Without hesitation, Klindworth replied, raising his eyes from the ground for a moment, and fixing them on the emperor:--
"Indecision, your majesty!"
The emperor looked at him with embarrassment.
"And you fear this error may be committed?" he asked.
"I fear it has already been committed," returned Klindworth, quietly.
"By whom?"
"Wherefore has your majesty chosen me for this high honour?" asked Klindworth, instead of replying to the question. "Your majesty shall hear my plain humble opinion, though its weight be but as a grain of sand in the balance. You have yourself not decided," and he assumed a more humble and modest manner than before.
The emperor smiled. "You know how to read the thoughts of others; nothing is safe from your key. But granting that I have not decided, this is no fault; the time for decision has only just arrived."
"Does your imperial majesty command me to speak without any reserve?" asked Klindworth.
"Assuredly," said the emperor, adding with some haughtiness of manner, "I certainly did not send for you to indulge in idle conversation."