“‘In any event, your Grace cannot dine before five o’clock.’
“‘In heaven’s name, do not be obstinate, but let us have dinner at four.’
“‘But at four o’clock, your Grace, what I am expecting will not have arrived. Your Grace, I wait for a bottle of wine.’
“‘A bottle of wine! Explain yourself, sir; the thing begins to interest me.’
“‘Listen, then, your Grace; his Majesty, the King of Sweden—I beg pardon, the Count Haga, I should have said—drinks nothing but Tokay.’
“‘Well, am I so poor as to have no Tokay in my cellar? If so, I must dismiss my butler.’
“‘Not so, your Grace; on the contrary, you have about sixty bottles.’
“‘Well, do you think Count Haga will drink sixty bottles with his dinner?’
“‘No, your Grace; but when Count Haga first visited France when he was only prince royal, he dined with the late king, who had received twelve bottles of Tokay from the Emperor of Austria. You are aware that the Tokay of the finest vintages is reserved exclusively for the cellar of the emperor, and that kings themselves can only drink it when he pleases to send it to them.’
“‘I know it.’