marriage of our aristocracy, squirearchy, and merchants.

'Here it is not so,' he said; 'and no democratic rageings will make it
so. Rank, with us, is a principle. I suppose you have not read the
Professor's book? It is powerful--he is a powerful man. It can do no
damage to the minds of persons destined by birth to wield
authority--none, therefore, to the princess. I would say to you--avoid
it. For those who have to carve their way, it is bad. You will enter your
Parliament, of course? There you have a fine career.'

He asked me what I had made of Chancellor von Redwitz.

I perceived that Prince Ernest could be cool and sagacious in repairing
what his imprudence or blindness had left to occur: that he must have
enlightened his daughter as to her actual position, and was most
dexterously and devilishly flattering her worldly good sense by letting
it struggle and grow, instead of opposing her. His appreciation of her
intellect was an idolatry; he really confided in it, I knew; and this
reacted upon her. Did it? My hesitations and doubts, my fantastic
raptures and despair, my loss of the power to appreciate anything at its
right value, revealed the madness of loving a princess.

There were preparations for the arrival of an important visitor. The
margravine spoke of him emphatically. I thought it might be her
farcically pompous way of announcing my father's return, and looked
pleased, I suppose, for she added, 'Do you know Prince Hermann? He spends
most of his time in Eberhardstadt. He is cousin of the King, a wealthy
branch; tant soit peu philosophe, a ce qu'on dit; a traveller. They say
he has a South American complexion. I knew him a boy; and his passion is
to put together what Nature has unpieced, bones of fishes and animals. Il
faut passer le temps. He adores the Deluge. Anything antediluvian excites
him. He can tell us the "modes" of those days; and, if I am not very much
misinformed, he still expects us to show him the very latest of these.
Happily my milliner is back from Paris. Ay, and we have fossils in our
neighbourhood, though, on my honour, I don't know where--somewhere; the
princess can guide him, and you can help at the excavations. I am told he
would go through the crust of earth for the backbone of an
idio--ilio-something-saurus.'

I scrutinized Prince Hermann as rarely my observation had dwelt on any
man. He had the German head, wide, so as seemingly to force out the ears;
honest, ready, interested e