"Forward ceaselessly, for aught I care, so long as the stomach and the
feet are sound!" replied the Queen, raising her hand to the high lace
ruff, which oppressed the breathing of one so accustomed to the outdoor
air. "But when, like him, a man must give up deer-stalking and at every
movement makes a wry face and can scarcely repress a groan--it might move
a stone to pity!--he ought to choose another motto. Persuade him to do
so, Quijada, if you are really his friend."

The smile with which the nobleman listened to this request plainly showed
the futility of the demand.

The Queen noticed it, threw her arm aloft as if she were hurling a
hunting spear, and exclaimed "I'm not easily deceived, Luis. Whether you
could or not, the will is lacking. You shun the attempt! Because you
are young yourself, and can still cope with the bear and wild boar, you
like the motto, which will probably lead to new wars, and thereby to
fresh renown. But, alas! my poor, poor brother, who--how long ago it
is!--could once have thrown even you upon the sand, what can he do, with
this accursed gout? And besides, what more can the Emperor Charles gain,
since there is no chance of obtaining the sovereignty of the world, of
which he once dreamed? He must learn to be content! Surely at his age!
It is easy to calculate, for his life began with the century, and this is
its forty-sixth year. Of course, with you soldiers the years of warfare
count double, and he--Duke Alba said so--was born a general. One need
not be able to reckon far in order to number how many months he has spent
in complete peace. And then he attained his majority at fifteen, and
with what weighty cares the man of the 'plus ultra' has loaded his
shoulders since that time! You, and many others at the court, had still
more to do, but, Luis, one thing, and it is the hardest burden, you were
all spared. I know it. It is called responsibility. Compared with