"Ah, bah! the French people have no hearts. They have nothing but imagination. There is but one man in France who has genuine sensibility—and that one is their poor, timid young king. Louis has a heart, but that heart I shall never win. Heaven grant that the queen have power to make it hers!"
"The queen? If Louis has a heart, it surely cannot be insensible to the charms of that lovely young queen!"
"It ought not to be, for she deserves the love of the best of men. But things are not as they should be here. I have learned that in the few hours of my visit to Versailles. The queen has bitter enemies, and you and I, Rosenberg, must try to disarm them."
"What can I do, count, in this matter?"
"You can watch and report to me. Swear to me, as an honest man, that you will conceal nothing you hear to the queen's detriment or to mine."
"I swear it, count."
"Thank you, my friend. Let us suppose that our mission is to free my sister from the power of a dragon, and restore her to her lover. You are my trusty squire, and together we shall prevail over the monster, and deliver the princess."
At that moment a knocking was heard at the door. It was opened, and an elegant cavalier, with hat and sword, entered the room, with a sweeping bow. The emperor stepped politely forward, and inquired his business.
The magnificent cavalier waved his hat, and with an air of proud consciousness, replied:
"I was requested to give my advice regarding the arrangement of a gentleman's hair."