en, no doubt,
but with an iron menace behind them?"

"True, true," muttered Roland.

"Two of these nobles have already arrived, and are housed with the
Archbishop of Mayence. The third is expected here within three days;
four days at the farthest. Mayence will immediately convene the
Electoral Court, when the Count Palatine, with the two Archbishops, may
be astonished to find that for the first time in history, the whole
seven are present in the Wahlzimmer. Mayence will ask Cologne to make
the nomination, and he will put forward the name of Prince Roland. On a
vote being taken the Prince will be in a minority of one. Mayence then
shows his hand, nominating the Grand Duke Karl, who will be elected by a
majority of one. Then may ensue a commotion in the Wahlzimmer, and
accusations of bad faith, but remember that Cologne and Treves are taken
completely by surprise. They cannot communicate with their commanders,
for the three thousand troops which Mayence already has within Frankfort
will have quietly surrounded the Town Hall that contains the Election
Chamber, and Mayence's seven thousand men from the forest are pouring
through the southern gate into the city, making straight for the Romer.
Meanwhile the Grand Duke Karl, a man well known to the populace of
Frankfort, appears on the balcony of the Kaisersaal, and is loudly
acclaimed the new Emperor."

"Ah, Greusel, forgive my attitude of doubt. It is all as plain now as
the Cathedral tower. Still, there will be no civil war. Treves and
Cologne will gather up their troops and go home, once more defeated by a
man cleverer and more unscrupulous than both of them put together. They
are but infants in his hands."

"Have you any suggestion to make?" asked Greusel.

"No; there is nothing to be done. You see, the young Prince has no
following. He is quite unknown in Frankfort. His name can arouse no
enthusiasm, and, all in all, that strikes me as a very good thing. The
Grand Duke Karl is popular, and I believe he will make a very good
Emperor."

"You mean, Roland, that the Archbishop of Mayence will make a very good
ruler, for he will be the real king."

"Well, after all, Joseph, there is much to be said in favor of Mayence.
He is a man who knows what he wants, and, what is more, gets it, and
that, after all is the main thing in life. If any one could sway the
Archbishop so that he put his great talents to the benefit of his
country, instead of thinking only of himself, wh