Styria may go at my death to Albert of Austria, or to his issue." "No, no! Max," I cried.

He ignored my interruption.
"Along with the countless duties that fall to the lot of a prince are a few that one owes to himself as a man.

There are some sacrifices a man has no right to inflict upon himself, even for the sake of his family, his ancestors, or his state." He paused for the space of a minute, and, dropping his words slowly, continued in a low voice vibrant with emotion: "There is but one woman, Karl, whom I may marry with God's pleasure.

Her, I may not even think upon; she is as far from me as if she were dead.

I must sacrifice her for the sake of the obligations and conditions into which I was born; but--" here he hesitated, rose slowly to his feet, and lifted his hands above his head, "but I swear before the good God, who, in His wisdom, inflicted the curse of my birth upon me, that I will marry no other woman than this, let the result be what it may." He sank back into the chair and fell forward on the table, burying his face in his arms.