -shone, for she was deeply touched at his misery and at the sad prospect -of the death for love of so gallant a gentleman. Thus she could scarcely -speak for emotion; and the Marquis seeing her emotion was himself deeply -affected; and she rose from her chair, and bent over him, and whispered -comfort to him. Then she leant down, and very lightly touched his -forehead with her lips; he felt her eyelashes, which were wet with -tears, brush the skin of his forehead; and then she sobbed and covered -her face with her hands. Indeed his state seemed to her most pitiful. - -Thus M. de Mérosailles had won one of his three kisses; yet, strange to -tell, there was no triumph in him, but now he perceived the baseness of -his device; and the sweet kindness of the Princess, working together -with the great beauty of her softened manner, so affected him that he -thought no more of his wager and could not endure to carry on his -deception; nothing would serve his turn but to confess to the Princess -what he had done, humbling himself in the dust before her, and -entreating her to pardon him and let him find forgiveness. - -Impelled by these feelings, after he had lain still a few moments -listening to the Princess weeping, he leapt suddenly out of bed, showing -himself fully dressed under the bed-gown which he now eagerly tore off; -and he rubbed all the white he could from his cheeks, and then he fell -on his knees before the Princess, crying to her that he had played the -meanest trick on her, and that he was a scoundrel, and no gentleman, and -that unless she forgave him he should in very truth die; nay, that he -would not consent to live unless he could win from her pardon for his -deceit. And in all this he was now absolutely in earnest, wondering only -how he had not been as passionately enamoured of her from the first as -he had feigned himself to be. For a man in love can never conceive -himself out of it, nor he that is out of it in it; for if he can, he is -half way to the one or the other, however little he may know it. - -At first the Princess sat as though she were turned to stone: but when -he finished his confession, and she understood the trick that had been -played on her, and how not only her kiss, but also her tears, had been -won from her by fraud, and when she thought, as she did, that the -Marquis was playing another trick on her, and that there was no more -truth or honesty in his present protestations than in those which went -before, she fell into great shame and into a great rage; her eyes -flashed like the eyes of her father himself, as she rose to her feet and -looked down on M. de Mérosailles as he knelt imploring her. Now her face -turned pale from red, and she set her lips, and she drew her gown close -round her, lest his touch should defile it (so the unhappy gentleman -understood her gesture) and she picked her steps daintily round him, for -fear she should happen to come in contact with so foul a thing. Thus she -walked to the door, and, having reached it, she turned and said to him: - -"Your death may blot out the insult--nothing less." And with her head -held high, and her whole air full of scorn, she swept out of the room, -leaving the Marquis on his knees. He started up to follow her, but dared -not; he flung himself on the bed in a paroxysm of shame and vexation, -and now of love also, and he cried out loud: - -"Then my death shall blot it out, since nothing else will serve!" - -He was in a desperate mood. For a long time he lay there, and then, -having risen, dressed himself in a sombre suit of black, and buckled his -sword by his side, and, having put on his riding boots and summoned his -servant, bade him saddle his horse. "For," said he to himself, "I will -ride into the forest, and there kill myself; and perhaps when I am dead -the Princess will forgive, and will believe in my love, and grieve a -little for me." - -Now as he went from his chamber to cross the moat by the drawbridge, he -encountered Prince Rudolf returning from hawking. They met full in the -centre of the bridge, and the Prince, seeing M. de Mérosailles dressed -all in black from the feather in his hat to his boots, called out -mockingly: - -"Who is to be buried to-day, my lord, and whither do you ride to the -funeral? It cannot be yourself, for I see that you are marvellously -recovered of your sickness." - -"But it is myself," answered the Marquis, coming near, and speaking low -that the servants and the falconers might not overhear. "I ride, sir, to -my own funeral." - -"The jest is still afoot, then?" asked the Prince. "Yet I do not see my -sister at the window to watch you go, and I warrant you have made no way -with your wager yet." - -"A thousand curses on my wager!" cried the Marquis. "Yes, I have made -way with the accursed thing, and that is why I now go to my death." - -"What, has she kissed you?" cried the Prince, with a merry astonished -laugh. - -"Yes, sir, she has kissed me once, and therefore I go to die." - -"I have heard of many a better reason, then," answered the Prince. - -By now the Prince had dismounted, and he stood by M. de Mérosailles in -the middle of the bridge, and heard from him how the trick had -prospered. At this he was much tickled, and, alas, he was even more -diverted when the penitence of the Marquis was revealed to him, and was -most of all moved to merriment when it appeared that the Marquis, having -gone too near the candle, had been caught by its flame, and was so -terribly singed and scorched that he could not bear to live. And while -they talked on the bridge the Princess looked out on them from a lofty -narrow window, but neither of them saw her. But when the Prince had done -laughing, he put his arm through his friend's and bade him not be a -fool, but come in and toast the Princess's kiss in a draught of wine. -"For," he said, "though you will never get the other two, yet it is a -brave exploit to have got one." - -But the Marquis shook his head, and his air was so resolute, and so full -of sorrow, that not only was Rudolf alarmed for his reason, but Princess -Osra also, at the window, wondered what ailed him and why he wore such a -long face; and now she noticed that he was dressed all in black, and -that his horse waited for him across the bridge. - -"Not," said she, "that I care what becomes of the impudent rogue!" Yet -she did not leave the window, but watched very intently to see what M. -de Mérosailles would do. - -For a long while he talked with Rudolf on the bridge, Rudolf seeming -more serious than he was wont to be; and at last the Marquis bent to -kiss the Prince's hand, and the Prince raised him and kissed him on -either cheek; then the Marquis went and mounted his horse, and rode off, -slowly and unattended, into the glades of the forest of Zenda; but the -Prince, with a shrug of the shoulders and a frown on his brow, entered -under the portcullis, and disappeared from his sister's view. - -Upon this the Princess, assuming an air of great carelessness, walked -down from the room where she was, and found her brother, sitting still -in his boots and drinking wine; and she said: - -"M. de Mérosailles has taken his leave then?" - -"Even so, madame," rejoined Rudolf. - -Then she broke into a fierce attack on the Marquis, and on her brother -also; for a man, said she, is known by his friends, and what a man -Rudolf must be to have a friend like the Marquis de Mérosailles! - -"Most brothers," she said in fiery temper, "would make him answer for -what he has done with his life. But you laugh, nay, I daresay you had a -hand in it." - -As to this last charge the Prince had the discretion to say nothing; he -chose rather to answer the first part of what she said, and shrugging -his shoulders again rejoined: - -"The fool saves me the trouble, for he has gone off to kill himself." - -"To kill himself?" she said, half incredulous, but also half believing, -because of the Marquis's gloomy looks and black clothes. - -"To kill himself," repeated Rudolf. "For in the first place you are -angry, so he cannot live; in the second he has behaved like a rogue, so -he cannot live; and in the third place you are so lovely, sister, that -he cannot live; and in the first, second, and third places he is a fool, -so he cannot live." And the Prince finished his flagon of wine with -every sign of ill-humour in his manner. - -"He is well dead," she cried. - -"Oh, as you please," said he. "He is not the first brave man who has -died on your account." And he rose and strode out of the room very -surlily; for he had a great friendship for M. de Mérosailles, and had no -patience with men who let love make dead bones of them. - -The Princess Osra, being left alone, sat for a little time in deep -thought. There rose before her mind the picture of M. de Mérosailles -riding mournfully through the gloom of the forest to his death. And -although his conduct had been all and more than all that she had called -it, yet it seemed hard that he should die for it. Moreover, if he now in -truth felt what he had before feigned, the present truth was an -atonement for the past treachery; and she said to herself that she could -not sleep quietly that night if the Marquis killed himself in the -forest. Presently she wandered slowly up to her chamber, and looked in -the mirror, and murmured low, "Poor fellow!" and then with sudden speed -she attired herself for riding, and commanded her horse to be saddled, -and darted down the stairs and across the bridge, and mounted, and, -forbidding any one to accompany her, rode away into the forest, -following the marks of the hoofs of M. de Mérosailles's horse. It was -then late afternoon, and the slanting rays of the sun, striking through -the tree-trunks, reddened her face as she rode along, spurring her -horse, and following hard on the track of the forlorn gentleman. But -what she intended to do if she came up with him she did not think. - -When she had ridden an hour or more, she saw his horse tethered to a -trunk; and there was a ring of trees and bushes near, encircling an open -grassy spot. Herself dismounting, and fastening her horse by the -Marquis's horse, she stole up, and saw M. de Mérosailles sitting on the -ground, his drawn sword lying beside him; and his back was towards her. -She held her breath and waited a few moments. Then he took up the sword -and felt the point and also the edge of it, and sighed deeply; and the -Princess thought that this sorrowful mood became him better than any she -had seen him in before. Then he rose to his feet, and took his sword by -the blade beneath the hilt, and turned the point of it towards his -heart. But Osra, fearing that the deed would be done immediately, called -out eagerly, "My lord, my lord!" and M. de Mérosailles turned round with -a great start. When he saw her, he stood in astonishment, his hand still -holding the blade of the sword. And, standing just on the other side of -the trees, she said: - -[Illustration: "SHE SAW M. DE MÉROSAILLES SITTING ON THE -GROUND."--_Page 66._] - -"Is your offence against me to be cured by adding an offence against -Heaven and the Church?" - -And she looked on him with great severity, yet her cheek was flushed, -and after a while she did not meet his glance. - -"How came you here, madame?" he asked in wonder. - -"I heard," she said, "that you meditated this great sin, and I rode -after you to forbid it." - -"Can you forbid what you cause?" he asked. - -"I am not the cause of it," she said, "but your own trickery." - -"It is true. I am not worthy to live," cried the Marquis, smiting the -hilt of his sword on the ground. "I pray you, madame, leave me alone to -die. For I cannot tear myself from the world so long as I see your -face." And as he spoke he knelt on one knee, as though he were doing -homage to her. - -The Princess caught at the bough of the tree under which she stood, and -pulled the bough down, so that its leaves half hid her face, and the -Marquis saw little more than her eyes from among the foliage. Thus being -better able to speak to him, she said softly: - -"And dare you die, unforgiven?" - -"I had prayed for forgiveness before you found me, madame," said he. - -"Of heaven, my lord?" - -"Of heaven, madame. For of heaven I dare to ask it." - -The bough swayed up and down; now Osra's gleaming hair, and now her -cheek, and always her eyes were seen through the leaves. And presently -the Marquis heard a voice asking: - -"Does heaven forgive unasked?" - -"Indeed, no," he said, wondering. - -"And," she said, "are we poor mortals kinder than heaven?" - -The Marquis rose, and took a step or two towards where the bough swayed -up and down, and then knelt again. - -"A great sinner," said he, "cannot believe himself forgiven." - -"Then he wrongs the power of which he seeks forgiveness; for forgiveness -is divine." - -"Then I will ask it, and, if I obtain it, I shall die happy." - -Again the bough swayed: and Osra said: - -"Nay, if you will die, you may die unforgiven." - -M. de Mérosailles hearing these words sprang to his feet, and came -towards the bough, until he was so close that he touched the green -leaves; through them the eyes of Osra gleamed: the sun's rays struck on -her eyes, and they danced in the sun; and her cheeks were reddened by -the same or some other cause. And the evening was very still, and there -were no sounds in the forest. - -"I cannot believe that you forgive. The crime is so great," said he. - -"It was great: yet I forgive." - -"I cannot believe it," said he again, and he looked at the point of his -sword, and then he looked through the leaves at the Princess. - -"I cannot do more than say that if you will live, I will forgive. And we -will forget." - -"By heaven, no," he whispered. "If I must forget to be forgiven, then I -will remember and be unforgiven." - -The faintest laugh reached him from among the foliage. - -"Then I will forget, and you shall be forgiven," said she. - -The Marquis put up his hand, and held a leaf aside, and he said again: - -"I cannot believe myself forgiven. Is there no token of forgiveness?" - -"Pray, my lord, do not put the leaves aside." - -"I still must die, unless I have sure warrant of forgiveness." - -"Ah, you try to make me think that!" - -"By heaven, it is true!" And again he pointed his sword at his heart, -and he swore on his honour that unless she gave him a token he would -still kill himself. - -"Oh," said the Princess with great petulance, "I wish I had not come!" - -"Then I should have been dead by now--dead, unforgiven." - -"But you will still die!" - -"Yes, I must still die, unless----" - -"Sheathe your sword, my lord. The sun strikes it, and it dazzles my -eyes." - -"That cannot be: for your eyes are brighter than sun and sword -together." - -"Then I must shade them with the leaves." - -"Yes, shade them with the leaves," he whispered. "Madame, is there no -token of forgiveness?" - -In the silence that followed his eyes spoke, at last she said: - -"Why did you swear on your honour?" - -"Because it is an oath that I cannot break." - -"Indeed I wish that I had not come," sighed Princess Osra. - -Again came silence. The bough was pressed down for an instant; then it -swayed swiftly up again; and its leaves brushed the cheek of M. de -Mérosailles. And he laughed loudly and joyfully. - -"Something touched my cheek," said he. - -"It must have been a leaf," said Princess Osra. - -"Ah, a leaf!" - -"I think so," said Princess Osra. - -"Then it was a leaf of the Tree of Life," said M. de Mérosailles. - -"I wish some one would set me on my horse," said Osra. - -"That you may ride back to the castle--alone?" - -"Yes, unless you would relieve my brother's anxiety." - -"It would be courteous to do that much," said the Marquis. - -So they mounted, and rode back through the forest. - -In an hour the Princess had come, and in the space of something over two -hours they returned; yet during all this time they spoke hardly a word: -and although the sun was now set, yet the glow remained on the face and -in the eyes of Princess Osra; while M. de Mérosailles, being forgiven, -rode with a smile on his lips. - -But when they came to the castle, Prince Rudolf ran out to meet them, -and he cried almost before he reached them: - -"Hasten, hasten! There is not a moment to lose, if the Marquis values -life or liberty!" And when he came to them he told them that a -waiting-woman had been false to M. de Mérosailles and, after taking his -money, had hid herself in his chamber, and seen the first kiss that the -Princess gave him, and, having made some pretext to gain a holiday, had -gone to the King, who was hunting near, and betrayed the whole matter to -him. - -"And one of my gentlemen," he continued, "has ridden here to tell me. In -an hour the Guards will be here, and if the King catches you, my lord, -you will hang as sure as I live." - -The Princess turned very pale, but M. de Mérosailles said haughtily, "I -ask your pardon, sir, but the King dares not hang me. For I am a -gentleman and a subject of the King of France." - -"Man, man!" cried Rudolf. "The Lion will hang you first, and think of -all that afterwards! Come now, it is dusk. You shall dress yourself as -my groom, and I will ride to the frontier, and you shall ride behind me, -and thus you may get safe away. I cannot have you hanged over such a -trifle." - -"I would have given my life willingly for what you call a trifle, sir," -said the Marquis with a bow to Osra. - -"Then have the trifle and life too," said Rudolf derisively. "Come in -with me, and I will give you your livery!" - -When the Prince and M. de Mérosailles came out again on the drawbridge -the evening had fallen, and it was dark; their horses stood at the end -of the bridge, and by the horses stood the Princess. - -"Quick!" said she. "For a peasant who came in, bringing a load of wood, -saw a troop of men coming over the crown of the hill, and he says they -are the King's Guard." - -"Mount, man!" cried the Prince to M. de Mérosailles, who was now dressed -as a groom. "Perhaps we can get clear, or perhaps they will not dare to -stop me." - -But the Marquis hesitated a little, for he did not like to run away; but -the Princess ran a little forward and, shading her eyes with her hand, -cried, "See there! I see the gleam of steel in the dark. They have -reached the top of the hill, and are riding down." - -Then Prince Rudolf sprang on his horse, calling again to M. de -Mérosailles, "Quick, quick! Your life hangs on it!" - -Then at last the Marquis, though he was most reluctant to depart, was -about to spring on his horse, when the Princess turned and glided back -swiftly to them. And--let it be remembered that evening had fallen thick -and black--she came to her brother and put out her hand, and grasped his -hand, and said: - -"My lord, I forgive your wrong, and I thank you for your courtesy, and I -wish you farewell." - -Prince Rudolf, astonished, gazed at her without speaking. But she, -moving very quickly in spite of the darkness, ran to where M. de -Mérosailles was about to spring on his horse, and she flung one arm -lightly about his neck, and she said: - -"Farewell, dear brother, God preserve you. See that no harm comes to my -good friend, M. de Mérosailles." And she kissed him lightly on the -cheek. Then she suddenly gave a loud cry of dismay, exclaiming, "Alas, -what have I done? Ah, what have I done?" and she hid her face in her two -hands. - -Prince Rudolf burst into a loud short laugh, yet he said nothing to his -sister, but again urged the Marquis to mount his horse. And the Marquis, -who was in a sad tumult of triumph and of woe, leapt up; and they rode -out, and turning their faces towards the forest, set spurs to their -horses and vanished at a breakneck speed into the glades. And no sooner -were they gone than the troopers of the King's Guard clattered at a -canter up to the end of the bridge, where the Princess Osra stood. But -when their captain saw the Princess, he drew rein. - -"What is your errand, sir?" she asked most coldly and haughtily. - -"Madame, we are ordered to bring the Marquis de Mérosailles alive or -dead into the King's presence, and we have information that he is in the -castle, unless, indeed, he were one of the horsemen who rode away just -now." - -"The horsemen you saw were my brother the Prince and his groom," said -Osra. "But if you think that M. de Mérosailles is in the castle, pray -search the castle from keep to cellar; and if you find him, carry him to -my father, according to your orders." - -Then the troopers dismounted in great haste, and ransacked the castle -from keep to cellar; and they found the clothes of the Marquis, and the -white powder with which he had whitened his face, but the Marquis they -did not find. So the captain came again to the Princess, who still stood -at the end of the bridge, and said: - -"Madame, he is not in the castle." - -"Is he not?" said she, and turned away, and, walking to the middle of -the bridge, looked down into the water of the moat. - -"Was it in truth the Prince's groom who rode with him, madame?" asked -the captain, following her. - -"In truth, sir, it was so dark," answered the Princess, "that I could -not myself clearly distinguish the man's face." - -"One was the Prince, for I saw you embrace him, madame." - -"You do well to conclude that that was my brother," said Osra, smiling a -little. - -"And to the other, madame, you gave your hand." - -"And now I give it to you," said she with haughty insolence. "And if to -my father's servant, why not to my brother's?" And she held out her hand -that he might kiss it, and turned away from him, and looked down into -the water again. - -"But we found M. de Mérosailles's clothes in the castle!" persisted the -captain. - -"He may well have left something of his in the castle," said the -Princess. - -"I will ride after them!" cried the captain. - -"I doubt if you will catch them," smiled the Princess; for by now the -pair had been gone half an hour, and the frontier was but ten miles from -the castle, and they could not be overtaken. Yet the captain rode off -with his men, and pursued till he met Prince Rudolf returning alone, -having seen M. de Mérosailles safe on his way. And Rudolf had paid the -sum of a thousand crowns to the Marquis, so that the fugitive was well -provided for his journey, and, travelling with many relays of horses, -made good his escape from the clutches of King Henry. - -But the Princess Osra stayed a long time looking down at the water in -the moat. Sometimes she sighed, and then, again, she frowned, and, -although nobody was there, and it was very dark into the bargain, more -than once she blushed. And at last she turned to go into the castle. -But, as she went, she murmured softly to herself: - -"Why I kissed him the first time I know; it was in pity. And why I -kissed him the second time I know; it was in forgiveness. But why I -kissed him the third time, or what that kiss meant," said Osra, "heaven -knows." - -And she went in with a smile on her lips. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - - The Madness of Lord Harry Culverhouse. - - -"Seeing that my father Henry is dead, and that I am King; seeing also -that I am no longer a bachelor, but a married man"--and here he bowed to -Margaret of Tuscany, his newly wedded wife; "and seeing that Osra's -turned twenty years of age--why, we are all to be sober folk at Strelsau -from this day forward, and we are to play no more pranks. Here's a -pledge to it!" - -And having said this, King Rudolf III. took a deep draught of wine. - -At this moment the ushers announced that the Lord Harry Culverhouse had -come to take his leave of their Majesties and of the Princess. This -gentleman had accompanied the Embassy that came from England to -congratulate the King on his marriage, and he had stayed some months in -Strelsau, very eagerly acceding to the King's invitation to prolong his -visit. For such were his folly and headstrong passion, that he had -fallen most desperately in love with the fair face of Princess Osra, and -could not endure to live out of her presence. Yet now he came to bid -farewell, and when he was ushered in, Rudolf received him with much -graciousness, and made him a present of his own miniature set in -diamonds, while the Queen gave him her miniature set in the lid of a -golden casket. In return, Lord Harry prayed the King to accept a -richly-mounted sword, and the Queen an ivory fan, painted by the -greatest artist of France and bearing her cipher in jewels. Then he came -to Princess Osra, and she, having bidden him farewell, said: - -"I am a poor maid, my lord, and I can give no great gift, but take this -pin from my hair and keep it for my sake." - -And she drew out a golden pin from her hair, a long and sharp pin, -bearing for its head her cipher in brilliants, and she gave it to him, -smiling. - -But he, bowing low and then falling on his knee, offered her a box of -red morocco leather, and when she opened it she saw a necklace of rubies -of great splendour. The Princess flushed red, seeing that the gift was -most costly. And she would fain have refused it, and held it out again -to Lord Harry. But he turned swiftly away, and, bowing once more, -withdrew. Then the Princess said to her brother, "It is too costly." - -The King, seeing how splendid the gift was, frowned a little, and then -said: - -"He must be a man of very great wealth. They are rich in England. I am -sorry the gift is so great, but we cannot refuse it without wounding his -honour." - -So the Princess set the ruby necklace with her other jewels, and thought -for a day or two that Lord Harry was no wiser than other men, and then -forgot him. - -Now Lord Harry Culverhouse, on leaving the King's presence, had mounted -his horse, which was a fine charger and splendidly equipped, and ridden -alone out of Strelsau; for he had dismissed all his servants and -despatched them with suitable gratuities to their own country. He rode -through the afternoon, and in the evening he reached a village fifteen -miles away; here he stopped at a cottage, and an old man came out and -escorted him in. A bundle lay on the table in the little parlour of the -cottage. - -"Here are the clothes, my lord," said the old man, laying his hand on -the bundle. - -"And here are mine," answered Lord Harry. "And the horse stands ready -for you." With this he began to pull off the fine clothes in which he -had had audience of the King, and he opened the bundle and put on the -old and plain suit which it contained. Then he held out his hand to the -old man, saying, "Give me the five crowns, Solomon, and our bargain is -complete." - -Then Solomon the Jew gave him five crowns and bade him farewell, and he -placed the crowns in his purse and walked out of the cottage, possessing -nothing in the world saving his old clothes, five crowns, and the golden -pin that had fastened the ruddy hair of Princess Osra. For everything -else that he had possessed, his lands and houses in England, his horses -and carriages, his money, his clothes, and all that was his, he had -bartered with Solomon the Jew, in order that he might buy the ruby -necklace which he had given to Princess Osra. Such was the strange -madness wrought in him by her face. - -It was now late evening, and he walked to and fro all night. In the -morning he went to the shop of a barber and, in return for one of his -crowns, the barber cropped his long curls short and shaved off his -moustaches, and gave him a dye with which he stained his complexion to a -darker tint; and he made his face dirty, and soiled his hands and -roughened the skin of them by chafing them on some flints which lay by -the roadside. Then, changing a second crown, he bought a loaf of bread, -and set off to trudge to Strelsau, for in Strelsau was Osra, and he -would not be anywhere else in the world. And when he had arrived there, -he went to a sergeant of the King's Guard, and prevailed on him by a -present of three crowns to enlist him as a trooper, and this the -sergeant, having found that Lord Harry could ride and knew how to use -his sword, agreed to do. Thus Lord Harry became a trooper in the Guard -of King Rudolf, having for all his possessions, save what the King's -stores afforded him, a few pence and the golden pin that had fastened -the hair of Princess Osra. But nobody knew him, except Solomon the Jew, -and he, having made a good profit, held his peace, both then and -afterwards. - -Many a day Lord Harry mounted guard at the palace, and often he saw the -King, with the Queen, ride out and back; but they did not notice the -face of the trooper. Sometimes he saw the Princess also, but she did not -look at him, although he could not restrain himself from looking at her; -but since every man looked at her she had grown accustomed to being -gazed at and took no heed of it. But once she wore the ruby necklace, -and the breath of the trooper went quick and eager when he saw it on her -neck; and a sudden flush of colour spread over all his face, so that the -Princess, chancing to glance at him in passing, and seeing the colour -beneath and through the dye that stained him, was greatly astonished, -and she reined in her horse for an instant and looked very intently at -him; yet she rode on again in silence. - -That evening there came to the quarters of the King's Guard a -waiting-woman, who asked to see the trooper who had mounted guard at the -west gate of the palace that day; and when he came the woman held out to -him a box of red morocco leather, saying, "It is for you." - -But he answered, "It is not for me," and, turning away, left her. And -this happened on three evenings. Then, on the fourth day, it was again -his turn to mount guard at the palace; and when he had sat there on his -horse for an hour, the Princess Osra rode out from under the portico; -she rode alone and the ruby necklace was on her neck; and she said: - -"I am going to ride outside the city by the river bank. Let a trooper -follow me some way behind." And she signed with her hand to Lord Harry, -and he rode after her through the streets, and out of the Western Gate; -and they turned along the bank of the river. When they had gone three or -four miles from the city, Osra halted, and beckoned to Lord Harry to -approach her; and he came. But when she was about to speak to him and -tell him that she knew him, a sudden new madness came on him; he seized -her bridle, and dug his spurs deep into his horse's flanks, and the -horse bounded forward at a gallop. In alarm the Princess cried out, but -he did not heed her. Along the bank they galloped: and when they met any -one, which happened seldom (for the place was remote, and it was now -evening), he bade her cover her face, and she obeyed, twisting her lace -handkerchief about her face. Thus they rode till they came at nightfall -to a bluff of rock high above the stream. Here Lord Harry suddenly -checked the horses, flung himself from his saddle, and bade the Princess -dismount. She obeyed, and stood facing him, pale with fear and -apprehension, but wearing a proud and scornful air. And he cried: - -"Is it not well you should die? For you live but to madden men and drive -them to sin and folly." - -"Nay," said she, "to men of good heart beauty leads to goodness. From -yourself come the sin and folly, my lord;" and she laid hold of the ruby -necklace and broke the clasp of it, and flung it on the ground before -him. He took no heed of it, but seized her hand, and drew her to the -edge of the bluff, saying: - -"The world will be safer if I fling you down." - -Then she looked in his face, and a sudden pity entered into her heart, -and she said very gently: - -"Sit down, my lord, and let me put my hands on your brow, for I think -you are in a fever." - -He sat down, all trembling and shaking like a man with ague, and she -stripped off her gauntlets, and took his forehead between her hands; and -he lay there quiet with his head between her hands. Presently his eyes -closed, and he slept. But Osra did not know what to do, for darkness had -fallen, and she dared not leave him alone there by the river. So she sat -where she was, and in an hour, the night being fine and not cold, she -grew weary; her hands fell away from his brow, and she sank back on the -green turf, pillowing her head on a curved arm, and there she slept with -the mad lord by her and the ruby necklace lying near them. - -At midnight Lord Harry Culverhouse awoke, and saw Princess Osra sleeping -peacefully, with a smile on her lips such as decks a child's in sleep. -He rose and stood up on his feet, looking at her: and he heard nothing -but the sound of the horses cropping the grass a little way off. Then he -drew near her and gazed long on her face: and she opened her eyes and -saw him; she smiled at him, and she said: - -"Even here I am guarded by one of the gentlemen who guard me in the -palace." And she closed her eyes again and turned to sleep. - -A shiver ran through him. He dug his nails into the palms of his hands, -and, turning, walked swiftly up and down on the bluff by the side of the -river, while Osra slept. - -Presently he fell on his knees beside her, beginning to murmur in a -rapid rush of words: but he did not now curse her beauty, but blessed -God for it, and blessed Him also for the preservation of his own honour. -Thus he spent the night till day was near: then he bent over Osra, and -looked once more on her: and he took up the ruby necklace and laid it -lightly about her neck. Feeling the touch of it, cool and wet from the -dew, she again opened her eyes, and, putting her knuckles in them, she -rubbed gently; and she gasped a gentle yawn, saying: "Heigho, I am -sleepy!" and sat up. And she said: - -"Are you not sleepy, my lord?" - -"I am on watch, madame," said Lord Harry Culverhouse. - -As the Princess sat up, the ruby necklace fell from her neck into her -lap. Seeing it, she held it up to him, saying: - -"Take it again, and go to your own home. I am sure you gave too great a -price for it." - -He smiled, for she did not know how great the price was, and he asked: - -"Must I, in my turn, give back the pin that fastened your hair?" - -"No, keep the pin--it is worth nothing," she smiled. "Is it safe for me -to go to sleep a little longer?" - -"Who would harm you, madame? Even I have not harmed you." - -"You!" said she, with a little laugh. "You would not harm me." - -And she lay down again and closed her eyes. - -Then Lord Harry Culverhouse sat down on the ground, resting his chin on -his knees, and clasping his hands about his shins, and he cursed himself -bitterly not now because he meditated any harm to her--for his hot fury -was past, and he would have died before a hair of her head should be -hurt--but because of the evil that his wild and reckless madness had -brought upon her. For he knew that soon there would be a pursuit, and -that, if she and he were found there, it would become known who he was, -and her fame would suffer injurious rumours by reason of what he had -done. Therefore he made up his mind what he must next do, and he -abandoned all the dreams that had led him into the foolish adventure on -which he had embarked, and put from him the wickedness that had filled -his heart when first he carried her to the bluff over the river. He rose -on to his knees, and prayed that if his deed were a sin--for it seemed -to him to be a necessary thing--then that it might be forgiven, but -that, in any case, no hurt or harm should befall the Princess Osra by -reason of anything that he had done. Finally he commended his soul to -God. Then he took the ruby necklace in his hand and, holding it, walked -to the edge of the bluff. - -But at this instant the sound of the hoofs of a horse struck on his ear; -the sound was loud and close, and he had no more time than to turn round -before a horse was reined in suddenly by him, and a man leapt from it -and ran at him and grappled with him. And Lord Harry perceived that the -man was the King. For when Osra did not return, search parties had been -sent out; the King himself headed one, and, having the best horse and -being urged on by love and fear for his sister, he had outridden all the -rest and had chanced to come alone where Osra and Lord Harry were; and -he gripped Lord Harry furiously, cursing him for a scoundrel and -demanding what he had done to the Princess. Then Lord Harry said: - -"Do you not know me, sire? I am Harry Culverhouse." - -Greatly astonished, the King loosed his hold and fell back a pace, for -he could not understand what he heard, but yet knew the voice of his -friend. Then, looking down, he beheld Osra sleeping peacefully as a -child on the ground, with her cloak spread under her, that she might -take no harm from the damp. But Lord Harry caught him by the arm, -crying: - -"Are there others coming after you?" - -"Aye," said the King, "many others. The whole of the Guard are roused, -and seek her high and low in the city and outside. But how came you -here, man?" - -Then Lord Harry told the King what he had done, speaking very briefly -and hastily, but yet sparing nothing; and when he told him how he had -carried off the Princess, the King's hand flew to the hilt of his sword. -But Lord Harry said "Not yet," and continued to tell the King how Osra -had pitied him, how he had watched by her, and how she had slept again, -bidding him keep the pin. Then glancing at Osra, he lowered his voice -and spoke very quick and urgently, and the King held out his hand and -shook Lord Harry's hand, asking: "Is there no other way?" But Lord Harry -shook his head; then he kissed the King's hand; next he went and kissed -Osra's hand very softly, and looked for the last time on her face; and -he drew the golden pin from his purse and he put it gently and deftly -among her hair. Then taking the ruby necklace in his own hand and -clenching it tight, he said to King Rudolf: - -"Sire, there are some in the city that knew me before, but have not -known me since I have been in your Guard, because I have altered my -face. Take care that you so alter it that they do not know me again." - -The King's breath caught in his throat, for he had loved Lord Harry -Culverhouse, and he asked again: - -"Is there no other way?" - -"Hark!" said the other, "I hear the horses of your Guard drawing near; I -hear them to east and west and north; and do you not see shapes riding -there to the south, across the river? If I ride from here alive, I shall -be taken, and the truth must be known. For my sake and hers, strike, -sire." - -The King took Lord Harry Culverhouse by the arm and drew him to him, -saying: - -"Must it be so, Harry? And we have lived as friends together!" - -"The sound of the hoofs is very near, sire." - -The King drew himself up to his height, and he raised his hat from his -head, and bowed low to Lord Harry Culverhouse, and he said: - -"Now praise be to God for the restoration of this gentleman to a sound -mind, and may Christ grant him mercy for the sake of his honourable -death!" - -And he drew his sword from its sheath, and came up to Lord Harry -Culverhouse, who stood on the edge of the bluff. The King raised his -sword and struck with all his strength; the head split under the blow, -and Lord Harry Culverhouse fell dead from the bluff into the river, -holding the ruby necklace in his clenched hand. But the King shivered, -and a short sob burst from him. - -On this instant there arose an eager glad cry, and twenty of the Guard -rushed forward, greeting the King and rejoiced to see the Princess. -Roused by the noise of their coming, she sat up again, rubbing her eyes, -and cried: - -"Where is he? Where is Lord Harry?" - -And she looked round on the troopers, and they gazed on her, much -astonished at hearing what she said. But Rudolf came to her and took her -hand, saying: - -"Why, Osra, you have been dreaming! There is no Lord Harry here. Lord -Harry Culverhouse is far off in his own country. Did that rascal of a -trooper frighten you?" - -Her eyes grew wide in wonder; but before she could speak he turned to -the Guard, saying: - -"By heaven's pleasure I came in time to prevent any harm, except the -loss of a necklace my sister wore. For as I rode up, I saw a fellow -stooping down by her and fumbling with the clasp of her necklace. He was -one of your troop, and had ridden out behind her, and he must have -carried her off by force: now he was endeavouring to rob her, and as I -rode up to him he sprang away from her, holding her necklace in his -hand: but I leapt down from my horse and ran at him, and he retreated in -fear. Then I drew my sword, and drove him back to the edge of the bluff: -and then I split his skull, and he fell into the river, still holding -the necklace. But, thanks to God, the Princess is not hurt. Let search -be made for the fellow's body, for perhaps the necklace will be still in -his hand." - -But one cried, "How came they here?" - -"Ah, sister," said the King, fixing his eyes on Osra, "how came you -here?" - -Reading in the King's eyes the answer that he would have, she said: - -"The trooper compelled me to come hither with him, and he threatened to -kill me if I would not give him my necklace. But I refused: then he drew -a knife and menaced me with it, and I fell into a swoon, and knew no -more until I awoke and found you here; and now I see that my necklace is -gone." - -"Bring her horse," the King commanded, "and ride in front and behind. We -will return to the city at the best speed we may." - -Then he mounted the Princess on her horse, and rode by her side, -supporting her with his arm: and the troopers were some way off in front -and behind. But the Princess felt the pin again in her hair, and putting -up her hand she pulled it out, and she said: - -"He has given me back my pin." - -"Of whom do you speak?" asked the King. - -"Of Lord Harry Culverhouse. Is he indeed dead, Rudolf?" - -"Are you indeed still dreaming?" answered the King with a laugh. "What -had that fellow to do with Harry Culverhouse?" - -"But the pin?" she cried. - -"My wife set it in your hair, before you started, for she wished to -replace the one you gave to Lord Harry." - -"She did not touch my hair to-day!" cried the Princess. - -"Aye, but she did," said he. - -The Princess suddenly fell to sobbing; and she said: - -"Tell me the truth, tell me the truth. Surely it was in truth Lord Harry -Culverhouse?" - -Then Rudolf drew very close to her, and said softly: - -"Sweet sister, the noble gentleman whom we knew, he whom I loved, and -who loved you in chivalrous deference, went from us two months ago. Be -not troubled about him, for now all is well with him. But there was an -unhappy man with you, who was not our Harry Culverhouse, and who had -murderous and mad thoughts in his heart. Yet at the end he also died as -readily and as nobly as our dear friend himself would have died for your -sake. I pray you ask no more of him, but be contented to know that -though he died by the sword yet he died in peace and willingly. But of -our dear friend, as we knew him, think as much as you will, for the love -of an honest gentleman is a good thing to think of." - -The Princess Osra, hearing this, laid her hand in her brother's hand, -and for a long while she did not speak. Then she said: - -"But our friend will not come again, Rudolf?" - -"No, you will never see our friend again," answered the King. - -"Then when you see him--for I think you will see him once again--lay -this pin in his hand, and bid him take and keep it for the sake of the -love I bear him: perhaps he will hear you." - -"It may be, I cannot tell," said the King. - -"And if he has the necklace," said she, "pray him to give that to you, -and sell it, Rudolf, and give the value of it in gifts to the poor. Yes, -to all that are unhappy and afflicted, even as the poor man who was with -me to-night." - -"So be it, Osra," said the King, and he kissed her. But she burst again -suddenly into passionate weeping, calling God to witness that her face -was a curse to her and a curse to her friends, and praying the King to -suffer her to take the veil in a convent, that she might trouble honest -men no more. Thus he brought her in a sad plight to the palace, and gave -her into the arms of his wife, still sobbing bitterly. And he himself -took the pin, and when the body of the mad trooper was found, with his -own hand he covered the face, and put the pin in the hand from which he -took the ruby necklace: and he sold the necklace, and used the proceeds -of it as his sister had desired. - -Thus the madness of Lord Harry Culverhouse, which was bred in him by the -beauty of the Princess Osra, worked its way with him, and brought him -first into peril of great villainy, and at last to death. And his name -passed no more on the lips of any in Strelsau, nor between King Rudolf -and his sister, while the story that the King had told to the troopers -was believed by all, and none save the King knew what Lord Harry -Culverhouse had done in his madness. But Osra mourned for him, and for a -long while she would not go abroad, nor receive any of the princes or -nobles who came to the Court, but lay still sick and full of grief, -bewailing the harm that she had wrought. Yet, as time passed, she grew -again happy, for she was young, and the world was sweet to her: and -then, as King Rudolf had bidden her, she remembered Lord Harry -Culverhouse as he had been before his madness came upon him. Yet still -more did she remember how, even in his madness, he had done her no harm, -but had watched beside her through the night, and had, as morning -dawned, entreated death at the hands of the King, preferring to die -rather than that the talk of a single idle tongue should fall foully on -her name. Therefore she mourned for him with secret tears. - -But he, although no monument marked his grave, and although men spoke -only of the mad trooper who had robbed the Princess, yet slept soundly -and at peace: and his right hand lay clenched upon his heart, and in it -the golden pin that had fastened the ruddy hair of Princess Osra. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - - The Courtesy of Christian the Highwayman. - - -"I am tired of men," cried Princess Osra, "and of suitors, and of -princes. I will go to Zenda and ride in the forest all alone." - -"You will meet men even there," said the King. - -"How do you know that, sire?" she asked with a smile. - -"At least I have found it impossible to avoid meeting women anywhere." - -"I do not think it is the same thing," observed Osra, smiling again. - -The King said no more, but let her go her own way; and to Zenda she -went, and rode in the forest all alone, meeting for many days no man at -all, though, perhaps, she thought a little of those whom she had met, -and (who can tell?) now and then of one whom she should some day meet. -For the mind loves to entertain itself with such idle musings, and they -are hardly conscious till a sudden smile or a beat of the heart betrays -them to the abashed thinker. Just in this manner a flush had chanced to -rise to Osra's cheek one day as she rode in a reverie, being above ten -miles from the Castle and on the very edge of the kingdom's frontier, -which skirts the extremity of the forest on the east. Breaking off her -thoughts, half ashamed of them, she looked up and saw a very fine and -powerful horse tethered to a tree a few yards away, saddled and bridled. -Then she said to herself with a sigh, "Alas, here is a man as my brother -said!" And she shook her head very sorrowfully. - -The next instant she saw, as she had foreboded, a man approaching her; -indeed, the matter was as bad as could be, for he was young and -handsome, finely dressed, carrying a good sword by his side and a brace -of pistols mounted in silver in his belt. He held a feathered hat in his -hand, and, advancing with a deep bow, knelt on one knee by the -Princess's horse, saying: - -"Madame, if you will, you can do me a great service." - -"If it be in my power, sir," she answered--for since fate compelled her -to meet a man, she would not show him rudeness--"I am at your service." - -"You see my horse there, madame? He is as dear as my life to me; and I -fear I shall lose him, unless I have your aid," and he rose and stood -looking at the Princess. - -"Why, what threatens him?" she asked. - -"I will tell you, madame. I come from across the frontier, from a -secluded village nearly ten miles from here. There I live with my -mother, whom I support. There is a rich fellow there, a farmer, Otho by -name, who is, saving your presence, a plaguey boastful fellow. And he is -to-day to be betrothed." - -"Do you also love the lady?" asked Osra, thinking she had come at the -cause of his trouble. - -"Not I, madame. But this Otho boasted and vaunted so intolerably of her -beauty, and of his own prowess and attraction, that last night I, led -away by emulation (nay, I am ashamed to say that I had also drunk -a flask of wine) wagered with him my horse against a thousand -crowns--though the horse is worth two thousand--that I would bring with -me to the feast a girl handsomer than his Lotta. But now it is eleven -o'clock, and the feast is at one o'clock, and I have no girl to show, -ugly or handsome. And if I lose my horse I must hang myself, for I -cannot live without him." - -"You cannot live without your horse?" she asked in surprise. - -"At least, madame," he answered in some confusion, "his loss would go -near to breaking my heart." - -"But is this Lotta so handsome that you can find none to surpass her?" - -"She is, indeed, wonderfully handsome. In the village they call her the -most beautiful girl in the world." - -"Then, sir, it seems to me that your wager was most improvident and -rash. For you are certain to lose it." - -"Alas, yes!" he answered in great distress. "I am certain to lose; for -there are, I think, only two ladies in the world who could save me, and -one would not." - -"Two ladies? Who are they?" - -"Madame," said he, "before you came in sight, I sat desolate and -despairing on the ground, and what I said to myself was, 'If what men -say is true, there is only one lady who could save me. But how shall I, -poor Christian Hantz, come at the Princess Osra? And would she put on a -country girl's dress and go to the feast with me? Alas, it is -impossible! And there is no other lady in the world beautiful enough.' -But then----" - -"Well, sir, what then?" asked Osra, playing with her whip and smothering -a smile. - -"Then, madame," said Christian, "I looked up and I saw you, and I cried, -'A fig for the Princess Osra! For here is a lady more beautiful than all -they tell of Princess Osra; I will throw myself at her feet and pray her -in pity to help me.'" - -Still Osra hid her smile, and so busy was she with this task that she -did not perceive that Christian also hid a smile; but she thought that -he did not know her, whereas he had seen her several times, and had this -day tracked her in the forest, knowing that she was accustomed to ride -there. - -"But where," she asked, "would the lady who went with you get the dress -you speak of?" - -"At my mother's cottage, madame, where my mother would wait on her." - -"And when could she be back at this spot?" - -"By five in the afternoon, madame. I would myself escort her." - -"And why, sir, should she rescue you from the straits into which your -folly has led you?" - -"Alas, madame, for no reason, unless, by a divine miracle, she should -prove as kind as she is beautiful." - -"You have a rash tongue, sir, in other matters than the making of -wagers." And she looked at him. For she was very sorely tempted to do -what he prayed of her; and she said: - -"Has the Princess Osra ever ridden through your village?" - -"Never, madame." - -"But some there may know her face, and then they will think nothing of -mine." - -"It is unlikely that any one there should have seen even a picture of -her, for they are quiet folk and do not go abroad." - -"Besides, in a peasant's dress--" began Osra meditatively. But she -stopped, blushing and laughing. And Christian caught her hand and kissed -it, crying: - -"For heaven's sake, come, madame!" - -He was so earnest, and his earnestness so became his bronzed face and -bright eyes, that Osra could not deny him, but she swore him to secrecy, -and agreed to ride with him, blaming herself all the while very greatly, -and blaming yet more that Fate which would not allow her to be quit of -the troublesome race of men even in the recesses of the forest of Zenda. - -Turning their horses, therefore, towards the frontier, they set them at -a smart canter, for there was little time to lose if they were to come -to the feast by one o'clock; and shortly before noon, having struck a -bye-path through the trees, they came on a small cottage that stood -apart and by itself; and a hill rose from it. - -"On the other side of the hill lies the village, madame," said -Christian, jumping from his horse. "And this is my cottage. Hallo, -there, mother!" - -An old woman came out, neatly and cleanly clad. Christian ran up to her, -spoke to her briefly, and brought her to Osra. The worthy dame, -bewildered by the appearance and stately air of the Princess, did -nothing but curtsey and murmur incoherent thanks, but Osra, now caught -by the excitement of the enterprise, clapped her hands, crying: - -"Quick, quick, or we shall be too late!" - -So Christian lifted her down and led away the horses to a shed behind -the cottage. But the old woman led Osra in, and took her to the bedroom, -where lay a dress such as the peasant girls wore. Osra took up the -skirt, and looked at it curiously. - -"Must I indeed wear this?" she asked. "And I am somewhat tall, mother!" - -The old woman said that nothing would serve save the dress, and Osra -sighed. Yet as there was no help for it, she suffered the old woman to -help her in getting it on. - -So the door was shut, and Christian sat smiling in the sun outside, well -pleased at the success of his audacious scheme, and feeling Otho's -crowns already in his pocket. - -Still less did he doubt of this most desirable result when the door of -the cottage again opened and Osra came out, blushing, and yet biting her -lips to keep back her laughter. Her hair was plaited in two long plaits; -she wore a white bodice, and over it a jacket of black velvet, and a red -skirt hung full from her waist to but a very little below her knee; then -came hose of red also--for it was a holiday, and the best of all was -worn--and stout square-toed shoes. Osra in her heart loved all except -the shoes, yet she declared that she loathed all except the shoes. And -Christian, with eyes cast most demurely on the ground, prayed her to -forgive the sad necessity, yet assured her that Lotta would die of envy -that very day. - -"Let us go then," said Osra. "For the sooner we go, the sooner will it -be done, and I can get rid of these ridiculous clothes. Heaven have -mercy on me and grant that I may meet none who know me!" - -They were mounting the hill now, the old woman standing at the cottage -door and watching. When they reached the top Osra saw a small village -nestling in the valley below, and the sound of music struck on her ear. -At this a sudden fear seized her, and putting out her hand she caught -Christian by the sleeve, saying: - -"Will they know me?" - -"Not they, madame," said he. But as he spoke his eyes fell on a ring -that the Princess wore, a gem engraved with the Royal Arms. "Not they, -if you conceal that ring;" and for a moment he looked in her face, and -he smiled. - -Osra uttered a little cry, as she hastily plucked the ring from her -finger, and gave it to him, saying: - -"Keep it safe, and do not forget to give it me again." - -But she would not meet his glance, for she began from now to suspect -that he knew who she was. - -The sound of music came from a solid square-built house that stood on -the outskirts of the village, and coming nearer they saw a long table -spread in the shade near the house, and a company of men and women -seated at it. The Princess was somewhat comforted to find that the -girls' dresses were in all respects like her own, though hers seemed -newer and more handsome; therefore she took courage, and put her arm -inside Christian's arm, saying: - -"Since I have accepted the part, I will play it. Come, sir, let us go -and challenge Lotta. Your horse is at stake!" - -"He is in no danger," said Christian, "and I am worth a thousand -crowns." And his eyes most plainly added the reason which led him to -these comfortable conclusions. - -Now at this moment Otho, having toasted the company and accepted their -good wishes, was standing up before them all, Lotta standing by him, her -hand in his; and he vowed (as was but right) all manner of love and -devotion to her, and declared that she was the prettiest girl in the -world; in truth she was very pretty, being, although low of stature, -most admirably formed, having golden hair, the pinkest of cheeks and -large blue eyes that followed a man about in a most appealing and -distracting manner. So that Otho had good reason to be content, and -would have come to no harm, had it not been for that old extravagance of -lovers which will not allow this world to hold more than one pretty -girl--the truth being, of course, quite otherwise. But, led on by this -infatuation, Otho cried: - -"I dare any man to find so pretty a girl! As for Master Christian whose -wager you heard--why, this evening his fine horse shall feed in my -stable!" - -"Softly, friend Otho, softly," came to the ears of the feasters from -behind the trees. "Mistress Lotta is very pretty, but I have here a girl -whom some think handsome. Well, this worthy company shall judge." And -Christian came from the shelter of the trees leading Osra by the hand, -and he set her opposite to Lotta, where all could see her. And all -looked and beheld her with amazement. But none spoke. So they rested for -a long while, Christian smiling and Osra's eyes being set on Lotta, -while Otho did nothing but gaze at Osra. - -Presently a low murmur began to run along the table. "Who is she?" asked -some one, but none could answer. "Who is she?" called an old man to -Christian, but he answered, "What's that to you? Is she not fairer?" And -when the others asked whence she came, he made the same answer. But one -young fellow leant from his place and plucked Christian's sleeve, -saying, "Is she promised to you?" and at this Christian frowned, -answering, "At least she is not for you," while Osra, overhearing, -blushed mightily. Then Otho, still saying nothing, suddenly lugged out a -great purse of money, and flung it violently into the middle of the -table with a curse, and Christian with a mocking lift of his hat, came -forward, and, taking it, tossed it up and down in his hand, crying, "Is -it fair weight, neighbour Otho?" Otho did not heed him, but turned -suddenly to Lotta and put his arm round her waist, saying: - -"Aye, it is true. The devil must have sent her, but it is true. Yet you -are pretty too, my lass." For Lotta, after looking at all the company -and at Osra, had been so sorely wounded in her pride and robbed of her -triumph, that, poor child, she had begun to weep, hiding her face in her -hands, and Otho was trying to comfort her, though, lover as he was, he -could not for the life of him declare that she was more beautiful than -the girl whom Christian had brought. And they all moved from their -places and came to stand round Osra. But she, after a moment, caught -from Christian the bag that he tossed so exultantly, crying to him: -"I'll be your debtor for it;" and bursting through the ring, she ran -round the table and came to Lotta, and, pulling the girl's hands down -from her face, she thrust the bag into her hands, and began to talk to -her, whispering low, and looking into her frightened eyes with shining -eyes. - -"Ah, my dear," said Osra, "see, he still loves you, dear. Ah, why did I -come? But I am going away, yes, now, and I shall never come here again. -I do harm wherever I go! Yes, but you'll be the prettiest girl in the -village always! Otho, Otho, kiss her, Otho! Tell her that you love her, -Otho. Don't stand there dumb. Oh, how stupid men are! Don't you see what -she wants? Yes, do it again. I never saw anybody so pretty, Otho. Yes, -yes, dear, keep the bag. It's from me; you must keep it, and buy pretty -clothes and be prettier than ever, for Otho's sake, because he loves -you." - -By the time the Princess Osra had ended her consolations, behold she was -very nearly crying herself! But Lotta put her arms round the Princess's -neck and kissed her, because she said that Otho still loved her; and in -her gratitude for this, she forgot thanks for the bag of crowns, or even -to wonder who this girl was that could give away a thousand crowns. But -in this the rest of the company were not like her, and an eager -murmuring marked the excitement with which they watched the scene; and -they cried to Christian: - -"Look after your crowns;" and thought him mad when he shook his head -jauntily, answering: - -"Let Otho do what he will with them." - -Then, their interest growing more and more intense, they crowded round -the Princess, scanning her very closely; and she was in great fear that -she would be known, and also in some embarrassment from the ardent -glances and free comments of the simple countrymen, who were accustomed -to say what they thought with more plainness than were the gentlemen of -the Court. So that at length, fairly alarmed, she gave Lotta a last -hasty kiss, and made her way to Christian, crying: "Take me away." - -"Aye, madame," said he, and he put her arm in his and turned away. But -all the company followed him, staring and gossiping and crowding, so -that Lotta and Otho were left alone at the feast which Otho had -provided, with nothing to console them but one another's love and the -happily recovered thousand crowns. And the crowd pressed hard on Osra -and Christian, being full of eagerness to see where the girl went and -what became of her. Thus they reached the top of the hill and came in -sight of Christian's cottage. But now Christian suddenly loosed Osra's -arm and, turning round, faced the throng of inquisitive folk; with -either hand he drew a silver-mounted pistol from his belt; and when he -had cocked the pair, he pointed them at his friends and neighbours, -saying in a quiet and pleasant voice: "I shall count to twenty. Any one -who means to be within range when I come to twenty had best now order -his coffin." - -[Illustration: "WITH EITHER HAND HE DREW A SILVER-MOUNTED -PISTOL."--_Page 114._] - -At this a great grumbling arose among them; yet they knew Christian, and -did not wait till he had counted, but one and all turned tail and ran -down the hill much quicker than they had come up. But one or two -fellows, resentful and malicious because of their disappointment, as -soon as they found themselves out of range, turned round and shouted: - -"Aye, he is ready with his pistol, is Christian. We know him. -Highwayman! Whom did you last rob?" And Christian went red as the frock -that Osra wore. But she turned questioning eyes on him. - -"Yes," said he sullenly. "They say highwayman; it is true. I am a -robber. That is why I said, madame, that I could not live without my -horse." - -"Come," said Osra, "let us go to the cottage." - -So they returned together to the cottage, saying nothing. There Osra put -on her own clothes again, and having bidden farewell to the old woman -who asked no questions of her, mounted her horse. Then Christian said: - -"Shall I ride with you, madame?" - -She bowed her head in assent. - -Till they entered the forest the Princess did not speak. But then she -sighed, saying: - -"I am sorry that I went with you. For if you had lost your horse maybe -you would have ceased from your way of life. It is better to lose a -horse than to be hanged." - -"Madame," said he, "you speak prudently. Yet I had rather be hanged than -lose him." - -"I am in your debt a thousand crowns," said she, and, stopping her -horse, she wrote for him an order for a thousand crowns, and she signed -it with her own name, Osra, and gave it to him. He received it bowing -very low. - -"You knew me all the time?" she asked. - -"Yes, madame," said he. They had now come to where he had first met her. - -"Why do you live by robbery?" she asked. - -"For the love of the same thing that made you come with me to-day, -madame." - -"But could you not find what you love in the King's service?" - -"I do not like service, madame," said Christian. "I love to be free." - -She paused for a moment, and then said in a lower tone: - -"Could you not endure my service, sir?" - -"In that I shall now live and die, madame," said he, and she felt his -eyes upon her. - -Again in silence they rode on; it was evening now, and had grown dark, -and presently the lantern in the tower of the keep of Zenda became -visible. Then Osra drew rein. - -"For my sake," said she, "rob no more." - -"What you command, madame, is my law. And here is your ring." - -"Keep the ring," she said. "But when I can serve you, you shall send it -back to me, and ask what you will in return for it." - -"There is nothing," said he, very low, and looking away from her, "that -I would take in exchange for it." - -"A foolish man or only a foolish speech?" she asked as lightly as she -could, with one fleeting glance at his face. - -"A foolish man, madame, it may be, but a true speech," and he bent -bareheaded in his saddle and raised her hand to his lips. And, still -bareheaded, he turned away and rode back at a canter into the forest. -But the Princess Osra rode on to the Castle, wondering greatly at what -she had done that day. - -Yet she could not be very sorry that she had saved his horse for him, -and she trusted that Otho and Lotta would be happy, and she thought that -one man was, after all, as good flesh and blood as another, and then -that she was a Princess and he a robber, and that his eyes had been over -bold. Yet there was deference in them also. - -"It is a great pity that he should be a robber," sighed the Princess, as -she reached the Castle. - - * * * * * - -The Princess Osra's carriage was within two miles of Strelsau when she -put her head out of the window and asked the officer who rode by the -wheel why such a throng of people hastened to the city. - -[Illustration: "SHE ASKED THE OFFICER WHY A THRONG OF PEOPLE HASTENED TO -THE CITY."--_Page 118._] - -"It is nothing, madame," answered he, saluting. "It is only that two -rogues are to be hanged to-day." - -"What pleasure is there in seeing men hanged?" asked Osra scornfully. "I -wish I had not come to-day." And she drew her head back in disgust. Then -she called: "Go slowly, and do not let me get into the middle of the -wild beasts who go to gloat over men being hanged." - -So the horses were checked to a walk, and thus the carriage proceeded -slowly towards Strelsau. But presently the Princess put her head out of -the window again and asked: - -"Who are to be hanged to-day, sir?" - -"The noted highwayman, Sigismund Kohl, madame," said the officer. "He -robbed the Archbishop's coach in the forest of Zenda; but they pursued -him over the frontier and tracked him to the cottage of the other rogue, -who had a part in many previous robberies, though not in this. The -second fellow hid Kohl, and tried to put off the officers, but they -caught them both, and both are to be hanged." - -"It seems hard," said Osra, "to hang the one who only sheltered his -friend. He could do no less." - -"Nay, madame, he richly deserves it. Besides his previous robberies, he -is gravely suspected of a most foul murder. For a few weeks ago he was -in company with a girl, and she seemed to have money and to spare, and -was mighty pretty too, they say. Now he can give no account of what has -become of her; but they have found all the clothes she wore hidden away -in his house, and he says his mother bought the clothes. But they are a -girl's clothes, not an old woman's. It looks black; but luckily the -other matter is enough to hang him on. His mother's clothes, in faith! -Would an old woman, who died three weeks ago, have bought a new red -frock and smart red stockings for herself?" - -"A red frock? Red stockings? And the mother is dead? Dead of what?" - -"Of a chill, madame, such as carries old people off suddenly. Yes, it -looks black, and so the people think, for when the pair were brought -into the city, though the rascals cheered Kohl who had only robbed the -Archbishop, they pelted and came near to killing Christian Hantz." - -The Princess's face went pale, and she sank back, murmuring "Christian -Hantz!" But in another moment she cried: - -"At what hour is the hanging?" - -"At noon, madame; that is, half an hour from now." - -Then the Princess cried in a loud urgent tone: - -"Faster, faster! Drive at top speed!" The officers looked at her in -wonder; but she cried: "A hundred crowns to the coachman if he brings me -to the place before noon! Quick, quick!" For she was all on fire at the -thought that Christian Hantz was to be hanged, not for any new robbery -but because he had sheltered his friend. And she knew how the red skirt -and the red stockings came in his house; her breath caught in her -throat, as she thought how he had suffered stoning and execration rather -than betray her secret. And she cried out to herself as she was carried -along, "But the ring! Why did he not send the ring?" - -By now they were at the gates of the city, and now within them. The -officer and the two men who were with him rode forward to clear the road -for the Princess. Thus they made their way on, until they came to the -street which leads from the West Gate to the Cathedral, and could see -the gibbet that had been raised before the prison, between the Cathedral -and the Palace. But here the whole street was blocked with people, and -the officer could not get the carriage through, for the folk were thick -as swarming bees all across the roadway, and even if they would have -moved, they could not; so the carriage came to a dead stand, while the -officer said to Princess Osra: - -"Madame, it is useless, we cannot get through them." Osra sprang from -the carriage, and she said: - -"You have two men with you, sir. For God's sake, gentlemen, bring me -through to the foot of the scaffold. I care not if it costs me my life." - -"Nor we, madame, though it costs us ours, since it is your pleasure," -they said, as every man in the city would have said for the Princess -Osra. And the two men went ahead, while Osra followed with the officer; -and pushing and struggling, and dodging in and out, aye, and when need -was, hitting, and buffeting, and kicking, the three took her through -into the square of the Cathedral. And the clock in the great tower -struck noon. - -As the bell boomed a cry went up from the thronged square; the body of a -man shot from the scaffold to the top of the gibbet and hung there. The -people cried aloud, some cheering, some also groaning and weeping. - -"Who is it, who is it?" asked the Princess. - -"It is Sigismund Kohl, madame," said the officer. - -"Then on, on, on!" she commanded, and again they struggled forward. Now -a louder and fiercer cry rang out as a man was brought forward on the -scaffold, in his shirt and breeches. A priest was with him, holding a -crucifix before his eyes. King Rudolf, who sat at a window of his -palace, asked why they delayed to string the rascal up; and one of his -gentlemen answered: - -"Sire, the priest begged a few minutes' delay. For the obstinate rogue -will not confess to the murder of the girl, and therefore cannot receive -absolution, and the priest is loth to have him hanged without it." - -"He shall be hanged without it, unless his conscience act quickly," said -the King. But a moment later, he asked: - -"What is the tumult in the corner of the square? There is a fight there. -Let it be seen to." - -Indeed there was a fight; for the three with Osra were bent on getting -through, and the crowd would not let them through; and they struck at -the crowd, and the crowd at them. But suddenly some one, peering past -the Guards, exclaimed: "The Princess Osra, the Princess!" Then the blows -ceased, and the crowd began slowly to give back, making way for Osra. -And she walked between walls of people, yet did not seem to see or to -take heed of any of them; her eyes were glued to the man on the -scaffold. For even now the priest, who had held the crucifix, turned -sorrowfully away, and signed with his hand to the hangman. - -Again the people shouted fiercely for Christian's death; and he, -stepping forward, gave himself into the executioner's hands. Those who -were near him saw that there was a smile on his lips, and, as the -hangman took hold of him, he kissed a little packet which he held in his -right hand. But the people shrieked loudly: "Murderer, murderer! Where -is the girl?" At this, stung beyond endurance, Christian cried, so -loudly that his voice rose above the clamour: - -"I am no murderer, I did not touch a hair of her head." - -"Then where is she, where is she?" they shouted. - -"I do not know," said he; and he added in a low tone, kissing his little -packet again: "Wherever she is, God in his graciousness send her joy." -And he turned to the executioner, saying, "Get on, man." But then he -looked as it were for the last time on the living sea of faces round -him, and suddenly, out of all of them, he saw one. - -What Christian saw the King saw also, and he rose from his chair with an -oath and a laugh. - -"This sister of mine is a wonderful wench," said he. "Come, let us see -why she will not have this rascal hanged. Run, some one, and tell them -not to string him up till I give the word." - -The King walked out of the palace and came into the square, the Guard -parting the people before him; and Osra, seeing him coming, stood now -quite still, blushing and smiling, although she was very ashamed and -panted sorely. - -Then the King came and faced her, saying nothing, but lifting his -eyebrows and smiling whimsically; but at last he whispered: - -"What, was there a man in the forest, Osra?" - -And she answered: "Do not ask me that, sire, but ask Christian Hantz -what is in the packet which he kissed as the hangman took hold of him." - -"He is not only a robber, but a murderer also, though he will not own to -it." - -"No, he is no murderer," said she. "Look in the packet." - -"Then come and look with me," said the King, and taking her hand he led -her up on to the scaffold in the sight of all the people, who wondered -and laughed; for they always laughed at the ways of the Princess Osra. -But she flew straight across to Christian, who fell on one knee with the -rope round his neck. - -"Give me the packet," she cried, and she tore it open. And in it she -found her order for a thousand crowns and the gem engraved with the -Royal Arms. For an instant she looked at Christian, and then she said: - -"You have not got money for the order? Yet my name is good for a -thousand crowns." - -"To me, madame, it was better than fifty thousand." - -"But," she broke out eagerly; "you should have sent the ring. I could -have saved you." - -"But you would have kept it in return for the service, madame." - -"Aye, sir, that was the bargain," said Osra, with a little low laugh. - -"I knew it. And I preferred to die with it rather than live without it." - -"Another foolish speech!" - -"Yes, for the man is foolish, madame." - -"And they cry to you, 'Where is the girl?' And you do not answer, but -die under a foul charge!" - -To this Christian Hantz made no answer at all, unless it were one to -murmur mournfully: - -"And, madame, they have taken from me the red skirt and----" - -The Princess Osra suddenly turned from him, and went to the King, who -had stood regarding her; and she knelt down before him, saying: - -"Sire and dear brother, pardon this man. He did but shelter his friend, -and he will rob no more." - -"I might forgive him his robberies, if he would take service in my -army." - -"Yes, in my regiment of Guards!" she cried. - -"But how shall I forgive that foul murder, of which he is certainly -guilty? For where, sister, is the pretty girl, of whom no traces can be -found saving her dress, her red skirt, and----?" - -"Sire, these things--I pray you, sire, let your gentlemen stand back a -little." - -"Stand back, then, gentlemen," said the King. - -"These things, sire, were, by a strange chance, in the little parcel -that the poor man kissed. Though why he kissed it, I do not know." - -The King took Osra's order for a thousand crowns, and also the gem -engraved with the Royal Arms; he looked at them and at his sister. - -"Therefore, sire," said she, "I ask life and pardon for the most -courteous gentleman in your dominions. For he prized my ring above his -life and my secret above his honour. Sire, such men should live and not -die." - -The King turned to his officers, and said: - -"Gentlemen, the Princess knows that the girl is alive and well and has -no complaint against this man. For he might not in honour tell who or -where she was. And, for the rest, he did but shelter his friend, and my -sister is surety that he will rob no more. May he live?" - -When they heard this, they all declared that Christian should live, and -they went into the crowd and told the people that the girl was found. -Then the people suddenly veered round and began to cheer Christian, and -some cried, "Who is the girl?" and laughed merrily, conceiving that it -was a love affair on which Christian had been engaged; and because he -preferred to die under an imputation of murder rather than endanger his -love's reputation, he became a hero with them; and when they heard he -was not to die, they dispersed in the utmost good temper, cheering him -and the King, and above all the Princess Osra, whom they loved. - -But she went again to Christian, and bade the hangman take the rope off -his neck. - -"Will you serve in my regiment of Guards, sir?" she asked. "Or is -service still irksome to you?" - -"I will serve you, madame," said Christian. - -"And since you will need equipment, get money for this order," and she -gave him again the order. - -"I must needs obey you, madame, though reluctantly." - -"It is well, sir. I trust you will serve me faithfully. I bid you -farewell, sir," and she bowed slightly, and turned as if to leave him. -And he said nothing, but stood looking at her, so that presently she -blushed, saying: - -"They will let you have those things now, sir." - -Christian bowed very low, and, raising himself again, looked at her -ring. - -"Nay, I cannot do that," said Princess Osra. "But you will see it now -and then, and, now and then, maybe, you can touch it." And she put the -ring on her finger and held out her hand to him. He knelt and kissed the -ring and then her hand; but he looked very glum. And the Princess -laughed openly at him, her eyes dancing in delight and amusement. But he -still looked more as though he were going to be hanged than he had any -time before in the day. So that the King, pointing at him, said to Osra: - -"An ungrateful dog! Upon my soul he looks as though he were sorry not to -be hanged! Do you call that courtesy?" - -But the Princess laughed softly and rubbed the ring on her finger, as -she answered: - -"Aye, sire, I call that the best of courtesy." - - - - - CHAPTER V. - - The Sin of the Bishop of Modenstein. - - -In the days of Rudolf III. there stood on the hill opposite the Castle -of Zenda, and on the other side of the valley in which the town lies, on -the site where the _château_ of Tarlenheim now is situated, a fine and -strong castle belonging to Count Nikolas of Festenburg. He was a noble -of very old and high family, and had great estates; his house being, -indeed, second only to the Royal House in rank and reputation. He -himself was a young man of great accomplishments, of a domineering -temper, and of much ambition; and he had gained distinction in the wars -that marked the closing years of the reign of King Henry the Lion. With -King Rudolf he was not on terms of cordial friendship, for he despised -the King's easy manners and carelessness of dignity, while the King had -no love for a gentleman whose one object seemed to be to surpass and -outshine him in the eyes of his people, and who never rested from -extending and fortifying his castle until it threatened to surpass Zenda -itself both in strength and magnificence. Moreover Nikolas, although -maintaining a state ample and suitable to his rank, was yet careful and -prudent, while Rudolf spent all that he received and more besides, so -that the Count grew richer and the King poorer. But in spite of these -causes of difference, the Count was received at Court with apparent -graciousness, and no open outburst of enmity had yet occurred, the pair -being, on the contrary, often together, and sharing their sports and -pastimes with one another. - -Now most of these diversions were harmless, or, indeed, becoming and -proper, but there was one among them full of danger to a man of hot head -and ungoverned impulse such as King Rudolf was. And this one was -diceing, in which the King took great delight, and in which the Count -Nikolas was very ready to encourage him. The King, who was generous and -hated to win from poor men or those who might be playing beyond their -means in order to give him pleasure, was delighted to find an opponent -whose purse was as long or longer than his own, and thus gradually came -to pass many evenings with the boxes in Nikolas's company. And the more -evenings he passed the deeper he fell into the Count's debt; for the -King drank wine, while the Count was content with small beer, and when -the King was losing he doubled his stakes, whereas the Count took in -sail if the wind seemed adverse. Thus always and steadily the debt grew, -till at last Rudolf dared not reckon how large it had become, nor did he -dare to disclose it to his advisers. For there were great public burdens -already imposed by reason of King Henry's wars, and the citizens of -Strelsau were not in a mood to bear fresh exaction, nor to give their -hard earnings for the payment of the King's gambling debts; in fine, -although they loved the Elphbergs well enough, they loved their money -more. Thus the King had no resource except in his private possessions, -and these were of no great value, saving the Castle and estate of Zenda. - -At length, when they had sat late one night and the throws had gone all -the evening against the King and for Nikolas, the King flung himself -back in his chair, drained his glass, and said impatiently: - -"I am weary of the game! Come, my lord, let us end it." - -"I would not urge you, sire, a moment beyond what you desire. I play but -for your pleasure." - -"Then my pleasure has been your profit," said the King with a vexed -laugh, "for I believe I am stripped of my last crown. What is my debt?" - -The Count, who had the whole sum reckoned on his tablets, took them out, -and shewed the King the amount of the debt. - -"I cannot pay it," said Rudolf. "I would play you again, to double the -debt or wipe it out, but I have nothing of value enough to stake." - -The desire which had been nursed for long in the Count's heart now saw -the moment of its possible realisation. - -He leant over the table, and, smoothing his beard with his hand, said -gently: - -"The amount is no more than half the value of your Majesty's Castle and -demesne of Zenda." - -The King started and forced a laugh. - -"Aye, Zenda spoils the prospect from Festenburg, does it?" said he. "But -I will not risk Zenda. An Elphberg without Zenda would seem like a man -robbed of his wife. We have had it since we have had anything or been -anything. I should not seem King without it." - -"As you will, sire. Then the debt stands?" He looked full and keenly -into the King's eyes, asking without words, "How will you pay it?" and -adding without words, "Paid it must be." And the King read the unspoken -words in the eyes of Count Nikolas. - -The King took up his glass, but finding it empty flung it angrily on the -floor, where it shivered into fragments at Count Nikolas's feet; and he -shifted in his chair and cursed softly under his breath. Nikolas sat -with the dice-box in his hand and a smile on his lips; for he knew that -the King could not pay, and therefore must play, and he was in the vein, -and did not doubt of winning from the King Zenda and its demesne. Then -he would be the greatest lord in the kingdom, and hold for his own a -kingdom within the kingdom, and the two strongest places in all the -land. And a greater prize might then dangle in reach of his grasp. - -"The devil spurs and I gallop," said the King at last. And he took up -the dice-box and rattled it. - -"Fortune will smile on you this time, sire, and I shall not grieve at -it," said Count Nikolas with a courteous smile. - -"Curses on her!" cried the King. "Come, my lord, a quick ending to it! -One throw, and I am a free man, or you are master of my castle." - -"One throw let it be, sire, for it grows late," assented Nikolas with a -careless air; and they both raised the boxes and rattled the dice inside -them. The King threw; his throw was a six and a five, and a sudden gleam -of hope lit up his eyes; he leant forward in his chair, gripping the -elbows of it with his hands; his cheeks flushed and his breath came -quickly. With a bow Count Nikolas raised his hand and threw. The dice -fell and rolled on the table. The King sank back; and the Count said -with a smile of apology and a shrug of his shoulders: - -"Indeed I am ashamed. For I cannot be denied to-night." - -For Count Nikolas of Festenburg had thrown sixes, and thereby won from -the King the Castle and demesne of Zenda. - -He rose from his chair, and, having buckled on his sword that had lain -on the table by him, and taking his hat in his hand, stood looking down -on the King with a malicious smile on his face. And he said with a look -that had more mockery than respect in it: - -"Have I your Majesty's leave to withdraw? For ere day dawn, I have -matters to transact in Strelsau, and I would be at my Castle of Zenda -to-night." - -Then King Rudolf took a sheet of paper and wrote an order that the -Castle, and all that was in it, and all the demesne should be -surrendered to Count Nikolas of Festenburg on his demand, and he gave -the paper to Nikolas. Then he rose up and held out his hand, which -Nikolas kissed, smiling covertly, and the King said with grace and -dignity: - -"Cousin, my Castle has found a more worthy master. God give you joy of -it." - -And he motioned with his hand to be left alone. Then, when the Count had -gone, he sat down in his chair again, and remained there till it was -full day, neither moving nor yet sleeping. There he was found by his -gentlemen when they came to dress him, but none asked him what had -passed. - -Count Nikolas, now Lord of Zenda, did not so waste time, and the matters -that he had spoken of did not keep him long in Strelsau; but in the -early morning he rode out, the paper which the King had written in his -belt. - -First he rode with all speed to his own house of Festenburg, and there -he gathered together all his followers, servants, foresters, and armed -retainers, and he told them that they were to ride with him to Zenda, -for that Zenda was now his and not the King's. At this they were greatly -astonished, but they ate the fine dinner and drank the wine which he -provided, and in the evening they rode down the hill very merry, and -trotted, nearly a hundred strong, through the town, making a great -noise, so that they disturbed the Bishop of Modenstein, who was lying -that night at the inn in the course of a journey from his See to the -Capital; but nobody could tell the Bishop why they rode to Zenda, and -presently the Bishop, being wearied with travelling, went to his bed. - -Now King Rudolf, in his chagrin and dismay, had himself forgotten, or -had at least neglected to warn the Count of Festenburg, that his sister -Princess Osra was residing at the Castle of Zenda; for it was her -favourite resort, and she often retired from the Court and spent many -days there alone. There she was now with two of her ladies, a small -retinue of servants, and no more than half a dozen Guards; and when -Count Nikolas came to the gate, it being then after nine, she had gone -to her own chamber, and sat before the mirror, dressed in a loose white -gown, with her ruddy hair unbound and floating over her shoulders. She -was reading an old story book, containing tales of Helen of Troy, of -Cleopatra, of Berenice, and other lovely ladies, very elegantly related -and embellished with fine pictures. And the Princess, being very much -absorbed in the stories, did not hear nor notice the arrival of the -Count's company, but continued to read, while Nikolas roused the -watchmen, and the bridge was let down, and the steward summoned. Then -Nikolas took the steward aside, and shewed him the King's order, bearing -the King's seal, and the steward, although both greatly astonished and -greatly grieved, could not deny the letter or the seal, but declared -himself ready to obey and to surrender the Castle; and the sergeant in -command of the Guard said the same; but, they added, since the Princess -was in the Castle, they must inform her of the matter, and take her -commands. - -"Aye, do," said Nikolas, sitting down in the great hall. "Tell her not -to be disturbed, but to give me the honour of being her host for as long -as she will, and say that I will wait on her, if it be her pleasure." - -But he smiled to think of the anger and scorn with which Osra would -receive the tidings when the steward delivered them to her. - -In this respect the event did not fall short of his expectations, for -she was so indignant and aghast that, thinking of nothing but the -tidings, she flung away the book and cried: "Send the Count here to me," -and stood waiting for him there in her chamber, in her white gown and -with her hair unbound and flowing down over her shoulders. And when he -came she cried: "What is this, my lord?" and listened to his story with -parted lips and flashing eyes, and thus read the King's letter and saw -the King's seal. And her eyes filled with tears, but she dashed them -away with her hand. Then the Count said, bowing to her as mockingly as -he had bowed to her brother: - -"It is the fortune of the dice, madame." - -"Yes, my lord, as you play the game," said she. - -His eyes were fixed on her, and it seemed to him that she was more -beautiful in her white gown and with her hair unbound over her -shoulders, than he had ever felt her to be before, and he eyed her -closely. Suddenly she looked at him, and for a moment he averted his -eyes; but he looked again and her eyes met his. For several moments she -stood rigid and motionless. Then she said: - -"My lord, the King has lost the Castle of Zenda, which is the home and -cradle of our House. It was scarcely the King's alone to lose. Have I no -title in it?" - -"It was the King's, madame, and now it is mine," smiled Nikolas. - -"Well, then, it is yours," said she, and taking a step towards him, she -said: "Have you a mind to venture it again, my lord?" - -"I would venture it only against a great stake," said he, smiling still, -while his eyes were fixed on her face and marked every change in the -colour of her cheeks. - -"I can play dice as well as the King," she cried. "Are we not all -gamblers, we Elphbergs?" And she laughed bitterly. - -"But what would your stake be?" he asked sneeringly. - -Princess Osra's face was now very pale, but her voice did not tremble -and she did not flinch; for the honour of her House and of the throne -was as sacred to her as her salvation, and more than her happiness. - -"A stake, my lord," said she, "that many gentlemen have thought above -any castle in preciousness." - -"Of what do you speak?" he asked, and his voice quivered a little, as a -man's does in excitement. "For, pardon me, madame, but what have you of -such value?" - -"I have what the poorest girl has, and it is of the value that it -pleased God to make it and pleases men to think it," said Osra. "And all -of it I will stake against the King's Castle of Zenda and its demesne." - -Count Nikolas's eyes flashed and he drew nearer to her; he took his -dice-box from his pocket, and he held it up before her, and he whispered -in an eager hoarse voice: - -"Name this great stake, madame; what is it?" - -"It is myself, my lord," said Princess Osra. - -"Yourself?" he cried wondering, though he had half guessed. - -"Aye. To be the Lord of Zenda is much. Is it not more to be husband to -the King's sister?" - -"It is more," said he, "when the King's sister is the Princess Osra." -And he looked at her now with open admiration. But she did not heed his -glance, but with face pale as death she seized a small table and drew it -between them and cried: "Throw then, my lord! We know the stakes." - -"If you win, Zenda is yours. If I win, you are mine." - -"Yes, I and Zenda also," said she. "Throw, my lord!" - -"Shall we throw thrice, madame, or once, or how often?" - -"Thrice, my lord," she answered, tossing back her hair behind her neck, -and holding one hand to her side. "Throw first," she added. - -The Count rattled the box; and the throw was seven. Osra took the box -from him, looked keenly and defiantly in his eyes, and threw. - -"Fortune is with you, madame," said he, biting his lips. "For a five and -a four make nine, or I err greatly." - -He took the box from her; his hand shook, but hers was firm and steady; -and again he threw. - -"Ah, it is but five," said he impatiently, and a frown settled on his -brow. - -"It is enough, my lord," said Osra; and pointed to the dice that she had -thrown, a three and a one. - -The Count's eyes gleamed again; he sprang towards her, and was about to -seize the box. But he checked himself suddenly, and bowed, saying: - -"Throw first this time, I pray you, madame, if it be not disagreeable to -you." - -"I do not care which way it is," said Osra, and she shook and made her -third cast. When she lifted the box, the face of the dice showed seven. -A smile broadened on the Count's lips, for he thought surely he could -beat seven, he that had beaten eleven and thereby won the Castle of -Zenda, which now he staked against the Princess Osra. But his eyes were -very keenly and attentively on her, and he held the box poised, -shoulder-high, in his right hand. - -Then a sudden faintness and sickness seized on the Princess, and the -composure that had hitherto upheld her failed; she could not meet his -glance, nor could she bear to see the fall of the dice; but she turned -away her head before he threw, and stood thus with averted face. But he -kept attentive eyes on her, and drew very near to the table so that he -stood right over it. And the Princess Osra caught sight of her own face -in the mirror, and started to see herself pallid and ghastly, and her -features drawn as though she were suffering some great pain. Yet she -uttered no sound. - -The dice rattled in the box; they rattled on the table; there was a -pause while a man might quickly count a dozen; and then Count Nikolas of -Festenburg cried out in a voice that trembled and tripped over the -words: - -"Eight, eight, eight!" - -But before the last of the words had left his shaking lips, the Princess -Osra faced round on him like lightning. She raised her hand so that the -loose white sleeve fell back from her rounded arm, and her eyes flashed, -and her lips curled as she outstretched her arm at him, and cried: - -"Foul play!" - -For, as she watched her own pale face in the mirror--the mirror which -Count Nikolas had not heeded--she had seen him throw, she had seen him -stand for an instant over the dice he had thrown with gloomy and -maddened face; and then she had seen a slight swift movement of his left -hand, as his fingers deftly darted down and touched one of the dice and -turned it. And all this she had seen before he had cried eight. -Therefore now she turned on him, and cried, "Foul play!" and before he -could speak, she darted by him towards the door. But he sprang forward, -and caught her by the arm above the wrist and gripped her, and his -fingers bit into the flesh of her arm, as he gasped, "You lie! Where are -you going?" But her voice rang out clear and loud in answer: - -"I am going to tell all the world that Zenda is ours again, and I am -going to publish in every city in the kingdom that Count Nikolas of -Festenburg is a common cheat and rogue, and should be whipped at the -cart's tail through the streets of Strelsau. For I saw you in the -mirror, my lord, I saw you in the mirror!" And she ended with a wild -laugh that echoed through the room. - -Still he gripped her arm, and she did not flinch; for an instant he -looked full in her eyes; covetousness, and desire, and shame, came all -together upon him, and over-mastered him, and he hissed between set -teeth: - -"You shan't! By God, you shan't!" - -"Aye, but I will, my lord," said Osra. "It is a fine tale for the King -and for your friends in Strelsau." - -An instant longer he held her where she was; and he gasped and licked -his lips. Then he suddenly dragged her with him towards a couch; seizing -up a coverlet that lay on the couch he flung it around her, and he -folded it tight about her, and he drew it close over her face. She could -not cry out nor move. He lifted her up and swung her over his shoulder, -and, opening the door of the room, dashed down the stairs towards the -great hall. - -In the great hall were six of the King's Guard, and some of the servants -of the Castle, and many of the people who had come with Count Nikolas; -they all sprang to their feet when they saw them. He took no heed of -them, but rushed at a run through the hall, and out under the portcullis -and across the bridge, which had not been raised since he entered. There -at the end of the bridge a lackey held his horse; and he leapt on his -horse, setting one hand on the saddle, and still holding Osra; and then -he cried aloud: - -"My men follow me! To Festenburg!" - -And all his men ran out, the King's Guard doing nothing to hinder them, -and jumping on their horses and setting them at a gallop, hurried after -the Count. He, riding furiously, turned towards the town of Zenda, and -the whole company swept down the hill, and, reaching the town, clattered -and dashed through it at full gallop, neither drawing rein nor turning -to right or left; and again they roused the Bishop of Modenstein, and he -turned in his bed, wondering what the rush of mounted men meant. But -they, galloping still, climbed the opposite hill and came to the Castle -of Festenburg with their horses spent and foundered. In they all -crowded, close on one another's heels; the bridge was drawn up; and -there in the entrance they stood looking at one another, asking mutely -what their master had done, and who was the lady whom he carried wrapped -in the coverlet. But he ran on till he reached the stairs, and he -climbed them, and entering a room in the gate-tower, looking over the -moat, he laid the Princess Osra on a couch, and standing over her he -smote one hand upon the other, and he swore loudly: - -"Now, as God lives, Zenda I will have, and her I will have, and it shall -be her husband whom she must, if she will, proclaim a cheat in -Strelsau!" - -Then he bent down and lifted the coverlet from her face. But she did not -stir nor speak, nor open her eyes. For she had fallen into a swoon as -they rode, and did not know what had befallen her, nor where she had -been brought, nor that she was now in the Castle of Festenburg, and in -the power of a desperate man. Thus she lay still and white, while Count -Nikolas stood over her and bit his nails in rage. And it was then just -on midnight. - -On being disturbed for the third time, the Bishop of Modenstein, whose -temper was hot and cost him continual prayers and penances from the -mastery it strove to win over him, was very impatient; and since he was -at once angry and half asleep, it was long before he could or would -understand the monstrous news with which his terrified host came -trembling and quaking to his bedside in the dead of the night. A -servant-girl, stammered the frightened fellow, had run down half dressed -and panting from the Castle of Zenda, and declared that whether they -chose to believe her or not--and, indeed, she could hardly believe such -a thing herself, although she had seen it with her own eyes from her own -window--yet Count Nikolas of Festenburg had come to the Castle that -evening, had spoken with Princess Osra, and now (they might call her a -liar if they chose) had carried off the Princess with him on his horse -to Festenburg, alive or dead none knew, and the men-servants were amazed -and terrified, and the soldiers were at their wits' end, talking big and -threatening to bring ten thousand men from Strelsau and to leave not one -stone upon another at Festenburg, and what not. But all the while and -for all their big talk nothing was done; and the Princess was at -Festenburg, alive or dead or in what strait none knew. And, finally, -nobody but one poor servant-girl had had the wit to run down and rouse -the town. - -The Bishop of Modenstein sat up in his bed and he fairly roared at the -innkeeper: - -"Are there no men, then, who can fight in the town, fool?" - -"None, none, my lord--not against the Count. Count Nikolas is a terrible -man. Please God, he has not killed the Princess by now." - -"Saddle my horse," said the Bishop, "and be quick with it." - -And he leapt out of bed with sparkling eyes. For the Bishop was a young -man, but a little turned of thirty, and he was a noble of the old House -of Hentzau. Now some of the Hentzaus (of whom history tells us of many) -have been good, and some have been bad; and the good fear God, while the -bad do not; but neither the good nor the bad fear anything in the world -besides. Hence, for good or ill, they do great deeds and risk their -lives as another man risks a penny. So the Bishop, leaving his bed, -dressed himself in breeches and boots, and set a black hat with a violet -feather on his head, and, staying to put on nothing else but his shirt -and his cloak over it, in ten minutes was on his horse at the door of -the inn. For a moment he looked at a straggling crowd that had gathered -there; then with a toss of his head and a curl of his lip he told them -what he thought of them, saying openly that he thanked heaven they were -not of his diocese, and in an instant he was galloping through the -streets of the town towards the Castle of Festenburg, with his sword by -his side and a brace of pistols in the holsters of the saddle. Thus he -left the gossipers and vapourers behind, and rode alone as he was up the -hill, his blood leaping and his heart beating quick; for, as he went, he -said to himself: - -"It is not often a Churchman has a chance like this." - -On the stroke of half-past twelve he came to the bridge of the Castle -moat, and the bridge was up. But the Bishop shouted, and the watchman -came out and stood in the gateway across the moat, and, the night being -fine and clear, he presented an excellent aim. - -"My pistol is straight at your head," cried the Bishop, "let down the -bridge. I am Frederick of Hentzau; that is, I am the Bishop of -Modenstein, and I charge you, if you are a dutiful son of the Church, to -obey me. The pistol is full at your head." - -The watchman knew the Bishop, but he also knew the Count his master. - -"I dare not let down the bridge without an order from my lord," he -faltered. - -"Then before you can turn round, you're a dead man," said the Bishop. - -"Will you hold me harmless with my lord, if I let it down?" - -"Aye, he shall not hurt you. But if you do not immediately let it down, -I'll shoot you first and refuse you Christian burial afterwards. Come, -down with it." - -So the watchman, fearing that, if he refused, the Bishop would spare -neither body nor soul, but would destroy the one and damn the other, let -down the bridge, and the Bishop, leaping from his horse, ran across with -his drawn sword in one hand and a pistol in the other. Walking into the -hall, he found a great company of Count Nikolas's men, drinking with one -another, but talking uneasily and seeming alarmed. And the Bishop raised -the hand that held the sword above his head in the attitude of -benediction, saying, "Peace be with you!" - -Most of them knew him by his face, and all knew him as soon as a comrade -whispered his name, and they sprang to their feet, uncovering their -heads and bowing. And he said: - -"Where is your master the Count?" - -"The Count is upstairs, my lord," they answered. "You cannot see him -now." - -"Nay, but I will see him," said the Bishop. - -"We are ordered to let none pass," said they, and although their manner -was full of respect, they spread themselves across the hall, and thus -barred the way to the staircase that rose in the corner of the hall. But -the Bishop faced them in great anger, crying: - -"Do you think I do not know what has been done? Are you all, then, -parties in this treachery? Do you all want to swing from the turrets of -the Castle when the King comes with a thousand men from Strelsau?" - -At this they looked at him and at one another with great uneasiness; for -they knew that the King had no mercy when he was roused, and that he -loved his sister above everybody in the world. And the Bishop stepped up -close to their rank. Then one of them drew his sword half-way from its -scabbard. But the Bishop, perceiving this, cried: - -"Do you all do violence to a lady, and dare to lay hands on the King's -sister? Aye, and here is a fellow that would strike a Bishop of God's -Church!" And he caught the fellow a buffet with the flat of his sword, -that knocked him down, "Let me pass, you rogues," said the Bishop. "Do -you think you can stop a Hentzau?" - -"Let us go and tell the Count that my lord the Bishop is here," cried -the house-steward, thinking that he had found a way out of the -difficulty; for they dared neither to touch the Bishop nor yet to let -him through; and the steward turned to run towards the staircase. But -the Bishop sprang after him, quick as an arrow, and, dropping the pistol -from his left hand, caught him by the shoulder and hurled him back. "I -want no announcing," he said. "The Church is free to enter everywhere." -And he burst through them at the point of the sword, reckless now what -might befall him so that he made his way through. But they did not -venture to cut him down; for they knew that nothing but death would stop -him, and for their very souls' sake they dared not kill him. So he, -kicking one and pushing another and laying about him with the flat of -his sword and with his free hand, and reminding them all the while of -their duty to the Church and of his sacred character, at last made his -way through and stood alone, unhurt, at the foot of the staircase, while -they cowered by the walls or looked at him in stupid helplessness and -bewilderment. And the Bishop swiftly mounted the stairs. - -At this instant in the room in the gate-tower of the Castle overlooking -the moat there had fallen a moment of dead silence. Here Count Nikolas -had raised the Princess, set her on a couch, and waited till her -faintness and fright were gone. Then he had come near to her, and in -brief harsh tones told her his mind. For him, indeed, the dice were now -cast; in his fury and fear he had dared all. He was calm now, with the -calmness of a man at a great turn of fate. That room, he told her, she -should never leave alive, save as his promised wife, sworn and held to -secrecy and silence by the force of that bond and of her oath. If he -killed her he must die, whether by his own hand or the King's mattered -little. But he would die for a great cause and in a great venture. "I -shall not be called a cheating gamester, madame," said he, a smile on -his pale face. "I choose death sooner than disgrace. Such is my choice. -What is yours? It stands between death and silence; and no man but your -husband will dare to trust your silence." - -"You do not dare to kill me," said she defiantly. - -"Madame, I dare do nothing else. They may write 'murderer' on my tomb; -they shall not throw 'cheat' in my living face." - -"I will not be silent," cried Osra, springing to her feet. "And rather -than be your wife I would die a thousand times. For a cheat you are--a -cheat--a cheat!" Her voice rose, till he feared that she would be heard, -if any one chanced to listen, even from so far off as the hall. Yet he -made one more effort, seeking to move her by an appeal to which women -are not wont to be insensible. - -"A cheat, yes!" said he. "I, Nikolas of Festenburg, am a cheat. I say -it, though no other man shall while I live to hear him. But to gain what -stake?" - -"Why, my brother's Castle of Zenda." - -"I swear to you it was not," he cried, coming nearer to her. "I did not -fear losing on the cast, but I could not endure not to win. Not my -stake, madame, but yours lured me to my foul play. Have you your face, -and yet do not know to what it drives men?" - -"If I have a fair face, it should inspire fair deeds," said she. "Do not -touch me, sir, do not touch me. I loathe breathing the same air with -you, or so much as seeing your face. Aye, and I can die. Even the women -of our House know how to die." - -At her scorn and contempt a great rage came upon him, and he gripped the -hilt of his sword, and drew it from the scabbard. But she stood still, -facing him with calm eyes. Her lips moved for a moment in prayer, but -she did not shrink. - -"I pray you," said he in trembling speech, mastering himself for an -instant, "I pray you!" But he could say no more. - -"I will cry your cheating in all Strelsau," said she. - -"Then commend your soul to God. For in one minute you shall die." - -Still she stood motionless; and he began to come near to her, his sword -now drawn in his hand. Having come within the distance from which he -could strike her, he paused and gazed into her eyes. She answered him -with a smile. Then there was for an instant the utter stillness in the -room; and in that instant the Bishop of Modenstein set his foot on the -staircase and came running up. On a sudden Osra heard the step, and a -gleam flashed in her eye. The Count heard it also, and his sword was -arrested in its stroke. A smile came on his face. He was glad at the -coming of some one whom he might kill in fight; for it turned him sick -to butcher her unresisting. Yet he dared not let her go, to cry his -cheating in the streets of Strelsau. The steps came nearer. - -He dropped his sword on the floor and sprang upon her. A shriek rang -out, but he pressed his hand on her mouth and seized her in his arms. -She had no strength to resist, and he carried her swiftly across the -room to a door in the wall. He pulled the door open--it was very heavy -and massive--and he flung her down roughly on the stone floor of a -little chamber, square and lofty, having but one small window high up, -through which the moonlight scarcely pierced. She fell with a moan of -pain. Unheeding, he turned on his heel and shut the door. And, as he -turned, he heard a man throw himself against the door of the room. It -also was strong and twice the man hurled himself with all his force -against it. At last it strained and gave way; and the Bishop of -Modenstein burst into the room breathless. And he saw no trace of the -Princess's presence, but only Count Nikolas standing sword in hand in -front of the door in the wall with a sneering smile on his face. - -The Bishop of Modenstein never loved to speak afterwards of what -followed, saying always that he rather deplored than gloried in it, and -that when a man of sacred profession was forced to use the weapons of -this world it was a matter of grief to him, not of vaunting. But the -King compelled him by urgent requests to describe the whole affair, -while the Princess was never weary of telling all that she knew, or of -blessing all bishops for the sake of the Bishop of Modenstein. Yet the -Bishop blamed himself; perhaps, if the truth were known, not for the -necessity that drove him to do what he did, as much as for a secret and -ashamed joy which he detected in himself. For certainly, as he burst -into the room now, there was no sign of reluctance or unwillingness in -his face; he took off his feathered hat, bowed politely to the Count, -and resting the point of his sword on the floor, asked: - -"My lord, where is the Princess?" - -[Illustration: "'MY LORD, WHERE IS THE PRINCESS?'"--_Page 160._] - -"What do you want here, and who are you?" cried the Count with a -blasphemous oath. - -"When we were boys together, you knew Frederick of Hentzau. Do you not -now know the Bishop of Modenstein?" - -"Bishop! This is no place for bishops. Get back to your prayers, my -lord." - -"It wants some time yet before matins," answered the Bishop. "My lord, -where is the Princess?" - -"What do you want with her?" - -"I am here to escort her wherever it may be her pleasure to go." - -He spoke confidently, but he was in his heart alarmed and uneasy because -he had not found the Princess. - -"I do not know where she is," said Nikolas of Festenburg. - -"My lord, you lie," said the Bishop of Modenstein. - -The Count had wanted nothing but an excuse for attacking the intruder. -He had it now, and an angry flush mounted in his cheeks as he walked -across to where the Bishop stood. - -Shifting his sword, which he had picked up again, to his left hand, he -struck the Bishop on the face with his gloved hand. The Bishop smiled -and turned the other cheek to Count Nikolas, who struck again with all -his force, so that he reeled back, catching hold of the open door to -avoid falling, and the blood started dull red under the skin of his -face. But he still smiled, and bowed, saying: - -"I find nothing about the third blow in Holy Scripture." - -At this instant the Princess Osra, who had been half stunned by the -violence with which Nikolas had thrown her on the floor, came to her -full senses and, hearing the Bishop's voice, she cried out loudly for -help. He, hearing her, darted in an instant across the room, and was at -the door of the little chamber before the Count could stop him. He -pulled the door open and Osra sprang out to him, saying: - -"Save me! Save me!" - -"You are safe, madame, have no fear," answered the Bishop. And turning -to the Count, he continued: "Let us go outside, my lord, and discuss -this matter. Our dispute will disturb and perhaps alarm the Princess." - -And a man might have read the purpose in his eyes, though his manner and -words were gentle; for he had sworn in his heart that the Count should -not escape. - -But the Count cared as little for the presence of the Princess as he had -for her dignity, her honour, or her life: and now that she was no longer -wholly at his mercy, but there was a new chance that she might escape, -his rage and the fear of exposure lashed him to fury, and, without more -talking, he made at the Bishop, crying: - -"You first, and then her! I'll be rid of the pair of you?" - -The Bishop faced him, standing between Princess Osra and his assault, -while she shrank back a little, sheltering herself behind the heavy -door. For although she had been ready to die without fear, yet the sight -of men fighting frightened her, and she veiled her face with her hands, -and waited in dread to hear the sound of their swords clashing. But the -Bishop looked very happy, and, setting his hat on his head with a jaunty -air, he stood on guard. For ten years or more he had not used his sword, -but the secret of its mastery seemed to revive, fresh and clear in his -mind, and let his soul say what it would, his body rejoiced to be at the -exercise again, so that his blood kindled and his eyes gleamed in the -glee of strife. Thus he stepped forward, guarding himself, and thus he -met the Count's impetuous onset; he neither flinched nor gave back, but -finding himself holding his own, he pressed on and on, not violently -attacking and yet never resting, and turning every thrust with a wrist -of iron. And while Osra now gazed with wide eyes and close-held breath, -and Count Nikolas muttered oaths and grew more furious, the Bishop -seemed as gay as when he talked to the King, more gaily, may be, than -Bishops should. Again his eye danced as in the days when he had been -called the wildest of the Hentzaus. And still he drove Count Nikolas -back and back. - -Now behind the Count was a window, which he himself had caused to be -enlarged and made low and wide, in order that he might look from it over -the surrounding country; in time of war it was covered with a close and -strong iron grating. But now the grating was off and the window open, -and beneath the window was a fall of fifty feet or hard upon it into the -moat below. The Count, looking into the Bishop's face, and seeing him -smile, suddenly recollected the window, and fancied it was the Bishop's -design to drive him on to it so that he could give back no more; and, -since he knew by now that the Bishop was his master with the sword, a -despairing rage settled upon him; determining to die swiftly, since die -he must, he rushed forward, making a desperate lunge at his enemy. But -the Bishop parried the lunge, and, always seeming to be about to run the -Count through the body, again forced him to retreat till his back was -close to the opening of the window. Here Nikolas stood, his eyes glaring -like a madman's; then a sudden devilish smile spread over his face. - -"Will you yield yourself, my lord?" cried the Bishop, putting a -restraint on the wicked impulse to kill the man, and lowering his point -for an instant. - -[Illustration: "HE DROVE HIS SWORD INTO HIS BODY, AND THE COUNT GAVE -BACK BEFORE IT."--_Page 165_] - -In that short moment the Count made his last throw; for all at once, as -it seemed, and almost in one motion, he thrust and wounded the Bishop in -the left side of his body, high in the chest near the shoulder, and, -though the wound was slight, the blood flowed freely; then drawing back -his sword, he seized it by the blade half-way up and flung it like a -javelin at the Princess, who stood still by the door, breathlessly -watching the fight. By an ace it missed her head, and it pinned a tress -of her hair to the door and quivered deep-set in the wood of the door. -When the Bishop of Modenstein saw this, hesitation and mercy passed out -of his heart, and though the man had now no weapon, he thought of -sparing him no more than he would have spared any cruel and savage -beast, but he drove his sword into his body, and the Count, not being -able to endure the thrust without flinching, against his own will gave -back before it. Then came from his lips a loud cry of dismay and -despair; for at the same moment that the sword was in him he, staggering -back, fell wounded to death through the open window. The Bishop looked -out after him, and Princess Osra heard the sound of a great splash in -the water of the moat below; for very horror she sank against the door, -seeming to be held up more by the sword that had pinned her hair than by -her own strength. Then came up through the window, from which the Bishop -still looked with a strange smile, the clatter of a hundred feet, -running to the gate of the Castle. The bridge was let down; the confused -sound of many men talking, of whispers, of shouts, and of cries of -horror, mounted up through the air. For the Count's men in the hall also -had heard the splash, and run out to see what it was, and there they -beheld the body of their master, dead in the moat; their eyes were wide -open, and they could hardly lay their tongues to the words as they -pointed to the body and whispered to one another, very low: "The Bishop -has killed him--the Bishop has killed him." But the Bishop saw them from -the window, and leant out, crying: - -"Yes, I have killed him. So perish all such villains!" - -When they looked up, and saw in the moonlight the Bishop's face, they -were amazed. But he hastily drew his head in, so that they might not see -him any more. For he knew that his face had been fierce, and exultant, -and joyful. Then, dropping his sword, he ran across to the Princess; he -drew the Count's sword, which was wet with his own blood, out of the -door, releasing the Princess's hair; and, seeing that she was very -faint, he put his arm about her, and led her to the couch; she sank upon -it, trembling and white as her white gown, and murmuring: "Fearful, -fearful!" and she clutched his arm, and for a long while she would not -let him go; and her eyes were fixed on the Count's sword that lay on the -floor by the entrance of the little room. - -"Courage, madame," said the Bishop softly. "All danger is past. The -villain is dead, and you are with the most devoted of your servants." - -"Yes, yes," she said, and pressed his arm and shivered. "Is he really -dead?" - -"He is dead. God have mercy on him," said the Bishop. - -"And you killed him?" - -"I killed him. If it were a sin, pray God forgive me!" - -Up through the window still came the noise of voices and the stir of men -moving; for they were recovering the body of the Count from the moat; -yet neither Osra nor the Bishop noticed any longer what was passing; he -was intent on her, and she seemed hardly yet herself; but suddenly, -before he could interpose, she threw herself off the couch and on to her -knees in front of him, and, seizing hold of his hand, she kissed first -the episcopal ring that he wore and then his hand. For he was both -Bishop and a gallant gentleman, and a kiss she gave him for each; and -after she had kissed his hand, she held it in both of hers as though for -safety's sake she clung to it. But he raised her hastily, crying to her -not to kneel before him, and, throwing away his hat, he knelt before -her, kissing her hands many times. She seemed now recovered from her -bewilderment and terror; for as she looked down on him kneeling, she was -half-way between tears and smiles, and with curving lips but wet shining -eyes, she said very softly: - -"Ah, my lord, who made a bishop of you?" And her cheeks grew in an -instant from dead white into sudden red, and her hand moved over his -head as if she would fain have touched him with it. And she bent down -ever so little towards him. Yet, perhaps, it was nothing; any lady, who -had seen how he bore himself, and knew that it was in her cause, for her -honour and life, might well have done the same. - -The Bishop of Modenstein made no immediate answer; his head was still -bowed over her hand, and after a while he kissed her hand again; and he -felt her hand press his. Then, suddenly, as though in alarm, she drew -her hand away, and he let it go easily. Then he raised his eyes and met -the glance of hers, and he smiled; and Osra also smiled. For an instant -they were thus. Then the Bishop rose to his feet, and he stood before -her with bent head and eyes that sought the ground in becoming humility. - -"It is by God's infinite goodness and divine permission that I hold my -sacred office." said he. "I would that I were more worthy of it! But -to-day I have taken pleasure in the killing of a man." - -"And in the saving of a lady, sir," she added softly, "who will ever -count you among her dearest friends and the most gallant of her -defenders. Is God angry at such a deed as that?" - -"May He forgive us all our sins," said the Bishop gravely; but what -other sins he had in his mind he did not say, nor did the Princess ask -him. - -Then he gave her his arm, and they two walked together down the stairs -into the hall; the Bishop, having forgotten both his hat and his sword, -was bare-headed and had no weapon in his hand. The Count's men were all -collected in the hall, being crowded round a table that stood by the -wall; for on the table lay the body of Count Nikolas of Festenburg, and -it was covered with a horse-cloth that one of the servants had thrown -over it. But when the men saw the Princess and the Bishop, they made way -for them and stood aside, bowing low as they passed. - -"You bow now," said Osra, "but, before, none of you would lift a finger -for me. To my lord the Bishop alone do I owe my life; and he is a -Churchman, while you were free to fight for me. For my part, I do not -envy your wives such husbands;" and with a most scornful air she passed -between their ranks, taking great and ostentatious care not to touch one -of them even with the hem of her gown. At this they grew red and -shuffled on their feet; and one or two swore under their breath, and -thanked God their wives were not such shrews, being indeed very much -ashamed of themselves, and very uneasy at thinking what these same wives -of theirs would say to them when the thing came to be known. But Osra -and the Bishop passed over the bridge, and he set her on his horse. The -summer morning had just dawned, clear and fair, so that the sun caught -her ruddy hair as she mounted in her white gown. But the Bishop took the -bridle of the horse and led it at a foot's pace down the hill and into -the town. - -Now by this time the news of what had chanced had run all through the -town, and the people were out in the streets, gossiping and guessing. -And when they saw the Princess Osra safe and sound and smiling, and the -Bishop in his shirt--for he had given his cloak to her--leading the -horse, they broke into great cheering. The men cheered the Princess, -while the women thrust themselves to the front rank of the crowd, and -blessed the Bishop of Modenstein. But he walked with his head down and -his eyes on the ground, and would not look up, even when the women cried -out in great fear and admiration on seeing that his shirt was stained -with his blood and with the blood of Nikolas of Festenburg that had -spurted out upon it. But one thing the Princess heard, which sent her -cheeks red again; for a buxom girl glanced merrily at her, and made bold -to say in a tone that the Princess could not but hear: - -[Illustration: "HE WALKED WITH HIS HEAD DOWN AND HIS EYES ON THE -GROUND."--_Page 171._] - -"By the Saints, here's waste! If he were not a Churchman, now!" And her -laughing eye travelled from the Princess to him, and back to the -Princess again. - -"Shall we go a little faster?" whispered Osra, bending down to the -Bishop. But the girl only thought that she whispered something else, and -laughed the more. - -At last they passed the town, and with a great crowd still following -them, came to the Castle. At the gate of it the Bishop stopped and aided -the Princess to alight. Again he knelt and kissed her hand, saying only: - -"Madame, farewell!" - -"Farewell, my lord," said Osra softly; and she went hastily into the -Castle, while the Bishop returned to his inn in the town, and though the -people stood round the inn the best part of the day, calling and -watching for him, he would not shew himself. - -In the evening of that day the King, having heard the tidings of the -crime of Count Nikolas, came in furious haste with a troop of horse from -Strelsau. And when he heard how Osra had played at dice with the Count, -and staking herself against the Castle of Zenda had won it back, he was -ashamed, and swore an oath that he would play dice no more, which oath -he faithfully observed. But in the morning of the next day he went to -Festenburg, where he flogged soundly every man who had not run away -before his coming; and all the possessions of Count Nikolas he -confiscated, and he pulled down the Castle of Festenburg, and filled up -the moat that had run round its walls. - -Then he sent for the Bishop of Modenstein, and thanked him, offering to -him all the demesne of Count Nikolas; but the Bishop would not accept -it, nor any mark of the King's favour, not even the Order of the Red -Rose. Therefore the King granted the ground on which the Castle stood, -and all the lands belonging to it, to Francis of Tarlenheim, -brother-in-law to the wife of Prince Henry, who built the _château_ -which now stands there and belongs to the same family to this day. - -But the Bishop of Modenstein, having been entertained by the King with -great splendour for two days, would not stay longer, but set out to -pursue his journey, clad now in his ecclesiastical garments. And -Princess Osra sat by her window, leaning her head on her hand, and -watching him till the trees of the forest hid him; and once, when he was -on the edge of the forest, he turned his face for an instant, and looked -back at her where she sat watching in the window. Thus he went to -Strelsau; and when he was come there, he sent immediately for his -confessor, and the confessor, having heard him, laid upon him a severe -penance, which he performed with great zeal, exactness, and contrition. -But whether the penance were for killing Count Nikolas of Festenburg -(which in a layman, at least, would have seemed but a venial sin) or for -what else, who shall say? - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - - The Device of Giraldo the Painter. - - -When the twenty-first birthday of the Princess Osra approached, her -brother King Rudolf, desiring to make her a present, summoned from his -home at Verona, in Italy, a painter of very high fame, by name Giraldo, -and commanded him to paint a portrait of the Princess, to be her -brother's gift to her. This command Giraldo carried out, the Princess -giving him every opportunity of studying her features and grudging no -time that was spent by her in front of his easel; and the picture, when -finished, being pronounced to be as faithful as beautiful the reputation -of Giraldo was greatly enhanced by the painting of it. Thus it followed -that in many cases, when foreign Princes had heard the widespread -praises of Osra's beauty, they sent orders to Giraldo to execute for -them, and despatch with all speed, miniatures or other portraits of the -Princess, that they might judge for themselves whether she were in truth -as lovely as report said; and they sent Giraldo large sums of money in -recompense, adding not seldom some further donation on the express term -and condition that Giraldo should observe absolute fidelity in his -representation and not permit himself the least flattery. For some -desired themselves to court her, and others intended their sons to ask -her hand, if the evidence of Giraldo's portraits satisfied their hopes. -So Giraldo, although but two or three years above thirty, grew in both -fame and wealth, and was very often indebted to the Princess for the -favour of a visit to his house, that he might again correct his memory -of her face. - -Now what several Princes had done before, it chanced that the King of -Glottenberg also did; and Giraldo, to all appearance much pleased, -accepted the command, and prayed the Princess to visit him; for, he -said, this picture was to be larger and more elaborate than the rest, -and therefore needed more study of her. So the Princess went many times, -and the portrait destined for the King of Glottenberg (who was said to -be seeking a suitable alliance for his eldest son) grew before her eyes -into the most perfect and beautiful presentment of her which the skill -of Giraldo had ever accomplished, surpassing even that first picture -which he had painted by King Rudolf's command. The King made no doubt -that, so soon as the picture had reached the Court of Glottenberg, an -embassy would come from there to demand the hand of his sister for the -Crown Prince, a proposal which he would have received with much pleasure -and gratification. - -"I do not think," said Osra, tossing her head, "that any such embassy -will come, sire. For four or five pictures have been already painted by -Signor Giraldo in like manner, but no embassies have come. It seems that -my poor features do not find approval in the Courts of Europe." - -Her tone, it must be confessed, was full of contempt. For the Princess -Osra knew that she was beautiful, as indeed all beautiful ladies are, by -the benevolence of heaven, permitted to know. How much greater mischief -might they work, if such knowledge were denied them! - -"That's true enough," cried Rudolf. "And I do not understand the meaning -of it. But it will not be so at Glottenberg. For my good brother the -King has eyes in his head, and his son sees no less well. I met them on -my travels, and I can speak to it. Most certainly an embassy will come -from Glottenberg before we are a month older!" - -Yet, strange to say, the same thing followed on the despatch of the -portrait (which Giraldo sent by a certain trusty messenger, whom he was -accustomed to employ) as had happened before; no embassy came, and the -King of Glottenberg excused himself from paying a visit to Strelsau, -which he and his son had promised on the invitation of King Rudolf. -Therefore Rudolf was very vexed, and Osra also, thinking herself -scorned, was very sore at heart, although she bore herself more proudly -than before. But, being very greatly disturbed in her mind concerning -her beauty, she went herself again to Giraldo and charged him to paint -her once more. - -"This picture," she said, "is for my own eyes, and mine alone. -Therefore, signor, paint it faithfully, and spare me not. For if a woman -be ugly, it is well she should know it, and it seems that nobody in the -kingdom will tell me the truth, although I get hints enough of it from -abroad." And she frowned and flushed and was very sadly out of temper, -as any beautiful lady would most naturally be in such a case. - -Giraldo bowed very low, seeking to hide the sudden red that dyed his -cheek, and to conceal the great joy which the command of the Princess -gave him. For by reason of having painted the Princess so often, of -having studied her face so curiously, and of having spent so much time -in her company, listening to her conversation, and enjoying her wit and -grace, this hapless young man had become so deeply and desperately her -lover, that he no longer cared to use his brush in the service of any -other lady or lord, but stayed at Strelsau solely that he might again -and again depict the face that he loved; and, save when she sat before -him, he seemed now unable to ply his art at all, and had he not received -so many commands for pictures of her, he would have sat all day long -idle, thinking of her; which, indeed, was what he did in the intervals -between his labour on her portraits. But she, not imagining such -presumption and folly on his part, thought that he was glad merely -because she would pay him well; so she promised him more and more, if he -would but paint her faithfully. And he gave her his word that he would -paint her in every respect most faithfully. - -"I desire to know," said she, "what I am in truth like; for my mirror -says one thing, and the King of Glottenberg----" - -But here she stopped, remembering that such matters were not fit for -Giraldo's ears. Yet he must have understood, for a strange, cunning, -exultant smile came on his lips as he turned away and set himself to mix -the colours on his palette. Thus he began this last picture and the -Princess came every day and stayed long, so that Giraldo might be able -to render her likeness in every most minute respect with perfect -fidelity. - -"For," she thought resentfully, "either I have no eyes, or they have -none in Glottenberg." - -When she had been visiting Giraldo thus for hard on a month, and the -picture was nearly finished, and was at once the most lovely and the -most faithful of all that Giraldo had painted, it chanced that letters -came to the King from a nobleman of France who was well known to him, -and had known the Princess well also, the Marquis de Mérosailles. And -the Marquis wrote to the King in the greatest indignation and scorn, -upbraiding the King and saying: - -"What is this, sire? Do you keep a madman at your Court, and call him a -painter? I have been at Glottenberg; and when I spoke there, as it is my -humble duty and true delight to speak everywhere, of the incomparable -beauty of your Majesty's sister the Princess Osra, the King, his son, -and all the company, did nothing but laugh. I fought three duels with -gentlemen of the Court on this account, and two of them I, heaven -helping me, wounded, and one, by some devil's trick, wounded me. After -this, the matter coming to the King's ear, he sent for me, and excused -the laughter by showing me a picture done by a rascal called Giraldo at -your Court, the picture was named after your Majesty's most matchless -sister; but, as I am a true son of the Church, it was like the devil's -daughter, and, on my honour and conscience, it squinted most -villainously. I pray you, sire, find out the meaning of this thing; and -receive most humble duty and homage from your devoted servant, and, -since your graciousness so wills it, most obliged and obedient friend, -Henri Marquis de Mérosailles. I kiss the hand of the Princess." - -When King Rudolf had read this letter, he grew very thoughtful, and, -unknown to Giraldo, he sent and caught the messenger whom Giraldo was -wont to entrust with the pictures, and who carried the picture of which -M. de Mérosailles wrote to Glottenberg; and the King interrogated the -messenger most closely, but got nothing from him, save that he himself -never beheld the pictures which he carried, but received them most -carefully packed from Giraldo, and so delivered them without undoing the -coverings, and then by Giraldo's strict orders returned at once, and did -not wait until the recipient had inspected the picture. So that the -fellow did not know anything about the picture that had gone to -Glottenberg, except that it was certainly the same as Giraldo had -entrusted to his hands. But the King was not satisfied, and, learning -that his sister was at that moment at Giraldo's house, being painted -afresh by him, he called half-a-dozen of his gentlemen, and set out on -horseback for the place where Giraldo lived in the street that runs from -the Cathedral towards the western gate of Strelsau. To this day the -house stands there. - -The Princess sat and Giraldo painted. Behind the Princess was a window, -looking on to the street, and behind Giraldo was a second door, which -led into an inner room. On Giraldo's easel stood the nearly finished -picture; Giraldo's eyes were alight both with love and with triumph, as -he turned from the Princess to the picture, and from the picture to the -Princess again; and she, seeing something of his admiration, said with a -blush: - -"Is it indeed faithful, signor?" For it seemed even to herself a -marvellously lovely picture. - -"No, madame," answered he. "For my imperfect hand cannot be faithful to -perfection." - -"I pray you, do not flatter me. Have you indeed shewn every fault of my -face?" - -"If there be a fault in your face, madame, there it is also in my -picture," said Giraldo. - -The Princess was silent for a moment, then she said: - -"It is better, is it not, than the picture you painted for the King of -Glottenberg?" - -Giraldo painted a stroke or two before he answered carelessly: - -"Indeed, madame, it is more faithful than that which the King of -Glottenberg has." - -"Then less beautiful?" asked Osra with a petulant smile. - -"Nay, I do not say that; not less beautiful," he answered. - -"Perhaps he would like this one better, and give me his in exchange; for -I never saw his after it was finished. I think I will ask the King to -write to him." - -Giraldo had turned round suddenly as the Princess made this suggestion; -she had spoken half in sport, half in continuing chagrin at the -blindness shewn by the Court of Glottenberg. Now he stood staring at her -with wide-open alarmed eyes; and he dropped his brushes on to the floor. - -"What ails you, signor?" she cried. "I did but suggest exchanging the -pictures." - -He tried to regain his composure, as he stooped to pick up his brushes. - -"The King of Glottenberg's picture is the best for him to have," said he -sullenly. "This one, madame, I painted for you yourself, and for you -alone." - -"I pay the price and can do what I will with the picture," returned the -Princess haughtily. "If I desire, I will give it to the King of -Glottenberg." - -Giraldo had now turned very pale, and, forgetful of the picture, stood -gazing fixedly at the Princess. For he could no longer hold down in -secrecy and silence the passion that possessed him, but it was declared -in his eyes and in the trembling of his limbs; so that the Princess rose -from her chair and shrank away from him in alarm, regretting that she -had dismissed her ladies, in order to be less restrained in talk with -the painter; and she tried to cry out, that they might hear her where -they were in an adjoining room, but her cry froze on her lips at the -sight of Giraldo's passion. And he cried in a hoarse whisper: - -"He shall not have the picture, he shall not have it!" As he spoke he -moved nearer to the Princess, who still shrank away from him, being now -in very great alarm, and thinking that surely he had run mad. Yet she -looked at him, and, looking, saw whence his madness came; and she felt -pity for him, and held out her clasped hands towards him, saying in a -very soft voice, and with eyes that grew sad and tender: - -"Ah, signor, signor, am I always to have lovers, and never a friend?" - -At this the unfortunate painter was overcome, and dropping his head -between his hands he gave a deep half-stifled sob, and then he cried: - -"God's curse on me, for having slandered the beauty that I love!" And -then he sobbed again. - -But the Princess wondered greatly what he meant by his strange cry, and -turned her eyes again on him in bewildered questioning; saying, as she -pointed to the picture: - -"There is no slander here, signor, unless too much praise be slander." - -Giraldo made her no answer in words, but, springing towards her, caught -her by the wrist, and drew her across the room to the door behind his -easel. With feverish haste he unlocked it and passed through. The -Princess, although now free from his grip, followed him in a strange -fascination. Giraldo drew the door close behind him; and at that moment -the Princess gave a cry, half a scream, half laughter. For facing her -she saw, each on its easel, three, four, five, six pictures of herself, -each beautiful and painted most lovingly; and the last of the six was -the picture that had been painted by order of the King of Glottenberg. -For she knew it by the attire, although the face had not been finished -when she had last seen it. A sudden enlightenment pierced her mind, and -she knew that Giraldo had not sent the pictures for which she had sat to -him, but kept them himself, and sent others to his patrons. This strange -conviction found its sure confirmation in a seventh easel which stood -apart from the rest, on the other side of the room; for it supported -what was in all respects a copy of the portrait on which Giraldo was now -engaged, save that by cunning touches he had imparted to the face an -alien and fearful aspect; for here, although the features had their -shape and perfect grace, yet it was the face of a devil that looked out -of the canvas, a face that a man would not have gazing at him from the -wall on to the bed where he sought to sleep. - -But when Giraldo saw her eyes fixed on this picture, he cried: - -"That is for you--the other is mine. Are they not your features? The -King of Glottenberg should not have even your features. But you shall -have them, and if a devil looks out through such a fair mask, is it not -so with all fair women that lead men to destruction? There is your true -picture, Princess Osra!" And he flung himself on a couch with a mad cry -of rage, and then a groan of despair. - -The Princess Osra looked at him, and at the beautiful pictures, and then -at the picture that was like her and yet like a devil. First she pitied -the painter, and then marvelled at the wonderful mad skill, which so -transformed her without drawing a line that could be called untrue. Thus -thinking, she stood for a while, grave and puzzled. But then the humour -struck her, as it struck her House always in great things and in small; -it seemed to her most ludicrous that the pictures should all be resting -here in Giraldo's house, while the Princes who had commanded portraits -of her had received nothing but distorted parodies of her face, to the -end that they might be disgusted and, abandoning the alliance they had -projected, leave her still at Strelsau, to be painted times out of -number and most fruitlessly by this mad painter. And these thoughts -gaining the mastery over the others, in spite of the sad plight of -unhappy Signor Giraldo, her lips curved into a bow, her eyes gleamed in -dancing merriment, and a moment later she broke into a glad gleeful -laugh, that rose and rippled, and fell to soft delighted murmurings. As -she looked again at the picture that was like her and also like a devil, -her mirth grew and grew at the ingenuity of the work and the mocking -devilry so cunningly made out of her face. Small wonder was it to her -now that the embassies had not come. - -The Princess Osra thus stood laughing, and presently Signor Giraldo -looked up. When he had listened and looked for a few moments, his wild -mood caught the infection from her, so that, springing to his feet, he -also began to laugh loudly, like a man who cannot restrain his -amusement, but is carried away by it beyond all bounds and restraints. -Thus Giraldo laughed loudly, long, and fiercely; for there was madness -in his laugh. And the Princess heard the madness; even while she still -laughed, her eyes opened in wonder; alarm came on her face, her merry -laugh quivered, trembled, choked in her throat, and at last died away -into dumbness; yet her lips hung apart frozen in the shape of laughter, -while no laughter came. But as her laugh thus ended in mute horror, his -grew louder yet and wilder, and its peal rang through the room, as he -gasped between his spasms of horrid mirth, "You, you, you!" and pointed -at the picture which he had touched to devilishness. But she shrank -away, and stood crouched against the wall; for she knew now that he was -mad, but did not know to what his fury might next lead him. Then he -caught up a knife that lay on the sill of the window, and, now smiling -as though in grim quiet amusement, strode across to the row of pictures, -and reached up to them, knife in hand. But Osra suddenly sprang forward, -crying: - -"Do not hurt them." - -"These?" he asked, turning to her with a sneer. "These? I'll destroy -them all, for they are no longer beautiful to me, but that one only is -beautiful, because it is true." And he wrenched his arm away from the -detaining hand she had laid upon it. Falling back in terror, she watched -him cutting and slashing each of the pictures, until the face was -utterly destroyed. And she feared that when he had finished with the -pictures, he would turn upon her; therefore she flung herself on the -couch, hiding her face for fear of some horrible fate; she murmured low -to herself, "Not my face, O God, not my face!" and she pressed her face -down into the cushions of the couch, while he, muttering and grumbling -to himself, cut the pictures into strips and ribbons, and strewed the -fragments at his feet on the floor. This done, he turned to the devil's -face that he loved, and poured out to it, as though it had been a cruel -idol he worshipped, a flood of wild passionate reproachful words, that -Osra shivered to hear, and the purport of which she dared tell none, -though for all her prayers she could not herself forget one of them. - -At last he came to her again, and plucked her roughly and rudely from -the couch where she lay, and dragged her behind him back to the door -again and through it; and they stood together in front of the last -picture, whose paint was still wet from his hand. The painted face -smiled down on the trembling pale girl with its smile of careless serene -dignity, so that now even to herself it seemed hardly to be her picture. -For it was the true presentment of a King's daughter, and she no better -than a helpless frightened girl. It seemed to reproach her; and suddenly -she drew herself to her height, and turned on Giraldo, saying: "You -shall not touch it." - -She stept forward, so that she stood between him and the picture, -raising her hand, and forbidding him to approach it with his knife. And -now the picture seemed more to be hers, although while it smiled she -frowned. - -But at this moment there came through the window that opened on the -street the clatter of horses' hoofs. At the sound Giraldo arrested the -motion that he had already made to fling himself on the Princess; -whether to kill her, or only to thrust her away from in front of the -picture she did not know. Running to the window, he looked out, and -called in seeming glee: "It is the King come to see my pictures!" And he -looked proud and happy. Going to the door of the room, he flung it open, -and stood there waiting for the King and the gentlemen who attended the -King. They were not long in coming, for Rudolf was full of anger, -impatience, and curiosity, and ran swiftly up the staircase. His -gentlemen pressed into the room behind him, and Giraldo drew back, -keeping his face to the King and bowing again and again. But the King -and the rest saw the knife in his hand; and ragged strips of painted -canvas hung here and there on his clothes, while the Princess, pale and -proud, stood guarding the picture on the easel. The King, in spite of -his wonder, was not turned from the purpose which had brought him to the -painter's house, but with a quick step darted up to Giraldo and thrust -the letter of the Marquis de Mérosailles into his hand, bidding him in a -sharp peremptory tone to read it and give what explanation he could of -the contents. Giraldo fell to reading it, while the King turned to his -sister in order to ask her why she seemed agitated, and stood so -obstinately in front of her own picture; but at that instant one of the -gentlemen, whose name was Ladislas, gave a cry of surprise; for he had -looked through the door into the inner room, and seen the havoc and -destruction that Giraldo had made, and also the strange and terrible -picture which alone had escaped the knife. The King, wondering, followed -Ladislas to the threshold of the inner room and passed it, while his -gentlemen, full of curiosity, crowded close on his heels after him. - -The Princess Osra, thinking herself safe, found her anger and terror -pass away as her mirth had passed before. Now she felt in her heart that -pity which borders on tenderness, and which she could never refuse to a -man who loved her, let the folly of his love and of the extravagances -into which it drove him be as great as it would. Turning towards -Giraldo, she saw him fretting his puckered brow with his hand, and -vainly seeking to compel his disordered brain to understand M. de -Mérosailles' letter. So she was very sorry for him, and, knowing the -sudden hot temper to which the careless King was subject, she glided -swiftly across to the painter, and whispered: "Escape and hide. Hide for -a few days. He will be furious now, but he will soon forget. Don't wait -now, but escape, signor. Some harm will happen to you here;" and in her -eager pleading with him she laid her hand on his arm, and looked up in -his face with imploring eyes. But he looked at her with dazed vacant -stare, muttering, "I cannot read the letter;" then a wistful smile came -on his face, and he thrust the letter towards her, saying: "Madame, will -you read it for me?" And at that moment they heard the King swear an -angry oath; for he had seen the mad picture of his sister. - -"No, no, not now," whispered Osra, beseeching Giraldo. "Not now, signor. -Listen, the King is angry! Escape now, and we will read the letter -afterwards." She was as earnest as though she had loved him and were -praying him to save himself for the sake of her love. - -Giraldo looked into her softened eyes; suddenly giving a little cry, as -if a great joy had come to him unexpectedly and contrary to all -likelihood, he dropped M. de Mérosailles' letter, and sprang to where -his brushes lay on the floor; seizing them and his palette, he gave -another swift glance at the Princess, and then, turning to the picture, -began to paint with marvellous dexterity and deftness and with the -sudden confidence of a man inspired to the work. As he worked, his brow -grew smoother, the tension of his strained face relaxed, happiness -dawned in his eyes, and a smile broke on his lips; and Osra watched him -with a tender sorrowful gaze. Still he painted, and he was painting when -the King burst in from the other room in a great rage, carrying his -sword drawn in his hand; for he had sworn by Our Lady and St. Peter to -kill the rogue who had done the Princess such wrong and so slandered her -beauty. And his gentlemen came in with him, all very ready to see -Giraldo killed, but each eager that the King should leave the task to -him. Yet when they entered and saw Giraldo painting as though he were -rapt by some ecstasy and had forgotten all that had passed, nay, even -their very presence, they paused in unwilling and constrained -hesitation. Osra raised her hand to bid them stay still where they were, -and not interfere with Giraldo's painting. For now she desired above all -things on earth that he should be left to finish his task. For he -thought that he had read more than pity and more than tenderness in -Osra's eyes; he had seemed to see love there, and thus he had cried out -in joy, and thus he was now painting as never had even he, for all his -skill, painted before. His unerring hand, moving lightly to and fro, -imparted the sweetness of his delusive vision to the canvas, so that the -eyes of the portrait glowed with wonderful and beautiful love and -gentleness. Presently Giraldo began to sing very softly to himself a -sweet happy old song, that peasants sang to peasant girls in the fields -outside his native Verona on summer evenings. His head was thrown back -in triumph and exultation as he sang and worked, tasting the luxury of -love, and glorying in the tribute that his genius paid to her whom he -loved. Thus came a moment of great joy to the soul of Giraldo the -painter; for a man's love and a man's work are, when they seem to -prosper, of all things the sweetest, and their union in one his life's -consummation. - -It was done. He laid down the brush, and drew back a step, looking at -what he had done. The Princess came softly and slowly, as though -attracted against her will, and she stood by him; for she saw that this -picture was now, beyond all compare, the most perfect and beautiful of -all that he or any other man had painted of her; and she loved him for -thus glorifying her. But, before many moments had gone by, a sudden -start and shiver ran through Giraldo's body. The spell of his entranced -ecstasy broke; his eyes fell from the masterpiece that he had made, and -wandered to those who stood about him--to the gentlemen who did not know -whether to wonder or to laugh, to the angry face of the King and the -naked sword in his hand, at last to Osra, whose eyes were still on the -picture. His exultation vanished, and with it went, as it seemed to -them, his madness. Reason dawned for a moment in his eyes, but was -quenched in an instant by shame and despair. For he knew that all there -had seen that other picture and knew now what he had done; and suddenly -with a stifled cry he flung himself full length on the floor at Osra's -feet. - -"Let us wait," said she gently. "He will be himself again soon." - -But the King was too angry to listen. - -"He has made us fools before half Europe," he cried angrily, "and he -shall not live to talk of it. And you--have you seen the picture -yonder?" - -"Yes, I have seen it," said she. "But he does not now think that picture -like me, but this one." And she turned to the gentlemen, and desired -them to raise Giraldo and lay him on a couch, and they obeyed. Then she -knelt by his head; and, after a while he opened his eyes, seeming sound -of sense in everything except that he believed she loved him, so that he -began to whisper to her as lovers whisper to their loves, very tenderly -and low. And the King, with his gentlemen, stood a little way off. But -the Princess said nothing to Giraldo, neither refusing his love, nor yet -saying what was false; yet she suffered him to talk to her, and to reach -up his hand and gently touch a lock of hair that strayed on her -forehead. And he, sighing in utter happiness and contentment, closed his -eyes again, and lay back very quietly on the couch. - -"Let us go," said she rising. "I will send a physician." And she bade -one of the gentlemen lock the inner room, and give her the key, and she -and the King and they all then departed, and sent his servants to tend -Giraldo; and Osra caused the King's physician also to be summoned. But -Giraldo did no more than linger some few days alive; for the most of -them he was in a high fever, his brain being wild; and he raved about -the Princess, sometimes railing at her, sometimes praising her; yet once -or twice he awoke, calm and happy as he had been when she knelt by him, -and having for his only delusion the thought that she still knelt there -and was breathing words of love into his ear. And in this last merciful -error, in respect of which the physicians humoured him, one day a week -later, he passed away and was at peace. - -Then the Princess came, attended by one gentleman in whom she placed -confidence, and she destroyed the evil picture that Giraldo had painted, -and having caused a fire to be made, burnt up the pieces of it, and all -the ruins of the pictures that Giraldo had destroyed. But that on which -he had last worked so happily, and with such a triumph of art, she -carried with her to the palace; and presently she caused copies to be -made of it, and sent one to each of the Princes by whom Giraldo had been -commanded to paint her picture, and with it the money he had received, -the whole of which was found untouched in a cabinet in his house. But -the picture itself she hung in her own chamber, and would often look at -it, feeling great sorrow for the fate of Giraldo the painter. - -Yet King Rudolf could not be prevailed upon to pity the young man, -saying that for his part he should have to be mad before the love of a -woman should drive him mad; and he cursed Giraldo for an insolent knave, -declaring that he did well to die of his own accord. And because M. de -Mérosailles had gallantly defended his sister's beauty in three duels, -he sent him by the hand of a high officer his Order of the Red Rose, -which M. de Mérosailles wore with great pride at the Court of -Versailles. - -But when the copies of the last picture reached the Courts to which they -were addressed, together with the money and a brief history of Giraldo's -mad doings, the Princes turned their thoughts again to the matter of the -alliance, and several embassies set out for Strelsau; so that Princess -Osra said, with a smile that was half-sad, half-amused, and very -whimsical: - -"I am much troubled by reason of the loss of Signor Giraldo my painter." - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - - The Indifference of the Miller of Hofbau. - - -There is a swift little river running by the village of Hofbau, and on -the river is a mill, kept in the days of King Rudolf III. by a sturdy -fellow who lived there all alone; the King knew him, having alighted at -his house for a draught of beer as he rode hunting, and it was of him -the King spoke when he said to the Queen, "There is, I believe, but one -man in the country whom Osra could not move, and he is the Miller of -Hofbau." But although he addressed the Queen, it was his sister at whom -he aimed his speech. The Princess herself was sitting by, and when she -heard the King she said: - -"In truth I do not desire to move any man. What but trouble comes of it? -Yet who is this miller?" - -The King told her where the miller might be found, and he added: "If you -convert him to the love of women you shall have the finest bracelet in -Strelsau." - -"There is nothing, sire, so remote from my thoughts or desires as to -convert your miller," said Osra scornfully. - -In this, at the moment, she spoke truthfully; but being left alone for -some days at the Castle of Zenda, which is but a few miles from Hofbau, -she found the time hang very heavy on her hands; indeed she did not know -what to do with herself for weariness; and for this reason, and none -other at all, one day she ordered her horse and rode off with a single -groom into the forest. Coming, as the morning went on, to a wide road, -she asked the groom where it led. "To Hofbau, madame," he answered. "It -is not more than a mile further on." Osra waited a few moments, then she -said: "I will ride on and see the village, for I have been told that it -is pretty. Wait here till I return," and she rode on, smiling a little, -and with a delicate tint of colour in her cheeks. - -Before long she saw the river and the mill on the river; and, coming to -the mill, she saw the miller sitting before his door, smoking a long -pipe. She called out to him, asking him to sell her a glass of milk. - -"You can have it for the asking," said the miller. He was a good-looking -fair fellow, and wore a scarlet cap. "There is a pail of it just inside -the door behind me." Yet he did not rise, but lay there, lolling -luxuriously in the sun. For he did not know Osra, never having been to -Strelsau in his life, and to Zenda three or four times only, and that -when the Princess was not there. Moreover--though this, as must be -allowed, is not to the purpose--he had sworn never again to go so far -afield. - -Being answered in this manner, and at the same time desiring the milk, -the Princess had no choice but to dismount. - -This she did, and passed by the miller, pausing a moment to look at him -with bright curious eyes, that flashed from under the brim of her -wide-rimmed feathered hat; but the miller blinked lazily up at the sun -and took no heed of her. - -Osra passed on, found the pail, poured out a cup of milk, and drank it. -Then, refilling the cup, she carried it to the miller. - -"Will you not have some?" said she with a smile. - -"I was too lazy to get it," said the miller; and he held out his hand, -but did not otherwise change his position. - -Osra's brow puckered and her cheek flushed as she bent down, holding the -cup of milk so that the miller could reach it. He took and drained it, -gave it back to her, and put his pipe in his mouth again. Osra sat down -by him and watched him. He puffed and blinked away, never so much as -looking at her. - -[Illustration: "HE TOOK IT AND DRAINED IT."--_Page 204._] - -"What have you for dinner?" asked she presently. - -"A piece of cold pie," said he. "There's enough for two, if you're -hungry." - -"Would you not like it better hot?" - -"Oh, aye; but I cannot weary myself with heating it." - -"I'll heat it," said the Princess; and, rising, she went into the house, -and made up the fire, which was almost burnt out; then she heated the -pie, and set the room in order, and laid the table, and drew a large jug -of beer from the cask. Next she placed an arm-chair ready for the -miller, and put the jug by it; then she filled the pipe from the bowl of -tobacco and set a cushion in the chair. All this while she hummed a -tune, and from time to time smiled gayly. Lastly, she arranged a chair -by the elbow of the miller's chair; then she went out and told him that -his dinner was ready; and he stumbled to his feet with a sigh of -laziness, and walked before her into the house. - -"May I come?" cried she. - -"Aye, there is enough for two," said the Miller of Hofbau without -looking round. - -So she followed him in. He sank into the arm-chair and sat there, for a -moment surveying the room which was so neat, and the table so daintily -laid, and the pie so steaming hot. And he sighed, saying: - -"It was like this before poor mother died." And he fell to on a great -portion of pie with which Osra piled his plate. - -When he had finished eating--which thing did not happen for some -time--she held the jug while he took a long draught; then she brought a -coal in the tongs and held it while he lit his pipe from it; then she -sat down by him. For several moments he puffed, and then at last he -turned his head and looked at Princess Osra; she drooped her long lashes -and cast down her eyes; next she lifted her eyes and glanced for an -instant at the miller; and, finally, she dropped her eyes again and -murmured shyly: "What is it, sir? Why do you look at me?" - -"You seem to be a handy wench," observed the miller. "The pie was -steaming hot and yet not burnt, the beer was well frothed but not shaken -nor thickened, and the pipe draws well. Where does your father dwell?" - -"He is dead, sir," said Princess Osra very demurely. - -"And your mother?" pursued the miller. - -"She also is dead." - -"There is small harm in that," said the miller thoughtfully; and Osra -turned away her head to hide her smile. - -"Are you not very lonely, living here all by yourself?" she asked a -moment later. - -"Indeed I have to do everything for myself," said the miller sadly. - -"And there is nobody to--to care for you?" - -"No, nor to look after my comfort," said the miller. "Have you any -kindred?" - -"I have two brothers, sir; but they are married now, and have no need of -me." - -The miller laid down his pipe and, setting his elbow on the table, faced -Princess Osra. - -"H'm!" said he. "And is it likely you will ride this way again?" - -"I may chance to do so," said Osra, and now there was a glance of -malicious triumph in her eyes; she was thinking already how the bracelet -would look on her arm. - -"Ah!" said the miller. And after a pause he added: "If you do, come half -an hour before dinner, and you can lend a hand in making it ready. Where -did you get those fine clothes?" - -"My mistress gave them to me," answered Osra. "She has cast them off." - -"And that horse you rode?" - -"It is my master's; I have it to ride when I do my mistress's errands." - -"Will your master and mistress do anything for you if you leave your -service?" - -"I have been promised a present if----" said Osra, and she paused in -apparent confusion. - -"Aye," said the miller, nodding sagaciously, as he rose slowly from the -arm-chair. "Will you be this way again in a week or so?" he asked. - -"I think it is very likely," answered the Princess Osra. - -"Then look in," said the miller. "About half an hour before dinner." He -nodded his head again very significantly at Osra, and, turning away, -went to his work, as a man goes who would far rather sit still in the -sun. But just as he reached the door he turned his head and asked: "Are -you sturdy?" - -"I am strong enough, I think," said she. - -"A sack of flour is a heavy thing for a man to lift by himself," -remarked the miller, and with that he passed through the door and left -her alone. - -Then she cleared the table, put the pie--or what was left--in the -larder, set the room in order, refilled the pipe, stood the jug handy by -the cask, and, with a look of great satisfaction on her face, tripped -out to where her horse was, mounted, and rode away. - -The next week--and the interval had seemed long to her, and no less long -to the Miller of Hofbau--she came again, and so the week after; and in -the week following that she came twice; and on the second of these two -days, after dinner, the miller did not go off to his sacks, but he -followed her out of the house, pipe in hand, when she went to mount her -horse, and as she was about to mount, he said: - -"Indeed you're a handy wench." - -"You say much of my hands, but nothing of my face," remarked Princess -Osra. - -"Of your face?" repeated the miller in some surprise. "What should I say -of your face?" - -"Well, is it not a comely face?" said Osra, turning towards him that he -might be better able to answer her question. - -The miller regarded her for some minutes, then a slow smile spread on -his lips. - -"Oh, aye, it is well enough," said he. Then he laid a floury finger on -her arm as he continued: "If you come next week--why, it is but half a -mile to church! I'll have the cart ready and bid the priest be there. -What's your name?" For he had not hitherto asked Osra's name. - -"Rosa Schwartz," said she, and her face was all alight with triumph and -amusement. - -"Yes, I shall be very comfortable with you," said the miller. "We will -be at the church an hour before noon, so that there may be time -afterwards for the preparation of dinner." - -"That will be on Thursday in next week?" asked Osra. - -"Aye, on Thursday," said the miller, and he turned on his heel. But in a -minute he turned again, saying: "Give me a kiss, then, since we are to -be man and wife," and he came slowly towards her, holding his arms open. - -"Nay, the kiss will wait till Thursday. Maybe there will be less flour -on your face then." And with a laugh she dived under his outstretched -arms and made her escape. The day being warm, the miller did not put -himself out by pursuing her, but stood where he was, with a broad -comfortable smile on his lips; and so he watched her ride away. - -Now, as she rode, the Princess was much occupied in thinking of the -Miller of Hofbau. Elated and triumphant as she was at having won from -him a promise of marriage, she was yet somewhat vexed that he had not -shown a more passionate affection, and this thought clouded her brow for -full half an hour. But then her face cleared. "Still waters run deep," -she said to herself. "He is not like these Court gallants, who have -learnt to make love as soon as they learn to walk, and cannot talk to a -woman without bowing and grimacing and sighing at every word. The miller -has a deep nature, and surely I have won his heart, or he would not take -me for his wife. Poor miller! I pray that he may not grieve very -bitterly when I make the truth known to him!" And then, at the thought -of the grief of the miller, her face was again clouded; but it again -cleared when she considered of the great triumph that she had won, and -how she would enjoy a victory over the King, and would have the finest -bracelet in all Strelsau as a gift from him. Thus she arrived at the -Castle in the height of merriment and exultation. - -It chanced that the King came to Zenda that night, to spend a week -hunting the boar in the forest; and when Osra, all blushing and -laughing, told him of her success with the Miller of Hofbau he was -greatly amused, and swore that no such girl ever lived, and applauded -her, renewing his promise of the bracelet; and he declared that he would -himself ride with her to Hofbau on the wedding-day, and see how the poor -miller bore his disappointment. - -"Indeed I do not see how you are going to excuse yourself to him," he -laughed. - -"A purse of five hundred crowns must do that office for me," said she. - -"What, will crowns patch a broken heart?" - -"His broken heart must heal itself, as men's broken hearts do, brother!" - -"In truth, sister, I have known them cure themselves. Let us hope it may -be so with the Miller of Hofbau." - -"At the worst I have revenged the wrongs of women on him. It is -unendurable that any man should scorn us, be he king or miller." - -"It is indeed very proper that he should suffer great pangs," said the -King, "in spite of his plaster of crowns. I shall love to see the stolid -fellow sighing and moaning like a lovesick courtier." - -So they agreed to ride together to the miller's at Hofbau on the day -appointed for the wedding, and both of them waited with impatience for -it. But, with the bad luck that pursues mortals (even though they be -princes) in this poor world, it happened that early in the morning of -the Thursday a great officer came riding post-haste from Strelsau to -take the King's commands on high matters of State; and, although Rudolf -was sorely put out of temper by this untoward interruption, yet he had -no alternative but to transact the business before he rode to the -miller's at Hofbau. So he sat fretting and fuming, while long papers -were read to him, and the Princess walked up and down the length of the -drawbridge, fretting also; for before the King could escape from his -affairs, the hour of the wedding was already come, and doubtless the -Miller of Hofbau was waiting with the priest in the church. Indeed it -was one o'clock or more before Osra and the King set out from Zenda, and -they had then a ride of an hour and a half; and all this when Osra -should have been at the miller's at eleven o'clock. - -"Poor man, he will be half mad with waiting and with anxiety for me!" -cried Osra. "I must give him another hundred crowns on account of it." -And she added, after a pause, "I pray he may not take it too much to -heart, Rudolf." - -"We must try to prevent him doing himself any mischief in his despair," -smiled the King. - -"Indeed it is a serious matter," pouted the Princess, who thought the -King's smile out of place. - -"It was not so when you began it," said her brother; and Osra was -silent. - -Then about half-past two they came in sight of the mill. Now the King -dismounted, while they were still several hundred yards away, and tied -his horse to a tree in a clump by the wayside; and when they came near -to the mill he made a circuit and approached from the side, and, -creeping along to the house, hid himself behind a large water-butt, -which stood just under the window; from that point he could hear what -passed inside the house, and could see if he stood erect. But Osra rode -up to the front of the mill, as she had been accustomed, and, getting -down from her horse, walked up to the door. The miller's cart stood in -the yard of the mill, but the horse was not in the shafts, and neither -the miller nor anybody else was to be seen about; and the door of the -house was shut. - -"He must be waiting at the church," said she. "But I will look in and -make sure. Indeed I feel half afraid to meet him." And her heart was -beating rapidly and her face was rather pale as she walked up to the -door; for she feared what the miller might do in the passion of his -disappointment at learning who she was and that she could not be his -wife. "I hope the six hundred crowns will comfort him," she said, as she -laid her hand on the latch of the door; and she sighed, her heart being -heavy for the miller, and, maybe a little heavy also for the guilt that -lay on her conscience for having deceived him. - -Now when she lifted the latch and opened the door, the sight that met -her eyes was this: The table was strewn with the remains of a brave -dinner; two burnt-out pipes lay beside the plates. A smaller table was -in front of the fire; on it stood a very large jug, entirely empty, but -bearing signs of having been full not so long ago; and on either side of -it, each in an arm-chair, sat the priest of the village and the Miller -of Hofbau; both of them were sleeping very contentedly, and snoring -somewhat as they slept. The Princess, smitten by remorse at the -spectacle, said softly: - -[Illustration: "ON EITHER SIDE OF IT SAT THE PRIEST OF THE VILLAGE AND -THE MILLER OF HOFBAU."--_Page 215._] - -"Poor fellow, he grew weary of waiting, and hungry, and was compelled to -take his dinner; and, like the kind man he is, he has entertained the -priest, and kept him here, so that no time should be lost when I -arrived. Indeed I am afraid the poor man loves me very much. Well, -miller, or lord, or prince--they are all the same. Heigh-ho! Why did I -deceive him?" And she walked up to the miller's chair, leant over the -back of it, and lightly touched his red cap with her fingers. He put up -his hand and brushed with it, as though he brushed away a fly, but gave -no other sign of awakening. - -The King called softly from behind the water-butt under the window: - -"Is he there, Osra? Is he there?" - -"The poor man has fallen asleep in weariness," she answered. "But the -priest is here, ready to marry us. Oh, Rudolf, I am so sorry for what I -have done!" - -"Girls are always mighty sorry, after it is done," remarked the King. -"Wake him up, Osra." - -At this moment the Miller of Hofbau sat up in his chair and gave a great -sneeze; and by this sound the priest also was awakened. Osra came -forward and stood between them. The miller looked at her, and tilted his -red cap forward in order that he might scratch his head. Then he looked -across to the priest, and said: - -"It is she, Father. She has come." - -The priest rubbed his hands together, and smiled uncomfortably. - -"We waited two hours," said he, glancing at the clock. "See, it is three -o'clock now." - -"I am sorry you waited so long," said Osra, "but I could not come -before. And--and now that I am come, I cannot----" But here she paused -in great distress and confusion, not knowing how to break her sad -tidings to the Miller of Hofbau. - -The miller drew his legs up under his chair, and regarded Osra with a -grave air. - -"You should have been here at eleven," said he. "I went to the church at -eleven, and the priest was there, and my cousin Hans to act as my groom, -and my cousin Gertrude to be your maid. There we waited hard on two -hours. But you did not come." - -"I am very sorry," pleaded Princess Osra. The King laughed low to -himself behind the water-butt, being much amused at her distress and her -humility. - -"And now that you are come," pursued the miller, scratching his head -again, "I do not know what we are to do." He looked again at the priest, -seeking counsel. - -At this the Princess Osra, thinking that an opportunity had come, took -the purse of six hundred crowns from under her cloak, and laid it on the -table. - -"What is this?" said the miller, for the first time showing some -eagerness. - -"They are for you," said Osra as she watched him while he unfastened the -purse. Then he poured the crowns out on the table, and counted them one -by one, till he had told all the six hundred. Then he raised his hands -above his head, let them fall again, sighed slightly, and looked across -at the priest. - -"I warned you not to be in such a hurry, friend miller," remarked the -priest. - -"I waited two hours," said the miller plaintively, "and you know that -she is a handy wench, and very fond of me." - -He began to gather up the crowns and return them to the purse. - -"I trust I am a handy wench," said Osra, smiling, yet still very -nervous, "and, indeed, I have a great regard for the miller, but----" - -"Nay, he does not mean you," interrupted the priest. - -"Six hundred," sighed the miller, "and Gertrude has but two hundred! -Still she is a handy wench and very sturdy. I doubt if you could lift a -sack by yourself, as she can." And he looked doubtfully at Osra's -slender figure. - -"I do not know why you talk of Gertrude," said the Princess petulantly. -"What is Gertrude to me?" - -"Why, I take it that she is nothing at all to you," answered the priest, -folding his hands on his lap and smiling placidly. "Still, for my part, -I bade him wait a little longer." - -"I waited two hours," said the miller. "And Gertrude urged me, saying -that you would not come, and that she would look after me better than -you, being one of the family. And she said it was hard that she should -have no husband, while her own cousin married a stranger. And since it -was all the same to me, provided I got a handy and sturdy wench----" - -"What?" cried the Princess Osra; and the King was so interested that he -rose up from behind the water-butt, and, leaning his elbows on the -window-sill, looked in and saw all that happened. - -"It being," pursued the Miller of Hofbau, "all the same to me, so that I -got what I wanted, why, when you did not come----" - -"He married his cousin," said the priest. - -A sudden roar of laughter came from the window. All three turned round, -but the King ducked his head and crouched again behind the water-butt -before they saw him. - -"Who was that?" cried the priest. - -"A lad that came to hold my horse," answered Osra hastily, and then she -turned fiercely on the miller. - -"And that," she said, "was all you wanted! I thought you loved me." - -"Aye, I liked you very well," said the miller. "You are a handy----" A -stamp of her foot drowned the rest. "But you should have come in time," -he went on. - -"And this Gertrude--is she pretty?" demanded Osra. - -"Gertrude is well enough," said the miller. "But she has only two -hundred crowns." And he put the purse, now full again, on the table with -a resigned sigh. - -"And you shall have no more," cried Osra, snatching up her purse in -great rage. "And you and Gertrude may----" - -"What of Gertrude?" came at this moment from the door of the room where -the sacks were. The Princess turned round swift as the wind, and she saw -in the doorway a short and very broad girl, with a very wide face and -straggling hair; the girl's nose was very flat, and her eyes were small; -but her great mouth smiled good-humouredly and, as the Princess looked, -she let slip to the ground a sack of flour that she had been carrying on -her sturdy back. - -"Aye, Gertrude is well enough," said the miller, looking at her -contentedly. "She is very strong and willing." - -Then, while Gertrude stood wondering and staring with wide eyes in the -doorway, the Princess swept up to the miller, and leant over him, and -cried: - -"Look at my face, look at my face! What manner of face is it?" - -"It is well enough," said the miller. "But Gertrude is----" - -There was a crash on the floor, and the six hundred crowns rolled out of -the purse, and scattered, spinning and rolling hither and thither all -over the floor and into every corner of the room. And Princess Osra -cried: "Have you no eyes?" and then she turned away; for her lip was -quivering, and she would not have the miller see it. But she turned from -the miller only to face Gertrude his wife; Gertrude's small eyes -brightened with sudden intelligence. - -"Ah, you're the other girl!" said Gertrude with much amusement. "And was -that your dowry? It is large! I am glad you did not come in time. But -see, I'll pick it up for you. Nay, don't take on. I dare say you'll find -another husband." - -She passed by Osra, patting her on the shoulder kindly as she went, and -then fell on her knees and began to pick up the crowns, crawling after -them all over the floor, and holding up her apron to receive the -recovered treasure. And Princess Osra stood looking at her. - -"Aye, you'll find another husband," nodded the priest encouragingly. - -"Aye, you'll find another husband," assented the miller placidly. "And -just as one girl is pretty nearly as good as another--if she is handy -and sturdy--so one husband is as good as another, if he can keep a house -over you." - -Princess Osra said nothing. But Gertrude, having picked up the crowns, -came to her with a full apron, saying: - -"Hold your lap, and I'll pour them in. They'll get you a good husband." - -Princess Osra suddenly bent and kissed Gertrude's cheek, and she said -gently: - -"I hope you have got a good husband, my dear; but let him do some work -for himself. And keep the six hundred crowns as a present from me, for -he will value you more with eight hundred than with two." - -The eyes of all three were fixed on her in wonder and almost in fear, -for her tone and manner were now different. Then she turned to the -miller, and she bit her lip and dashed her hand across her eyes, and she -said: - -"And you, miller, are the only sensible man I have found in all the -kingdom. Therefore good luck and a good wife to you." And she gave a -little short laugh, and turned and walked out of the cottage, leaving -them all spellbound in wonder. But the miller rose from his chair and -ran to the door, and when he reached it the King was just lifting Osra -on to her horse; the miller knew the King, and stood there with eyes -wide and cheeks bulged in wonder; but he could gasp out no more than -"The King, the King!" before Rudolf and Osra were far away. And they -could, none of them, neither the miller, nor Gertrude, nor the priest, -tell what the matter meant, until one day King Rudolf rode again to the -mill at Hofbau, and, having sent for the priest, told the three enough -of the truth, saying that the affair was the outcome of a jest at Court; -and he made each of them a handsome present, and vowed them to secrecy -by their fealty and attachment to his person and his honour. - -"So she would not have married me, anyhow?" asked the miller. - -"I think not, friend," answered Rudolf with a laugh. - -"Then we are but quits and all is well. Gertrude, the jug, my lass!" - -And so, indeed, it seemed to the King that they were but quits, and so -he said to the Princess Osra. But he declared that she had so far -prevailed with the miller as to make him desire marriage as an excellent -and useful thing in itself, although she had not persuaded him that it -was of great moment whom a man married. Therefore he was very anxious to -give her the bracelet which he had promised, and more than once prayed -her to accept it. But Osra saw the laugh that lurked in the King's eye, -and would not consent to have the bracelet, and for a long while she did -not love to speak of the Miller of Hofbau. Yet once, when the King on -some occasion cried out very impatiently that all men were fools, she -said: - -"Sire, you forget the Miller of Hofbau." And she blushed, and laughed, -and turned her eyes away. - -One other thing she did which very greatly puzzled Queen Margaret, and -all the ladies of the Court, and all the waiting-women, and all the -serving-maids, and, in fine, every person high or low who saw or heard -of it, except the King only. For in winter evenings she took her -scissors and her needle, and she cut strips of ribbon, each a foot long -and a couple of inches broad; on each of them she embroidered a motto or -legend; and she affixed the ribbons bearing the legend to each and every -one of the mirrors in each of her chambers at Strelsau, at Zenda, and at -the other royal residences. And her waiting-women noticed that, whenever -she had looked in the mirror and smiled at her own image or shewn other -signs of pleasure in it, she would then cast her eyes up to the legend, -and seem to read it, and blush a little, and laugh a little, and sigh a -little; the reason for which things they could by no means understand. - -For the legend was but this: - - "_Remember the Miller of Hofbau._" - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - The Love of the Prince of Glottenberg. - - -It was the spring of the year when Ludwig, Prince of Glottenberg, came -courting the Princess Osra; for his father had sought the most beautiful -lady of a Royal House in Europe, and had found none equal to Osra. -Therefore the Prince came to Strelsau with a great retinue, and was -lodged in the White Palace, which stood on the outskirts of the city, -where the public gardens now are (for the Palace itself was sacked and -burnt by the people in the rising of 1848). Here Ludwig stayed many -days, coming every day to the King's palace to pay his respects to the -King and Queen, and to make his court to the Princess. King Rudolf had -received him with the utmost friendship, and was, for reasons of State -then of great moment but now of vanished interest, as eager for the -match as was the King of Glottenberg himself; and he grew very impatient -with his sister when she hesitated to accept Ludwig's hand, alleging -that she felt for him no more than a kindly esteem, and, what was as -much to the purpose, that he felt no more for her. For although the -Prince possessed most courteous and winning manners, and was very -accomplished both in learning and in exercises, yet he was a grave and -pensive young man, rather stately than jovial, and seemed in the -Princess's eyes (accustomed as they were to catch and check ardent -glances), to perform his wooing more as a duty of his station than on -the impulse of any passion. Finding in herself also no such sweet -ashamed emotions as had before now invaded her heart on account of -lesser men, she grew grave and troubled. At last she said to the King: - -"Brother, is this love? For I had as lief he were away as here, and when -he is here he kisses my hand as though it were a statue's hand; and--and -I feel as though it were. They say you know what love is. Is this love?" - -"There are many forms of love," smiled the King. "This is such love as a -Prince and a Princess may most properly feel." - -"I do not call it love at all," said Osra with a pout. - -When Prince Ludwig came next day to see her and told her with grave -courtesy that his pleasure lay in doing her will, she broke out: - -"I had rather it lay in watching my face," and then, ashamed, she turned -away from him. - -He seemed grieved and hurt at her words; it was with a sigh that he -said: "My life shall be spent in giving you joy." - -She turned round on him with flushed cheek and trembling lips: - -"Yes, but I had rather it were spent in getting joy from me." - -He cast down his eyes a moment, and then, taking her hand, kissed it. -But she drew it away sharply. So that afternoon they parted, he back to -his Palace, she to her chamber, where she sat, asking again: "Is this -love?" and crying: "He does not know love," and pausing, now and again, -before her mirror, to ask her pictured face why it would not unlock the -door of love. - -On another day she would be merry, or feign merriment, rallying him on -his sombre air and formal compliments, professing that for her part she -soon grew weary of such wooing, and loved to be easy and merry; for thus -she hoped to sting him, so that he would either disclose more warmth or -altogether forsake his pursuit. But he offered many apologies, blaming -nature that had made him grave, but assuring her of his deep affection -and respect. - -"Affection and respect!" murmured Osra with a little toss of her head. -"Oh, that I had not been born a Princess!" And yet, though she did not -love him, she thought him a very noble gentleman, and trusted to his -honour and sincerity in everything. Therefore, when he still persisted, -and Rudolf and the Queen urged her, telling her (the King mockingly, the -Queen with a touch of sadness) that she must not look to find in the -world such love as romantic girls dreamt of, at last she yielded; she -told her brother that she would marry Prince Ludwig; yet for a little -while she would not have the news proclaimed. So Rudolf went, alone and -privately, to the White Palace, and said to Ludwig: - -"Cousin, you have won the fairest lady in the world. Behold, her brother -says it!" - -Prince Ludwig bowed low, and taking the King's hand, pressed it, -thanking him for his help and approval, and expressing himself as most -grateful for the boon of the Princess's favour. - -"Will you not come with me and find her?" cried the King with a merry -look. - -"I have urgent business now," answered Ludwig. "Beg the Princess to -forgive me. This afternoon I will crave the honour of waiting on her -with my humble gratitude." - -King Rudolf looked at him, a smile curling on his lips; and he said, in -one of his gusts of impatience: - -"By heaven! is there another man in the world who would talk about -gratitude, and business, and the afternoon, when Osra of Strelsau sat -waiting for him?" - -"I mean no discourtesy," protested Ludwig, taking the King's arm, and -glancing at him with most friendly eyes. "Indeed, dear friend, I am -rejoiced and honoured. But this business of mine will not wait." - -So the King, frowning and grumbling and laughing, went back alone and -told the Princess that the happy wooer was most grateful, and would come -after his business was transacted that afternoon. But Osra, having given -her hand, would admit no fault in the man she had chosen, and thanked -the King for the message with great dignity. Then the King came to her, -and, sitting down by her, stroked her hair, saying softly: - -"You have had many lovers, sister Osra, and now comes a husband!" - -"Yes, now a husband," she murmured, catching swiftly at his hand; her -voice was half caught in a sudden sob. - -"So goes the world--our world," said the King, knitting his brows and -seeming to fall for a moment into a sad reverie. - -"I am frightened," she whispered. "Should I be frightened if I loved -him?" - -"I have been told so," said the King, smiling again. "But the fear has a -way of being mastered then." And he drew her to him, and gave her a -hearty brother's kiss, telling her to take courage. "You'll thaw the -fellow yet," said the King, "though, I grant you, he is icy enough." For -the King himself had been by no means what he called an icy man. - -But Osra was not satisfied, and sought to assuage the pain of her heart -by adorning herself most carefully for the Prince's coming, hoping to -fire him to love. For she thought that if he loved she might, although -since he did not she could not. And surely he did not, or all the tales -of love were false! Thus she came to receive him very magnificently -arrayed. There was a flush on her cheek and an uncertain, expectant, -fearful look in her eyes; thus she stood before him, as he fell on his -knee and kissed her hand. Then he rose and declared his thanks, and -promised his devotion; but as he spoke the flush faded and the light -died from her eyes; and when at last he drew near to her and offered to -kiss her cheek, her eyes were dead and her face pale and cold as she -suffered him to touch it. He was content to touch it but once, and -seemed not to know how cold it was; and so, after more talk of his -father's pleasure and his pride, he took his leave, promising to come -again the next day. She ran to the window when the door was closed on -him, and thence watched him mount his horse and ride away slowly, with -his head bent and his eyes downcast; yet he was a noble gentleman, -stately and handsome, kind and true. The tears came suddenly into her -eyes and blurred her sight as she leant watching from behind the hanging -curtains of the window. Though she dashed them away angrily, they came -again, and ran down her pale cold cheeks, mourning the golden vision -that seemed gone without fulfilment. - -That evening there came a gentleman from the Prince of Glottenberg, -carrying most humble excuses from his master, who (so he said) was -prevented from waiting on the Princess the next day by a certain very -urgent affair which took him from Strelsau, and would keep him absent -from the city all day long; and the gentleman delivered to Osra a letter -from the Prince, full of graceful and profound apologies, and pleading -an engagement that his honour would not let him break; for nothing short -of that, said he, should have kept him from her side. There followed -some lover's phrases, scantily worded and frigid in an assumed passion. -But Osra, smiling graciously, sent back a message, readily accepting all -that the Prince urged in excuse. And she told what had passed to the -King, with her head high in the air and a careless haughtiness, so that -even the King did not rally her, nor yet venture to comfort her, but -urged her to spend the day in riding with the Queen and him; for they -were setting out for Zenda, where the King was to hunt in the forest, -and she could ride some part of the way with them, and return in the -evening. And she, wishing that she had sent first to the Prince to bid -him not come, agreed to go with her brother; it was better far to go -than to wait at home for a lover who would not come. - -Thus the next morning they rode out, the King and Queen with their -retinue, the Princess attended by one of her Guard, named Christian -Hantz, who was greatly attached to her and most jealous in praise and -admiration of her. This fellow had taken it on himself to be very angry -with Prince Ludwig's coldness, but dared say nothing of it; yet, -impelled by his anger, he had set himself to watch the Prince very -closely; and thus he had, as he conceived, discovered something which -brought a twinkle into his eye and a triumphant smile to his lips as he -rode behind the Princess. Some fifteen miles she accompanied her -brother, and then, turning with Christian, took another way back to the -city. Alone she rode, her mind full of sad thoughts; while Christian, -behind, still wore his malicious smile. But presently, although she had -not commanded him, he quickened his pace and came up to her side, -relying for excuse on the favour which she always shewed him. - -"Well, Christian," said she, "have you something to say to me?" - -For answer he pointed to a small house standing among the trees, some -way from the road, and he said: - -"If I were Ludwig and not Christian, yet I would be here where Christian -is, and not there where Ludwig is," and he pointed still at the house. - -She faced round in anger at his daring to speak to her of the Prince, -but he was a bold fellow and would not be silenced now that he had begun -to speak; he knew also that she would bear much from him. So he leant -over towards her, saying: - -"By your bounty, madame, I have money, and he who has money can get -knowledge. So I know that the Prince is there. For fifty crowns I gained -a servant of his, and he told me." - -"I do not know why you should spy on the Prince," said Osra, "and I do -not care to know where the Prince is;" and she touched her horse with -the spur and cantered forward fast, leaving the little house behind. But -Christian persisted, partly in a foolish grudge against any man who -should win what was above his reach, partly in an honest anger that she, -whom he worshipped, should be treated lightly by another; and he forced -her to hear what he had learnt from the gossip of the Prince's groom, -telling it to her in hints and half-spoken sentences, yet so plainly -that she could not miss the gist of it. - -She rode the faster towards Strelsau, at first answering nothing; but at -last she turned on him fiercely, saying that he told a lie, and that she -knew it was a lie, since she knew where the Prince was, and what -business had taken him away; and she commanded Christian to be silent -and to speak neither to her nor to any one else of his false suspicions; -and she bade him very harshly to fall back and ride behind her again, -which he did, sullen yet satisfied. For he knew that his arrow had gone -home. On she rode, with her cheeks aflame and her heart beating, until -she came to Strelsau; having arrived at the Palace, she ran to her own -bedroom and flung herself on the bed. - -Here for an hour she lay; then, it being about six o'clock, she sat up, -pushing her disordered hair back from her hot aching brow. An agony of -humiliation had come upon her, and a fury of resentment against the -Prince, whose coldness seemed now to need no more explanation. Yet she -could hardly believe what she had been told of him, for though she had -not loved him, she had accorded to him her full trust. Rising, she paced -in pain about the room. She could not rest; she cried out in longing -that her brother were there, to aid her and find out the truth for her. -But he was away, and she had none to whom she could turn. So she strove -to master her anger and endure her suspense till the next day, but they -were too strong for her, and she cried: - -"I will go myself, I cannot sleep till I know. But I cannot go alone. -Who will go with me?" But she knew of none, for she would not take -Christian with her, and she shrank from speaking of the matter to any -gentlemen of the Court. Yet she must know. At last she sprang from the -chair into which she had sunk despondent, exclaiming: - -"He is a gentleman and my friend. He will go with me." And she sent -hastily for the Bishop of Modenstein, who was then in Strelsau, bidding -him come dressed for riding, with a sword, and on the best horse in his -stables. The Bishop came equipped as she bade him, and in very great -wonder. But when she told what she wanted, and what Christian had made -known to her, he grew grave, saying that they must wait and consult the -King, when he returned. - -"I will not wait an hour," she cried. "I cannot wait an hour." - -"Then I will ride and bring you word. You must not go," he urged. - -"Nay, if I go alone I will go," said she. "Yes, I will go, and myself -fling his falseness in his teeth." - -Finding her thus resolved, the Bishop knew that he could not turn her; -so, leaving her to prepare herself, he caught Christian Hantz, and -charged him to bring their horses to the most private gate of the -palace, which opened on a little by-street. Here Christian waited for -them with the horses, and they came presently, the Bishop wearing a -great slouched hat, and swaggering like a roystering trooper, while Osra -was closely veiled. The Bishop again imposed secrecy on Christian, and -then, they both being mounted, said to Osra: "If you will then, madame, -come," and thus they rode secretly out of the city, about seven in the -evening, the gate-wardens opening the gate at sight of the Royal Arms on -Osra's ring, which she gave to the Bishop in order that he might shew -it. - -In silence they rode a long way, going at a great speed; Osra's face was -set and rigid, for she felt now no shame at herself for going, nor any -fear of what she might find, but the injury to her pride swallowed every -other feeling; and at last she said, in short sharp words, to the Bishop -of Modenstein, having suddenly thrown the veil back from her face: - -"He shall not live if it prove true." - -The Bishop shook his head. His profession was peace; yet his blood also -was hot against the man who had put a slight on Princess Osra. - -"The King must know of it," he said. - -"The King! The King is not here to-night," said Osra; and she pricked -her horse and set him at a gallop. The moon, breaking suddenly in -brightness from behind a cloud, shewed the Bishop her face. Then she put -out her hand and caught him by the arm, whispering: "Are you my friend?" - -"Yes, madame," said he. She knew well that he was her friend. - -"Kill him for me, then; kill him for me." - -"I cannot kill him," said the Bishop. "I pray God it may prove untrue." - -"You are not my friend, if you will not kill him," said Osra; and she -turned her face away and rode yet more quickly. - -At last they came in sight of the little house standing back from the -road; and there was a light in one of the upper windows. The Bishop -heard a short gasp break from Osra's lips, as she pointed with her whip -to the window. Now his own breath came quick and fast; he prayed to God -that he might remember his sacred character and his vows, and not be led -into great and deadly sin, at the bidding of that proud and bitter face; -and he clenched his left hand and struck his brow with it. - -Thus then they came to the gate of the avenue of trees that led to the -house. Here, having dismounted and tied their horses to the gate-post, -they stood for an instant, and Osra again veiled her face. - -"Let me go alone, madame," he implored. - -"Give me your sword, and I will go alone," she answered. - -"Here, then, is the path," said the Bishop, and he led the way by the -moonlight that broke fitfully here and there through the trees. - -"He swore that all his life should be mine," she whispered. "Yet I knew -that he did not love me." - -The Bishop made her no answer; she looked for none and did not know that -she spoke the bitterness of her heart in words which he could hear. He -bowed his head and prayed again for her and for himself; for he had -found his hand gripping the hilt of his sword. Thus, side by side now, -they came to the door of the house, and saw a gentleman standing in -front of the door, still but watchful. Osra knew that he was the -Prince's Chamberlain. - -When the Chamberlain saw them, he started violently and clapped a hand -to his sword; but Osra flung her veil on to the ground, and the Bishop -gripped his arm as with a vice. The Chamberlain looked at Osra and at -the Bishop, and half drew his sword. - -"This matter is too great for you, sir," said the Bishop. "It is a -quarrel of Princes. Stand aside," and before the Chamberlain could make -up his mind what to do Osra had passed by him and the Bishop had -followed her. - -Finding themselves in a narrow passage, they made out by the dim light -of a lamp a flight of stairs that rose from the furthest end of it. The -Bishop tried to pass the Princess, but she motioned him back, and walked -swiftly to the stairs. In silence they mounted, till they had reached -the top of the first stage; and facing them, eight or ten steps further -up, was a door. By the door stood a groom; this was the man who had -treacherously told Christian of his master's doings; but when he saw -suddenly what had come of his disloyal chattering, the fellow turned -white as a ghost and came tottering in stealthy silence down the stairs, -his finger on his lips. - -Neither of them spoke to him, nor he to them. They gave no thought to -him, his only thought was to escape as soon as he might; so he passed -them, and, going on, passed also the Chamberlain, who stood dazed at the -house-door, and so disappeared, intent on saving the life he had justly -forfeited. Thus the rogue vanished, and what became of him none knew or -cared. He showed his face no more at Glottenberg or Strelsau. - -"Hark, there are voices!" whispered Osra to the Bishop, raising her hand -above her head, as they two stood listening. - -The voices came from the door that faced them, the voice of a man and -the voice of a woman; Osra's glance at her companion told him that she -knew as well as he whose the man's voice was. - -"It is true, then," she breathed from between her teeth. "My God, it is -true!" - -The woman's voice spoke now, but the words were not audible. Then came -the Prince's: - -"For ever, in life or death, apart or together, for ever." - -The woman's answer came no more in words, but in deep low passionate -sobs which struck their ears like the distant cry of some brute creature -in pain that it cannot understand. Yet Osra's face was stern and cold, -and her lips curled scornfully when she saw the Bishop's look of pity. - -"Come, let us end it," said she, and with a firm step she began to mount -the stairs that lay between them and the door. - -Yet once again they paused outside the door, for it seemed as though the -Princess could not choose but listen to the passionate words of love -that pierced her ears like knives; yet they were all sad, speaking of -renunciation, not of happiness. - -But at last she heard her own name; then with a sudden start she caught -the Bishop's hand, for she could not listen longer. She staggered and -reeled as she whispered to him: - -"The door, the door, open the door!" - -The Bishop, his right hand being across his body and resting on the hilt -of his sword, laid his left upon the handle of the door, and turned it. -Then he flung the door open wide; at that instant Osra sprang past him, -her eyes gleaming like flames from her dead white face. And she stood -rigid on the threshold of the room, with the Bishop by her side. - -In the middle of the room stood the Prince of Glottenberg; strained in a -close embrace, clinging to him, supported by his arms, with head buried -in his breast, was a girl of slight and slender figure, graceful though -not tall; her body was still shaken by continual struggling sobs. The -Prince held her there as though against the world, but raised his head -and looked at the intruders with a grave sad air. There was no shame on -his face, and hardly surprise. Presently he took one arm from about the -lady, and, raising it, motioned to them to be still. Osra took one step -forward towards where the pair stood; the Bishop caught her sleeve, but -she shook him off. The lady looked up into the Prince's face; with a -sudden startled cry she clutched him closer, and turned a terrified face -over her shoulder. Then she moaned in great fear, and, reeling, fell -against the Prince; she would have sunk to the ground if he had not -upheld her, and her eyes closed and her lip dropped, as she swooned -away. But the Princess smiled, and, drawing herself to her full height, -stood watching while Ludwig bore the lady to a couch and laid her there. -Then, when he came back and faced her, she asked coldly and slowly: - -"Who is this woman, sir? Or is she one of those who have no names?" - -The Prince sprang forward, a sudden anger in his eyes; he raised his -hand as if he would have pressed it across her scornful mouth and kept -back her bitter words. But she did not flinch; pointing at him with her -finger, she cried to the Bishop in a ringing voice: - -"Kill him, my lord, kill him." - -And the sword of the Bishop of Modenstein was half way out of the -scabbard. - -"I would to God, my lord," said the Prince in low sad tones, "that God -would suffer you to kill me and me to take death at your hands. But -neither for you nor for me is the blow lawful. Let me speak to the -Princess." - -The Bishop still grasped his sword; for Osra's face and hand still -commanded him. But at the instant of his hesitation, while the -temptation was hot on him, there came from the couch where the lady lay -a low moan of great pain. She flung her arms out and turned, groaning -again, on her back and her head lay hanging over the side of the couch. -The Bishop's eyes met Ludwig's, and with a "God forgive me!" he let the -sword slip back, and, springing across the room, fell on his knees -beside the couch. He broke the gold chain round his neck and grasped the -crucifix which it carried in one hand, while with the other he raised -the lady's head, praying her to open her eyes, before whose closed lids -he held the sacred image; and he, who had come so near to great sin, now -prayed softly but fervently for her life and God's pity on her; for the -frailty her slight form showed could not withstand the shock of this -trial. - -"Who is she?" asked the Princess. - -But Ludwig's eyes had wandered back to the couch, and he answered only: - -"My God, it will kill her." - -"I care not," said Osra. But then came another low moan. "I care not," -said the Princess again. "Ah, she is in great suffering!" And her eyes -followed the Prince's. - -There was silence, save for the lady's low moans and the whispered -prayers of the Bishop of Modenstein. But the lady opened her eyes, and -in an instant, answering the summons, the Prince was by her side, -kneeling and holding her hand very tenderly; and he met a glance from -the Bishop across her prostrate body. The Prince bowed his head and one -sob burst from him. - -"Leave me alone with her for a little, sir," said the Bishop, and the -Prince, obeying, rose and withdrew into the bay of the window, while -Osra stood alone near the door by which she had entered. - -A few minutes passed, then Osra saw the Prince return to where the lady -was and kneel again beside her; and she saw that the Bishop was -preparing to perform his most sacred and sublime office; the lady's eyes -dwelt on him now in peace and restfulness, and she held Prince Ludwig's -hand in her small hand. But Osra would not kneel; she stood upright, -still and cold, as though she neither saw nor heard anything of what -passed; she would not pity nor forgive the woman, even if, as they -seemed to think, she lay dying. But she spoke once, asking in a harsh -voice: - -"Is there no physician in the house or near?" - -"None, madame," said the Prince. - -The Bishop began the office, and Osra stood, dimly hearing the words of -comfort, peace, and hope, dimly seeing the smile on the lady's face; for -gradually her eyes clouded with tears. Now her ears seemed to hear -nothing save the sad and piteous sobs that had shaken the girl as she -hung about Ludwig's neck. But she strove to drive away her softer -thoughts, fanning her fury when it burnt low, and telling herself again -of the insult that she had suffered. Thus she rested till the Bishop had -performed the office. But when he had finished it, he rose from his -knees and came to where Osra was. - -"It was your duty," she said, "but it is none of mine." - -"She will not live an hour," said he. "For she had an affection of the -heart, and this shock has killed her. Indeed I think she was half dead -for grief before we came." - -"Who is she?" broke again from Osra's lips. - -"Come and hear," said he, and she followed him obediently, yet -unwillingly, to the couch, and looked down at the lady. The lady looked -at her with wondering eyes, and then she smiled faintly, pressing the -Prince's hand, and whispering: - -"Yet she is so beautiful." And she seemed now wonderfully happy, so that -they three all watched her and were envious, although they were to live -and she to die. - -"Now God pardon her sin!" said the Princess Osra suddenly, and she fell -on her knees beside the couch, crying: "Surely God has pardoned her!" - -"Sin she has none, save what clings even to the purest in this world," -said the Bishop. "For what she has said to me I know to be true." - -Osra answered nothing, but gazed in questioning at the Prince, and he, -still holding the lady's hand, began to speak in a gentle voice: - -"Do not ask her name, madame. But from the first hour that we knew the -meaning of love we have loved one another. And had the issue rested in -my hands, I would have thrown to the winds all that kept me from her. I -remember when first I met her--ah, my sweet, do you remember? From that -day to this in soul she has been mine, and I hers in all my life. But -more could not be. Madame, you have asked what love is. Here is love. -Yet fate is stronger. Thus I came to Strelsau to woo, and she, left -alone, resolved to give herself to God." - -"How comes she here, then?" whispered Osra, and she laid one hand -timidly on the couch, near to the lady yet not so as to touch even her -garments. - -"She came here--" he began; but suddenly, to their amazement, the lady, -who had seemed dead, with an effort raised herself on her elbow, and -spoke in a quick eager whisper, as if she feared time and strength would -fail. - -"He is a great Prince," she said, "he must be a great King; God means -him for greatness, God forbid that I should be his ruin. Ah, what a -sweet dream he painted! But praise be to the Blessed Saints who kept me -strong. Yet at the last I was weak. I could not live without another -sight of his face; and so--I came. Next week I am--I was to take the -veil; and I came here to see him once again. God pardon me for it. But I -could not help it. Ah, madame, I know you, and I see now your beauty. -Have you known love?" - -"No," said Osra; and she moved her hand near to the lady's hand. - -"When he found me here, he prayed me again to do what he asked; and I -was half killed in denying it. But I prevailed, and we were even then -parting when you came. Why, why did I come?" For a moment her voice died -away in a low soft moan. But she made one more effort; clasping Osra's -hand in her delicate fingers, she whispered: "I am going. Be his wife." - -"No, no, no," whispered Osra, her face now close to the lady's. "You -must live; you must live and be happy." - -And then she kissed the lady's lips. The lady put out her arms and -clasped them round Osra's neck, and again she whispered softly in Osra's -ear. Neither Ludwig nor the Bishop heard what she said, but they heard -only that Osra sobbed. Presently the lady's arms relaxed a little in -their hold, and Osra, having kissed her again, rose and signed to Ludwig -to come nearer; while she, turning, gave her hand to the Bishop, and he -led her from the room, and, finding another room near, took her in -there, where she sat, silent and pale. - -Thus half an hour passed; then the Bishop stole out softly, and -presently returned, saying: - -"God has spared her the long painful path, and has taken her straight to -His rest." - -Osra heard him, half in a trance and as if she did not hear; she did not -know where he went nor what he did, nor anything that passed, until, as -it seemed after a long while, she looked up and saw Prince Ludwig -standing before her. He was composed and calm; but it seemed as if half -the life had gone out of his face. Osra rose slowly to her feet, -supporting herself on an arm of the chair on which she had sat; and, -when she had seen his face, she suddenly threw herself on the floor at -his feet, crying: - -"Forgive me, forgive me!" - -[Illustration: "'FORGIVE ME, FORGIVE ME!'"--_Page 252._] - -"The guilt is mine," said he, "I did not trust you and did by stealth -what your nobility would have allowed me to do openly. The guilt is -mine." And he offered to raise her. But she rose, unaided, asking with -choking voice: - -"Is she dead?" - -"She is dead," said the Prince, and Osra, hearing it, covered her face -with her hands and blindly groped her way back to the chair, where she -sat, panting and exhausted. - -"To her I have said farewell, and now, madame, to you. Yet do not think -that I am a man without eyes for your beauty, or a heart to know your -worth. I seemed to you a fool and a churl. I grieved most bitterly, and -I wronged you bitterly. My excuse for all is now known. For though you -are more beautiful than she, yet true love is no wanderer; it gives a -beauty that it does not find, and forges a chain no charms can break. -Madame, farewell." - -She looked at him and saw the sad joy in his eyes, an exultation over -what had been, that what was could not destroy; and she knew that the -vision was still with him though his love was dead. Suddenly he seemed -to her a man she also might love and for whom she also, if need be, -might gladly die; yet not because she loved him, for she was asking -still in wonder: "What is this love?" - -"Madame, farewell," said he again, and, kneeling before her, he kissed -her hand. - -"I carry the body of my love," he went on, "back with me to my home, -there to mourn for her; and I shall come no more to Strelsau." - -Osra bent her eyes on his face as he knelt, and presently she said to -him in a whisper that was low for awe, not shame: - -"You heard what she bade me do?" - -"Yes, madame. I know her wish." - -"And you would do it?" she asked. - -"Madame, my struggle was fought before she died. But now you know that -my love was not yours." - -"That also I knew before, sir," and a slight bitter smile came on her -face. But she grew grave again and sat there, seeming to be pondering, -while Prince Ludwig waited. Then she suddenly leant forward and said: - -"If I loved I would wait for you to love. Now what is this love that I -cannot feel?" - -And then she sat again silent, but at last raised her eyes again to his, -saying in a voice that even in the stillness of the room he hardly -heard: - -"Now I nearly love you, for I have seen your love and know that you can -love; and I think that love must breed love, so that she who loves must -in God's time be beloved. Yet I----" She paused here, and for a moment -hid her face with her hand. "Yet I cannot," she went on. "Is it our Lord -Christ who bids us take the lower place? I cannot take it. He does not -so reign in my heart. For to my proud heart--ah, my heart so proud!--she -would be ever between us. I could not bear it. Yet I believe now that -with you I might one day find happiness." - -The Prince, though in that hour he could not think of love, was yet very -much moved by her new tenderness and felt that what had passed rather -drew them together than made any separation between them. And it seemed -to him that the dead lady's blessing was on his suit; so he said: - -"Madame, I would most faithfully serve you and you would be nearest and -dearest to me of all living women." - -She waited awhile, then she sighed heavily, looking in his face with an -air of wistful longing; and she knit her brows as though she were -puzzled. But at last, shaking her head, she said: - -"It is not enough." - -With this she rose and took him by the hand, and they two went back -together to where the Bishop of Modenstein still prayed beside the body -of the lady. - -Osra stood on one side of the body and stretched her hand out to the -Prince who stood on the other side. - -"See," said she, "she must be between us." And having kissed the dead -face once, she left the Prince there by the side of his love and herself -went out; and, turning her head, she saw that the Prince knelt again by -the corpse of his love. - -"He does not think of me," she said to the Bishop. - -"His thoughts are still with her, madame," he answered. - -It was late night now, and they rode swiftly and silently along the road -to Strelsau. On all the way they spoke to one another only a few words, -both being sunk deep in thought. But once Osra spoke, as they were -already near to Strelsau. For she turned suddenly to the Bishop, saying: - -"My lord, what is it? Do you know it?" - -"Yes, madame, I have known it," answered the Bishop. - -"Yet you are a Churchman!" - -"True, madame," said he, and he smiled sadly. - -She seemed to consider, fixing her eyes on his; but he turned his aside. - -"Could you not make me understand?" she asked. - -"Your lover, when he comes, will do that, madame," said he, and still he -kept his eyes averted. Osra wondered why he kept his eyes turned away; -yet presently a faint smile curved her lips, and she said: - -"It may be you might feel it, if you were not a Churchman. But I do not. -Many men have said they loved me, and I have felt something in my heart; -but not this." - -"It will come," said the Bishop. - -"Does it come then to every one?" - -"To most," he answered. - -"Heigho, will it ever come to me?" she sighed. - -With this they were at home. And Osra was for a long time very sorrowful -for the fate of the lady whom the Prince of Glottenberg had loved; yet, -since she saw Ludwig no more, and the joy of youth conquers sadness, she -ceased to mourn; but as she walked alone she would wonder more and more -what it might be, this great love that she did not feel. - -"For none will tell me, not even the Bishop of Modenstein," said she. - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - - The Victory of the Grand Duke of Mittenheim. - - -King Rudolf, being in the worst of humours, had declared in the presence -of all the Court that women were born to plague men and for no other -purpose whatsoever under heaven. Hearing this discourteous speech, the -Princess Osra rose and said that for her part she would go walking alone -by the river outside the city gates, where at least she would be -assailed by no more reproaches. For since she was irrevocably determined -to live and die unmarried, of what use or benefit was it to trouble her -with embassies, courting, or proposals from either the Grand Duke of -Mittenheim or anybody else? She was utterly weary of this matter of -love, and her mood would be unchanged though this new suitor were as -exalted as the King of France, as rich as Croesus himself, and as -handsome as the god Apollo. She did not desire a husband, and there was -an end of it. Thus she went out, while the Queen sighed, and the King -fumed, and the courtiers and ladies said to one another that these -dissensions made life very uncomfortable at Strelsau, the ladies further -adding that he would be a bold man who married Osra, although doubtless -she was not ill-looking. - -To the banks of the river outside the walls then Osra went; and as she -went she seemed to be thinking of nothing at all in the world, least of -all of whom she might chance to meet there on the banks of the river, -where in those busy hours of the day few came. Yet there was a strange -new light in her eyes, and there seemed a new understanding in her mind; -and when a young peasant wife came by, her baby in her arms, Osra -stopped her, and kissed the child and gave money, and then ran on in -unexplained confusion, laughing and blushing as though she had done -something which she did not wish to be seen. Then without reason her -eyes filled with tears, but she dashed them away and burst suddenly into -singing. And she was still singing when, from the long grass by the -river's edge, a young man sprang up, and, with a very low bow, drew -aside to let her pass. He had a book in his hand, for he was a student -at the University, and came there to pursue his learning in peace; his -plain brown clothes spoke of no wealth or station, though certainly they -set off a stalwart straight shape and seemed to match well with his -bright brown hair and hazel eyes. Very low this young man bowed and Osra -bent her head. The pace of her walk slowed, grew quicker, slowed again; -she was past him, and with a great sigh he lay down again. She turned, -he sprang up; she spoke coldly, yet kindly. - -[Illustration: "A YOUNG MAN SPRANG UP, AND, WITH A LOW BOW, DREW ASIDE -TO LET HER PASS."--_Page 259._] - -"Sir," said she, "I cannot but notice that you lie every day here by the -river with your book, and that you sigh. Tell me your trouble, and if I -can I will relieve it." - -"I am reading, madame," he answered, "of Helen of Troy, and I am sighing -because she is dead." - -"It is an old grief by now," said Osra, smiling. "Will none serve you -but Helen of Troy?" - -"If I were a Prince," said he, "I need not mourn." - -"No, sir?" - -"No, madame," he said, with another bow. - -"Farewell, sir." - -"Madame, farewell." - -So she went on her way, and saw him no more till the next day, nor after -that till the next day following; and then came an interval when she saw -him not, and the interval was no less than twenty-four hours; yet still -he read of Helen of Troy, and still sighed because she was dead, and he -no Prince. At last he tempted the longed-for question from Osra's shy -smiling lips. - -"Why would you not mourn, sir, if you were a Prince?" said she. "For -Princes and Princesses have their share of sighs." And with a very -plaintive sigh Osra looked at the rapid running river, as she waited for -his answer. - -"Because then I would go to Strelsau and so forget her." - -"But you are at Strelsau now!" she cried with wondering surprise. - -"Ah, but I am no Prince, madame," said he. - -"Can Princes alone--forget in Strelsau?" - -"How should a poor student dare to--forget in Strelsau?" As he spoke he -made bold to step near her and stood close, looking down into her face. -Without a word she turned and left him, going through the meadow with a -step that seemed to dance and yet led her to her own chamber, where she -could weep in quiet. - -"I know it now, I know it now," she whispered softly that night to the -tree which rose by her window. "Heigho, what am I to do? I cannot live, -no, and now I cannot die. Ah me, what am I to do? I wish I were a -peasant girl; but then perhaps he would not--ah, yes, but he would!" And -her low long laugh rippled in triumph through the night, blending -sweetly with the rustling of the leaves under a summer breeze; and she -stretched her white arms to heaven, imploring the kind God with prayers -that she dared not speak even to His pitiful ear. - -"Love knows no Princesses, my Princess." It was that she heard as she -fled from him next day. She should have rebuked him. But for that she -must have stayed; and to stay she had not dared. But she must rebuke -him. She would see him again in order to rebuke him. Yet all this while -she must be pestered with the court of the Grand Duke of Mittenheim! And -when she would not name a day on which the embassy should come, the King -flew into a passion, and declared that he himself would set a date for -it. Was his sister mad, he asked, that she would do nothing but walk -every day by the river's bank? "Surely I must be mad," thought Osra; for -no sane being could be at once so joyful and so piteously unhappy. - -Did he know what it was he asked? He seemed to know nothing of it. He -did not speak any more now of Princesses, only of his Princess, nor of -Queens, save of his heart's queen; and when his eyes asked love, they -asked as though none would refuse and there could be no cause for -refusal. He would have wooed his neighbour's daughter thus, and thus he -wooed the sister of King Rudolf. - -"Will you love me?" was his question, not, "Though you love, yet dare -you own your love?" He seemed to shut the whole world from her, leaving -nothing but her and him; and in a world that held none but her and him, -she could love, unblamed, untroubled, and with no trembling. - -"You forget who I am," she faltered once. - -"You are the beauty of the world," he answered smiling, and he kissed -her hand--a matter about which she could make no great ado, for it was -not the first time that he had kissed it. - -[Illustration: "'YOU ARE THE BEAUTY OF THE WORLD,' HE ANSWERED -SMILING."--_Page 263._] - -But the embassy from the Grand Duke was to come in a week and to be -received with great pomp. The ambassador was already on the way, -carrying proposals and gifts. Therefore Osra went pale and sad down to -the river bank that day, having declared again to the King that she -would live and die unmarried. But the King had laughed cruelly. Surely -she needed kindness and consolation that sad day; yet Fate had kept for -her a crowning sorrow; for she found him also almost sad; at least she -could not tell whether he was sad or not. For he smiled and yet seemed -ill at ease, like a man who ventures a fall with fortune, hoping and -fearing. And he said to her: - -"Madame, in a week I return to my own country." - -She looked at him in silence with lips just parted. For her life she -could not speak; but the sun grew dark and the river changed its merry -tune to mournful dirges. - -"So the dream ends," said he. "So comes the awakening. But if life were -all a dream?" His eyes sought hers. - -"Yes," she whispered, "if life were all a dream, sir?" - -"Then I should dream of two dreamers whose dream was one, and in that -dream I should see them ride together at break of day from Strelsau." - -"Whither?" she murmured. - -"To Paradise," said he. "But the dream ends. If it did not end----" He -paused. - -"If it did not end?" a breathless longing whisper echoed. - -"If it did not end now, it should not end even with death," said he. - -"You see them in your dream? You see them riding?" - -"Aye, swiftly, side by side, they two alone, through the morning. None -is near; none knows." - -He seemed to be searching her face for something that yet he scarcely -hoped to find. - -"Their dream," said he, "brings them at last to a small cottage; it is -where they live." - -"They live?" - -"And work," he added. "For she keeps his home while he works." - -"What does she do?" asked Osra, with smiling wondering eyes. - -"She gets his supper for him when he comes home weary in the evening, -and makes a bright fire, and----" - -"Ah, and she runs to meet him at the door! Oh, farther than the door!" - -"But she has worked hard and is weary." - -"No, she is not weary," cried Osra. "It is for him she works!" - -"The wise say this is silly talk," said he. - -"The wise are fools then," cried Osra. - -"So the dream would please you, madame?" he asked. - -She had come not to know how she left him; somehow, while he still -spoke, she would suddenly escape by flight. He did not pursue, but let -her go. So now she returned to the city, her eyes filled with that -golden dream; she entered her home as though it had been some strange -Palace decked with unknown magnificence, and she an alien to it. For her -true home seemed now rather in the cottage of the dream, and she moved -unfamiliarly through the pomp that had been hers from birth. Her soul -was gone from it, while her body rested there; and life stopped for her -till she saw him again by the banks of the river. - -"In five days now I go," said he, and he smiled at her. She hid her face -in her hands. Still he smiled; but suddenly he sprang forward; for she -had sobbed. The summons had sounded; he was there; and who could sob -again when he was there, and his sheltering arm warded off all grief? -She looked up at him with shining eyes, whispering: - -"Do you go alone?" - -A great joy blazed confidently in his eyes as he whispered in answer: - -"I think I shall not go alone." - -"But how, how?" - -"I have two horses." - -"You! You have two horses?" - -"Yes, is it not riches? But we will sell them when we get to the -cottage." - -"To the cottage! Two horses!" - -"I would I had but one for both of us." - -"Yes." - -"But we should not go quick enough." - -"No." - -He took his hand from her waist and stood away from her. - -"You will not come?" he said. - -"If you doubt of my coming, I will not come. Ah, do not doubt of my -coming! For there is a great hoard of fears and black thoughts beating -at the door, and you must not open it." - -"And what can keep it shut, my Princess?" - -"I think your arm, my Prince," said she; and she flew to him. - -That evening King Rudolf swore that if a man were only firm enough and -kept his temper (which, by the way, the King had not done, though none -dared say so), he could bring any foolish girl to reason in good time. -For in the softest voice, and with the strangest smile flitting to her -face, the Princess Osra was pleased to bid the embassy come on the fifth -day from then. - -"They shall have their answer then," said she, flushing and smiling. - -"It is as much as any lady could say," the Court declared; and it was -reported through all Strelsau that the match was as good as made, and -that Osra was to be Grand Duchess of Mittenheim. - -"She's a sensible girl after all," cried Rudolf, all his anger gone. - -The dream began then, before they came to the cottage. Those days she -lived in its golden mists, that shut out all the cold world from her, -moving through space which held but one form, and time that stood still -waiting for one divine unending moment. And the embassy drew near to -Strelsau. - -It was night, the dead of night, and all was still in the Palace. But -the sentinel by the little gate was at his post, and the gate-warden -stood by the Western Gate of the city. Each was now alone, but to each, -an hour ago, a man had come stealthily and silently through the -darkness; and each was richer by a bag of gold than he had been before. -The gold was Osra's--how should a poor student, whose whole fortune was -two horses, scatter bags of gold? And other gold Osra had, aye, five -hundred crowns. Would not that be a brave surprise for the poor student? -And she, alone of all awake, stood looking round her room, entranced -with the last aspect of it. Over the city also she looked, but in the -selfishness of her joy did no more than kiss a hasty farewell to the -good city folk who loved her. Once she thought that maybe, some day, he -and she would steal together back to Strelsau, and sheltered by some -disguise watch the King ride in splendour through the streets. But if -not--why, what was Strelsau, and the people, and the rest? Ah, how long -the hours were, before those two horses stood by the little gate, and -the sentry and the gate-warden earned their bags of gold! So she passed -the hours, the last long lingering hours. - -There was a little tavern buried in the narrowest oldest street of the -city. Here the poor student had lodged; here, in the back room, a man -sat at a table, and two others stood before him. These two seemed -gentlemen, and their air spoke of military training. They stroked long -moustaches and smiled with an amusement that deference could not hide. -Both were booted and wore spurs, and the man sitting at the table gave -them orders. - -"You will meet the embassy," he said to one, "about ten o'clock. Bring -it to the place I have appointed, and wait there. Do not fail." - -The officer addressed bowed and retired. A minute later his horse's -hoofs clattered through the streets. Perhaps he also had a bag of gold, -for the gate-warden opened the Western Gate for him, and he rode at a -gallop along the river banks, till he reached the great woods that -stretch to within ten miles of Strelsau. - -"An hour after we are gone," said the man at the table to the other -officer, "go warily, find one of the King's servants, and hand him the -letter. Give no account of how you came by it, and say nothing of who -you are. All that is necessary is in the letter. When you have delivered -it, return here and remain in close hiding, till you hear from me -again." - -The second officer bowed. The man at the table rose and went out into -the street. He took his way to where the Palace rose, and then skirted -the wall of its gardens, till he came to the little gate. Here stood two -horses, and at their heads a man. - -"It is well. You may go," said the student; and he was left alone with -the horses. They were good horses for a student to possess. The thought -perhaps crossed their owner's mind, for he laughed softly as he looked -at them. Then he also fell to thinking that the hours were long; and a -fear came suddenly upon him that she would not come. It was in these -last hours that doubts crept in; and he was not with her to drive them -away. Would the great trial fail? Would she shrink at the last? But he -would not think it of her, and he was smiling again, when the clock of -the Cathedral struck two, telling him that no more than an hour now -parted her from him. For she would come; the Princess would come to him, -the student, led by the vision of that cottage in the dream. - -Would she come? She would come; she had risen from her knees and moved -to and fro in cautious silence, making her last preparations. She had -written a word of love for the brother she loved--for some day, of -course, Rudolf would forgive her--and she had ready all that she took -with her, the five hundred crowns, one ring that she would give her -lover, some clothes to serve till his loving labour furnished more. That -night she had wept and she had laughed; now she neither wept nor -laughed; but there was a high pride in her face and gait. She opened the -door of her room, and walked down the great staircase, under the eyes of -crowned Kings who hung framed upon the walls. And as she went she seemed -indeed their daughter. For her head was erect, and her lips set firm in -haughty dignity. Who dared to say that she did anything that a King's -daughter should not do? Should not a woman love? Love should be her -diadem. And so with this proud step she came through the gardens of the -Palace, looking neither to right nor left, nor behind, but with her face -set straight for the little gate; and she walked as she had been -accustomed to walk when all Strelsau looked on her, and hailed her as -its glory and its darling. - -The sentry slept, or seemed to sleep. Her face was not even veiled when -she opened the little gate; she would not veil her proud face, it was -his to look on now when he would; and thus she stood for an instant in -the gateway, while he sprang to her, and, kneeling, carried her hand to -his lips. - -"You are come?" he cried; for though he had believed, yet he wondered. - -"I am come," she smiled. "Is not the word of a Princess sure? Ah, how -could I not come?" - -"See, love," said he, rising, "day dawns in royal purple for you, and -golden love for me." - -"The purple is for my King and the love for me," she whispered, as he -led her to the horses. "Your fortune!" said she, pointing to them. "But -I also have brought a dowry. Fancy, five hundred crowns!" and her mirth -and happiness burst out in a laugh. It was so deliciously little, five -hundred crowns! - -She was mounted now and he stood by her. - -"Will you turn back?" he said. - -"You shall not make me angry," said she. "Come, mount." - -"Aye, I must mount," said he. "For if we were found here the King would -kill me." - -For the first time the peril of their enterprise seemed to strike into -her mind, and turned her cheek pale. - -"Ah, I forgot! In my happiness I forgot. Mount, mount! Oh, if he found -you!" - -He mounted. Once they clasped hands; then they rode swiftly for the -Western Gate. - -"Veil your face," he said, and since he bade her, she obeyed, saying: - -"But I can see you through the veil." - -The gate stood open, and the gate-warden was not there. They were out of -the city, the morning air blew cold and pure over the meadows from the -river. The horses stretched into an eager willing gallop. Osra tore her -veil from her face, and turned on him eyes of radiant triumph. - -"It is done," she cried, "it is done." - -"Yes, it is done, my Princess," said he. - -"And--and it is begun, my Prince," said she. - -"Yes, and it is begun," said he. - -She laughed aloud in absolute joy, and for a moment he also laughed. - -But then his face grew grave, and he said: - -"I pray you may never grieve for it." - -She looked at him with eyes wide in wonder; for an instant she seemed -puzzled; then she fell again to laughing. - -"Grieve for it!" said she, between her merry laughs. - -King Rudolf was a man who lay late in the morning, and he was not well -pleased to be roused when the clock had but just struck four. Yet he sat -up in his bed readily enough, for he imagined that the embassy from the -Grand Duke of Mittenheim must be nearer than he thought, and, sooner -than fail in any courtesy towards a Prince whose alliance he ardently -desired, he was ready to submit to much inconvenience. But his -astonishment was great, when, instead of any tidings from the embassy, -one of his gentlemen handed him a letter, saying that a servant had -received it from a stranger with instructions to carry it at once to the -King; when asked if an answer were desired from his Majesty, the -stranger had answered, "Not through me," and at once turned away and -quickly disappeared. The King, with a peevish oath at having been roused -for such a trifle broke the seal and fastenings of the letter, and -opened it; and he read: - -"Sire,--Your sister does not wait for the embassy, but chooses her own -lover. She has met a student of the University every day for the last -three weeks by the river bank." (The King started.) "This morning she -has fled with him on horseback along the Western Road. If you desire a -student for a brother-in-law, sleep again; if not, up and ride. Do not -doubt these tidings." - -There was no signature to the letter; yet the King, knowing his sister, -cried: - -"See whether the Princess is in the Palace. And in the meanwhile saddle -my horse, and let a dozen of the Guard be at the gate." - -The Princess was not in the Palace, but her women found the letter that -she had left, and brought it to the King. And the King read: "Brother, -whom I love best of all men in the world save one, I have left you to go -with that one. You will not forgive me now, but some day forgive me. -Nay, it is not I who have done it, but my love which is braver than I. -He is the sweetest gentleman alive, brother, and therefore he must be my -lord. Let me go, but still love me.--Osra." - -"It is true," said the King; "and the embassy will be here to-day!" For -a moment he seemed dazed. Yet he spoke nothing to anybody of what the -letters contained, but sent word to the Queen's apartments that he went -riding for pleasure. And he took his sword and his pistols; for he swore -that by his own hand and by that of no other man, this "sweetest -gentleman alive" should meet his death. But all, knowing that the -Princess was not in the Palace, guessed that the King's sudden haste -concerned her; and great wonder and speculation rose in the Palace, and -presently, as the morning advanced, spread from the Palace to its -environs, and from the environs to the rest of the city. For it was -reported that a sentinel who had stood guard that night was missing, and -that the gate-warden of the Western Gate was nowhere to be found, and -that a mysterious letter had come by an unknown hand to the King, and -lastly, that Princess Osra--their Princess--was gone, whether of her own -will or by some bold plot of seizure and kidnapping, none knew. Thus a -great stir grew in all Strelsau; men stood about the streets gossiping -when they should have gone to work, while women chattered instead of -sweeping their houses and dressing their children. So that when the King -rode out of the courtyard of the Palace at a gallop, with twelve of the -Guard behind, he could hardly make his way through the streets for the -people who crowded round him, imploring him to tell them where the -Princess was. When the King saw that the matter had become public, his -wrath was greater still, and he swore again that the student of the -University should pay the price of life for his morning ride with the -Princess. And when he darted through the gate and set his horse straight -along the Western Road, many of the people, neglecting all their -business as folk will for excitement's sake, followed him as they best -could, agog to see the thing to its end. - -"The horses are weary," said the student to the Princess, "we must let -them rest; we are now in the shelter of the wood." - -"But my brother may pursue you," she urged, "and if he came up with -you--ah, heaven forbid!" - -"He will not know you have gone for another three hours," smiled he. -"And here is a green bank where we can rest." - -So he aided her to dismount; then, saying he would tether the horses, he -led them away some distance, so that she could not see where he had -posted them; and he returned to her, smiling still. Then he took from -his pocket some bread, and breaking the loaf in two, gave her one half, -saying: - -"There is a spring just here; so we shall have a good breakfast." - -"Is this your breakfast?" she asked with a wondering laugh. Then she -began to eat, and cried directly: "How delicious this bread is! I would -have nothing else for breakfast"; and at this the student laughed. - -Yet Osra ate little of the bread she liked so well; presently she leant -against her lover's shoulder, and he put his arm round her; and they sat -for a little while in silence listening to the soft sounds that filled -the waking woods as day grew to fulness and the sun beat warm through -the sheltering foliage. - -"Don't you hear the trees?" Osra whispered to her lover. "Don't you hear -them? They are whispering for me what I dare not whisper." - -"What is it they whisper, sweet?" he asked; he himself did no more than -whisper. - -"The trees whisper, 'Love, love, love.' And the wind--don't you hear the -wind murmuring, 'Love, love, love'? And the birds sing, 'Love, love, -love.' Aye, all the world to-day is softly whispering, 'Love, love, -love.' What else should the great world whisper but my love? For my love -is greater than the world." And she suddenly hid her face in her hands; -and he could kiss no more than her hands, though her eyes gleamed at him -from between slim white fingers. - -But suddenly her hands dropped, and she leant forward as though she -listened. - -"What is that sound?" she asked, apprehension dawning in her eyes. - -"It is but another whisper, love!" said he. - -"Nay, but it sounds to me like--ah, like the noise of horses galloping." - -"It is but the stream, beating over stones." - -"Listen, listen, listen!" she cried springing to her feet. "They are -horses' hoofs! Ah, merciful God, it is the King!" And she caught him by -the hand and pulled him to his feet, looking at him with a face pale and -alarmed. - -"Not the King," said he. "He would not know yet. It is some one else. -Hide your face, dear lady, and all will be well." - -"It is the King," she cried. "Hark how they gallop on the road! It is my -brother. Love, he will kill you, love, he will kill you." - -"It is the King," said he, "I have been betrayed." - -"The horses, the horses!" she cried. "By your love for me, the horses!" - -He nodded his head, and, turning, disappeared among the trees. She stood -with clasped hands, heaving breast, and fearful eyes, awaiting his -return. Minutes passed and he did not come. She flung herself on her -knees, beseeching heaven for his life. At last he came alone, and he -bent over her, taking her hand. - -"My love," said he, "the horses are gone!" - -"Gone?" she cried, gripping his hand. - -"Aye. This love, my love, is a wonderful thing. For I forgot to tie -them, and they are gone. Yet what matter? For the King--yes, sweet, I -think now it is the King--will not be here for some minutes yet, and -those minutes I have still for love and life." - -"He will kill you," she said. - -"Yes," said he. - -She looked long in his eyes; then she threw her arms about his neck, -and, for the first time unasked, covered his face with kisses. - -"Kiss me, kiss me," said she; and he kissed her. Then she drew back a -little, but took his arm and set it round her waist. And she drew a -little knife from her girdle, and showed it to him. - -"If the King will not pardon us and let us love one another, I also will -die," said she, and her voice was quiet and happy. "Indeed, my love, I -should not grieve. Ah, do not tell me to live without you!" - -"Would you obey?" he asked. - -"Not in that," said she. - -Thus they stood, while the sound of the hoofs drew very near. But she -looked up at him and he looked at her; then she looked at the point of -the little dagger, and she whispered: - -"Keep your arm round me till I die." - -He bent his head and kissed her once again, saying: - -"My Princess, it is enough." - -And she, though she did not know why he smiled, yet smiled back at him. -For although life was sweet that day, yet such a death, with him, and to -prove her love for him, seemed well-nigh as sweet. Thus they awaited the -coming of the King. - - * * * * * - -King Rudolf and his Guards far outstripped the people who pursued them -from the city, and when they came to the skirt of the wood they divided -themselves into four parties, since, if they went all together, they -might easily miss the fugitives whom they sought. Of these four parties -one found nothing, another found the two horses, which the student -himself, who had hidden them, failed to find; the third party had not -gone far before they caught sight of the lovers, though the lovers did -not see them; and two of them remained to watch, and if need were to -intercept any attempted flight, while the other rode off to find the -King and bring him where Osra and the student were, as he had commanded. - -But the fourth party, with which the King was, though it did not find -the fugitives, found the embassy from the Grand Duke of Mittenheim; for -the ambassador, with all his train, was resting by the roadside, seeming -in no haste at all to reach Strelsau. When the King suddenly rode up at -great speed and came upon the embassy, an officer that stood by the -ambassador--whose name was Count Sergius of Antheim--stooped down and -whispered in his Excellency's ear; upon which he rose and advanced -towards the King, uncovering his head and bowing profoundly; for he -chose to assume that the King had ridden to meet him out of excessive -graciousness and courtesy towards the Grand Duke; so that he began, to -the impatient King's infinite annoyance, to make a very long and stately -speech, assuring his Majesty of the great hope and joy with which his -master awaited the result of the embassy; for, said he, since the King -was so zealous in his cause, his master could not bring himself to doubt -of success, and therefore most confidently looked to win for his bride -the most exalted and lovely lady in the world, the peerless Princess -Osra, the glory of the Court of Strelsau, and the brightest jewel in the -crown of the King her brother. Having brought this period to a -prosperous conclusion, Count Sergius took breath and began another that -promised to be fully as magnificent and not a whit less long. So that, -before it was well started, the King smote his hand on his thigh, and -roared: - -"Heavens, man, while you're making speeches, that rascal is carrying off -my sister!" - -Count Sergius, who was an elderly man of handsome presence and great -dignity, being thus rudely and strangely interrupted, showed great -astonishment and offence; but the officer by him covered his mouth with -his hand to hide a smile. For the moment that the King had spoken these -impetuous words he was himself overwhelmed with confusion; since the -last thing that he wished the Grand Duke's ambassador to know was that -the Princess, whom his master courted, had run away that morning with a -student of the University of Strelsau. Accordingly he began, very -hastily and with more regard for prudence than for truth, to tell Count -Sergius how a noted and bold criminal had that morning swooped down on -the Princess as she rode unattended outside the city and carried her -off; which seemed to the ambassador a very strange story. But the King -told it with great fervour, and he besought the Count to scatter his -attendants all through the wood, and seek the robber; yet he charged -them not to kill the man themselves but to keep him till he came. "For I -have sworn to kill him with my own hand," he cried. - -Now Count Sergius, however much astonished he might be, could do nothing -but accede to the King's request, and he sent off all his men to scour -the woods, and, mounting his horse, himself set out with them, showing -great zeal in the King's service, but still thinking the King's story a -very strange one. Thus the King was left alone with his two Guards and -with the officer who had smiled. - -"Will you not go also, sir?" asked the King. - -But at this moment a man galloped up at furious speed, crying: - -"We have found them, sire, we have found them!" - -"Then he hasn't five minutes to live!" cried the King in fierce joy, and -he lugged out his sword, adding: "The moment I set my eyes on him, I -will kill him. There is no need for words between me and him." - -At this speech the face of the officer grew suddenly grave and alarmed, -and he put spurs to his horse and hastened after the King, who had at -once dashed away in the direction in which the man had pointed; but the -King had got a start and kept it, so that the officer seemed terribly -frightened, and muttered to himself: - -"Heaven send that he does not kill him before he knows!" And he added -some very impatient words, concerning the follies of Princes, and, above -all, of Princes in love. - -Thus, while the ambassador and his men searched high and low for -the noted robber, and the King's men hunted for the student of the -University, the King, followed by two of his Guards at a distance of -about fifty yards (for his horse was better than theirs), came straight -to where Osra and her lover stood together; a few yards behind the -Guards came the officer; and he also had by now drawn his sword. But he -rode so eagerly that he overtook and passed the King's Guards, and got -within thirty yards of the King by the time that the King was within -twenty of the lovers. But the King let him get no nearer, for he dug his -spurs again into his horse's side, and the animal bounded forward, while -the King cried furiously to his sister: "Stand away from him!" - -The Princess did not heed, but stood in front of her lover (for the -student was wholly unarmed), holding up the little dagger in her hand. -The King laughed scornfully and angrily, thinking that Osra menaced him -with the weapon, and not supposing that it was herself for whom she -destined it. And, having reached them, the King leapt from his horse and -ran at them, with his sword raised to strike. Osra gave a cry of terror. -"Mercy!" she cried, "mercy!" But the King had no thought of mercy, and -he would certainly then and there have killed her lover, had not the -officer, gaining a moment's time by the King's dismounting, at this very -instant come galloping up; and, there being no leisure for any -explanation, he leant from his saddle as he dashed by, and, putting out -his hand, snatched the King's sword away from him, just as the King was -about to thrust it through his sister's lover. - -But the officer's horse was going so furiously that he could not stop it -for hard on forty yards; he narrowly escaped splitting his head against -a great bough that hung low across the grassy path, and he dropped first -his own sword and then the King's; but at last he brought his horse to a -standstill, and, leaping down, ran back towards where the swords lay. -But at the moment the King also ran towards them; for the fury that he -had been in before was as nothing to that which now possessed him. After -his sword was snatched from him he stood in speechless anger for a full -minute, but then had turned to pursue the man who had dared to treat him -with such insult; and now, in his desire to be at the officer, he had -come very near to forgetting the student. Just as the officer came to -where the King's sword lay and picked it up, the King in his turn -reached the officer's sword and picked up that. The King came with a -rush at the officer, who, seeing that the King was likely to kill him, -or he the King, if he stood his ground, turned tail and sped away at the -top of his speed through the forest; but as he went, thinking that the -time had come for plain speaking, he looked back over his shoulder and -shouted: - -"Sire, it's the Grand Duke himself!" - -The King stopped short in sudden amazement. - -"Is the man mad?" he asked. "Who is the Grand Duke?" - -"It's the Grand Duke, sire, who is with the Princess. You would have -killed him if I had not snatched your sword," said the officer, and he -also came to a halt, but he kept a very wary eye on King Rudolf. - -"I should certainly have killed him, let him be who he will," said the -King. "But why do you call him the Grand Duke?" - -The officer very cautiously approached the King, and, seeing that the -King made no threatening motion, he at last trusted himself so close -that he could speak to the King in a very low voice; and what he said -seemed to astonish, please, and amuse the King immensely. For he clapped -the officer on the back, laughed heartily, and cried; - -"A pretty trick! on my life, a pretty trick!" - -Now Osra and her lover had not heard what the officer had shouted to the -King, and when Osra saw her brother returning from among the trees alone -and with his sword, she still supposed that her lover must die; so she -turned and flung her arms round his neck, and clung to him for a moment, -kissing him. Then she faced the King, with a smile on her lips and the -little dagger in her hand. But the King came up, wearing a scornful -smile; and he asked her: - -"What is the dagger for, my wilful sister?" - -"For me, if you kill him," said she. - -"You will kill yourself, then, if I kill him?" - -"I would not live a moment after he was dead." - -"Faith, it is wonderful!" said the King with a shrug. "Then plainly, if -you cannot live without him, you must live with him. He is to be your -husband, not mine. Therefore take him, if you will." - -When Osra heard this, which, indeed, for joy and wonder she could hardly -believe, she dropped her dagger, and, running forward, fell on her knees -before her brother; catching his hand, she covered it with kisses, and -her tears mingled with her kisses. But the King let her go on, and stood -over her, laughing and looking at the student. Presently the student -began to laugh also, and he had just advanced a step towards King -Rudolf, when Count Sergius of Antheim, the Grand Duke's ambassador, came -out from among the trees, riding hotly and with great zeal after the -noted robber. But no sooner did the Count see the student, than he -stopped his horse, leapt down with a cry of wonder, and, running up to -the student, bowed very low and kissed his hand. So that when Osra -looked round from her kissing of her brother's hand, she beheld the -Grand Duke's ambassador kissing the hand of her lover. She sprang to her -feet in wonder. - -"Who are you?" she cried to the student, running in between him and the -ambassador. - -"Your lover and servant," said he. - -"And besides?" she said. - -"Why, in a month, your husband," laughed the King, taking her lover by -the hand. - -He clasped the King's hand, but turned at once to her, saying humbly: - -"Alas, I have no cottage!" - -"Who are you?" she whispered to him. - -"The man for whom you were ready to die, my Princess. Is it not enough?" - -"Yes, it is enough," said she; and she did not repeat her question. But -the King, with a short laugh, turned on his heel, and taking Count -Sergius by the arm walked off with him; and presently they called the -officer and learnt fully how the Grand Duke had come to Strelsau, and -how he had contrived to woo and win the Princess Osra, and finally to -carry her off from the Palace. - -It was an hour later when the whole of the two companies, that of the -King and that of the ambassador, were all gathered together again, and -had heard the story; so that when the King went to where Osra and the -Grand Duke walked together among the trees, and taking each by a hand -led them out, they were greeted with a great cheer; they mounted their -horses, which the Grand Duke now found without any difficulty, although -when the need of them seemed far greater the student could not contrive -to come upon them; and the whole company rode together out of the wood -and along the road towards Strelsau, the King being full of jokes and -hugely delighted with a trick that suited his merry fancy. But before -they had ridden far they met the great crowd which had come out from -Strelsau to learn what had happened to Princess Osra. And the King cried -out that the Grand Duke was to marry the Princess, while his Guards, who -had been with him, and the ambassador's people, spread themselves among -the crowd and told the story; and when they heard it, the Strelsau folk -were nearly beside themselves with amusement and delight, and thronged -round Osra, kissing her hands and blessing her. The King drew back and -let her and the Grand Duke ride alone together, while he followed with -Count Sergius. Thus moving at a very slow pace, they came in the -forenoon to Strelsau; but some one had galloped on ahead with the news, -and the Cathedral bells had been set ringing, the streets were full, and -the whole city given over to excitement and rejoicing. All the men were -that day in love with Princess Osra, and, what is more, they told their -sweethearts so; and these found no other revenge than to blow kisses and -fling flowers at the Grand Duke as he rode past with Osra by his side. -So they came back to the Palace, whence they had fled in the early -gleams of the morning's light. - -It was evening and the moon rose, fair and clear, over Strelsau. In the -streets there were sounds of merriment and rejoicing; every house was -bright with light; the King had sent out meat and wine for every soul in -the city that none might be sad or hungry or thirsty in all the city -that night; so that there was no small uproar. The King himself sat in -his arm-chair, toasting the bride and bridegroom in company with Count -Sergius of Antheim, whose dignity, somewhat wounded by the trick his -master had played on him, was healing quickly under the balm of King -Rudolf's graciousness. And the King said to Count Sergius: - -"My lord, were you ever in love?" - -"I was, sire," said the Count. - -"So was I," said the King. "Was it with the Countess, my lord?" - -Count Sergius's eyes twinkled demurely, but he answered: - -"I take it, sire, that it must have been with the Countess." - -"And I take it," said the King, "that it must have been with the Queen." - -Then they both laughed; and then they both sighed; and the King, -touching the Count's elbow, pointed out to the terrace of the Palace, on -to which the room where they were opened. For Princess Osra and her -lover were walking up and down together on this terrace. And the two -shrugged their shoulders, smiling. - -"With him," remarked the King, "it will have been with----" - -"The Countess, sire," discreetly interrupted Count Sergius of Antheim. - -"Why, yes, the Countess," said the King, and with a laugh they turned -back to their wine. - -But the two on the terrace also talked. - -"I do not yet understand it," said Princess Osra. "For on the first day -I loved you, and on the second day I loved you, and on the third and the -fourth and every day I loved you. Yet the first day was not like the -second, nor the second like the third, nor any day like any other. And -to-day, again, is unlike them all. Is love so various and full of -changes?" - -"Is it not?" he asked with a smile. "For while you were with the Queen, -talking of I know not what----" - -"Nor I indeed," said Osra hastily. - -"I was with the King, and he, saying that forewarned was forearmed, told -me very strange and pretty stories; of some a report had reached me -before----" - -"And yet you came to Strelsau?" - -"While of others I had not heard." - -"Or you would not have come to Strelsau?" - -The Grand Duke, not heeding these questions, proceeded to his -conclusion. - -"Love, therefore," said he, "is very various. For M. de Mérosailles----" - -"These are old stories," cried Osra, pretending to stop her ears. - -"Loved in one way, and Stephen the smith in another, and--the Miller of -Hofbau in a third." - -"I think," said Osra, "that I have forgotten the Miller of Hofbau. But -can one heart love in many different ways? I know that different men -love differently." - -"But cannot one heart love in different ways?" he smiled. - -"May be," said Osra thoughtfully, "one heart can have loved." But then -she suddenly looked up at him with a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. -"No, no," she cried, "it was not love. It was----" - -"What was it?" - -"The courtiers entertained me till the King came," she said, with a -blushing laugh. And looking up at him again she whispered, "Yet I am -glad that you lingered for a little." - -At this moment she saw the King come out on to the terrace; with him was -the Bishop of Modenstein; and after the Bishop had been presented to the -Grand Duke, the King began to talk with the Grand Duke, while the Bishop -kissed Osra's hand and wished her joy. - -"Madame," said he, "once you asked me if I could make you understand -what love was. I take it you have no need for my lessons now. Your -teacher has come." - -"Yes, he has come," she said gently, looking at the Bishop with -friendliness. "But tell me, will he always love me?" - -"Surely he will," answered the Bishop. - -"And tell me," said Osra, "shall I always love him?" - -"Surely," said the Bishop, again most courteously. "Yet indeed, madame," -he continued, "it would seem almost enough to ask of heaven to love now -and now to be loved. For the years roll on, and youth goes, and even the -most incomparable beauty will yield its blossom when the season wanes; -yet that sweet memory may ever be fresh and young, a thing a man can -carry to his grave and raise as her best monument on his lady's tomb." - -"Ah, you speak well of love," said she. "I marvel that you speak so well -of love. For it is as you say; to-day in the wood it seemed to me that I -had lived enough, and that even Death was but Love's servant as Life is, -and both purposed solely for his better ornament." - -"Men have died because they loved you, madame, and some yet live who -love you," said the Bishop. - -"And shall I grieve for both, my lord--or for which?" - -"For neither, madame; the dead have gained peace, and they who live have -escaped forgetfulness." - -"But would they not be happier for forgetting?" - -"I do not think so," said the Bishop, and bowing low to her again, he -stood back, for he saw the King approaching with the Grand Duke; the -King took him by the arm and walked on with him; but Osra's face lost -the brief pensiveness that had come upon it as she talked with the -Bishop, and turning to her lover, she stretched out her hands to him, -saying: - -"I wish there was a cottage, and that you worked for bread, while I made -ready for you at the cottage, and then ran far, far, far down the road -to watch and wait for your coming." - -"Since a cottage was not too small, a palace will not be too large," -said he, catching her in his arms. - -Thus the heart of Princess Osra found its haven and its rest; for a -month later she was married to the Grand Duke of Mittenheim in the -Cathedral of Strelsau, having utterly refused to take any other place -for her wedding. Again she and he rode forth together through the -Western Gate; and the King rode with them on their way till they came to -the woods. Here he paused and all the crowd that accompanied him stopped -also; and they all waited till the sombre depths of the glades hid Osra -and her lover from their sight. Then, leaving them thus riding together -to their happiness, the people returned home, sad for the loss of their -darling Princess. But for consolation, and that their minds might the -less feel her absence, they had her name often on their lips; and the -poets and storytellers composed many stories about her, not grounded on -fact, as are those which have been here set forth, but the fabric of -idle imaginings, wrought to please the fancy of lovers or to wake the -memories of older folk. So that, if a stranger goes now to Strelsau, he -may be pardoned if it seem to him that all mankind was in love with -Princess Osra. Nay, and those stories so pass all fair bounds that if -you listen to them, you will come near to believing that the Princess -also had found some love for all the men who had given her their love. -Thus to many she is less a woman who once lived and breathed, than some -sweet image under whose name they fondly group all the virtues and the -charms of her whom they love best, each man fashioning for himself from -his own chosen model her whom he calls his Princess. Yet it may be that -for some of them who so truly loved her, her heart had a moment's -tenderness. Who shall tell all the short-lived dreams that come and go, -the promptings and stirrings of a vagrant inclination? And who would pry -too closely into these secret matters? May we not more properly give -thanks to heaven that the thing is as it is? For surely it makes greatly -for the increase of joy and entertainment in the world, and of courtesy -and true tenderness, that the heart of Princess Osra--or of what lady -you may choose, sir, to call by her name--should flutter in pretty -hesitation here and there and to and fro a little, before it flies on a -straight wing to its destined and desired home. And if you be not the -Prince for your Princess, why, sir, your case is a sad one. Yet there -have been many such, and still there is laughter as well as tears in the -tune to which the world spins round:-- - - But still a Ruby kindles in the Vine, - And many a Garden by the Water blows. - -Wear your willow then, as the Marquis de Mérosailles wore his, lightly -and yet most courteously; or like the Bishop of Modenstein (for so some -say), with courage and self-mastery. That is, if wear it you must. You -remember what the Miller of Hofbau thought? - - - - - AN INTERESTING ANNOUNCEMENT. - -The most important work from the pen of ANTHONY HOPE since the -publication of "The Prisoner of Zenda," is to be entitled - -"PHROSO" - -and is to be issued early in 1897. - - -[Illustration] - -IT IS OF THE SAME GENERAL NATURE AS "THE PRISONER OF ZENDA," BUT -SURPASSES THE LATTER IN MANY RESPECTS. - -[Illustration] - -The hero is a young English lord of to-day--a man of the same stamp as -Rudolph Rassendyl; while the heroine is the lady Euphrosyne (Phroso) of -Neopolia and more than equals Flavia in courage, interest and charm. - -[Illustration] - -_Henry B. Weschler has spent nearly a year upon the numerous -illustrations, working from the model and making use of a collection of -Greek costumes, weapons, etc._ - -[Illustration] - -The book will be published at $1.50 and will be well printed and bound; -and an extraordinary success is expected by its publishers. - - FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY, - NEW YORK. - - - - - Transcriber Notes: - -Passages in italics were indicated by _underscores_. - -Passages in bold were indicated by =equal signs=. - -Small caps were replaced with ALL CAPS. - -Throughout the document, the oe ligature was replaced with "oe". - -Throughout the dialogues, there were words used to mimic accents of -the speakers. Those words were retained as-is. - -The illustrations have been moved so that they do not break up -paragraphs and so that they are next to the text they illustrate. Thus -the page number of the illustration might not match the page number in -the List of Illustrations, and the order of illustrations may not be the -same in the List of Illustrations and in the book. - -Errors in punctuation and inconsistent hyphenation were not corrected -unless otherwise noted. - -On page 17, a period was added after "Indeed I also would like to see her." - -On the illustration near page 37, the single quotation mark was replaced -with a double quotation mark. - -On page 57, a period was added after "the only soul alive I love----". - -On page 145, the comma after "Yet she uttered no sound" was replaced -with a period. - -On page 170, a period was added after "he set her on his horse". - -On page 292, "greated" was replaced with "greeted". - -On page 296, "aud" was replaced with "and". - - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's The Heart of Princess Osra, by Anthony Hope - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HEART OF PRINCESS OSRA *** - -***** This file should be named 41438-8.txt or 41438-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/1/4/3/41438/ - -Produced by Suzanne Shell, Ernest Schaal, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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