And  then  His  Serene  Highness,  Herr  Graf
Maximilian  von  Bummelberg,  of  Schloss  Bummel-
fels  in  the  Schwarzwald,  stepped  on  the  wharf
and  graciously  introduced  himself  to  the  repre
sentative  of  the  people,  who  grasped  him  warmly
by  the  hand  with  a  cordiality  untempered  by

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awe ;  and  the  people  shouted  again  as  they  saw
the  two  great  men  together;  and  not  one  sus
pected  the  anguish  hidden  by  that  martial  out
side.  For,  of  course,  as  such  things  will  happen,
the  Envoy  selected  to  carry  the  Emperor's  proc
lamation  to  this  marine  principality  was  a  man
who  had  never  been  to  sea  in  his  life,  and  who
never  would  have  made  a  sailor  if  he  had  been
kept  at  sea  until  he  was  pickled.  And  for
eighteen  hours  the  unfortunate  messenger  of  good
tidings  had  been  tossed  about  in  the  dark,  close,
malodorous  little  cabin  of  a  fishing-smack  on  the
breast  of  a  chopping  sea,  beating  up  against  a
strong  head  wind.  And,  oh !  had  he  not  been
sick?  Sick,  sick,  sick,  and  then  again  sick  —
so  sick,  indeed,  that  he  had  had  to  hide  his
gorgeous  clothes  under  a  sailor's  dirty  tarpaulin.
This  made  him  feel  sicker  yet;  but,  though  in
the  course  of  the  trip  he  lost  his  respect  for
mankind,  including  himself,  for  royalty,  for
religion,  for  life  and  for  death,  he  still  retained
a  vital  spark  of  respect  for  his  beautiful  clothes.
