th this mental sorrow--that his robust soul, which had always
retained a touch of childishness, was allowing itself to feel weak, as
though it were the soul of any other mortal instead of his, a
monarch's--there was mingled his substantial annoyance about the army
bill. There would be three hundred millions needed: one hundred millions
had already been voted for the increase of the infantry; the other two
hundred, for the artillery, Count Marcella, the minister for war, had
not yet succeeded in obtaining. The majority of the army committee was
against this colossal arming of the frontier-forts; the minister already
expected a violent opposition in the house of deputies and was fully
prepared for his fall. None of the three--Oscar, Myxila or Marcella--was
willing to make the least compromise. And Oscar moreover was prepared to
support his minister to the point of impossibility.

It was at this time that Othomar made General Ducardi teach him the
question, thoroughly, that he studied the staff-charts and military
statistics and reports of the committee, that he followed the
parliamentary discussions from out of his solitude. He held long
deliberations with the general. He had, however, not for months attended
the morning conferences in his father's room. But one morning he dressed
himself--as was now no longer his regular habit--in uniform and sent a
chamberlain to ask Oscar whether the emperor would permit him to be
present at Count Marcella's audience. The emperor shrugged his shoulders
in surprise, but combated his antipathy and sent word to his son that he
might come. So soon as the minister and the imperial chancellor were
with the emperor, Othomar joined them. He had grown still more slender
and the silver frogs of his lancer's uniform barely sufficed to lend a
slight breadth to his slimness; he was pale and a little sunken in the
cheeks; but the glance of his eyes had lost its former feverish
restlessness and recovered its melancholy calm, together with a certain
stiffness and haughtiness. He refrained at first from taking part in the
discussion, let the emperor curse, the chancellor shrug his shoulders
and rely on the impossible, the minister declared that he would never
give in. Then, however, he asked Oscar for leave to interpose a word. He
took a pencil; with a few short, decided lines of demonstration on the
maps, with a few simple, accurate indications on the registers, with a
few figures which he quoted, corr