'All your suppositions,' continued Arwed, 'are founded upon the hypothesis that the queen will persevere in maintaining her hereditary right. But she will not persevere. As soon as it clearly appears to her that she can purchase the crown only at this price, she will become an elective queen, or charity queen, or whatever else it may please the diet to name her.'

'Do you think so?' asked Conradi with alarm.

'Has she not already yielded the sovereignty?' asked Arwed. 'She who can lend herself to become a state puppet, to be decked out with crown and sceptre on festival days, that the people may imagine they have a queen, will, not be obstinate upon minor points. Let her but retain the title of queen, and that will be enough for a vain-glorious woman.'

'Destroy not so cruelly my last air-built castle, Arwed!' said Georgina, stepping out of her chamber, her eyes red with weeping. 'I have enjoyed to-day the first cheerful moment for months, through the intelligence brought me by the good Conradi, and your contradiction of it cuts me to the heart.'

'Do not lose courage yet, baroness!' said Conradi, consolingly. 'Notwithstanding the captain despairs of every thing, the anchor of my hopes still holds fast in this tempest. Let the plenum plenorum be only once held, and then will Gyllenstierna hold another language.'

'Then may we very soon expect their decision,' said Arwed. 'The plenum plenorum is already organized. May its deliberations result differently from my anticipations!'

'Organized to-day?' asked Conradi with great astonishment. 'I thought that to-day would be occupied in examining credentials and establishing forms of procedure.'

'That had been previously done,' answered Arwed. 'I know for a certainty, by means of my father's secretary, that the full action of the diet commences to-day.'

'Then count Tessin has not dealt fairly with me,' murmured Conradi, shaking his head. 'Probably he wished to lull me to sleep and find out what further means might be at my command. That is not cavalier-like. When the lion creeps and watches like the cat, it becomes only a common animal.'

A long pause ensued, during which each one was occupied with his own thoughts. Georgina leaned her head upon the back of her chair, whilst her breast labored with the anguish of fearful expectation. Arwed stood there with his arms folded, casting glances of love and compassion upon the maiden. The little Magdalena, unaware of the importance of the moment, was innocently playing with his sword knot; while Conradi had stepped to the window, and was listening attentively to every sound from without.