He had been handsome enough in those days, this Leopold of Osia, gay and eager, possessing an indefinable charm which endeared him to women and made him respected of men.

To have known him then, the wildest stretch of fancy would never have placed him on this puppet throne, surrounded by enemies, menaced by his adopted people, rudderless and ignorant of statecraft.
"Fate is the cup," the diplomat mused, "and the human life the ball, and it's toss, toss, toss, till the ball slips and falls into eternity." Aloud he said, "Your Majesty seems to be well occupied." "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.