potentates. But Ambrose answered mildly:

"It may be that the monastery contains wine, my Lord, and doubtless the
wine is good, but during my visit I did not taste it."

Cross-examination at an end, the Lord of Mayence spoke scarcely above a
whisper, a trace of weariness in his manner.

"My Lords," he said, "we have wandered from the subject. The romance by
Father Ambrose is but indifferently interesting, and nothing at all to
the point. Even a child may understand what has happened, for it is
merely a case of mistaken identity, and my sympathy goes out entirely
towards the unknown; a man who knew his own mind, and being naturally
indignant at an interference both persistent and uncalled for, quite
rightly immured the meddler among the casks, probably shrewd enough to
see that this practicer of temperance would not interfere with their
integrity.

"Madam, stand up!"

The Countess seemed inclined to disobey this curt order, but a
beseeching look from her now thoroughly frightened guardian changed her
intention, and she rose to her feet.

"Madam, the greatest honor which it is in the power of this Empire to
bestow upon a woman has been proffered to you, and rejected with
unnecessary heat. I beg therefore, to inform you, that in the judgment
of this Court you are considered unworthy of the exalted position which,
before knowing your true character, it was intended you should fill. The
various calumnies you have poured upon the innocent head of Prince
Roland amount in effect to high treason."

"Pardon, my Lord!" cried the Archbishop of Cologne, "your contention
will hold neither in law nor in fact. High treason is an offense that
can be committed only against the realm as a whole, or against its ruler
in person. Prince Roland is not yet Emperor of Germany, and however much
we may regret the language used in his disparagement, it has arisen
through a misunderstanding quite patent to us all. A good but dreamy man
made a mistake, which, however deplorable, has been put forward with a
sincerity that none of us can question; indeed, it was the intention of
Father Ambrose to keep his supposed knowledge a secret, and you both saw
with what evident reluctance he spoke when commanded to do so by my
colleague of Treves. Whatever justice there may be in disciplining
Father Ambrose, there is none at all for exaggerated censure upon my
lady, the Countess of Sayn, and before pronouncing a further censure I
beg your Lordship to ta