“But impractical, a dreamer, I have been told,” she supplemented.
“Impractical in some ways, perhaps,” Selden conceded; “a little of a fanatic, as all reformers must be, to get anything done. But an electrical man—full of fire and energy, discouraged by nothing. He is greatly handicapped by the poverty of the country and the ignorance of the people. They are having a hard time to get along, but at least they have got rid of the mediæval dynasty which kept them in slavery for two hundred years.”
“Was it as bad as that?” she asked.
“The old king meant well enough, and had his good moments, but he was an absolute despot. Nobody could question his will—there was nothing to hope for. Now they are free.”
“And happy of course?” she commented, her lip curling a little.
“It is difficult to be happy on an empty stomach. If Jeneski had two or three million dollars....”
“But since he has not?”
“Well, they must go to work and earn it, and be glad they have something to work for and look forward to. There are a lot of royalists left, of course,” Selden added, “who lament the good old days, and would like to see Jeneski overthrown. There is the old nobility and all the hangers-on who made money out of the court, and who are now as poor as anybody.”
“So some day, perhaps, there will be a restoration?”
“No, I don’t think so. Restorations are expensive. The royalists haven’t any money, and the old king is quite bankrupt. I admire him for one thing, though.”