‘The Prince was an utter stranger to me; I had heard much about him, but had never seen him. On being ushered into his bureau, I beheld a small-made, delicate-looking man, with a remarkable and striking face. The mouth was small and firm; the nose prominent; the eyes deep-set, and of exceptional brilliancy; the eyebrows were thin, but well defined; and the forehead, in proportion to the small, sharply-cut features, seemed enormous. He was slightly bald in front, and such hair as he had was turning gray. His face was clean-shaven. When his lips parted, he revealed a splendid set of teeth, absolutely without a flaw.
‘As I looked upon this remarkable man, everything I had heard about his personal character seemed to me to be more than confirmed. It was impossible to study the mouth without feeling that it was capable of uttering cruel, cutting, bitter things. It was no less impossible not to understand that the small, brilliant eyes could peer into men’s brains, and almost read their secret thoughts. Every line of his face, every feature, every glance, indicated an iron, a relentless, will; and when he spoke, the smooth, incisive tones confirmed this. His hands were small, well shaped, but sinewy, as were his wrists. This was no doubt due to many years’ practice with the sword and the foil. He was a noted swordsman, had fought many duels, and had always succeeded in either severely wounding or killing his man. Physically and mentally he could be a deadly antagonist; one glance at him was sufficient to determine that fact, for fact it was.
‘He was perusing a document as I entered. He glanced over the edge of the paper, motioned me to be seated, and went on reading.
‘For ten minutes the silence was unbroken, save for the rustle of the paper as he turned over the leaves. Only a man of very pronounced characteristics could have remained silent so long under such circumstances.
‘He finished his manuscript, folded it up, and placed it in a safe. Then he condescended to address me.
‘“You have the reputation of being able to unravel mysteries when other men fail?” he commenced.
‘I could only bow to this.
‘He drew an elegant little penknife from his pocket, and began to trim his nails, but I noted that all the time his piercing eyes were fixed on me.
‘“You are reliable?” was his next remark.
‘It was put in the form of a question. In other men the remark might have seemed commonplace. Coming from the Prince’s lips, it was full of meaning; it even covered a menace. That is to say, it carried with it the implication, “Woe betide you if you are not!”