girl murmured over a cold hand. "God pity me;
I am all, all alone!"

The archbishop was kneeling at the foot of the bed. In his heart was the
bitterness of loss and defeat. His dreams of greatness for this clay!
The worldly pomp which was to have attended it! Life was but a warm
breath on the mirror of eternity; for one the mirror was clear again.

The square soon grew quiet; the students and the cuirassiers had met for
the last time. In the throne room shadows and silence prevailed.
Maurice lay upon the cushions, the hilt of the saber still in his hand.
Consciousness had returned, a clear, penetrating consciousness. At the
foot of the throne, he thought, and, mayhap, close to one not visible
to the human eye! What a checkerboard he had moved upon, and now the
checkmate! So long as the pain did not diminish, he was content; a
sudden ease was what he dreaded. Life was struggling to retain its hold.
He did not wish to die; he was young; there were long years to come; the
world was beautiful, and to love was the glory over it all. He wondered
if Beauvais still lay in the road where he had left him. Again he could
see that red saber swinging high; and he shivered.

Half an hour passed, then came the distant murmur of voices, which
expanded into tumult. The victorious army, the brave and gallant army,
had entered the city, and was streaming toward the palaces. Huzzas rose
amid the blaring of bugles. The timorous came forth and added to the
noise. The conquerors trooped into the palace, and Madame the duchess
looked with shining eyes at the throne of her forefathers.

CHAPTER XXVII. WORMWOOD AND LEES

Madame, like a statue of expectancy, riveted her gaze on the throne.
Hers at last! Her dreams were realized. She was no longer a duchess by
patent; she was a queen by right of inheritance; she was now to be a
power among the great. The kingdom of her forefathers was hers. She had
reached the goal without bloodshed; she had been patient, and this was
her reward. The blaze of her ambition dimmed all other stars. Her bosom
heaved, triumph flashed in her beautiful eyes, and a smile parted
her lips. Her first thought had been to establish headquarters in
the parlors of the Continental Hotel, and from there to summon the
archbishop, as a conqueror summons the chief of the vanquished. But no;
she could not wait; above all things she desired the satisfaction of the
eye. The throne of her forefathers!

"Mine!" she murmured.