“‘Does anyone enter that vault except yourself?’

“‘No one,’

“’Will you undertake charge of the priest, seeing that he communicates with none outside?’

“‘Of a surety, Captain,’

“‘Good.  I will pay you well, and that in advance.’”

“This ruffian was never the Prince,” interrupted the Countess firmly.

“I beg you to listen, Hildegunde, and my next sentence will convince you.  The Prince continued: 

“’Not only prevent his communication with others, but do not listen to him yourself.  He will endeavor to persuade you that his name is Father Ambrose, and that he is a monk in good standing with the Benedictine Order.  If he finds you care little for that, he may indeed pretend he is of noble origin himself; that he is Henry von Sayn, and thus endeavor to work on whatever sympathy you may feel for the aristocrats.  But I assure you he is no more a Sayn than I am Prince Roland.’

“‘Indeed, Captain,’ replied the host, ’I have as little liking for an aristocrat as for a monk, so you may depend that I will keep him safe enough until you order his release.’

“Now, my dear Hildegunde, you see there was no mistake on my part.  This young man asserted he knew nothing of me, and indeed, I believed he had forgotten the time of my chaplaincy at the Court, often as he listened to my discourses, yet all the time he knew me, and now, with an effrontery that seems incredible, he showed no hesitation in proving me right when I accosted him as son of the Emperor.  I must in justice, however, admit that he instructed the landlord when he paid him, to treat me with gentleness, and to see that I had plenty to eat and drink.  When three days had expired, I was to be allowed my liberty.

“‘He can do no harm then,’ concluded the Prince, in his talk with the landlord, ‘for by that time I shall have succeeded or failed.’

“I was led down a narrow, broken stairway by the proprietor, and thrust into a dark and damp cellar, partially filled with casks of wine, and there I remained until set at liberty a few days ago.

“I returned at once to the Benedictine Monastery where I had lodged, expecting to find my brethren filled with anxiety concerning me, but such was not the case.  Any one man is little missed in this world, and my comrades supposed that I was invited to the Court, and had forgotten them as I saw they had forgotten me, so I said nothing of my adventure, but mounted my waiting horse and journeyed back to the Castle of Sayn.”

For a long time there was silence between the two, then the younger spoke.

“Do you intend to take any action regarding your unauthorized imprisonment?”

“Oh, no,” replied the forgiving monk.

“Is it certain that this dissolute young man will be chosen Emperor?”

“There is a likelihood, but not a certainty.”

“Would not the election of such a person to the highest position in the State prove even a greater misfortune to the land than the continuance of the present regime, for this young man adds to his father’s vice of drunkenness the evil qualities, of dishonesty, cruelty, ribaldry, and a lack of respect for the privileges both of Church and nobility?”