was just eighteen years
old. The present King was not yet married, but there were rumours
of a love-match with a Spanish princess. He was a boyish king, it
seemed, but he played his royal part with intense enjoyment and
dignity, and had restored, to the delight of this essentially
romantic and imaginative people, most of the glories of the
eighteenth-century court, without its scandals. Certainly France
was returning to its old chivalry, and thence to its old power.

Next there was the Cardinal Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal
Guinet, a very old ecclesiastic, very high in the counsels of
the Church, who would almost certainly have been elected Pope at
the last vacancy if it had not been for his age. He was an
"intellectual," it seemed, and, among other things, was one of
the first physicists of Europe. He had been ordained
comparatively late in life.

Thirdly there was the Archbishop's secretary--Monsignor Allet--a
rising man and an excellent diplomatist.

There were two or three more, but Father Jervis was content with
scarcely more than recounting their names. The King's brother,
and the heir-presumptive, was something of a recluse and seldom
appeared at court. Of the German Emperor, Monsignor had already
learned, it seemed, sufficient.

In the middle of these instructions, the door suddenly opened,
and an ecclesiastic hurried in with outstretched hands, and
apologies in a torrent of Latin.

("Monsignor Allet," whispered Father Jervis, as he appeared.)

Monsignor Masterman stood bewildered. The dilemma had not
occurred to him; but Father Jervis, it seemed, was prepared. He
said a rapid sentence to the secretary, who turned, bowing, and
immediately began in English without the trace of any accent.

"I perfectly understand--perfectly indeed. These doctors rule
us with a rod of iron, don't they? It'll be arranged directly.
We all talk English here; and I'll say a word to His Eminence.
The very same thing happened to himself a year or two back. He
was forbidden to talk in French. It is astonishing, is it not?
the subtlety of these doctors! And yet how natural. No two
languages have the same mental reaction, after all. They're
perfectly right."

Monsignor caught a glimmering of what he was at. But he thought
he had better be cautious.

"I'm afraid I shall give a lot of trouble," he murmured, looking
doubtfully at this sparkling-eyed, blue-chinned young man, who
spoke with such rapidity.

"Not in the least, I a