h a son as Minister Bronnen or that he deserves such a
father as you. It's all the same, I suppose," he concluded, with a
smile which seemed somewhat forced.

"I humbly thank Your Majesty--" Gunther also hesitated, for it was a
long while since he had used this phrase--"for the interest you have
graciously manifested in me and mine."

The king and Gunther met under changed and mutually embarrassing
circumstances, and congratulations on Bronnen's engagement seemed to
afford a convenient subject of conversation. It was, nevertheless,
followed by a pause, in which the two men, who had been separated for
two years, eyed each other as if each would again impress his memory
with the features which, for many years, he had seen almost daily.
Gunther had changed but little. His beard was short, thick, and of a
snowy white. The king's figure was fuller than it had been. His face
wore a deep and earnest expression which harmonized with his winning
and amiable deportment. His movements seemed to have gained, rather
than lost, in elasticity and vigor.

"I hear," said the king, resuming the conversation, "that you are
engaged on a great philosophical work, and I feel that we have reason
to congratulate ourselves thereat, for that will afford us an
opportunity to enjoy those fruits of your thought which, in our daily
intercourse, we are now deprived of."

"Your Majesty, I am reviewing my life and striking a balance. In some
respects, there is more, in others, less than I had reason to hope for.
I live within myself, and am happy to think that, when I look out into
the world, I can perceive that those who are called for great purposes
can show a clear balance sheet."

"Growth is slow," said the king. "While driving through the fields
yesterday, I thought to myself: how long it takes before the blade of
corn becomes the ripened ear. We cannot see how much it grows with each
day. We can only note the result."

Smiling, and perfectly unconstrained, he added: "I am imparting my
latest observations to you. It seems--it seems--as though it were but
yesterday, since we last met. Let us go into the garden."

On the way, the king asked: "How do you find the prince?"

"He has a well-built frame and, as far as I can judge, his mental
development is normal and healthy."

In consequence of the long years of separation and the lingering
feeling of reserve, there were frequent breaks in the conversation.

"You have again been living among