Up to this point Roland had been merely a Prince of the Empire; now, to all practical purposes, he was heir-apparent to the throne.  This distinction was delicately indicated by Mayence, who asked the attendant to bring forward a chair, and then requested the young man to seat himself.  Roland had supposed the ceremonies at an end, but it was soon evident that something further remained, for the three venerable heads were again in juxtaposition, and apparently there was some whispered difference as to the manner of procedure.  Then Cologne, as the youngest of the three, was prevailed upon to act as spokesman, and with a smile he regarded the young man before he began.

“I reside farther than my two colleagues from your fair, if turbulent, city of Frankfort, and perhaps that is one reason why I know little of the town and its ways from personal observation.  You are a young man who, I may say, has greatly commended himself to us all, and so in whatever questions I may put, you will not, I hope, imagine that there is anything underneath them which does not appear on the surface.”

Roland drew a long breath, and some of the color left his face.

“What in the name of Heaven is coming now,” he said to himself, “that calls for so ominous a prelude?  It must be something more than usually serious.  May the good Lord give me courage to face it!”

But outwardly he merely inclined his head.

“We have all been young ourselves, and I trust none of us forget the temptations, and perhaps the dangers, that surround youth, especially when highly placed.  I am told that Frankfort is a gay city, and doubtless you have mixed, to some extent at least, in its society.”  Here the Archbishop paused, and, as he evidently expected a reply, Roland spoke: 

“I regret to say, my Lord, that my opportunities for social intercourse have hitherto been somewhat limited.  Greatly absorbed in study, there has been little time for me to acquire companions, much less friends.”

“What your Highness says, so far from being a drawback, as you seem to imagine, is all to the good.  It leaves the future clear of complications that might otherwise cause you embarrassment.”  Here the Archbishop smiled again, and Roland found himself liking the august prelate.  “It was not, however, of men that I desired to speak, but of women.”

“Oh, is that all?” cried the impetuous youth.  “I feared, my Lord, that you were about to treat of some serious subject.  So far as women are concerned, I am unacquainted with any, excepting only my mother.”

At this the three prelates smiled in differing degrees; even the stern lips of Mayence relaxing at the young man’s confident assumption that consideration of women was not a matter of importance.

“Your Highness clears the ground admirably for me,” continued Cologne, “and takes a great weight from my mind, because I am entrusted by my brethren with a proposal which I have found some difficulty in setting forth.  It is this.  The choice of an Empress is one of the most momentous questions that an Emperor is called upon to decide.  In all except the highest rank personal preference has much to do with the selection of a wife, but in the case of a king do you agree with me that State considerations must be kept in view?”