were influenced more strongly by his desire to reestablish his
position in the kingdom or by the grudge he bore against Mr.
Rassendyll. He loved power and money; dearly he loved revenge
also. No doubt both motives worked together, and he was rejoiced
to find that the weapon put into his hand had a double edge; with
one he hoped to cut his own path clear; with the other, to wound
the man he hated through the woman whom that man loved. In fine,
the Count of Hentzau, shrewdly discerning the feeling that
existed between the queen and Rudolf Rassendyll, set his spies to
work, and was rewarded by discovering the object of my yearly
meetings with Mr. Rassendyll. At least he conjectured the nature
of my errand; this was enough for him. Head and hand were soon
busy in turning the knowledge to account; scruples of the heart
never stood in Rupert's way.

The marriage which had set all Ruritania on fire with joy and
formed in the people's eyes the visible triumph over Black
Michael and his fellow-conspirators was now three years old. For
three years the Princess Flavia had been queen. I am come by now
to the age when a man should look out on life with an eye
undimmed by the mists of passion. My love-making days are over;
yet there is nothing for which I am more thankful to Almighty God
than the gift of my wife's love. In storm it has been my anchor,
and in clear skies my star. But we common folk are free to follow
our hearts; am I an old fool for saying that he is a fool who
follows anything else? Our liberty is not for princes. We need
wait for no future world to balance the luck of men; even here
there is an equipoise. From the highly placed a price is exacted
for their state, their wealth, and their honors, as heavy as
these are great; to the poor, what is to us mean and of no