arging her with lese majeste. When, however, his majesty intercedes
most graciously the your lady is promptly released, and restored to
freedom.

But the constable's fee that she must pay--in earthly power, not even a
king can save her from it, for that is a "trinkgeld" and she pays it
from the royal purse.

On the evening of the king's arrival I accompanied my father to the
castle where the reception royal took place. There were no ladies
present on this occasion. The king was, as has been said, totally
blind, but indulged in the curious habit of feigning to have an
unimpaired eye sight and pretended to admire scenic objects which had
been pointed out to him beforehand as though he really saw them,
carrying out this illusion to the extent of ridiculousness. It is said
that at a hunt-meet a courtier incurred his royal displeasure through
these incautious words: "Sire, you shot this hare from a next to
impossible distance, condescend to feel how fat it is!"

As the poor man failed to say "See how fat," he fell promptly into
disfavor, which is equivalent to being blacklisted in our country.

The king's general behaviour suggests that he deemed his blindness not
merely to be a most regrettable misfortune, but that he regarded it as
a deserved culpable affliction.

When a small boy I was told that he lost his eyesight through an act of
charity. He drew a purse from his pocket, intending to give a beggar an
aim when his horse shied violently, causing the steel-beaded tassels of
the purse to injure his eyes.

Later, as I grew older, I heard a different tale:

The king as a student, then being crown-prince of the realm, found
pleasure in looking at the wine which was red, and at a pair of eyes
that were blue and shone like heavenly stars, oh so gently and
tenderly! But he looked, alas, once too often--into eyes that blazed
with lurid flames of hate and fury--the terrible eyes of the green-eyed
monster. There came a flash as of lightning with a loud report and he
saw stars that fell fiercely fast until they vanished under a cloud of
awful gloom in the hopeless despair of perpetual night; but the
glorious luminous star of day for him shone not again, nevermore, on
earth! To this day I know not which version tells the truth.

The castle's grand hall was overflowing with people. I followed in the
wake of father, who had fallen into line, advancing gradually toward
the august presence of a crowned king. Nervously father aw