ise his true nature. He would not have
been an _abbe malgre lui_, and he has, on the contrary, the most
ecclesiastical soul I know. Rest assured, your Excellency, that this
_canaille_ of a woman is determined to be his ruin, for she is a
baptized serpent,--one of those creatures more dangerous to men than the
devil himself."

The Ambassador smiled agreeably, put his tongue in his cheek, and nodded
his head with a movement which might have passed equally well for a
sympathetic reproof or sorrowful acquiescence.

"What will Parflete do?" he asked.

Mudara threw up his dark, sinewy, and powerful hands in genuine despair.

"He is the vice of the situation," he exclaimed; "at the very mention of
divorce his teeth chatter, he gets a spasm of the heart, and he begins
to gabble like a sick monk about his soul and his conscience. Believe
me, we are dealing with a madman. How can any end be attained in his
present state of irresolution?"

"Happily it is not my business either to arrange or propose the means."

The sly glance of the Prince encountered the sly glance of the Agent.

"That is well understood, your Excellency," said Mudara, with the
inimitable accent of respect. "Let good be done and let evil be avoided,
is the sum total of the Government's desires. But whenever I can see
clearly, I shall know how to act. When right and truth are plain, time
and experience are the best allies. We have at least sufficient evidence
to institute divorce proceedings. If Parflete will not file a
petition----"

"You can do nothing. Unless you can be perfectly sure that he will
follow some reasonable course, he ought to be saved from himself."

"Yes, he ought to be saved from himself. Something in my nature makes me
follow a certain kind of man as hounds track game. What is now to be
done is to meet force with force."

"An armed diplomacy is good," said d'Alchingen.

"And also a scheme of alternatives," replied Mudara.

"I confess I very much prefer working through Castrillon, if possible,
than de Hausee. Disraeli has implicit faith in this de Hausee. It seems
taken for granted that he is ascetic and intellectual. He is altogether
in the clouds, whereas Castrillon is wholly in touch with--with
humanity."

"But de Hausee, like the Cardinal de Retz, fought duels when he was a
student. If I cannot work upon Parflete's jealousy, we must see what can
be done in that direction with de Hausee. We hear much of the soul's
awakening! W