"Yes," replied the king, smiling. "I am making crowns and
scratching them out again-- usurping the gentle pastime of their
most Christian Majesties, the confederation. A pretty bauble is
a crown, indeed--at a distance. It is a fine thing to wear one--
in a dream. But to possess one in the real, and to wear it day
by day with the eternal fear of laying it down and forgetting
where you put it, or that others plot to steal it, or that you
wear it dishonestly--Well, well, there are worse things than a
beggar's crust."

"No one is honest in this world, save the brute," said the
diplomat, touching the dog with his foot. "Honesty is
instinctive with him, for he knows no written laws. The gold we
use is stamped with dishonesty, notwithstanding the beautiful
mottoes; and so long as we barter and sell for it, just so long
we remain dishonest. Yes, you wear your crown dishonestly but
lawfully, which is a nice distinction. But is any crown worn
honestly? If it is not bought with gold, it is bought with lies
and blood. Sire, your great fault, if I may speak, is that you
haven't continued to be dishonest. You should have filled your
private coffers, but you have not done so, which is a strange
precedent to establish. You should have increased taxation, but
you have diminished it; you should have forced your enemy's hand
four years ago, when you ascended the throne, but you did not;
and now, for all you know, his hand may be too strong. Poor,
dishonest king! When you accepted this throne, which belongs to
another, you fell as far as possible from moral ethics. And now
you would be honest and be called dull, and dream, while your
ministers profit and smile behind your back. I beg your