"What have I to do with Madame Kapi's finery?"
"I am coming to the point. It is just because of this finery that her husband is compelled to resort to all kinds of trickery to satisfy the wishes of his lady. Furthermore your Highness is concerned, for such immoderate luxury only makes the contrast the more striking between the simplicity of your Excellency's court life and the insolent splendor of these small kings. And it carries its impression with the strangers who so frequently visit us; the effect of it is already felt; for when the Bavarian ambassador came recently to Aranyos from Ebesfalva I heard him say in flattering tones to Madame Kapi that she was the real Princess of Transylvania."
"Did he say that?" said the Prince, beginning to take great interest in the affair. "Go on with your story. Did he say that Kapi's wife was the real Princess?"
"In point of beauty and bearing she is not worthy to tie the shoe of her Highness, the Princess Apafi, if you were to strip her of the costly jewels that she wears in such numbers she can hardly move."
"Go on, go on."
"Now Kapi informed me one fine day that your Excellency had received command from the Palatine to have me arrested and delivered over."
"I— received command— I never heard a word of it!"
"Unfortunately I believed the story, and thinking that I stood between two fires saw no way of escape except to give over to Kapi my Transylvania estates to prevent their falling into the public treasury. In return for this he gave me a written promise that I should have the property back again as soon as I was in a position to receive it. I then determined to flee to Poland during the period of danger. Kapi gave me two guides who were to lead me over the mountains to the frontier, and at the time he sent word secretly to the guard on the frontier that I was a spy sent by the Roman Emperor, who had been finding out the affairs of Transylvania and would now like to get back unseen. These rascals stopped me on the way, robbed me of all my money and papers, and dragged me off to Karlsburg. There, it is true my innocence was proved, but my money and my papers were lost. And now Kapi asserts that I had actually sold him all my property and had nothing left but this leather pouch."
"Be comforted," replied the angered Prince. "I will give you full satisfaction."
"Your Highness owes it to his own authority," replied Balassa, by way of urging on the Prince. "These nobles act as arbitrarily as if there were nobody in authority over them."