lly and not to go into history. At any other time I shall
be--"

"It will please and not tire me. I am deeply interested. Pray go
on," Lorry hastened to say, for he was interested more than the Count
suspected.

"Fifteen years ago Prince Ganlook, of this principality,--the father
of our princess,--became incensed over the depredations of the Axphain
soldiers who patrolled our border on the north. He demanded restitution
for the devastation they had created, but was refused. Graustark is a
province comprising some eight hundred square miles of the best land in
this part of the world. Our neighbor is smaller in area and population.
Our army was better equipped but not so hardy. For several months the
fighting in the north was in our favor, but the result was that our
forces were finally driven back to Edelweiss, hacked and battered by the
fierce thousands that came over the border. The nation was staggered by
the shock, for such an outcome had not been considered possible. We had
been too confident. Our soldiers were sick and worn by six months of
hard fighting, and the men of Edelweiss--the merchants, the laborers
and the nobility itself--flew to arms in defense of the city. For over a
month we fought, hundreds of our best and bravest citizens going down to
death. They at last began a bombardment of the city. To-day you can see
they marks on nearly every house in Edelweiss. Hundreds of graves in
the valley to the south attest the terrors of that siege. The castle was
stormed, and Prince Ganlook, with many of the chief men of the land, met
death. The prince was killed in front of the castle gates, from which
he had sallied in a last, brave attempt to beat off the conquerors. A
bronze statue now marks the spot on which he fell. The Princess, his
wife, was my sister, and as I held the portfolio of finance, it was
through me that the city surrendered, bringing the siege to an end.
Fifteen years ago this autumn--the twentieth of November, to be
explicit--the treaty of peace was signed in Sofia. We were compelled
to cede a portion of territory in the far northeast, valuable for its
mines. Indemnity was agreed upon by the peace commissioners, amounting
to 20,000,000 gavvos, or nearly $30,000,000 in your money. In fifteen
years this money was to be paid, with interest. On the twentieth of
November, this year, the people of Graustark must pay 25,000,000 gavvos.
The time is at hand, and that is why we recall the war so vividly. I