“Yes, that’s it,” said the King. “I remember all now. But do you believe, Leoni, as a man who has long studied the secrets of nature, and the mysteries of life, that there can be such virtue in precious stones that they can influence our lives?”
“Yes, your Majesty,” said the doctor solemnly; “and everything goes to prove it the wide world through; amongst the greatest and most civilised down to the most savage nations these talismanic gems have been preserved and treasured up. Prosperity and safety of life have always accompanied their possession; misfortune and destruction their loss.”
“Well,” said the King thoughtfully, “I don’t think that I believe it. It sounds to me like an old woman’s tale.”
“If your Majesty would read and study the history of the past—”
“I haven’t time,” said the King. “But look here; do you mean to tell me that this present Henry—what is he—the Eighth?—of England believes all this?”
“Yes, your Majesty, and proves it by treasuring up the ruby that by right is yours.”
“Then you think that the holding of this stone, reft from our crown, had something to do with the hold of these English upon our fair domains of France?”
“Certainly, your Majesty, and moreover, I hold that it is your sovereign duty to restore it to its place.”
“How?” said the King, and his eyes rested upon those of the two young men, whose intent and watchful faces told how they were drinking in with intense interest the subject that was being discussed.
“That, your Majesty,” said the doctor gravely, “is what I am here to urge upon you.”