BY
BERNARD CAPES
AUTHOR OF “A JAY OF ITALY” ETC.
LONDON
T. FISHER UNWIN
ADELPHI TERRACE
1910
(All rights reserved.)
“Halt!” The voice of an officer rang out in the heavy twilight, andwith a sudden scream of brakes and jangle of harness the cavalcadecame to a stand.
“Tell the Herr von Gastein his Majesty desires to speak with him.” Thename ran up the long line, quick and sharp, like a rattle of musketry,and passed out of hearing of him who had uttered it. “Tell the HerrCaptain to come at once.”
The Herr Captain was already, on the word, spurring back from the headof the cortège, which was of royal extent. It stood upon a flat roadin a flat country, covering more ground than and including almost asmany human souls as a modern mail-train. There was the King’s coachfor principal item—a veritable little room slung on straps and drawnby eight horses; and there were carriages—seven or eight, and eachholding as many people—for his retinue, and baggage-wagons, and atroop of fifty sabres to escort the whole. It took so much, or more,to carry this little corpulent apoplectic on his annual visit toHerrenhausen, whither he had already travelled to wit