one side by a turbaned dwarf, and on the other by an ecclesiastic who
was evidently his governor. The child, as Odo approached, was calling
out his orders to his regiment in a weak shrill voice, moving now here,
now there on his booted tottering legs, as his two supporters guided
him, and painfully trying to flourish the paper weapon that was too
heavy for his nerveless wrist. Behind this strange group stood another
figure, that of a tall heavy man, richly dressed, with a curious
Oriental-looking order on his breast and a veiled somnolent eye which he
kept fixed on the little prince.

Odo had been about to advance and do homage to his cousin; but a sign
from the man in the background arrested him. The manoeuvres were soon
over, the heir was lifted into a little gilded chariot drawn by white
goats, his regiment formed in line and saluted him, and he disappeared
down one of the alleys with his attendants.

This ceremony over, the tall man advanced to Odo with a bow and asked
pardon for the liberty he had taken.

"You are doubtless," said he, "his Highness's cousin, the Cavaliere
Valsecca; and my excuse for intruding between yourself and the prince is
that I am the Duke's physician, Count Heiligenstern, and that the heir
is at present undergoing a course of treatment under my care. His
health, as you probably know, has long been a cause of anxiety to his
illustrious parents, and when I was summoned to Pianura the College of
Physicians had given up all hope of saving him. Since my coming,
however, I flatter myself that a marked change is perceptible. My method
is that of invigorating the blood by exciting the passions most likely
to produce a generous vital ardour. Thus, by organising these juvenile
manoeuvres, I arouse the prince's martial zeal; by encouraging him to
study the history of his ancestors, I evoke his political ambition; by
causing him to be led about the gardens on a pony, accompanied by a
miniature pack of Maltese dogs in pursuit of a tame doe, I stimulate the
passion of the chase; but it is essential to my system that one emotion
should not violently counteract another, and I am therefore obliged to
protect my noble patient from the sudden intrusion of new impressions."

This explanation, delivered in a sententious tone, and with a strong
German accent, seemed to Odo no more than a learned travesty of the
familiar and pathetic expedient of distracting a sick child by the
pretence of manly diversions. He