. "A fine day, a fine day for the house of
Auersperg!"

"And a devilish bad one for the houses of Fitzgerald and Carewe. Woman's
ambition, coupled with her deceit, is the root of all evil; money is
simply an invention of man to protect himself from her encroachments.
Eve was ambitious and deceitful; all women are her daughters. When the
pages of history grow dull--"

"Time puts a maggot in my lady's brain," supplemented the Colonel. "It
is like a row of dominoes. The power behind the throne, the woman behind
the power; an impulse moves the woman, and lo! how they clatter down.
But without woman, history would be poor reading. The greatest battles
in the world, could we but see behind, were fought for women. Men are
but footnotes, and unfortunately history is made up of footnotes. But it
is a fine thing to be a footnote; that is my ambition.

"Ah, if you but knew what a pleasure it is for an old man like me to
have a finger in the game time plays! To meddle with affairs, directly
or indirectly! Kingdoms are but judy shows, kings and queens but
puppets; but we who pull the strings--Ah, that is it! To play a game of
chess with crowns!"

"There are exceptions; Madame seems to hold the strings in this
instance."

"Madame follows my advice in all she does."

Maurice opened his eyes at this statement.

"Would you believe an old man like me could lay such a train? All this
was my idea. It was difficult to get Madame to agree with my views.
War? I am not afraid of it; I am suspicious of it. One day your friend
returned a personal letter of Madame's having written across it, `I
laugh at you.' It was very foolish. No man laughs at Madame more than
once. She will, one day, return this letter to him. A crown, a fine
revenge, in one fell swoop."

"She will ruin him utterly?"

"Utterly."

"Have you any idea what sort of man my friend is?"

"He lacks the polish of a man of affairs, and he surrenders too easily."

"He will never surrender--Madame."

"How?"

"You remember his father; he will prove his father's son, every inch of
him. O, my Colonel, the curtain has only risen. One fine morning your
duchy will wake up without a duchess."

"What do you imply--an abduction?" The Colonel laughed.

"That is my secret."

"And the pretty countess?" banteringly.

"It was rather bad taste in Madame. It was putting love and patriotism
to questionable purposes. I am a gentleman."

"It was out of consideration for you; Madam