"You are too modest."
"Oh, no!" replied Anna with animation. "I do not attach any value to beauty."
"But beauty of face indicates beauty of soul," rejoined the King.
Anna lowered her eyes. The King did not leave her.
"After the long solitude imposed on you by your husband," continued Augustus, "the court must appear very strange to you."
"Not at all," replied Anna. "I spent my youth at a court which, although more modest than your Majesty's, gave me just the same idea as to what all courts are."
"And what are they?" inquired the King.
"A well-played comedy," answered the Countess.
"And what rôle do I play in it?"
"Perhaps that of a manager, who is deceived and robbed by every one."