"But that is not all," continued Teleki; "outrages on individuals are of small account when the security of the whole realm is at stake. This great lord can speak very prettily about the blessings of peace, let us see now how he labours to uphold it. He takes the sword out of our hands and closes our mouths, while he himself collects an army and goads the Turk against us, well knowing that we have no money wherewith to buy the gifts necessary to counteract his vagaries. Now, three letters have reached us simultaneously--one from the Pasha of Grosswardein, another from the Pasha of Buda, and a third from the Sultan himself--demanding instant satisfaction, or an indemnity of three hundred purses of gold, for the defeat which the Pasha of Grosswardein has suffered at Banfi's hands. As, however, we cannot expect Banfi to pay the indemnity, will it please your Highness to consider from whence such a large sum of money is to be procured?" "From nowhither!" cried Apafi furiously, smashing his glass to pieces on the table. "I'll show the world that I'm able to exact satisfaction from whomsoever I will, let him be even as mighty again as Denis Banfi." "Then I wish your Highness would tell us how, for we know that Banfi will not appear to our summons, and we cannot compel him, for he has shown himself stronger than the whole realm. If we attempted to use force he would call out the banderia and the garrison troops, and then it might fare with us as it fared with Ladislaus Csaky--he would arrest the officers sent to arrest him, and expose us to universal derision." "As our first counsellor, it is your province to give us good counsel in such cases," cried Apafi wrathfully. "I only know of one remedy capable of curing the realm thoroughly of this disease." "Then prescribe it. In what does your remedy consist?" "In the _jus ligatum_." Apafi, despite his semi-besotted state, instinctively shrunk back from such an expedient, and throwing himself into his arm-chair, looked blankly at Teleki. "Are you not ashamed of yourself," he murmured in broken sentences, as tipsy people usually do, "to propose a secret conspiracy against a free nobleman? To privily conspire against him is contrary to the law of the land." "It is not my fault if the expedient is shameful," returned Teleki calmly and steadfastly; "but it is shameful that the law should not possess sufficient power to bring a rebel to book, and that one of our own subjects should be able to openly defy justice and laugh at the decrees of the Prince. If in such a state of things the _jus ligatum_ is our only means of defence, the shame falls not upon me but upon the Prince." Apafi rose angrily from his seat and paced to and fro. The lords remained perfectly silent. At last the Prince stopped short in front of Teleki, and, leaning on the back of his arm-chair, asked him-- "And how then do you propose to bring about this league?"