y
fulcrum. Then, whatever encourages his hopes for Austria, will make him
but the more determined to cling to Mexico. For to succeed in Austria,
he must triumph first in Mexico. He must prove to Europe that he can
reign brilliantly. But if he abandons Mexico, as Jacqueline would
persuade him, what of his prestige then? What of his glory to dazzle the
Austrians? If Your Majesty would suggest to him this phase----"

"And you, meanwhile in Europe?"

"Oh, I shall find his chances good over there, but conditional on his
success here."

"Monsieur Eloin, I find that I must congratulate you. More, I even
regret that you are going, for I dread that some other will replace you
in favor with the Emperor who----"

"Who may not be in accord with our views, Your Majesty would say? But if
you will permit, Madame, I believe I know quite a different man.
Moreover, he has already made an impression on His Highness, during our
brief stay at an hacienda in the Huasteca. Now he is here. I brought him
to commend as a future loyal follower."

"Pray, who is the paragon?"

"A priest, Madame, a German priest, who perhaps would not refuse the
Bishopric of Durango. The hope of that rich see would insure his
devotion. His name is Fischer. He is a clerical, he is an imperialist,
he is resourceful. Our Jacqueline will have much to do to outwit him.
This corpulent padre, Madame, would wheedle the sulky pope himself into
a good humor with us. If I might venture so far as to present him
before----"

"Oh, I suppose so," said Charlotte wearily.

PART SECOND

THE ROSE THAT WAS A THORN IN THE LAND OF ROSES

"The rugged battle of fate, where strength is born."
--Emerson.

CHAPTER I

MEAGRE SHANKS

"... and should a man full of talk be justified?"--_Book of Job_.

At the hotel in the City of Mexico where Driscoll stopped, the entrance
was big enough for a stage coach to drive through. But as to height, it
did not seem any too great for the attenuation of Mr. Daniel Boone, who
therein had propped himself at his ease, delightfully suggesting a
tropical gentleman lounging on a veranda under the live oaks. One
shoulder was impinged on the casing of the archway, from which contact
his spare frame drifted out and downward, to the supporting base of one
boot sole. The other boot crossed it over, and the edge of the toe
rested on the pavement of the Calle de los Plateros, familiarly