ase that contained, as
it were, the condensed wisdom of the age, and was universally believed
by the people. For instance, the aphorism "Know thyself" rose to
popularity when cultured minds turned towards science. In the period to
which this recital belongs the adage "Blood tells" enjoyed universal
acceptance. It was, in fact, that erroneous statement "The King can do
no wrong" done up into tabloid form. From it, too, sprang that
double-worded maxim of the days of chivalry, "_Noblesse oblige_."

In our own time, the two-worded phrase is "Money talks," and if diligent
inquirers probe deeply into the matter, they will find that the
aspirations of the people always correspond with reasonable accuracy to
the meaning of the phrase then in use. Nothing could be more excellent,
for instance, than the proverb "Money talks" as representing two
commercial countries like America and England. In that short sentence is
packed the essence of many other wise and drastic sayings, as, for
instance, "The devil take the hindmost;" for, of course, if money talks,
then the man without it must remain silent, and his place is at the tail
of the procession, where the devil prowls about like a Cossack at the
rear of Napoleon's army.

Confronting each other in that ancient house on the Fahrgasse, we
witness, then, the personification of the two phrases, ancient and
modern: blood represented by the standing lad, and money by the seated
merchant.

"I am Prince Roland, only son of the Emperor," the young man had said,
and he saw at once by the expression on the face of his host that, could
he be convinced of the truth of the assertion, the thousand thalers that
the Prince had demanded would be his on the instant.

For a full minute Roland thought he had succeeded, but as the surprise
died out of the merchant's countenance, there replaced it that mask of
caution which had had so much to do with the building of his fortune.
During their conference Herr Goebel cudgeled his brain, trying to
remember where he had seen this young man before, but memory had roamed
among clerks, salesmen, and industrious people of that sort where,
somehow, this young fellow did not fit in. When Roland suddenly sprung
on him the incredible statement that he was a member of the Imperial
family, the merchant's recollection then turned towards pageants he had
seen, in one of which this young stranger might very well have borne a
part. Blood was beginning to tell.

But no