"This picture bears a striking resemblance to one whom I once knew."
"Who is the party?"
"The son of the Prince of ——."
"But you said you had never seen the original."
"I never did behold the original of that picture. The prince's son is dead. He has been dead several years. He was much older than the original of this picture."
Our hero was a quick and rapid thinker and he asked:
"Is it not possible that the original of that picture is the grandson of the present Prince of ——?"
"I cannot tell; the resemblance is certainly very remarkable."
"Tell me about the prince and his son."