I looked at her for some time and then I said to her: “I should have liked greatly to know you without being aware that you were a princess.” “But,” she said, “it is the woman whom you now know and not the princess.” And that was true. I felt that I was in the presence of some one who was really great, even if her birth had not made her so. I am certain that she would have accomplished great things if she had not found her career already mapped out for her from the day of her birth in her father’s palace. Everyone knows that a princess’ life precludes liberty, and contains no possibility of breaking with the conventions for the sake of doing something extraordinary or notable. These chains are so strong that if one contrives to break them, it generally happens under the impulse of despair, as a result of irritation and not for the sake of a purely inspired work. When I arose to take leave of the princess she kissed me and said: “If ever I come to Paris I shall call on you at your studio.” She caused an attendant to accompany me to the master of ceremonies, with whom I was to go to the bank. There the master of ceremonies communicated Princess Marie’s order to the effect that I was to be accommodated in any way I might desire. The money I needed was advanced in return for a cheque, and I left Bucharest. The journey was full of troubles. Vexatious delays occurred. Finally I arrived at Rome, where my appearance had to be postponed until my baggage, lost in transit, had been found. Three thousand people, who had come to my first performance, went away without seeing me. That certainly was very hard luck. If I had been able to foresee all that, I should never have ventured to intrude upon the Princess. In that case I should not have discovered what an admirable woman she is. XV SEVERAL SOVEREIGNS In the course of my travels about the world, east, west, north and south, over oceans and across continents, I have had the experience of seeing or of encountering many persons of distinction, including not a few sovereigns and members of royal households. It has seemed to me that it might be interesting to bring together at this point some of the most typical of the incidents that occur to me. Just as they come, drawn haphazard from memory, without order or sequence, and with no thought of literary composition, I am going to put them simply on paper, one by one. _How I Failed to see Queen Victoria._ One day at Nice some one came and asked me to dance before Queen Victoria. She had just arrived on the Riviera to pass the winter months, as she was accustomed to do every year. It may well be believed that I was flattered by such a request. I assented, naturally, and set myself to work making all my preparations for this important event.