taken him towards the grave," said Dr. Noel, with a shudder.

"God," cried the Colonel, "God defend the right!"

And they awaited the event in silence, the Doctor shaking with fear, the
Colonel in an agony of sweat. Many minutes must have elapsed, the day
was sensibly broader, and the birds were singing more heartily in the
garden before a sound of returning footsteps recalled their glances
towards the door. It was the Prince and the two Indian officers who
entered. God had defended the right.

"I am ashamed of my emotion," said Prince Florizel; "I feel it is a
weakness unworthy of my station, but the continued existence of that
hound of hell had begun to prey upon me like a disease, and his death
has more refreshed me than a night of slumber. Look, Geraldine," he
continued, throwing his sword upon the floor, "there is the blood of the
man who killed your brother. It should be a welcome sight. And yet," he
added, "see how strangely we men are made! my revenge is not yet five
minutes old, and already I am beginning to ask myself if even revenge be
attainable on this precarious stage of life. The ill he did, who can
undo it? The career in which he amassed a huge fortune (for the house
itself in which we stand belonged to him)--that career is now a part of
the destiny of mankind for ever; and I might weary myself making thrusts
in carte until the crack of judgment, and Geraldine's brother would be
none the less dead, and a thousand other innocent persons would be none
the less dishonoured and debauched! The existence of a man is so small a
thing to take, so mighty a thing to employ! Alas!" he cried, "is there
anything in life so disenchanting as attainment?"

"God's justice has been done," replied the Doctor. "So much I behold.
The lesson, your Highness, has been a cruel one for me; and I await my
own turn with deadly apprehension."

"What was I saying?" cried the Prince. "I have punished, and here is the
man beside us who can help me to undo. Ah, Dr. Noel! you and I have
before us many a day of hard and honourable toil; and perhaps, before we
have done, you may have more than redeemed your early errors."

"And in the meantime," said the Doctor, "let me go and bury my oldest
friend."

_And this_ (observes the erudite Arabian) _is the fortunate conclusion
of the tale. The Prince, it is superfluous to mention, forgot none of
those who served him in this great exploit; and to this day his
authority and influence hel