o that the music which sounded
from the gallery throughout the feast now began to chime in with
songs, when Gabriel Haller entered and hurrying to the Prince,
whispered a few words to him with a serious look. Kemeny stared at
him, then emptied the glass in his hand and laughed loudly.

"Tell the news to the company that they too may know," he called out
to Haller.

He hesitated.

"Out with it; you could hardly say anything more entertaining. Set
your music to it, up there. It is a great joke."

The men all urged Haller to share his joke with them. "It is quite
unimportant," said the man, with a shrug, "Ali Pasha has raised
Michael Apafi to be Prince."

"Ha, ha, ha!"--The laughter went round the table. The Prince turned
with absurd affectation first to one and then to another of the
company. "Does any one of you know this man? Has anybody ever heard of
him before?"

Banfy's wife clung with blanched face to her husband's arm, while he,
leaning his elbows on the table said, not without annoyance; "I am a
distant connection of the poor wretch. In fact, he married a relative
of my wife. He was a long time in slavery to the Tartars, and the
Turks, who are now angry with us, have undoubtedly set him free on
condition that he should allow himself to be made prince. He must have
lost his wits entirely."

Again the men laughed loudly.

"We will crown him at once," said Kemeny, sarcastically, throwing back
his head.

"That has been done already," said Haller.

"Where? By whom?" questioned the good-natured Prince, with contracted
brow.

"In Klein-Selyk, by the State Convention."

Kemeny indicated by a motion of the hand and uplifted eyebrow that he
did not fully understand this reply.

"Who was present? Surely all the men of importance in the country are
here with us."

"There were present Stephen Apafi, Nalaczy, Daczo and others, a couple
of hundred Szekler nobility."

"Well, we will count them up as soon as we are through with other
affairs," said the Prince, contemptuously. "Give Gabriel Haller a
chair."

"They are not waiting for us, but are already coming against us; they
are in Schassburg now."

"I suppose they will drive us out,--Michael Apafi with his two
hundred Szeklers," said Kemeny, laughing.

Wenzinger now arose and said in soldierly fashion; "Does your Highness
wish me to have the army called together? we have eight thousand armed
men. If it pleases your Highness, we will scatter these peopl