“‘I dare and I do,’ eh?” said Kearns reflectively. “Very appropriate!”
“Ah,” exclaimed General Mainwarren, “see the party passing opposite to us. He with the white hair, slightly in advance of the rest, with the Star of the Empire upon his breast, is His Grace, the Duke of Marquanna, Chancellor of the Realm, often styled the American ‘Warwick,’ since he lent such powerful hand in the establishment and formation of the Empire. He takes his title from his beautiful country seat, bearing the family name of Marquanna. His arms are a gerfalcon, rising over an argent field, with the motto: ‘Gold is tried by Fire, but Men are tried by Gold.’”
“An excellent motto, too!” commented Kearns. “‘Men are tried by gold!’ eh? Well; the handsome and able ancestor of this particular Duke could certainly have left behind some striking illustrations of that fact had he been pleased to do so.”
“The Duke,” continued General Mainwarren, “is growing somewhat old and infirm and, while he yields not one jot of his power and authority, certain of the more arduous routine duties of his office of Chancellor he delegates to the Vice-Chancellor, Lord Ashley, who is there on his left hand. You are already acquainted with him.”
“What manner of man is Lord Ashley?” questioned Kearns. “He interests me.”
“Lord Ashley, Vice-Chancellor and Master of the Imperial Household,” replied General Mainwarren, “is a soldier who earned a reputation for daring and dash during the early part of the late war with Russia. He was severely wounded at the battle of Pedrofski and retired during the rest of the campaign. His actual military rank is Captain of the Imperial Guards—a position which carries with it the brevet rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.”
“Who are these Guards?” asked Kearns.
“They are His Majesty’s body-guard, and consist of three regiments,” said the General. “They are attached to the different imperial palaces. The men are all picked for their splendid physique, and the uniforms are magnificent.”
“So I see,” assented Kearns, his eyes still following the Duke of Marquanna’s party. “And who are the four persons behind the Duke?”
“The taller one of the first two,” answered General Mainwarren, “is the Earl of Vandergilt, one of the heads of the great Transportation Trust, and the smaller, stouter man at his side, with the white side whiskers, the rubicund countenance and nose like the beak of the eagle is Sir Mancey Carew, a great legal light, raconteur, and right-hand man of the Earl. See how his eyes twinkle and his lips purse; he is about to tell a story!”