assage across?"

"Ah," said the Prince, "ice! Let me think."

We did so.

"Ice," repeated the Prince thoughtfully.

We realized that we were in the presence not only of a soldier, a
linguist and a diplomat, but of a trained scientist accustomed to exact
research.

"Ice!" repeated the Prince. "Did I see any ice? No."

Nothing could have been more decisive, more final than the clear, simple
brevity of the Prince's "No." He had seen no ice. He knew he had seen
no ice. He said he had seen no ice. Nothing could have been more
straightforward, more direct. We felt assured from that moment that the
Prince had not seen any ice.

The exquisite good taste with which the Prince had answered our question
served to put us entirely at our ease, and we presently found ourselves
chatting with His Highness with the greatest freedom and without the
slightest _gene_ or _mauvaise honte_, or, in fact, _malvoisie_ of any
kind.

We realized, indeed, that we were in the presence not only of a trained
soldier, a linguist and a diplomat, but also of a conversationalist of
the highest order.

His Highness, who has an exquisite sense of humour--indeed, it broke
out again and again during our talk with him--expressed himself as both
amused and perplexed over our American money.

"It is very difficult," he said, "with us it is so simple; six and a
half groner are equal to one and a third gross-groner or the quarter
part of our Rigsdaler. Here it is so complicated."

We ventured to show the Prince a fifty-cent piece and to explain its
value by putting two quarters beside it.

"I see," said the Prince, whose mathematical ability is quite
exceptional, "two twenty-five-cent pieces are equal to one fifty-cent
piece. I must try to remember that. Meantime," he added, with a gesture
of royal condescension, putting the money in his pocket, "I will keep
your coins as instructors"--we murmured our thanks--"and now explain to
me, please, your five-dollar gold piece and your ten-dollar eagle."

We felt it proper, however, to shift the subject, and asked the Prince a
few questions in regard to his views on American politics. We soon found
that His Highness, although this is his first visit to this continent,
is a keen student of our institutions and our political life. Indeed,
His Altitude showed by his answers to our questions that he is as well
informed about our politics as we are ourselves. On being asked what he
viewed as the uppermost tende